Going, Going…Gone

Following the marathon in October, I gained 3 pounds. It really didn’t start until November as a result of the holidays but mostly due to the fact I was working 70 hours a week. I wasn’t eating right and I definitely wasn’t getting my exercise in. I felt awful, but there was nothing I could do. I was so exhausted and so busy, I was just trying to keep sane. In January, things finally calmed down at my office and with my freelance work so I was able to get back into a routine.

The routine had its ups and downs. I was definitely going out to eat more to socialize with friends who I hadn’t seen during my busy time. So the 3 pounds wasn’t budging. Three pounds doesn’t sound like much, but if you let 3 slide, then it becomes 5 and then it becomes 10 and down rabbit hole you go. I was fretting about the 3 pounds, but I knew it’d come off eventually.

One of the hardest thing was getting a regular workout schedule going again at work. With a new promotion came new responsibilities and less time. However, my workouts are important not only for weight maintenance, but they help me greatly with stress. So I started marking them on my email calendar as a meeting so people wouldn’t schedule things at the office during this time. It really worked! I was able to leave and get my workout in. The interesting thing is that my work still got done. So it was okay to take some time for myself.

I cut back drastically on eating out. For one thing, I was tired of it. It doesn’t taste as good as homemade food and it was no longer a special treat I enjoyed. I made sure I allotted time to cook my meals and take my lunch. I got back to recording my calorie intake regularly as I had sometimes let it lapse.

Today, the 3 pounds is officially gone. It’s not much, but I can tell the difference in my clothes. I feel better too. Mostly I just feel good that I caught it before it turned into a serious number. That’s the key. If you put on a few pounds from the holidays or a vacation, it’s okay. It happens. Just make sure to get on top of it before it gets out of control. Put workout appointments on your phone or email calendar to make sure you get them in. Take time to record your food. These are all simple steps to success.

Is The Biggest Loser, the Biggest User?

I am a huge fan of the TV show, The Biggest Loser. I’ve watched it for years both when I was fat, hoping one day to lose weight and now thin rooting for them to lose weight. The show has been such a success, it’s spawned company weight loss contests and raised awareness for fitness and health in general. The Biggest Loser has meal plans to order, exercise equipment, a game for the Wii, a fitness resort and numerous cookbooks.

Yet, despite the immense success of the show and the contestants on it, there has always been controversy surrounding it. How many people have gained the weight back? Are the methods they use on the show healthy? Can losing that much weight so quickly be good for you?

Over the last few years, it’s begun to creep out that several of the season finale winners have gained all their weight back like season one winner Ryan Benson and season three winner Erik Chopin. Matt and Suzy Hoover have been very public about their struggles to keep the weight off. Despite finishing the Ironman in Kona, Matt is still quite far from his finale weight. It seems like the contestants who go back to normal lives that aren’t associated with the fitness industry struggle greatly with keeping the weight off. Others, who have pursued a career in fitness, tend to fare better.

I always assumed the show and the trainers somehow kept up with the alumni. I thought they at least checked in with them and tried to help as they adjusted back to normal life. But, it turns out they really kind of don’t get any help. The contestants themselves are a huge network with each other and consider themselves a family. I’ve seen via Twitter and Facebook how much they all work to encourage each other and help out. But I find it appalling that the show itself doesn’t do anything.

My heart broke the other day when I saw this blog post from season 8 fan favorite, Shay. She was the heaviest female contestant on the show and had lost over 200 pounds. She was brought back at later finales and signed deals with Subway to get $1000 for every additional pound she lost. She also made a deal with them to run the NY Marathon. She ended up getting injured and falling back to her old habits.

Yet, I was even more upset to read that the show more or less abandoned her. They wear Body Bugg devices on the show to accurately track their calorie intake and burn. The device itself is around $200 plus a monthly subscription fee of $9.99. The show provides it when they are on the show, but takes it away afterward. Seriously? All the money they make and they can’t provide that for their contestants. Would it really hurt them to check in on the contestants or provide them with a year gym membership after they leave to help them adjust?

I am not saying that weight gain is entirely the show’s fault. Not at all. People make their own decisions and struggling with weight is one of the hardest battles there is. Shay wasn’t trying to blame the show either. She knows she made her own mistakes. However, I just feel that with all the money the show makes and how those people at thrust into the spotlight, it is their responsibility to help them out for the first year.

They need to get used to not working out 6 hours a day and maintaining a healthy life on a normal workout schedule of maybe an hour a day while balancing family, a job, social life. They need help in learning how to eat a normal amount of food instead of the extreme dieting rumored to be going on on the show. And I think their trainer from the show needs to check in on them from time to time.

