Fat Burners

Are “Fat Burners” a gimmick?

Let’s talk about this.

Just like they say "abs are made in the kitchen", so is true for weight/fat loss.  Without a proper diet, a fat burner isn't going to do much.  It isn't a magic pill. 

Fat burners do the following:

Boost Energy

Curb Appetite

Promote fat burning as an energy source

SOME CAN:

Boost metabolism

and core temperature

Bottom line, yes they can aid in weight and fat loss when used properly and with diet and exercise. 

Some tips:

Take 30 minutes before breakfast

Drink LOTS of water

and cycle the fat burner, a few weeks on, 2 weeks off. 

Amazon Prime Day!

Guys, I love saving money. I'm sure you've picked up on that (if not, scroll down the blog)

I have my Masters Degree in Finance. Seriously, I love money. I'm sure there is a list of things you need or have wanted to get but don't or forget. Amazon has everything! I mean everything. They have the same if not lower prices as most of the stores you'd go to, and they deliver right to your door!

Prime Day is upon us. EXTRA SAVINGS $$$$

Grab a free 30-days if you don't have prime yet. Legit, you can cancel it and won't be charged a dime. If you are a student, you actually get 50% off the normal yearly rate AND all the same features. 

Click the image below, it will take you right to Amazon. Check out some of the great deals. It's like Black Friday in July!

SAVE MONEY

IT'S SIMPLE; DOWNLOAD THE APP FROM THE APPLE APP STORE AND BEGIN SAVING. SET GOALS, SAVE MONEY~ THAT EASY! 

*NOT A SPONSORSHIP

A few people contacted me about supplements that I've started taking. I typically don't take a product like Roxylean but it was included in the stack that I purchased.  The deal was too good to pass up. Everything is linked; Click the picture to take you to the products. Or individual links below!

Chocolate Brownie: Best Protein

Fruit Punch: Best BCAA's Shredded

RoxyLean

I've been playing around with logo ideas. My favorite so far. 

BMR

Knowledge is Power.

I've said this before and I will continue to repeat it. No matter what you are setting out to accomplish or complete, it will go more smoothly if you've done a little research.  Fitness/working out and/or weight loss is no different.  

Before beginning my fitness journey, I did a lot of research.  If I was going to do this, getting stronger, healthier and lose weight I wanted to know I was doing it correctly and as efficient as possible.  When it comes to weight loss understanding your BMR or Basal Metabolic Rate.  This is the number of calories required to keep your body functioning at rest.  AKA your body's metabolism. 

You can calculate your own BMR with the equations below:

For Women: BMR = 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)

For Men: BMR = 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years) 

OR

Any number of websites that have a calculator that will calculate it for you.  I used the Bodybuilding.com calculator. (BMR Calc)

They have a number of great, easy to use fitness calculators!

Next post we will talk about using your BMR knowledge translates into weight loss!

Supplements

The science behind BCAA's

Supplements are just that a supplement if you are not getting what you need out of your diet.  Ultimately we should be looking to our diets to hit our macros and micros.  When dieting (losing weight) comes into play this can be difficult, or maybe you just need a little extra help.  I'm trying to cut fat and (more importantly to me) get stronger. I take a multivitamin daily, protein shake or bar*, and BCAA's before or during my workout.  I added an * on the protein supplement because I do this only on days when I know I won't be hitting my protein goals and need a little more help. 

I want to talk about BCAA's, why I take them and what I take. BCAA's are Branched Chain Amino Acids. Basically, proteins are made up of 20 amino acids, both non-essential and essential (some can be consumed in diet). The BCAA supplement is three essential amino acids: Leucine, isoleucine, and valine.  Your muscles are 35% made up from essential amino acids.  

Why are these 'essential'?

Because the body doesn't make these amino acids out of other amino acids, these NEED to be consumed as part of your diet.  The highest concentration of these is found in animal protein like meat and poultry and dairy products.  For something who is trying to stay and a caloric deficit, this can be more difficult to consume enough meat or dairy to reach the recommended amount of essential amino acids. This is where the supplement comes into play. 

