Sometimes I think I've got it all figured out. That whole what to eat and how/how much to exercise thing. That whole energy balance equation. I think I do have it figured out on paper - and I have the calculations to prove it - but in practice, well, life just happens and things don't always go the way they were planned...
My life has been a bit chaotic lately. In terms of stress levels, I'm good. I'm a pro at handling stress these days. But in terms of roadblocks to living a healthy lifestyle, total chaos. I haven't been able to run for five weeks, and I wasn't able to work out at all for four of those weeks. I learned first-hand why it is important to lessen your energy in (calories) when forced to lessen your energy out (exercise). That plus moving into a new apartment, which means packing up the kitchen and relying mostly on take-out meals, resulted in a 7 pound weight gain.
Ouch!
Which, by the way, is exactly what I say now when trying to button my shorts!
So, life happens... plans go out the window... flexibility is so very important... as is acceptance of what is. Sure, I accept it; but I resolutely retain the right to hate my scale right now!
In a perfect world, I would have made more conscious choices about my meals over the past five weeks. Instead I saw it as a chance to imbibe a little... I do allow myself to imbibe a little now and then, I cherish this, I mean, c'mon, I love food, that's why I changed my life to study nutrition! I just usually make sure I get in more exercise when I allow myself those wonderful little treats. This time, however, I couldn't because I was injured.
And here's where I zoom in to focus on a seven pound weight gain and I beat myself up a little. It is entirely possible to eat out and eat healthy. It's all about making good choices. Nutrition information is available online and in restaurants and with just a little planning and a hint of thought about calories instead of the yumminess factor, there are many options for healthy take-out meals. Panera Bread is one of my most favorite places to grab a quick heathly bite and they are ahead of the game by posting calorie information on their menu boards. If I had just paid attention to these numbers, I could have easily stayed in my calorie range!
Zooming in, my weight is horrible! I gained weight! UGH!
But then I have to take a minute to zoom out and look at the big picture of my life in terms of my always-present struggle with my weight.
As I was unpacking my office a couple days ago, I came across my old Weight Watchers membership booklets. I have about five of them. One of them is my lifetime booklet and I love to open that one up and see my goal weight written down as my "starting weight," which is about 15 pounds less than I weigh now. Half of those 15 pounds are a result of the past month's accident/moving situations...but still, that's kind of a downer to see that I'm so far from that goal now... BUT... then I look at the other four booklets and I see starting weights that are 15-25 pounds heavier than where I am now.
Zooming out opens up a chance to reframe and that mental shift results in feeling that my weight right now is wonderful!
I am consistently maintaining a weight that is 15-25 pounds LESS than my previous maintenance range. My new struggle with my weight has shifted. I moved down that linear scale of pounds and my struggle now is a mere 15 pounds to goal weight where in my pre-heart attack life, my struggle was a whopping 40 pounds on this small 5'2" frame.
I can dig that.
So, yes, life happens and the best laid plans go out the window. Life is change; this is life. There is NEVER a time in life where everything is perfect. To quote Chuck Palahniuk in Fight Club, "A moment was the most you could ever expect from perfection."
The moral of my story is: don't cry and stress about how the world is working against you, instead step back and take a look at your life overall and find ways to praise your progress. Even if that progress is only that you had a healthy breakfast today, well, that's a start... just keep on taking it one meal at a time.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
The End of The "Summer of Nothing"
Wow. Where does the time go? Has it really been eight months since I've posted?
What happened? Well, the spring semester started, I met and started dating a wonderful man, the spring semester ended, and then I commenced my "Summer of Nothing."
It seems I took that a bit too literally...
I'm back though.
I now hold a Bachelors of Science with a concentration in Nutrition & Dietetics (Summa Cum Laude even!).
I have presented one "Lunch 'n Learn" session on Healthy Eating.
I've landed a gig writing for Examiner.com, which should be checked out and followed (http://www.examiner.com/x-55925-Jacksonville-Nutrition-Examiner). The thing is that for Examiner, my assignment is to write about nutrition as it relates to Jacksonville, Florida. This is a huge challenge for me. I want to write about energy balance, protein requirements, and supplements - about nutrition in general. I'm having a hard time relating the recommendations for protein intake to a city... so I've come back to this blog in order to write about what I really want to write about.
