My legs are still aching this morning. I'm really pushing them apparently. Tomorrow there is 6 miles on the schedule so I decided to take a rest day today. I want to see what the legs can do on some good nutrition and some rest. So today I will take it easy. I want to take some photos so I may go walk around and do that today. That will be a nice relaxing thing to do.
So even though I know how evil processed, packaged food is for you, some things still call my name. Yesterday it was Nutter Butter wafer cookies. Those are my absolute weakness and yesterday I succumbed. In my defense, it's been about 3-4 months since I've had any. If I had them any more often I'd have to seriously consider some diet pills to stop me from eating. Other than that my food and water were fabulous so overall I consider it a good day.
So it's a beautiful day, perfect for taking pictures. I'm going to shower and head out for some photo adventures.
17 January 2009
16 January 2009
Building strength??
I think that's what's going here. My last couple of runs have been after my strength training. My strength training is two workouts, front and back. One day I focus on the chest, shoulders, quads. The next day is back, hams, etc. Both have cardio intervals, things like jumping jacks, step ups, etc. So I do front one day, back the next day, then a cardio day. Wash, rinse, repeat. I do that for 5 days. On Saturday I generally hike or do my long run. On Sundays, either the long run or something fun. So that's my workout schedule.
On Wednesday and again today, I did my strength training and then went for my run. Both days my legs have felt like crap. Heavy, tired, weak. I did 5 miles on Wednesday and put a lot of it up to the distance. In my strength training today I felt really good. Strong. I was able to really push the workout this morning, take it to the next level. When I headed out on my run my legs felt really bad. Worse than Wednesday after my 5 miles. It finally dawned on me that I'm probably gaining a lot of strength in my legs. If I could put as much effort into my workout as I did this morning and still manage to struggle through 3 miles, I'm making progress. This weekend is 6 miles all by itself. That should really be the test as to how much strength I'm gaining in my legs. I guess we'll see.
On Wednesday and again today, I did my strength training and then went for my run. Both days my legs have felt like crap. Heavy, tired, weak. I did 5 miles on Wednesday and put a lot of it up to the distance. In my strength training today I felt really good. Strong. I was able to really push the workout this morning, take it to the next level. When I headed out on my run my legs felt really bad. Worse than Wednesday after my 5 miles. It finally dawned on me that I'm probably gaining a lot of strength in my legs. If I could put as much effort into my workout as I did this morning and still manage to struggle through 3 miles, I'm making progress. This weekend is 6 miles all by itself. That should really be the test as to how much strength I'm gaining in my legs. I guess we'll see.
New found knowledge takes up residency....
I am the type of person that needs to know things. I can't just go with 'that's the way it is' well, I can sometimes but not often. A couple of years back I discovered the problem with my sweet tooth. All my life it seemed that my sweet tooth controlled me. I would start eating sweets and I literally could not stop. I would eat until I full and still continue to eat. Then, in a short period of time, I learned a couple of things. I have hypoglycemia and processed food make me crazy. Also, I have underdeveloped taste buds. That means I could never find something to satisfy my sweet cravings. Once I understood these things the power shifted. Before I would wonder why I just couldn't get enough of sweets and could never satisfy my cravings for sweets. Now I know what's going on and I have control.
That's exactly how I feel with the knowledge I gained last weekend. I really want to shout it from the roof tops, those packaged, processed foods are no good for you!!!! I saw an ad last night for the 100 calorie packs of Cakesters. First off, those Cakester things are horrible. They taste processed. Secondly, I can honestly say I've never had any of those 100 calorie packs. Of anything. I'm very proud of myself. But back to the commercial. It showed all these women going crazy and chasing the truck, and I thought to myself this is sad. Not only are they making these things but they are acting like they are good. I don't care if they are only 100 calories, they are 100 calories of nothing. I would rather eat a small scoop of real ice cream then one of these things.
So I'm on a new kick. Nothing processed. Nothing low-fat or fat-free (unless it's naturally occurring). Nothing with ingredients I can't pronounce (and I'm a chemist :). I've been heading this way a long time, but I think I've finally arrived at the point where I can do it completely. I completely understand the damage these things can do and I'm ready to fight it off. So, I'm off to do battle with the processed food industry.
That's exactly how I feel with the knowledge I gained last weekend. I really want to shout it from the roof tops, those packaged, processed foods are no good for you!!!! I saw an ad last night for the 100 calorie packs of Cakesters. First off, those Cakester things are horrible. They taste processed. Secondly, I can honestly say I've never had any of those 100 calorie packs. Of anything. I'm very proud of myself. But back to the commercial. It showed all these women going crazy and chasing the truck, and I thought to myself this is sad. Not only are they making these things but they are acting like they are good. I don't care if they are only 100 calories, they are 100 calories of nothing. I would rather eat a small scoop of real ice cream then one of these things.
