<p>idad and all, here’s a fun read about health: “Drop Dead Healthy; One Man’s Quest for Bodily Perfection,” by A. J. Jacobs (same author of “The Year of Living Biblically” and “The Know-It-All”). It’s a very funny look at the things we do to achieve health, including forays into perfect eating, exercising, mental health, sleep, and so much more. Besides providing more than a few LOLs, it provides many little nuggets of truth the author gleaned from this two year project.</p>
<p>BTW, I just had a close and relatively young family member diagnosed with stage III colorectal cancer. Keep up the diets with quality fiber consumption (legumes) and get those colonoscopies (they’re not so bad, really). </p>
<p>Gym day when fit teen son gets home from school.</p>
<p>30 is not that cold when you are exercising hard enough to work up a sweat (like running), so you don’t need to go crazy with heavy winter pants.</p>
<p>One option is plain old “track pants” or “warm up pants”. They make them thicker and warmer, thinner and cooler, some are wind resistant. There are so many different materials and brands and sizes, but if you fit standard sizes, Marshalls/TJ Maxx or Kohls or Macy’s or Target or WalMart or any sporting goods store will sell these things. I can never get a deal because the standard lengths are too long for me and I hate tripping on the cuffs of workout pants! Those would probably be the best bet for a pure running pant that isn’t like tights.</p>
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<p>Another option, that I have come to absolutely love, are soft-shell hiking pants like these [Marmot</a> Scree Pants](<a href=“http://cdn.marmot.com/sites/marmot.com/files/imagecache/product_full/product_images/85200_1268.jpg]Marmot”>http://cdn.marmot.com/sites/marmot.com/files/imagecache/product_full/product_images/85200_1268.jpg). It’s hard to tell from the photos, but these are pretty substantial fall/winter weight pants, comparable in overall warmth to blue jeans. Except they are unlined soft-shell fabric. They aren’t tight, but they are stretchy when you move. Knees are “articulated”. I wouldn’t want to run a marathon in them, but they are athletic enough for anything. Heavy enough that I’ve been plenty warm with just these hiking for hours at 30 degrees. A little wind proof, a little water resistant. I would definitely wear them for a winter walk/jog. And, as a bonus, they are my go-to pant for snow shovelling, clearing the car off, or just going out and about in nasty winter weather. I’ve worn them snow shoeing at 20 degrees in a howling wind with a pair of lightweight long johns under them.</p>
<p>BackCountry has them on sale for 40% off, which makes them almost affordable. The Mens version comes in short, regular, and long lengths, but the lengths are hard to find.</p>
<p>11:30 am run from work. Warmed up more quickly than it was supposed to, so it was 43 with a little bit of wind. Sunny. I was over-dressed since I brought the orange polar stretch jacket (EMS), but I unzipped it so it was OK. No hat or gloves needed. LuLu warm tights. 4.6 miles done. No time for more since I have a 1:00 meeting. Inhaled a veggie burrito after I ran.</p>
<p>I was thinking it was going to be a gym day and I’d do the bike and maybe some intervals on the treadmill, but my husband and I went out to listen to live music last night (jazz) and I’m a little bushed today. Looks like it’ll be stretching and weights, aka strength/core.</p>
<p>The whole subject of weight loss is intriguing to me since I lost 40 lbs. I’ve often heard that weight gain or obesity can be caused by a slow metabolism. Some of the literature that I am reading (see below) indicates that RARELY does a slow or lower metabolism cause one to gain weight. Idad and others…does your research agree? I found it interesting that my “higher” metabolic rate was probably a result of loss of muscle mass as I aged. Some research in Britain also indicated that usually food dairies are VASTLY understated by participants. (I know that I even catch myself doing that when I’m tracking calories—I find that I like the peanut butter teaspoon calorie count more than the tablespoon calorie count!)</p>
<p>Excerpt from the web:</p>
<p>Is it possible to be overweight because of a slow metabolism?
Donald Hensrud, M.D.</p>
<p>Probably not. There is such a thing as a slow metabolism. But slow metabolism is rare, and it’s usually not what’s behind being overweight or obese that’s usually a matter of diet and exercise.
Metabolism is the process by which your body converts what you eat and drink into energy. Even when you’re at rest, your body needs energy for functions such as breathing, circulating blood and repairing cells. The number of calories your body uses for these basic functions is known as your basal metabolic rate (BMR).
Several factors determine your basal metabolic rate:
Your body size and composition. If you weigh more or have more muscle mass, you will burn more calories, even at rest. So overweight people are more likely to have a faster metabolic rate not a slower one.
