In an effort to be healthier and have some fun with my in-laws, we're doing the Neeley Biggest Loser Challenge.
These are the components of my eating plan goal.
Eating Plan
1. Do not eat after 8pm
2. Do not eat more than 3 dessert per week; do not eat more than 1 dessert in a day.
3. Eat at least 1 veggie and 1 fruit per day (fresh).
4. Eat at least 3 times per day.
Looking at my goals, they all seem really good and healthy goals. But one goal in particular is becoming a challenge to keep mostly because of the times when I exercise. I go to BYU's fitness classes (it's like a gym membership, but much more affordable and at BYU instead of a gym) almost every day that they are offered. The snag is the times they are offered-- one of my favorites is HIIT (high intensity interval training), and it's held at 7:30pm-8:20pm.
I've been doing some research on exercise and what you should eat before and after exercise and how to really build muscle and lose fat. And I learned that you should eat some quick absorbing carbs for energy 30 minutes- 2 hours before doing strength training. After exercising, you should eat lots of protein and some carbohydrates to help build and repair muscle (most importantly after strength training). Here's some articles that explain it:
(the quick, simple version)http://ezinearticles.com/?Use-the-Metabolic-Window-in-Your-Quest-For-Heart-Health&id=1472353
or (the research based explination)http://www.utexas.edu/features/archive/2004/nutrition.html
My problem: one of my goals is to not eat after 8pm. I made that goal with Brad before the Neeley Challenge and before I started a more intense exercise regimen. It is a good goal, because eating late at night usually results in greater weight gain because the metabolism slows down at night. But now that I'm working out later at night, specifically the HIIT class at 7:30-8:20pm, I'm in a tough spot. I want to do the healthy thing and eat some protein and carbs to help my muscles grow and repair after working them out, but it's after 8pm.
So, I'm left with 3 options that I can see-- do I...
(1) keep the "letter of the challenge" and not eat after my HIIT class and get my 10 points for the challenge but not give my body the nutrition it needs to build and repair muscle,
(2) keep the "letter of the challenge" and eat after my HIIT class and lose my 10 points but give my body the nutrition it needs to build and repair muscle, or
(3) keep the "spirit of the challenge," which is to be healthier, and eat after my HIIT class and also give myself the points even though i technically broke one of my goals because I was doing the "healthy" thing.
What do you think I should do?
Showing posts with label questions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label questions. Show all posts
Friday, February 4, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Reflecting on Week 1 of Neeley Biggest Loser Challenge
So, after my first week in the family challenge, I'm not the biggest loser yet. Not even close. though I stuck to my plan really well, it hasn't produced the results i'm looking for yet. then again, it's only been 1 week. so i'm gonna keep going. I'm just feeling a little frustrated right now.
I got 185 points out of a possible 195. And I GAINED 1/2 a pound. But i think i'm more upset/jealous of other members who have lost 4-6 lbs this week. Seriously? I worked out harder than ever. 6 times instead of the required 4, and for a minimum of 40 minutes or more each time. i'm eating healthier-- filling myself up with fresh fruits and veggies and water instead of unhealthy junk.
SO why does my body insist on doing the opposite of what i want it to do-- and get rid of all the unnecessary weight? part of me is thinking-- maybe i'm not eating as healthy as i should... maybe i can make a food journal for everything i eat, check my calories, stop eating meat and sugar all together. but that only leads me down a road i don't want to visit again. in high school, i developed some disordered eating habits. like only eating celery and lettuce because some one told me they have "negative calories" because it takes more calories to digest it than they contain, and working out for 2-3 hours everyday after school until the school gym closed. i'm purposefully stopping myself from writing it all down and counting calories, because i am afraid i could go back down a road that ultimately is unhealthy.
anyone have any tips on how to get my body to do what it should when i eat healthier and exercise more-- lose weight instead of starting to hoard it? i'm serious. has this happened to anyone else, or am i crazy. i'm really frustrated right now.
