More Lifting, More Losing

Hey everyone : ) and Happy Palm Sunday!!

First off, in case you hadn't noticed ... I thought I'd point out that I recently switched my URL to http://www.lesleylivinglife.com.

As you can tell, I haven't been posting as much as normal because I realized that I just couldn't keep up with that! Ha, my life is very busy and it's much easier on myself to not post as often (so if you don't see me on your blog as often as normal, just know that I'm still around ; )

For this post, I thought I'd continue with the fitness theme a little more. After the last post, I realize that pretty much ALL of us have been or are intimidated by some aspect of working out. I think overcoming that is just about realizing that you're not the only one who doesn't know what you're doing! And other people in the gym are probably either intimidated by YOU, or they're just so into their own workout that they don't even know you're there. : )

And to transition this post .... my husband likes to snap random pictures of me occasionally and here is my "you-better-stop-taking-pictures-of-me-punk, but-i-can't-help-but-smile-anyways" face ;) I love my husband ... I always brag about him, but he's worth bragging about!! (Girls, don't settle for less than the best ... there are wonderful guys out there!!! : ) Onto some more fitness ... I was reading an old Women's Health issue and there was an article that perked my interest. As you can tell, I've recently been getting more into lifting and guess what this article was about? Yep, pumping iron. Now all this stuff my husband had been telling me, but it was perfect timing to read because I had just been thinking about it all. (And it helps to get things reaffirmed like that).

As my husband had been telling me that I never knew is that by lifting weights and reducing body fat by having more muscle, it also speeds up your metabolism because muscle, unlike fat, is metabolically active, therefore the more muscle you have, the more calories you're going to loose just don't nothing. As Women's Health said, "replace 10 pounds of fat with 10 pounds of lean muscle and you'll burn an additional 25 to 50 calories a day without even trying."Here's a couple other stats that I thought were interesting:

"A study in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning research found that women who completed an hour-long strength-training workout burned an average of 100 more calories in the 24 hours afterward than they did when they hadn't lifted weights. At three sessions a week, that's 15,600 calories a year, or about five and a half pounds of fat - without having to move a muscle"

"A recent study at the University of Alabama at Birmingham compared dieters who lifted three times a week with those who did aerobic exercise for the same amount of time. Both groups ate the same number of calories, and both lost the same amount -26 pounds - but the lifters lost pure chub, while about 8 percent of the aerobicizers' drop came from valuable muscle."

So, if you've been wondering about lifting ... there's a few great reasons to try it! ; ) At first, I hated it but I'm beginning to really enjoy it as a part of my fitness routine.

One thing to keep in mind though, is to not short yourself on important workout fuel such as protein. Reason being ... if not fueled properly, you can end up losing muscle along with any fat that you might have lost, bringing you back to where you started. My husband suggests eating one gram of protein for every pound of your body weight that does not come from fat (the average woman's body fat is slightly about 25 percent). So an average women weighing 130 pounds would need around 100 grams of protein a day. (Some good sources of protein I eat are chicken, other lean meats, eggs, and greek yogurt).

And to end the post I thought I'd share my new favorite thing to have for lunch ... this combo is just so good ... I call it Delicious Egg and Cucumber Salad
Contents:
-Spinach leaves
-1/3 of a cucumber chopped into bite sized pieces
-1/3 of a rep pepper
-1 small Roma tomato, chopped
-1 cup brown rice
-2 egg whites, one whole egg, scrambled
-litte bit of an onion, chopped
-Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb seasoning
-Pepper
-Olive Oil
-Balsamic vinegar

I find this salad to be very filling, balanced, refreshing, and delicious.

I hope you all have a wonderful week leading up to Easter!

I think of the garden after the rain;
And hope to my heart comes singing,
At morn the cherry-blooms will be white,
And the Easter bells be ringing!
~Edna Dean Proctor, "Easter Bells"