The Marvelous Me Project – February: Exercise & Protein

Now that you are well hydrated and well rested, it is time to get busy!

Hopefully many of you already make exercise an important part of your lifestyle. Even if you do, use this month’s Marvelous Me challenge is to step it up a bit. This month’s Marvelous Me challenge is exactly that – a challenge. Whether you are stepping on a treadmill for the first time or adding another 5 km to your daily 10km run (I wish;), a new exercise routine is to be created this month.

Of course, any new lifestyle change has to be accompanied by healthy eating habits. Protein is not just for body builders. This extremely important macronutrient is required for hundreds of different functions in the body. Protein is needed to build and repair tissues, which is why it is so important to consume protein following a work out. However, protein is an important building block of bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood as well. You also use protein to make enzymes, hormones, and other body chemicals. For such an important element for our health, this month’s Marvelous Me challenge will focus on getting enough protein and getting it from the right sources.

Basic rules:

#1 - Exercise everyday!! A minimum of a 1 hour high intense workout 3 days/week with ½ hour of exercise the other 4 days of the week.  I know, a pretty heavy commitment but hear me out.  This daily ½ hour workout does not have to be anything too time consuming. For example, get off the bus a few stops early and walk the rest of the way home. Always choose the stairs over the escalator. Use your breaks at work for a walk around the block instead of scrolling Facebook. This ½ hour does not need to be consecutive either if you are struggling to find the time. For those days that will include a 1 hour intense workout, it’s finally time to join a gym or try that class you been inquiring about for so long. Or that running group you never had the courage to join. If money is an issue, all you really need is a good pair of runners or a bathing suit for the community swimming pool. Just create a plan and commit to it.

Many people find having a workout buddy helps with motivation as skipping a run will now mean letting someone else down as well as yourself. If you’re more like me and love to workout alone, then this commitment is a little more difficult to stick to as the promise will only be made to yourself. No one will know if you skipped your workout to eat potato chips on the couch, except yourself. But who are you doing this all for anyway? Who cares about anyone else and who you let down. It will be you that has to deal with the regret of not taking that amazing opportunity to finally better yourself.  You decide if you want to half ass this, or commit fully.

  

#2 – Eat your weight in protein. Take your weight in kilograms and that is how many grams of protein you should be eating/day. For example, I weigh 56 kilos, therefore I should be eating 56gr of protein minimum/day. This is your base. However, as we go through the month, we will learn about the best sources of protein.  As a basic rule, have variety. Include eggs, fish, chicken, lentils, beans, whole grains. A great source to calculate how much protein you are consuming is The Virtual Nutritionist - http://virtualnutritionist.com/ihn/usda2.htm. I will help you along with recipes and protein sources.

 We made it through January wondering if we would succeed. Some days we did, some days we didn’t. However, everyday we pushed ourselves, working towards a goal. Lets do the same for February. Remember what you are doing this all for – to get Marvelous!!!