An observation...

I get bored sometimes and click on "Next Blog" at the top of the screen to see what other bloggers on blogspot are talking about. What I've noticed is there are a lot of cancer patients out there writing about their journeys online. I also found one about a mother's experiences with her cerebral palsy child, a deaf college student, and a bisexual. But mostly cancer. A lot of cancer. Makes me sad really.

But take hope! While many cancers are unavoidable, research shows that trying to stay at a healthy weight and eating right with exercise thrown in the mix can reduce some cancers. Sometimes it takes seeing other people struggle in life to make you realize that your life isn't so bad. In fact, I think I have it pretty good. :)

What have you done to cut back on calories?

I'm hypoglycemic. I'm also trying to cut some useless and empty calories from my diet. The best way for me to do that is by cutting sugar, because I take care of two birds with one stone. Since my blood sugars can be fickle, simply cutting out sugar in my diet helps significantly.

On that note, I've been drinking coffee. For those that know me this is really new. I got hooked on Starbuck's Caramel Brulee Lattes. *drool* Unfortunately I think all that extra milk (lattes are mostly milk with a shot of espresso and flavored syrup) wreaked havoc on my poor tummy. Because I rarely drink milk anymore and cheese and yogurt are very limited in my diet, I think my body is becoming lactose intolerant. I became so bloated I couldn't fit into my pants comfortably! Uggghhhhh! Sure enough, cutting out the lattes and milk caused my body to revert back to a more normal state (a more comfortable state).

I had a coffee this morning and decided to try using Splenda instead of sugar. I also used coffeemate creamer, which is non-dairy according to their website. Splenda is NASTY! OMG! I can't get the taste out of my mouth! AAHHHHH!!! Not even Coke Zero will wash it away.

Here's my dilemma - I want to continue drinking coffee, but regular sugar is really not an option (but it tastes so much better). Splenda is nasty. Equal and Sweet-n-Low are both worse than Splenda. What's a gal to do?? Coffee is actually good for you, and the coffeemate is something I can live with to avoid the milk bloat. What is a good alternative to artificial sweeteners and refined sugar? What will have little to no impact on my blood sugar? I will try Truvia next time and let you all know how that goes. If that doesn't work I don't know what will.

My latest training plan

Remember how I'm not really doing a good job of running? Well, my goal is to be ready for the Warrior Dash by May 22nd. Because I have to be able to run 3.2 miles and handle the obstacle course, I'm bound and determined to at least complete it without getting injured. I also have lots of friends participating, include Red and my hubby Rex. Red has been great about maintaining her training, so she'll do great. Rex and friends all need to build a good foundation, and I need to rebuild mine.

With that being said, I've found a great training plan for a 5k by Jeff Galloway. I've been developing more and more respect for the guy lately because I think his philosophy is great for runners of all levels, but especially people like me. People who sometimes have a hard time staying motivated, don't have a lot of endurance, and don't want to focus on speed. The plan takes about 4 months to complete, and so if you include some extra cross training we'll be doing it's really the perfect time to start come January.

I'm actually really excited that I'll be meeting with friends on the weekends to run. I just hope I can maintain some semblance of a training program during the week while I have school. I have literally 8 months of school left....7 classes total. I'm about half way finished with this graduate degree, and then I can hopefully start on my chosen career of project management. That, however is for another blog LOL!

Jingle Jog 5k

Despite not training since the last race, I ran in Uncle Julio's Jingle Jog on Saturday. This was mainly a toy drive for the Salvation Army (I brought a Barbie). Not having read much about this race I wasn't aware how large it would be. My guess is they had over 1000 people participating in the race itself. It got so crowded those of us who didn't finish quickly enough for them (I finished in 47 minutes, mostly walking) didn't even get to fill out time cards to see where we placed. Yes, those of us towards the back know we're not winning the race (duh!), but that doesn't mean we don't want to see how we ranked. We also didn't get any bells for our shoes per the advertisement for the race. So no jingling while we jogged! I believe they ran out before we got there.

I had a couple friends new to running join me. One friend ran the Pumpkin race with me along with another race in November called Rebecca's Run, while the other was running his first 5k ever. We ended up finishing together, and we're definitely signing up for a race in January.

We're killing ourselves!

We've all heard that we're too sedentary and that our inactive lifestyles are increasing our likelihood to be obese, develop type 2 diabetes and develop heart disease. But did you know that the very act of sitting for too long dramatically increases those risks, despite how fit we are? That's what this article I came across on msnbc.com states.

I've often thought of this fact when I'm wondering about my own health and weight. Prior to the invention of computers and tv and cars, people led more active lifestyles by the very nature of their environment. Need to go somewhere? Walk or ride a horse (yes buggies and carriages existed but most people were more active than that). Need to eat something? Go hunt or farm for that food. Want to get a new dress? Make it yourself. Floors dirty? Sweep it with a broom. All those activities during the day equals more calories burned. No wonder why "gym rats" often still struggle with their weight and resort to drastic measures like eating the blandest, low-fat, high protein food imaginable. Ew. I'd rather be fat.

So what's the point? Besides wanting to eat what I find tasty and nomalicious and not torturing myself at the gym, I need to be more active in all my actions. You do too. Try little things like walking to your co-worker's desk instead of sending an e-mail or taking the stairs instead of the elevator. I struggle with these things too, especially since it's a little embarrassing to take the stairs and finally emerge onto the 5th floor of my office huffing and puffing like a pathetic wimp. The key is to try.