Day 18: Protein Shakes – Myoplex Lite vs Muscle Milk Light

January 26, 2012 by

As one of the 5-6 meals, I’ve generally been drinking a protein shake. I know it is cheaper to buy the powder and mix it up yourself, but I just bought a round of the pre-packaged ones to try out. They do cost a little more, but if you buy them in bulk and try to find a coupon you can generally get one for around $1.50. Right now, I have a variety of two types that I’m rotating between:
Muscle Milk and Myoplex Lite
I picked up a 24-pack of the Myoplex Lite Chocolate Fudge at Amazon for $39.84 ($1.66 each). This was about the same price as at our local grocery store, but it’s hard to beat the convenience of having them delivered to your front door. I haven’t tried it yet, but Amazon offers 15% off if you sign up to have them delivered automatically each month (or every 2nd or 3rd month — you choose the frequency). Not a bad idea. I’ve been thinking about doing that with all of our common household items. Figure out how often we go through them and sign up on Amazon for auto-delivery so we don’t ever have to think about those things and can save time at the grocery store.

Back on topic…I picked up the Muscle Milk Light at Costco when they had a $6 off coupon. I don’t remember what I paid for them, but I believe it was around the same per package. Now, to compare the two. The Muscle Milk tastes better, but probably because it has twice the fat…and that is even with the light version! 2g vs 4g. It’s not a true one-to-one comparison, though, as the Muscle Milk Light is more concentrated (8.25 oz vs 11 oz). Each containst 20g of protein. The Muscle Milk has only 9g of carbs, though, compared to Myoplex Lite’s 20g. As far as all around nutrition goes, the Myoplex Lite has more nutritional value than the Muscle Milk Light.

Myoplex Lite Chocolate Fudge
Muscle Milk Light Nutritional Info

Winners:

Protein Content TIE
Lowest Fat Content Myoplex Lite
Lowest Carbs Muscle Milk Light
Overall Nutritional Value Myoplex Lite
Taste Muscle Milk

There really is no clear winner in my mind. Both shakes are good and have their strengths. I like to stock multiple protein shakes for variety so I don’t get tired of one particular brand and burn out. I used to cringe at the idea of drinking a protein shake years ago, but really like the taste of them now. Maybe it’s an acquired taste, or maybe they have just gotten better at making them taste good over the years. Either way, they’re great to down after a workout.

Filed Under: Body For Life, Nutrition, Technology Tagged With: ,

Day 16-17: Interval Running

January 26, 2012 by

Interval running is an excellent way to train your heart and burn calories. The plan on Body For life is quite simple. When I do my running routine I do it on the treadmill. It only takes 21 minutes to do around 2 miles. The first 2 minutes are warm up and the last 2 are cool down, so it’s really only 17 minutes of running. The 17 minutes are compromised of 4 interval reps. Start low for a minute, increase for minute two, increase again for minute three, then again for minute four. Then you go back to the low and repeat 3 more times for a total of 4 reps. That makes 16 minutes – for the 17th you go up one a little more to a fast sprint for a minute, then back down for 2 minutes to cool off.

Right now I am doing 5,6,7,8 for each group, then 9 on the 17th running minute for the high burn. Years ago when I first tried this running routine I was not a “runner” and had to start at much lower and work my way up. For example, if you are not a strong runner, start with something low like 4,4.5,5,5.5 (burn at 6). Then once you are comfortable with that, increase it by just .1 each time, for example 4, 4.6, 5.2, 5.8. You can gradually increase the speeds as you become more conditioned. Here is a chart I created using my mad Excel skillz depicting my routine:

Sometimes after the burn on 9 instead of going straight down to 3.5 I’ll go down to 5 and light jog for 30 seconds, then go down to 3.5 for the last minute and a half. I did this yesterday and this is what my final stats were:
An excellent 21 minute run

Filed Under: Body For Life, Workouts Tagged With:

Day 15: PBA, not to be confused with PDA or PBJ

January 23, 2012 by

PDA makes a great snack…if you’re 14. PBA makes a great snack for all ages, though (Peanut Butter and an Apple). The peanut butter is high in protein and the apple is rich in carbs (the good kind). Yes, there is fat in peanut butter, but your fats should generally come from plants (i.e. peanuts, avacodo), not meats (like Whataburger). The apple and peanut butter must have dated in a previous life, because it is match made of yumminess in a nutshell (pun intended). Don’t buy the peanut butter at the store that has a bunch of added sugar, though. Why do most food manufacturers think they need to add sugar to everything? Peanuts are naturally yummy without anything added to them. Get the natural peanut butter. I think it tastes way better than the other stuff anyway besides being healthier.
PBA
Sometimes it is hard to estimate an exact serving of peanut butter. How do you measure out 2 Tbsp with out it all sticking to the spoon and everything? I found an easy way with this measuring thingy that my wife bought years ago from a Pampered Chef party. Who ever invented calling those things parties? Not really what I think of when I think of a party. Parties shouldn’t involve pressure to buy a bunch of crap you probably don’t need. In this case, I guess I’m glad she bought this one particular item. You just push on the tube inside of the tube until it lines up with 2 Tbsp. Then shove peanut butter in there until it is to the top.
PBA
With Pampered Chef
When you’re done, just aim it at the plate, and push the inside of the barrel out and the peanut butter plops out easily on the plate. Use a knife to scrap once against it and it all comes right out. Done. Easy. Consume. Yummy.
PBA

On another note, yesterday (Sunday) I did DDR for my cardio as planned. I was having so much fun that I ended up doing it for an hour (geek). My 10-year old son joined in with me on player 2 – good times. How many of you spend your Sunday afternoon doing DDR with your son? I knew it! There are a lot of closet DDR-ers (word?) out there in the world. Told ya so.