Oh, and as far as my training goes... well, right now I am not able to run due to a car accident three weeks ago. My neck/shoulders are tweaked so I am relegated to the realm of low impact activities. I am jonesin' to run but I can't. I did complete another 5k in June and ran a horrible race, 36:00. There are good days running and bad days running and this was a bad day. It was ridiculously hot and I just didn't have it in me. At least now I KNOW I can beat that time in my next race, which will not be until it cools down.
Wow. My "Summer of Nothing" actually had quite a bit of somethings in it... and now, it's a mere 2 1/2 weeks until I start graduate school and my dietetic internship. Soon, there will be no time in my life for doing nothing... at least, not for the 15 months that I am completing the program.
My goal is to post here once a week. There may still be some posts about my working out/running and my personal nutrition goals; but mostly I want to shift the focus of this blog to nutrition in general.
I hope, dear readers, that you find my posts interesting, entertaining, and most of all, that you take away some tidbit about a healthy lifestyle that you can apply in your daily life.
What happened? Well, the spring semester started, I met and started dating a wonderful man, the spring semester ended, and then I commenced my "Summer of Nothing."
It seems I took that a bit too literally...
I'm back though.
I now hold a Bachelors of Science with a concentration in Nutrition & Dietetics (Summa Cum Laude even!).
I have presented one "Lunch 'n Learn" session on Healthy Eating.
I've landed a gig writing for Examiner.com, which should be checked out and followed (http://www.examiner.com/x-55925-Jacksonville-Nutrition-Examiner). The thing is that for Examiner, my assignment is to write about nutrition as it relates to Jacksonville, Florida. This is a huge challenge for me. I want to write about energy balance, protein requirements, and supplements - about nutrition in general. I'm having a hard time relating the recommendations for protein intake to a city... so I've come back to this blog in order to write about what I really want to write about.
Oh, and as far as my training goes... well, right now I am not able to run due to a car accident three weeks ago. My neck/shoulders are tweaked so I am relegated to the realm of low impact activities. I am jonesin' to run but I can't. I did complete another 5k in June and ran a horrible race, 36:00. There are good days running and bad days running and this was a bad day. It was ridiculously hot and I just didn't have it in me. At least now I KNOW I can beat that time in my next race, which will not be until it cools down.
Wow. My "Summer of Nothing" actually had quite a bit of somethings in it... and now, it's a mere 2 1/2 weeks until I start graduate school and my dietetic internship. Soon, there will be no time in my life for doing nothing... at least, not for the 15 months that I am completing the program.
My goal is to post here once a week. There may still be some posts about my working out/running and my personal nutrition goals; but mostly I want to shift the focus of this blog to nutrition in general.
I hope, dear readers, that you find my posts interesting, entertaining, and most of all, that you take away some tidbit about a healthy lifestyle that you can apply in your daily life.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Why Vary Training Routines?
I thought it was time to talk a little bit about why I have chosen the training schedule that I have. You may have noticed that I do not do the same type of workout every day and, in fact, even my runs vary over the week. I am not running the same distance at the same pace every time I run.
Here's my training schedule in a nutshell -
Monday: Strength and Stretch
Tuesday: Incline/Bridge Run
Wednesday: Cross-train
Thursday: Speed Run and Strength
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Long Slow Run
Sunday: Cross train
Have you wondered why I'm doing this?
Basically, muscles have memory. Our bodies are very adaptable.
If you've ever started an exercise program, you've experienced this first hand. Remember the first day when you decided to do 50 sit-ups? Remember how you pushed your way through that long set and how incredibly sore you were the following day? Say hello to your rectus abdominus muscle!
Now, fast forward to the second week of your sit-up extravaganza. Were you sore after 50 sit-ups? Nope. Not any more. That's because your rectus abdominus muscles have gotten used to your routine. They know what you are going to do and they have gotten stronger and now they are prepared for your sit-ups. Those 50 sit-ups are not a challenge anymore.