So I'm on a new kick. Nothing processed. Nothing low-fat or fat-free (unless it's naturally occurring). Nothing with ingredients I can't pronounce (and I'm a chemist :). I've been heading this way a long time, but I think I've finally arrived at the point where I can do it completely. I completely understand the damage these things can do and I'm ready to fight it off. So, I'm off to do battle with the processed food industry.
Time for a change
I need a new watch. I've been wearing a Timex Ironman watch since I seriously started training a couple 4 years ago. Even though it's pink I'm done with it. I rarely do things that require my timing it, plus I'm not going to throw the watch away, I'll still have it if and when I need it. But I use my Garmin for running. I have a computer on my bike. I don't swim at all lately. Why exactly do I need this watch that has a 100 lap memory and various timing modes? I'm not even in the lab anymore where I need to time tests. So that's it. I'm done with it. But I'm also unemployed. What's a girl to do??
Well, I did what any computer savvy, smart woman would do. I headed over to buy.com to see what they had on sale. Earlier this year I got the camera I carry with me there for such a fabulous price I was talking about it for days. So I went a looking. Okay, so truthfully I also looked at the Wii because I'm a child at heart but that will have to wait until I'm employed again. So, back to watches.
I have a pretty specific idea of what I want in a watch. I'm pretty much a nut for analog. Don't ask me why, I do not know, but I am. I also like dark faces. In the past I've purchased small men's watches because they are more along the lines of what I like. So I'm looking through the watches and I find this:
It's a Timex watch. It's unisex so it's on the smaller side. It has an alarm. It has indiglo. It is dark face. It has a date. It's everything I want in a watch. And it's only $53 with free shipping. At that price even someone unemployed could afford it. So I'm considering it. One thing I have learned is self control. I have found a watch I really like. I will sit on it for a while and see if I still want it. That's the good thing with buy.com, it will still be there.
So there it is. I'm upgrading everything else, my hair, my makeup, my clothes. I think it's time to upgrade my watch.
Well, I did what any computer savvy, smart woman would do. I headed over to buy.com to see what they had on sale. Earlier this year I got the camera I carry with me there for such a fabulous price I was talking about it for days. So I went a looking. Okay, so truthfully I also looked at the Wii because I'm a child at heart but that will have to wait until I'm employed again. So, back to watches.
I have a pretty specific idea of what I want in a watch. I'm pretty much a nut for analog. Don't ask me why, I do not know, but I am. I also like dark faces. In the past I've purchased small men's watches because they are more along the lines of what I like. So I'm looking through the watches and I find this:
It's a Timex watch. It's unisex so it's on the smaller side. It has an alarm. It has indiglo. It is dark face. It has a date. It's everything I want in a watch. And it's only $53 with free shipping. At that price even someone unemployed could afford it. So I'm considering it. One thing I have learned is self control. I have found a watch I really like. I will sit on it for a while and see if I still want it. That's the good thing with buy.com, it will still be there.
So there it is. I'm upgrading everything else, my hair, my makeup, my clothes. I think it's time to upgrade my watch.
14 January 2009
Back to nothing to do
I have nothing going on today so I decided to focus on workouts. I didn't get my run in Sunday because I was busy, I didn't get it done Monday because of my food issues on Sunday. Yesterday I had school and didn't have time for a run. Today seemed like a good candidate. I did my strength training then headed out for 5 miles. I didn't have any kind of goal I just wanted to cover 5 miles. It was ugly. But I got the 5 miles in. Much of it was walking because my strength training was leg heavy today, but I got it done. I'm pleased.
Now I must shower and figure out what to do with the rest of my day :)
Now I must shower and figure out what to do with the rest of my day :)
13 January 2009
Not really related to anything
but I thought I'd share since I know how everyone is into record keeping. A while ago I downloaded Mozilla Sunbird which is basically an online calendar. I've have it set to load when I turn my laptop on so it's the first thing I see. I entered all my workouts for the month. I turn on my laptop, up pops Sunbird, and I know what I'm supposed to do the next morning. Then there's a place where I can make notes about what I did and how the workout went. I really love it and it's becoming a real handy tool for me.
Just thought I'd pass on the info.
Just thought I'd pass on the info.
Today I had things to do....
Yea!!!! The schools started back today and I went to the high school I'm placed in. I went there because I'll be teaching more this semester so I want there just to be in the class more and because I have nothing to do.
