Tuesday, June 21, 2011

More myths about dieting and general updates

Alright, I'm on a bit of a kick on sorting fact from fiction. Yahoo! has another good article about diet and exercise myths, and I admit I've fallen victim to number 2 to some extent. My thoughts when I first started running were "I run a lot now, so I can eat a lot more". Yeah, that's wrong. Oops! I know I'm not the only one who thinks that way, and it can be really hard to find the balance in eating and exercise. We can't stop eating, but we can't go overboard just because we're getting more exercise in.

On a similar line of thought, check out the latest news on Olestra. Turns out fake fat makes you fat. It's similar to the fake sugar makes you fat news. While the thought of Olestra has always made me ill, I do admit to a Coke Zero with lunch when I'm at work. The rest of the time I am drinking water, and when I eat out sometimes unsweet tea. It's my vice, and I figure there are worse things I can do.

As far as how I'm doing, I've discovered something that I suspected would happen. Some of my larger muscles are atrophying. This is why I knew I'd need to get some new exercise in if I didn't want to stick with running for the summer, but it's not making me happy. I have a feeling that while I hadn't been gaining weight before it will start coming back because I don't have the muscles burning away all day long like I did before.

My excuse? Well, aside from the horrific heat we've experienced so far in Georgia it's all revolving around the lack of a fan in my basement and how it needs to be cleaned. Lame? Oh yeah. Is it working? Sure is. I still haven't done a damn thing in the exercise department. This weekend I am cleaning the basement and buying a fan!! And because I said it here, I will feel guilty until it is accomplished. Hopefully. We'll see :)

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Calorie Myths

Since running involves more awareness of fueling your body and a good diet, I thought readers might find this particular article interesting. I've been doing more and more research lately about what a "healthy" diet really means, and I've also been noticing something about myself. Even though I haven't been exercising much, okay at all, I've been keeping off the weight I lost training for the half marathon and in fact I think I've lost a little more.

Here's a couple things I've noticed in the past several months:
  • Even though I was training like a fiend for the half marathon, I only lost 10 pounds. WTF?! All that training and only 10 pounds were lost??? I know I gained some muscle too, but sheesh...
  • I had to eat like crazy for that training. If I didn't pretty much eat all day long, I was dealing with major hunger issues. This confirms my belief that you can't cut calories and exercise a lot without some major repercussions.
  • Now that I'm not training or exercising, I expected the weight to pile back on. It hasn't (as I mentioned above).
  • Careful grazing (I eat on a very specific schedule) with protein packed into each meal has keep my hunger down and keeps me focused.
  • Cutting sugars (with the exception of whole fruit) has been a major success. My glucose levels don't spike and my skin has cleared up. Most people don't realize that excess sugars in your diet cause acne breakouts.
Long story short: I gave up calorie counts, caloric burn, and obsessing over weight loss. This has allowed me to just be content, enjoy food, and feel better overall.

I hope this helps if you're trying to lose weight. Weight loss is different for everyone, and there is no "easy fix". Good luck!