Week 2, Day 5 (Let's Change It Up)

Typically, I begin each post with breakfast, describing what I ate, why I chose it, and how it made me feel, and continue down the line detailing my daily activities in much the same manner. Each post is generally followed up by a reference to one of the five books I am reading over the course of this project.

But what happens when my days start to look too similar to one another? Granted, this doesn't happen often. One thing I have learned from this project is each day and each class and each meal is unique and something can be learned from all of those experiences. But in the case of Friday, May 14, the day was pretty ordinary.

So, for today's blog, I thought I would change it up from the regular format. For a quick summary, so everyone gets their fix, Friday, on the whole, was very typical. I came home from Kelly's house feeling very full and angry with myself. At about 10 am however, there was no denying my hunger, so ate my Special K with milk. I went upstairs, blogged, did some chores, and then felt that clear sense of hunger again. I opted for soup and fruit. Later, I went to RetroRobics with my mom, and then out to dinner at one of our favorite places, Brennan's Colony in Cleveland Heights, where I attempted to order healthfully off of a menu comprised primarily of bar food. I am really getting good at that. I was supposed to have training with Tracy Williams at 9 am, but our schedules somehow managed to get mixed up, so we rescheduled. I slacked off slightly with the appointments with Nurse Gali this week, largely due to the fact that I am really enjoying these classes, and taking more and more of them, slowly moving away from the whole personal training side of this project. In the majority of the classes, we lift and do most of the exercises from personal training. I just enjoy them more in a class setting with music and lots of energy flowing.

With all that being said, My book for the week, Nutrition for Life is coming to a close, and I really wanted to make sure I got to share all of the interesting facts I possibly could. I have said a lot about food and different vitamins and what is appropriate to eat for different lifestyles and such. But one area I really haven't covered is the issue of disordered eating. This book offers a small section of issues of that nature, and I would like to take this opportunity to point some things out about it now.

First of all, as promised, let's talk about the body's natural set point. One of the things that my mother always stresses to me is that my body has a certain weight, or range of weight, where everything in my body functions optimally. From my heart to my brain to my arms and legs. Something that has been really difficult and stressful for me is figuring out where that range is and accepting it. Sometimes I don't like the numbers I hear. Sometimes, on paper, I think it looks too high or automatically means something is wrong with me. But what I find, time and time again, is that I am not happy when I am either above or below that range.

The best way to find that set point, as my former nutritionist Nancy Blazar told me over and over is to listen to my body and eat promptly and adequately in response to hunger. My body knows where it wants to be and it is constantly working to get me there. Where people get into trouble is when they find themselves consistently eating when their bodies are not asking for fuel, or ignoring their bodies' cries for food.

In Nutrition for Life, there was a basic and interesting segment about the "set point." The book was talking about it in the context of crash dieting and why diets like that are doomed to fail, in part, because of the set point. It was an interesting point being made that I will share with you now:

"Short term diets are doomed to fail. You may lose some weight but when you return to your usual diet, your weight will return to its usual level. This is due to what scientists call "set point"-- the level at which the body defends its current weight. If you burn more calories that you eat, your body will become more efficient at converting those calories to energy so that you will not lose weight. If you are trying to slim, make sure it is a serious commitment over a long period of time in order to retrain your body and readjust your set point."

This was relevant for me because it explained an aspect of eating disorders, and one of the many reasons why they are so dangerous. The heart rate drops insanely low due to converting calories more efficiently. Because your body is trying to counteract the diet and preserve the set point. Even though with eating disorders, preserving the natural set point is usually a losing battle for the body--there is only so much it can do-- it still tries its best to keep your body at its natural, healthy weight.

This brings me to another section of the book I wanted to make sure I shared with you on this blog. The eating disorder box.

"Eating disorders most commonly affect adolescents and college aged women and occur across all of the social groups. Figures suggest that about 20 percent of teenagers engage in abnormal eating behavior, while about five percent have a diagnosed eating disorder. (Just a side note that I have to point out-- it's not 20 percent of teenage girls, it is 20 percent of all teenagers. This means two things. First, the figures for teenage girls are at least slightly higher than that 20 percent. And second, this is not strictly a female disease--it happens to boys too.)

Those with anorexia nervosa typically have an altered perception of their own body image that leads to severe restriction of calories and a resulting loss of weight. Parents should look out for changes in eating behaviors, such as skipping meals and exercising for at least three hours every day. Because anorexia nervosa often leads to the cessation of menstrual periods, it is important for parents to be aware of changes in their daughters' cycles.

Another eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, is characterized by episodes of binge eating followed by purging. Those affected tend not to lose weight so the problem may be less obvious. You should look for changes in your daughter's teeth. She may complain of heartburn from vomiting and spend a lot of time in the bathroom after meals."

This is a very elementary explanation of two types of eating disorders that barely scratches the surface of what can actually happen, signs to look for, or other types of problems.

EDNOS stands for Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. It is when someone meets some of the criteria for a known eating disorder, say anorexia, but not all of them. Though they cannot be called anorexic, it does not make their eating disorder any less real.

Though this book's segment on eating disorders was somewhat cliche, most health books' are. Truthfully, you don't know anything about this kind of illness until it has happened to you or someone close to you. One thing that I wish the books I'm reading were more sensitive to is the issue of disordered eating. It is extremely frustrating for me to read things that I know are triggering only because I have been down the road before and I know what can set people off--The Diet for Teenagers Only, for example. I am sure the authors had no intention of being triggering to girls with eating disorders, but unless you know what it is and how it works, it is impossible to be sensitive to the disease. The best advice I can give anyone--parents, teenagers, people looking to write diet or health books--get educated on this issue. It can end up saving lives.

Week 2, Day 4 (Party Food. I'm OK With That. Sorta.)

7:30 am- Breakfast (I'm really slacking off with the wake up times! In my defense, this project is definitely wearing me out.)

Cinnamon Pecan Special K (I had to do it)
2% Milk
Clementine (I always find myself going for the quickest, easiest fruits. For example, I rarely eat strawberries because they require me cutting the little green things off. I'm all about convenience. In college I will need healthy convenient options so I don't find myself resorting to the chips or candy that will constantly be around.)

9:15 am- Triple Fit
Let me just say, I had not had a class really kick my butt yet during this project, but Triple Fit killed me. It wasn't the kind of workout that left me gasping for air in a heap on the floor, but my muscles burned like no other, and I was dripping in sweat. I couldn't stop watching the clock, which at one point I thought was broken because of how slow the minutes were passing. It is a little bit of a challenge to explain without getting into too much detail, so I will first offer you the short, sweet description from www.urbanactive.com:

"A true interval class! Basic moves. Intervals consist of: 4 minutes of cardio, 3 minutes of legs, 2 minutes of upper body. A Member Favorite!"

Essentially, we used a step for 4 minutes, but everything was super fast paced including a lot of jumping that was absolutely killer. We would then go to squats or leg lifts, often using weights. Finally, we picked up rubber bands and used them to work both arms and legs. The activity was constant and extremely physically challenging. After about the second set, I could not stop watching the clock. By the end of the hour, my legs were shaking. There were a lot of squats in this class. Also, working out this hard early in the morning was definitely a change. I will say I enjoy working out in the evening better, but it is much easier to motivate myself to come to the gym in the morning. Dilemma.

12:00 pm- Lunch
Market Day Mini Quesadilla
Leftover Pork Cut Up with Teriyaki Sauce
Red Apple
Broccoli

1:00 pm- Snack
Market Day Chocolate Cake
8oz 2% Milk

5:45- Snack #2
Baby Bowl Bumpy Road Ice Cream

then...PARTY. Where there was A LOT of food. And honestly, I felt very guilty for eating it at first. There was candy, pizza, cookies, mac n cheese, cheese cake and more. I was with my friends, and I ate it. The whole time I kept saying "I'm gaining five pounds right now. I need to stop eating." and things of that nature. I was so focused on the fact that I already had eaten a good amount of my food for the day before I got there, and I just ate and ate because it was there and it was fun and everyone was doing it. I need to realize that its OK to have fun with friends and not feel awful about it. Some days I eat more, and other days I eat less. My body is smart and adjusts to my food intake. I need to constantly keep telling myself that. I will never learn to actually enjoy my time until i can be OK with having a little fun and splurging sometimes without being immediately worries about how to fix my "mistake."