I got 185 points out of a possible 195. And I GAINED 1/2 a pound. But i think i'm more upset/jealous of other members who have lost 4-6 lbs this week. Seriously? I worked out harder than ever. 6 times instead of the required 4, and for a minimum of 40 minutes or more each time. i'm eating healthier-- filling myself up with fresh fruits and veggies and water instead of unhealthy junk.
SO why does my body insist on doing the opposite of what i want it to do-- and get rid of all the unnecessary weight? part of me is thinking-- maybe i'm not eating as healthy as i should... maybe i can make a food journal for everything i eat, check my calories, stop eating meat and sugar all together. but that only leads me down a road i don't want to visit again. in high school, i developed some disordered eating habits. like only eating celery and lettuce because some one told me they have "negative calories" because it takes more calories to digest it than they contain, and working out for 2-3 hours everyday after school until the school gym closed. i'm purposefully stopping myself from writing it all down and counting calories, because i am afraid i could go back down a road that ultimately is unhealthy.
anyone have any tips on how to get my body to do what it should when i eat healthier and exercise more-- lose weight instead of starting to hoard it? i'm serious. has this happened to anyone else, or am i crazy. i'm really frustrated right now.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Tis the Season to Be ...
... violated?
I'm sure many of you have at least heard about the new full body scanners that are part of airport security. If not, here's the Transportation Security Administration's info page about them: http://www.tsa.gov/approach/tech/ait/index.shtm.
There's a lot of public outcry about these scanners. Here's a list of complaints and links.
They produce an image of you beneath your clothes; aka in your birthday suit. http://www.mahalo.com/full-body-scanner-images This article shows some of the images captured by the scanners. Images that are supposed to be immediately deleted after you pass through security. Apparently not, since they're on the internet. And here's a list of airports that use the full body scanners.
They emit radiation. But how much? Well, it's enough that they won't put the pilots though it-- granted, they would have to go through multiple times a day and be exposed significantly more than a casual traveler who only flies on holidays or for vacation a few times a year.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1290527/Airport-body-scanners-deliver-radiation-dose-20-times-higher-thought.html This article seemed to present a balanced presentation of what the TSA says, and what researchers are currently looking into. What stands out to me is "skin cancer" and "children are more vulnerable" to the radiation. I'm not sure I want my munchkin exposed to that... especially when the professional jury is still out on determining it's safety.
You're allowed to "opt out" of the scanners, but what happens next if you do is humiliating. You become subject to an "enhanced pat-down" procedure. This goes for anyone with a medical concern who must opt out, to conscious objectors to the scanners. The new pat down procedure really makes one feel physically violated. http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/tsa-responds-passenger-outrages-underwear-search-happen/story?id=12208932&page=2.
I had to be pat-down once about 3 years ago because I was wearing an underwire bra and apparently my pants had these little, i think they are called eyelets?, metal circle thing on the corners of my pockets... she ran the baton scanner thingy over me, found nothing, but still had to pat me down where the thing dected metal, aka, my butt and below my breasts. It was very embarrassing, awkward, and uncomfortable. And that was before they instituted the new "ENHANCED" pat-down, which you can see in the video that's linked with my article, that's it's more like getting felt up. Ugh!
I don't want me or munchkin to get felt up, but I don't want, at least, munchkin to get exposed to the radiation of the scanners either, at least not with a confirmed-after-much-research that they are safe even for very small children. With my family's history with cancer, I don't want to risk exposing munchkin to more than necessary. Plus there's the possibility that we'd get "selected for a random pat-down." It happens to my uncle ALL the TIME; i guess he fits one of the profiles that doesn't come through often. Is there a list somewhere of the profiles they are required to "randomly search"? Does it include a breastfeeding mother? Will I get pat-down anyway because my nursing bras have metal clips? or because the full body scanners notice my nursing covers beneath my bra? or because i'm carrying babyfood? After seeing what happened to this woman (http://www.mnn.com/family/raising-a-family/blogs/watch-tsa-harasses-mom-over-breast-milk), I'm afraid to pump milk to feed munchkin during the flight.
