Don't Sabotage Your Workout With A "Reward!"

We are definitely a reward-based society. Every time we do something good, we want to be rewarded
or recognized. Nothing wrong with a reward, but let's save it for the big stuff, like finishing training for your first 5K race, crossing the finish line of a Marathon, or setting a new PR, not for finishing your Wednesday night workout.

We have all been guilty at times of using our "workout" as justification for having that treat. "Oh, I just worked out. Now I can have the beer, candy bar, triple chocolate brownie, sundae, or those fries....oh those fries."

Problem is the general public tends to way over estimate their calorie burn from a workout. To give you and idea of what I'm  (male/5'6"/135lbs/50yrs old) actually burning in a typical 1-hour workout, check out the stats below:
Vigorous weight lifting = 372 calories
Circuit Training-Cross Fit = 518 calories
Vigorous Spinning Class = 696 calories
Running at a 10-min pace = 615 calories
Running at a 8:34-min pace = 704 calories

Keep in mind that the stats above are for 60 minutes of solid working out. Not one hour of doing some reps, talking with a friend, doing a few more reps, talking to another friend, and so on.

Big box gyms often come equipped with a smoothie or juice bar. Nothing wrong with that. I've even played around with the idea of offering them here at my fitness studio. Problem is, if you're not the one making the smoothie, you have no idea how many calories are going into that smoothie.

For example, Smoothie King's 20oz High Protein Chocolate Smoothie has 366 calories. So for my one hour of heavy weight lifting, I netted out with a burn of  6 calories, if I treat myself to this smoothie! BUT.....keep in mind ,the 20oz is their small. When I 've been at Smoothie King, I rarely see a person order a 20oz, unless it's for a kid. Usually patrons are ordering the 32oz or the 40oz. For that same Chocolate smoothie, the 32oz packs 549 cals and the 40oz packs a whopping 732 calories. So, if I ordered either of the 2 larger sizes, I've just taken in 177 or 360 more calories than I actually burned working out. Maybe if I had  run for 60 mins the 20oz would be an appropriate refueling snack post workout. When I do my long 20+ milers, I make a pretty high calorie smoothie. I've burned about 2500 calories on the run and my smoothie that I make myself contains about 565 calories and is about 20oz.

You can quickly see if you're not aware of how many calories your burning and what you're treating yourself with post workout, you may just be sabotaging all your hard work. Now I'm not trying to make Smoothie King or any smoothie shop the bad guy. They have a product to sell and for the most part it's a good product. I've never been in a Smoothie King where they've tried to push the 40oz "The Hulk" strawberry smoothie with  1928 calories on me. It's up to me as the consumer to know what I'm eating or drinking.

So how much should you eat after a run? In her book, Food Guide for Marathoners, sports nutrition guru, Nancy Clark recommends you take in 200-400calories comprised of about 50-100g of carbs and about 10g of protein within an hour of running. I tell my runners to try and get it in within 30 mins of completing their run. Now keep in mind the range of 200-400 calories. 400 calories is more appropriate following a really hard speed workout or long run, while 200 calories is more appropriate following an easy run. My smoothie is a little more than the 400 calorie limit, but like I mentioned earlier, I only drink that after a 20+ mile run. Twelve ounces of 1% chocolate milk has 240 calories and 16g of protein. making it a perfect post-run recovery snack for a shorter less intense run. Other good options include Greek or traditional yogurt with added fruit, a bagel with peanut butter, an energy bar (be sure to read the label for calorie and carb/protein content), a peanut butter and banana sandwich, spaghetti with meat sauce, or a turkey sandwich, etc.

Celebrate the small gains you make in your fitness and running with the satisfaction of a job well done, and save those "treats" for the big long-term accomplishments. Save those extra calories for that celebratory victory meal with your friends and family.