Correction From Yesterday

One of the chemistry teachers at Hawken, Doc M. as I call him, has been following my blog closely and had a correction on something I posted yesterday. I made some general statements about honey and splenda and other such nutrion related information, and he kind of came in and dropped a bit of chemistry knowledge on me, which I really appreciate. Here is what he said,


"Hi Sam,
I have to disagree with some of the nutritional "facts" you've been told. At best, raw sugar might have slightly less sugar than refined because the refining process takes out little bits of nonsugar items like pollen and wax. There might be other differences in terms of micronutrients (vitamins and the like), but as far as the simple sugars that are largely responsible for honey's sweetness - samo, samo. Go ahead and use raw sugar if you prefer it, but don't think you're going light on sugar when you do.

Which brings me to splenda. Yes, splenda is derived from sugar by chemical chlorination. But that does not mean sugar is in any way like, or as dangerous as, chlorine (Cl2) - which is a poisonous, choking gas. By similar logic you should avoid salt - but actually the reason salt is bad is its sodium, not its chlorine. And sodium explodes in water, so don't take salt on a picnic if there's a threat of rain! I'm kidding, of course, but you can see how ridiculous things can get if you don't apply good judgment to such claims.

You may not know, by the way, that the whole "Splenda contains chlorine!" fright package was a campaign by sugar producers to hold on to market share against Splenda. There's not a grain of scientific validity to the scare as far as I know. Sugar producers themselves are not the folks I would trust to be looking out for my health!

Doc M."

I really appreciate and encourage comments, corrections, and feedback. This project is about learning for me. If you know something I don't, SHARE IT!

Reading Material

This week, I am reading the book, Nutrition for Life by: Lisa Hark and Darwin Deen.

Yesterday, I began discussing "bad" carbohydrates to eat and also a "good" alternative. I offered basics such as white bread versus wheat bread and white rice versus brown rice. But here are some pairs that might not be so obvious:

Bad: White Potato Good: Sweet Potato
Bad: Corn Good: Lentils
Bad: Cornflakes Good: Raisin Bran
Bad: Instant Oatmeal Good: Rolled Oats
Bad: White Pasta Good: Couscous
Bad: Egg Noodles Good: Barley

Q: What is the glycemic index?
A: The G.I. classifies foods according to how fast they release sugar into the bloodstream. High glycemic index foods release glucose rapidly causing quick rise in blood sugar levels, to which the body reacts with insulin, which turns on fat storage. Low GI foods release glucose steadily over several hours so less insulin is required. Diets like Nutrisystem are based on the glycemic index.

Q: What is the difference between an enriched food and a fortified food?
A: Enriched food- nutrients are replaced that were originally lost during processing. For example, some of the B-complex vitamins are added back to refined flour. Fortified food- Nutrients are added that were never naturally a part of the food. For example, vitamins A and D are often added to milk.

I just came across the section in the book devoted to the "set point." This is a very hot topic for me, especially with my mom, and something that will be very relevant in my life in college and beyond. Be looking for definition and discussion of the body's natural set point in tomorrow's post!

Enjoy the weekend everyone!

Week 2, Day 3 (The Teacher Makes the Class)

7:45 am- Breakfast

I slept in! I was pretty hungry when I woke up and was looking for another alternative to Special K, so I opted for two small pancakes with peanut butter and jelly in the middle like a sandwich. It was delicious and filling.

2 small pancakes
1 tablespoon peanut butter
Jelly
2% milk

10:00 am- RetroRobics
This was the second RetroRobics class I have taken, and it was a different teacher, who had an immediately clear new style. First of all, we used steps for about half the class. I used the step platform with two additional risers on each side, and I found it to be the perfect height for me. It was challenging—for the first few sets of jumping exercises especially, I forgot how high the step was and my foot kind of caught on the front. This class in comparison to the last RetroRobics class was much more contained as far as space used, and also was a lot more squatting versus jumping. We began on the floor—doing high and low jabs, hooks and upper cuts, as well as kicks. It was sort of the beginnings of kickboxing. I liked this version of kickboxing because I could incorporate my bounce into it, rather than having to stay flat footed like I did at Urban Warrior (the first time, the second Urban Warrior was completely different, as you will read below). This class I was very focused on what to do with my arms—I didn’t want them hanging awkwardly as they did last week. The instructor kept a constant swinging motion with hers, so I tried to mimic her movements. To my relief, that not only made me look like I knew what I was doing, but it also intensified the workout and gave me momentum. After a half hour, we switched to abs. I have decided I LOVE abs in combination with weights. I go nice and slow so I feel the burn and the weight really intensifies the workout. I also liked the elevation of doing abs on the step. The only complaint I have is that the class was too short. It was only 45 minutes long, and I would have loved another 15 minutes of abs or work with weights.

11:30 am- Lunch

Whole grain white bun (what exactly is that??)
Slice American cheese
4 Market Day Meatballs
2 Light Jellos with Light Whipped Cream
Clementine
1:00 pm- Snack
Small slice chocolate chip cake from Market Day
2% Milk (Tara Harwood told me I should be drinking more glasses of milk in my day)

**Lately, I have been eating snack and lunch really close together. I eat my lunch, go upstairs for an hour, and realize I am hungry again. The milk in the snack really helps me to make it through til dinner, while the chocolate cake is a nice, individually portioned treat that makes me feel like I’m not deprived of my favorite sweet foods like cake.

3:00 pm- Meeting with Anne Marie
I arrived at Anytime Fitness and Ann Marie realized I hadn’t signed the waiver necessary for me to be working out at the gym…oops. There was a questionnaire involved, and one of the questions was how much soda do you drink in a day.

**Cough** at least 32 ounces **Cough** Anne Marie was mortified. I told her the pop was diet, in an effort to save myself. AND I hadn’t had any all week because I gave it up for my project. I explained that it is really difficult for me because it’s all that’s in my house. She said bluntly, “Well, you might as well be drinking paint.” Yikes, that is a pretty picture. Anne Marie explained how everything in pop, especially diet pop, is a chemical never meant to be processed by our bodies. It causes inflammation in the body and gets stuck places like the liver. Now, there is really no more denying how bad pop is for the body. Especially in the quantities that I am used to drinking it. But there is hope! Anne Marie gave me a list of healthy and easy alternatives. I will share them with you here:

1) Make your own tea—boil a big pot of water, and use about 1 bag per cup of water you boil. She said white tea and green tea are great, but also red tea. I had never heard of red tea, but she suggested checking Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods (which she calls “Whole Paycheck”). She said it is spicier than white and green. Sounds interesting.

2) She suggested sweetening the tea with Raw Honey (which has a TON less sugar than processed honey, and still tastes as sweet.) or Agave Nectar. I also asked about Stevia—sugar that comes from a plant of the same name. Its extracts have about 300 times the sweetness of sugar. It is low calorie and low carb. She said that was ok as well. I also asked her about Splenda. She said it was 1 part sugar and 3 parts chlorine. I might as well open my mouth and drink out of a baby pool. Good to know.

3) Sparkling water with a splash of 100 percent pure juice, or squeezed lemons and limes with some of the sweeteners above. I might try the sparkling water with a splash of pomegranate juice. She said to make sure that the sparkling water is purely water with bubbles and doesn’t have any funky other chemicals in it.