Did you then change your sit-up routine and do side crunches next? Well, then say hello to your oblique muscles!
Get the picture?
If you don't change what you do, you are no longer challenging your body. Change can be working a whole new muscle or muscle group or it can be varying the amount of weight, the type of movement performed, or the changing how sets are performed. The options really are endless. Mixing up your workouts is so very important to continuing to improve your performance. Also, if you mix it up, you give your body a break and reduce the chances of injury. Trust me, if I ran every day, I would get injured!
I am trying to become a stronger, faster runner who can run longer distances. Will running 3 miles a day every day get me there? Well, perhaps. It will definitely keep my cardiovascular system purring but it probably won't do anything to make me run faster or longer. However, I will definitely reach those goals if I take one day to run a longer distance, take another day to run faster, and take another day to work on running strong. When I put all this training together at my next race, I should see improvement. Hmm. Stay tuned!
Training:
35 minutes on the dreaded elliptical
Calories burned: approximately 260
Easy enough workout. I just don't like the elliptical. My toes get all tingly after a little while and between that and the different type of effort, I was working hard to keep at it between 25 and 30 minutes. I hung on though, again reminding myself that my workouts feel too easy so I ought to push it! Once I hit 30 minutes, I was very happy to slow down for the last five minutes and get off that horrible machine!
Nutrition:
Calories: 1484 (under)
Carbs: 210g (in range)
Protein: 83g (over)
Fat: 48g (in range)
Sat Fat: 15g (over!)
Sodium: 2,600mg (over)
Cholesterol: 61mg (under)
Here's my training schedule in a nutshell -
Monday: Strength and Stretch
Tuesday: Incline/Bridge Run
Wednesday: Cross-train
Thursday: Speed Run and Strength
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Long Slow Run
Sunday: Cross train
Have you wondered why I'm doing this?
Basically, muscles have memory. Our bodies are very adaptable.
If you've ever started an exercise program, you've experienced this first hand. Remember the first day when you decided to do 50 sit-ups? Remember how you pushed your way through that long set and how incredibly sore you were the following day? Say hello to your rectus abdominus muscle!
Now, fast forward to the second week of your sit-up extravaganza. Were you sore after 50 sit-ups? Nope. Not any more. That's because your rectus abdominus muscles have gotten used to your routine. They know what you are going to do and they have gotten stronger and now they are prepared for your sit-ups. Those 50 sit-ups are not a challenge anymore.
Did you then change your sit-up routine and do side crunches next? Well, then say hello to your oblique muscles!
Get the picture?
If you don't change what you do, you are no longer challenging your body. Change can be working a whole new muscle or muscle group or it can be varying the amount of weight, the type of movement performed, or the changing how sets are performed. The options really are endless. Mixing up your workouts is so very important to continuing to improve your performance. Also, if you mix it up, you give your body a break and reduce the chances of injury. Trust me, if I ran every day, I would get injured!
I am trying to become a stronger, faster runner who can run longer distances. Will running 3 miles a day every day get me there? Well, perhaps. It will definitely keep my cardiovascular system purring but it probably won't do anything to make me run faster or longer. However, I will definitely reach those goals if I take one day to run a longer distance, take another day to run faster, and take another day to work on running strong. When I put all this training together at my next race, I should see improvement. Hmm. Stay tuned!
Training:
35 minutes on the dreaded elliptical
Calories burned: approximately 260
Easy enough workout. I just don't like the elliptical. My toes get all tingly after a little while and between that and the different type of effort, I was working hard to keep at it between 25 and 30 minutes. I hung on though, again reminding myself that my workouts feel too easy so I ought to push it! Once I hit 30 minutes, I was very happy to slow down for the last five minutes and get off that horrible machine!
Nutrition:
Calories: 1484 (under)
Carbs: 210g (in range)
Protein: 83g (over)
Fat: 48g (in range)
Sat Fat: 15g (over!)
Sodium: 2,600mg (over)
Cholesterol: 61mg (under)
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Back On Track
Two days worth of training to post so I'll just get right to it.
Monday
Training:
Strength and Stretch day done at home with spri-tube and floor work for biceps, triceps, deltoids, chest, back, abdominals, inner/outer thighs, and quadriceps.
