Health, Nutrition and Fitness for Moms and Kids
Seems being an ultra marathon man is just not enough! Check him out! He’s trying to break the world record for treadmill running – 48 hours. So far he has done a bit over 24 or so, I think it ends tomorrow morning, and at last count I saw 133 miles. Wow! And I think a 26.2 marathon is long!!
Click on the Guinness World Record Week graphic to see him go!
Things seem to be back on track now.
We headed to the girls this morning, got there a little after eight and I did a 35 minute swim. It was a great swim. Only issue is that I had eaten my oatmeal beforehand and kept burping it up. Nothing like burping while swimming . . . not so good!
I know I have said this before but I really love swimming. lt is just me and the water, no other sounds. No impact. Nice and quiet and just womb-like, I suppose. I enjoy the stretch it gives my sides, and always feel as though I have had a good workout when I get done. I’d like to have an accurate way to count calories, just out of curiosity, to know what you really burn when you swim. I know some great formulas for figuring this out when running and walking but not with swimming. If you have one, let me know!
The girls had fun in the childcare center. I’m going to miss the gym when we move, and it is funny because I really wasn’t sure I was going to join the gym at first. I figured it would be a waste of money, but I use the membership constantly.
Afterward I took the girls to the park and we had a picnic. We ran into a friend of mine who lives a few doors down. The girls had fun, and it was great to be out of the ‘sick house’ and into the sunshine for a change. We saw a few blue birds, smelled some roses, and played on the slides.
So I looked around a lot lately and realized what my blog is missing: Photos! So I thought I would start adding them to my posts. I realize that I am more attracted to blogs with photos.
I’m going to do a photo documentary of sorts. First, the things that I will miss most from here: At least those that I still have time to photograph.
Then: Our trek across the country. I thought it would be fun to show and share all of these things with readers! I hope you enjoy them.
In the meantime, I’m taking some ideas from one of my favorite blogs, Fab, Fit and 40, and incorporating some food photos for you! I figure since I’m food journaling this week, it may be fun to share what I eat. (I am addicted to food lol. I read food magazines, watch food on television, love to look at pictures of food . . . you could say it is somewhat of an obsession of mine! I enjoy the kitchen almost as much as running . . . but not quite!)
My Food Journal!
I was bad today, pigged out on the chocolate chip cookies we baked! I am not a sweets person, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE warm chocolate chip cookies! I just can’t resist! Once they cool down, I don’t eat them. But when they are warm and they are sugary and chocolaty and OH MY GOSH! So we baked some today. Want to know how they turned out?
Here they are on a plate:
And here is what my wee one thought about them! (She ran to her chair when I asked if she wanted one!)
Breakfast: (Pre Swim)
Oatmeal
Almonds
Honey
Bananas
Snack after swim:
Tiger Milk Bar
Apple
Lunch:
Pita bread, turkey, cheese, avocado, pretzels
Snack:
Half a banana with peanut butter
Two (and a half!) cookies (and some cookie dough!)
Dinner:
Fresh snapper with lemon
carrots (steamed, fresh, baby)
pierogies with sour cream (2)
According to Spark People I only ate 1700 calories today. Weird, felt like I ate more than yesterday! Maybe it was that sugar.
I swam for 35 minutes, and according to Spark People burned 210 calories for that 35 minutes.
So, total calories consumed (minus the workout) is only 1490.
Hm, maybe I should hit that cookie plate again! Nah, they are cold now . . .
Off to do some reading. The kids are both in bed, husband is home and relaxing, so maybe we can have some nice quiet time tonight.
Here’s hoping everyone sleeps all night long again!
I posted earlier about not getting enough sleep to run 7 miles this morning, and how I would have to do the jogger with wee one.
I thought this would be an issue because:
In reality, it was hot, I was tired, and I had a great time per minutes per mile.
I realized, after considering this and the fact that I had good runs this weekend during the day, when I’m not used to running, that I have grown complacent with early morning runs.
It is time to switch up my routine.
I ran 9:25 minute miles. The jogger did not slow me down. The heat didn’t stop me down. In fact, when I got done I felt even stronger than I have in a while.
