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A Running Guide for the Overweight Runner

There is a man that runs around my town all of the time carrying himself with no evidence of being tired. You may see him out at the park r...

1.29.2010

January 29th & A Good Workout

I usually workout out at night time and tonight -- I lasted longer than the treadmill. I have been putting movies in while I get
on the treadmill and get so focused on the movie that I forget what I'm doing. Now, I don't fall off or anything and I still go at a pretty good pace; it's just that the treadmill doesn't go past so many minutes.

Food intake:

1. 1 1/2 cups of raisin bran
2. Banana
3. Oven roasted chicken breast sandwich w/ cheese and mayo
4. 18 pretzels
5. Apple sauce - 1 cup
6. 3 nacho chips from taco bell
7. 1 portion of chicken ques. From taco bell
8. 5 oz baked chicken
9. Steamed brocoli
10. 1/2 cup corn
11. Salad w/ green peppers, spinach, shredded cheese, olives,
12. Small portion of bread pudding
13. 60 + oz of water & 12 oz sprite


Workout:

treadmill - ...... 5.46 miles

Miles til goal: 956.50

January 28th & Treadmill Tip #2

I spend a lot of time on the treadmil trying to log some miles and I am continually learning ways to make that time go by smoother.

If you are going for:

...distance - maybe you are struggling with making that distance goal. If you are and your using that treadmill - put the treadmil in front of the tv as I've said before. Time and distance will fly by when you aren't so focused on the digits in front of you. Now, if you are an avid runner you might not like that advice. I am not an avid runner and have a lot of distance to cover to make my goal. That tv has been nice.

...a period of time - make a playlist on your mp3 player, ipod, or cd player that is the same length of time that you want to run. When your playlist is over, you're done.

...a complete workout - do a cross training of the treadmill. Every two to four minutes change the speed that you are going and every 4-6 minutes change the incline.

Also - if you don't have an mp3 player, iPod, or cd player - get one.

Food Intake:

1. 1 1/2 cup of Raisin Bran
2. 1 Banana
3. oven roasted chicken deli on tortilla w/cheese and mayo
4. 15 pretzels
5. 12 oz Sprite
6. 4 oz grilled chicken
7. salad w/cucumbers, green peppers, and 1 tbsp ranch
8. 1/2 cup apple sauce
9. 1 cup plain yogurt w/banana, strawberry slices, and agave nectar
10. one bite rule of white cake
11. 4 oz of Dr. P.
12. 60+ oz of water

Workout:
- Treadmill.......4.03 miles....I watched Surrogates during this workout.

Miles til Goal: 961.96

1.28.2010

January 27th & Metabolism

We all have different bodies and I'm particularly happy about that. There are numerous shapes, forms, and proportions of our bodies that exist and see every day. These bodies - as all living things do - have what is called Metabolism. Metabolism is, in layman's terms, the process of fuel (calories) being used to make your car (body) go or maintain itself. It is the chemical reaction of this process that ignites the fuel to move and provide your body energy.

Each body's metabolism will be different. The lazy, slow moving, and obese will most likely have slower metabolism while the slimmer, active, and healthier will experience what is called high metabolism. With the higher metabolism group, more calories are needed to produce the required energy. If you do not give your body what it needs than you can experience fatigue, sleepiness, and exhaustion.

When I was in college - I didn't have a lot of money (who does in college) and drove to the city nearby for something. I was on my way back home and was about five minutes away when my car ran out of gas. I literally was about 100 feet from the exit ramp and didn't have enough gas to get home; we probably drove on fumes for 10 miles. It is a lot like the body. If a body runs out of fuel(energy/calories) then it will start to run on fumes and exhaust all other resources (muscles) until it simply runs out of gas and moves no more. As all living things need this process called metabolism to be steady and efficient, when the metabolism stops - the living ceases to live.

A good way to increase your metabolism is to control your calorie intake and most importantly EXERCISE!

You can put in the calories and even cut calories but if you are not exercising then you are not expending those calories that you have put in nor are you activating the calories to be put to use. Anything above the necessary amount of calories to maintain your body weight simply turns into fat. If you cut the calories by a little and up your physical activity -- you should notice an increase in Metabolism. If you cut your calories and are not active than you will have a decreased amount of metabolism.

There are foods that will help increase your metabolism as well -- more on that later.

If you would like an in depth definition of Metabolism click Here or here is an article discussing Metabolism at greater length.

