After a brief vacation from working out, I am now back at the strength training again! It felt good working out again... I missed it!
I was worried that I would lose some muscle by taking a week off from the weights. The only place I think I may have lost some muscle is possibly in my chest as I couldn't do the same amount of weight, but rather 10 pounds less. But my arm, back and leg strength seem to be the same.
I workout hard, 5 days a week, I do cardio, weight lifting, exercise classes, etc. It can get grueling but it gets results too. But with that kind of schedule, you can get burned out too, and that's when injuries happen and you aren't getting your best workouts in.
The last time I took a vacation, my trainer thought I was crazy to workout during vacation. He said a vacation is a time to get away from everything, not just work. So I took his advice this year.
I love food and have a big appetite. This was part of the reason I was so obese just a few short years ago. Excessive eating of candy, bread and processed foods caused my weight to balloon to over 350 pounds.
I was like many of you... I thought I could exercise my way to a healthier weight. I walked the treadmill, sometimes 40 minutes with knees that were sore from the excess weight. I took swim classes because I heard that swimming was a good way to lose weight. I didn't exercise as consistently then, but still, I did try, only to discover, you just can't lose weight by not changing your eating habits.
My trainer reminded me of the importance of getting enough protein when I had my training session today. I do think I get enough, even when I'm vegan most days of the week.
Recently, I changed my protein powder, based on advice from Dr. Fuhrman. He mentioned during a recent interview that many protein powders have unnecessary vitamins and ingredients that aren't needed. I know I don't need protein powders with the smoothies I make, but still I worry that I'm not getting enough protein without it.
It was such a good learning experience when I interviewed Dr. Joel Fuhrman last month. For those of you who didn't have a chance read the interview.
During the interview, one of the questions I asked Dr. Fuhrman about was vitamin B12, and was there any way to get this important nutrient from plants. His answer surprised me, as I never realized all the problems that can happen without the vitamin. Did you know it can cause mental disorders, nerve problems, tremors and memory loss? Plus, I didn't know that B12 cannot accumulate in your body to use at a later time. I thought that as a flexitarian (someone who's vegan most days a week with only a few days of animal products), I could get away with having animal products a few times a week and that would be sufficient supply of vitamin B12. Apparently, that's not the case.