Dinner - 4:45 pm

Can Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup
1 Large Red Apple

6:20 pm- Urban Warrior

My mom came again! I’m so glad she is getting motivated to get back to her old, active self by watching me do this project. Also, there was yet another new teacher from the last Urban Warrior I took. One thing I’ve learned from my experiences today is that the teacher sets the tone of the entire class. This instructor opted for lots of bouncing, jumping, and kicking—just my specialty. We did a lot of adding on. We did a combination—say, jab, cross, jab, cross—then we added a kick front, lunge back. Then, we put the combination together. At first, it was confusing, but when I got it, it felt great. My mom was frustrated with herself, but again, from my end, she looked great. I left with my calved and quads burning. But I still must say, the best workout I’ve had yet was the first round of RetroRobics.

Dessert- 8:30 pm

Before I left, I put 2 light peach yogurts in the freezer because we were out of ice cream. When I got back, they were perfectly frozen. With freezing light yogurt, it is usually either a hit or a miss. There is a lot of water in these things, so sometimes it will crystallize and be like icy yogurt which definitely is not as appealing as regular frozen yogurt. My first one was absolutely perfect and delicious. There were even little peach chunks that I loved. The second one had the crystal effect. But I ate it anyway.

2 Frozen Yoplait Yougurt Lights

11:00 pm- I was getting ready to turn out my lights when I felt a really burning hunger. I quickly jumped up from my bed and went to the kitchen. A little quick math in my head told me I definitely had not had enough to eat today. I got out some left over nachos with baked tortilla chips, cheese and chicken and heated those up in the toaster. I also made myself a little baby cup of a mix of the snacks in the cupboard, because they had been looking good all day. Finally, I had a fun-sized crunch bar. This doenst sound like a super healthy meal, but I got in more calories and also gave myself food that I had been wanting all day, but in moderate portions.

Reading Material

First of all, today for lunch I ate “whole grain white bread.” How in the world can something be both whole grain and white? I looked it up in www.mayoclinic.com. They said,

“White whole-wheat bread looks and tastes like white bread but has the nutritional benefits of whole-wheat bread — such as increased fiber and nutrients. If you don't like the taste or texture of regular whole-wheat bread, white whole-wheat bread may make it easier to add whole grains to your diet.
Regular white bread is made with refined grains, which go through a process that strips out certain parts of the grain. But white whole-wheat bread — like regular whole-wheat bread — is made with the whole grain.
The difference between white whole-wheat bread and regular whole-wheat bread is in the type of wheat used. Regular whole-wheat bread is made with red wheat, which is dark in color and has a slightly bitter taste. White whole-wheat bread is made with an albino variety of wheat, which is lighter in color and has a sweeter, milder flavor.
When you're selecting bread, read product labels to make sure you know what you're buying. Look for breads that list the "whole" grain as the first ingredient, such as whole wheat, white whole wheat or whole oats. If the label doesn't say "whole" first, it isn't a whole-grain product.”

Hmmm, interesting. I almost didn’t want to eat it because I thought it lacked nutritional value. I’m glad I’m now informed on the subject.

On the subject of nutritional value and carbohydrates, in the book, Nutrition for Life, there are two whole pages dedicated to what carbs are the right ones to be eating. Here is a list of bad carbs that most of us eat every day, and a healthy, “good carb” alternative.

Bad: White Bread Good: 7-grain or whole wheat bread
Bad: white Rice Good: Brown Rice
Bad: Croissant Good: Whole Wheat English Muffin
Bad: Carrot Cake Good: Angel Food Cake with Fresh Fruit***(angel food cake over carrot cake? Who knew?)

There are more, less obvious ones. Look for them tomorrow!

Week 2, Day 2 (A Day of Accidental Rest)

7:00 am Breakfast
I woke up, and was really trying to break up my Special K streak. Pilsbury rolls/croissants/muffins/anything are delicious, and we had some for Mother's Day. I heated up one of the leftovers to change things up. Also, a meal of just the muffin, an apple, and milk was very bland, and lacked protein. To solve that peoblem, I melted a little bit of peanut butter in the micro wave and dipped my apples in. That's a really nice trick actually. The peanut butter goes a LOT further if you melt it and dip.

Pillsbury English Muffin
Table Spoon Peanut Butter
Red Apple
2% Milk

9:00 am- Meeting with Tara Harwood (or so I thought)
I arrived at the Cleveland Clinic in plenty of time for one. I found a great, FREE parking spot which was clutch because parking in the Clinic is really expensive and quite confusing. I came in, gave the desk my name at 9, and at 9:15 Tara came out and said, "oh Great! You're Early!" I was perplexed. Mother told me the appointment was at 9. After checking with the desk, I had been scheduled for both a 9:30 with Tara Harwood and also a 9:30 with Dr. Rome. Because of the time crunch, Tara decided to do an "abstract"--a quick little meeting that doesn't count as an appointment. She first asked me for my food log (that I was supposed to fax to her. Oops.) then she said she estimated my caloric needs at 2,300 per day. Now, I am doing a LOT of activity and that number sounded low to me. For example, I know for certain on Monday I had more than that, and it felt right to my body--I ate when I was hungry. With that question at the front of my mind, I thanked her and headed upstairs to see Dr. Ellen Rome.

9:30 am- Dr. Rome
After falling asleep in one of the rooms waiting, Doctor Rome finally came in. She asked me how I was doing and was very interested in my senior project and blog. I sent her the link a couple days before and she was still getting around to reading it. I told her how positive the feedback had been from all of my teachers and project advisers, and she was particularly interested in my review of books, especially The Diet for Teenagers Only, Which she admitted she had been worried about me reading/getting the wring ideas from. I happily told her how I had analyzed the material very carefully and picked out information that I found useful, as well as some that I found triggering. After blog discussion, I jumped right into my questions. Tara Harwood told me 2,300 calories was an amount to shoot for. Does that sound low to you? Doctor Rome reassured me by saying that the estimate was probably intended for if I was walking a college campus on a daily basis. Not exercising intensely for an hour to two hours every day. She went on to say that 2,300 calories with this amount of exercise would probably be a weight loss diet for me. That was a relief. The last thing we talked about was how my body was bouncing back quick as lightning, and I could feel my muscles coming back. That led to the question of whether I was still super conscious about my weight. The honest answer to that is I never weigh myself because I'm not allowed. But I do care. And it makes me uneasy to know that the number has definitely gone up, even though its purely because of the increase in muscle. I'm still trying to get my head around that whole concept. I know that when I look in the mirror, I look strong and more firm. My stomach especially is getting back where I want it to be. But dealing with the numbers is still something that I'm probably not quite wanting to do yet.

12:00 pm Lunch
4 oz. Pork Chop
Teriyaki Sauce
1 Mini Meatball (I saw it sitting in the fridge)
Small Bowl Butter Pecan Ice Cream
2 Rings of Pineapple

1:00 pm Snack
1 Serving Cheetos
Yoplait Light Yogurt with Special K and Light Whipped Cream

5:15 ZUMBA! gets interrupted by emotions.
All day, I was looking forward to ZUMBA!. But then, at about 4:30, I fell head first into an emotional break down. I was crying so hard that I couldn't even drive effectively, so I pulled over on the side of the road and cried it out. Basically the root of the issue was me thinking about all of the things I'm going to miss when I go to college and how I am going to manage life without them. As I sat there with my tears and my boogers running down my face, I decided I needed to take the night off. I realized this meant I got absolutely no physical activity in for the day, but sometimes, more important things come up. It is important to care about physical fitness but not to be so rigid as to not be able to give yourself a break when you need one.