Losing weight is horribly difficult, but it’s so much harder to keep it off. I lost my weight gradually over 14 months. I had time to adjust and slowly change my life so it wasn’t scary or too much too quickly. These contestants literally drop hundreds of pounds in a matter of months. That’s horribly difficult for anyone to adjust to much less without the pressure of TV fame.

So I will continue watching the show for sure. I do think in the long run, it does much more good than harm. But the rose colored glasses have faded a bit and it makes me sad.

Half of America Obese by 2030?

ABC News: Half of America Obese By 2030?

I read the above article tonight on ABC News and was shocked to find that if we keep going at our current rate, 50% of America will be obese by the year 2030. That’s not just overweight or carrying around some extra pounds, that is obese. According to the article, this will end up costing Americans $66 billion a year in health costs.

I don’t know why, but this shocks me. I cannot believe that our obesity rate is this bad. I don’t know why I can’t believe it given our society. Everywhere I look food is processed, frozen or bought from a take-out chain. A large majority of people I know or am acquainted with don’t exercise regularly. I guess it isn’t that shocking when I really start to look around me and our country, but still, to comprehend that one out of every 2 people will be obese by 2030 is crazy. My family of 3 are all slender. My dad and I work out regularly and watch what we eat. My mother is just one of those lucky folks with sky high metabolism. Yet, according to the statistic, one of my family could be obese in 20 years.

This country needs drastic, severe help to stop this. We’re already in deep economical trouble and our healthcare system is a mess, if we had another $66 billion in healthcare costs every year, we’ll really be in trouble. We’re one of the wealthiest nations in the world and yet our health seems to be among the poorest, even including some third world countries.

Michelle Obama has initiated programs to improve school lunches and her “Let’s Move” exercise campaign, but we need a massive overhaul to fix this situation. Left and right, more and more fast food restaurants are opening up in my town, despite the economy. Yet, in reality, junk food is actually fairly expensive. It’s just faster than cooking your own food. But if people could realize that they could save money by not eating out so much, then maybe they’d be willing to sacrifice some extra time. A thirty minute walk 3 times a week makes a huge difference for a person’s health, yet millions of people claim they have no time to do it. In a week of 168 hours, you really can’t spare 1.5 hours to improve your health?

America has been a leader in so many things around the world both now and in history. We need to be a leader again, in good health, not in obesity. Change your future and start making small changes today. Lao Tzu said, “the journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step.” Pack a bag of carrot sticks and head out on a 30 minute walk. Repeat three times a week. That’s making a small change that will deliver a big impact.

Ninja Niblets: September 23, 2011

Just a few links and niblets to get your weekend started. Have a great weekend and try to incorporate some physical exercise into your time off. Take a nice walk, go for a run, go for a bike ride to enjoy fall weather!

High Intensity is Best for Burning Calories
FitSugar.com posted an article about a study recently done that has shown high intensity workouts are the best for burning calories. Some have theorized that long, slow workouts will get a good fat burn going, but in reality it’s high intensity workouts. So hop on the treadmill or elliptical and do some speed intervals for 30 minutes. Try 30 seconds high speed, 1 minute medium speed and do this on and off for 30 minutes. According to the study, your caloric burn will last for another 14 hours!

FitSugar: High Intensity Workouts Best

7 Exercise Machines to Skip
Not all exercise machines are created equal. Some cause more harm than good and others don’t do anything. Check out this list from Shape Magazine.

Shape Magazine: 7 Exercise Machines to Skip

Last Chance Workout
Have a race coming up? Runner’s World has come up with last chance workout plans to implement the week before a 5K, 10K, half or full marathon to help improve your speed for the race itself.

Runner\'s World: Last Chance Race Workout

Have a great weekend!

The Greatest Run

Last week, I had friends in from out of town for my 30th birthday. I was really busy taking them around and playing hostess as well as partying it up for the big milestone birthday. As a result, I didn’t get a run in for 4 days.

I didn’t think it’d be a big deal. I was happy to have my friends in town and getting a chance to lay around and relax was really nice, as it’s something I almost never do. But, the withdrawal started to build. I felt more and more out of it and antsy as the days wore on. I wanted to run so badly. I couldn’t believe it.

