The ‘D’ Word

Diet and weight loss is something I have rarely talked about on this blog. In the almost four years (wow, how did that happen?) that I’ve been writing at Early Morning Run, my life has been focused on a few specific things when it comes to health and fitness -

• Training for a marathon while recovering from major surgery
• Dealing with the lingering affects of Cushing’s Disease
• Learning how to cook healthy meals, and cooking often
• Training for races
• Staying injury free

As you can see, weight loss and dieting have not been on my mind.

Well, a few weeks ago losing weight moved up a few notches on my importance ladder. I’m not going to get into it too deeply here, I won’t chronicle my weight loss journey (no offense at all to bloggers who do) but this blog is about living a healthy life and part of that is living life at a healthy weight – both for body and soul – so I hope you’ll bare with me for this post!

Truth is, I’ve gained weight over the last several years and while some of extra pounds are likely due to Cushing’s, as it’s part of the disease, I haven’t been happy for a while now with how I feel and look and I know there must be something I can do about it. I don’t feel my best and that affects more than just how my clothes are fitting. So I decided it was time to take action.

One of the first tips you’ll come across when looking to lose weight is to keep a food diary, tracking everything you eat so you see how much you’re actually putting in your mouth. We tend to drastically underestimate the amount of calories we consume each day and this helps us focus and take accountability. I’ve kept a food diary in the past but it usually only lasted a couple weeks at longest for various reasons including the fact that I got bored with it and just didn’t want to take the time. When talking with my friend Gracekelle about my goal to lose a few pounds she told me about a food diary app that she claimed was easy and fast to use. “Yeah right” I said. But she said she had been using it for a while and knew of some great success stories. I was curious and had to check it out.

Meet my new friend MyFitnessPal. More than 20 days later I’m still logging in daily to track my food and exercise and I don’t see myself quitting anytime soon. I have definitely altered my eating habits and realized that even though I’ve been eating healthfully, I’ve been eating more calories than I should. So far I’ve only lost a few pounds but I’m seeing progress which is great and pushes me to keep going!

A few of my favorite things about MyFitnessPal:

• Easy to use web-based platform and app so I can track at home, at the office or on the go. And the Windows Phone app is even pretty good, which is amazing
• Once food is entered into the diary it’s stored in the user’s profile so it can easily be found and added again; it’s even possible to copy full meals from one day to another which I LOVE since I often eat the same breakfast and lunch
• The food database is large and it’s easy for users to add to it. Bonus: users can verify nutrition values so you know the stats are right when you add a food item to your log
• You can track your exercise to see how many calories you’re burning and how that affects your calorie allotment for the day in terms of food intake
• There is a social component so you can friend other users, offer encouragement and support, but you don’t have to participate if you are already on enough social media platforms for your liking and you just want to keep things simple
• There are message boards where users can ask questions, learn new tips and celebrate success
• Nutrition, exercise and progress reports let users track how they’re doing from a lot of angles – especially great if you love numbers and data – which a lot of runners do!
• It’s free
• It’s EASY TO USE

Overall I’m a big fan, but nothing is ever perfect and so to give you the full scoop here are a few things that could use some work in my opinion:

• While it’s possible to enter strength training into your daily diary the program doesn’t show how that helps you reach your weight loss goal even though building muscle is a really important part of the process, essentially putting all the emphasis on cardio
• The program isn’t transparent about how it calculates the calories burned during various forms of exercise
• I’ve come across a few cardio and strength exercises that aren’t included in the database yet

All in all I highly recommend this program if you’re looking to lose a few pounds or just keep track of what you’re eating – which can never hurt if you ask me!

If you are interested in trying it out but have questions, feel free to leave a comment or email me!

• Do you keep a food and/or exercise diary?
• If you’ve worked to lose a few pounds in the past, what worked best for you to reach your goal?

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Today’s workout (extra long, I had the day off!) -

• 4 mile run
• 65 min elliptical
• 3x12 lat pulldown
• 3x10 tricep pushdown
• 3x10 upright row
• 3x10 lateral arm raises
• ab exercises

Working Out After Work and Focusing

I didn't workout yesterday morning due to the torrential downpour and high winds. Woody is out of town for a few nights for work. I had to kill time till the 9:30pm game time for the MSU vs. Duke showdown in the Big 10/ACC Challenge. My strength training has taken a major hit since I started working again and had to shorten my daily workouts. All of these things made me decide to try an after work workout last night.

I got home, got changed, and ran down the few flights to the gym in our apartment building. It's not big but it has a good amount of equipment and was sufficient for what I wanted to do last night. I started with an easy 5 minute warm up on the stationary bike and then moved to the free weights. I did some crunches, planks and used a couple machines before I finished with another 5 minutes on the bike and a run up the stairs back to our apartment.