Food Intake:

1. 1 1/2 cup of Raisin Bran
2. 1 Banana
3. cup of coffee
4. Deli oven roasted chicken w/cheese on a tortilla (ran out of bread)
5. 18 pretzels
6. Apple
7. 3 small p/b cookies (not a slip up)
8. 12 oz sprite
9. 4 oz of Dr. P
10. 4 oz of ground beef
11. 4 stems of steamed brocoli
12. 1 cup of steamed green beans
13. 1 cup plain yogurt w/banana, sliced strawberries, sweetened with agave nectar
14. 60+ oz of water


Workout:

-Basketball -- 2.12 miles..........we played pretty badly for a while there but ended on a good note.

Miles til Goal: 965.99

1.26.2010

January 26th & Temptations

Maybe you don't know but I am a teacher at a small private school. We were studying how to make alterations to recipes (increasing and decreasing ingredient measurement). They asked if they could get extra credit if they did measurements while baking at home and bring their results in the next day, today.

This is where the temptations came in. Today - during our Math class -- they all got out their gorgeous, sugary, and very carefully made temptations. I have to admit that I had the thought of eating a couple items and then just not posting it on here but I know I would think about it because I wasn't honest to those that read this. I delighted in some of those tasty treats and regretted it later. I am not killing myself over that slip-up because I have allowed myself a small sweet increment every day since I've started this. I understand it's not an over-night change and with that - I have to learn from it.

We went to Subway tonight for dinner and I did overcome that White Chip Macadamian Nut cookie that I absolutely desire when I see it. I did not buy that one and forgot about it as soon as I left the pay counter. Good advertising though on their part because while I got a healthy meal I saw that cookie and about negated the healthy portion.

As rough as it may have been today with the temptations - I know I can finish it out strong.

Food Intake:

1. 1 1/2 cup of Raisin Bran
2. 1 cup of Coffee
3. 15 pretzels
4. 1 Deli Chicken , oven roasted, sandwich on wheat w/ cheese and mayo
5. 12 oz Sprite
6. 1 apple
7. 2 small blond brownies - oops
8. strawberry cookie (?) and p/b cookie -- double oops
9. oven roasted chicken breast salad from Subway w/french
10. 1 cup plain yogurt blended with 1 banana, sliced strawberries and sweetened with agave nectar
11. 60+ oz water

Workout:

-Treadmill...................4.45 miles --------------- The last two days I have picked up the miles. I have been on the treadmill during two whole movies in two days. It really made the time go by though. Maybe I should do movie reviews at the same time on this blog.

If I finish January at this pace I will only be off pace by 22 miles (approximate).

Miles til Goal: 968.11

January 25th and Processed Vs. Fresh 2

We talked on the benefits of Fresh foods in another post and we are revisiting that today to get get a clearer viewpoint of processed foods. In comparison to fresh foods - processed foods can not hold their weight and will lose the health battle every time. There are many problems that are associated with processed foods when it deals with overall health. Will the one processed meal kill you? No. Will the one processed meal after another slowly build up and gradually take you to poor health in which increases your chances of life-threatening sickness and disease? Yes! Maybe that sounds too hard and I'm not giving it a chance but this is reality and the reality is that America is fat. That fatness is coming from somewhere and it's out of control.

What are processed foods? Processed foods are any food that has been changed in any way from the state that they were naturally. The linked site on processed foods says, " Processed foods have been altered from their natural state for safety reasons and for convenience." There are many foods that will be considered as processed foods with this definition. My opinion is that if you do not grow it or buy it in its natural form it has undergone some type of processing. This does not have to be a negative thing if you know what you are buying. There are some processing techniques that can preserve the life of the natural food; for example, freezing and dehydrating. This does not change the genetic make-up of the food. If you do not know where it came from and it does not look like the natural form -- consider it processed (this does not make it processed - just a guide to go by). Another way to consider if it is processed is to look at the Sodium. Click here to learn more about how much Sodium a healthy adult should take in.

Processed foods use high levels of salts, refined flours, and sugars among other things. This processing leads to an array of health problems like elevated blood sugar levels, digestion problems, obesity (which leads to fatigue, heart problems, gut problems, breathing problems), skin issues, and many others.

Food Intake: approx. 1,745 Calories



Workout:

- Treadmill ......4.35 miles.......

Miles til Goal: 972.56

1.24.2010

January 24th and no Internet

I started to blog yesterday and had to leave fully thinking that I could finish my blog when we got to the place we were going but the Internet was down. I had my blackberry but there is no way I can blog and that --- makes mereally want an iPhone. My iPod is awesome and really
makes me want to change my carrier so that an iPhone is an option. Anyways, I am back and will finish my post that I started as well as food intakes. I will add my workouts though.

