This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of Propel. I was compensated and all opinions are my own.

In this post, I will share my learnings from a seminar I took with Propel Water and Gatorade on proper hydration and nutrition for athletes and moderate exercisers. 

Looking back, I wish I would have been more particular in high school in what I ate and drank during soccer season. Knowing what I know now about nutrition and hydration could have made a HUGE difference in my performance, especially for those charley horses I used to get. Have you ever had one? If you’re not familiar with the term charley horse, it’s just another way to say muscle cramp or muscle spasm in your leg. I kid you not, I would get a charley horse at least once a week, which would prevent me from being able to sprint and sometimes even walk. This is the worst feeling, especially when you’re playing in a big game.

Side note: high school soccer is where I was first introduced to Propel. My mom used to buy the lemon flavor for me way back when the entire bottle was blue 😀 

There are many reasons why a charley horse can occur, and one of them is dehydration. I drank a good amount of liquid during exercise, but never made a point to make sure I was properly hydrated before the activity began. To this day, I am still guilty of not drinking enough liquid throughout the day and have suffered from severe dehydration before ← not fun. 

My friends at Propel specialize in hydration. Because well, that’s who they are and what they do! As an ambassador, I took a course by Gatorade Sports Science Institute called Foods and Fluids for Fitness Athletes. It talked all about how to get the most out of your workout by fueling your body with the right foods and fluids. Today I want to share with you key highlights of what I learned so that a charley horse doesn’t sneak up on you like it has to me! 

PRE-WORKOUT

What to eat and drink before you begin exercise. 

• Start hydrating 4 hours prior to exercise.
• Drink 0.07 to 0.10 oz of fluid per pound of bodyweight. A 130-lb. woman should drink 9-13 oz. of fluid.
• Urine should be light in color.
• Eat a carbohydrate-rich snack 3-4 hours prior to exercise. Consume 0.45g of carbohydrate per pound of body weight. A 120-lb woman should consume around 50 grams of carbohydrates.

One of my favorite carbo-rich snacks to eat before a workout is Banana Sushi: 218 calories | 34g carbs | 11g fat | 10g protein | 16g sugar.

DURING WORKOUT

What to eat and drink during exercise. 

• Fluids should be consumed during a workout to minimize changes in body weight.
• Be mindful of your sweat rate and don’t forget that sweat also contains sodium.
• Fluids that have sodium in it will help you stay hydrated during your workout.
• If the duration of your workout is long and intense, add a small carbohydrate so you can keep your body fueled. 

POST-WORKOUT

What to eat and drink after you exercise.

• Replacing lost fluids helps prepare the body for the next day’s workout.
• Drink ~16-24 oz of fluid with sodium for every pound of weight lost during exercise.
• Eating protein shortly after exercise will improve recovery and help get the most out of a workout.

My all-time favorite high-protein snack to teat post-workout is a Strawberry Banana Protein Slammer: 170 calories | 33g carbs | 11g protein | 17g sugar.

Looking back to my high school soccer days, I wish I would have known what I do now so I could have prevented those charley horses and made myself an all-around better athlete.

What I find interesting is that ever since I started drinking more Propel (before, after, and during workouts), I drink a lot more fluid in general. I am a huge taste person and thoroughly enjoy flavored water. AND the best part is- I’ve noticed my pee has been a lot clearer 😀

Over the next week, I will be participating in Propel’s Add Flavor Challenge. I will be…

• Monitoring my urine color throughout the day (YAY!) <– hoping for a light like lemonade color
• Focusing on hydrating BEFORE my workout even starts
• Hydrating properly during my workout based on my sweat rate (~ 44 ounces per hour)
• Rehydrating properly AFTER my workout with both fluid and sodium based on my sweat rate (~20-24 ounces of fluid)

Do you monitor your fluid intake throughout the day?

The MAI 2013 Spring Collection was finally released! I can now start sharing some of the AMAZING photos from the shoot I was in with them a few weeks back. Here are a few that I pulled from IG. I’ll post more of the professional photos once I get my hands on them!

Today is a pretty chill day. I am going to do some cardio and lift, think more about this whole Shark Tank thing because I am not sure if the timing is right to present a business that is really only an idea, AND go shopping for Blake’s Birthday/Mother’s Day.

VZW Voices Update

It’s been way too long since I gave you an update on my new device given to me by Verizon. It’s been a little tough for me to boggle two phones because I like everything to be in one place. My personal phone is an iphone5 and my carrier is Sprint. The one I have through the Verizon Blogger Program is a Razor HD.

Let’s go over my favorite part of the phone/service and my least favorite part of the phone/service THUS FAR.

Favorite: Hands down is the hotspot. I am just amazed at this service in genearl. You can literally be anywhere that there is cell phone service and get wifi to any other device. A few weeks ago Blake and I went into his office that has very secure wifi and I couldn’t get on. No fear, I whipped out my phone and connected my laptop to the 4G LTE I was picking up. ZING.

Least Favorite: I’ve noticed that in general I get a lot better coverage with Verizon, but I think my house is a dead zone. I get absolutely 0 service. Blake and I both have Sprint and found that the only way to get service inside our house was to get an external antenna that we put right next to our patio door. This has seemed to fix the Sprint problem, but not the Verizon problem. I need to see if Verizon provides the same (free) service that Sprint does, and get myself an antenna so that I can get some service!

Oh! I almost forgot. I am more than obsessed with my Fitbit. I have an internal competition with myself to see if I can get more steps in than the day before. I am really wowed at by how little steps I get in during the week day EVEN when i workout, compared to on the weekends when I am GO GO GO.

“Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Health and Fitness Voices program and have been provided  with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.”