Filed Under: Body For Life, Nutrition Tagged With:

Day 14: 220 Calorie Egg Whites & Cheese Breakfast Sandwich

January 22, 2012 by

I kicked off week 3 on Body For Life today with a super yummy egg white and cheese breakfast sandwich.
Yummy Breakfast Sandwich
The great thing about it is that it has only 220 calories! It is made from egg whites and is loaded with protein and low in fat. To make it, first gather up your ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup egg whites
  • 1 piece of wheat bread
  • 1 slice of cheese
  • PAM cooking spray

The egg whites I used were All Whites Egg Whites:
Egg Whites
The cheese I used is Tillamook Pepper Jack that I got at Costco, but any cheese will do.
Super Yummy Cheese
The bread I used is Nature’s Own Double Fiber Wheat, which is only 50 calories per slice. I also like it because it doesn’t have any high fructose corn syrup or artificial crap like many breads do.
Really Low Calorie Bread
Pre-heat the frying pan on a medium temperature (I did 5 on my gas stove). Once the pan is warm enough to where a water drop fizzles when dropped in it, spray the pan with PAM and pour in 3/4 cup of egg whites. Scramble the eggs until they are starting to solidy, but are still moist:
Scrambled Egg Whites
Gather the eggs towards the middle of the frying pan and place the slice of cheese on top of the eggs. While holding the cheese, use the spatula to gather up any extra eggs and place them under the cheese. Repeat on all four sides until the eggs are all under the square area of the cheese.
Forming the Eggs
Once all of the eggs are under the cheese, turn the heat down a little (I turned my gas stove down to 4). Put the toast in the toaster now.
Toaster
About the time the toast pops up, the eggs should be just right, having molded together into form with the cheese melted over the top of them. Gently run the spatula under each side to ensure that none of it is sticking to the pan.
Scooping the eggs
Grab your toast
Toast
And plop the eggs and cheese down on top of it. It should fit perfectly. Enjoy!

Yummy Breakfast Sandwich
Egg Sandwich Close Up
Nutritional Information

Calories 220
Protein 29 g
Fat 6.5 g
Carbs 14 g
Sugar 1 g
Filed Under: Body For Life, Nutrition, Recipes Tagged With: ,

Day 13: Week 2 Weigh-in

January 21, 2012 by

2 weeks down, folks. First off, the weekly weigh-in. Last week I weighed in at 167. My weigh-in this morning was….drum roll…
5 pounds in 2 weeks
I’m down 2 pounds from 167 to 165 this week. When I do my weekly weigh-in at FatSecret, I record my weight there. They track it and plot it on a graph, which is pretty cool.
FatSecret Weight Chart
The bottom line is my target weight, which is 155. Depending on how much muscle I gain, my ideal weight may be a little higher than that. The main purpose for me doing Body For Life is to lose fat and gain muscle. Whatever ending weight I end up at is fine with me as long as I’ve trimmed the roll around my waste off and have built muscle all the way around.

My body is slowly starting to transform like it is supposed to do in Body For Life. Here are the front pictures after 2 weeks:
Week 2 Frontal (with shorts)
Now, from the back is where you can really see a difference – even only after 2 weeks:
Week 2 Rear Pictures (of me from the rear, not my rear)
Now, my day off wouldn’t be complete without some sort of splurge. I’ll be honest – I had a hard time motivating myself to eat something that is not on the Body For Life diet; I’ve gotten so used to it after 2 weeks of it. I know it’s necessary to shock your body, though, so that it can not go into starvation mode and save fat. I want to burn fat and not muscle. I hadn’t eaten much all day long, and finally decided to get a classic burger, fries and drink from Whataburger.
Burger, Fries & Drink
If I’m going to grab a burger from a fast food place, I wouldn’t waste it on McDonalds – yuck. The nice thing about Whataburger here in Texas is that you don’t have to tell them how to make the burger – they just do it right. They make it fresh (no heat lamps) and with mustard, lettuce, tomato, pickle and onions. None of this ketchup or mayonnaise crap…or especially thousand island dressing. Really? Who invented that anyway. That stuff just doesn’t belong on a burger. Just Mustard. Period.

I also have some ice cream for later on tonight…mmm. I think ice cream is where my sweet tooth goes. Some people are chocolate people, others traditional sugar candy, and some are pie people like my older brother. When he wants a cream pie shake, he doesn’t go to some place that makes an imitation shake that tastes like a cream pie. He needs to see them cut a piece of pie, put it in a blender with some ice cream, and make a real for real cream pie shake. He doesn’t mess around. Anyway, I’m an ice cream person. Especially chocolate with brownie chunks in it…mmmm. I guess I’m officially on my day off now – craving ice cream. I’ll enjoy it while it lasts and hit it hard again tomorrow morning.

Filed Under: Body For Life, Pictures Tagged With: ,
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