I'm really glad I did this. I realized that I really have lost some strength that I need to rebuild. I also noticed, looking in the mirror, that I've gained more weight than I'm comfortable with. I've felt it but seeing it in that mirror, for some reason, really hit home and I need to focus and loose a few pounds. After my first injury last year and not being able to workout for a while, I gained a few pounds but compared to when we got married, it's more than just a few. Looking at our honeymoon pictures while writing yesterday's post, I remembered how thin I was compared to now and how strong and good I felt. I want to get back there. I really wish I had kept a food log back then that I could refer to. Truthfully, I don't know what I weigh right now. I have an idea, but not an exact number since I hardly weigh myself. I really don't feel comfortable right now and that's the main reason why I need to focus and loose some weight. Plus, it'll help me with my running! I know this isn't going to be easy for me, especially during the holidays when everything seems to be calling my sweet tooth's name, but I have to do it for my health and my general well being. I'm going to use my own tips, and yours, to stay motivated and reach my goal!

I really liked doing this quick workout last night and I'm going to add at least one after-work workout to my schedule each week. It only takes about half an hour and I can definitely make time for that!

Once I got back I made a healthy dinner for one. Eggs, whole grain sprouted bread, hummus, salad with hericot verts and a pear.

Then I hung out and anxiously awaited the start of the basketball game! Unfortunately the game didn't turn out how I had hoped it would.

I did get to the gym this morning and no soreness yet from last night's workout. They opened late today, so all I could fit in was my cardio and a little stretching and I may head back down to the gym in our building tonight!

Do you ever split up your workouts because of time?
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last night's workout -
5 minute bike warm-up
3x10 of each:
hammer curl
bicep curl
overhead tricep extension
tricep dips
upright row
lat pull down
leg extension
2x40sec planks
100 crunches
5 minute bike cool-down

today's workout -
45minutes/5.25mile elliptical
1x40sec plank
1x50sec plank
stretching

"Weighty Matters" Recap

First, thank you so much for all of your kind words and good wishes after my post on Saturday. I really appreciate the support! (One thing that makes this community so great!!) I see the podiatrist soon and will let you know what happens.

Friday I mentioned briefly that I had attended a program titled: “Weighty Matters: Effectively Communicating About Weight & Health.” The panel was sponsored by the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) and STOP Obesity Alliance. When I first read about the event on NEDA’s website, I found it a bit odd that these two organizations would be joining forces, but when explained to us Friday morning, it seemed like a perfect fit. Both organizations are concerned about how the media (news and entertainment) portrays body image, weight, and health. The goal set forth was to create a productive discussion between panelists and also audience members in order to devise productive guidelines for media to follow while reporting on health and weight issues. Both organizations feel something needs to be done about the unrealistic images portrayed in the media and also that the media has a responsibility to clarify what is healthy and fit.

Panelists included: Emme (model & NEDA Ambassador), Dr Max Gomez (Medical reporter for WCBS-TV), Kate Dailey (reporter for Newsweek), Wendy Naugle (Deputy Editor, Glamour Magazine), Dr. Donna Ryan (President, The Obesity Society), Jen Drexler (Partner, Just Ask a Woman), Joe Nadglowski Jr. (President & CEO, Obesity Action Coalition), and Dr Ovidio Bermudez (Past President, NEDA). Also in the audience were Laila Ali (Muhammad Ali’s daughter) and Matilda Cuomo (former First Lady of New York).

Here are a few key points I wanted to share with you:

• Overwhelming consensus that there needs to be a shift in focus from appearance and weight to health. The link between body image and weight needs to be broken.
• Society tells us to eat all the time (marketing, culture, etc) but we’re not supposed to look as though we do.
• Media shorthand says thin = healthy and fat = unhealthy. As of yet, there is no language to describe the spectrum of what health looks like.
• Media often reports studies without putting results into context or linking one study to another (and often time’s results are conflicting).
• Obesity is not easy to live with – quality of life is greatly diminished, psychologically and physically.
• There is a worry that the emphasis on weight-loss (not health) will trigger eating disorder tendencies in some people. Thus, the need to focus on health.
• While the diet industry is expanding, people are not getting healthier.
• The diet industry is ‘teaching’ how to lose weight rather than doctors and health professionals.
• Doctors need more training on nutrition and weight loss to effectively communicate with patients.
• Health insurance plans need to cover weight loss and nutritional counseling.
• The goal of the food industry will always be profits, but they do need to take some responsibility. People need to vote with their dollars. Don’t support companies that don’t support health.
• A decrease in weight of just 5-10% can result in health improvements, making the need for some medications unnecessary and decreasing the risk of some diseases and conditions.
• People need to take responsibility for their own condition and habits.
• The media and corporations need to start talking to women (and men) how they talk, and understand the issues they face every day.
• Media should focus on healthy habits – being active and eating right – rather than numbers on a scale and appearance.
• The focus needs to be placed on parents - their actions and words. When a young boy is referred to as a ‘big boy’ it is seen as a good thing, but a ‘big girl’ is a concern. Also, parents need to set good examples when it comes to eating and activity levels.

