Shake, Shake, Shake

Wednesday's Goals

Exercise: Strength

Calories: 1400

Wednesday's Accomplishments

Exercise: Strength

Calories: 1442

I had a good day on the program today. I tried a new workout this morning...Jari Love's Ripped & Chiseled. It was a toughie! Lots of reps (almost to the point of overkill - I had to intersperse a few rebounding "breaks" in there). It was a decent workout but not my favorite of hers. Ripped 1000 is my favorite Jari workout.

My diet was just about identical to yesterday. I had my usual shake for breakfast (300). For lunch I had a veggie burger on whole wheat bread with sauteed onions, peppers and mushrooms, cheddar, mustard and ketchup (410). After lunch I had an orange (60) and 1 small package of Swedish Fish (60). For dinner I had more of the pasta from yesterday with the brussel sprouts and walnuts (612).

I thought I would write about my protein shakes today. You may wonder why the heck I have a protein shake almost every morning. Well, first of all this particular brand of protein powder I use (Whey Gourmet) is very tasty. Whey protein is derived from milk so shakes made with this form of protein taste awesome and don't have any weird aftertaste like some other types of protein powder. Because my shake contains frozen banana, it is also very creamy and tastes just like an ice cream milkshake you'd get at Friendly's! (it's that good) .

So reason number 1: it tastes really good.

Reason #2: It's very filling and only has 300 calories. It's hard to create substantial and filling breakfast for 300 calories that also has a good amount of protein in it and holds me over until lunch. Having a relatively low-cal breakfast frees up more calories for lunch and dinner which are the meals that I really like larger amounts of food.

Reason #3: My shakes are intensely chocolate (I add dark cocoa powder to them to make them really dark) and having a good, intense dose of chocolate in the morning seems to protect me from getting insane chocolate cravings later in the day (I am a serious chocoholic).

Reason #4: they are healthy! Aside from skim milk (calcium), the shake is loaded with protein plus I add a couple other ingredients that are really healthy - banana (a fruit!), dark cocoa powder (flavanols) and cinnamon (controls blood sugar).

Reason #5: It's quick and easy to prepare...no cooking. Just toss everything in the blender and voila! Ready in 30 seconds.

So aren't you glad I explained all this? I know you must have been on the edge of your seat wondering about my protein shake obsession. ;)