SPTMBRSTR921   1,876
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Saved by the Podcast!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Save by the Podcast - what? What does that even MEAN? Well let me tell you! It has been quite the interesting day. As I was getting ready to leave the office today at 5pm (typical DC rush hour, of course) the front door to our office decided to completely lock itself. No one was going in or out! Luckily we have an emergency back door, but as I am the Office Manager and all, obviously I had to stay to ensure that we had someone to fix the problem. How awful would it be tomorrow to force some of our important guests to go through the back door through the... shall we say... sketchier part of our office. So needless-to-say, by the time I even got to the metro, I was ready to call off the workout for tonight and just chill out (and eat dinner, since I wasnt going to get home until almost 8). I hoped on the metro and put on a new podcast I downloaded yesterday.

OMG - said completely valleygirl style, of course - it was AMAZING. SOOOOO inspirational. I actually got home, through some dinner in the oven to heat, and popped on a 30 Day Shred for a quick, but still intense workout. THEN I through on a few circuits of No More Trouble Zones just for good measure! It may not have been the 40 min run I had planned, but considering that an hour earlier I had basically completely called off working out, I was goshdarn proud!

So that being said, I have to put in a HUGE for this AMAZING new podcast I found (downloadable on iTunes) - Two Fit Chicks and a Microphone! Run by Shauna aka Dietgirl (for any of you bloggers out there, she is quite a celebrity) and Carla aka MizFit. Not only do these two have really inspirational stories, they are also hilarious and talk about real topics and questions that we as new (or reacquainted as I like to call it) fitness and health people are interested in. You can also check out their website at twofitchicks.com

Does anyone else have any podcasts that really motivate them or that they find helpful? I'm new to this podcast thing, but they certainly make my hour long metro ride more enjoyable (and informative!).

Anyway, c'est tout pour aujourd'hui! Salut!


Baby it's cold outside...

Monday, January 11, 2010

Ok, Ok, I know - we're a little late for Christmas songs, but it was just SOO appropriate today. Brrrrr, it was FREEZING outside!!

Today was day 2 of this whole new years thing, and despite the fact that I'm sore as crap, I stuck with it. I ran 2.5 miles (well, ok - I ran 2, walked .5) in 30 minutes. It felt AWESOME! That's a total lie - I was winded and felt like I was going to die, but afterward, I really felt AWESOME! It was pretty exciting given that I havent run at ALL since this summer. Now I just need to keep this up!

I know, short post. But I'm HANGRY!!! Dinner, here I come!


New Year, Fresh Start

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Well I kind of fell off the wagon with this whole blogging thing. Believe me, I haven't forgotten about them entirely. In fact, I've kind of become a food and fitness blog addict (thank you hour long lunch break at work, which barely gives me enough time to eat and catch up on all my favorite bloggers). However, I think in order to hold myself more accountable, I need to get back into writing things down as well. It's too easy to come up with excuses in my head that no one else ever has to see, but if I'm being lazy, I think that having to write that down will be a nice kick in the butt.

But it's now a new year. Alright, technically 10 days in, but it's the thought that counts. Now that the holiday feasting and candy-munching are over, it's time to settle back into a normal routine. The end of 2009 brought a lot of changes in my life - a new job, a new city, a new apartment, the transition from college to the real world, the transition from a close relationship to a long-distance one, etc. I've made a lot of positive changes in my life - I'm FINALLY getting better at this whole cooking concept (definitely not my forte, but I'm working on it), working to cook clean, healthy foods. I've gotten back into the habit of eating breakfast everyday - something which I had pretty much stopped doing completely in college. I've also severely cut down on my Diet Crack (aka Diet Coke/Dr. Pepper/Pepsi/Poison) addiction, and now only indulge on special occasions. I even got my boyfriend to start eating vegetables and cutting down on the second helpings of biscuits and gravy too just from listening to me (not that he really needs it, that boy has a metabolism that most people would kill for).

But the one place I really started to drop the ball was in exercising. I have a crap ton of excuses - moving to a new place where the cost of a gym is WAY out of my budget, having obnoxious lower neighbors who get mad when you walk too heavy, let alone do jumping jacks, a two-hour rush hour commute that limits my free time, the fact that it's FREAKING cold outside and I do NOT like cold weather, etc. But now that it's 2010, it's time to drop all of those excuses and find ways to make it work. I'm searching for gyms that maybe have affordable classes, making use of the tiny, and seriously old school gym that my apartment complex has, and doing what I can at home. The most difficult thing for me right now is trying to find a schedule, because I physically cannot get up any earlier, and when I get home from work there is a herd of buffalo in my stomach begging for dinner. How does everyone else manage to fit in working out into a crazy schedule?

Anyway, here is 2010 so far: While I didn't necessarily eat so healthy this past weekend, I'm giving myself a LITTLE forgiveness, as I spent the weekend celebrating our anniversary with my boyfriend at a ski resort. So while I did indulge in an occasional red velvet cupcake, Outback dinner, and potentially 2 bottles of sparkling cider... I also spent like 7 hours out on the slopes. And boy is my body feeling it. Woo! If my calf muscles could talk, I'm sure they would be giving STRINGS of curse words. After saying goodbye to my boyfriend and sending him 4.5 hours away (sad face), I got up the nerve to attempt a Jillian Workout. 20 minutes in I was about dead, but hey - it's a start. But tomorrow starts a new week... and I plan on making this one be the start of a new routine for the new year.



"Fat" vs. "Fatty"

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Warning: A fairly philosophical blog to follow...

So I'm feeling rather philosophical today, and I've been contemplating my usage of the words "fat" and "fatty". I feel like when I'm referring to a physical thing - it's "fat". As in, I'm feeling fat today or X is fatter than Y. While it may be a negative thing, it's still much more a statement of fact than it is a condescending statement.