Then I had a job interview. It's teaching pathos physiology at a vocational medical school. It would only be a couple of hours a week but it'd be good experience. We'll see. I don't know if I want to take it or wait and see if something else comes along.
On the workout front, today was much better then yesterday. Because I had to be at school by 8 I was up by 4:30. Got my strength training and 20 minutes on the elliptical in. It felt great. It's amazing what a difference nutrition can make. I ate really well yesterday and this morning felt like a million dollars. So that is something I have to remember at all times. Even when things are crazy I have to make a priority to eat well.
Today I had to be in school by 8, which means I have to be out of the house by 7 and there was no way I was missing my workout. So I made some oatmeal in a Tupperware bowl and ate it on the way. I didn't get out until 11:30 so I swung into Jack In The Box and got their grilled chicken strips and a mango smoothie. Then I was off to my interview. So it can be done I just have to put a little effort into it.
Now, I'm tired. I'm going to do something, I don't know what but something.
Then I had a job interview. It's teaching pathos physiology at a vocational medical school. It would only be a couple of hours a week but it'd be good experience. We'll see. I don't know if I want to take it or wait and see if something else comes along.
On the workout front, today was much better then yesterday. Because I had to be at school by 8 I was up by 4:30. Got my strength training and 20 minutes on the elliptical in. It felt great. It's amazing what a difference nutrition can make. I ate really well yesterday and this morning felt like a million dollars. So that is something I have to remember at all times. Even when things are crazy I have to make a priority to eat well.
Today I had to be in school by 8, which means I have to be out of the house by 7 and there was no way I was missing my workout. So I made some oatmeal in a Tupperware bowl and ate it on the way. I didn't get out until 11:30 so I swung into Jack In The Box and got their grilled chicken strips and a mango smoothie. Then I was off to my interview. So it can be done I just have to put a little effort into it.
Now, I'm tired. I'm going to do something, I don't know what but something.
12 January 2009
And the aftermath....
So what is the aftermath of a day of eating like I did yesterday? Zero energy. I tried to work out and my blood sugar went crazy 2 minutes into it. I stopped and let things calm down and tried again. Within 2 minutes my blood sugar was all over the place again. I realized that it was not going to happen today. I packed it in, made a nice high protein breakfast and am trying to decide what to do now. So not only do you eat way more calories then you should, you don't have the nutrition to run your body. I will now have to spend the day eating really well to balance things out again. This sucks. This is the best reason I've come across to eat right.
I KNOW what causes obesity
I am absolutely sure of it. There is no doubt in my mind. It's happened to me twice and I am positive I am right. Let me explain.
Yesterday ended up being a very strange day. I had a lot of things to do in a fairly short amount of time. I know, I've been screaming all week that I was bored I could have done some of the things then, but I didn't. Anyway, I got up and worked out right away, that was good. Then I jumped into cleaning the house. I had to scrub Grumpy's cage down because I was taking him to his new owners. That took longer then expected. I finished cleaning the house only to discover that it was time to get ready and leave for my bird club meeting. The one thing I hadn't done all morning was eat. We had this cinnamon crumb cake around so I grabbed a piece on my way out the door. The bird club meeting is a pot luck so I figured I'd eat something there. The problem with that plan is that there was no protein. I had macaroni salad, lil' mini cream puffs, cabbage salad, etc. No protein to be had. I didn't notice too much because I was busy running the meeting, but towards the end I started to realize something was wrong. I was full but I was hungry. I kept eating the mini cream puffs, but I seemed to remain hungry. It was a very odd feeling, being full yet being hungry. I got home and was really tired and we had a party to go to that night. I knew I should eat some protein but I just didn't feel like it. So instead I had a piece of apple pie. Good idea. Within 1/2 hour I was hungry again. Now, if I had sat and totalled up the calories I had eaten so far I probably would have topped out around 3,000. Seriously. Yet I was hungry. I had some hummus which helped but I think by then I was so far into a protein deficit I could not recover. We went to the party and I stuck to eating protein, steak, chicken, etc, and veggies. No carbs at all. I even passed on the birthday cake. When I got home I was a little bit hungry but not enough that I couldn't sleep. So I did. I went straight to bed with the intention of making today a perfect eating day.
