What in the World is Kombucha?

Now that I have been on the Body Fat Challenge for 3 weeks, eating can get a little monotonous. So, I have been on the lookout for foods that are delicious, but also fit into my diet.

One of my favorite finds of the past few weeks is a drink called Kombucha. Literally speaking, Kombucha is a fermented tea that has been used to aid digestion and other issues since the 5th century AD. It may have been around for 1600 years, but I had never heard of it!

The first brand of Kombucha that I tried is made by Synergy. They have a wide range of flavors and have two types of Kombucha drinks. The first is 100% Kombucha and the other is 95% Kombucha mixed with 5% organic fruit juice. Kombucha tastes a little like vinegar and I cannot handle the 100% variety all that well, but I LOVE the kind that is mixed with the juice. Luckily, even the juice-mixed variety is low in calories and carbs!

While I was at Mother's Market, I actually passed by a taste-test for another brand of Kombucha drink made by a company called High Country Kombucha. They also have a wide variety of flavors. This product has a little bit of a mellower taste....which is very good....but I think I prefer the bite of the Synergy brand. The guy handing out the samples pointed out that Synergy uses a dairy-based strain of probiotics, and they don't. This is worth noting for those of you who are vegan, but overall I would still go for Synergy.

So I am the newest Kombucha enthusiast, but there is a lot to learn about this wonder tonic. I found this blog post that sums up what Kombucha is in just a few lines. Granted, the post is a review of Synergy Kombucha that isn't very good, but still great information. It is definitely an acquired taste!

"Kombucha is inappropriately referred to as a mushroom. Actually it is the symbiosis of a live culture, much like what is found in yogurt, when mixed with yeast and fed a diet of sweetened black or green tea. The result is a filtered sparkling beverage, Kombucha tea, that holds the health properties of the cultures, as well as a slight alcohol content (less than 0.5%) from the fermentation. Essential nutrients are then present after fermentation such as active enzymes, viable probiotics, amino acids, antioxidants and polyphenols." - ReallyNatural.com

I will say that every time I drink this I have CRAZY energy!

Body Fat Challenge - Week 2

This week I purchased a body fat calculator to monitor my progress at home.

I also talk about my favorite iPhone application for working out at home...Couch to 5k. It is great for those of us who are intimidated by running long distances. The program starts out with 60 sec intervals of running and 90 sec intervals of walking. It is amazing how fast I have been able to build up my running endurance. LOVE IT!!!

Why We Need Protein & Anti-Oxidants During Weight Loss

During a fitness boot camp I attended last year, I also got to see a nutritional presentation on how to eat for weight loss. One of the principles the nutritionist went over was how protein shakes should be consumed after a workout for optimal lean muscle growth. I have since then done some additional research and it looks like many sources suggest drinking protein before a workout and others suggest after.

Turns out BOTH are right! I found this website that gives a very nice and simple explanation on the arguments for both opinions. Read it and decide what's best for you!

As far as YOR Health's MRP product, it is much more than a protein shake because it also contains so many essential vitamins and minerals, but the same principles of protein drinks should apply as far as when to drink it for optimal muscle growth and fat burning.

Here is a quick snippit from the article referenced above.

"Consuming a protein drink, defined as a “quality” protein drink, has definite advantages. When you are dieting, you could lose fat, or you could lose muscle. You body requires a certain amount of amino acids (a component of protein), to survive. If you do not provide your body with sufficient amino acids, or a complete array of essential amino acids, YOUR BODY WILL CANNIBALIZE YOUR OWN MUSCLE! This is a really big NO NO. You want to lose fat, not muscle. Cheap protein drinks will be lacking in a full spectrum of essential amino acids. Cheap protein drinks are hard to digest, and are hard on your kidneys. Quality protein drinks a well worth the extra investment."

The doctor who wrote this article goes on to talk about how when your fat cells shrink (during weight loss) toxins are released from the fat cells into your body. Here is the quote:

"Fat cells store toxins. As you lose extra content in your fat cells, you will also be discharging the majority of the toxins that were in the same fat cells. You will not lose the fat cells; you will only be decreasing the size of the fat cells. Our environment is loaded with toxins, and our bodies are also loaded with toxins."

This is a seriously GREAT reason to take the YOR SuperGreens even if you're primarily concerned about weight loss. As your fat cells release those toxins into your body, the YOR SuperGreens helps remove them with it's super potent anti-oxidant power. It truly does work the best as a system!

BMR vs. BMI

I first heard about BMR when I was listening to Jillian Michaels' old radio show, and I initially thought she was just talking about BMI or Body Mass Index. BMR is different, it stands for Basal Metabolic Rate, and essentially represents the amount of calories you would burn if you were to lie in bed all day. So if you did absolutely nothing, you would still burn that many calories. BMR Calculators are a great tool when you're trying to set your daily caloric intake goals.

My BMR is 1557.4. That means that if I go under that amount of calories per day my body will go into starvation mode. Then I will have difficulty burning excess fat because my body will be holding on to everything it's got in order to get me through a time when there isn't enough food.

When I first heard about this I was ecstatic! You mean I shouldn't live off of 500 calories a day if I want to lose fat??? Awesome!

Although they are not the same thing, both your BMR and your BMI are important numbers to know. It's pretty common knowledge at this point, but for those that don't know.... your BMI indicates whether you are at a healthy weight for your height. So if you're embarking on a weight loss or health challenge of your own, make sure you know both of you numbers!

BFC Video Post - Week 1!!!

Body Fat Challenge - Week 1!!!

Well it's officially been an entire week since I started the BFC. I am down 4 lbs so far and feeling great! I wasn't able to exercise quite as much as I wanted to this week, but that's one of the aspects I love most about YOR Health Products... even if I don't get to exercise as much one particular week I can still lose weight. This definitely is a great motivating factor that keeps me excited to keep going and try harder!

So I would also like to give a big shout out to all of the ladies that attended "Ladies Night" at Erin's house! I had a great time and cannot wait to do it again. I will be putting some links up for the other ladies' jewelry a little later when I post my first VLOG today!

I am off to clean the house and go for a run after that! Happy Super Bowl!

Body Fat Challenge - Day 4

So it's the 4th day of my BFC and I'm feeling great! I haven't been able to do quite as much exercise as I was hoping, but the YOR Health Regimen is going great. It's amazing how fast these products make you feel thinner. My theory is that it must be because my body is getting into balance and eliminating all of the toxins.

I am definitely going to step it up in the exercise department the rest of the week. It's so funny, I always feel more motivated to work out when I am already losing weight through diet.

Stay tuned, and I will be posting my first video update on the BFC this Saturday.