5:45 pm- Dinner
1 Can Campbell's Steak and Potato Soup

Dessert- 6:15 pm
1 Small Slice Chocolate Chip Cake
1 Heinen's Chocolate Chip Cookie

Reading Material

I started a new book called Nutrition for Life by Lisa Hark and Darwin Dean. The book is very dense and it is taking me a while to get through. The beginning few chapters were very much in line with all of the other books I have looked at--trying to determine if your body and diet are correct. Interestingly enough, this book also has a BMI Chart. Although I disagree with the concept of BMI, this book places me in the middle of the "healthy" range, versus The Diet for Teenagers Only that places me in the "slightly overweight" category. I just find it interesting that there can be that much disparity between two sources claiming to be presenting the same chart. Confusing.

This book has boxes with fun facts and information on several subjects pertaining to a common theme. For example, here are some of the boxes and information that I found most interesting:

1) Fish and shellfish are healthy choices- Ok. That is pretty much common knowledge. But the book goes on to say that you should eat fish of shellfish at least once a week. Do you do that? Because I know I don't. Fish can improve your mood, reduce depression, and reduce inflammation in the joints and arteries. It can also help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by decreasing blood pressure and the levels of triglycerides in the blood.

2)Calculating Energy Requirements- I found this interesting because it actually gave me a decent idea of what I need to be eating calorically every day to meet my needs based on my activity. I estimate myself to be somewhere between moderately active (16 calories per pound of body weight) and very active (18 calories per pound of body weight)--so we'll go with 17. By this method, it is estimated that I need roughly 2635 calories per day to maintain my body weight. Interesting.

3) Apple Versus Pear- This little box was interesting to me because I couldn't figure out what I was. It says people who tend to gain weight in their abdominal region are apples, while those who gain weight on their hips and thighs are pears. When I gain weight, it usually goes three places. My belly button region, my hips, and my butt. I feel like I don't fall into any of those categories. Perhaps I'm a "Papple" (pear+apple...get it?). Basically it said those who are apple shaped are at much higher risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. You can't help what shape you are, you can only stay healthy to prevent running into those problems.

Week 2, Day 1 (Listen to Your Body)

7:15 Breakfast

I was absolutely spent from the weekend. Mother’s Day on Sunday beyond wore me out. As a gift to my mom, I drove my sister to her volleyball in Parma while Mother rode in the back seat. It was a long as stressful drive. Moral of the story is: I slept in Monday morning. When I woke up, I went straight down for breakfast:

Cinnamon Pecan Special K (I need to mix it up a little more, as the Special K mornings are getting redundant.)

Clementine

2% Milk (I have been flying through the milk like it’s my job, so my mom finally sprung for the gallon jug.)

**By the way, my right arm, specifically my bicep and joints in my elbow are KILLING ME. It was weird, when I was lifting with Nurse Gali my right arm, which is usually my strong side, just couldn’t keep up with my left. The next morning I woke up and couldn’t straighten it. Over the next few days it got better, but it still was feeling kind of funky.

10:15 Pilates-
I decided to try yet another new class. I had heard a lot about Pilates and wanted to see what they were all about. It was also a nice change of pace to go to a class in the morning rather than at night. I felt a lot less stressed, exhausted, and agitated than I had at the previous couple evening classes. Also, my mommy came with me! It was nice to have a buddy in the class—someone that I could feel comfortable and talk to. It really put me at ease. One thing I might look into at Cinci is bringing friends to classes with me to add some fun and familiarity to my exercise routine.

Now, let me tell you something about my mother. She is little, but oh, she is mighty. That woman whipped my butt with balance and core strength. Granted, neither of those things have ever been my specialty, but hey, that’s why I was there. We used a small balance beam, mats, and weights to focus on our cores, flexibility, stretching, and balance. Well, as far as flexibility goes, I am a beast (my mom swears it’s the fact that as a baby I was strapped in a leg brace that held my little legs in the splits to fix a dislocated hip) I have always been able to go far and beyond the norm as far as that goes. Due to my insane flexibility, stretching was a breeze. The issue came mostly with balance. First of all, I had a lot of trouble when balancing on my right leg because the ankle strength is not quite there yet, so I was very wobbly. Beyond that, I have always been called the baby giraffe, among other nicknames to signify the fact that I have very long legs that don’t always stay under me. As far as core strength goes, it has been coming to me more as the years have passed, but it’s still not my strongest area. This class had my abs shaking from the strangest things that I never would have thought would even hurt a little bit. One of my favorite and most challenging moves (at least for me) of the day was a squat off the balance beam. We started with our right foot in front of our left, stepped off to one side, squatted, and touched back to the middle, then repeated to the other side. It was very basic, but I really felt it and also had to find a balance.

**Progress!
By the way, I must say that after the first week, I have already noticed some significant change in my body. My quad muscles were the first thing that I really noticed start to tone up. It is amazing to me that in only one week, they have gone from being extremely squishy and week to very, very solid. I will not call them rock hard yet, because there are still a few areas I need to work on, but they are getting close. My butt is the next area where I have noticed significant improvement. This is most interesting and exciting because it is one area that I have kind of allowed to do its own thing. It has always been out there, often being referred to as a “donk,”(or big, round booty, for those of you who aren’t familiar with the Soulja Boy song) and I never really cared much about muscle building in that area. But now that I am working on it, I can see a clear lift, as well as a definite tightness that was not there before. My abs feel tighter and more defined. And it could just be an optical illusion, but I feel as though I definitely notice the little “lady pouch” (as some of my friends call my very feminine roundness right at my belly button) getting smaller. As far as my arms go, they are always the fastest things to tone back up when you start working out. My biceps and forearms feel GREAT—tight and strong. Oh, how I missed that feeling. The tricep area still has a little flab hanging out, so I need to keep working to tone that up.

12:30 Lunch, Café 56

Stir Fry With:

Vegetables

Chicken

Asian Noodles

Soft Pretzel Roll

At first, I only ate the vegetables, the chicken, and the roll. Because that would typically be an acceptable lunch for me. But then about 10 minutes later, my stomach was screaming at me. I knew I needed more fuel, so I quickly ate the big bowl of noodles and felt satisfied. Also, with lunch I tried a new drink for me called FUZE Slenderize. Honestly, I cannot say enough good about it. It tasted like a big bottle of juice, yet was only ten calories. Also, the first two ingredients were filtered water and juice concentrate, not some weird colors and flavors that I can’t pronounce. Honestly, after eating all of that food, I felt a bit uneasy, like I had over eaten. But I had to remember that my body asked for it, and my body is the one that knows what’s right.

3:00 pm- Ann Marie, Anytime Fitness

Ann Marie and I focused on triceps and chest today before doing yoga, stretching, and breathing. I warned her about my ultra sore bicep and she said we could work around it no problem. I began with chest presses with 15 pound dumbbells. To my surprise, after the second set, the bicep muscle that was bothering me actually loosened up significantly. It was weird but felt wonderful. We also used a machine for chest fly, and I learned different ways to position myself to work different little areas. The thing I like about working with Ann Marie is the fact that I’m not lifting to become huge and jacked. I’m actually relaxing as I’m lifting, and I can feel the muscles building, but the tone of the workout and the way we do things is not intense at all. Ann Marie Told me she thought I had enough intensity in my life. True that, sister. We then moved to abs on the magic ball. The slower I do abs, the more I feel them. Actually, that is how it is with all strength training. On the first day, I took off at the speed of light. But once I slowed down, I actually began to feel it, be a lot safer, and relax a lot more. So I did crunches in reverse table top position on the ball. I also did leg raises and pelvic thrusts, which were actually really fun and I could feel my body squeezing together. She really stressed deep breathing and inhaling as I tensed, followed by exhaling as I released. Sometimes, the timing would be funky and I’d take too big of a breath so I would have to hold it at the top until I was allowed to release. But eventually, I figured it out. I left the session feeling extremely relaxed and focused. To be honest, I attribute that to two things. 1) The exercises we did and our focus on deep breathing 2) Ann Marie’s voice is extremely calming. I don’t know if anybody remembers watching Bob Ross on “The Joy of Painting,” but something about the combination of his voice and watching the brush strokes on the television relaxed me beyond belief. This is much the same thing. When looking for a yoga instructor or class that I like when I’m in college, one of the main criteria will be the energy of the teacher and his or her ability to help enhance the yoga by relaxing and calming with the voice.