Your sex. If you’re a man, you probably have less body fat and more muscle mass than does a woman of the same age, so you burn more calories.
Your age. As you get older, your muscle mass decreases, which slows down the rate at which you burn calories.</p>
<p>Sabadog and I had class last night and believe it or not, it is a lot of work to train with a 100 lb dog. Still made it to the gym yesterday and today. Elliptical hill workouts both days. Boring, but at least I am consistent. Still hanging in there with the food tracking. Now that I am firming up graduation weekend reservations, the greater the realization that I want to look good in those photos!</p>
<p>PlantMom and CJane, thanks for the book recommendation. Sounds like an interesting read.</p>
<p>Saba, that’s some dog! Breed? I believe you when you say it’s a workout. When I did so much horse riding, especially dressage, people couldn’t believe that I (and not the horse) was getting a lot of exercise. It may look easy, but looks are definitely deceiving in this sport.</p>
<p>Gym day, and for whatever reason, I really felt fatigued today. Treadmill (level 14) hill program; Elliptical (level 9) hill program; weights (1 set, 12 reps). Now out for a nice walk; 68 degrees and sunny.</p>
<p>The more I read about this stuff, the more convinced I am that looking at calories (eaten or burned) as the driving force is a mistake, or at least an oversimplification. To be sure, if you eat more calories than you burn over the long haul, you will notice that you are gaining weight. But, here’s the million dollar question: are you gaining weight because you are eating more calories or are you eating more calories because you are gaining weight (i.e. storing calories) and your body is demanding that you eat more to make up the difference?</p>
<p>For example, a 16 year old boy typically eats like crazy and grows like a weed. Is this growth spurt because he suddenly decided to eat a lot more? Or is the growth spurt dictated by hormones and his voracious appetite a result of the growth spurt? Obviously, a growth spurt like that is hormonally-driven, just as the weight gain during pregnancy is hormonally-driven. In neither case does the person really have control to the point where they could decide to eat less and not gain weight. </p>
<p>I think there are several reasons that we tend to get fat as we age:</p>
<p>a) Insulin resistance is progressive over time. As we age, we tend to become more insulin resistant and, therefore, we tend to store more fat.</p>
<p>b) Less muscle mass (this is in part due to changes in hormone levels). To be sure, muscle mass burns more calories, so maintaining it is crucial. But, is it just calories? Muscle mass (and the resistance training required for muscle) also makes us more sensitive to insulin, which means that our bodies tend to produce less insulin, which means that we tend to store less fat. Building muscle is a way to prevent (or reverse) insulin resistance.</p>
<p>If you believe that our behavior (how much we eat and how much we exercise) is dictated by the hormonal and biochemical balances, then the smart approach is not to just say “eat less/move more”, but to look at those things that will tend to tilt the hormonal and biochemical balances in our favor. What can you do to lower insulin resistance? What can you do to generally lower your insulin levels. What can you do to correct low thyroid? Make changes to these things and you will magically want to eat less and/or exercise more…</p>
3 miles on the treadmill today in 35 minutes! Personal best ! Really wanted to go longer but I had limited time. It is at times crazy to me that this person - me - is running 3 miles!
<p>Back to the gym today. Walked 5 miles on the dreadmill with incline and random hills. Worked up a sweat in grungy old tee shirt and yoga pants so no fashion statement here. Will try some light arm weights tonight. My fitbit pedometer is keeping me accountable with keeping my rear moving. Also back to tracking food on MyPlate. Like sabaray that looming graduation is getting me focused. I just made a delicious protein shake for a late lunch. I used the choc whey powder from LifeTime Fitness, a small banana and some skim milk. That is a big deal for me as I absolutely, positively hate drinking milk. Who knows…maybe some day I will be able to swallow yogurt or oatmeal! ;)</p>
Will try some light arm weights tonight. My fitbit pedometer is keeping me accountable with keeping my rear moving. Also back to tracking food on MyPlate. Like sabaray that looming graduation is getting me focused. I just made a delicious protein shake for a late lunch. I used the choc whey powder from LifeTime Fitness, a small banana and some skim milk. That is a big deal for me as I absolutely, positively hate drinking milk. Who knows…maybe some day I will be able to swallow yogurt or oatmeal! ;)</p>![http://cdn.marmot.com/sites/marmot.com/files/imagecache/product_full/product_images/85200_1268.jpg]Marmot](http://cdn.marmot.com/sites/marmot.com/files/imagecache/product_full/product_images/85200_1268.jpg%5DMarmot){kind=link}
