I am not going to lie, my boys have been known to eat their weight in watermelon on many occasions.
Son #1 in particular, has been known to dig in to half a watermelon with a spoon and before you know it, all that is left is the shell. I ran into the grocery store today between clients to pick up a “few” things (you know the drill) and 1/2 a paycheck later (ugh), I was pushing my cart to the car with yet another watermelon in tow (second of the week).
I thought it would be fun, since the 4th of July is creeping up on us, to share some interesting facts about this juicy fruit and its post exercise benefits.
WATERMELON
Watermelon is 92% water and a good source of potassium (electrolyte lost in sweat). Watermelon is a great post workout hydrator. Some athletes will sprinkle a little salt on their watermelon to replace the sodium lost during a workout.
Watermelon is a good source of carbohydrates. Consuming watermelon shortly after your workout can help replenish depleted glycogen stores, refueling your muscles for your next workout.
Watermelon is an excellent source of the phytonutrient LYCOPENE. Lycopene has been shown to reduce inflammation in the body and naturally improve muscle recovery time. FUN FACT – Allowing the watermelon to ripen fully will increase the lycopene content and consequently have an even greater impact on helping sore muscles recover.
Watermelon is low in calories (45-50 calories per cup) yet quite high in nutritional value. It is a great source of both Vitamin C and A.
FUNNY WOODCHUCK STORY
For those of you who do not personally know Mr Forever Diet ( MFD), he is a PhD Biochemist, who has spent the better part of his life, in a lab, doing scientific research. Clearly not someone who should fall prey to the following scam. But he did, which makes this story even funnier. Recently, someone told him that if you place juicy fruit chewing gum around where the woodchuck lives, he will eat it but cannot digest it and will go off into the woods never to return (if you know what I mean). Well, for the past week or so, MFD has been buying QUITE a bit of Juicy Fruit gum and spreading it around our shed in the back yard, in the hopes that the WC will have at it and leave us alone. Fast forward a few days, MFD comes running into the house to report that all the gum is gone and thankfully that should be the last of the chunky little guy and his 4 babies. I smile and act excited. This morning as I was washing the dishes, I looked out the window from our kitchen sink and guess who I see? Yup – Mr WC and family scurrying across the back yard.
I swear, that little bugger looked at me and smiled as they headed to the garden.
I did not have the heart to tell my husband that apparently Woodchucks can and do digest Juicy Fruit Gum… The saga continues
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!