Pick the Best Bar for the Length of Your Run

In a rush before a run? Need to eat, but don't have time to make something? Creating your own snacks is always best because you know exactly what's going into your body, but sometimes convenience trumps best practice. Best to get in some prepackaged nutrition to support your run than no nutrition at all. But which prepackaged foods are best for your different types of runs?

Below are some suggestions for prepackaged foods such as energy and protein bars wafers, waffles, and crackers. The foods are sorted by caloric needs based on the length of your run. These are not the only options for each category, but it's a good start. Always read the nutrition label to see if the calorie count of the chosen food supports the caloric needs of the run.

30-TO 60-MINUTE RUN--You need 150-200 calories

• Balance Bar (Original): Chocolate Raspberry-180 cals
• Balance Bar Dark: Chocolate Caramel Macchiato or Chocolate Crunch-180 cals
• Kind Energy Bar: 180 cals
• Fiber One Protein Bars: Trail Mix-130 cals; Oats & Chocolate or Oats & Peanut Butter-140 cals 
• Honey Stinger Waffle: Ginger Snaps, Vanilla, Chocolate-160 cals
• Honey Stinger Protein Bar: Peanut Butter-190 cals
• Honey Stinger Energy Bar: Berry Banana Buzz-180 cals; Peanut Butter’n Honey-190 cals
• Kashi Chewy Granola Bar: Chocolate Almond & Sea Salt-140 cals
• Lance: Toasty Peanut Butter Crackers-180 cals; Toast Chee Reduced Fat Peanut Butter Crackers- 190 cals
• Lara Bar: Blueberry, Carrot Cake, Apple Pie-190 cals
• Luna  Bar: Carrot Cake, Blueberry Bliss, or Nuts Over Chocolate-180 cals
• Luna Protein Bar: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough-170 cals
• Nature Valley Peanut Butter Energy Bar-190 cals
• Nutri Grain Bars: Blueberry, Raspberry, Apple Cinnamon-120 cals
• Odwalla Bars for Kids: Strawberry Score or Banana Dunk-130 cals; Chocolate Chip Kick-140 cals
• PowerBar: Energy Wafer Berry Yogurt-170 cals; Chocolate Peanut Butter-180 cals
• PROBAR Fruition: Cran-Raspberry-160 cals
• Special K Protein Meal Bars: Strawberry and Cranberry Walnut-170 cals; Chocolate Peanut Butter, Honey Almond-180 cals
• Special K Nourish Bar: Lemon Twist-160 cals

60-TO 90-MINUTE RUN--You need 200-250 calories

• Balance Bar Gold: Lemon Meringue Crunch, Chocolate Peanut Butter, or Chocolate Mint Cookie Crunch-200 cals
• Balance Bar (Original): Double Chocolate Brownie, Honey Peanut, and Yogurt Honey Peanut-200 cals
• Cliff Energy Bar: Chocolate Brownie, Apricot, Oatmeal Raisin, Chocolate Chip-240 cals
• Lance: Whole Grain Peanut Butter Crackers or Toast Chee Reduced Fat Peanut Butter Crackers-210 cals
• Lara Bar: Cherry Pie, Cherry Fruit & Nut, or Cappuccino-200 cals; Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough-210 cals; Banana Bread or Peanut Butter-230 cals; Chocolate Coconut Chew-240 cals
• Odwalla: Chocolate Almond, Blueberry Swirl, or Orange Cranberry-200 cals; Chocolate Chip Peanut-230 cals
• Power Bar Performance Energy Bar: Fruit & Nut-220 cals, Chocolate or Vanilla Crips-240 cals
• Snickers Marathon Energy Bar: Chewy Chocolate Peanut-210 cals

90-MINUTE TO 2-HOUR RUN--You need 250-300 calories

• Bear Naked Energy Bar: Chocolate Chip Peanut or Almond Cranberry-250 cals
• Cliff Bar: Black Cherry Almond-250 cals; Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Crunch or White Chocolate Macadamia Nut-260 cals
• Cliff Bar Builders: Chocolate-270 cals
• Power Bar Harvest Energy: Double Chocolate Crisp-250 cals
• Snickers Marathon Protein Bar: Caramel Nut Rush-290 cals

A Healthy Energy Bar That Tastes Good?

