Fighting Late Night Hunger Blues

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I need to eat more protein to keep up with my yoga and walking activities. Image courtesy of amenic181 and FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

I need to eat more protein to keep up with my yoga and walking activities. Image courtesy of amenic181 and FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

For the last couple of evenings, I’m feel famished at about 10:00 pm.  Rather than eat, I start chugging water. Thirty minutes later I’m hungry again once my bladder bursts. Something is afoot.

This is the beauty of keeping a food journal. I thumbed through my FitBook this morning and I found a potential culprit – protein. I’m averaging 3.5 oz. of protein at lunch and 4.5 oz. at dinner. Since I go low carb, I try not to go over six ounces of protein during breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Clearly I’m not near the 6 oz. limit per meal. But with the yoga and walks, I need to up my amount. Phew! An easy fix. I’ll find out tonight if this does the trick.

Protein Shakes: More Filling, Crappy Taste

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Hot and sweaty...having my first protein shake after my 4 mile walk.

Hot and sweaty…having my first protein shake after my 4 mile walk.

After my walk today, I drank my first protein shake.  Easy to make, I drank it within 30 minutes of finishing my walk to get the full benefits.

It did the job as far as killing my hunger – I feel full, not bloated.  I certainly see how a protein shake can replace a meal.

I drank mine at 10:30 am as a substitute for my mid morning snack. I normally eat lunch at noon. Today, I’ll eat lunch closer to 1:30 pm.

As for the taste…horrible. I definitely need to mix the powder with ice-cold water.  So now I’m looking for ways to improve the taste.

Wow! What flavor. Not enjoying my first protein shake. Tomorrow, I add strawberries!

Filling, but doesn’t taste grrreat! Tomorrow, I add strawberries to this concoction.

I picked up some strawberries. A 1/4 cup equals 2 net carbs. The strawberries bump the shake’s net carb count to 3 – what my daily snacks average out to. Nice!

Hopefully tomorrow’s strawberry infused shake will taste significantly better.

 

 

Should I Up My Strength Training

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lifting book coverI missed my Tuesday session with my trainer due to a nasty ear infection and stomach bug. Thankfully I bounced back for today’s session.

I’m tired as hell, but feel great. How does that work?

It really is amazing how I feel after each session. Yes I’m drenched in sweat. My legs feel wobbly. My arms are jello. Yet, I am very relaxed and have an overwhelming desire to go for a long walk. I’ve heard about a runner’s high, perhaps this is something similar.

Right now I’m strength training twice a week and speed walking the other days. But I’m starting to wonder if I should up my strength training. I came across an article in Women’s Health about the value of strength training over cardio. Two stats jumped out at me:

1. Just 21% of women strength train two or more times a week.
2. Two strength training sessions per week can reduce overall body fat by 3 percent in a 10 week span.

The article isn’t about choosing between one or the other. I don’t think I have a choice. I need to do both. It’s about the clear benefits of strength training and encouraging women to take advantage of it. I think women don’t strength train because they fear bulking up too much. Sorry ladies, but we just are not built that way. I promise, you won’t turn into her.

But I’m wondering if my strength training and cardio are out of whack. Right now I’m split 70-30 in favor of cardio. Yes, I do believe that as long as I continue to eat the right foods and exercise, I’ll lose weight. The difference is that with cardio I’ll lose weight, but that can mean fat and muscle. With strength training, I can target my problem areas and lose fat, not muscle.

For the time being, I’ll stick with what I’m currently doing. I’ll re-evaluate around June 1. By that time I should be working again and can see how realistic it is to add another session.

In the meantime, I’ve ordered The New Rules of Lifting for Women. Since I’ve added strength training, I noticed I need to make some adjustments to what I’m eating. I have noticed that my metabolism plunges a few hours after these sessions. Clearly I’m not fueling my body properly. My last couple of sessions, I came home an ate an apple and that seemed to help, but I need to really work in more protein. Problem is, protein is a high point item on Weight Watchers. So I really need to figure out the most bank for the buck without going over my daily points allowance. I’m hopeful that this book can shed some light on the nutrition front.