5:30- Surprise Dinner

I was on my way to Urban Active for kickboxing, when all of a sudden I was overcome by hungry. Because I’m practicing listening to my body and doing what it tells me, I turned right around and went home to get some dinner. I know that for me personally, I cannot perform athletically if I’m hungry. I feel weak and can’t bring myself to fully participate in the activity. Therefore, I needed some grub. When I walked through the door, my mom scolded me about never eating with my family. She likes to control at least one of my meals, usually dinner, to make sure I’m getting what I need, which is annoying for me, because I want to be in control. When I go to college, she won’t be there to make me eat what she wants. I had:

Small, leftover piece lasagna

Small bowl butter pecan ice cream (when I have ice cream, I always try to get a small container and fill it up until it’s a little bit over full, rather than getting a big bowl and forgetting what a serving size looks like.)

Clementine

Kashi Protein Bar

I have always been the kind of person who can eat 10 minutes before a sporting event and play like nothing happened. But I was a little bit concerned about all of that sitting like a rock in my stomach because I had never done a kickboxing class before and didn’t really know what it entailed.

6:20 Kickboxing at Urban Active

I walked in about 7 minutes late because of my little dinner detour. The class was packed. I slunk in and found myself a little spot in the back where I could kind of see myself in both the side and front mirrors. The instructor was a woman—about 6 foot 2 inches and absolutely ripped. Her Muscles bulged out her back and arms and she was screaming “PUNCH! PUNCH!” with intensity that reminded me of Tracy Williams.

**As a side note, and I don’t know if I’ve commented on this before, but at both gyms I’m at, there is an excessive amount of tanning. And once you hit a certain age, it really starts to show on your skin—it looks like leather. I will admit, I went tanning a couple times before prom because my dress was melon colored and I needed to be a little darker or it would have looked funny. But I know it’s horrible for me and I don’t plan on ever doing it again. I don’t understand why fitness is still associated with something as unhealthy as tanning.

What I will say about kickboxing is that I didn’t like it as much as ZUMBA!, RetroRobics. I think this is because although the music was fun and upbeat, and I felt powerful, the fun was sucked out of this class by the “no dance. ever.” rule. It felt very flat footed to me, and I wanted to put a little bounce in my step but the teacher wouldn’t have it. That is understandable because the class is supposed to be mimicking a fight situation, and no one would be dancing around during a fight. The basic moves were punches and kicks, with a couple knee lifts in there as well. It was amazing to me how silly I felt punching the air at first. I felt like such a sissy, limply thrusting my fist out at nothing in particular. Then I kind of thought back to the days where I used to watch my mom take these very same classes, and the attitude she took when fake knocking out a punching bag. She owned it. She looked powerful. So I began to try to harness that same feeling. To my dismay, I really started to get into it. I tried to punch with power and precision—not being floppy or weak. I left the class feeling strong, but very tired. I was tired from Pilates to begin with, then went to Ann Marie and moved on to exhausted, then, after leaving Urban for the second time, I was absolutely spent.

7:20 Yoga…Nope

I was supposed to take a class called “Urban Yoga” after kickboxing, but my body
told me that it was a bad idea. I was exhausted, had already done yoga that day, and wanted to go home. So I listened and decided to skip it.

9:45 Listen to Your Body

So I was completely planning on going straight to bed when I got home. I went upstairs, but at about 9:45, my stomach started to yell at me again. On this project, I have really been making an effort to listen to what my body tells me. If it’s hungry, I try to feed it promptly and adequately. If it’s tired, I try to give it a rest. I got hungry at almost 10 pm, so I marched downstairs, got myself a very small bowl of ice cream, a Heinen’s Double Chocolate cookie, and this other little cookie that looked like an oreo, except with ginger-snaps for cookies and lemon cream in the middle. After eating that, I felt great, and I went up to bed no problem.

Reading Material

Today I wanted to share some recipes given to me in The Diet for Teenagers Only that I thought were quick and easy, very doable at college, and sound totally delicious for when I don’t want to eat the sometimes yucky pre-made cafeteria food at Cincinnati.

1) Banana Butter Waffles- Toast a frozen, whole grain waffle. Mash a banana with a fork until it’s gooey. Spread the banana on the waffle like butter….Ok, so for some of you that might sound a little weird. But for me, that sounds perfect. It is a great way to get a fruit in, and also eliminates butter or syrup from the table. The meal is quick, easy to eat, and doesn’t require a lot of prep of clean up.

2) Super Smoothie- Mix together in a blender: ½ cup unfiltered apple juice, ¼ cup ice, ½ cup plain non-fat yogurt, ½ cup cubed papaya, ½ cup slices strawberries, 1 tablespoon toasted wheat germ, ½ scoop whey protein powder…I have grown up with smoothies. My mom got a blender when I was in about seventh grade and for two straight years I had a smoothie every single morning with my breakfast. So this food is familiar for me. Also, it incorporates extra protein to keep me energized and full, and not wanting to snack. I need to find ways to plan getting fresh fruit while I’m at school so I can make this rather than go to a smoothie bar, where they add lots of sugar and artificial ingredients.

3) Turkey Burgers- (If I’m ever in a position where I can come up with all this stuff—maybe a special occasion/trip to the grocery store) In a large bowl, mix 1 pound ground turkey breast, ½ cup sourdough bread crumbs, ¼ cup low fat buttermilk, ¼ cup minced green onion, ¼ cup chopped parsley, ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard, ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, and a dash of black pepper. Divide into four patties. Grill or broil for 15 minutes until brown and cooked thoroughly…Now I know this doesn’t sound super realistic for a college campus, but hey, a girl can dream. These sound absolutely delicious, and exactly like what my parents make at my house. I figured, if I ever found myself home sick, these might be a nice little treat to get me through it.

4) V8 Soup- Place 3 quarts V8 juice, 2 cans low fat/low sodium chicken broth, and 1 medium quartered onion in a large stock pot. Cook on medium heat for approximately 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 2 stalks cut-up celery, 3 cups chopped broccoli, 2 cups string beans, 2 cups cut-up zucchini, and 10 ounces frozen peas. Simmer for an additional 15 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked through. Add 1 tablespoon dry or fresh thyme, and 1 tablespoon dry or fresh basil, and serve…Now, I am a big soup eater. By big I mean like every day. This recipe is great because it makes 12 servings, so I can put it in a big container and save it, using a bit every day. I know this seems like a lot of vegetables and cooking, but once I get a hold of the vegetables I need, the work is very simple. This would be a dish I would need to do some planning before I cooked, but the end result is worth it.

5) Chocolate Crème Dessert- In a medium bowl, blend together 2 ounces light cream cheese, 1 tablespoon powdered fructose, and 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder on medium speed for 1 minute or until smooth. Scrape the bowl and add 15 ounces fat free ricotta cheese. Whip with a wire whisk to remove lumps. Mix for another minute to fully blend. Chill for 1 hour. Serve with raspberries on top…I am a major dessert junkie. I love chocolate, and ice cream, and all the rest of it, as you can tell from reading my blog. This dessert is light, and super easy to make. It would be a great alternative to cake or ice cream or Starbuck’s when I’m craving something sweet at school.

6) POM Tea-

The Diet for Teenagers Only says this about POM Tea:

“The Buddhists believe that the pomegranate is one of the most blessed and sacred fruits. The health benefits include a powerful blend of antioxidants that work together to prevent certain cancers, heart disease, and premature aging. It also acts as a hormone balancer, which is essential for women—especially teenagers. The best part of this elixir is that it contains compounds that work with your metabolism to increase fat burning. You can drink up to 16 ounces per day, ideally after breakfast and again in the afternoon. If you prefer it to be sweeter, you can use a small amount of stevia, a natural sweetener made from chickory plant extracts that you’ll find at most health food stores.”

