Myth Buster #1

A fellow 'Junkie' follower asked me this question in an email about a month ago. I am just now getting around to it. I like the question because I think it pertains to SO MANY women out there...

Here was part of the email:
In the past few years (really I've just noticed it the last two-three years really) there just seems to be this "surge" of "get fit quick" or "use this product to lose weight"...how do you know what's right/what's wrong/what's good/what's bad? I don't really "buy into" the idea of certain programs, but they just seem to be everywhere...I know, for some people, they work; I've seen it...My mom used Weight Watchers last year and lost 15 pounds, but as soon as she stopped Weight Watchers, she put the weight back on. I know for some people NutriSystem works or whatever the "latest craze" seems to be, but I think that's it, though...it's a "craze" not a lifestyle. There just seems to be SO MANY different ways to lose weight/get fit...diets, weight lose systems, exercises, programs to follow...what do you do to find "the one" or "the way" to do it that is most beneficial for you?
The Weigh Down Approach says to only eat when you're hungry...
The Flat Belly Plan says to eat every 4 hours...
The Eat-Clean Diet is made up of mostly natural foods...
Some diets say to count calories...Some diets say don't...
Some diets say eat lots of fruit and vegetables...Some diets say "calories are calories, not matter what you eat." If I only ate when I was hungry, I would only eat about once a day...usually around 11:00AM; that's the only time my belly every really "growls" at me to eat. If I ate every 4 hours, I would be so full and feel miserable (all the time) I do believe it's important to eat food at its most natural state, if possible. There are so many different "calories counts" out there...some people say 2000 calories a day, some people say 1200...some people say it depends on your weight...I've heard you say that you need to burn more calories than you put in...well, how do you do that? If I was to eat 1200 calories a day (which, by the way, I have no idea how much I eat), there's NO WAY I can burn that much...even if I do an exercise you suggest (which I have done) I only burn about 500! How do you do that? What do you do? How do you distinguish what you should do and what you should not?
Just curious...Callie

Love this question. Problem is, it's complicated. First, I have to reiterate the fact that I am not a nutrionist. I am a "health seeker" like most of you. I have a few fitness certifications, that give me little authority. What I can tell you are most "fad" diets are train wrecks and something that may give you results fast, but not sustaining. Most simply because most of them are not something people can healthfully maintain. Our bodies are made specifically to eat and burn calories. Not to starve. Not to deprive certain natural needs {like GOOD carbs}.

I will be the first to say I am super old fashioned. I believe healthy eating and lots of exercise AS A LIFESTYLE are the keys to long term weight loss or maintenance. I don't research diet trends. They sort of make me crazy. I wonder who on earth would want to eat grapefruits for 3 meals a day. Or drink a drink with cayenne pepper?!? Anything that seems gross or weird or impractical...probably is.

Something to consider is that all of our bodies are different. For me personally, I need to eat every 4 hours. Callie is not that hungry. I think you can listen to your body in that way to know if a certain type of eating style is healthy for you. I also am a big fan of natural, whole foods. Real whole grain. Organic grown. Unprocessed foods. You would be shocked at the health value in natural foods vs. processed food {i.e. food with a lot of added, enriched, hydrogenated, msg, etc}. Don't get me wrong, it is not always how I eat, but I strive to. The good thing there is, most food brands are going the organic route. It's sort of the "cool kid" thing to do.

Weight Watchers is one of the only diet programs I can say makes sense. Portion, nutrient rich foods, and no self deprivation. I think the system works. The problem may be that once people reach a certain goal weight, they start to slack off or quit all together. Maybe start exercising less. There is a whole science to keeping weight off. The older we get, the harder it is, the more we have to move and eat better. That's just the progression of life set out for us. I found this article on Weight Watchers if you are interested.

And then there is the calories in/calories out question. Callie mentioned that when she did a hard workout, she only burned 500 calories. Let me explain this a little better. The average woman should consume around 1600-1800 cals a day {depends on activity level, but we'll just use that for now} perhaps you go running and burn 400 calories {again all depends on height/weight/resting heart rate}. The remainder of your calories are burned in all the other activities you do during the day. Here is what's so important. After you workout, your body rapidly burns calories for a fixed amount of time. For instance, I generally burn around 525 calories during my Turbokick class. I will leave the Y, run and errand for 15 minutes, drive home and will have burned 725 calories. That's why you want to get moving. I think it is soooo good to get one of these for you to see how hard you are working during your workouts. Sometimes you think you are doing a lot, but the HR monitor will show you otherwise. It changed the way I push myself!

Ok, so I your heads are probably spinning! Feel free to comment, ask for clarification or refute anything you you like! I would love to have a Myth Buster #2! Remember you can email us at thecardiojunkies@yahoo.com or leave a comment and PLEASE become a follower!!

GRRRRRR!

