Healthiest Life 4 Me

Well, I was supposed to start this workout yesterday, but due to orientation for the substitute teaching position that I desperately need, I was gone all day.  So I started today.  And I figured I would do chest today too to make it that much more difficult! HAHA  So here is what today’s workout looked like:

Incline Dumbbell Press

30 lbs. 1 set of 12, 2 sets of 10 with 20 jumping jacks between sets

Barbell Bench Press

30 lbs. 1 set of 15, 50 lbs. 2 sets of 12

Incline Chest Fly

15 lbs. 3 sets of 10

Pushups

set 1   14

set 2   18

set 3   14

set 4   14

set 5   21

WHEW!! Those last 2 sets were hard.but got them all in!  More to come on tomorrow. 

I didn’t get any cardio in because I didn’t have time today.  Working on my new schedule.it may take a few weeks to work the kinks out.

The most important part of our diet’s in order to build lean muscle is PROTEIN.  Now that the holiday eating season is upon us, we need to pay attention to how to make sure we are getting enough.  Lean muscle controls our metabolism.  The more muscle mass you have, the more fat you will burn at rest.  During the holiday season, our meals usually have more carbs and starches on the tables to tempt us.  In order to stay on target, it is important to understand where we can get the lean protein from to feed our muscles. 

The holiday staple for both Thanksgiving and Christmas is TURKEY.  And what a great staple it is.  Turkey is a great source of lean protein. 

Here is a table that explains how much protein is in different cuts of turkey:

What this table from the University of Illinois show us is that the  best cut of meat is the breast without skin.  It provides the highest amount of protein with the lowest amount of fat and calories.  If you are not a fan of white meat, then the cut of dark meat without skin is the next best choice, although it has twice the amount of fat as the breast. 

In addition to Turkey being a great source of protein, the University of Illinois says that turkey “is an inexpensive source of iron, zinc, phosphorus, potassium and B vitamins.” 

Potassium is used to “maintain fluid and electrolyte balance in the body.” according to Wikipedia.  Translated.potassium will keep you from dehydrating and from storing excess water weight.  Besides turkey, a great source of potassium is an avocado.  Bananas and potatoes also have potassium, but are foods that act like sugar in the body. 

Check out the story, “Ultra Vitality-What and Why” to see what the other vitamins included in turkey are good for! 

Of course, adding things to your turkey like gravy and cranberry sauce add to the levels of sugars, carbs, and fats (not the good ones) and only defeat all your hard work. 

If you are choosing to have side dishes, limit the simple carbs and stick with green, crunchy veggies.  If you can choose a carb like a yam.it is the best choice you can make.  This is a low-glycemic index carb and will not act like sugar in your body. 

Hope you have a happy holiday season with your families and that your fitness goals stay on track!  (PS.I hope I can stay on track too!)