Workout today:

- basketball........1.59 miles

miles til goal: 976.91

1.23.2010

January 23rd & adequate sleep

We can pick up part two of the Processed Vs. Fresh later (once I have a better outlook on processed food). Adequate sleep, I think is an important topic in which hardly gets enough credit when talking about better health. I am not the poster child for getting enough sleep but I do understand the importance of getting quality sleep and the affect it can have on an entire day.

Adequate sleep is something the body needs to have to function at 100%. Granted, some people don't need as much as the next person to function at a high level but I do think that overall health makes a difference. Sleep gives rest to the body. We don't need to go into the dynamics and science of sleep but here are a couple quick formulas for you.


No Sleep + Bad Eating = tired and fat with no energy

Sleep + Bad Eating = fat with 1/2 energy

No Sleep + Good eating = Tired with 1/2 energy

Sleep + Good Eating = Full Functioning Body


If you are trying to get to a place of better health - changes have to be made in order for you to succeed. There is a quote and I don't know the author (Einstein, Chinese Proverb, i don't know) of it that defined Insanity.

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

Change has to take place. We will not succeed doing the things that got us in poor health to begin with.

I found an Article done by a student at Stanford. It talks about the benefits of sleep and some of what hinders our sleep.

Food Intake:

Because this is such a long post already - I'm just going to give Calorie Intake, which was 1,849. This is the closest that I think I could get on actual calories going in. On Saturdays I have rewarded myself with Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice Latte' and a slice of bread to go with. It was the only thing different for my eating schedule. It has been a good thing to look forward too throughout the week.

Workout:
- Treadmill ....... 4.26 miles

Miles til Goal: 978.5

1.22.2010

January 22nd & Processed Vs. Fresh

Obviously, when we speak of processed food compared to fresh food, it is no secret that fresh food is the route to take. Speaking in terms of easiest to access, buy, and make - the competition is a little closer. If we take any care for what we put into our bodies we know and can attest that processed foods are not the healthiest decision and negate much of the work that we put into making ourselves healthy. Our bodies have trouble breaking these foods down, as pointed out yesterday in the comments of yesterday post, processed food can also have much sodium attached to it. When you sodium intake is poor - poor health conditions thrive (such as heart attack, exhaustion, stroke, etc.). This topic of Sodium will be discussed at another time though because right now I'm still learning. So, what I want to do is get some more opinions on the idea of Processed Vs. Fresh foods. Today...let's discuss the benefits of Fresh food. If you have additional information -- please comment below!

Fresh foods...

- ...contain natural vitamins and essentail nutrients
- ...help to build immune system
- ...will help fight off harmful bacteria entering the body on a daily basis
- ...are able to be grown by the consumer (you)
- ...help the digestive track (better digestion)
- ...lowers chances of obesity (a person can still get fat on fresh foods though)
- ...increases your chances of fat loss
- ...contain natural sugars which provides for the sweet tooth (fruits)
- ...provide energy

Now, these are not all of the benefits and I'm sure I am missing a few vital positive benefits of fresh foods. Please fill me in if I am. I would not be doing any justice if I just said that there are no setbacks to fresh foods. While they are the healthiest route - buying fresh costs money. If you are not able to grow your own vegetables or fruits and have no local farmer's market -- then you are left with the grocery store in which can charge crazy prices for very little quantity and/or quality. This is my solution though - stop spending the money at fast food joints and you will have more to buy healthy foods with. It's an idea.


Food Intake:

1. 1 1/2 cup of Cornflakes with 1/4 cup of walnut pieces.
2. 1 Banana
3. 4 oz chicken in fresh salad (romaine lettuce, cucumber slices, carrot shavings, tomato) w/Italian dressing
4. About 18 petzels
5. 12 oz diet pepsi
6. 3 peanut butter cookies - (small girl scout cookies)
7. 5-6 oz garlic herb chicken
8. Mixed cooks vegetables (squash, carrots, brocoli)
9. Sweet & salty peanut bar
10. 20 oz sprite
11. 60+ oz water
12. 1 cup plain yogurt blended with 1 banana, strawberry slices, mixed with frozen blueberries, blackberries, raspberries



Workout:

Treadmill: I did not get to work out today-----not cool.

Miles til Goal: 982.76