heart rate

I wore my heart rate monitor at the gym yesterday. I wanted to be able to track my calorie burn accurately instead of just guessing. Boy was I surprised! From start to finish, my workout was 59 minutes 33 seconds. And I burned 452 calories. The really cool thing about it is, I was on one of those step/elliptical machines that have a heart rate monitor built into the handles so as you are holding on, it tracks your heart rate. The really SUPER cool thing is I was glancing at the heart rate monitor that I was wearing and it was DEAD ON EXACT the entire time! Gotta love when technology doesn't let you down!

So I did the machine for 30 minutes, alternating between a high tension stepping motion and a lower tension, yet faster paced, more true elliptical style motion. Then, I did weight training for my shoulders, biceps and triceps. Just because. Nothing heavy or demanding. So I was really surprised at how many calories I burned in that hour. I really wish I would have worn it while training heavy, just out of curiosity. But since my training style has changed a little, and is more circuit based, constantly moving sorta thing, I will wear it to see what I'm burning when I'm not doing a "cardio specific" workout. Can't wait!

I'm bursting with energy this week and I'm almost positive it has 100% everything to do with my diet. Typically right now I would probably feel a little bloated and lower energy, just because of where I am in my cycle. But I'm through the roof amped. People, if you want to feel better, eat better! Seriously.

A few weeks ago, I went to GNC to buy some powdered aminos. I am used to swallowing the gigantic pills that I have right now, but I wanted to try the powder, just to try it. I was hesitant because it comes in all kinds of fruity flavors and I am absolutely disgusted by sugary tasting drinks: soda, unnatural fruity drinks, kool aid, Gatorade, etc. But, it was on sale so I thought, what the hell. I took some and went downstairs to do a HIIT session. Well, I started to feel really funny. So much so that I had to cut my session short. And the funny feeling lasted a really long time. I was so jittery and uneasy. And since I'm easily prone to anxious and jittery feelings anyway, this was not a comfortable feeling for me.

Let's back up: I've been taking this stuff called Prograde Metabolism , which is supposed to kick ass in the fat loss department. I haven't seen any benefit from it yet because I have only just started my "fat loss" mode and it can take up to 6 weeks to notice it working. I think I've been taking it for a month now. Anyway, you are supposed to kind of stay away from extra caffeine while taking this stuff. When I take it, sometimes I get really flushed for about 5 minutes. My face, neck, arms and chest get all red and blotchy. Suddenly, one day, I realized why I got all funny feeling that day after trying my powdered aminos. Turns out, it's got a little "extra boost" in it. It's called Amino Energy (I didn't notice this when I bought it) and it's got an energy blend in it called caffeine caffeine caffeine! So I got a mega dose of uppity up that day and it didn't really work to my advantage. It just made me feel yucky. And yes, I thought the Blue Raspberry flavor I chose was horrid. But I'm sure I wouldn't have liked any of the other options either.

Moral of the story: always be aware of what's in what you are taking. And if you don't feel right on something, listen to your body.