<p>the replenishment is key and. 1% chocolate milk is simple and beltter ( I think ? ) than a bottle of Gatorade. Hard to have a prepared meal ready after an hour run . Don’t like the sugar but I feel it’s better than drinking empty calories</p>
<p>“The dose makes the poison.” </p>
<p>So true, I remember a fascinating “Diagnosis” article in the New York Times Magazine about a guy who’d managed to poison himself with too much water.</p>
<p>I can’t stand chocolate milk, but a chocolate milkshake is a totally different matter! 
Yum.</p>
<p>Man, those fancy touch-screen Precor machines that let you run downhill are great, but the belt did not feel any different from my home Precor! 12 miles with a mandatory break at 60 min (all hotel machines seem to be preprogrammed for one hour and then they stop). Caught up with some coverage of the Olympics - really enjoyed watching the ski duathlon, since it made me run faster :). 12 miles, now off to dinner, including my recovery drink of choice: non-alcoholic beer. :)</p>
<p>Did I hear chocolate shake? <perks up=""></perks></p>
<p>Bad sugar and carb day as I had a splurge for dessert – an apple. First time I’ve been over 50 g of sugar or 100 net grams of carbs in several weeks. Gotta go with an avatar in keeping with my bbq platter for dinner…</p>
<p>*Calories 2157</p>
<p>22% Protein 122g
53% Fat 128g
25% Carbohydrate 136g</p>
<p>Dietary Fiber 26g
Net Carbs 113
Sugars 61g*</p>
<p>Eating a food with simple sugar within 30 minutes of completing a workout is the most effective way of restoring muscle glycogen. If you like chocolate milk, go for it! Just don’t overindulge and be sure to incorporate it into an overall balanced nutritional plan. Carbohydrates, including natural simple sugars, within the context of a balanced nutritional plan, are not “the enemy” and if consumed in appropriate moderation and through foods that have nutrient value, are important in assisting your body to maintain appropriate levels of glycogen to fuel intense exercise. Where I think most people run into problems is that they fail to really monitor quantity and balance of food intake. While there’s all sorts of interesting research going on concerning high glycemic vs low glycemic foods, fats vs carbohydrates, metabolic/insulin syndromes and weight loss, all of this tends to push people to extremes as they look for a “magic bullet” to produce quick results. </p>
<p>My typical meals:
Breakfast - 1 1/4 cups of Cascadia Farms Granola or Kashi Go Lean Crunch with banana and cup of skim milk. Or if it’s a cold dreary day I may substitute my morning comfort food of 2 Cohen’s Potato Knishas!</p>
<p>Lunches are typically grilled chicken wrap with low fat Swiss cheese, or grilled chicken, with stir fried veggies, black beans and guacamole, or a toasted chicken breast, low fat cheese and tomato sandwich on a whole grain bread. On weekends often a 7 oz chicken or black bean and cheese quesadilla.</p>
<p>Dinners are usually chicken, fish, 93% lean hamburgers, turkey chili, often with a baked sweet potato. On those occasions that I eat pasta, I limit it to 1 cup. Grilled or steamed vegetables like spinach, peppers, mushrooms, broccoli. Some nights a 6 egg white omelet with low fat ham and cheese and veggies. When I go out to dinner, I even eat a piece of bread and sometimes may share a dessert with my wife if I’m doing a lot of cycling that weekend.</p>
<p>I also graze on fruits and veggies during the day, limit my alcohol intake to 6 oz of wine on a Saturday night and my favorite post workout recovery drink is a smoothie made with a cup of skim milk, banana, strawberries and blueberries and 2 scoops of protein powder about 3-4 times a week. If I feel like a splurge I throw in 2 tablespoons of natural peanut butter. I also eat Cliff Builder Protein Bars. I don’t eat processed junk foods at all, don’t eat processed frozen foods. My one guilty pleasure is that I routinely eat Back to Nature Peanut Butter Sandwich cookies that are sweetened with sugar cane juice ( oh the horrors. 
