2017 was a stressful time and not great for my fitness goals so in 2018 I found myself needing to lose a decent amount of weight again. 🙁 I'm a few lbs away from my goal and thought others might be interested in knowing how I'm doing it and what free apps I use to help.

In the beginning of 2018 I just focussed on exercising more and trying to be more careful of what I ate. More vegetables and fruits, less fried foods, cut out eating out almost entirely, no more making cheesecake or ice cream (which really hurt,) etc. Exercise became more frequent as well. I started making time to hike regularly again.

The weight was coming off but it was slow. Then in October 2018 I set a goal to lose 2 lbs a week. That's pretty tough but there are a few apps and other tools I use to help me stay on track and monitor my progress so I can lose the weight faster.

This is the breakfast I actually eat every morning. Not the one I intend to make when I am feeling ambitious on a Sunday, but the one that is actually in the fridge waiting for me. Overnight oats with whey protein, Greek yogurt, flax seed, mixed nuts, and frozen berries. It delivers 37 grams of protein and keeps me full significantly longer than anything that comes in a pouch.

The upfront cost is higher than it looks because some ingredients like protein powder and nuts come in larger packages, but once you have those the per-serving cost comes out to about $2.21. A 42 oz container of oats and a bag of flax seed will cover nearly 4 batches. A bag of nuts covers 3. The protein powder alone will last over 5 batches. The only things you re-buy regularly are milk, frozen berries, and Greek yogurt.

There is also a reason beyond convenience for why this particular breakfast is worth being specific about, and it has nothing to do with the taste.

Today I saw a news story about the U.S. Military getting pulled into America’s obesity mess because they’re turning away a lot of potential recruits who are too fat to serve.

It reminded me of a couple of free, genuinely useful nutrition + training guides that don’t feel like they were written to sell you a tub of powder or a “system.” And the Texans manual drops one line that made me laugh and also kind of hate how true it is.

Every time you exercise hard, your muscles burn through stored glycogen for fuel. Getting that glycogen back quickly is the whole point of a post-workout recovery drink, and research suggests the 30 to 60 minute window after your workout is when your body is most primed to do it. The question is which drink actually does the job best, and whether the expensive ones are worth it compared to something you might already have at home.

Carbohydrates are the primary source of glucose your muscles need to replenish glycogen, so carb content is the main thing that matters. But research has consistently shown that adding protein alongside those carbs increases glycogen resynthesis beyond what carbs alone provide. Most sports nutrition guidance puts the optimal ratio of carbohydrates to protein somewhere between 2:1 and 4:1.

I went through the numbers on the most commonly recommended options to see which one actually comes out ahead once you account for carb content and cost per serving. One of them surprised me a little.