A note about BMI: BMI measurements are effective when tracking populations over time but it is not necessarily good on an individual basis. For instance, body builders may have high BMI’s while they are extremely fit but have high muscle mass. The Doctors on the panel agreed that we should use BMI because it is a scale we have that can be used, but more research needs to be done and the fitness of a person should be determined by other factors in addition to the BMI test.

The two hour discussion could have easily turned into an all day event. I wish the event had gone longer as I feel there were more topics to cover and ideas to be shared. The mostly female audience was passionate and full of concern, yet ready to for action. I’m not entirely convinced that enough attention was really paid to the core reason for the panel – creating guidelines for the media when discussing weight – but I hope the event does lead to change, or at least more discussion. While people are encouraged to lose weight, the emphasis should be put on health not looking a particular way. It does seem to be human nature (at least in this culture) to want to look a certain way, and we probably will never completely get rid of that ‘ideal image,’ but perhaps if the media alters the way it covers this issue, then maybe more people will be able to lose weight and gain health through a sensible approach and be able to keep the weight off once they’ve lost it because they’ll change their lifestyle rather than follow a fad diet that isn’t design to be sustained.

What do you think? Do you think the news & entertainment media have any responsibility when it comes to discussing weight?

For further reading, here's an interesting graphic you may want to take a look at from The New York Times yesterday.

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Workout Stats -
13.75mi bike
90 crunches
3x10 overhead tricep extensions
3x10 tricep kickbacks
3x10 (ea side) weighted twists
3x10 leg curls
stretching

It's Okay To Skip The Gym?!

Woody and I are an old married couple - we usually turn in pretty early each night in order to get up at 5am for the gym. Last night I stayed up a bit later since I had been out in the evening and didn't get to eat dinner until 9pm (I know, not healthy but it's definitely not a habit) and I needed to decompress a bit before I went to sleep. So, I caught the local NBC 11pm news which I don't typically do and they did a segment that bothered me just a little bit.

The lead in headline for the segment was "It's Okay To Skip The Gym" and "Looking for an excuse not to work out? We have it for you." That was what the newcasters were actually saying! I couldn't believe it and had to watch the segment.

Turns out they were really talking about studies that show (and I don't really think you need studies for this) women over the age of 40 are unable to lose weight with exercise alone. If they expanded the studies to younger women and men, I have a feeling they'd come to similar conclusions.

The segment included short interview clips with medical professionals as well as Sherry Glover (some of you NYers may know as one of the NYRR running class coaches) during a running class in Central Park Tuesday night. She was quoted saying that the majority of class participants are women and many of them are looking to use running as a way to lose weight. She also supported the claim that running, and fitness in general, must be accompanied by healthy eating in order to lose weight.

The segment bothered me a bit because the lead in was saying "hey, here's an excuse you can use not to workout. Since you have to exercise and eat well to lose weight, if you're not going to do both, why spend the hours at the gym?" Personally I think that's a pretty lazy way to look at things and only supports those who are looking for an easy out when all they may need is a little boost. Hey, I was one of those people just a few years ago.

I think everyone knows that they can't really lose weight without getting a bit of exercise and watching what they eat. But I also think that sometimes people believe they have to jump in and make huge changes immediately in order to do so or it won't work. It is possible to start with small changes that are easy to incorporate into every day. Yes, it's true, you don't have to go to a gym to do it. Just take a walk during the day, park as far away as possible at the grocery store and walk a bit further, take the stairs instead of the elevator, start to take a jog one or two days a week and make small food changes along with it. Make a few more each week and the weight will start to come off. 

While you may not technically need a gym (as the title of the segment suggested) to get exercise, the fact that weight loss and general good health requires us to get exercise and watch what we eat shouldn't be an excuse for anyone to do nothing. Eating well and being fit is a good feeling! I have definitely found that I feel at my best when I'm doing both and not indulging in too many treats (um, holiday time!) but still working out.

I planned ahead yesterday since I knew I'd be home late, so I boiled a few eggs to make a healthy and quick dinner. I wasn't too hungry, so I put together this simple dinner that was delicious and hit the spot.

Eating well doesn't have to require a lot of work. I had carrots, hummus, two egg whites and one full egg, and a pear. It was a perfectly healthy and quick meal for me last night and a found a great new flavor combo - hummus and egg!

What is your 'go to' healthy and quick meal when you have a busy day but still want to eat well?

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Workout Stats -
3/23 (Catching up since I was MIA yesterday, unless you follow me on Twitter. And if you don't, why not?!)
7mi elliptical
6mi stationary bike
3x10 (ea side) weighted side bends
3x10 tricep extensions
3x12 tricep dips
stretching
1.5mi walk (afternoon)

3/24 - rest day from gym, will get a walk in later this afternoon and enjoy a day without rain!