Which Whey?

My whey or the highway...

Ha! love it. I am actually reposting this blog from one of my athletes who is also a former scientist. I love that she digs into the science behind nutrition and training. We can have totally geeky convos about all kinds of stuff! Anyway, when it comes to protein supplements, not all are created the same.

Do you know what is in YOUR protein powder? 
Heavy metals? Hormones? Stimulants?

I love that MY whey is organic, from grazing grass fed happy cows that are not pumped up with hormones and antibiotics. My protein powder is safe for children, pregnant and nursing Mom's and provides a full range of amino acids and nutrients. 

Enjoy!:

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In keeping with my new Friday theme of “Food Fact Friday”, I’m taking a look at Whey protein powders.

I was introduced to protein powder about 5 years, when I started working with a trainer at the gym.   She recommended a protein powder, that was awesome!!  Loved it!  But as time went on, I started to learn about protein powders and what was in them.

And I started to learn what I DIDN’T want in my body.   As part of my “building a bada$$ triathlete” this year, I kicked up my nutrition plan.  Switched over to organic meat, (I already was eating fish 1-2x’s/week) and upped my veggies.   And my nutritional plan has a new protein powder.   And I kept hearing how this one was so much better, from athletes, I respect, who were feeling a difference in their performance.

Being the researcher that I am, I took a very close look at not only the ingredients but WHERE they were coming from.

All whey comes from milk.   NOW, I’m one of those folks  who firmly believes that if we ingest things, like whey, that come from an animal, then what condition that animal is raised and handled, affects that food.   Instead of me getting on my soap box and talking about how those factors affect our food, here is a GREAT article that explains it in detail.

Grass fed vs grain fed <<<-----seriously b="" read="" this="">

I LOVE the paragraph that says “It’s not only important what we eat. It also matters what the foods that we eat, ate.”

And that is the take home message for me.   The protein source for my nutrition plan is from grass fed, free roaming cows.  Whey protein from grass-fed cows deliver more amino acids and nutrients, is made with the finest non-denatured,  cold processed whey protein concentrate from grass-fed cows that are not hormone treated.

So, I’m taking in a protein powder that my body loves!!!   And did you know????

• The more natural your food, the more lean muscle and the less body-fat you’ll probably have (this is because natural foods are assimilated better into the body)

• Toxins that you ingest can impair the fat burning and muscle building processes

My objective, in using protein powder, is to gain more lean muscle and drop the body fat.  And by using a protein drink that does that AND has no “add-ins” (like hormones that the cow was given), I feel I am cleaning out my body a bit more.   We are subjected to taking in toxins we don’t want (pollution, pesticides, etc) and if I can take control of some of that, I know my health will benefit.

I LOVE my new nutrition plan!!!

Marching Ahead...

thanks for all your comments and questions about my nutritional plan. I would LOVE to share with anyone about, feel free to reach out to me to chat! 
(you can find me on FB and msg me or email me at jsmalltri(at)gmail)

I cannot believe MARCH is almost here!!

This coming month is full of adventures and one of my favorite times of the year.
Not basketball.
Not St. Patty's Day.

REV3 SUMMIT!!

Last year we ventured out to Boulder CO and it was a BLAST! This year we will hold summit in Rev3's hometown of Manassas VA. They have a HUGE retail store and the company headquarters there. I am so excited to check it out and see my teammates...and meet the newbies who are joining us in 2014.

The thing I love about our team is that they always see to pick some really cool folks. Just when I think the team can't get better, it somehow does. We all end up very close friends and summit is certainly a way to bond even more. 

With the very tragic loss of our teammate, David, we are welcoming his beautiful wife Ashley to our team. I am sure it will be a very emotional summit this year as well. David was an amazing man and he made all of us smile just being around him. 

I was super excited to see that my friend, Eric made the team this year so we will be flying down to VA together! Also, another friend, Jen G. made the team too!! I met Jen on the beach several summers ago when I first started doing triathlons. She lives in CT and visits Maine in the summers. 

some very mature antics on CO last year

There are so many cool "new kids" this year too...as well as returning veterans that I adore. 
I really love this team and they have become my second family. 

I am also excited to go back to shorter distances again and work on speed and power for a bit. I know that I missed running faster and now that I am getting leaner and stronger, this will be super fun!

