Protein!

[elfs]

So, this morning, following one of the many lifehacks I've collected over the past couple of months, I decided that instead of coffee in the morning, I would put a glass of milk and a handful of protein powder in my thermos and shake well.

I had picked up the powder at a little health-food store on the way home, three packets for something like five bucks, one per day... a bit pricey, but this was just an experiment. I dutifully ignored the "to avoid carbs, use soy milk" and use the real cow stuff, giving me about 34 grams of protein.

I then went and geeked for about ten minutes to let the protein get into my system. I then did a quick morning exercise: two abs exercises and one set of arm/shoulders, using this crazy technique that seems to really work and gives a good cardio boost in the meantime.

I noticed two things: first, my wrists don't hurt. I don't know if I can attribute that to the protein or the exercises (the push-ups at the above link can be wrist-intensive) but my wrists simply don't ache this morning. Now, admittedly I haven't been writing at the furious rate I did last week-- I did 10,000 words last week-- but I'm still writing every day and I'm noticing any problems right now.

The other, more interesting effect was that as I drove into work this morning, I was able to do my Japanese lessons faster. I didn't have to pause the jukebox to keep up. It was quite interesting to rip through lesson 74 with solid recovery of older lessons and without much fumbling. I should try this more often.

Comments

Protein

[happy-hacker.livejournal.com]

Been doing the reduced (not low) carb thing for a while. And yes, a high protein breakfast does some interesting things. First, it sticks with you longer, so you don't have a blood sugar dropoff about 2-3 hours after breakfast. When your blood sugar's not bouncing around, IMHO your brain does work better. As for real milk, of course you'd use that. You need calcium and all the other things cow milk brings to the table, and IMHO some carbs, particularly with breakfast are important - carbs are good when you need energy *now*. Like getting up in the morning.

High-protein breakfast

[jenkitty.livejournal.com]

Ahh, the high-protein breakfast. I've been doing that for a couple of months now, with good results. Granted, I prefer a heartier breakfast than just milk and powder, so I employ mixed fruit and the blender. My recipe:

1 banana
1/2 cup (or thereabouts) frozen fruit of choice (I like mangoes)
1/2 cup (or thereabouts) plain nonfat yogurt
A healthy splash of milk or juice, enough to facilitate the blending
2 scoops protein powder from Trader Joe's (24g proten)
1/3 cup dry rolled oats

Blend and drink. Add a spoonful of honey during the blending if it's not sweet enough. Runs between 350-450 calories, not bad for a full meal, and there's enough fiber there to keep it with me all morning. The frozen fruit takes the place of ice cubes, since I don't like my smoothies watered down.

Re: High-protein breakfast

[dakiwiboid.livejournal.com]

Any suggestions for those of us who can't eat bananas?

Re: High-protein breakfast

[jenkitty.livejournal.com]

Depends on what you want to accomplish. A couple of peeled kiwifruit (no pun intended, m'dear), perhaps, or a soft apple if you have one. Avocado, if you're feeling terribly adventurous, but it shoots the lowfat aspect out of the water and, in my opinion, is probably a waste of a good avocado. A couple of spoonfuls of peanut butter. Any extra fruit of your choice. A stiffer yogurt. Smoothies are terribly versatile that way. I just happen to like bananas, so I never experimented.