).</p>
<p>My exercise plan consists of 3 x 1 hour of resistance training per week and during the outdoor riding season 12 - 15 hours of cycling per week and in the off season 4 - 8 hours of cycling between indoor training and a weekend outdoor ride when the road conditions permit.</p>
<p>I track my food intake and activity levels for purposes of balancing my intake vs expenditures using Weight Watchers points. It’s simple and convenient (it’s on my phone so always with me) and overall it works even though the exercise point values sometimes defy logic (I get the same 11 points back for riding an hour at 13 mph or at 18 mph, even though there is a drastic difference in intensity.) I don’t count calories or grams of carbs, I don’t count fat gms but I do track grams of protein and try to eat more than 100 gms of protein per day. I always eat up all of my Weight Watchers exercise points and may allow myself to eat up to half my weekly Weight Watchers extra weekly points. My food plan is distinctly not low carbohydrate. It is relatively lower in fats. But I track everything that I eat without exception.</p>
<p>This approach has worked for me. I dropped a total of 36 pounds over a year and a half and have kept my weight stable at + or - 2 lbs of my target weight of 155 for better than 2 years now. My cholesterol has dropped 43 points and my ratios of HDL and LDL are excellent. My energy levels are great and, as I recently learned my body composition is 89% lean mass and 11% fat.</p>
<p>I don’t post this for purposes of singing my own praises but as a “case study” that a sound and healthy nutritional plan that achieves and maintains weight loss does not have to go to extremes. If you eat healthfully and moderate quantity, combined with an exercise plan that you stick with, good successes can be achieved. While there are those who have metabolic or insulin related disorders or diseases who are presented with special challenges that require specifically modified nutrition plans, for most people the extremes of some of the new research are not only unnecessary but can be self defeating if they are too austere resulting in a loss of adherence to an overall plan.</p>
<p>Just my 2 cents.</p>
<p>MNK, it sounds like you found you perfect weight maintenance solution! While idad always harps on benefits of eating fat, I do not think he advocates scarfing down sticks of butter or panfuls of bacon. His diet is pretty much “lower fat” than the average American’s diear since (i) his overal caloric intake is much lower than the “norm” of 2500 cal and (ii) he has a lion’s share of protein in that diet and (iii) he generally avoids processed crap. So take his anti-sugar campaign as “no sugar ever” campaign. As you said, all things of redeemable nutritional value are OK in moderation waaaaay below the harmful dose amount.</p>
<p>I chowed down a small slice of chocolate cake for dessert tonight, which was neither low fat nor low carbs. Since I skipped lunch and ran 12 miles, I am not going to beat myself for doing that. 
</p>
<p>BunsenBurner, My post really wasn’t directed to IDad’s focus on fats in his diet. I eat fats too but just go low fat when it comes to animal and dairy products to limit saturated fats and cholesterol. Without fats in your nutrition plan, metabolic processes break down. What I take issue with are all the new “studies” that tout that weight loss and belly fat loss can’t be achieved and maintained with a diet that contains a significant % of carbohydrates. The angst that often seems prevalent about consuming carbohydrates, the anti carbohydrate fear that seems to be out there I just feel is very misplaced. Carbs, including carbs from nutrient dense food sources, have gotten a bad rap. There’s a word of difference between empty processed sugar in soda and the natural sugar found in fruit. There’s a load of difference between the carbs found in processed snack foods and the carbs in a sweet potato. And if you believe some of the stuff out there, eating bananas dooms you to a life laden with belly fat. Enjoy your chocolate cake, after a 12 mile run you are entitled (but note how you described it - a “small slice”). It all gets back to controlling portion sizes and balance in an overall healthy nutrition plan.</p>
<p>Good morning!
The roof has bested us and we have someone coming out today, which hopefully means I can return to my regularly scheduled packing, working, hiking tai chi I am not graceful on a ladder, we have learned :)</p>
<p>So if there’s one athletic activity I could magically and belatedly master as a geezer, I think it would be figure skating. This burning desire happens every time I watch the Olympics. In my imagination, I’d be a skating superstar :)</p>
<p>Of course, I was kicked outta Canada for having grown up completely not knowing how to skate :)</p>
<p>As some of you know, I get a bit of flack over whims that might re-trigger my back lockups because I was unbearable to live with a decade ago for a year and a half. Like the intervention the time I wanted to take snowboarding lessons. And more recently, the whole mountain bike thing, which I bought anyway but stick to paths.</p>
<p>But I look out at my snow-covered pool and think maybe one of those crazy ice rink conversion systems would be so neat, I’d just turn on the lights at night and teach myself to skate! I would magically catch up and be doing jumps in no time!</p>
<p>The whole reason I grew up in the great north without learning to skate was because my mom had her heart broken as a figure skater, who at 18, was in a terrible car crash. Her amateur ambitions were sidelined, and she married my dad instead of joining the ice capades (she was obviously stiff good enough to go pro, given the offer.)</p>
