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!
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