Something like this has happened to me once before and I really believe I finally understand what causes obesity. I was eating lots of calories but very little nutrition. My body kept sending out hunger signals because it was looking for nutrition. It wasn't looking for food, I was giving it too much of that, it was looking for nutrition. To me it's crystal clear now how obesity occurs. For breakfast you have some processed thing; sugary cereal, pop tart, breakfast sandwich; you get full but you don't get proper nutrition. In a little while you start to get hungry, so you grab something quick usually a processed something. For lunch you have a burger and fries, more processed stuff. 3 pm comes around, you start to get sleepy you grab something from the vending machine, something processed. By dinner I bet your hungry because your body is craving nutrition. You eat a big meal and fall asleep on the sofa because your body now has a ton of stuff to process before you get up tomorrow and start all over again. I totally get it. Totally.
You can eat a boatload of calories but your body still sends out hunger signals because it needs nutrition. I think the only reason I made this connection is because I generally eat so well. I am so aware of the nutritional values of what I'm eating that it was amazing me to be eating so many calories and still getting hungry. I also believe that if you continue to eat this way your body will stop sending out hunger signals, it's not getting nutrition it's just getting junk food.
This is so incredibly clear in my head I wish I could just draw you a picture. I also wish I could get this out to everyone who is struggling with their weight. I don't know exactly who the culprit is fat, sugar, carbohydrates. These 3 usually go hand in hand so it's hard to separate them out. But really, do you need to eat those things at all?? I generally don't and I'm doing fine. So the message of eating whole foods is the best one to follow. I absolutely believe that and I not going to be convinced otherwise.
Wow, I feel like I've been freed from something. Knowledge really is freeing.
Yesterday ended up being a very strange day. I had a lot of things to do in a fairly short amount of time. I know, I've been screaming all week that I was bored I could have done some of the things then, but I didn't. Anyway, I got up and worked out right away, that was good. Then I jumped into cleaning the house. I had to scrub Grumpy's cage down because I was taking him to his new owners. That took longer then expected. I finished cleaning the house only to discover that it was time to get ready and leave for my bird club meeting. The one thing I hadn't done all morning was eat. We had this cinnamon crumb cake around so I grabbed a piece on my way out the door. The bird club meeting is a pot luck so I figured I'd eat something there. The problem with that plan is that there was no protein. I had macaroni salad, lil' mini cream puffs, cabbage salad, etc. No protein to be had. I didn't notice too much because I was busy running the meeting, but towards the end I started to realize something was wrong. I was full but I was hungry. I kept eating the mini cream puffs, but I seemed to remain hungry. It was a very odd feeling, being full yet being hungry. I got home and was really tired and we had a party to go to that night. I knew I should eat some protein but I just didn't feel like it. So instead I had a piece of apple pie. Good idea. Within 1/2 hour I was hungry again. Now, if I had sat and totalled up the calories I had eaten so far I probably would have topped out around 3,000. Seriously. Yet I was hungry. I had some hummus which helped but I think by then I was so far into a protein deficit I could not recover. We went to the party and I stuck to eating protein, steak, chicken, etc, and veggies. No carbs at all. I even passed on the birthday cake. When I got home I was a little bit hungry but not enough that I couldn't sleep. So I did. I went straight to bed with the intention of making today a perfect eating day.
Something like this has happened to me once before and I really believe I finally understand what causes obesity. I was eating lots of calories but very little nutrition. My body kept sending out hunger signals because it was looking for nutrition. It wasn't looking for food, I was giving it too much of that, it was looking for nutrition. To me it's crystal clear now how obesity occurs. For breakfast you have some processed thing; sugary cereal, pop tart, breakfast sandwich; you get full but you don't get proper nutrition. In a little while you start to get hungry, so you grab something quick usually a processed something. For lunch you have a burger and fries, more processed stuff. 3 pm comes around, you start to get sleepy you grab something from the vending machine, something processed. By dinner I bet your hungry because your body is craving nutrition. You eat a big meal and fall asleep on the sofa because your body now has a ton of stuff to process before you get up tomorrow and start all over again. I totally get it. Totally.
You can eat a boatload of calories but your body still sends out hunger signals because it needs nutrition. I think the only reason I made this connection is because I generally eat so well. I am so aware of the nutritional values of what I'm eating that it was amazing me to be eating so many calories and still getting hungry. I also believe that if you continue to eat this way your body will stop sending out hunger signals, it's not getting nutrition it's just getting junk food.
This is so incredibly clear in my head I wish I could just draw you a picture. I also wish I could get this out to everyone who is struggling with their weight. I don't know exactly who the culprit is fat, sugar, carbohydrates. These 3 usually go hand in hand so it's hard to separate them out. But really, do you need to eat those things at all?? I generally don't and I'm doing fine. So the message of eating whole foods is the best one to follow. I absolutely believe that and I not going to be convinced otherwise.
Wow, I feel like I've been freed from something. Knowledge really is freeing.
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