Time: 30 minutes
Calories Burned: approximately 130
Nutrition:
Calories: 1480 (under)
Carbs: 236g (over)
Protein: 90g (over)
Fat: 28g (under)
Sat Fat: 10g (under)
Sodium: 1,450 (under and too low)
Cholesterol: (under)
So overall - not a huge amount of calories burned but not a lot taken in either. I'm still low on my fat and high on my carbs/protein. Sodium is way too low! And I did not feel like working out. It was cold and I just didn't feel like leaving my apartment to only go lift weights. I compromised by doing my workout at home. I got it done... but using body resistance and a piece of tubing is just is not nearly as hard as lifting actual, heavy weights.
Tuesday:
Training: Hill Run Day
2 miles hill run on the treadmill consisting of warm-up/walk and then a 4 incline run at 4.5 mph until 1 mile reached, 0.10 jog with 1 incline to recover a little, 1/2 mile run at 5 incline, and then a no incline run and a little walking to cool down.
Time: 29:49, Average 4.02 mph or 14:54 minute/mile
Calories Burned: Approximately 180
The run felt good. I kept it slow due to the incline and the first mile at 4 incline was comfortable. That 1/2 mile at 5 incline was hard though! It took a lot of will to keep running at that pace and incline for a half mile but even though I was breathing heavy I wanted to do it so I pushed through. I'm glad I did. My workouts have not been that hard and when I finish I find myself thinking I can be pushing harder. So today, when it got hard, I just remembered that and decided to push it finally! I don't want to rush my training and do too much because I am trying to build up slowly and avoid injuries... but I really want to be doing more too. Thankfully, things should be getting harder and harder every week!
Nutrition:
Calories: 1,890 (over!)
Carbs: 275g (over)
Protein: 103g (over)
Fat: 54g (over)
Sat Fat: 12g (top of range)
Sodium: 3,500mg (over)
Cholesterol: 49mg (under)
Um. Oops?
I actually had a good day with my eating and then went out for sushi with a friend and my eyes were bigger than my stomach! And well, it's sushi... it's blasphemy to leave any not eaten... so I did the best I could (not smart) and even still had to bring home half a spicy tuna roll! Okay. I should have skipped the ginger salad and only gotten one roll. I stand by the miso soup and nigiri though.
This is the first time I've been over on my fat totals. While it's good that I don't go over in this area a lot - for a heart patient, fat intake is pretty important to keep low. That being said, I did have salmon sushi and that is "healthy" fat... it was the shrimp tempura roll that was a bad choice. At least my saturated fat (the one that just loves contributing to plaque buildup in arteries) is still in range... barely...
I just love sushi and it is healthy... it was just TOO MUCH of a good thing tonight. Extra calories equals extra pounds - no matter where those calories come from or how healthy those calories are. And yeah, no matter what some people might tell you about carbs or protein or fat, extra calories = fat. End of story.
Eh, at least it was only an extra 265 calories... I'm just feeling really full right now. :) And now that I think back, I have not eaten enough calories the past two days. I've been just under the low end of my goal range. Could be my eyes were taking direction from my metabolism which had decided there had not been enough fuel for the past couple of days and wanted to stock up a little. Okay, so that's not exactly scientific but the body will get what it needs if you let it... or I'm just trying really hard to rationalize a sushi splurge!
Monday
Training:
Strength and Stretch day done at home with spri-tube and floor work for biceps, triceps, deltoids, chest, back, abdominals, inner/outer thighs, and quadriceps.
Time: 30 minutes
Calories Burned: approximately 130
Nutrition:
Calories: 1480 (under)
Carbs: 236g (over)
Protein: 90g (over)
Fat: 28g (under)
Sat Fat: 10g (under)
Sodium: 1,450 (under and too low)
Cholesterol: (under)
So overall - not a huge amount of calories burned but not a lot taken in either. I'm still low on my fat and high on my carbs/protein. Sodium is way too low! And I did not feel like working out. It was cold and I just didn't feel like leaving my apartment to only go lift weights. I compromised by doing my workout at home. I got it done... but using body resistance and a piece of tubing is just is not nearly as hard as lifting actual, heavy weights.
