Thursday!

So I haven’t written in a while! Not because I didn’t want to! I have been trying to work a little, you know…bring home some bacon… earn my keep… rake in some dough. That paired with my training schedule leaves me no time for blogging. Not to mention, keeping up with Facebook, Twitter and just regular emails…I have NO TIME!!! But today my bike ride got delayed slightly, so I thought I would try to shoot out a quick Thursday morning howdy-ho! Sup? NM, U?

So today is a tri day! I already went for my morning 5k run, my bike ride is within the hour, and I’m swimming tonight! I do love the days that I can actually do all three events at their full length! I feel that if I can do all three spaced out throughout the day, I should definitely be able to do them back to back the day of! Well, that’s what I’m hoping anyway!

Fast Forward…doooododoooo dodooodooddooooo

OK, so I just got back from my bike ride and I went a tad over the 12 miles, that I have to ride in the Danskin Tri. I actually did 20 miles!! Huh, go figure! Now if I just need to keep a float for 1/2 mile swim tonight! I am sooooo hungry! I am finding out that the diet of an athlete is totally different than the diet of a non athlete. I am hungry all the time!!! And not just hungry…STARVING…FAMISHED!!!! I started looking at what I eat in a day and what I should eat in a day. Yeah, I don’t eat enough! Nice problem to have, right? Not really! Let me explain!

I am a vegetarian. More specifically, I like to call myself a pescetarian, since I eat fish. But, I also eat dairy and eggs, so I have many ways to get my protein. I’m also now trying to eat more fresh foods and pulling away from the processed and manufactured foods. If it has an ingredient that I can’t say, I won’t eat it. I just feel better when I keep to the real food! The problem is trying to come up with an on the road, mid-workout snack that is packed with carbs and proteins. My standby is a baggie filled with almonds and craisins, but that gets a little old after a while! I would love a power bar, but again, there’s a lot of junk in those bars and they actually tend to be as bad for you as a candy bar. I tried making a power bar, but the ones I made are gooey and just don’t travel well! So a lot of times I go off for a long run or bike ride without a snack. That’s not healthy, and it makes it really difficult to get the calories I need for the day!

So according to my computations, with all the exercise I did today, I should take in 2500 calories to sustain me. And this will allow me to lose 1 pound this week. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t eat 2500 calories everyday, unless I am working out like I did today! My base calorie intake should be around 1400. Then, when I add exercise, I can add calories. It makes you aware of how your body works and what it needs in terms of fuel. I didn’t reach my 2500 calories today! I am soooo tired I can’t stay awake! I have to go to bed….RIGHT NOW!!!!

GOODNIGHT!!!

Biggest Loser!?

I am a big fan of the reality show “The Biggest Loser”! This is a show that takes morbidly obese people and teaches them how to be fit and healthy; what is there not to like!? Have you seen to winners? They look GREAT and they are so inspirational! There was even a guy, Dane, who, after breaking the weight loss record by losing 100 pounds in 8 weeks, just ran a marathon with his wife after returning home from the ranch. Or did he?

As it turns out, he didn’t! He did run 17 miles, but then the producers were worried that they wouldn’t make the “shot” at the finsh line. So they gave him a 3 mile ride, to get him back on pace. Then they got their finish line shot and aired it as though he had actually completed the marathon. Are you kidding me? If I were Dane, I would be extremely ticked!! I mean, to run 23 miles…23 miles!…he only had 3 more miles to go!!! He gave that up for a producer who needed a shot at the finish line. Really?

Then, when it was revealed that he didn’t actually run the whole marathon, this poor man had to take the criticism, when it was the producer that forced the issue! Why isn’t anyone calling out the producer for this bad call? I mean, come on…this man was 412 pounds when the show started. He was sprinting towards certain death! Now, he can run for 23 miles! Kudos to him! May we all learn a little something from this man!

And all you “runners” who are distressed over this false claim, put the blame where it belongs! Blame the Biggest Loser producer who forced Dane to take the ride. And give Dane a break!

How to eat like an Athlete!

