Tag Archives: protein

Delightful start to the day

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I usually work out at 6am. Before going to the gym I’ll have a protein bar, and when I get home I make myself a protein shake. A few weeks ago I added a little something extra to my shake and I’ve been loving it!

The usual ingredients are high protein milk, creatine, and either chocolate or vanilla protein powder. My new ingredient that I added to the chocolate protein powder is a double shot of espresso. A trick to it is that after pulling the espresso shots, I put two cubes of ice in it and swirl it until the shots are chilled. Then into the blender they go.

I’ve always enjoyed my morning shake, but now it tastes like an extra special treat. I showed this to my wife and she added another ingredient, a half of a banana. This is also delightful. With or a without the banana these are a ‘10/10, I would recommend’ kind of treat to start your day.

In and out

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I joined a gym, and I took advantage of a deal to get 5 sessions with a trainer, for a great price. My trainer had me download MyFitnessPal, an App to track my calories and macros. I’ve been using this app for 10 days now and it has taught me a lot.

What I’ve learned first and foremost is that I have been totally clueless about my food intake. It’s such an important part of living healthy and yet I have had no idea what and how much protein I eat daily. I’m oblivious to how many calories I eat, and have zero sense for volume or weight of the food I eat… which makes knowing the benefits or consequences of my food intake impossible.

I’ve ranged from 1,104 calories with 65g of protein to 4,554 calories with 186g of protein daily: Basically from subsistence to gluttony eating almost 200grams of fat on my ‘big’ day.

I’ve done this with zero connection to how much exercise I’ve had in a given day. My lowest day also included an hour and 16 minute workout going up and down the Coquitlam Crunch with a couple extra loops of the 457 stairs section.

I need to understand what I’m putting into my body, and also how much energy I’m outputting. I want to know what I do to fuel my body and ensure I’m doing so in a healthier way than I have been. Tracking is a start, knowledge is power, but it’s only a start. Tracking has taught me that I’ve got a lot more to learn.