Workout #17: Make a Run for It!

Even when I was little, running was my enemy. I remember running in the Presidential Fitness Challenge every year and I could never run faster than a twelve minute mile. I used to feel so bad when my friends would run beside me and try to get me to run faster, but I never could.

My sister is almost as bad as I am, but not quite. She's never been over weight but she's never been a great runner either. I was more than surprised to hear that she decided to run a marathon. On her way home for the Easter break, she texted me and asked if she wanted to go for a run the next day. My first thought was "Is she crazy?" I was going to immediately say hell no but I ended up texted back that it sounded like a good idea.

The next day she woke me up, tossed me a pair of sneakers, and pulled me outside. We walked down one house and then we made a run for it. Needless to say, I was ready to quit only a few houses down from that. I started to slow up, so my sister ran a little faster and I struggled to keep up.

We didn't talk much, so I ended up listening to my neighbors around me and focusing on my breathing. Eventually, I managed to steady it and fell into step with my sister. I kind of liked the sound of our feet hitting the pavement in unison. Every now and again she told me to slow up and pace myself or, when I started to feel like stopping, she'd tell me to focus on one thing at a time. Rather than focus on reaching home, she'd tell me to get to the next mailbox, and then I could slow down if I wanted to.

The thing was, after I reached one mailbox, I wanted to run to the next one, and the next one, and the next. Before I knew it, my house was in view. She told me earlier on in the run that we could walk from there, but instead she decided we'd sprint. I struggled to sprint but didn't slow up until I got back through my front door.

While I don't plan to run any marathons just yet, I don't mind training with my sister for the time being. Maybe I'll be running one in a couple years.

Tip #25: Post Holiday Weight Gain

My willpower sucks. It's true and I'll admit it. I just polished off my third cookie for today. I also gained back over five pounds during the holidays. Too much dessert, way too much dessert.

But I'm making a pact with myself. I'm not counting until the holidays are truly over. I'll continue my journey in the New Year because, right now, stepping on the scale is a bad idea. Every time I see that scale creep up, I get depressed and I eat. Which only makes the scale creep up more. Its a vicious cycle.

Right now, I'm eating what I want without a second thought. Sure that's far from healthy, but that's the goal. This is the one time of year I'm saying "To hell with it!" and munching on candy and cookies. I love eating the stuff and when I'm surrounded by it, I just can't say no. Rather than eating it and hating myself afterwards, I'm eating it and enjoying it, knowing that there is always time to burn the calories off in the New Year.

On January 1st, here's what I'm doing:
Any leftover candy is being donated to Operation Shoebox for the troops overseas.

Leftover cake and cookies (unwrapped) go straight in the trash.

No more specialty coffee drinks or soda.

Lunch (what is now consisting of pb&j and cookies or leftover pasta) will be made up of whole wheat sandwiches and veggies.

Dinner will be on a small plate and consist of veggies and protein (unlike the Sicilian pizza I had last night)

Dessert- cancelled. No eating after 8 pm.

Here's my New Year plan and as long as it is in writing here, I won't forget it and I won't slip up. If you plan on following your own New Year's Resolution, write down your own plan and read it everytime you want to indulge.

Tip #23: Clean Out the Fridge!

I know. So soon after Thanksgiving? You couldn't imagine tossing out the turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie so soon! And I certainly can't blame you! But don't turn Thanksgiving into a week! The average person consumes over 4000 calories for dinner on Thanksgiving. If you eat Thanksgiving dinner every day for a week, you could be packing on an extra 8 pounds!

This weekend was your free pass. You overate (don't deny it! We all did!) but now is the time to toss out the food. That one slice of pumpkin pie and cup of stuffing should be cleaned out. While you are at it, look for the foods that may not be Thanksgiving related, but still just as bad for you. Anything high in fat and calories goes. Be a little more lenient with the carbs. Half your daily calories should come from carbs.

However, I'm not one for wasting food. You don't need it. But someone else does. All unopened containers and still full Thanksgiving essentially should go to your local soup kitchen, not the trash.

Tip #14: Always Have a Back Up Plan

The worst thing you can do is fall off the wagon, so avoid it at all costs. That's easier said than done. Imagine your at work. It's around three o-clock. You had an early lunch and you have a meeting in an hour. You're starving and you can hear your stomach rumbling already! What do you do?

A. Hit the conference room for a donut!
B. Grab a Poptart from the vending machine.
C. Eat one of your emergency snacks.

If you were being honest here, you probably said A or B. The conference room is always stacked with sweets and treats, but do you even know where they came from? Someone put them in there and you ate them, with no knowledge of what the nutritional value is. My best bet is that if you knew what was in there, you might just hesitate to eat them. And what about the vending machine? They are often stacked with snacks with ridiculous calorie, fat, and esspecially sodium count. Poptarts, cookies, and pastries are a no-no. If you lack an emergency snack and need to visit the vending machine, go for popcorn or mini prezels. Before you pop those pretzels in your mouth though, try to scrape off a little of the salt on the exterior.

The best answer you could have chosen was C, your emergency snack. These snacks are your choice, to bring from home, and you know exactly what it contains. It should have a low fat count, high in protein, and have between 100 and 200 calories. Stack your desk with FiberOne Bars, which are great because the fiber will keep you full. Fruits is good for the same reason, so try a mini banana or whatever fruit is an season. Any access to a fridge? Bring in Yoplait Light yogurt, which has between 100 and 120 calories and has about 12% of you daily protein. Bonus? A new study published in the September issue of Journal of Nutrition compared three groups of overweight women. Each group had a different amount of dairy products: low, medium, and high. The group with the most dairy products lost twice as much belly fat as the other groups. Craving something sweet and you know a yogurt won't satisfy it? Try WhoNu cookies, which are rather small but pack a lot of fiber to keep you full!