That that don't kill me, can only make me stronger. I need you to hurry up now, cause I can't wait much longer. Kanye West, Stronger

Monday, February 11, 2008

FitTV Hollar!

I was at my parent's house this weekend, and while I would have loved to spend the time upstate skiing, it wasn't in the cards.

However, my parent's have FitTV, which is amazing. If I had Fittv and the Discovery Health channel, I would probably never leave the house!

Over the course of the weekend, I did a few episodes of Gilad's show. Just to be classic. I also did a few All-star workouts, which are great because they feature a different trainer every day. So the workouts are always new. I tried an episode of Namaste Yoga, and it was tought. The positions were to challenging for a novice like me, but it was grounding nonetheless.

Today, I had every intention of getting up to go to the gym before work, but I just couldn't drag myself out of bed. So I did Shape Bikini Bootcamp Redefining workout, it's a pretty good workout for a half an hour. I might try to go the gym after class ( I get out at 7:45PM), if I am really motivated, but we'll have to see.

I just can not seem to go on my lunch hour, midday is a very low energy time for me. If anyone has suggestions on how to change this, bring them on.

If you are looking for a yummy healthy treat for only 30 calories try Adora Chocolates, 500 miligrams of calcium and 30 calories, plus indulgent, pure dark chocolate taste! These have no gross chemical taste like viactiv!

12 comments:

katie said...

Hi,
Just wanted to let you know I just looked through your archives and read about your marathon training. A marathon is definitely something I'd like to do in the future, although being at college right now, I don't really have the time.
A question--how did your eating habits change when you were working out so much? What types of foods/quantities did you eat? Thanks!
Katie

Melissa said...

Hi Katie,

First off, I completely encourage you to run a marathon, it will change your life. But you are right that you have to do it at a time that is perfect for you. I also highly reccommend that you do it with a program, such as Team in Training; my experience wouldn't have been the same without team support and coaches and support on nutrition, injury provention, gear, etc.

As far as diet, everyone is completely different as to their needs, so keep that in mind.

But for me, my diet didn't change very much at all during training. I already worked out before I started training, and I definitely had a low mileage (sp?) schedule, compared to many first time marathoners who do too much and often get injured on or before race day. So I was running 3-6 miles on two weekdays, and one day of long runs which started at 3 miles and went up to 20 at the peak, and then back down for the three weeks before the marathon.

My coaches recommended on days before running to eat 60-75% carbs, 15% protein and the rest fat. Theories vary widely, some advocate lots of protein. But this is probably the most common.

So I made a larger portion of my dinner meals before practice days carbs, but didn't change the total amount/calories I ate.

On practice days I did eat a snack, such as a piece of fruit or a kashi bar or even a small frozen yogurt because practice was at 6:45, so I didn't eat dinner until around 9. The best pre-practice options are carbs that digest quickly and release slowly such as fruit--it only takes 30 minutes to digest on an empty stomach. If you are sensitive to fiber avoid it. If you need something more add a little bit of protein, like a low fat babybell cheese. Or try a small smoothie, all fruit or made with non/lowfat dairy, or even better almond milk. Lactose can be hard to digest. Also many coaches/nutritionist emphasis having protein within an hour of finishing your run to aid recovery.

On long run days, I made my dinner larger the night before. I ate lots of sweet potatoes. I am not a pasta person.

I typically don't eat first thing in the morning, but on really long runs I would eat a granola bar that didn't have fiber, such as the Little Debbie Oats and Honey, not great for you, but they were really gentle on the stomach and big treat! This I ate either 30 minutes before or on the run.

The other things you eat during training are gus, shot blocks, and gels. On long runs I might eat a powerbar gel and 3 cliff shot blocks. There are more suggestions onthe blog. Or I'd have another granola bar, I never got used to the gus and such, but they were pretty vital. Bascially you need about 100 calories after the first hour of running and another 100 calories every 45 minutes thereafter.

I am very short, so I didn't need a lot of calories, but if you have higher needs, switch to gatorade or half water/half gatorade during training.

I seriously upped my water intake all week long, which was crucial to having balanced energy. I never drank water before, but the weeks before the marathon I was drinking about 3 liters a day.

I also ate an extra 300-500 calories the last 4 days before the marathon.