Add 5 bags of green tea with chamomile to 4 cups of boiling water. Steep for about 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags and add 8 ounces pure pomegranate juice. ..I want to try this. I think over the next few days, I’ll ask my mom to buy some pomegranate juice from the grocery store. Also, you can make a lot of this and store the extra in a refrigerator. It is super simple to make and not a big mess. Sounds perfect for college. Let’s see if it works.

Day 5 (Just Like Mommy.)

6:15 am- Breakfast. Yeah baby, we had food in the house! I went for:

Cinnamon Pecan Special K (Special K is a staple in my morning routine)

2% milk

A rather green banana

(bananas for me are the perfect morning food. they are super quick and easy, take about 30 seconds to eat, and are nice and healthy as well.)

*Everyone is always saying these fruits are good for me. Because I wanted to know exactly why this banana was so fantastic, I looked it up on http://www.nutritiondata.com. It said, "The good: This food is very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Potassium and Manganese, and a very good source of Vitamin B6. The bad: A large portion of the calories in this food come from sugars."--I decided I had no problem with some natural sugar in my breakfast.

9:00 am- Back to Tracy at Anytime Fitness in Chesterland. I was very worried that I was going to get in trouble for a couple minutes late to observe training, but to my surprise and relief, I walked in a couple steps ahead of both Tracy and Courtney. Today was "Plyo Day," short for Plyometrics. The short, sweet definition of Plyometrics a la http://www.dictionary.com, "a type of exercise using explosive movements to develop muscular power, especially bounding, hopping, and jumping." Basically,Tracy had Courtney do a circuit of roughly ten exercises three times, with very little break in between. These exercises included jump-squats with a bar, scissor jumps, roll-outs on one of those "magic balls" I raved about in a previous post (for roll-outs, think of the Ab Roller that's always advertised on TV. Start in modified push up position, with forearms on the ball and back straight. Slowly roll forward with your forearms on the ball and abs tight, then roll back. Sounds easy, but it didn't look so pleasant when Courtney was literally on the verge of tears by the second round.). Basically, it was a mix of a lot of different types of drills that I used to do at soccer all the time. What struck me most about this observation day was that although Courtney clearly wasn't enjoying herself, and was being pushed to her limit, she never complained. Tracy would tell her to do something, Courtney would process it in her own mind for a second, and then dive right in, not matter how much she was dying. Her positive attitude and concept of "the big picture"--knowing that she was doing this for herself in order to reach the level of fitness she desired. Even though it hurt then, she'd feel great about doing it after she was finished. I decided I needed to talk to Courtney more, and find out how she stays motivated and positive. i could use a little bit of her spirit when I am out on my own trying to stay healthy.

11:00 am- Lunch.

Small square left over lasagna from my brother's dinner the previous night

1-1.5 servings Cookies n Cream ice cream (I never can really eyeball a serving of ice cream. I know it was somewhere in that range.)

1 clementine (I love these fruits because they are so easy to eat and manageably sized. There are no seeds, they are super easy to peel, and they are small, so they can go anywhere. That is not to mention the fact that they are absolutely tangy and delicious.)

12:30- I went up to Hawken to fill out my AP Art forms, and found I was still hungry. I ran over to the lunch room with my friend, Kelly, and we grabbed fudge sickles. They were nice and cool in the 80 degree weather, and were a good, light treat.

2:00 Lifting with Nurse Gali. Oh my, I have never felt so weak in my life. Granted,I haven't touched a dumbbell since February 16, and it is now early May. I couldn't expect to be even close to full-form.I asked to do arms because it was the part of my body I was feeling most self conscious about with my lack of muscle. So, we focussed on biceps and triceps. We basically did 3 sets of 3 exercises for each, plus abs at the end. I began with bicep curls, and managed to make my way through 3 sets of 15 reps using 15 pound dumbbells. Then, it kind of all came crumbling down. The two exercises I had the most trouble with were preacher curls and skull crushers. Preacher curls involve hanging your arm down along an inclined bench and curling up. It doesn't sound so hard, until you are on the second and third sets and Nurse Gali has to assist you in getting the weights all the way up. Yikes. For skull crushers, which are a tricep exercise, you lay on your back on a flat bench and hold the weights at 90 degrees above your head, then slowly lower them to next to your ears, and come back up. The most embarrassing part of that for me was having to go down to the 8 pound weights. In my prime, I would chuckle at the girls next to me using 8s as I pounded all of my exercises out with 15s at the lightest. Those days were gone. We finished with abs that were a modified version of "up-down-in-outs." The cool and kind of unique thing about those was the fact that instead of laying on the ground, I was hanging. I walked out of the weight room with my arms throbbing, but was glad I did it. The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. And trust me, I admit it, I'm out of shape.

4:15- I was about to go to Retro Aerobics, which I will get to in a minute, and I knew I would need a snack to carry my through. Instead of going the non-filling, empty calorie route like I saw my brother and sister doing (no offense guys), I went for protein and fruit-

Yoplait Light Blackberry Yogurt

ReddiWhip Light

Handful Dried Fruit
Then, I ran out the door.

5:30- "RetroRobics" at Urban active. When I was little, I would always go with my mom to the YMCA to her Aerobics and Step classes, and stand in the corner and do the moves along with her. They played this awesome dance-y 90s music (that I still have on my iPod today because it brings back such memories.) like "Another Night" by Real McCoy, and "Sweet Dreams" by La Bouche. So, I saw this class offered at Urban and I immediately thought of her. The class was significantly smaller than ZUMBA!--Ahhh more space to move around! The instructor was a tall, thin, very peppy woman wearing hot pink and black spandex pants and a fanny pack. It was just as I remembered it. The music that played was, unfortunately, not my classic jams. But is was still good and really fun and upbeat--mostly Lady Gaga, which I was perfectly alright with. For the first half hour, the class was constant moving and jumping. The instructor saw that there were a lot of different age ranges and physicalities in our class, so she began to break everything into levels. Level one was low-impact. They walked versus jogged and stepped versus jumped. Level two added more bounce and energy. Level three only came out on certain songs, but one of the level three moves was this high kick out to the side and immediately jumping into the same move on the other side. To my joy and dismay, I got it after a couple of tries, and it felt great. Now, let me just tell you, a half hour of this class was killing me. ZUMBA! was a good workout, and great fun, but this was killer. And it was completely in disguise. I guarantee the people who could see us through the window did not comprehend the difficulty of what we were doing.

Thankfully, after 30 minutes, we switched gears. She turned off the lights and told us to grab mats and weights. Ohhhh no. I had already lifted today, and I was not up for round two. I grabbed some 5 pounders and decided to take it easy. For the second half hour, we combined stepping and squatting and lunging with lifting weights. We finished with this awesome ab workout that I could feel more than any ab exercise I had ever done. This class, I decided, was definitely getting added to my regular schedule.

7:30 Dinner at Mongolian BBQ on Coventry. This is arguably my favorite restaurant (besides Melt, the grilled cheese restaurant that is expanding from its original Lakewood location and putting a second one on the corner of South Taylor and Cedar in Cleveland Heights. I could not be more excited.) so I was beyond excited. I met my brother and mom there, and he and I walked up to the food bar to make our bowls. I loved that I could choose exactly what I was eating. There was the control thing coming out again. I went for crab, calamari, baby corn, snap peas, carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, brown rice, and teriyaki sauce. They brought out tortillas with the meal, so I used two of those for a different way to eat some of my meal. I finished the rest with a fork, the old fashioned way. The meal was delicious. I also had my three diet cokes that I always have when I go out to eat. I left the meal feeling satisfied, and happy for getting to spend time with my family who I really hadn't seen all week.

