Exercise/Diet Support Group

I throughly enjoyed yesterday's session with the personal trainer. I got to hit the punching bag in between sets of exercises. Boxing gloves are very cool.

The trainer was like "where is all this coming from?" when I started throwing punches at the bag, harder than he thought I would. I replied "there's nothing like hitting something to get rid of any latent hostility." The expression on his face was priceless.

Has anyone used any special supplements, including the following:

- protein powder and/or protein bars
- amino acids
- Omega 3 fish oil
- L Arginine

If yes, what were the benefits and/or side effects?

I take omega fish oil as there are supposed to be benefits to the heart...no downside to this for me

I've been taking the fish oil for a long time with no side effects, too. The others are supplements I'm looking into.

i don't go anywhere protein bars, shakes, or supplements... or if i did, i would use a raw vegan protein source. soy protein, whey protein... nothing good about either, IMO, despite lots of marketing hype.

fish oil... i like to get it straight from the source. sardines.
i currently use hemp seeds for EFA and protein supplementation.

amino acids... i get plenty from LGSs and other living foods.

fascination said:

I take omega fish oil as there are supposed to be benefits to the heart...no downside to this for me

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Me too. <3

Actually I take fish oil, flax seed oil and borage oil together in one capsule.

I tried protein powder when I had a personal trainer, but G A S - whew!

Purr said:

I throughly enjoyed yesterday's session with the personal trainer. I got to hit the punching bag in between sets of exercises. Boxing gloves are very cool.

The trainer was like "where is all this coming from?" when I started throwing punches at the bag, harder than he thought I would. I replied "there's nothing like hitting something to get rid of any latent hostility." The expression on his face was priceless.

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one of the best exercises i did was cardio kickboxing, it gave me so much energy right after the class. Pretty awesome moves too when you box and kick, and yes, I liked the boxing gloves, I almost myself some lime green colored ones I had to give it up tho when I picked up ballroom dancing , can't pay for gym and ballroom classes at the same time

samina said:

i don't go anywhere protein bars, shakes, or supplements... or if i did, i would use a raw vegan protein source. soy protein, whey protein... nothing good about either, IMO, despite lots of marketing hype.

fish oil... i like to get it straight from the source. sardines.
i currently use hemp seeds for EFA and protein supplementation.

amino acids... i get plenty from LGSs and other living foods.

Click to expand...

What are good sources of protein? You mentioned soy protein and whey protein, which I'm not sure what it is or where I can buy it. I don't like eggs, which I believe are a protein source. I also don't eat a lot of meat either, another source of protein.

I crash really bad after a hard workout at the gym, or after a lot of dancing. It's been suggested to me by several people that I'm not getting enough protein in my diet.

Believe she was saying not to eat soy or whey protein, which is the protein sourc ein most protein bars, shakes, etc.

Legumes. Fantastic sources of protein.

In fact, I believe someone posted a great recipe for lentils that you can whip up in a big batch on weekends, then keep in small gladware containers. Have a bit before, bit after workout.

Or chickpeas. They're an even better source of protein. Mmm...curried chickpeas...

speakign of, polished off my hummus again, need to make another batch.

I have had positive experiences with whey protein shakes. When I used to go to the gym in the morning, it was the only thing that would sustain me through a really hard workout without my being famished by the end of it. It was a quick shot that took about 30 seconds to mix and drink, and then I was satisfied and energetic throughout my workout. Anything else I would eat, it was either too much food pre-workout and felt heavy in my stomach, or wasn't enough and about halfway through my workout I was distracted by hunger pains.

Someday when I'm able to go back to morning workouts, I'll probably start drinking the whey protein shakes again.

As of this morning, I have only 6 lbs more of baby weight left. So now I weigh less than I did the last time I competed when I was about 4+ months pregnant. So my dress won't look quite as good as it has in the past, but hopefully it will look good enough that I won't be self conscious. Or maybe if it looks bad I won't know until I see the video and then it's too late to stress over it! Haha!

Strength and stamina are slowly returning, although I notice that towards the end of practice my abdominals get fatigued resulting in lower back pain. I'll just have to keep working at building my strength back up!