But "fatty", on the other hand, is more of a mental thing than a physical thing. And that's when I use it negatively - like when I make a bad food decision or don't exercise like I should, etc. For example "I just ate a second helping of dinner, I feel like such a fatty".

I just amazes me how we seem to have so many more words, both descriptive and negative, for "fat" and yet we have so few for "skinny". You have everything ranging from fat to obese to overweight to heavy to big-bonned to heifer to chubby, etc, and then you have "skinny" or "model skinny". That really tells you how our culture views skinny v. fat - that one is definitely a positive thing while the other is negative. And it's not hard to guess which is which.

I just find this fascinating when you consider that 200 years ago, "chubby" was considered beautiful, because if you had curves and a little extra padding and wide hips, it meant you were more likely to produce healthy children. And nowadays, it doesnt matter what your child-producing abilities are, "sexy" means being super skinny, and often unhealthy as a result.

Why do beauty and sex appeal need to be described in terms of weight and proportions? Why can't a woman just be beautiful because she's a woman.

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

MUSIC_LIFE79 9/12/2009 11:03AM

    It's interesting that you should mention this, because three weeks ago I had an incident where a guy (just an acquaintance, someone I went out to drinks with) referred to me as a "fat chick." It's a long story, but he has friends in radio, so this was actually on a podcast they were doing, so it was online for the whole world to hear. I was at home when I heard it, and I was shocked.

What's so funny is that this guy is a 22 year-old who still lives with his parents, and has a few pounds to lose himself. It's SUCH a double-standard.

I was hurt, but then I turned the anger into motivation. I'd never thought of myself as "fat." "Fatty" is a term that my trainer from work, Miles, uses as a term of endearment. He calls his clients his "fatties," because he was once in their shoes (he used to be 220+ lbs.), so he feels like he can relate. He's actually planning on launching his own business called "Fatty Fitness." I'm quite sure how people are going to take that. I think "fatty" has a more light-hearted connotation, which is why we probably say that to ourselves when we're putting off going to the gym, or after that second helping of dinner.

You're right that we have so many more descriptive terms for "fat" than for anything else. I don't know when "waif thin" became the standard for beauty. It's almost as if people assume that skinny = healthy, when that's not necessarily the case.

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To eat more or not to eat more... that is the question

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

So first of all, I know that it has been FOREVER since I wrote a blog, but I'm going to try and start getting better about that.

Currently, I'm finding myself in a bit of a dilemma: since I've started getting really good about tracking all the food I eat, I find that I'm ending up WAY under the necessary calorie range for the day. But the thing is, I feel like I am ALWAYS eating. I know part of the problem is that because I'm currently working two jobs (a 9-5 and a 6-10) my eating schedule is really off, but still. Is it possible to be so overly concerned about eating healthy that you dont eat enough? Because I do eat small meals throughout the day, and I snack on healthy things, so I'm ending up in my normal range of protein and carbs and stuff, but I'm ending up way under my fat and calorie range most days regardless. Should I start eating more? Or eating more "bad" stuff? I mean, I know your body NEEDS calories in order to function, but I'm like at a loss what to do!

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

SPTMBRSTR921 9/9/2009 12:55PM

    Thanks guys, these are definitely good points! Most of the time I'm not RIDICULOUSLY far under, just 200 or so calories, although sometimes I end up way under unfortunately. That's a good idea with the nuts though - I tend to forget about them as I've been around too many people with peanut allergies in my life so I typically pass right by them. I'll have to test this out though!

Thanks again for all the advice!

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BERGIE8771 9/9/2009 12:50PM

    I would try not to eat "bad stuff" and eat more good stuff. For example, if you aren't getting your fats, how about a handful of nuts? As long as you aren't hungry, they provide fats and calories for a very small amount of food., so you don't feel stuffed.
I also like the lowfat (not nonfat, if you needs fats) light yogurts, they are tasty and not filling.
Good Luck

Comment edited on: 9/9/2009 12:50:40 PM

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JLDACQ 9/9/2009 12:49PM

    I hear ya!

I've found that Mondays and Tuesdays are the days I eat the least amount of calories, and sometimes I think my "stinkin' thinkin'" is controlling this situation from the minor over-caloric intake I get on the weekends.

There are 2 things I would suggest:
1) Look at your caloric intake over a period of a week instead of a day. If you're close most days for the lower end of the range, eating more healthy snacks like nuts and cheese will help bring you up to the minimum per day, and then overall for the week.
2) Run the Daily Feedback Report in the Nutrition Tracker. It will give you a breakdown of major nutrients that you've had over the day, and you can set it over the week. If fat and calories are the only nutrients you're consistently under the mark, sometimes the Feedback Report will suggest foods to eat to bring up the numbers.

I'm missing a lot of trace minerals, like magnesium and potassium and a few other -ums. I've discovered that if I run the daily feedback report for nutrition, it will give me suggestions on which foods are better sources for those nutrients, and then I know what foods I have to keep working on to reach those amounts.

And you're a stronger woman than I am for sticking it out with 2 jobs!


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SEYSARAH 9/9/2009 12:47PM

    I've seen this question before and it might very well depend on how "under" the low range of calories you are at...your body needs fuel but it doesn't need junk...you could maybe take 100 cal packs of almonds or whatever to snack on to make up the difference..sounds to me though that you have a system that is working for you and aren't too far off the count...if that's the case..might ask your health provider..they may say you are doing fine so long as you are not under too far. In any case, good luck in finding the answer...I usually stay a bit under 1200...closer to 1100 when losing...in part I am short, I do have some problems with metabolizing, and at 52, simply don't burn the calories that I use to...takes me twice the exercise lol...you will figure it out!

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