Empowerment through Counting Calories

So I want to share how fun it has been counting calories this past week.  It has put a whole new perspective on how I eat.  Duh.

As someone who has a degree in Exercise Science, I think I just liked to "pretend" I ran off everything I ate even though I knew it wasn't true.  And how could I know if I wasn't keeping track? I didn't.  Thus, never being able to lose my stomach or any other little bit of excess fat.  It's harder to get the last few off, and I wasn't even really trying.  I was only tracking the calories burned, not the ones I consumed.  Which I already know is necessary.  I think for me, I just wasn't motivated to try to lose a couple pounds because I wasn't AWARE of where I was in terms of net calories.

Recently, I've been studying to get the Health Fitness Specialist Certification through ACSM.  What is an HFS? Straight from the source: "The HFS performs pre-exercise health risk assessments, conducts physical fitness assessments, interprets results, develops exercise prescriptions, and applies behavioral and motivational strategies to apparently healthy individuals and individuals with medically controlled diseases and health conditions to support clients in adopting and maintaining healthy lifestyle behaviors."

So, this was actually after I got the Livestrong app for my phone and started tracking, but one of the chapters in the review book I decided to skip to the other day was Metabolic Calculations.  Regarding fat stores..."it takes 3, 500 calories to make and store 1 lb of body weight.  Stated in reverse, 1 lb of body weight can provide the body with 3, 500 calories.   Because walking or running 1 mile expends 100 calories, you would need to walk or run about 35 miles to lose 1lb of fat."

Oh. my. god.  Doesn't that sound terrible? Well that agrees with what my app is telling me.  Even with all of the MARATHON training I am doing, I have to be careful to not go over the daily calorie goal for losing 1 lb/week.   After counting all of my meals, about 1 beer or glass of wine per day is all I can afford, IF I do a 4 mile run and 2 mile walk with the dogs, for example (today).  If I don't, well I'm way over.     

I will say this app makes it way easy to count.  If you don't have a smart phone, I don't see how this is possible on a daily basis if you have any sort of life (which I don't at the moment, but still).  So, kind of a dilemma when trying to get people to pay attention and be aware of their calorie intake.  But it is very user friendly & has a database of almost every food you could eat.  Seeing where you are throughout the day and how close you are to the limit allows you to more easily say "no, I'm not going to eat this brownie, because I want a beer later." It's easier to say no because you know exactly what it will do to the number. And no one wants to fail for the day and go over...awareness. But yes, it also allows you to track your cheating if you do feel like splurging, and keeps the cheating in perspective from day to day.

Above is the one I posted on FB the other day.  This is extreme.  I ran 14 miles that day.  The following is more realistic:

I ate a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner (the dinner is high in calories but consisted of spinach, chicken, an orange, an avocado, some cashews and olive oil).  I ran 4 miles and walked 2 with the dogs.  I actually did have a small glass of wine with dinner and am now having 1 beer.  That's it! 40 calories to spare.......

After 8 days of tracking calories, I can honestly say I feel better.  I have not been overeating and I need to get myself on a scale, but I think I may have lost a lb.  Weight fluctuates a little anyway so it's hard to tell, but I feel better.

The red means I went over.  The green means I stayed under.  Still trying to figure out if there is a way to see the net for the week, but manually adding it up, I'm actually -1, 043 calories under total for 8 days.  So if you multiply 1470 by 8, it's 11, 760 calories.  I've consumed 10, 717.  Make sense?

I highly recommend trying this if you can.  It's empowering. 

A Glimpse of my Passion

Yesterday, I participated in a free event created by someone on Facebook.  26.2K Run For Gold.  I was invited by a fellow runner/triathlete and read what it was when I got the invite, but didn't really pay too much attention to it until the date got closer.  Basically, it was just someone trying to get the running community to join him to celebrate the Olympic Marathon by running 16.28 miles (26.2K).  Not physically with him, but just on that day.  Wherever you are.  Global event.  Kind of cool, I thought.

My marathon training plan only called for 14 miles, and so I really debated if I wanted to push it the extra 2.28.  I was pretty pumped up to "participate" but also didn't want to push my body too hard because I haven't exactly been "ahead" in my marathon training. I'm doing good, but I wouldn't say I should just go ahead and start adding miles to the long runs.  I may have put a little pressure on myself after seeing the following Motivational Running video:

I think it is amazing.  It gave me chills and, not gonna lie, brought a few tears to my eyes.  Maybe because it applies to everything in life.

Thankfully, the weather was a bit cooler on Sunday morning than it has been (all Summer).  I got a late start because I was up pretty late after the Glow Run 5K the night before. Yay! Fun.