Tuesday:
Training: Hill Run Day
2 miles hill run on the treadmill consisting of warm-up/walk and then a 4 incline run at 4.5 mph until 1 mile reached, 0.10 jog with 1 incline to recover a little, 1/2 mile run at 5 incline, and then a no incline run and a little walking to cool down.
Time: 29:49, Average 4.02 mph or 14:54 minute/mile
Calories Burned: Approximately 180
The run felt good. I kept it slow due to the incline and the first mile at 4 incline was comfortable. That 1/2 mile at 5 incline was hard though! It took a lot of will to keep running at that pace and incline for a half mile but even though I was breathing heavy I wanted to do it so I pushed through. I'm glad I did. My workouts have not been that hard and when I finish I find myself thinking I can be pushing harder. So today, when it got hard, I just remembered that and decided to push it finally! I don't want to rush my training and do too much because I am trying to build up slowly and avoid injuries... but I really want to be doing more too. Thankfully, things should be getting harder and harder every week!
Nutrition:
Calories: 1,890 (over!)
Carbs: 275g (over)
Protein: 103g (over)
Fat: 54g (over)
Sat Fat: 12g (top of range)
Sodium: 3,500mg (over)
Cholesterol: 49mg (under)
Um. Oops?
I actually had a good day with my eating and then went out for sushi with a friend and my eyes were bigger than my stomach! And well, it's sushi... it's blasphemy to leave any not eaten... so I did the best I could (not smart) and even still had to bring home half a spicy tuna roll! Okay. I should have skipped the ginger salad and only gotten one roll. I stand by the miso soup and nigiri though.
This is the first time I've been over on my fat totals. While it's good that I don't go over in this area a lot - for a heart patient, fat intake is pretty important to keep low. That being said, I did have salmon sushi and that is "healthy" fat... it was the shrimp tempura roll that was a bad choice. At least my saturated fat (the one that just loves contributing to plaque buildup in arteries) is still in range... barely...
I just love sushi and it is healthy... it was just TOO MUCH of a good thing tonight. Extra calories equals extra pounds - no matter where those calories come from or how healthy those calories are. And yeah, no matter what some people might tell you about carbs or protein or fat, extra calories = fat. End of story.
Eh, at least it was only an extra 265 calories... I'm just feeling really full right now. :) And now that I think back, I have not eaten enough calories the past two days. I've been just under the low end of my goal range. Could be my eyes were taking direction from my metabolism which had decided there had not been enough fuel for the past couple of days and wanted to stock up a little. Okay, so that's not exactly scientific but the body will get what it needs if you let it... or I'm just trying really hard to rationalize a sushi splurge!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
One Of Many Reasons To Give Up Alcohol When Training...
I decided to go out with friends on Friday night and tied one on... I mean, really tied one on... and it took me all day Saturday to recover. Friends and going out and dancing, these things are awesome. Alcohol, however, is evil!
Training:
Friday was a rest day so I blissfully rested. Check.
Saturday was supposed to be my long slow distance run of 4 miles. That didn't happen.
Sunday (today) is supposed to be a cross-training day but I think my long run is more important so cross-training is cancelled and I'm planning to get in my 4 mile run today.
Nutrition:
Friday, I ate well and had 200-300 calories to go for the day before I went out with my friends. I planned on 2-3 beers which would put me just over my calorie goal. I didn't plan on multiple drinks involving vodka. This put me over 2,000 calories and that's just a guess. Way too high. Ugh.
Saturday, well, I could hardly eat due to consuming way too much vodka the night before. I didn't track my food but I estimate around 500 calories. Way too low. Ugh.
Sunday, today, will be a better day. I'm already off to a good start with my egg white and veggie omelet and whole wheat bread.
It sucks to have to come here and be accountable for acting like a girl who just turned 21. I know better. Drinking too much is stupid. Especially for someone on medications for heart disease. And alcohol is a toxin after all. It has no nutritional value. It wrecks my training, it works against weight loss, it made me lose an entire day. It was totally not worth it. But it's done. Lesson learned and put behind me.
