Category — Nutrition

 I think about food all the time. It wasn’t always this way but now that I’m an advanced athlete, food is on the brain 24-7. Every time I run a faster 10k, pass a guy on my bike, or get a compliment on my arms, I think about food. This is what goes on in my head (verbatim):

“Do I have to stop eating ice cream to become a champion? Shouldn’t I be able to have it every now and then? Professional athletes indulge, right? Well, if they don’t, can’t I? A little? What time is it? Am I supposed to eat something right now? When did I drink that protein shake? Did it have enough protein in it? Do you smell that? Is someone eating french fries? Don’t you love that smell? Where’s my banana?”

This is the conversation I have with myself every freaking day.

If you think about food more than you think you should, you are not alone. I do it and so do top-level athletes. If you want to change how you think about food, check out this article by Nia Shanks. It will give you insight into how other women are conquering their obsession with food. Take notes.

How often do you think about food? (Right now, as a I type, I’m wondering what I will eat for lunch. Sigh.)

Only a few more days left in the Fat-Free for Christmas challenge. We are so close!

This next assignment involves you telling me what you eat throughout the day. I need to know what you are putting in your mouth when you’re not doing my challenges. This assignment will be tedious but it will also be an eye-opener, giving you great insight into why you are not where you should or want to be.

Challenge #5:  Log 6 meals that you eat this week. Write down everything you consume during that meal, including beverages and desserts. Also, include details about size and calorie content, if you know it. All meals and snacks are eligible. Note: If you go back for seconds, you must log that additional serving.

If you are more digitally inclined, you can send me photos of what you’re eating. Send these to fitandhungry @ gmail. com. If all items don’t fit into one shot, take individual pics and label them, ex. lunch#1_1, Lunch#1_2.

If you are logging these by hand, you need to reply to this post with all of your meals. An example of a proper response would be: 12/22/11 breakfast: 1 whole scrambled egg, 1 piece wheat toast with 2tbsp peanut butter, 2 mocha latte. 12/22/11 dinner: huge bowl of pasta with tomato sauce, 2 glasses of wine, 3 bread rolls, 1 piece of chocolate cake

Alright, you best start now. I need your log of 6 meals by Sunday. You eat at least 4 meals a day so if you don’t accomplish this challenge, I know it’s because you’re ashamed.

Make me proud, people.

And for your listening pleasure, Show Me What You Got by Jay Z.

This challenge will encourage you to consume more protein earlier in the day. If you’re a “Can I have mocha latte and bagel?” girl and the morning crew at Starbucks knows you by name, this will be a challenge for you. If you are the “I’m never hungry in the morning” person, this will be a challenge for you. If you don’t know what protein is, this will be a challenge for you.

Your assignment: Consume at least 20 grams of protein by 10am every morning for 4 mornings. There are no restrictions. I don’t care what else you eat with it or whether or not you use a fork. You have six days to complete this challenge.

I’m going to give a tiny bit of help and let you know the protein content of popular items. This list is not exhaustive so I expect you to do research to find other items that will help you win this challenge.

How much protein is in that?
1 egg 6g
1 scoop whey protein 10-22g (depending on brand)
1 cup black beans 14g
1 tbsp almond butter 3g
1 chicken breast 20-40g (depending on size)
1 plain greek yogurt 15g
1 lowfat cottage cheese 14g
1 dannon yogurt 5g

If you need incentive to step up your protein game, here:

• The recommend daily allowance for protein is 7 grams per 20 pounds. Therefore, a 140lb person needs at least 50 grams of protein per day.
• Proteins are long chains fashioned from building blocks called amino acids. Because our bodies are constantly making new proteins and because we don’t store amino acids as we do fats, we need a daily supply of protein.
• High-protein foods slow the movement of food from the stomach to the intestine. Slower stomach emptying means you feel full for longer.
• Protein’s steady effect on blood sugar avoids the steep rise in blood sugar and the harsh fall that comes after eating rapidly digested carbohydrates like white bread and cookies.

Do you eat plenty of protein? Tell me how. Share your meals so others can get ideas.

This is the final week of challenges. These challenges will be lighter in volume but still high in the intensity. Today’s challenge (#3) is about turning an indulgence into something more reasonable.

Challenge #3

Your assignment is to pick an item (food or drink) that is considered a treat because you tend to go overboard when you are around it. This can be something that you consider your weakness or it can be something that you believe you should have less of. For some people, this could be cookies. For others, it could be alcohol, pizza, chips, or pork. You are to take that item that you love (or overindulge in) and make it healthier.

Instructions: Name your indulgence. Then explain how you will make it healthier. If you don’t know how, do the research and share it with us. If you found a low-cal version of a meal, put the link in the comments. If it’s a product you discovered, you can tell us about it or put the link. If it’s something you made up, explain it to us in detail. Note: You cannot use an idea you found on this site. It has to be something that I haven’t told you.

Here’s an example of how you might comment: “I love candy bars. Even though I am sensible all day, I cannot resist a Snickers. But I did some research and I found a recipe for ___ that includes peanuts, cocoa, and almond butter. It tastes just like a Snickers but it’s healthier, creamier, etc. etc.”

Remember, this isn’t just about junk food. It could be a “healthy” item that you make unhealthy because you eat/drink to much of it. If that applies to you, respond with a way to fix that.

This assignment is due Friday.

What food or drink do you love? How will you make it healthier?

The first Fat-Free for Christmas challenge is over. How did you do? Please respond letting me know whether or not you met your goal. If you met your goal, let me know how you felt, what surprised you, and how you can step it up in the future. If you did not meet your goal, don’t dwell on it. Respond letting me know what you did well, what you learned, and how you will improve on the next challenge.

You ready to keep going? How does your body feel today?

(Challenge #2 will be up in a few hours. In the meantime, you should probably eat a salad for lunch.)

1. The green smoothie I told you about is delicious. You can’t even taste the spinach. You must try it.
2. The next weekly challenge starts Monday the 12th.
3. My arms are tired.
4. The salad aspect of the challenge – well, a version of it – will appear on next week’s challenge. For those of you who don’t buy vegetables when you shop, consider this your heads up. This is heads up to everyone. The salad challenge will appear again.
5. Another challenge is coming this Friday. It is not exercise related but it will require work.
6. Starting next week, I will be awarding prizes to those of you who are showing outstanding effort.
7. Even though my arms are tired and every time I hit the floor I wonder if I will make it back up, I love this. I am dominating the salad challenge. 6 salads in and I feel great. I’m sleeping well and my mind is clear. I have so much more energy with all these extra greens going in body. I love me for doing this.

What about you? Seeing any improvement? Feeling stronger, tighter? Talk to me.

In this video, I explain another way to meet the salad requirement and I also explain how those of you who are beginners can succeed on the pushup and/or lunge portion of this challenge.

Salad for Breakast: 2-3 cups spinach cooked, 2 scrambled eggs, top with salsa
Pushup Tips: If the assignment seems daunting, then do small sets. Complete 10 pushups upon waking, at work, before dinner, and before bedtime. Do a little bit here and there. Doing it this way will allow your muscles to rest so you can achieve your goal. You don’t have to do it all at once, if you are a beginner. My advanced people should aim to do as many reps as possible on each attempt.

How’s everyone doing? I’m 4 salads in and 80 pushups down.