So, back to Sunday morning.  I packed up my fuel belt, Gu packs, extra water, some grapes, Body Glide, sweat towel, sunglasses, nano, Garmin.....it's seriously a major event, haha.  I decided to go to Sedgwick County Park, about 25 minutes away.  I don't do this very often, for obvious reasons.  But I've run every direction possible what feels like a hundred times each here in Derby.  I also decided to take my iPhone again.  Some requirements for the event were to have fun and take pictures.  So, phone necessary :)

I basically pretended I was excited, because I wanted to be.  But I'll be honest, even though I prefer to run alone, for the most part, long runs are becoming a different story.  And my body did feel really sore and tired.  I tried to ignore that as well.  I made quite a few "stops" to drink a little water and then kept moving....stopped longer when I would get back to my car (4 mile loop) to refill the water bottles, gu up, wipe sweat from my eyes.  The second leg, I ran 3 and turned around, for 6 more.  Leaving me with one more loop to make 14.  I did an out and back for that part (2 out and back).  Even in a big park with more trees and less cars, I couldn't fathom running around it 3 straight times in the same direction.  Sounded terrible.  I look excited here though, no?

So, it was a little painful.  But unlike the previous marathons I've trained for, for some reason I am not quite as stressed about my long runs.  Don't feel like I have to go a certain pace (Hal Higdon says you shouldn't really push yourself hard for long runs....just get the miles in.  Otherwise you will be exhausted the rest of the week for the rest of your runs).  Yet I still feel strong and confident I am on target for the pace I want to go.  Maybe I'm just "maturing" in my running and learning my body. 

So on to the real exciting part.  I got notifications all day of posts on the wall of the "26.2K For Gold" page.  People posting their pictures and stories of where they ran, how far.  People from all over the world.  And then.....a post from someone that said this:

"I do not understand the support this run link is getting. I can't even get on person to sponsor my run across Canada to stop Violence against children. We truly live in a self indulgent world. So disappointing:("

To which I replied (after a few others):

"Self-indulgent? Oh I could run with this one. No pun intended. I will a little though. As someone with a Masters in Exercise Science and Public Health certificate and who is passionate about preventive care, I feel this is an opportunity to speak my mind. I cannot even begin to explain how awesome it is that there is motivation like this out there for running, or any other physical activity that allows people to stay fit and healthy. Do runners do it because they love it and it makes them feel awesome? Yes. Do we get a little obsessed? Maybe. But if everyone was getting out there and running their butt off, or swimming, or biking...there are many options...and preventing themselves from becoming overweight and/or obese, do you know how much money our country would save in healthcare costs??? From obesity and all the diseases that go with it....type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, heart disease, etc....? Yeah, imagine that, everyone taking responsibility for his or her own health. BILLIONS. We would save billions. I donate to all sorts of charities when I can, as I'm sure many people do. Sometimes for races, sometimes just because. But avoiding becoming a drain on this country is also a priority for me. And all of the people supporting this event most likely live a lifestyle doing the same, so kudos to all of them. As the above posters have clarified, this page/event is not about fundraising. It’s about the spirit of the Olympics and physical activity, and I think it’s awesome that everyone can support and push each other. My passion for running and triathlons keeps me healthy and away from the doc. Fundraising is challenging, and there are so many causes out there. When I was deployed, I organized a charity run and raised money for the Chance Phelps Foundation…dedicated to supporting and honoring our nation’s warriors; it was actually really easy to raise the money because in that environment, everyone wanted to help vets and their families. If you are having trouble with raising money, maybe work on educating more people about why your cause is more important than the thousand others out there. Because you don’t know where people are putting their money."

It has gotten 6 "Likes" so far haha.  Yeah, she struck a nerve with me.  For sure.  I felt my blood boiling a bit as I responded.  At first I thought maybe I was too harsh, but several others have responded giving her feedback, and letting her know that she should have approached her comment differently by asking for support, not making negative comments about the running community.

So, maybe I was offended on a couple levels.  The part of me that wishes everyone would be more fit.  The actual runner in me. The part of me that desires to give to charities when I can.  I did especially like the poster who said that our sport has been "taken hostage to the point where if I mention a run/race to somebody, they ask: what charity does it benefit? Nobody asks a golfer what charity they are raising money for when they go hit a round." Haha, true! I have raised money for a charity for one of my marathons, but I see where this gets excessive.  

Anyway, what I found really interesting was HOW MAD this made me.  I don't want any negativity spun on such an important topic......physical activity.