I've posted numerous times on the importance of fueling your runs and refueling after a workout. Your body needs quality energy to support your training, especially on those tough long runs or those speed workouts. And it's just as important to refuel to help support and ensure fast muscle recovery.

There are a ton of sports nutrition foods on the market. Like most anything, there's quality and then there's junk. Some sports bars are mainly glorified candy bars (full of fat and sugar), while others may be healthy but taste like cardboard. If you're like me and been running for any length of time (over 25 years, man I'm feeling old), then I'm sure you've tried them all. And if you're a connoisseur of sports nutrition, you've probably honed in one or two brands of that you prefer. If you're like me, once you've found something that you like and that works for you, you're hard-up to change.

The other day, I was contacted by Erin DeMarines. Erin is a competitive triathlete, certified nutritional consultant, certified sports nutritional consultant, certified personal trainer, and fitness model. Erin's also the founder of E-Fit Foods, Inc. and the creator of 3BAR. 3BAR has grown to become a leading energy bar of triathletes and people seeking a "clean, natural, low sugar, wheat and gluten free, and vegan energy bar.

Okay, I can hear the wheels screeching to a halt. I know, I know.....you heard all those "healthy" terms—clean, natural, vegan—and you're thinking two things....flower child and cardboard. I know, I know. But there's one thing I learned in my 45 years—most anything is worth trying once. You miss out on a lot of good eating, fun, and life if you're not open to trying new things. So, when Erin asked if I would like to test out 3BAR, I said, "Why sure!"

I received three different flavors of bars to try—Blueberry Blast, Tropical Tri, and Cocoa Crunch. The flavors sounded good. First thing I do when I try out a new energy bar is read the label. First thing I read was "vegan, kosher, wheat free, dairy free, gluten free, trans-fat free, cholesterol-free, GMO free , all natural....... my initial response to that was, "Healthy." My second response was, "Ut oh....cardboard nightmare!" But the last descriptor said, "Great Taste!" So, I held out some hope.

Before digging into a bar, I decided to read a little more about how the bars came to be. Come to find out Erin based the recipe off of a cookie recipe from her grandmother. She tweaked and refined it while making it for her personal training clients. The demand from clients grew until eventually 3BAR was born. Well, anything that begins with a grandma, has to be good. Right?

I received 6 bars (2 of each flavor—Blueberry Blast, Tropical Tri, and Cocoa Crunch). I'm currently in training for the Marine Corps Marathon as well as running with my groups I'm coaching, so nutrition and fueling is really important. Plus the North Carolina heat and humidity is really zapping me of my energy. Three times I ate a bar before a long run and three times I used the bars for refueling after an intense workout.

I'm happy to report the bars worked well in both situations. Before the run, it gave me what I needed for the long-haul without making me feel too full nor did it give me stomach issues on the run. When I ate them afterwards, they were easily and quickly digested and really seemed to help in my post run recovery.

The best thing is that even though the bars are free of just about everything, they are pretty dang tasty. My favorite flavors are the Tropical Tri and the Cocoa Crunch. Nothing wrong with the Blueberry Blast either, I'm just more of a chocolate and nut guy. The Cocoa Crunch has chocolate and peanut butter and the Tropical Tri has almond butter, chocolate and coconut.

So, can a bar that's vegan, kosher, wheat free, dairy free, gluten free, trans-fat free, cholesterol-free, GMO free , and all natural taste good? Hell yeah! Give it a try. Check out the website. Also check out this video clip where Erin talks about 3BAR herself.

Note: While I was contacted by Erin DeMarines to test and review samples of 3BAR, I was in no way compensated for the review nor was I encouraged to write a positive review. The review is based soley on my personal experience using the product.