Wednesday, April 27, 2011

265-calorie hot dog

I ate a healthy lunch today!

The 265-calorie chicken dog


  • Chicken Hot dog in wheat bun with yellow mustard and relish
  • Salad with Balsamic Vinegrette Dressing
  • 16 oz water

The best part: the hot dog was only 265 calories and the weiner was unprocessed whole food. Key ingredients were chicken and apples. 

Salad was fresh greens topped with a few croutons, a spoonful of pasta salad, a sprinkle of monteray jack cheese and shredded carrots.



W/Balsamic Vinegrette

Other snacks throughout the day included lots of water, cashews and an apple. Tonight I’m headed to Japonais for sushi and plan to load up on veggies. I hope it is glorious.
Before the dressing was added

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Every Change is Good

Snow in April, among other things, has made my monthly 100 mile running goals change. Last week I didn’t run because I was sore from the 8K race. I milked that soreness for all it was worth and didn’t work out the entire week. This week I was out sick for two days and I woke up to snow one morning. All this combined – I haven’t run in a week and a half and I’ve gained some pounds. When I went to enter my weekly weight on my weight tracker (see above under blog header) it actually told me, “Error – Current Weight can’t exceed starting weight”. Oh, but it can. And unfortunately it has. That little weight loss tracking apple was thrown back to the starting line.

SIGH.

Over the past year we’ve all dealt with changes, most notably in the economy. I’ve dealt with extreme changes in relationships/friendships, weight, career and living arrangements. All these changes were positive and fantastic, but they also brought on dramatic stress. Sleep-stealing stress. Binge-eating stress. Weight-gaining stress.

How should we deal with change? The world’s oldest man said, “Embrace change, even when the change slaps you in the face. ("Every change is good.")”

Speaking of change, check out my haircut.



BEFORE - Wild lion's mane

AFTER - Tamed bob



Last week a Facebook friend posted a link about Walter Breuning, the world’s oldest man who recently died at age 114. I teared up over the article, reading the words of wisdom and thinking of how much this 114-man had experienced: Wars, The Great Depression, Poverty. Through everything he stayed optimistic. One story he told was about the time he and his wife wanted to build a house. They bought property for $15 and just as they had their plans ready, it all went off the tracks when the Great Depression struck and “Nobody had any money at all”.  Reading his story helped put my past situations in perspective. My definition of “broke” ain’t nothing on his. At 27, I’ve got some living to do, and a lot of changing to do.

Another interesting point he shared, is that to enjoy a life of longevity, eat two meals a day ("That's all you need."). He went on to explain, “How many people in this country say that they can't take the weight off?...I tell these people, I says, 'Get on a diet and stay on it. You'll find that you're in much better shape, feel good…Everybody says your mind is the most important thing about your body. Your mind and your body. You keep both busy, and by God you'll be here a long time."

Such a simple philospophy yet so many Americans struggle with it daily.  I’m not happy with my change in weight over the past few months, but all I can hope is the slight gain will motivate me to get back on track.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Throw Some Glitter. Make it Rain.

Ran my First 8K on Sunday!  Time:  1:07:02.  I'll take it.  How did it go? 

We finished our first 8K - Me & Tonster
For an out-of-shape mid-westerner, pretty good.  I placed in the top 91.6%, which put me ahead of a little over 2,700 runners.  If only I had shaved these extra 2 seconds off.  Next year I'll have a time to beat!

The week in review:
Miles: 4.97
Workout Time: 4 hours, 27 minutes
Calories burned (approx. cals burned through exercise): 1616
Workouts: FIVE!

Besides the 8K, didn't get much running in throughout last week.  Did do some yoga, weighted hula hooping and got a Wii!  I'm looking for any and all suggestions for Wii workout games.

Send me some motivation and follow my training on Cyn's Daily Mile.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Black Women Can Be Healthy At Higher Weights

For years, I've questioned whether BMI measurements are a true measurement of my healthy weight.   In the past I've stood next to women who weighed 20 pounds more than me, but have the same measurements and sometimes even look skinnier than me!  Additionally I've hopped on many a scale where the scale operator grossly underestimated my weight and stared at me in disbelief as they nudged the 10+ lb notch upwards .  Maybe it's because I'm black.
Photo:  Copyright BeautyCentral.com
 According to my current BMI of 32, I am very overweight for my height.   I realize that I've packed on some pounds, but when I look in the mirror I don't see very overweight, just slightly overweight.   Yet my BMI insists I'm stepping closer to morbidly obese.

In a recent article, Study Shows Black Women Can Be Healthy At Higher Weights , many readers expressed their frustration and distrust of BMI.

One reader wrote,
"Ok, you all DO realise that BMI was invented in the late 1800s, right? The issue here isn't about black vs white vs asian, it's about the fact that we're still seriously considering a piece of psuedo-medical quakery from the period of time when people thought tapeworms were a valid diet and children should be fed heroin to shut them up!  BMI, at its simplest, divides your weight by your height. We ALL know that health is measured in many complex ways, and that with which we should all be concerned is becoming healthy, not skinny!"

I agree.  To  me being healthy is feeling healthy and full of energy.   Such things include being able to walk without running out of breath, feeling comfortable in my clothes, not feeling "sloppy" and walking without knee aches. Ideal weight is about feeling comfortable in your own skin and not overburdening your body with excess weight.  Maybe it's time to re-evaulate BMI structure.

Now onward to food:   Things I ate this weekend, some bad, some good.  My good meal of the week- Yesterday's dinner:  TJ's Southwest Salmon with Spinach.  Omega-3s and Vitamin E!