No more alcohol until after my 15k.
It's officially one week since I've started documenting this journey and I lost 2.6 pounds this week. This is a much higher number than the "calorie math" predicted; but it's not unexpected. The first week of making changes (or getting back on program in my case) usually comes with a substantial loss. In fact, have been maintaining this lower weight for the past 3-4 days, which goes to show, it was the "shock" of the changes that prompted the loss and now my body is maintaining. Of course, it's nice to see such a big number to get me started; but from here on out, I expect to have that loss in a month... not a week!
UPDATE
Training completed!
4.3 mile long, slow distance run
Time: 56:59
Pace: 4.51mph or 13:19 minute/mile
Calories Burned: 350
Felt GREAT! This is only the second time I've ever run so far! 4 miles! Wowsa! It was a beautiful, sunny, cool day and I am sure that helped. I also lucked out and picked a route with some good level sidewalks in places and low traffic for when I was running in the street. This run was a little hard at times. At 2 miles, as usual, it got a bit hard cardiovascularly... but I pushed through. Towards the end my shins were feeling it... but overall, this was not a hard run. I'm amazed that I can feel so good after running 4.3 miles. I'm very pleased with myself today.
Nutrition:
Calories: 1.446 (under)
Carbs: 222g (over)
Protein: 95g (over)
Fat: 28g (under)
Sat Fat: 9g (under)
Sodium: 2,200mg (under)
Cholesterol: 94mg (under)
Training:
Friday was a rest day so I blissfully rested. Check.
Saturday was supposed to be my long slow distance run of 4 miles. That didn't happen.
Sunday (today) is supposed to be a cross-training day but I think my long run is more important so cross-training is cancelled and I'm planning to get in my 4 mile run today.
Nutrition:
Friday, I ate well and had 200-300 calories to go for the day before I went out with my friends. I planned on 2-3 beers which would put me just over my calorie goal. I didn't plan on multiple drinks involving vodka. This put me over 2,000 calories and that's just a guess. Way too high. Ugh.
Saturday, well, I could hardly eat due to consuming way too much vodka the night before. I didn't track my food but I estimate around 500 calories. Way too low. Ugh.
Sunday, today, will be a better day. I'm already off to a good start with my egg white and veggie omelet and whole wheat bread.
It sucks to have to come here and be accountable for acting like a girl who just turned 21. I know better. Drinking too much is stupid. Especially for someone on medications for heart disease. And alcohol is a toxin after all. It has no nutritional value. It wrecks my training, it works against weight loss, it made me lose an entire day. It was totally not worth it. But it's done. Lesson learned and put behind me.
No more alcohol until after my 15k.
It's officially one week since I've started documenting this journey and I lost 2.6 pounds this week. This is a much higher number than the "calorie math" predicted; but it's not unexpected. The first week of making changes (or getting back on program in my case) usually comes with a substantial loss. In fact, have been maintaining this lower weight for the past 3-4 days, which goes to show, it was the "shock" of the changes that prompted the loss and now my body is maintaining. Of course, it's nice to see such a big number to get me started; but from here on out, I expect to have that loss in a month... not a week!
UPDATE
Training completed!
4.3 mile long, slow distance run
Time: 56:59
Pace: 4.51mph or 13:19 minute/mile
Calories Burned: 350
Felt GREAT! This is only the second time I've ever run so far! 4 miles! Wowsa! It was a beautiful, sunny, cool day and I am sure that helped. I also lucked out and picked a route with some good level sidewalks in places and low traffic for when I was running in the street. This run was a little hard at times. At 2 miles, as usual, it got a bit hard cardiovascularly... but I pushed through. Towards the end my shins were feeling it... but overall, this was not a hard run. I'm amazed that I can feel so good after running 4.3 miles. I'm very pleased with myself today.
Nutrition:
Calories: 1.446 (under)
Carbs: 222g (over)
Protein: 95g (over)
Fat: 28g (under)
Sat Fat: 9g (under)
Sodium: 2,200mg (under)
Cholesterol: 94mg (under)
Thursday, December 17, 2009
My First Ever Speed Intervals
I am feeling good! Today I had my first attempt at speed intervals. After talking with a friend who is actually working with a running coach, I had my plan. My plan was thrown to the side though when I found the first interval too easy and stepped it up!