Other than Knoxville, Quassy, Maine, Poconos and a handful of other races, my season is still not fully developed yet! There will be some sprints and Oly's in there with a bunch of halfs...That is a weird feeling since I usually have everything planned out December...but with working has been so busy with clients and classes! I love it. 

a rough day at the "office" with my coworkers little girl, Olivia! she worked out hard with us today! 

WHATS ON YOUR PLAN FOR 2014?
What races are you getting excited for??

The Challenge: Continued

So several weeks ago, I started a post about a nutritional challenge. You can catch up here...

so I was heading into my day--a nutritional cleanse day and I was a little leery. I actually would say my attitude sucked going into this...I hear the word cleanse and think "GI Cleanse" but this is a detox cleanse--using natural fruit juices and herbs to help to rid the body of toxins and supplementing your day with little snacks. A break to the GI system and a way to flush the body of toxins that build up in our bodies.

Nutritional Cleansing increases the health benefits you’ll receive from the ancient health practice of cleansing. The herbs, vitamins and minerals that aid cleansing do two things:

• Accelerate the removal of impurities from the body.
• Nourish the body with vital nutrients to rapidly revive health.

A cleansed and revitalized body is stronger, resists illness better, is more efficient and performs at a higher level than one that is filled with impurities. Many people notice an ability to reach and maintain their ideal weight.

I was expecting to hate it and call it stupid. I am the biggest skeptic out there. It took me a year to even try this. 

But I was feeling energized and CLEAR. I tried a one day cleanse and I could not believe how great I felt! even dare say better than I had in a long time.

I continued the nutritional plan as written and not diverting from it for a second. After a few days, it was insane how GREAT I felt. And alert. I did not miss coffee and I any sort of craving for "junk" was deeply diminished. In week one I dropped 8lbs and my lean tummy was returning.

I continued on with week two in the same way. Super clean nutrition, eating every couple of hours and using only clean nutritional supplements (vitamins, a super clean protein shake twice per day), implementing the nutritional cleanse to release toxins and lots of water.

These are just random pics of some of my meals

At the end of the two week trial period I dropped 14lbs and nearly 2 inches from my waist. From that loss, my body fat dropped 4.7%.

I was sold. There would be NO GOING back to the way I was eating before.

getting leaner every week
no, I did not make my bed 

I consulted a nutritionist regarding this plan and the needs for endurance athletes; she helped me to map out a plan specifically for me (as well as a structure for endurance athletes) and how this is going to play into my life once I up my training and hit some bigger cycles. I was psyched to have her look over the plan and give it a big thumbs up and talk to me more a bit about how the whole system played a role in recovery, refueling and keeping that muscle mass.

BUT--The biggest reasons I am sticking to this plan?

ENERGY-my energy is through the roof! no more stimulants like coffee are even needed. I feel amazing. Never have I felt this energized and focused. 

RECOVERY-my body recovers quicker workout to workout.

STRENGTH-I am preserving LEAN MUSCLE MASS and dropping body fat (measurements and body fat measurements confirm this)

TIME-It made my day easy and simplified my daily nutrition. I have super easy grab/go options and I am getting in MORE nutrient dense meals into my day without spending more time prepping them. 

-It falls in line with every single EAT CLEAN principle I have been behind since I started my own 120lbs of weight loss 5 years ago. Ethically, it agrees with all the fundamentals I have been held onto from the start!

I cannot wait to tackle 2014 leaner & meaner than ever!! 

PLEASE SHARE-STOLEN BIKES

I just got word from a friend that he Southern California home was robbed recently and the thieves made away with a ton of stuff--including their beloved bikes. These friends are endurance athletes and as I am sure you can imagine, the loss of a bike is a BIG deal. Sadly, they do not have insurance that covers these losses and they are devastated. I can't imagine...

Please share and maybe we can get these bikes back to their owners. If you see them listed, please let me know so I can pass this info along.