After all these months of running several times a week every week with each distance getting longer and harder, I thought I’d be thrilled to have a block of time off. Instead, I was craving a run like a pregnant woman wants pickles. How could this be? Yes, I’ve enjoyed running and I’m grateful that I can even do it given my medical issues, but to be at the point where I was ready to sell a kidney on eBay just to get a run in?

On Monday, I was able to get back to the gym. Normally, during the week, I do speed interval training on the treadmill and more or less hate it. I much prefer my long, slow runs outside with changing scenery and my own pace. But, since I’m a slow runner, speed training is a necessary evil. However, I was dying for a run so badly on Monday, I whipped through 3.1 miles of speed intervals in 37:37. It was the best feeling in the world. I felt like I had won the lottery, I was on such a high.

As my feet pounded out the miles, I felt better and better. I felt like I could have run the entire marathon at that moment. There was such an intense runner’s high and feeling of satisfaction. The fatigue and restlessness was gone, I was doing something I loved again. And I finally remembered why I do love it. That feeling has gotten lost on several occasions throughout my training since it’s been so stressful and trying at times. But it was back.

I now feel confident that everything is going to be okay with the marathon. I will finish it, and most importantly, I will run it with joy.

Weight Watchers a Success

ABC News: Weight Watchers Most Effective Diet

A recent study has shown that the popular diet Weight Watchers is the most effective weight loss plan. Over 700 obese adults in Australia, the UK and Germany were studied and given different diet plans. Those who did watchers as opposed to checking in with a regular nutritionist or doctor as well as other plans were the most successful.

Weight Watchers participants lost on average about 11 pounds while those on other plans lost only 5 pounds. The diet is basically calorie counting and portion control, but uses an easier, faster system with points. No food is off-limits in Weight Watchers and it is basically a lifestyle change as opposed to a weird, fad diet.

I can see how it would be the most successful. Not only is the food plan the most realistic, but the weekly group support can really do wonders for people in terms of sticking with it. It helps to have other people in your situation and share your highs and lows of the week.

I basically did Weight Watchers when I started losing weight, though I just counted calories and kept a food journal. No foods were off-limits as long as they fit within my daily allotment of calories. This is honestly the simplest method to losing weight and it is the most successful because people CAN stick to it. It is a lifestyle change of cutting portions and exercising. That can be done over a lifetime. Never eating carbs again or drinking liquid syrup with lemon juice cannot be maintained!

The only downside to Weight Watchers is that it’s somewhat expensive. Plans can cost as much as $40 a month, which is a lot of money depending on your income level. However, think of all the money you’ll save in medications and doctor visits if you can get your weight and health under control. You only get one life and it’s worth investing in. Try Weight Watchers or just try keeping an online food journal like I did. Small steps make the biggest change.

Movie Review: Ultramarathon Man

The evening after my 20 mile training run, I decided to watch the documentary, “Ultramarathon Man” on Netflix. It was about ultra distance runner Dean Karnazes’s quest to run 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. I figured if I watched the film, suddenly running 1 marathon wouldn’t seem like such a huge ordeal.

It was an excellent, inspiring movie. Dean is a super human. He was literally being studied by scientists on his quest as no one has even come close to him in terms of endurance and ability in running. He finished almost all the marathons in about 4 hours, some were less and one was more (the Arizona Marathon where he ran in 104 degree temps).

He only ran about 5 official marathons on the days they were being held, including San Francisco (where he lives) and New York (the final marathon). On the other days, the race officials recreated the exact race route for him and he ran that with a select group of 20 – 30 people who wanted to run with him. At the start of each race, the DVD would pause so you could see the Dean’s stats for each race (pace, total time, calories burned, heart rate, etc) as well as his journal entry for the race.

It was a very well done movie, and I would highly recommend it for anyone to see. Whether you’re a runner or not, his drive, spirit and genuine down-to-earth personality will touch you for sure. It’s about overcoming obstacles and what seem like impossible challenges. Dean’s reason for running the “Endurance 50” as he called it, was to encourage people, especially kids to get out and exercise. He was on a quest to raise awareness of America’s obesity problem. What a way to do it!

The movie is on Netflix or can be purchased from Amazon.com.

Dean Karnazes\'s Official Website

Marathon Training: Days 91 – 95

Day 91: Treadmill, 2.33 miles of speed training, 30 min, upper body weights
Day 92: Treadmill, 1.0 mile of speed training, 13 min, full upper & lower body strength workout
Day 93: Treadmill, 2.0 miles of speed training, 25 minutes, upper body weights
Day 94: Treadmill, 1.0 mile easy, 15 minutes, upper and lower body strength workout
Day 95: Greenway Trail, 20 miles, 5:26:31 – The last big training run of marathon training

Total Miles Run in Marathon Training: 300.13 miles
Tota Miles Run Since Becoming a Runner on 8/2/10: 442.65 miles

The Last Big Run: 20 Miles

Yesterday was my final big run of marathon training. I had worked my way up to 20 miles over the past 9 months. From now until the race, my weekly long runs will taper down in distance.