I’m hungry! I’m hungry all the time!!! This is expected since I’ve upped my workouts, right? I don’t know! I am trying not to gain weight while training for this triathlon, but my body is making it really hard! It’s screaming for FOOD!!!! I tried the “fill up on water” trick….NOPE, didn’t work! So what am I doing wrong? I want to look like an athlete, not a blubbery whale! How? What do athletes eat and when do they eat it? I am beginning to believe that it’s all in the timing! So I did a little research and here is what I found…

Weight Loss

Weight loss is a numbers game! It’s actually basic math! To lose 1 pound you have to expend 3500 calories more than you consume. Sounds like a lot right? Well break it down a little farther. If you want to lose a pound a week you would divide that 3500 calories by 7 days which gives you a 500 calorie deficit per day. Sounds doable right? Just cut out two 20oz Cokes…right?  Turns out there are a number of ways to lose this weight. You can eat less (not an option when you are training hard), burn off 500 calories through exercise (I’m doing that), or you can combine the two, eat less and burn more. This sounds simple, but doesn’t help me stop the cries for food! There must be more!!!

Fuel

Turns out that the body is fueled by carbohydrates. Hmmm! So what are those low carb dieters using for fuel? If you think of your body as a car, the carbohydrates are the gas, and protein is the oil. Would you put oil in your gas tank? Wait…I really don’t know anything about cars…so, let’s think of it as laundry, since that’s what I know! We have a load of clothes that needs washing. Think of the detergent as your fuel and the fabric softener as the protein.  Would you pour just fabric softener in your washing machine to clean your clothes? No! So why eat high protein when you are trying to fuel your body? Protein is used to repair the muscles after an intense workout. Like fabric softener is used to soften fabrics and prevent static. While the protein will fill you up, they are not as efficient as a carbohydrate in providing energy! Just like fabric softener will make your clothes smell good, but it won’t clean your clothes like detergent!

OK, now I feel like I am beginning to understand my diet flaw. I tend towards protein packed foods, because, being a vegetarian, I just figured that’s what I needed. I’ve been trying to stay away from carbs, thinking that they were BAD!!! Turns out, not all carbs are bad! The complex carbohydrates that come from whole grains found in oatmeal, multi grain bread and whole wheat pasta, are much more effective at fueling your body. Simple carbs that come from highly processed, white flour found in white bread, regular pasta and processed cereal, do not work your body to it’s maximum. So eat your carbs, but eat the brown ones!

Timing

DO NOT SKIP MEALS!!!! This is key to eating like an athlete! You must eat breakfast! I’ve heard my mother tell me this for years! But I’m just not a big fan of breakfast. I like my coffee alone! But according to everything I have read, you must “break” your fast in the morning with a high quality complex carbohydrate, such as oatmeal. If you exercise in the morning, make it a smaller size portion so you don’t feel weighed down.

Evidently, if you eat a big meal you should do so 3-4 hours before exercise. Smaller meals are fine 2 hours prior and snacks can be eaten right before and even during exercise, depending on how you feel!  Really, I can eat while I am exercising? This sounds wrong! But I will try!

And contrary to popular opinion, eating after a workout is a must! The experts say you must eat a balanced meal within 2 hours after your workout! This meal should include complex carbs, proteins and healthy fats. This will help the body repair the muscles and rev up the metabolism, so more calories are burned throughout the day!

So I have found that I was just doing the wrong foods at the wrong times. I am making the change and with any hope my body will stop screaming for food! I’ll keep you posted!

Goodnight!

So I woke up this morning feeling GREAT!! Full of energy and ready to conquer the world. That was 7 hours ago and now I am exhausted and it’s only lunchtime! Now, I know that I have kicked up the running thing a tad, but it isn’t like I am running a marathon every day! So why am I so tired!!!

Could it be because I’m not sleeping enough? YES!!! In fact, I am going to blame “lack of sleep” for many of my vices. I’m cranky…lack of sleep! Junk food binge…lack of sleep! Dirty house…lack of sleep! Cranky husband…hmmm…yep…that’s my lack of sleep, too!

I was watching The Today Show the other day and they did a story on a sleep diet. These woman were put on a diet of 7½ hours of sleep every night. Can you imagine being forced to sleep more? Ahhhhh, heaven! These women lost an average of a pound a week and reported that they had more energy and stamina!! Really? Just from sleeping more?

I started thinking about my sleep schedule and how it has changed this year. I used to wake up at 7:00AM on my own, no alarm needed and go non-stop until 11:30PM. Now I am serenaded out of bed at 5:30AM! That’s an hour and a half early. So am I going to bed an hour and half earlier?…NO!! So 1½ hours lost X 5 days (weekdays only), that’s 7½ hours of sleep a week that I’m not getting. That can’t be good! The recommended amount of sleep is 7½ – 8 hours of sleep a night in order to feel energized and lose weight!!! Really… lose weight! Can you believe that losing weight and feeling great could be as easy as going to sleep? I’m going to give it a try…so, GOODNIGHT!!!