If at first you don't succeed, jump on the treadmill

My intention was to get in a nice long cardio workout before my strength training routine yesterday. I was all set to slip into the big class room, jump on a spin bike and hide out for as much time as my partner would allow. As it turns out, there was a class going on. Crap, I still need the cardio. Reluctantly I moseyed over to a treadmill. I looked at it, it looked back at me (long pause) and I thought back to the last time our paths crossed. I lasted ten minutes and spent the next week or more paying for it with my foot aching for days. Limping should never be considered a reward. So yesterday, as I looked down the barrel of this treadmill I thought, "Its me or you buddy, I'm sick of this bullshit." I started off at a nice walking pace and deduced that I would do intervals of one minute walking and five minutes running for thirty minutes, or for as long as my lil legs would take me. I cranked up the speed to 5.0 (10 min mile) this was good. Five minutes into it I didn't feel like walking. I kept going. My 5:1s were now going to be 7:1s. But when I got to seven minutes I felt great. I didn't feel winded, my legs didn't ache, my foot wasn't screaming out in sheer pain! This is good. I took the speed up to 6.0 (9 min mile) and held it there for the next twenty minutes. I kept repeating to myself that I felt great. I'd adjust my posture accordingly, loosened up my hips, watched my breathing (not that one can actually watch their own breathing, but you know what I mean). And as I finished out 3 miles at a speed of 7.0,  somewhere around 30 minutes I was beaming. This is NOT a stellar time by any stretch, but for me, having not run any real distance since last October, this was remarkable. That treadmill was mine.

Quinoa with Broccoli and Carrots

Holy mother of yummy!

1 1/2 cup Quinoa (rinse well before cooking)
1 can of chicken broth (low sodium)
1 cup water
3 carrots chopped
2 cups broccoli
pinch of Kosher salt
1 tsp of olive oil
Fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup (or less) fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Bring water and broth to a boil. Toss in the rinsed Quinoa and cover. Let this cook for about 10 minutes or until Quinoa is tender (not mushy). Once cooked strain. Put Quinoa back in casserole dish.
Steam carrots and broccoli separately. Add steamed carrots and broccoli to crock pot and fold in with Qunioa. Add a pinch of Kosher salt, pinch of fresh ground pepper, splash of olive oil. Fold in Parmesan cheese. Cover and let stand. Serve warm.

Strength of Speed?

Its becoming more and more evident to me that while I may not be able to run right now, I can certainly build strength. Over the last couple of months I've been focusing on strength training. Getting into the gym for hardcore circuits, core work and muscle building. Now I don't want to be a no-neck, I do know that my muscles could definitely be stronger. A good measure of this strength has been pull-ups. First of all, I learned that there is a huge difference between a chin-up and a pull-up. HUGE difference. A chin-up targets the shoulder muscles, with help from the elbow flexors including biceps, which in my mind makes this far easier than a pull-up. Because the hands are pronated, facing away from you, the muscles targeted are largely your back muscles, making this far more difficult.

When I first began this strength training regime I was barely able to do one pull-up. Yesterday I completed two sets of six pull ups. The nice thing is that my muscles are strong and lean, I'm not getting bulky from this work. What I am getting is a feeling of being much much stronger. I feel that when I am able to go back to running, biking and swimming at a comfortable pace, I'll be doing it with a much stronger body. Pretty damn cool if you ask me. I should put some before and after pictures up!

The Pyramid is Dead!

On January 31, 2011 the US Department of Agriculture released the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010. Maybe this 112-page document isn't a real page-turner, but it tells us should be no surprise. In the press release issued on the same day, the USDA acknowledges that two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese. Stop and think about that number. Two out of every three Americans! Do you know what it takes to become obese? There are five agreed upon classifications for Body Fat Percentages, and they are different for men and women, as would be expected. A women's body fat needs to be more than 30% to be considered obese, and 1/3 of Americans are just that! If you weight 190lbs, and your percentage of body fat is 30% this means that you are more than 57% fat.

There are various ways to measure body fat on each person. The least expensive way would be to have a Skinfold test done. This is a simple technique where a trained professional walks around to various parts of your body, and using calipers, measures the thickness of skinsfolds at various points. Sounds like fun doesn't it?! While this might not the best method, it is certainly the most cost effective approach and does yield results that can be measured over time.

So, back to food and the latest guide issued by the USDA. What's the big difference between this guide and the good ole food pyramid? Take a look at the image below. Notice that the majority of our food intake was supposed to be breads, cereal, pasta and rice; six to eleven servings a day! What is amazing still is that grains ranked higher than fruits and vegetables. Really?

One of the most important messages that this new guide is telling us is to eat foods that we can identify, meaning, not processed and simply eat less of it. One of the fastest ways to lose weight and to keep it off is by monitoring calories in vs. calories out. How many calories are  you eating on a daily basis and where are those calories coming from? Are they empty calories that leave you unsatisfied and even more hungry? Or are they calories that are packed with nutrients that your body needs to sustain itself?

Lose a pound a week!

There are 3,500 calories in one pound of body fat. That's right! 3,500. If you decreased your calorie intake by 500 calories a day, just 500, that would result an approximate loss of one pound a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories). Now combine that with a little exercise. On average, 30 minutes of cardio activity will burn 250 calories. Start doing the math and you've created a simple, sustainable weight-loss plan. It does help to have help, support and guidance along the way, but its not impossible to create a healthy lifestyle without going overboard. Take a look at the latest USDA guidelines, couple that with a little un-commonsense (because, let's face it, there is no such thing as commonsense) and dog-gone-it you might see some great changes!

Helpful? Not helpful? Do you disagree?

Food Diary

How telling is your diet? If you were asked to write down everything you ate for one week, and be completely honest, how do you think you'd feel about the results? Well, that's what I'm about to do. My relationship with food is challenged at best. I know that my perceptions of what I eat are not accurate. I know that I think  that I eat healthier that I do. But what I think and what I actually do  are two different things. Not only am I going to write down everything that I eat, but I'm going to write down the time that I eat it, and the amount I consume to the best of my ability. At the end of the week, I'm going to post it for all the world to see, analyze, scrutinize and pick apart. I'm hoping that I learn a thing or two about what I'm doing right and where I can make improvements.