A year ago on September 10th was my first 5K. I had only been running since August 2, and I remember what a big deal I thought the 5K was. I had worked so hard, and thought 3 miles was an eternity to run. I couldn’t believe I was about to conquer that distance. And here, nearly a year later, I did almost 7 times that distance.

The run was very hard. I went with my marathon race partner as well as a girl from a running group. We decided to do an out and back run, so the first 10 miles were all uphill and gaining in elevation. The last 2 miles of the first stretch were on dirt trail. Neither myself nor my partner are able to run on trail—it’s too unstable for my bad foot. So we had to walk the last two and the first two of our stretch back for a total of 4 miles. It was unfortunate since we couldn’t really accurately time ourselves, but it’s also absolutely not worth getting injured on loose gravel this close to the race.

My 16 mile run went very well. I wasn’t in bad pain, and I had energy to spare. Yesterday, the pain in my legs hit early, at mile 14. My legs turned to stone, and my hips and knees were hurting horribly. The last 5 miles, we turned fairly silent, each of us in our own pain, trying to keep going.

I put my headphones on since we had stopped chatting much to try to keep going. I kept saying in my head, my personal mantra “I run because I can.” I think that went on for nearly 2 miles. I had to keep focusing on the fact that I will only have to do this distance one more time and it will be so worth it for the big race. My partners had an easier time than I did and were a bit ahead of me, but I kept plugging away.

Finally I looked down at my Garmin and saw we were only one mile from finishing. We had all caught up with each other and decided to run the last mile together. My iPod was on shuffle, but the song that came on during this final stretch was “Jump (For Your Love)” by the Pointer Sisters. It’s an oldie, but I love this song. What was interesting is that it was the very first song that came on my iPod for the start of my first 5K. I remember climbing the enormous hill at the start of the 5K to this song and using it to get up there. And now, on my final mile, it was the song that came on to get me through the last big hill on the trail and the last big run of my marathon training.

I suddenly had energy and was able to keep a decent clip at the end. We charged up the final hill smiling widely and thrilled to have accomplished such an insanely difficult feat. I watched my Garmin and when the mileage changed to 20, I shouted “we’re done!” We all laughed and high-fived. We were all pretty miserable, but at that moment, we felt like we were on top of the world.

All in all, the run took us 5:26:31, which is far too slow of a pace to complete the marathon in the 6 hour time limit, but we did walk about 4 miles due to the gravel trail. At that moment, it didn’t matter. We finished 20 miles, something I never thought I’d ever do especially when I started my running journey nearly a year ago.

Day of Rest

Elite distance runner Ryan Hall has said that for him, the hardest part of training is taking rest time. He knows he has to in order to prevent injury, but he hasn’t always liked it and finds it difficult to do. I, on the other hand, enjoy my off days a great deal. My body needs to recover, and I perform better when I’ve had rest.

Unfortunately this week has been too much resting. My company gym has been closed all week (except for Monday, which I did work out) due to the fact we’re hosting an event. Then, our weather has been in the high 90s all week, making it impossible to run outside. I already get up at 5:00 to get to work on time, so I can’t really squeeze in a run before that. So it’s been a lazy, lazy week.

I’m gearing up for my 20 mile run on Sunday. My marathon race partner is in town, so we finally have a chance to run together and try to tackle a huge distance. It’s our last major distance before we start to taper down and get ready for the big race. While some rest is a great thing that prepares you for a brutal run of 20 miles, I’m wondering am I going to be screwed from only running one day this week?

Deep down, I think I’ll be okay, but I feel awful having taken so much time off. Not to mention, I just feel icky. I feel flabby and I’m craving the thrill of the run. It’s a withdrawal to not work out. I feel restless and want to hit the pavement. It’s still an odd feeling to me that I crave working out. Granted, I’ve been working out steadily for the past 3 years, but I still find it bizarre that this former fat girl is dying to hit the gym when I’ve had too many days off.

So when training for a large event, do take rest days. Your body and muscles need them. But don’t take more than one at a time. Stay tuned for the 20 mile report, we shall see if this was a help or a hindrance.