What I'm trying to say is; I'm really freaking stressing out about flying home for Christmas. Is my stress and anxiety for nothing. The TSA website would have me believe so, but many accounts on the news make me believe otherwise. What do you guys think? Are you traveling this Christmas? What do you think of the new scanners? Are they unconstitutional, like some groups say, or are they appropriate safety measures, like the TSA says? Have any of you traveled with little ones recently and could give me advice?
I'm sure many of you have at least heard about the new full body scanners that are part of airport security. If not, here's the Transportation Security Administration's info page about them: http://www.tsa.gov/approach/tech/ait/index.shtm.
There's a lot of public outcry about these scanners. Here's a list of complaints and links.
They produce an image of you beneath your clothes; aka in your birthday suit. http://www.mahalo.com/full-body-scanner-images This article shows some of the images captured by the scanners. Images that are supposed to be immediately deleted after you pass through security. Apparently not, since they're on the internet. And here's a list of airports that use the full body scanners.
They emit radiation. But how much? Well, it's enough that they won't put the pilots though it-- granted, they would have to go through multiple times a day and be exposed significantly more than a casual traveler who only flies on holidays or for vacation a few times a year.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1290527/Airport-body-scanners-deliver-radiation-dose-20-times-higher-thought.html This article seemed to present a balanced presentation of what the TSA says, and what researchers are currently looking into. What stands out to me is "skin cancer" and "children are more vulnerable" to the radiation. I'm not sure I want my munchkin exposed to that... especially when the professional jury is still out on determining it's safety.
You're allowed to "opt out" of the scanners, but what happens next if you do is humiliating. You become subject to an "enhanced pat-down" procedure. This goes for anyone with a medical concern who must opt out, to conscious objectors to the scanners. The new pat down procedure really makes one feel physically violated. http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/tsa-responds-passenger-outrages-underwear-search-happen/story?id=12208932&page=2.
I had to be pat-down once about 3 years ago because I was wearing an underwire bra and apparently my pants had these little, i think they are called eyelets?, metal circle thing on the corners of my pockets... she ran the baton scanner thingy over me, found nothing, but still had to pat me down where the thing dected metal, aka, my butt and below my breasts. It was very embarrassing, awkward, and uncomfortable. And that was before they instituted the new "ENHANCED" pat-down, which you can see in the video that's linked with my article, that's it's more like getting felt up. Ugh!
I don't want me or munchkin to get felt up, but I don't want, at least, munchkin to get exposed to the radiation of the scanners either, at least not with a confirmed-after-much-research that they are safe even for very small children. With my family's history with cancer, I don't want to risk exposing munchkin to more than necessary. Plus there's the possibility that we'd get "selected for a random pat-down." It happens to my uncle ALL the TIME; i guess he fits one of the profiles that doesn't come through often. Is there a list somewhere of the profiles they are required to "randomly search"? Does it include a breastfeeding mother? Will I get pat-down anyway because my nursing bras have metal clips? or because the full body scanners notice my nursing covers beneath my bra? or because i'm carrying babyfood? After seeing what happened to this woman (http://www.mnn.com/family/raising-a-family/blogs/watch-tsa-harasses-mom-over-breast-milk), I'm afraid to pump milk to feed munchkin during the flight.
What I'm trying to say is; I'm really freaking stressing out about flying home for Christmas. Is my stress and anxiety for nothing. The TSA website would have me believe so, but many accounts on the news make me believe otherwise. What do you guys think? Are you traveling this Christmas? What do you think of the new scanners? Are they unconstitutional, like some groups say, or are they appropriate safety measures, like the TSA says? Have any of you traveled with little ones recently and could give me advice?
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Postpartum Eating Disorder?