Here is a picture of 3 of the bikes that were stolen:

Bikes: 
-Kestrel Talon w/HED race wheels, 
-Giant TCR Advanced with Campy components, 
-Focus Cayo w/Sram, black ISM Adamo saddle/black bar tape, 
(not pictured) GT mtb

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One Bite at a Time

there is an old saying-

how do you eat an elephant?
one bite at a time

this is simple
and true
with many things in our lives.

i am lucky enough to have several people i coach for weight loss so there has been lots of discussion lately about my own journey.

one point always rang true for me. i never looked it as "oh my god, i have 100lbs to lose"...it was always about the now and that immediate goal. for example, this week i will lose 3lbs. or this week i will exercise 4 days. or i will make healthy choices today.

it can be so overwhelming to focus on the big numbers and when you shift your perspective and focus to the immediate task at hand, it makes it some much more manageable. and motivating!


the same it true for racing. while the distance you tackle is always part of the equation, staying in the moment, in the NOW of the race. in an ironman distance race, when you are at mile 56 of the bike, you are not thinking about mile 10 of the run (but you should be nailing your nutrition on the bike FOR the run...but I digress). you are there, in the moment.

yes, you are preparing for what's ahead but your focus is on the NOW>

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another way that i "ate my elephant" was with small goals.

i want to run 15 seconds without stopping.
i want to run a mile without stopping.
i want to run a 5k.

i did not start out wanting to run a marathon on my first day running.
triathlon was not even a glimmer in my eye.
did i think someday i want to do >>>xxx<<< ? of course i did
but i stayed in the moment. eating the chunk of elephant that was the now.

it was the achievement of those small goals ALONG the way that kept me wanting more, that light the fire for more/faster/better along the way.

so set yourself up for success. plan. make goals. big and small. but keep in the moment. focus on the now.
how what you are doing today is getting you one step closer to tomorrow.

so how are you going to eat your elephant?

what are some ways you keep motivated to reach a big goal?

Slimmons

Once again it appears that I have fallen off the blogwagon, but alas...life has just been a whirlwind of busy, work, travel and fun. I just got back from a week in Los Angeles to see Angela and it was an amazing trip.
Today we can thank a sick child and a snow storm for the odd chance that I am home to actually blog!!

So..let's talk about meeting one of my fitness idols.

You know who I'm talking about...THIS GUY!!

Sparkly.
Spunky.
Sweaty.

Seriously...what's trip to Beverly Hills without a quick stop to hang out with the King of Fitness himself, Richard Simmons.
Yes, THE Richard Simmons.

Angela and I were going to go to a "HardCore" class at Barry's Bootcamp Thursday evening however, a quick walk with the dog would change our plans...on our Abbey walk, we stop by neighbor/friend, Sara's house where we learned that Richard Simmons was in his studio in Beverly Hills that night.

Instant. Change. Of. Plans.

We rushed back to Angela's to get ready for class.

Pink--check

Sparkles--check

Positive Attitude--check

I have been a long time fan of Richard Simmons and meeting him in person just amplified that fandom! He is still so full of energy and is just as sweet & kind as I expected him to be.

The rules are NO PHONES and NO CAMERAS in the studio during class but after he will hang out and take pics. Ok, cool. I can follow the rules...

Angela and I wait around while tons of people start filling up his studio-a traditional "dance" studio with wood floors and a mirrored wall. There are all walks of life here--young, old, fit, not-as-fit, male, female--you name it. I was actually surprised that there were so many YOUNG ladies too!! There was a Zumba convention in town and several young gals were there to check Richard out.  I doubt they even recall the days of Richard Simmons in the 80's.

1980's Richard

Remember Deal A Meal?? (I DO!!)

and this is Richard now. Pretty sure his energy level is the same!!

High energy. The dude is a PERFORMER!! His energy was amazing and I found myself sweating and smiling ear to ear!

Here is a video clip from Richard's YouTube channel and this is exactly how the class was-- High energy, fun and he is definitely a performer! I even recognize a couple faces in this video as his "regulars".
The music was fun (and yes, he still uses records and doesn't miss a beat either!)

Before I knew it, my face hurt from smiling and I was dripping in sweat! It was a 90 minute class and the time flew by...the majority of the class was dance style stuff which was so fun and then we hit up a segment of weight training and then a core set and then a cooldown.

I am so happy that we went to Richard's Slimmons studio vs. Barry's Bootcamp.

I have always had a soft spot in my heart for Richard and his mission to help people. I have always believed that his heart was genuine. I was so  happy to see that this was 100% accurate and he is even nicer in person than I could have imagined...and Cute as a BUTTON!!

Next time you are in Beverly Hills, this is a MUST STOP.
It was a huge highlight of my trip!!

Not gonna lie, I did squeal like a school girl when he tweeted me today!!