Training: Speed and Strength Day
First a 3 mile run with 6 1-minute speed intervals at a 10 minute/mile pace (6mph) and a 2-minute recovery at a 14 minute/mile pace (4.3mph). That got me to 2 miles and I had 3 scheduled so I ran the last one at my usual 12 minute/mile (5mph) pace.
Time: 42 minutes
Calories Burned: 290
Next, free weights and body resistance exercises inclluding biceps, triceps, chest, back, deltoids, squats, lunges, hamstrings, glutes, lower back and core followed by some good stretching.
Calories Burned: 100
So I spent a good deal of time in the gym today and got a good calorie burn - nearly 400 calories! .I feel really good. I'm laughing that on my "speed day" it took me 42 minutes to run 3 miles when I can usually run that in a comfortable 36-38 minutes and I ran it in 32 minutes at my 5k. How can this be a speed workout if it takes so long?!? But I know that the recovery periods for the speed work are slower than my usual pace. I'm also not very concerned about my times when I'm training. I know that when I race, the adrenelin and the crowd (and my competitive spirit) will help to speed me up. I also know that I'm in week 1 of an 11 week training period and if I just keep it up, running will get easier and my times will improve overall.
The speed intervals at 6mph were difficult and I found myself breathing heavy at the end of each minute. At first, it took the whole 2 minutes to recover and by the last couple of sets, I was not totally recovered in the 2 minutes. But it was not so hard that I over-exerted myself. It was just a good solid work-out... which is a very good thing since I'm going out for sushi tonight!
Nutrition totals:
Calories: 1,747 (over)
Carbs: 245g (over)
Protein: 109g (over)
Fat: 45g (in range!)
Sat Fat: 6g (in range)
Sodium: 3,500 mg (over)
Cholesterol: 82 mg (in range)
I did alright! And I quite enjoyed quite a bit of sushi. Yeah, my sodium is too high but who can eat sushi without soy sauce?? I used the low-sodium soy sauce at least. I'm very pleased that my fat intake was in range and my calories are only over by about 125 calories and that's not a lot. The scale this morning is where it was yesterday morning so the hard working out and the good choices at dinner (sashimi instead of nigiri so no extra sticky white rice) paid off.
I'm seeing a pattern in that my protein and carbs are usually over and my fat is usually under. I'm thinking about reworking my goals to account for the fact that I don't eat a lot of fats so I have to get calories from protein and carbs. I'll do some more research in the next few days about fat intake and heart disease and see how low I think I should set my fat intake. Fat is very necessary for proper body function (it's a main part of cell membranes) and for uptake of fat-soluble vitamins among other things... so I don't want to set my intake goal too low... but I know I can safely go less than 30% of my calories from fat.
Training: Speed and Strength Day
First a 3 mile run with 6 1-minute speed intervals at a 10 minute/mile pace (6mph) and a 2-minute recovery at a 14 minute/mile pace (4.3mph). That got me to 2 miles and I had 3 scheduled so I ran the last one at my usual 12 minute/mile (5mph) pace.
Time: 42 minutes
Calories Burned: 290
Next, free weights and body resistance exercises inclluding biceps, triceps, chest, back, deltoids, squats, lunges, hamstrings, glutes, lower back and core followed by some good stretching.
Calories Burned: 100
So I spent a good deal of time in the gym today and got a good calorie burn - nearly 400 calories! .I feel really good. I'm laughing that on my "speed day" it took me 42 minutes to run 3 miles when I can usually run that in a comfortable 36-38 minutes and I ran it in 32 minutes at my 5k. How can this be a speed workout if it takes so long?!? But I know that the recovery periods for the speed work are slower than my usual pace. I'm also not very concerned about my times when I'm training. I know that when I race, the adrenelin and the crowd (and my competitive spirit) will help to speed me up. I also know that I'm in week 1 of an 11 week training period and if I just keep it up, running will get easier and my times will improve overall.