I don't know how to begin this... and I'm not sure why I'm blogging about it. I think I just want to know if this is normal, if if there's something wrong with me. so here it goes--
This has been on my mind obsessively since last week. I got a stomach bug that kept me in the bathroom for about 3 days (sorry, this may be TMI), and I hardly ate anything for the week. Because of this, I lost nearly 10 lbs in 3 days.
Since having a baby, I've been borderline obsessed with my weight. I check it almost everyday on our Wii Fit. Every fraction of a pound gained or lost can make or break my mood for the rest of the day. And when I realized that I lost almost 10 lbs in 3 days (because I hadn't eaten and "purged" myself of all food in me due to being sick)-- I was ecstatic, thrilled, excited, overjoyed, etc! I wanted to celebrate. and never eat again.
Celebrate what? after a few minutes on contemplating why I was happy, I realized that this seems sick. celebrating being sick to lose weight? what was wrong with me?
That night, I was able to eat a full dinner. And when I was done, I wanted nothing more than to get sick. Feeling full made me feel fat. I wanted every calorie I just ate to go away. But again, I realize this before going to the bathroom, and I KNOW that thinking like that will only lead to eating disordered behavior. So I didn't do what my stomach was crying out for me to do, and instead, I just went to the living room to weigh myself on the WiiFit, do some yoga, and feel depressed until I go to bed.
And every time it's meal time, I have an internal battle. To eat or not to eat? To purge or not to purge? And every time, I know that the correct answer is to eat something healthy, and to not purge it. Because if I don't eat, or if I purge it-- that means I have an eating disorder. And I don't.
Right?
I told my husband about how I've been feeling last night and he suggested I do some research. This is a study I found on postpartum and eating disorders. I'm still not sure if it helps. It basically said that women are really concerned about their weight after having a baby. Well, duh! I don't need a study to tell me that.
And, like I said, I've been obsessive about this lately.
-I still eat "normally", meaning I don't binge and I don't starve. Though there are times when I forget to eat because I'm busy taking care of a baby or working.
-I've never purposefully purged. I'm just happy when I get sick and can't keep food in me.
-I don't count calories. In fact, I don't even look at calorie content so that I won't count calories obsessively.
-I don't over-exercise. Who can with a new baby? But I won't lie-- if I could exercise all day, I would live on an elliptical or treadmill, or in a pool.
+On a side note, this also makes me think of when I was in high school. My junior year, I'm pretty sure I had some disordered eating/exercising problem. All I would eat was lettuce or celery (because someone had told me they have "negative calories", meaning that you burn more calories eating them than are in the food) and I would workout for 2 hours after school everyday until the school gym closed.
Do I have an eating disorder? Does anyone else do this?
This has been on my mind obsessively since last week. I got a stomach bug that kept me in the bathroom for about 3 days (sorry, this may be TMI), and I hardly ate anything for the week. Because of this, I lost nearly 10 lbs in 3 days.
Since having a baby, I've been borderline obsessed with my weight. I check it almost everyday on our Wii Fit. Every fraction of a pound gained or lost can make or break my mood for the rest of the day. And when I realized that I lost almost 10 lbs in 3 days (because I hadn't eaten and "purged" myself of all food in me due to being sick)-- I was ecstatic, thrilled, excited, overjoyed, etc! I wanted to celebrate. and never eat again.
Celebrate what? after a few minutes on contemplating why I was happy, I realized that this seems sick. celebrating being sick to lose weight? what was wrong with me?
That night, I was able to eat a full dinner. And when I was done, I wanted nothing more than to get sick. Feeling full made me feel fat. I wanted every calorie I just ate to go away. But again, I realize this before going to the bathroom, and I KNOW that thinking like that will only lead to eating disordered behavior. So I didn't do what my stomach was crying out for me to do, and instead, I just went to the living room to weigh myself on the WiiFit, do some yoga, and feel depressed until I go to bed.
And every time it's meal time, I have an internal battle. To eat or not to eat? To purge or not to purge? And every time, I know that the correct answer is to eat something healthy, and to not purge it. Because if I don't eat, or if I purge it-- that means I have an eating disorder. And I don't.
