Vitamins and Vitamin B

Date: 2/27/2012

Workout: 5:45am Kickboxing/Strength Combo at Fitness One, Teaching a Spinning Class at :30pm at the Rush

                I felt kind of slow in my workout this morning. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s Monday or what but I had a hard time pushing myself. Hopefully I will be better tonight for my Spinning class and for my workouts the rest of this week.

Food:

Breakfast: Plain Instant Oatmeal, 1/2c. Frozen Mixed Berries, and a handful of nuts: 220 Calories, 30g Carbs (22 net), 8g Protein, 8g Fiber, 9g Fat, 95mg Sodium, 5g Sugar
Morning Snack: Light Frigo Cheese stick and 16 Wheat Thins: 190 Calories, 22g Carbs (21 net), 10g Protein, 1g Fiber, 6g Fat, 490mg Sodium, 3g Sugar
Lunch: Garlic and Balsamic Chicken with Broccoli (recipe below) and Penne Pasta and a kiwi: 536 Calories, 56g Carbs (49 net), 38g Protein, 7g Fiber, 17g Fat, 66mg Sodium, 13g Sugar
Afternoon Snack: Greek Yogurt and 1c. Kashi Honey Sunshine Cereal and a Kiwi: 226 Calories, 42g Carbs (35 net), 18g Protein, 7g Fiber, 1g Fat, 187mg Sodium, 19g Sugar
Dinner: Tilapia and Bean salad with 2c. Baby Greens: 193 Calories, 15g Carbs (9 net), 26g Protein, 6g Fiber, 3g Fat, 275mg Sodium, 3g Sugar

Total Nutrition Intake:

1,365 Calories
165g Carbs (136g Net Carbs)
100g Protein
29g Fiber
36g Fat
1,113mg Sodium
43g Sugar

I am really happy about my food count for today besides my carbs. But everything else looks really great!

I had a pretty good weekend overall. I stuck to my meals that I planned out for Saturday and Sunday, got a great workout in on Friday morning, did a light run yesterday morning, and took Saturday off since I was working all day. I had 3 slight slips this weekend with my nutrition. My first was I indulged in a little bit of chocolate. I was craving it big time and during our Friday night dinner they had small pieces on the table. So I had a few of those. I also had some hot chocolate while I was working outside mostly because I was cold but it also tasted really good too. I drank 2 glasses of wine on Saturday night which I’m actually pretty happy I didn’t drink more. And I made blueberry waffles yesterday. I checked the nutrition info and nothing was horrible but it’s probably not the best thing I could have. I consider these all slight slips and nothing too bad because they were very small portions and nothing that I would consider damaging my fitness and nutrition goals. Plus I know I could have made much worse choices so I’m actually really happy with myself.

Garlic and Balsamic Chicken with Broccoli (makes 3 servings)

Ingredients:

8-10 Boneless/Skinless/Fat Trimmed Chicken Breast Strips
3 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Tbsp. Minced Garlic
3c. Fresh and Sliced Mushrooms
1/4c. Balsamic Vinegar
1c. Chicken Broth
3c. Steamed Broccoli

Directions:

Heat Olive Oil and Garlic in a large frying pan at medium heat. Add chicken breast and let cook until underside of chicken is light brown. Flip chicken and add mushrooms. Cover and let mushrooms cook for a couple of minutes. Add Balsamic Vinegar and Chicken Broth and stir. Cover and reduce heat. Let simmer for 5-10 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally. Divide chicken, mushrooms, and broccoli up into 3 portions and pour juice over each portion.

I made this last night and ate one of the portions and put the other two into Tupper wear so it’s easy to take out and heat up for meals this week.

Nutrition info per serving (recipe makes 3 servings): 300 Calories, 10g Carbs (7g Net Carbs), 32g Protein, 3g Fiber, 16g Fat, 64mg Sodium, 5g Sugar

Optional: Add whole wheat pasta or brown rice. Make sure you are being careful of your portions and serving sizes when you do this.

About Vitamins and Vitamin B

­We've all stared at the cereal box label during breakfast and wondered what words like riboflavin, folic acid and pyridoxine mean. Has your mom ever reminded you to eat a balanced diet and "make su­re you eat your greens"? The words on your cereal box and your mother's good advice both involve vitamin B. The B vitamins are a group of eight individual vitamins, often referred to as the B-complex vitamins. In this article, we will take a look at how the B vitamins work so you can begin to understand why Kellogg's and your mother made sure you included these essential vitamins in your diet. We'll also look at some of the more serious conditions that can result from B vitamin deficiencies.

The word vitamin is derived from a combination of words -- vital amine -- and was conceived by Polish chemist Casimir Funk in 1912. Funk isolated vitamin B1, or thiamine, from rice. This was determined to be one of the vitamins that prevented beriberi, a deficiency disease marked by inflammatory or degenerative changes of the nerves, digestive system and heart.

Vitamins are organic (carbon containing) molecules that mainly function as catalysts for reactions within the body. A catalyst is a substance that allows a chemical reaction to occur using less energy and less time than it would take under normal conditions. If these catalysts are missing, as in a vitamin deficiency, normal body functions can break down and render a person susceptible to disease.

The body requires vitamins in tiny amounts (hundredths of a gram in many cases). We get vitamins from these three primary sources:

• Foods
• Beverages
• Our bodies -- Vitamin K and some of the B vitamins are produced by bacteria within our intestines, and vitamin D is formed with the help of ultraviolet radiation, or sunshine, on the skin.     

Vitamins are either fat-soluble or water-soluble. The fat-soluble vitamins can be remembered with the mnemonic (memory aid) ADEK, for the vitamins A, D, E and K. These vitamins accumulate within the fat stores of the body and within the liver. Fat-soluble vitamins, when taken in large amounts, can become toxic. Water-soluble vitamins include vitamin C and the B vitamins. Water-soluble vitamins taken in excess are excreted in the urine but are sometimes associated with toxicity. Both the B vitamins and vitamin C are also stored in the liver.

The B-complex vitamins are actually a group of eight vitamins, which include:

• thiamine (B1)
• riboflavin (B2)
• niacin (B3)
• pantothenic acid (B5)
• pyridoxine (B6)
• cyanocobalamin (B12)
• folic acid
• biotin

These vitamins are essential for:

• The breakdown of carbohydrates into glucose (this provides energy for the body)
• The breakdown of fats and proteins (which aids the normal functioning of the nervous system)
• Muscle tone in the stomach and intestinal tract
• Skin
• Hair
• Eyes
• Mouth
• Liver

Some doctors and nutritionists suggest taking the B-complex vitamins as a group for overall good health. However, most agree that the best way to get our B vitamins is naturally -- through the foods we eat!

I have started to use Acai which is a great source of Vitamin B. I mix it into a waterbottle and shake it up. They come in individual packets that you can use. I feel like they refresh me and give me a little more energy.