I have major cabin fever. Have not been able to work out in days. I have pink eye in BOTH eyes and a yucky virus. I was hoping to tough it out and go to the gym anyway, but it is super snowy here {weird because it was sunny and 77 on Sunday} and when anything white falls from the sky here, the WHOLE city literally shuts down and closes. GRRRR. I am in major need of some stress release. We have been sick for going on 2 weeks. It is days like today that make me realize how much I LOVE exercise. Instead of looking at it as a forced break, I am sad. So, I guess I need to shift my thinking, huh?!?!? Ok, here goes...it's beautiful and snowy outside! AND this means I get plenty of time to just rest!

Hmmmm...I guess I feel a little better. Does anyone else get bummed about not getting to work out!?!?!?

Hold Your Horses!

The new blog design is SO close to being done!!!! And I am done with my son's birthday party so I have some posts in my head! As soon as I find more than 10 minutes, I will sit and create a few posts! Don't stop reading!!!!!

In Regards to Our Last Poll...

Apparently no one is wearing these {Reebok} anymore. Except for me. I have a pair that I kickbox in. Oh. yes. I. did.

People most wore these....and these....

but "other" was quite a large margin...what are those of you wearing "other" wearing??? And did you notice that no one wears Reeboks anymore????

Everyone, please state your case for your sneakers. I always wear Nike--I used to use the Nike+ and I-pod to track progress, but after I lost my I-pod I quit. I would love to hear what you all have to say about why you love your shoes. Maybe you can sway me!

Weight History :)

We all have one right?! I thought I'd share mine today! This might not be interesting to anybody, or it might strike a chord with someone out there, so read if you want! It's long! :)

Something I'm passionate about is eating well, not dieting, not stressing, and being comfortable with the way you look. I have not always been this way, so let me back up and tell you a little bit of my weight history.

In high school, I was always about a size 6. I was unhappy with certain parts of my body, but for the most part, I stayed about the same size, whether I was "on a diet" or eating whatever I wanted. I'd fluctuate about 5 lbs off and on, but mostly remained the same. When I went off to college, my eating habits when south really fast. I quickly gained the freshman 15 just by staying up late in the dorms and eating junk food with my girlfriends. It was tons of fun, but not good on the hips. I kind of knew I didn't look the same, but I really was in denial about it, and still tried to squeeze myself into the same jeans! :) Every time I'd go home, I'd quickly drop the weight, just by eating my mom's home cooking, but as soon as I'd get back to school, I'd go right back up.

The summer after Sophomore year of college, I went to Florence, Italy, to study abroad for 3 months. I had the time of my life, and even though we walked everywhere, I still managed to creep up to the highest weight I'd ever been in my life, by eating lots of incredible pasta, gelato, and other Italian treats. By the time I got back, I had about 25 lbs to lose. Over Thanksgiving break, my mom and I decided to go out shopping and get me some new clothes, since it seemed like I wasn't going to go back down to my old size.

Literally, THE NEXT WEEK, I started loosing weight. It's kind of a funny story how it started, but my roommate and I ordered a pizza to split. Instead of getting our cheese pizza, they accidentally brought us cheese bread (the size of a pizza). They said they'd go back and bring us a cheese pizza and that we could keep the cheese bread. Well, I was so hungry, that I ate a good amount of BOTH! I was so sick after that, had so much heartburn, and was so disgusted by the thought of cheese or pizza or cheese bread, that I couldn't eat anything but the healthiest of foods for a while. I have a memory of going to a reunion with my study abroad people a week or two later, and still just wanting to throw up at the thought of that. It literally took me months and months before I could let cheese bread enter my mind without gagging. :)

Well, I decided to start weight watchers soon after that incident, because I figured I might as well start when I have no appetite. That was one of the best decisions I've ever made! I fell in love with the diet and had so much fun doing it. I never went to any meetings, but just borrowed a book and got the hang of it fast. I loved how I could eat anything I wanted on it, just as long as I stayed within my points. I always rounded down, because I didn't want to be too strict with it, but I dropped 30 LBS quickly and so easily! No exaggeration, I have had NO trouble keeping it off since (besides pregnancy weight). It truly just taught me how to eat! I loved how I could save 5 points for a Snickers bar, save 3 points for a bag of popcorn, etc. I have not done the points since, but I just sort of know in the back of my mind what I can eat now and stay about the same weight. And I'm NOT someone who just has a super fast metabolism and can eat whatever I want.

I gained 50 lbs with my first boy and lost it pretty easily, within 4-6 months. I tried not to stress, and actually felt so great every time I'd drop another 5 lbs. Even though I had another 20 lbs to go at one point, I felt to tiny, since I'd lost 30 already! :) With boy #2, I tried hard not to gain 50 again, and only gained a whopping 45 lbs! ;) This time, it took much longer to get off, but I still tried to have a laid back, no stress approach to it all. My first 20 lbs melted away within a couple of weeks. Then, over the next 6 months, I lost about 5 lbs! That was frustrating at times, but I tried to keep it in perspective. I felt like when I started working out this summer, my weight that was stuck (that last 20 lbs), finally started budging. Little by little, it came off, and I've now stopped weighing. Once I got within 3 lbs of my goal weight, I decided to stop and haven't done it since (besides at the doctor's office). I finally!!! got back into my "skinny" jeans on Christmas day (1 year after delivering him)! The top button did pop off, I will admit (it was loose anyways:)), but they finally fit fairly comfortably.