The speed intervals at 6mph were difficult and I found myself breathing heavy at the end of each minute. At first, it took the whole 2 minutes to recover and by the last couple of sets, I was not totally recovered in the 2 minutes. But it was not so hard that I over-exerted myself. It was just a good solid work-out... which is a very good thing since I'm going out for sushi tonight!
Nutrition totals:
Calories: 1,747 (over)
Carbs: 245g (over)
Protein: 109g (over)
Fat: 45g (in range!)
Sat Fat: 6g (in range)
Sodium: 3,500 mg (over)
Cholesterol: 82 mg (in range)
I did alright! And I quite enjoyed quite a bit of sushi. Yeah, my sodium is too high but who can eat sushi without soy sauce?? I used the low-sodium soy sauce at least. I'm very pleased that my fat intake was in range and my calories are only over by about 125 calories and that's not a lot. The scale this morning is where it was yesterday morning so the hard working out and the good choices at dinner (sashimi instead of nigiri so no extra sticky white rice) paid off.
I'm seeing a pattern in that my protein and carbs are usually over and my fat is usually under. I'm thinking about reworking my goals to account for the fact that I don't eat a lot of fats so I have to get calories from protein and carbs. I'll do some more research in the next few days about fat intake and heart disease and see how low I think I should set my fat intake. Fat is very necessary for proper body function (it's a main part of cell membranes) and for uptake of fat-soluble vitamins among other things... so I don't want to set my intake goal too low... but I know I can safely go less than 30% of my calories from fat.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Sometimes It Is Simply Effortless
Today, there was no struggle to meet my training goals. It was as easy as deciding when to go to the gym and letting my healthy eating habits guide my food choices. I've been eating very well for the past few days and it's become second nature again. This is how my relationship with food should be.
Training:
Scheduled: Cross-training day
Accomplished: 30 minutes on the spin bike
Calories burned: 196
My work-out today almost seemed too easy. I was sweating and my heart rate was at the bottom of my training range so I know I was working my cardiovascular system well enough. It just didn't seem HARD though. I am not used to the spin bikes and man, does it burn those quadriceps! The bikes at my gym are very cool and have a monitor that offers different "races" with different mileage and difficulties (in other words, steep hills). There is actually an up/down shift lever, like in arcade car racing video games that changes the tension in the bike and makes the hills easier to ride. The course I chose had a pretty steady incline and then a really big incline near the 3/4 point and so my thighs were burning... which is why I didn't push the cardio harder. It was still a good workout... I'm just used to pushing harder.
Nutrition:
Calories: 1,500 (in range)
Carbs: 230g (just over)
Protein: 89g (over)
Fat: 43 g (under)
Sat Fat: 11g (under)
Sodium: 1,645mg (under and perfect!)
Cholesterol: 110mg (under)
I'm seeing the scale moving downward already, which is nice; but what is nicer is the feeling of accomplishment I have. I AM following through on my training plan. I AM working out every day. I AM eating very healthy meals again.
Training:
Scheduled: Cross-training day
Accomplished: 30 minutes on the spin bike
Calories burned: 196
My work-out today almost seemed too easy. I was sweating and my heart rate was at the bottom of my training range so I know I was working my cardiovascular system well enough. It just didn't seem HARD though. I am not used to the spin bikes and man, does it burn those quadriceps! The bikes at my gym are very cool and have a monitor that offers different "races" with different mileage and difficulties (in other words, steep hills). There is actually an up/down shift lever, like in arcade car racing video games that changes the tension in the bike and makes the hills easier to ride. The course I chose had a pretty steady incline and then a really big incline near the 3/4 point and so my thighs were burning... which is why I didn't push the cardio harder. It was still a good workout... I'm just used to pushing harder.
Nutrition:
Calories: 1,500 (in range)
Carbs: 230g (just over)
Protein: 89g (over)
Fat: 43 g (under)
Sat Fat: 11g (under)
Sodium: 1,645mg (under and perfect!)
Cholesterol: 110mg (under)
I'm seeing the scale moving downward already, which is nice; but what is nicer is the feeling of accomplishment I have. I AM following through on my training plan. I AM working out every day. I AM eating very healthy meals again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