I hope this is helpful.

Also for more inspiration see if Spirit of the Marathon is playing near you on Feb. 21st. It is a great movie! and another blog I love is www.girlyoubetterrun.blogspot.com

katie said...

Thanks so much! That was super helpful. Congrats on your accomplishment :)

Anonymous said...

I love those Adora disks! I eat at least one every day. They taste like real chocolate! I like your blog a lot too!

Anonymous said...

Hi, I just read some of your blog archives (saw it on Kath's blog). How did you find out about these chocolate chews they look great! I never know how people learn about these things.

You have a similar build to me. Would you mind giving an example day or two of what you typically eat and how many calories you aim for? Do you exercise everyday? and eat before /after exercise? I hate that if I exercise, I end up eating all my calories I lose back through my before and after snack! Thanks!!

Melissa said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Melissa said...

Hi Rachel,

I know I read about Adora in Shape a year or so ago. But more recently, a nutritionist I went to at Nu-train recommended them to me. They really are the perfect way to curb your sweet tooth after a meal, and the best part is, you can only absorb 500 miligrams of calcium at a time, so you can't justify eating more than one! Seriously happy ending.

At this point my nutrition is kind of all over the place, so I don't can't really give you a typical day. I am working to improve my diet, so maybe I will incorporate more info about that at some point. I do appreciate raw foods and whole foods.

But I will address the eating canceling out the working out! I have definitely had this problem. I very recently started eating breakfast...I was one of those who was afraid to start eating an extra meal. But it has completely helped me maintain my blood sugar throughout the day(hunger, mindless munching, and sugar cravings) and squashed my temptation to overeat after a nighttime (after dinner) workout.

I also plan to workout either shortly after a meal, so I don't need a snack or right before. If I don't have that flexibility, I ask myself/my body if it is really hungry and I need a snack to have a good workout. If so, I eat something that is no more than 150 calories, Eatliverun.com has good ideas.

If I am hungry after a workout, I have to work to not pig out. It does take some discipline, and I make sure to have something with protein or fat, both to repair my muscle tissue and to keep my hunger at bay for longer. I am definitely the type that loves sweet/starchy foods (as opposed to savory foods), but the more I eat, the more I crave them, so I am mindful.

I would love to workout everyday because it makes me feel euphoric, but life gets in the way, so maybe 5-6 times a week. Also some of these workouts are low-key, not really intense.

I don't pay any attention to calorie counts, but instead try to get rid of processed foods and only put substances that my body can assimilate and digest.

Again, maybe at some point I will feel comfortable saying more on nutrition.

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much! Last question.....are you supposed to eat after exercising? I always am SO SO hungry after exercising. Are you going to school in nutrition? Thanks again!

Melissa said...

Hi Katie,

I am NOT in school for nutrition. So feel free to disregard my thoughts. If you are hungry after a workout, by all means eat something.

I am sure you have heard this before, but if you feel like you are hungry all the time, you should look at what you are eating throughout the day. If you are eating a lot of refined flours or sugars, they may be stimulating your appetite. Same thing with artificial sweetners, they make me so hungry. So I try to limit and avoid both as much as possible.

I recently visited a nutritionist and she said 2 servings of refined flours or sugars a week. That is not much! The plan she suggested was very similiar to the f-factor diet. THe ffactor website has 4 weeks of meal plans. I am a vegetarian, so obviously I don't follow it to the letter, and I could never eat as much cheese (especially gross fat free cheese) as it suggests, but the plan does help you full. Protein and fiber at every meal and not eating refined products on their own helps. I think the main thing I learned at nu-train was how my body reacted to what I put in it, what stimulated my appetite and cravings, etc. I hope this helps!

Anonymous said...

Thanks, how many calories about do you aim for a day?

Anonymous said...

sorry, I should add, do you exercise everyday though (something I never but should do).

Actually, I am thin naturally and as a result never have the motivation to exercise. What keeps you motivated from the archives you seem thin as well. Thanks!

Melissa said...

Hi Rachel,

I have no idea how many calories I take in on any given day. I don't aim to eat or burn any set number of calories. I do try to avoid anything processed and keep white flour and sugar to a minimum, as I mentioned.

I don't workout everyday, although I always feel better on days I do. Maybe 5-6 times a week.