borinquenhoney’s BodyBlog

Ok, my question may be silly but it needs to be asked. Ever since I began exercising, my veins have been more pronounced. Not that they pop out. That hasn’t happened (yet). But I can see the blue and red lines a lot more over my body. Why does this happen? And how can I get them to actually "pop" out more. I like veiny arms. If that’s even a word. Thanks.

So far I have been eating fairly well. You know, veggies, good carbs, lots of protein. Blah, blah. Anyways, I have been reading that carb cycling is a good way to eat and lose fat especially when nearing a plateau. I wanted to know, who out there does this and has it worked for you? And what does your carb cycling entail. The one I plan on doing is High Carb, Low Carb and No carb. I still have no idea how to get away with the low carb. I guess I’ll be eating a lot of veggies, chicken, tuna and egg whites on that day.

So, I see that many nutritionists and people on here recommend to take Fish Oil or Flaxseed. I’m guessing it is due to the Omega-3. Now on to my questions. Is there a maximum amount of mg of omega 3’s that one can take daily? I’ve read about many benefits of fish oil not too many on flaxseed. Is it better to take both or will one be enough? If I take the two, is that too much omega 3’s? Does anything I say make sense to you? Plus, if I decide to take fish oil, which may be the way i’ll go, is there a brand that might be the best one? Does it matter which brand it is? Or is it all about the fishy aftertaste?

Okay, after weeks of going back and forth I finally decided that I’m going to start drinking those Whey protein drinks as replacements for those extra two meals everybody talks about. Okay, now I’ve been reading about Casein protein and it’s benefits due to it being a slow digesting protein. And it seems that it is better in terms of fat reduction than Whey. So, my question is has anybody had any experience with Casein protein and is it wise to combine scoops of both Whey and Casein? Thanks to any responses out there.

So, I know that I’m supposed to be eating five meals a day. I mean who seriously has the time to do that but I want to give it a try. Ever since I started eating healthy (otherwise known as depriving myself from the heavenly tastes put on this earth such as chocolate, pizza, etc.) I have been eating much less since my appetite has gone down. Now, the problem is that I have learned how important protein is in being healthy and in losing weight (i.e. just another damn thing I have to change about my lifestyle, what else people). Anyways, I do love eating healthy, but my lack of protein does concern me. I work full time and I’m a grad student, I simply don’t have much time to be cooking myself some chicken or pretty much anything. Now, most supplements that I’ve seen here with good amounts of protein say that it’s not for weight loss.

 Are there any that can help in the protein department, help in my weight loss goals, and help me in developing my muscles without bulking? Preferably, things that I can make into shakes so they can be meal replacements for those pesky 5 meals you healthy people are always going on about.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Man, I miss chocolate.

Let me tell you something about metabolism. It is awesome. Because, and I must confess, I cheated this week. And bad. I had nuggets and fries on Wednesday. I had a burger on Friday plus drinks that evening. On Saturday I had a personal pepperoni pizza. That’s right I cheated really really bad. Wanna know how much I gained? Zero. Sure, I didn’t lose anything, but that was expected. The most important thing is I didn’t gain. Why? Because no matter what is going on, I try to go the gym at least 3 times a week and because I’m not afraid of weights.

Women, believing the "bulking" myth, avoid to do weights and end up doing cardio all the time. Cardio is great for burning calories. But strength training fires up your metabolism much faster than cardio. After a cardio workout, your metabolism is still on fire for half an hour. So you can eat something right after without much concern of those nasty calories sticking to you. But did you know that after strength training, your metabolism is still burning off calories after 2 HOURS!!! Why do you think I ate that pizza right after the gym. Now, I’m not proud of cheating and I definitely will get back on track next week, but I am loving the weights. So ladies, no need to be afraid of those dumbells or barbells or those complicated weight machines. Sure, the cardio will help you in losing fat, but strength training will keep you tight and avoid future sagging.

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