Monday, January 24, 2011
The bad and good news
Ok, bad news is that I have not blogged my progress on my 15K/ and Scripture reading goal. The more bad news is that I'm behind in my reading. The good news is that I'm a better runner than a blogger...which I'll say doesn't necessarily mean very much, but I did log 7.1 miles on Saturday and I have kept up with all of my training and even lost some weight. My energy levels are creeping up. Making better food choices has been tough and I have had days where I slip, but overall, I'm doing ok.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Calories Schmalories
RealAge says I should stop counting calories....
Here's the key: Stop counting calories. Instead, pack your diet with nutrient-dense foods. Research shows that jamming your diet full of nutritious edibles may be one of the most important steps to weight loss.
Food Withdrawal
In a study, when people switched to a diet full of healthy foods, they experienced hunger far less often and found their hunger much easier to tolerate. Researchers think that when people don't eat enough nutritious foods, it causes a sort of "food withdrawal" phenomenon in the body, characterized by inflammation and the release of toxic metabolic waste products.
Quality, Not Quantity
Take-home message: Don't obsess about how much you should be eating. Instead, spend your energy thinking about what you should be eating. If nutrient-rich fruit, vegetables, and whole grains aren't making frequent appearances in your diet, your body is going to miss them and loudly ask for more fuel. Same goes for lean proteins and healthful fats. Once you feed yourself better, and your body gets past the initial junk-food withdrawal, your taste buds will start to crave the healthy stuff instead.
I am still going to keep counting calories because I often forget just how bad for me certain foods are. And if I am mindful of what is going in then I can make better decisions. Besides, it is easy to do with the little app on my phone. BUT....I am definitely going to be more mindful of making those calories count.
Yesterday I was fasting for religious purposes and at dinner time I used up my whole 1457 calorie budget with one meal plus dessert. Result: Gained a pound! Most of what I ate was good, but those last 400 or 500 calories went to candy bars! Yeah, not good. So the calories have to be good ones to see the results. These are all things I know, but try to deny on a daily basis!
Today will be better~
Here's the key: Stop counting calories. Instead, pack your diet with nutrient-dense foods. Research shows that jamming your diet full of nutritious edibles may be one of the most important steps to weight loss.
Food Withdrawal
In a study, when people switched to a diet full of healthy foods, they experienced hunger far less often and found their hunger much easier to tolerate. Researchers think that when people don't eat enough nutritious foods, it causes a sort of "food withdrawal" phenomenon in the body, characterized by inflammation and the release of toxic metabolic waste products.
Quality, Not Quantity
Take-home message: Don't obsess about how much you should be eating. Instead, spend your energy thinking about what you should be eating. If nutrient-rich fruit, vegetables, and whole grains aren't making frequent appearances in your diet, your body is going to miss them and loudly ask for more fuel. Same goes for lean proteins and healthful fats. Once you feed yourself better, and your body gets past the initial junk-food withdrawal, your taste buds will start to crave the healthy stuff instead.
I am still going to keep counting calories because I often forget just how bad for me certain foods are. And if I am mindful of what is going in then I can make better decisions. Besides, it is easy to do with the little app on my phone. BUT....I am definitely going to be more mindful of making those calories count.
Yesterday I was fasting for religious purposes and at dinner time I used up my whole 1457 calorie budget with one meal plus dessert. Result: Gained a pound! Most of what I ate was good, but those last 400 or 500 calories went to candy bars! Yeah, not good. So the calories have to be good ones to see the results. These are all things I know, but try to deny on a daily basis!
Today will be better~
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Big week for me
All of this holiday, no real schedule stuff has been tough for being consistent with blogging my training journey. BUT... I am really proud of the fact that I have continued with the training that I needed to. Rob, Tyson, Jacob, and I ran the Gator Bowl 5K downtown on New Year's eve. Something messed up with my time chip and also Jacob's so I don't know my time, but I think it was about 33 minutes. Which is getting better for me! Tyson ran it in something like 25 minutes with really barely any training. Awesome!
Then.... because our 'long run' for this week was supposed to be 4.5 miles that meant that we needed to run again the very next day on Saturday. So we did and that was harrrrrrd. In all I ran 12.5 miles this week. It makes me feel a little more confident that I will be able to accomplish my 15k goal! I am glad for a day off today. The only bad thing is that I don't get the 'calorie credit' to eat more! It's all about the food to me, ha!
Then.... because our 'long run' for this week was supposed to be 4.5 miles that meant that we needed to run again the very next day on Saturday. So we did and that was harrrrrrd. In all I ran 12.5 miles this week. It makes me feel a little more confident that I will be able to accomplish my 15k goal! I am glad for a day off today. The only bad thing is that I don't get the 'calorie credit' to eat more! It's all about the food to me, ha!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Week 3 underway
Holiday break schedule and family in town is throwing my training schedule off slightly, but not too bad. I got in a little wii fit yesterday and a lot of 'mall' walking! :) Today I was supposed to run 3 miles. I did get it done, but had to stop half way into it for a couple of minutes. Still, 3.02 in 38:11.