12:00 am- I want ice cream...
After returning from the movie "How to Train Your Dragon," I knew I was hungry. My stomach was rumbly throughout the whole second half of the film. I walked through my door and went right for the cookies and cream ice cream. A nice big bowl of that was exactly what I needed to get me through til breakfast.

Reading Material

The verdict on pop. Alright, so here it is, the answer to one of my most burning questions. "Why is everyone so down on my Diet Coke!?" The Diet for Teenagers Only makes this point on page 157,"If you only do one thing after you've read this book, do this: Stop drinking sodas, especially diet sodas!"..A stake through my heart.."Diet sodas are full of artificial sweeteners, colors, and flavors--nothing is natural. Plus, sodas can mess up your body!"

The book goes on to say 4 things that sodas do to you.

1) Your bones become weaker. Yes, I have heard that, and actually, I asked my bone doctor about it when we were trying to get my fibula to heal. He said that unless I'm drinking bathtubs full of it every day, it shouldn't prove to be an issue. That being said, my bone never did heal, so I guess the jury is still out on that one.

2) You're At Risk for Developing Type 2 Diabetes. This one only counts for drinks with sugar in them, so we are going to throw this one out, because it is not applicable to my beloved diet coke.

3) You Might Get Cellulite. To me, this one sounds far fetched as well. The book says, "The thickness of your skin, your age, and genetics all help determine whether you'll develop cellulite, and how much. But eating less saturated fat (fatty meats and fried foods), drinking more water, and avoiding diet sodas might reduce cellulite." That's all fine and dandy, but there was no explanation or medical reason why avoiding diet soda has anything to do with cellulite. Until I see some cold hard evidence, I am skeptical.

4) The caffeine can make you fidgety and anxious. "Too much caffeine can give you the jitters and lead to insomnia"...I have a "friend" who might be experiencing some of those things...

Alright, so even though these arguments weren't quite up to par in my humble opinion, I have made a decision. For weeks 2-5 of this project, I will be cutting out pop completely. Everyone says it's so bad for me, and I want to see if I actually feel a difference in 4 weeks of being pop free. If the affects are noticeably positive, then I will try to stick to the system, or at least drastically cut back on the bubbly, artificially sweetened cans of goodness. If nothing changes, it's back to the old ways. How about them apples?

P.S.

Quote of the day, and one that I need to remember and revisit more often than I do:

"There are 3 billion women who don't look like supermodels and only 8 who do. Love your body."- The Diet for Teenage Girls Only, excerpted from an ad by The Body Shop.

See everyone on Monday for the start of Week 2!

Day 4 (I've found my calling!)

So I was far too tired to post this at 12:30 last night. Here is my post for yesterday. See you again late tonight for an update on today's activities!

6:10 am- Breakfast. I seem to keep waking up earlier and earlier no matter how late I go to sleep. I’m not dying of exhaustion or anything, but there is something with my internal clock that really seems to like the 6 o’clock hour.

Breakfast Pizza (Market Day—egg, cheese, sausage, bread)

White tea (I decided I’m going to start logging my drinks as well. There are a lot of things I leave of this blog like the handfuls of nuts or cheerios I have here or there, and also things like the sports drinks Dr. Rome asked me to drink after working out. I have decided to share those as well, so you truly get a complete picture of what I consume on a daily basis.

8:30 am- I was all ready to go on a run up at Hawken after dropping off Kennedy at school, but I couldn’t drag myself to get out of the car for the life of me. I kept staring at my shoes and at the road ahead of me. It occurred to me then that self-motivation might prove to be an issue, especially when I’m in college and have a million and one better things I could be doing. Lucky for me, Personal Wellness for the Modern College Student saw that one coming. Here are some of my favorite tips for motivating yourself to get off your butt:

1) Find a buddy because it makes you much more likely to keep your appointment and routine and to work out harder if there is someone to push you

2) Mix it up—by doing different things that work different parts of the body, you will keep from getting bored and stuck in a rut.

3) Have a Back-up plan in case something in your day changes. Instead of throwing exercise and good habits out the window, go to plan B.

4) Incorporate extra activity into your daily life. If you don’t have it in you some days to just buckle down and do the workout, find ways to trick yourself. By walking instead of driving, or taking the long way to class, you get the exercise your body needs without having to go into “workout mentality.”

Now, I like these suggestions, but I am going to alter them a little bit. I know that if I work out with a partner, I get crazy super competitive, or otherwise go into my own little world. Either way, not fun for anyone involved. But I do like the idea of a set time every day to do what I need to do. I also do much better when I have someone else to motivate and push me… I think the solution to that one might be group classes! I try my first one tonight. It’s called “Zumba” at Urban Active—a mix of Latin dance and goodness knows what else. But I know I love music, dancing, and moving my hips. I also know that a class like this sounds much more appealing than a 2 mile, solo run. If I like the style and feel of it, I will definitely pick up more classes. I am looking into kickboxing and aerobics—both of which incorporate dance, variation, and fun versus intensity and repetition. If I go there and like what it is all about, when I go to college, one of the first things I will do is look into group classes like these ones.

Mixing it up for me is going to be key. I get bored easily and I don’t like to do things that bore me or that I dread doing. I think that I ran into a wall with the running today partially because I just did it yesterday. I need a change of pace. I think in college, I will need to have several lists of exercise options that I can choose from and change it up.

My schedule is always changing, and when it does, I often throw my hands up in the air and say forget it, and throw all of my hard work out the window. For instance, if my friends end up going to McDonald’s after I’ve already eaten well that day, I will often just eat again anyways because it’s easy. If my day suddenly changes and I go to the movies during the time I was supposed to be running, I often won’t exercise at all that day just because the schedule changed. For college I need solutions to this problem, including little workouts to squeeze in throughout the day when the plans change, and ways to remind myself that I don’t have to eat it just because it’s there.

Incorporating extra activity into my life will be key for me, because there are many days when I just don’t feel like doing anything. So instead of torturing myself and dragging myself to the gym, I will need ways to trick myself into getting the exercise in different ways.

12:00 pm- Lunch. Still no groceries. Awesome. I tried to do the best I could given the circumstances.

Can Campbell’s Beef Vegetable soup

Small Pink Lady apple

Then I was still pretty hungry and lacking a good source of protein in my meal, so I mixed frozen peaches and strawberries with vanilla yogurt and whipped cream, and it was super delicious.

When I was done with that, I still wanted more, but I couldn’t tell if it was my mind or my stomach talking. I grabbed a square of Hershey’s dark chocolate and headed up to my room to regroup and give my body and my brain time to get on the same page as to whether I was still hungry or not.

One of my biggest problems is simply being in the kitchen too long. Being around all that food makes me want to eat it, and often tricks my body into thinking it wants more. One of the best tricks I’ve developed is escaping to my bedroom and waiting ten minutes, really listening to my body to see if it still really wants more. Sometimes it does, and I will go downstairs with a clear head, ready to make a healthy decision, and sometimes it doesn’t, in which case I stay upstairs and find another activity so I’m not bored and thinking about the food that my body isn’t really asking for at all.

3:00 pm- Still hungry. My body has made that clear. Even though I knew I’d be eating dinner in an hour, I knew I needed a good snack.

Small Green apple

Serving peanut butter

Chex Mix

I was slowly realizing how the large amount of activity I was doing was affecting my body and how much food I needed in a day. I am doing a LOT, and therefore, need significantly more food than when I wasn’t exercising.

4:00 pm- Dinner

This is about the most unorthodox dinner you will ever encounter, but remember, it was at 4 o’clock. That’s already unorthodox.

