A Lesson in Education

I've literally typed several paragraphs then deleted them four different times over the course of five days.  It was originally about my latest, and slowest, 5k to date and how the course felt like it was mostly uphill.  I was going to re-rash how I wanted to die around one and a half miles in and realized I had already drank about half of my water.  Then I was going to discuss the topic of too much cardio.  Then I wasn't.  Then I was.

But I think I finally settled on a topic.  Education.  You see, sometimes we put ourselves in this little box when it comes to workouts and food.  I know I'm guilty.  Women tend to be little cardio machines running the hamster wheel race while ridiculously engrossed in a tv show or text conversation and men tend to avoid the electric demons like they have soul stealing powers.  (They  sort of do but that's an entirely different conversation.)  (I also think I'm really clever with meme making.)

And food.  Don't get me started on food (oh but you have!).  Salads, salads, salads.  Chicken, chicken, chicken, fish.  It sounds almost like a beloved childhood game of  "Duck, Duck, Goose" only with a different bird.  We think red meat is teh debil.  We're afraid to use seasonings and sauces because of the extra calories.  We want quick fixes and think magic little purple pill combined with this magic drink will melt the pounds away because "so many other people have seen amazing results!"

The point is, you can't be afraid think outside the box when it comes to your fitness and food.  My mindset has recently been challenge with both.  First is the whole cardio bit.  You see, my trainer has told the folks in our group session we need to log 250 minutes a week.  I instantly thought, "Easy peasy!  With this whole running bit I've got this in the bag!"  Yeah...if I was still training for a half marathon.  But I'm not.  I've adopted the HIIT (high intensity interval training) mindset which is basically done only in 30 minute sessions.  And honestly, if you go longer, you want to die...if you are doing it right.  When I put on my mathematical hat and crunched some numbers with my trusty calculator I quickly realized I had a problem.  Even if I did HIIT five days a week I'd be painfully shy of 250 minutes a week.  What now?  Add 30 minutes of something else to every run so I can end up like a cardio zombie?  Please no.  Pllllleeease no!  The answer was no but it was something else I didn't want to hear.  Get up early and walk 30 minutes every morning.

Wait for it.  Waaaiiiiit for it.  Bahahahahahaha!  My trainer obviously doesn't know me real well.  I like sleep.  Love it in fact.  I'm not a napper but I can rock a 10:00pm to 9:00am like nobody's bidness.  The only issue is weekdays shave roughly two and half hours off that wake up call and a toddler will shave about an hour and a half on the weekends.  Why on earth would I allow something like walking rob me of yet another 30 minutes.  Sweet Brown just about summed it up for me.  ----------------------->   

Not to mention that around the same time I had also read...for the third time...about the affects of excessive cardio on your muscle mass.  My running buddy had shared a link with me about a guy who's girlfriend eats around 2,000 calories a day, lifts weights like a beast, does very little cardio but manages to maintain her awesome figure all the time.  Unlike other body competitors who crash diet with ridiculous amounts of cardio a few days before a competition then instantly gain 25 pounds by binge eating immediately after the competition.  Basically, because she maintained muscle mass by lifting hard and heavy she could afford to have the occasional bad week and only gain a few pounds of water weight.

So, after a discussion on Facebook we both kind of agreed that maybe cardio isn't all it's cracked up to be.  She had noticed significant muscle loss training for our half and while I had put on some because I went from some weight lifting to working with a trainer (and I leaned up a bit) I want to be more than skinny.  I want to be skinny and look good naked.  All the cardio may aid in pounds lost and may do it faster than weight lifting alone, but I'm tired of cardio interfering with the body I really want.  I want strong legs, shaped arms, awesome shoulders.  I want to look good in a short skirt and a tank top (not at the same time...and I'd also most likely need a tan but again...another conversation).  250 minutes a week is going to interfere with my weight lifting.

This all lead to my decision to only put in a two to three HIIT sessions a week and focus on weights.  But I know you are dying to know about the food piece.  I kid...only about four people read these posts anyway.  They are more for my narcissistic side.  Seriously though, food.  I had locked myself into this whole eggs, banana, coffee breakfast, yogurt snack, lean meat and veggies lunch, protein shake snack and red meat with veggies dinner schtick.  And honestly, I'm good with most of it most of the time.  (I talked about the 80-20 thing in my last post.)  But I had locked myself into red meat only being steak because it's relatively lean when it comes to red meat.  Depending on the cut of course.  But it causes food burnout pretty fast.  When talking to my trainer about this she asked why I didn't eat ground beef.  I kind of looked at her like she'd gone insane because I was thinking, "Who eats ground beef by itself?"  This was probably what prompted her to tell me I could eat a homemade hamburger without the bun and I instantly though, "Oh!  I could use green leaf lettuce or boston lettuce as the bun instead!"  Then it was one thought after another.  Hamburger steak, taco salad, taco lettuce wraps and beef short ribs!  Ahhhhhhhh!

Why had I locked myself into such a little box?  The answer: because I didn't know better.  I was lacking the education part and didn't even realize it.  This is why it's great to have a network of people working towards the same goals.  Sharing ideas, brain storming, telling you about something they read a few days ago that really made sense.  Education is the first step in making the right choices in a healthy lifestyle.  So many people want to do the right thing but don't know where to start or who to turn to.

 I'm not saying I'm a guru by any means.  I obviously have a ton to learn but I love the fact that real people with real life experiences and real results are available all over the place to share what they've learned so that I can do the same.

I'll also leave you with some pictures from the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure last Saturday.  You're welcome.