So, I believe my new schedule will be on Mondays running with the jogger 3-4 miles after dropping my four year old off at school. Then my daughter and I can stop at the park after the run and play. I’ll do my 5 miler on Wednesday mornings, Thursdays remain the sprint run and bike or swim and Saturdays do my long morning run early, before the family wakes up.
I’m eager to see if running with the jogger one day per week improves my times the rest of the week.
I’m also going to have to make a point of pushing myself on those other days when I’m waking early still and going.
So, what can you do to switch up your routine and stop from growing complacent in your workout?
Oh wow, my daughter, the wee one, the one who has been sick, woke at 3 again last night – and didn’t go back to sleep until 5.
The worse part? I stayed up until 11 because my mind wouldn’t stop going. I was thinking of all types of things, but mainly the new move.
And the one issue I kept considering was this: When we move, our neighborhood could have some alligators since we are right on the marsh. I run in the morning, pre-dawn. But if we live near alligators, I don’t want to run up on one in the early morning hours.
Now, I lived in Florida, kayaked the rivers, and saw hundreds of alligators in the process, some so close they brushed the kayak as I went past. I’ve heard them croak, I’ve watched them watch me as they rested in the mud. I’m not afraid of them, but I do have a very healthy respect for them and certainly wouldn’t want to scare one in the middle of the morning – one who might turn around and eat me. (All joking aside, a while ago a woman was attacked and killed by a gator as she ran in the Everglades-so it can happen).
So then I had to consider the options of how else I can run once we move. Do I have to have all runs with the jogging stroller, or do I need to run at night? Can I get up early enough to go but after the sun rises, so the chances that I stumble upon one would be lower. I mean, if there is light in the sky I can see it in the distance, turn and go the other way.
Then, at 11:15, my mind went silent.
At 3 AM it woke again to, “Mommy, help me!”
My daughter has taken to saying this since she was sick. When she was sick it was because she didn’t feel well. Now it is because she wants me to hold her. I couldn’t find anything wrong with her last night, maybe just a bit of gas and I know that could have hurt, but I held her, put her back, patted her back, and then she would wake again, until 5. Finally, exhausted, she slept and I crawled back into bed.
I woke at 7:30 to, “Mommy, help me!”
So, we’re running in the jogging stroller again today. No 7 or 8 miles like I had hoped; I just don’t have it in me, for one, and for another, I don’t think I could do that distance with her in the stroller. She wouldn’t stand for it and neither would my arms.
It’s funny, but before kids if I missed a run I was miserable. Now I am miserable but I adjust. You have to; it’s the nature of the kid beast. You learn that you may not be able to do exactly what you want when you want to do it, but that eventually you will find a way to fit it in.
So, no longer run this week. I may do 5 on Wednesday, if I sleep. Maybe that’s best. I’ll be fresh for Saturday’s 11. My legs will feel like a challenge. And hopefully the baby will sleep.
Oh, and there are no alligators around here, so I won’t be kept up at night worrying about that.
Day 3 of my wee one’s high fever. Today it hit 105 so I hit the dr’s office. I keep being told that this is okay as long as she isn’t lethargic, etc . .. Yes, she does have high fevers from time to time, but 105? I now that I had seizures as a child and they attributed that to possibly the high fevers I had as a child. Needless to say, it concerns me. But not, apparently, the doctors. They say one more day of high fevers and they will do a catheter to check for a bladder or kidney infection. That would be 4 days of fevers that hit over 104 when the motrin wears out (which, by the way, is an hour and a half or so BEFORE her next dose is due, which means it creeps higher than that).
So today I waited for husband to get home and almost immediately screamed, “PLEASE LET ME TAKE A RUN!” I have been housed up for three days now, with a sick child who has required around the clock care and constant holding. I needed to see some daylight and get some fresh air – alone.
Thing is, I generally do not run at night. I’m a morning runner. For some reason I have a difficult time running in the evening. It is though I can’t get my breath coordinated. It takes me longer to get warmed up, and the traffic bothers me. I’d rather be alone on the road, not surrounded by honking horns and exhaust fumes.
However, the weird thing is that I always run faster at night! Go figure! I was smoking around our neighborhood. Unfortunately I started my timing before the satellites picked up so my pace won’t be right, but I was happy with the run.