Rob and I are doing the Vystar Gator Bowl Run on New Year's eve. It sort of messes up the schedule, but I'll make it work!
Good news is that I burned enough calories that I'm going to go eat the rest of the cheesy hashbrown potatoes that are left over from Christmas.....yessssssssssss
Rob and I are doing the Vystar Gator Bowl Run on New Year's eve. It sort of messes up the schedule, but I'll make it work!
Good news is that I burned enough calories that I'm going to go eat the rest of the cheesy hashbrown potatoes that are left over from Christmas.....yessssssssssss
Saturday, December 25, 2010
4 miles!
Merry Christmas! Got some new ear-buds today and a new sports watch. I'm a super gadgeted runner! Rob and I ran 4 miles today in 46.22. I had eaten so much at "brunch"....like 1800 calories worth that I had to take a nap! When I got up from my nap I did not want to run, but today is the 'long' run day and my schedule says 4 miles so I went anyways. I drank my 5 hour energy drink and hoped for the best. For the first 12 minutes I felt barfy and gross. I thought I was going to drag the whole way through, but at about 13 minutes I actually felt pretty good. I think this was the first time running that I didn't curse every step I took. Every time I meet my distance goal I always think I couldn't have run one step more, but today I finished and thought I could have gone a little further. That was exciting to me and gave me a little hope that maybe I'm gonna meet my goal after all!!!!
Must confess that I have some catching up to do on my scripture reading goal though! Anyways end of week 2 of training. 10 more weeks to go!
Must confess that I have some catching up to do on my scripture reading goal though! Anyways end of week 2 of training. 10 more weeks to go!
Friday, December 24, 2010
Lose it!
My friend Andrea was writing on facebook about this app called "Lose it!", so I downloaded it onto my iPhone and it looks pretty cool. I put in that I wanted to lose 6lbs in 12 weeks, so it's got me losing 1/2 a pound a week and taking in 1457 calories a day, but I get to add back calories for calories I burn exercising. I type in what I eat and it searches for that food and puts in the calories for me.
Anyways I got to add back in 87 calories for today for my Yogalates workout! The whole breathing stuff is tricky to me, but when I focus on it I can feel the exercises doing more for me.
Anyways I got to add back in 87 calories for today for my Yogalates workout! The whole breathing stuff is tricky to me, but when I focus on it I can feel the exercises doing more for me.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Running tips I like
By Sara Cox Landolt
For Active.com
"It's your form that gets you to the finish line," said San Diego Track Club coach Paul Greer during GOTRIbal's 2010 conference and retreat. Running form is especially important when you're tired.
Despite a no-show from traditionally sunny skies, Greer's upbeat, positive coaching style put attendees at ease as they tried movements, drills and exercises on the lawn at the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa in San Diego.
Here are three simple tricks Greer teaches his athletes to keep them relaxed and in good form while on the run.
Lightly press your thumb and forefinger together. This gives you something to focus on so you don't clench your fists and tighten up especially when you're tired. Tension spreads--tight fists turn into tight shoulders and tight shoulders tend to pull your body backwards.
Don't cross your arms across your body. Keep your elbows at a 90-degree angle and swing your arms back to front while keeping your shoulders relaxed. Your arms should travel up to your chest and down to your hips like your hand is reaching into your pocket for your keys.
Envision yourself standing tall. When we're tired, we tend to slump a little and our stride length changes. Picture a string coming out the top of your head and pulling you up toward the sky.
For Active.com
"It's your form that gets you to the finish line," said San Diego Track Club coach Paul Greer during GOTRIbal's 2010 conference and retreat. Running form is especially important when you're tired.
Despite a no-show from traditionally sunny skies, Greer's upbeat, positive coaching style put attendees at ease as they tried movements, drills and exercises on the lawn at the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa in San Diego.
Here are three simple tricks Greer teaches his athletes to keep them relaxed and in good form while on the run.
Lightly press your thumb and forefinger together. This gives you something to focus on so you don't clench your fists and tighten up especially when you're tired. Tension spreads--tight fists turn into tight shoulders and tight shoulders tend to pull your body backwards.
Don't cross your arms across your body. Keep your elbows at a 90-degree angle and swing your arms back to front while keeping your shoulders relaxed. Your arms should travel up to your chest and down to your hips like your hand is reaching into your pocket for your keys.
Envision yourself standing tall. When we're tired, we tend to slump a little and our stride length changes. Picture a string coming out the top of your head and pulling you up toward the sky.
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