I have a love/hate relationship with the scale. I have shared with you that my goal is to lose body fat while gaining muscle. I also want that blasted number to go down, but it isn’t my main focus. The past few weeks I have been working with someone to help me with my macros, nutrition, fitness and more with accountability. This whole process is more complex than just the theory of eat less move more like I was taught.
After taking a two week break from recording my meals and macros on myfitnesspal, enjoying my vacation, and doing minimal workouts (running and strength training like normal, nothing over the top or new to the routine)… I hesitantly went in to get weighed in on their fancy scale.
I’ll be honest, I didn’t want Dustin to be working that day! Ha! I was hoping to sneak in and sneak out without being noticed of my gain on the scale (that I knew would happen).
To my surprise… good numberS appeared on the scale! Yes, I did a shocked happy dance similar to the moves my boy Brad is doing below.
Yes. I gained weight. The number on the scale went up (no surprise to me).
However, this is where the fun part happens… my muscle mass increased and my body fat percentage decreased!
I gained 5.2 pounds of muscle and lost 1.8% of body fat!
I ate a lot. I rested a lot. I did not workout a lot. Yet positive changes happened! I am making progress!!
The only thing that I did differently was drink Champion Nutrition SYN Matrix 6:5 post workout. I was sent this product to review as a FitFluential Ambassador, and was interested in it because it claims to kick start the muscle building and recovery post workout. This is exactly what my fitness goal needed.
After my workout or run, I would sit outside (we have been having beautiful cool temperature mornings) and stretch while drinking my shake. I would simply pour a scoop of guilty passion flavored post-workout in my shaker bottle (with water), shake, enjoy, and stretch.
I really enjoyed the taste, consistency and flavor of this post-workout drink. It was light on my stomach and super easy to digest, no tummy issues. It is only 25 calories per serving so it was a great way to get immediate fuel in post workout with out making me feel too full to eat real food later.
The Syn Matrix 6:5 is a concentrated muscle synthesis formula that is 4x as potent as traditional whey protein powder on a calorie-for-calorie basis. It has carnitine which also supports a healthy fat-burning metabolism.
I really like that this has 6g of protein and 2 g carbohydrates (and 0g of sugar!) in this delicious drink. It is really refreshing and makes me feel great post-workout.
I used to drink a protein shake post run/workout but the calories would be in the 200-300 range. I also wasn’t super hungry post workout so it left me feeling bloated and full.
Drinking the Syn Matrix 6:5 immediately after working out (or running) helps refuel my body and my muscles recover quicker. I am also rehydrating while refueling. I am still (always) tweaking my nutrition and fitness plan. I am a work in progress and determined to have success with my fitness goals of lowering body fat percentage all while building muscle mass.
You can read this great information full article by FitFluential explaining more about this product: Post-Workout Hack – Build Muscle Faster and Save Calories.
How do you refuel post workout?
This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of Champion Nutrition.
Toni says
great job on your progress Rachel! The scale does not always reveal all the truth! That post workout drink sounds like it is working too!
Rachel says
Thank you. I Do wish the scale would share more than that stinkin’ number 🙂
Bri says
Congrats on your progress! That’s awesome!
Rachel says
Thank you, Bri!
Deborah @ Confessions of a Mother Runner says
The scale is not always the best measure of progress or fitness especially for those trying to build muscle. Congrats on your progress!
Rachel says
Thanks. Yes, I agree. I am a work in progress 😉
Jen @ Pretty Little Grub says
This is why I don’t weigh myself. I can tell if I’m doing good or not by other measures. But I’m glad you saw some positive scale success when you braved it.
Tricia@MissSippipiddlin says
Yay for your progress! Since I’ve been strength training I can physically see muscles but my regular scale just doesn’t calculate muscle gain vs. fat loss I wish it did.
Cassi says
Awesome muscle gain and body fat loss with a vacation in the mix!
Rachel says
Thanks. Yes. I was totally shocked! 🙂
Kelli says
5.2 pounds of muscle!! That’s amazing! I totally need to get back on track with MyFitnessPal and weighing once/week. Congrats on the awesome results!
Rachel says
Thanks! Yes. I was totally floored!
Jenn says
A few years ago I went ahead and threw out all the scales in the house LOL! They just weren’t working out for us (it’s wasn’t us, it was them).
Post-workout, I love chocolate milk. Probably my favorite.
Becki S says
Great job with your weight goals. I too always want the equation to be simple, work out hard, eat chocolate cake, see number on scale go down. But alas… I started tracking macros and such this January and have developed a pretty healthy relationships with My Fitness Pal. Love the Brad Pitt dance moves 😉
Rachel says
Ha! Yes. My trainer told me to “PUT THE COOKIE DOWN” lol… if only reaching our health and fitness goals were SUPER easy, right!? So… we COULD eat the cake too 🙂
Sue @ This Mama Runs for Cupcakes says
Wow! That is great progress!! Congrats! I usually refuel after a workout with a protein shake with a good blend of carbs and protein. I’m not strength training hard core and need to focus on replenishing my glycogen stores first. I’ve never heard of this product though, sounds great! Glad you are having such good success with it!
Cristina @triathlonmami says
Congrats on your progress! Scales can be so misleading, glad you were able to put your weight gain into prospective and realize it’s a good thing!
Wendy@Taking the Long Way Home says
That had to be so encouraging! Will you continue to use this product?
Rachel says
Thank you. Yes. I do plan on continuing to use this product. I need to add more strength training in my workouts so I can see bigger/better results (and muscles) 🙂
Sharita says
Great post and congrats on your positive results! Sometimes our bodies do even better when we go easy on them for a bit. Keep up the great work!
Stephanie says
Awesome progress!!! That does sound like a yummy drink for after runs.
Ariana says
Congratulations!! Isn’t is amazing what some rest and food can do for our bodies? I’m always a little hesitant to take time off from training, but I usually feel a little more lean after I do!
My favourite way to refuel after a workout is a bowl of cereal and a protein shake! I haven’t tried the brand you mentioned but I’ll keep an eye out for them.