And, my head is now clear, so I feel like I can make it through one more night of sweating, fevers, etc . . . Off to check a temperature. Let’s just hope that it breaks tonight. The wee one has been so sick, and it is so sad to watch.
The baby is still sick, and we were up quite a bit last night with her fever. But when I transported her from the couch (with me) to her crib this morning I went ahead and pulled on my running shoes. I did almost 4 miles (like 3.89) and then some ab and arm work. I also finished up a project for work, as I have been ghost writing a handbook for notary publics. It is interesting material and I’ve enjoyed the project, so I’m hoping that more things like this come my way in the future.
In the meantime I found out that I can get one business license in Georgia that will cover my web design/writing work as well as the Boot Camp Classes – all for $78! Here in California that would cost an arm and a leg, so I’m very excited. I’ve picked out the park in which I’d like to host the classes, and I’ve written my first press release! So, I am ready to go . . . all but getting the website done (You can visit it at www.bootcampformom.com if you want!).
Okay, the wee one is asking me to play, so here I go to play! Trains, dolls and blocks, all things that require little to no movement on her part. I’m hoping her fever is down under 100 today. Those 103s always scare me, even though they are normal for her!
I unfortunately have a sick wee one. It seems to be a fever starting, and today she has wanted nothing more than to be held and loved. When I put her down she says, “Mommy, sit!” and starts to cry if I don’t either sit beside her or pick her up.
I was going to head to the gym this morning. It has been over two weeks since I have done any swimming or biking, as I could only run during our house hunting jaunt. It is killing me that I haven’t been swimming, but, sigh, it is not going to happen today. Even if husband gets home early they are doing water aquatics, and you can’t lap swim while they hold the class.
It’s great, though, that in our new home we will have a pool! While not Olympic size, it’s definitely large enough for laps, and if I get bored I can go to the community pool, which is Olympic size, and swim there. The great thing will be on days like this when the kids are sick. I can put the wee one down for a nap, pop in a movie for the oldest one and swim my laps during the day instead of relying on getting to another place in which to swim.
So, wee one is waking now, after only half an hour. I got in a leg workout, or at least a partial leg workout, and I did some jumping jacks and running in place and faux jump roping to get my blood moving. I’ll just do spot workouts today, here and there while I have the time, and get up really early for the next few days to get in my runs and swims on schedule.
I thought I’d take a few minutes today to talk about eating to stay fit.
I’ve met a lot of women lately who think that eating less and exercising more is the key to staying in shape.
It is true that if you want to lose weight you should be taking in 250 less calories per day and expending 250 more in order to lose one pound per week (3,500 calories). Two pounds per week would be double that, of course, and the most that you would want to lose safely in a week (minus water weight).
So, the idea from some people is if they eat less (and I am talking way less, in skipping meals) and exercise a lot more (cardio) they’ll lose weight twice as quickly.
Unfortunately this is not the case. Not only does this type of activity not promote weight loss but it isn’t healthy for your body.
Your body needs energy. How does it get energy? Through food. What you eat is converted into energy or fuel, and if you decide to abstain from eating by skipping a few meals you are actually telling your body that you are starving it, so what does your body do in response? Holds on to fat reserves, just in case it doesn’t get its next meal. What does this mean to you? Slower weight loss.
Plus, it is just NOT healthy to not eat! Your body needs this fuel, as long as you are feeding it good gas! What is good gas? I’m sure you’ve seen the list, but just in case you are wondering, let me refresh your memory:
Skip the sugar, and this includes creamer in coffee. That flavored stuff is full of empty calories, and if you are trying to lose some weight you’ll want to determine what calories you are willing to splurge on and what you aren’t. Some half and half with a shot of vanilla flavoring works just as well and has a lot less sugar!
How can you tell what you are taking in? I really like the site Spark People for tracking calories. You can keep a food journal, and studies have shown that people who do often experience more steady weight loss. Make sure you are eating correctly, small meals throughout the day so your blood sugar doesn’t go all wacky and so that your body feels full without being overly stuffed. Mix protein with carbs, try to consume less than 30 grams of fat per day if you are looking to lose weight, and include some resistance training in your workout. It will help build your lean muscle mass.
