Post workout shakes

I want to tell you right now that my whole life I've worked out and never had a post-workout shake until I started Beachbody programs and learned the benefits of it. Also my husband Cory has taught me a lot about this subject. I even had someone tell me a decade ago that after a workout you should wait an hour to eat after exercise, and that was the worst advice! A post workout shake will change your ENTIRE body composition. If you've never had a "toned" body, a post workout meal or shake will change that.

Here's the deal: Within 30 minutes of a workout, drink/eat 30 grams of protein mixed with 60 grams of a fast-acting carbohydrate (make it fit in your calorie range with whatever workout you're currently doing). The idea is to have a 3:1 ratio of carbs to protein. So just remember: 30 grams protein and 60 grams carbs is perfect according to experts. A good reason to know and keep the ratio above in mind is because you may be a little over or under when not only finding a good whey protein source, but also when right after a workout, you start to be in tune with your body and if you need more or less of a scoop of protein! Sometimes I will even do just 20 grams of protein. There's no perfect amount as every body is different. You can become aware of what you need over time and of course adjust when necessary

Here is what I do! Because I have my Shakeology for breakfast and work out later on during Eli's nap later on, I don't drink Shakeology for a post-workout, but if you can, DO IT. It's great fuel, and has a great ratio of protein, carbs and nutrition. A scoop of that, plus adding a little bit more of another a fast carb will be perfect. I just prefer to drink my Shakeology in the morning since I love having that all-day energy and I don't like making a complicated breakfast.

What I personally do for my post workout then is: a scoop of pure whey protein powder (a fast-absorbing whey) and a half cup to full cup of apple juice. I keep the shake around 400 calories. I can keep apple juice in the house because it does not tempt me at all as a snack drink. Orange juice or any other kind I can't keep in the house as it's too tempting to snack on. Juice is not a good snack because it is dense in sugary calories. One cup of orange juice is like 10 squeezed oranges- you get what I mean? As a post-workout with whey, juice is beneficial, and therefore is a different story. Back to your edumacation...

Here is what happens: Many people do not realize that the very act of exercise DOES NOT build muscle. Exercise breaks down muscle. The muscle toning happens during the recovery! When you drink that fast acting post-workout drink, the nutrition/macros go in and repair your broken down muscle asap, which is what you need. The fast carbs from the juice carry the protein directly to your fatigued muscles and restore them more quickly than if you wait to eat. The longer you wait to eat, the longer your body is stressed and will actually steal your muscle to restore the body because muscles are faster to burn than fat and your body knows that. That is why muscle definition doesn't happen as much if you wait a long time to eat. If you are a man, your body will still show a little muscle definition because of your testosterone. 

Also, as an alternative, you can eat food as a post-workout meal instead of drinking a shake, but food takes longer for the body to digest, as opposed to juice and whey protein. Also, Beachbody has an awesome Results and Recovery formula that can take the place of juice. It is very high quality with no cheap fillers in it. If you are interested, let's talk. There is also a high quality whey protein shake mix that is the best out there ingredients-wise. If you need to keep it really inexpensive, the juice and a generic whey protein works fine :)

Let's get a discussion going on this if you need clarification! Usually lots of people have questions to understand this fully. But let me just say this. I NEVER got cut or had muscle definition in my life until I started drinking a post workout shake.

Jess

Valentines Friends, I Love You, and Best Friends

Even though Valentines Day comes in February and is a time usually spent romancing our significant other, what about our friends? I am not yet at the stage where my toddler sends his friends little valentines cards and candies yet, that will be fun. But, moms, what I'm talking about is our girlfriends!

I was thinking lately, I am such a Words of Affirmation person, and I like to say "thank you" and "you are awesome at this" to my mom friends, but I rarely say "I love you". That struck me pretty hard. We are so eager to make sure we tell our partners, families, and kids we love them. Why not our friends?

Friends can be tricky sometimes. Especially for us girls. There can be drama, miscommunication, hard feelings, misunderstanding, but it's time, first of all, to connect with friends that you truly love, despite differences and strong-willed emotions. It doesn't matter if those friends you love started a problem or who did what! Be a friend and reach out first. All you have to say is "How are you? I miss you!" And start the conversation "Is everything okay?" Hash it out if the other person needs that. Say you are sorry. Oh, I cannot emphasize the latter enough. Say you're sorry, say you're sorry, say you're sorry. Even if you don't feel wrong, say you are sorry. Why? Because it validates their feelings! And especially because your friend actually voiced the problem, which is really hard for us girls to do! Or you can start the conversation by saying that things aren't okay and you wish they were and that you want to discuss it.

I highly recommend doing this in person or on the phone. If it has to be over text/email, try to be very descriptive as it's hard to tell how someone is coming across. Use lots of smiley faces!!

I am a recovering strong-willed person. I have to humble myself and love my friends. If I didn't, I don't know if I'd have any friends. A relationship is give and take.

So about the "I love you" part with friends. Our friends need to hear I Love You lots and lots, I believe. I wonder if it's because we girls are all about Words of Affirmation. It may be awkward for you to tell your friends I Love You. They may feel awkward about it. But you need to do it! And it gets easier for both parties once it's said enough! If you want to have long-term friends, I think I Love You, and actually loving your friend with what they need, is the best way to have friends for life.

Best Friend: 2 Dirty Words

The words "Best" and  "Friend" together are dirty! Just as dirty is "One of My Best Friends". This is definitely a chord that will strike some of you negatively. If it does, that's okay and you don't have to agree with me. This is my opinion based on years of experience. I had a good friend, shall I say a GREAT friend, for many years from high school to my mid to late 20s. Anytime I would introduce her to my other friends, she would say "Jessica is my best friend since high school." Ugh, it really turned me off. I was very sensitive to the fact that other girls were thinking "I can't compete with that, she has a best friend- that place is taken. I wonder if I will have a lesser relationship with Jessica". In my early 20s, I had another dear friend who started calling me her best friend. Unfortunately I had the opportunity to have these 2 friends who called me their Best Friend meet each other one day, and it was ugly. They were both like "No, she's MY best friend." Yuck. I am sad to say both of these girls are no longer in my life. Dare I say that the word "Best Friend" should be reserved to our high school days when we were young and don't know better, not knowing much about life in the real world after high school. Like I said, you can disagree and do whatever you wish with the words Best Friend and maybe even be a really mature person and say it, but it really strikes me the wrong way. We live in a huge world  and I hope to meet many people and have very deep, special relationships. They can become good friends or great friends, but I will only ever talk about them as "a good friend", because good friends are awesome to have and those words don't intimidate other women into thinking they can't be as close to me. And heck, if you do happen to meet your very best friend in the whole wide world, definitely tell them! And then keep it a very fun secret between the 2 of you, never again to be used to distance other girlfriends in your life. ;)

I was at a playdate with a bunch of girls I knew, some I didn't, a few weeks ago. One of the girls I did not know said at least twice that she and her best friend were...blah blah blah. I completely stopped listening and had no interest in getting to know her any further. I think many girls feel this way and I'm not alone. What if you stopped saying those words? Maybe it would open up your life to more friends? How cool would that be!

How about we have a ton of friends, a few good friends who really get us, with room to add more good friends when the ebb and flow of life moves us into different seasons? We change, and hopefully some of our friends move right along with us and stay with us. I challenge you to say "I love you" to ALL of the people you care about, including your friends, this month of February. I started last night and every day in February I will reach out and tell one of my friends I Love You. Will you do the same? Happy Valentines Day!

Jess