My body is not the same as it was in high school, but somehow I am more comfortable with it than I ever have been in my life! I feel so free from not feeling the need to diet, and I'm so thankful for learning how to eat right from Weight Watchers (I promise this is not an advertisement for them :)). If you're struggling to loose 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 lbs, and can relate at all to my story, I'd highly recommend doing this diet (and I think in the most laid-back, real-life way possible). You're never going to stick to eating no carbs the rest of your life, you're never going to want to eat just grilled chicken and veggies with no butter the rest of your life, so you've got to find something that's practical and reasonable that you can stick to. I have no sweet tooth at all, but my weakness is queso, and Mexican foods. Oh, and dips. I get queso when I want it, but just try to cut back in other ways. I make sure to NOT FEEL GUILTY either. Just enjoy that spinach dip, but don't eat the whole bowl! :) I also have found that the more I eat at home, the more my body just seems to like it, and I don't cook low-fat either. The way you cook at home will be much lower fat than what you find at restaurants, and you're just as satisfied, if not more! I also highly recommend finding a friend or group of friends to work out with. I simply would not do it otherwise! I would have quit long ago, but have thoroughly enjoyed meeting friends up at the gym! Not only is it good exercise, but it's a great social outlet for me, which is much needed when staying at home all day with little children! It also allows me to eat even more dips and queso! :)

I hope you found something in there that you can connect to in some way!!

Stay In The Game, But Hang Up The Capes.

It's February...are you all still out there? Still in the fitness realm? I always fear February. I have posted about it in previous posts. It tends to be the time that people start slacking. Start to slip. Start to...give up. Hopefully, you all are still fighting through the journey that is getting into shape. I will admit, the 'Junkies' are not working out together as much as I would like for us to. It's usually 2 of us...sometimes 3. Rarely all 4. Not what I envisioned for us, but the truth is...it's hard. I am learning that as women, as wives, as the SUPERMOMS we are trying to be, it is just hard to squeeze it all in. Kids are up all night in and out of bed, we were up working on projects and meetings the night before, making 5:45 a.m. seem totally daunting! Some of you are working or going to school or both AND have a family too! When do you squeeze it in?!?!?!? I can honestly say to that...I don't know. For me, I used to have an intolerance for the "no time" excuse. But that's because it's my job. I get paid to go work out with people in my classes. I also love to lead my friends in hard workouts. I just like it. It's sort of my thing. It's super easy for me to choose between housework and working out. Working out wins every time {as do long lunches, naps and reality TV}. But I am learning that so many things pull at your time and it is hard to stay on track! Friends I hope you are still working at it! The 'Junkies' are in your corner! We most definitely feel your pain! Kimbo and I were joking the other day about how she may not get to work out with me in the mornings until her kids are in school! Ha! Maybe not. But she is still finding the time to grind it out in the evenings after the Mommy Office is relieved for business! Lauren and I probably debate via text every night whether or not we should get up the next morning or not! The truth is, we KNOW we won't really be that motivated to go later in the day, but we are just so tired for whatever reason. And let me tell ya, if you even THINK about backing out of a morning workout the night before...you are going to back out of that workout. Am I right? Ladies, keep doing it!!! We feel your pain! DON'T GIVE UP...stay in the game, somehow, some way!

When I envisioned this blog, it was never for me. I wanted to encourage and inspire people. I want you all to have questions answered {again, I am not a "PRO" just someone with a limited knowledge, but a love for fitness and women!}. So, I want to hear from all of you! How is it going???? Are you sticking to your workouts? Do you need motivation? Do you need a plan of attack? Focus? Have you lost weight? Attained a fitness goal? What is on your mind? I would LOVE to hear from you either in comment section, or via email! If you don't feel comfortable leaving questions under comments, you can email to thecardiojunkies@yahoo.com

Hope to hear from you all! And *REMEMBER*: those who read this are not BLOG STALKERS! We looooove people to read and would love you to sign up as a follower and stop being embarrassed because you {gasp} read blogs!

When You Can't Make It To The Gym

There are definitely days when I can't get to the Y to workout, so on those days I do this...

Turbo Jam

I LOVE it! My favorite workout that the Junkies do is Turbo Kickboxing, and these DVDs are from the same creator, Chalene Johnson. I have to admit that these workouts are not as intense as turbo kick, but you can still burn lots of calories. In fact, I did the 50 minute workout today and burned 565 cals. So if you are like me with crazy, busy schedules or a toddler who hates to go to the childcare center at the gym, then try Turbo Jam at home. It works!