Most of all, do not deny your body food! This is such a bad way to go about losing weight and will only result in your feeling sluggish, holding onto calories, and gaining any weight back as soon as you start eating again.
Keep up the good work!
You may have noticed I have been on hiatus.
MIA.
In South Georgia, on a house hunting expedition, as we prepare for our cross country move. We spent eleven days there, and they were jam packed days in which we got little sleep, trudged from house to house for four days in a row, suffered a lot from the three hour time difference and, thankfully, found a house that we absolutely love! Yes! We did it! We found a house!
The home is in great shape but needs some TLC as it was a bank owned property, but here is the view from our backyard! When we get the front yard cleaned up I’ll post a photo of it.
Here is a photo of our girls as we walked along the St Mary’s Historical area downtown.
We are back in So Cal now for seven weeks and then we will begin the next part of our life. It starts with a cross country drive, car loaded down, kids strapped in their seats! Now, that will be one to write about!
So I had a scary run experience while there. I felt fine starting off at 5 AM, one 17 oz bottle of water, one of Gatorade, some bagel in my stomach, a power bar in my pack. My goal: 8 miles.
I felt the humidity as soon as I stepped outside but I was committed to staying hydrated by drinking those two bottles during the run. I started drinking immediately.
About two miles in I met a guy that has run marathons in 42 states. He belongs to the 50 marathons in 50 states club. I have not looked into it yet, as I had no internet access at the condo where we stayed, but as soon as I do I will post some info. It sounds like fun.
Anyway, my stomach began to rumble about 3 miles into the run. I knew I wouldn’t make it the 8. Even the guy who lived in South Carolina said it was hot, so I knew it must be, and I have always had a sensitivity to the heat so I have to be careful when it gets really hot. Yet he had only one bottle of water, I had two bottles of liquid, and I felt prepared.
At mile 6 I told him I couldn’t go any further. I didn’t feel sick, just tired and hot and I really had to go to the bathroom.
And go I did. I won’t go into any gory details, but if you run distances you know what I’m talking about.
I was so hot I stripped down between trips to the toilet and put some water on my head. I ate a bowl of oatmeal, though I felt like puking, and I guzzled large amounts of liquids to replenish myself.
But I couldn’t stop going to the bathroom. Finally I took a cold shower, tried to eat some pretzels, which I could barely swallow, and laid down again.
We had to go house hunting and I didn’t want to miss the three houses that were first, and that were also located near our condo, so I made it down to the car but I told my husband I might not make it much further. He suggested I stay home but I didn’t want to miss it. I felt very tired, and had a hard time keeping my eyes open. Eventually, I came around some. By nighttime I felt fine.
The next day, while walking down the stairs of our new house, I pulled a muscle in my leg.
Let’s just say that the heat and humidity obviously got to me. I was not only overly hot but then I became dehydrated, and the dehydration caused the sickness to get worse and then the muscle pull the next day.
I think of myself as a smart runner. I had already run in that area a few times, so this wasn’t my first run in the humidity, and I didn’t even feel that sick while running; I just had to go to the bathroom.
It scared me so much that I took tentative runs the rest of the time. The muscle pull got better a few days later. I did a three miler and then a four miler before we left. They went fine.
I think part of the problem was that I didn’t hydrate myself as much as i should have the day before I ran. Once we get there I think I will have to make a really conscious effort of drinking tons of liquid the night before a long run in the humidity. I did go for the run at the early morning time I always do, but it was still hot, hot, hot.
Despite that run, and that scare, the rest of the runs were great. I missed having my weights and my exercise ball and particularly my kettlebell! I did my situps and crunches and push ups but they just didn’t feel the same! I’m glad to be back home with all of my tools. The condo didn’t have a great yoga place either. My new house: Perfect! I can do it right in the living room overlooking the marsh. I can’t wait!
I hope everyone has been healthy and having fun and having good runs. I have some weight to make up. I lost about four pounds, and I’m sure that part of that was how sick I got. I need to get that weight back on, so chocolate, here I come! Today I did a nine miler, and it was great. It was cool here, with some mist over the ocean. It’s going to be hard to leave this weather behind, the coolness of the early mornings, but I can’t wait to get to where we are going, either!
Happy Running!