Right?
I told my husband about how I've been feeling last night and he suggested I do some research. This is a study I found on postpartum and eating disorders. I'm still not sure if it helps. It basically said that women are really concerned about their weight after having a baby. Well, duh! I don't need a study to tell me that.
And, like I said, I've been obsessive about this lately.
-I still eat "normally", meaning I don't binge and I don't starve. Though there are times when I forget to eat because I'm busy taking care of a baby or working.
-I've never purposefully purged. I'm just happy when I get sick and can't keep food in me.
-I don't count calories. In fact, I don't even look at calorie content so that I won't count calories obsessively.
-I don't over-exercise. Who can with a new baby? But I won't lie-- if I could exercise all day, I would live on an elliptical or treadmill, or in a pool.
+On a side note, this also makes me think of when I was in high school. My junior year, I'm pretty sure I had some disordered eating/exercising problem. All I would eat was lettuce or celery (because someone had told me they have "negative calories", meaning that you burn more calories eating them than are in the food) and I would workout for 2 hours after school everyday until the school gym closed.
Do I have an eating disorder? Does anyone else do this?
Friday, July 23, 2010
What's Wrong???
Ok, so I'm on the job hunt. when i tell people this, they always ask: how's that going?
I reply: not so well, but i'm trying to stay postive. something has to come up. it just has to.
and the inevitable response is something along the lines of: have you tried (this)?
yes
have you looked here?
yes.
have you talked to someone?
yes.
well, what about . . .?
yes, people! i've done it all! I have applied for EVERY, literally, EVERY teaching job that i'm qualified for within 1 hr driving radius from provo. public schools, private schools, charter schools. i've registered with teacher-teachers.com, and every school district website in utah, jobs.utah.gov, americorps.com, and monster.com. i've gone to career workshops and counselors. i've built and rebuilt my resume a dozen times. i spend 5-6 hrs per day on the computer looking for jobs. i don't know what else i can do!!! and i'm still not getting called even for an interview!
what else can i do? because the impression i get from some (not all, but quite a few) is that i obviously must not be trying hard enough or i'm doing something wrong. hell, i'm even doing my spiritual part-- praying, paying tithing and fast offering (or rather, encouraging my husband to do so cuz i don't exactly get paid in anything more than dirty diapers and baby smiles), and i would be fasting (only i'm breastfeeding, and that don't mix well with fasting).
I want a job. I need a job. and i'm doing everything i possibly can to get one. i'm frustrated and stressed about how to pay rent and how my family is going to eat once brad starts classes again in a little over a month.
what am i doing wrong?
I reply: not so well, but i'm trying to stay postive. something has to come up. it just has to.
and the inevitable response is something along the lines of: have you tried (this)?
yes
have you looked here?
yes.
have you talked to someone?
yes.
well, what about . . .?
yes, people! i've done it all! I have applied for EVERY, literally, EVERY teaching job that i'm qualified for within 1 hr driving radius from provo. public schools, private schools, charter schools. i've registered with teacher-teachers.com, and every school district website in utah, jobs.utah.gov, americorps.com, and monster.com. i've gone to career workshops and counselors. i've built and rebuilt my resume a dozen times. i spend 5-6 hrs per day on the computer looking for jobs. i don't know what else i can do!!! and i'm still not getting called even for an interview!
what else can i do? because the impression i get from some (not all, but quite a few) is that i obviously must not be trying hard enough or i'm doing something wrong. hell, i'm even doing my spiritual part-- praying, paying tithing and fast offering (or rather, encouraging my husband to do so cuz i don't exactly get paid in anything more than dirty diapers and baby smiles), and i would be fasting (only i'm breastfeeding, and that don't mix well with fasting).
I want a job. I need a job. and i'm doing everything i possibly can to get one. i'm frustrated and stressed about how to pay rent and how my family is going to eat once brad starts classes again in a little over a month.
what am i doing wrong?
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