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.