I've told you that you need these essential amino acids, but I haven't explained WHY. 

BCAAs are referred to as ‘branched chain’ amino acids because of their special molecular structure. From an exercise perspective, the BCAAs are especially relevant as our muscles can use them to provide energy during exercise but also because they are required to stimulate the process of muscle protein synthesis. In this regard, the BCAA leucine is the main BCAA that is used to produce energy during exercise and is also the key amino acid that stimulates muscle protein synthesis in the post-exercise recovery period.

I used BPI Sports: Best BCAA. I love the fruit punch flavor. Amazon has it real cheap and with Prime you get the 2-Day free shipping. I'm actually "subscribed" so I get an additional discount and it ships automatically. You can click the banner on my page to securely jump right over to Amazon for a FREE 30 day- Prime subscription. As always the products I talk about are linked as well. You can simply click on them and it will take you right to the product. 

The beginning: Fitness/Calorie Tracker

Hello, guys and gals. Today I want to talk about my first steps in this fitness and lifestyle change.  I wanted to get back to my "fighting" weight. I'll been active and played sports all the way through college, after college.... Things slowed down. Way down. I was eating the same or maybe a little more but with about 3/4 less active minutes in my day.  A friend of mine started scanning foods SKUs and stuff when we were in the store and I thought she was crazy. I literally said, "WTF are you doing??". She was tracking her food and getting the nutritional facts so she could compare items and make the healthier option for herself. That day I downloaded MyFitnessPal.  

I'm sure you've heard of it before, it is not exactly a secret.  It just plain works. It gives you an amazing amount of nutritional information about the foods you are going to be putting into your body. It helps when tracking your macros and helps make smart choices in regards to calories etc. This tool alone can change your body. Being shredded and losing weight starts in the kitchen. It starts with being conscious about what you are consuming.  The app itself is incredibly easy to use. I have a couple example screenshots from Amazon. 

Click right on the screenshot to head over and get the app for yourself. Like I said, it is free and works amazing. I have linked to a FitBit  (I used my iWatch) just to show you the types of trackers that work with MyFitnessPal as well.  The exercise and calories burned track right over to the app. 

Fitness

I have some life/career events coming up in my life soon.  I'm not going to disclose what...yet but I need to be in the best shape of my life in the next 6-8 months. I have been doing a lot of research and having a lot of conversations with health and fitness coaches to make a plan that works for me. This isn't a post about how to get shredded or bulk or cut. This is a post about health and how knowledge is power. 

Planning is key. Planning your meals, and planning your workouts. I have been in the gym a million times. I was a college athlete, I thought I knew what I needed to do. I was wrong. I wasn't planning, I was going in doing a little cardio and lifting heavy. I was doing the same things and I get bored.  After I've started planning my workouts, not only do I not get bored but I'm getting more out of the time I'm spending in the gym.  I meal prep with my girlfriend and I track my macros. I've lost about 10 pounds in the last month. More importantly, I feel better and my clothes are fitting better. In the future, I will disclose what I'm working toward and I will dive into my meal prep, workouts and supplements. I hope you guys/gals join me on this journey!

Let's talk about the magic in your pocket right now. Guys, your phone, I'm talking about your cell phone. 

Some 12 years ago the camera game changed, the digital SLR hit the market. The camera world has been evolving ever since.  This product brings the DSLR feel and function to your pocket, to your cell phone. The PICTAR camera grip is revolutionary. I could type 1000 words and still not explain how awesome this is. I will link the pictures below to the company's website. Read up on them and this product, it's pretty awesome.

Money is power.

Everyone wants to save money, you work hard for it, it is yours!  Saving money isn't easy, things come up, you swipe your debit or credit card with out thinking.  Digit is an app that takes the work part out of saving.  It links up with your bank account and analyses your spending, learns when your bills are, etc. Then it saves small amounts of money for you.  It is transferred into a Federally insured account for you.  You can withdrawal the money any time, don't worry.  But this app sets this money aside little by little and BAM you have savings without even realizing. I have a link below, go check it out!

https://digit.co/r/iz3LQ3vGBy?wn