Market Day Chocolate Cake

12 oz. 2% Milk

½ cup cheerios

5:00- Introduction to Urban Active. Holy moley, this place was HUGE. They even had a movie theater with a bunch of cardio equipment in there. I had a 30 day free pass from the Cavs on fan appreciation night—hey, I’ll take it. I took the coupon in and they walked me through the giant fitness palace. Weirdly, they started the tour in the tanning beds. There is nothing healthy about a tanning bed, folks. Nothing. And it was weird for me because it seemed like everyone working there was a tan-a-holic. Boys, girls, old, young, didn’t matter. I have no idea why fitness is associated with tanning but it irks me. Some of the highlights of Urban Active were the women’s only section, with a tv and a lighter, less intimidating atmosphere than the regular floor. They also had a giant circular room with a fan for spinning, and a HUGE studio for group classes. I couldn’t understand why they needed a room so big…

5:15 ZUMBA!- Oh, that’s why…75 people…and they were turning a bunch of people away at the door. Thank goodness I signed up. Ok in this class was the best mix of women, men, old, and young. There were about 6 teenage girls, a large group in there twenties and early thirties, an equally large group of seniors looking to get their groove on (including one with the most KILLER set of legs I have ever seen. Like, not a wrinkle, not a vein, and firm as any), and even a good showing of guys. I found myself a little spot in the mirror and waited. The teacher, a tall, absolutely ripped guy wearing a pink cut off came jumping in the room. He had so much positive energy, it was ridiculous. He put his headset on and we got to work. At first, I felt silly jumping around and clapping. I imagined my boyfriend watching me do that. Oh my. But after about the first minute, I decided I didn’t care. I started jumping and clapping along with everyone else. I can’t even express to you how much fun and energy was in that room. It kept me upbeat and smiling for the full hour. Also, this workout was non-stop for 60 minutes. I never stopped which felt awesome and was very different from my sports that were start and stop.

At first, I will say, the grandma with the legs was kicking my butt.

A) She had skill.
B) It took me a while to figure out what in the heck was going on. I was one of two ZUMBA! Nubs in that class.

Basically, its Latin dance music—salsa, mambo, merengue, bachata, and samba—often times remixed with favorites like Beyonce and Lil’ John. The steps we do are all related to the dance we are focusing on for that particular song, but they get mixed with jumps and claps, and booty shaking. It was absolutely awesome. As far as the steps themselves, I couldn’t jump for anything. My leg wasn’t really helping me out. The lack of muscle was kind of limiting my activity. I will say the thing that I have always been wonderful at is any kind of hip movement. You name the move, and I’ll be the queen in about ten of working on it. I think it’s all those Hawken school dances...

I cannot say enough good about my experience in this class. By the end I was dripping with sweat, my legs were shaking, and I was smiling up a storm. I’m headed back to Urban on Friday to try out “RetroRobics.” I think I am going to try to do a class most days of the week.
AHA!

I’ve found my calling. Group fitness. Just as I predicted last night, the class works for me. It’s a scheduled time every day. I don’t have to drag myself to do something I don’t want to do. The teacher and the people around me do all the motivating for me. I don’t have to self motivate at all. I love dancing, and really, that’s all it is. Also, it’s different from soccer or basketball in that it’s constant movement. It really is a workout. Decision: I want to get the majority of my exercise from group classes at UC. I have to look into what is offered at the fitness center. If they don’t have any, I will join an Urban Active in Cincinnati.

9:00—Hungry. Again.

I was up in my room almost ready for bed, when I decided the feeling I had been wondering about in my stomach for a couple hours was clearly hunger. I just couldn’t believe I still wanted food after all of that. I marched downstairs, and mother had gone to the grocery store. Hallelujah. I grabbed a bowl, and my favorite snack, ice cream (cookies and cream today), as well as a chocolate chip cookie and an oreo. Might not sound like much, but I was very concerned about the fact that I thought I was having too much. But then, when I got back upstairs, I thought about what I have been doing activity wise, and how I had really not been changing a whole super lot about how I ate from when I was doing nothing to when I was working out a lot. That’s what caused the “snack attack” a couple days ago. My body was telling me it needed more. With that thought in mind, I ate my desert guilt free and went to bed.

Now,Let Me Lay Something Down for You...

Let’s talk about The Diet for Teenagers Only. Basically on pages 34, 35, and 36, there was a major misstep, at least in my eyes.

Issue #1:
Now, I may be hyper sensitive, because, again, I come from a background of eating disorders and having to be very careful about what is said. The first thing that I didn’t like, “while you’re getting ready to go through all these changes, there is one diet trick that really works and you can start it right now! It’s a food diary…Keep track of what you’re eating, how much water you’re drinking and most importantly, how you’re feeling.”…Whoa. Alright, well sounds harmless enough. I mean after all, I am chronicling a basic outline of what I’m eating every day right here on this blog. The difference between just stating what you eat and a food diary, in my eyes, is the counting/calculating/obsessing over numbers. Any time someone tells you to be super strict and exact about the amount of calories you eat, and then make you write it down on top of that is asking for trouble. I realize that for some girls, this may work no problem, and not be a big deal at all…it might even help a lot! But I just know from certain situations I’ve been in and things that I’ve seen, that behavior like this can be very eating disorder triggering. SO, I will be disregarding that section of the book for sure.

Issue #2
This brings me to my next point, and slightly larger issue with these three little pages. I will say before I begin that this book redeems itself immensely from page 37 on to the end of the chapter. But a lot of times, redemption doesn’t matter. All it takes is one comment, or misstep to really set someone off depending on the kind of person they are. Here we go. BMI stands for body mass index. Basically, it compares your height to your weight and gives you a number that puts you in a certain category based on what those numbers divide out to be. The book gave steps to calculate your BMI. To prove a point, I will do mine for you now.

1) Divide your weight in pounds by your height in inches.
I don’t really care about sharing this information with you. I don’t weigh myself ever. It’s just not something that’s okay in my house. When I go to the doctor’s office, they don’t tell me how much I weigh. But I will say I know I am somewhere between 150 and 155 pounds. For this exercise, we’ll go with 55. I’m also exactly 5’8.”…Therefore, 155/68= 2.279 and some change.

2) Divide the answer from Step 1 by your height in inches
About 2.279/68= .0335 and some change.

3) Multiply the answer from step 2 by 703 and that’s your BMI.
.0335 X 703= 23.565
OOOOKAYY. So, I just went through all those long winded steps to come up with this number, 23.565. I flipped the page in the book and there is this chart putting all these numbers in categories based on age. Well, it just so happens, that the “slightly overweight” category is from 23-25. Ok, so according to the book, I’m slightly overweight.

But here’s the thing. I’m not. I’m an athlete. And beyond that, I have some big muscles for a girl. When I lift weights, while most other girls use 10s, sometimes 12s if they are feeling like pushing the envelope, I’m using between 17.5s and 20s. My legs are defined and powerful from hours of jumping drills and running my butt off. Bottom line is, muscle weighs more than fat and BMI doesn’t take into account body fat percentage, making people with lots of muscle fall into very interesting categories.

Issue #3
The icing on the cake was this quote right here, “Some people have naturally larger builds and aren’t meant to be skinny minnies.” (so far so good, because that statement is completely true) “If you are one of them, accept it and move on to being as healthy and beautiful as you can be.” (I don’t like that so much. The qualifier on the end “as you can be” rubs me the wrong way. Why not leave it at “move on to being healthy and beautiful”?) “The skinny, pretty women in this world aren’t always the most attractive.” (Wait. What!? Skinny, my friends, does not equal pretty. Skinny and pretty are two separate things. You may be both skinny and pretty. But just because you are skinny does not mean you are pretty. I have a big problem with that statement. )

Verdict: This book has a ton of great information. The facts about vitamins and minerals and which frozen foods you should choose and what foods to eat when you only have a vending machine, and awesome recipes are SWEET. And I can’t wait to write about all of these things because they will really help for college! But there are a couple chapters right in the middle having to do with the actual diet itself that this book proposes that I have a big, BIG problem with. It could just be my background, and things that specifically irk me. But I think you will find that books like this are not designed for the individual, and because of that, can often send the wrong message.