<p>At any rate, she steadfastly refused as a kid to drive us to the arena for lessons, or to have anything to do with it. Which of course, has somehow infused me with the sense that figure skating is a forbidden fruit after a fashion Which of course, makes me now and then itch to put figure skating on my bucket list…</p>
<p>When I was a teenager, I’d met an old woman on manitoulin island who’d always wanted to be a pianist but never had access as a child. She was in her 80s when I met her, and around 50 had started teaching herself one song a year. By the time I met her, she played beautifully and had quite a repertoire. I always think of her when I am in this kind of mood :)</p>
<p>Good run, Bunsen. I thought the bed on the fancy Precor felt better- maybe just a tad more give- than the Precors at my home gym. H is working on the wiring for electrical and TV in the basement where my new treadmill will go. Hopefully later this week…</p>
<p>3.2 mile treadmill run</p>
<p>Inspired by Idad’s photos–I decided to do a hike today to celebrate my birthday. Went with two friends to climb to the summit of a local mountain (Wachusetts Mt.–2006 Ft). It was great exercise with beautiful snowy woods all around us. Friend brought me a pair of microspikes to put on my hiking boots–those things were really helpful. Think the whole trip was around 3+ miles. All of us want to do more winter hiking.</p>
<p>Happy Birthday, Bromfield! Glad you got to go on a nice hike. It sounds wonderful.</p>
<p>Happy Birthday Bromfield. It’s your 39th, right?</p>
<p>Great way to get out and make something of this winter weather. That looks like you had some pretty good climbing. Topo map looks pretty steep to the summit.</p>
<p>MicroSpikes (and the other very popular alternative, Hillsound Trail Crampons) are fantastic. You really don’t know you are even wearing them, but they make solid footing of packed snow and ice. These guys have the best price I’ve seen, $50 for the MicroSpikes, $36 for the Hillsounds. I have the MicroSpikes. The Hillsounds are just slightly more aggressive, a little longer spikes. I would say the MicroSpikes are better with snow/ice and some bare rock or pavement patches mixed in. The Hillsounds are probably better for deeper snow, steeper terrain. Both are really popular with the veteran hikers. One or the other is pretty much mandatory kit for winter hiking. I wish I had discovered them for all those years of pushing a snowblower up and down an icy driveway…</p>
<p><a href=“Truvana”>Truvana;
<a href=“Truvana”>Truvana;
<hr>
<p>I’m on a second rest day. My quads are still sore from hiking, especially the little muscle just above the knees on the inside. There’s something about hiking in soft snow that works muscles in a different way than I am used to. I’m not sure if it’s the going up or the coming down. But, none of my options: Airdyne, kettlebells, or weight lifting would be helpful in letting the soreness go away.</p>
<p>Happy b-day Brom!!!</p>
<p>Happy birthday, Bromfield. :)</p>
<p>Good job, hikers, shovelers, swimmers, PTers, currently indoor cyclists and strength trainers, walkers, long run runners, speedy runners, monthly mileage meeting and exceeding runners, and rest dayers who remain committed during the snowy, slippery, and otherwise cold months.</p>
<p>The bad- another fail at getting up and outside this morning. I fully intended to do so, but I heard the wind howling at 6am and it was 26 degrees, so I just couldn’t do it. 4.1 on treadmill after work at the crowded (Monday) gym. </p>
<p>The good- I actually succeeded in not eating sugar today except for what might have been in my Bi Bim Bap sauce (a Korean dish with tender beef, veggies, fried eggs and rice). I had a good eating day. Walked by all the candy bowls at work! Recognizing, of course, that the day isn’t over. I am, however, optimistic!</p>
<p>Thanks, Deborah T. We are doing well here as a group, for sure! </p>
<p>I had a happy day–I walked to a meeting that was in a home about 2 miles away from mine, and I walked home. It was in single digits when I left, and upper teens when I returned. And the sun was shining, so I really felt quite comfortable. (The long underwear does the job.) And it was even better exercise because so few sidewalks were shoveled! I was negotiating small moguls most of the way…</p>
<p>Haven’t had such a nice walk in weeks, it feels like. It’s always been snowing or blowing or something here that makes me/us not want to go out at all. We are certainly looking forward to a predicted thaw at the end of the week.</p>
<p>Happy birthday Bromfield!</p>
<p>Happy birthday Bromfield. </p>
<p>Water aerobics today with a little entertainment. Some guy obviously did not know (or if he did, it disturbs me greatly) that the sauna was not unisex as a couple of us in water class watched him through the glass wall, walk from the men’s locker room with a towel that didn’t quite cover the upper side of his leg where he held it together, then as he walked in the sauna door, dropped the towel and we got a peep show! We were obviously in shock, and I sat there with my mouth open, unable to tell our instructor what it was that I was so shocked about. After I finally spit it out, I suggested we take a class field trip to the sauna when class was over (we were about ten minutes from finishing). Everyone thought it was funny, but no one took me up on it. Our instructor told the male life guard who was on duty, who just winced, and replied, “Yea, someone needs to have a talk with him.” God I’m getting old; you just can’t unsee that. </p>
<p>PT today and managed to get my 25+ minute routine revamped to a ten-minute routine… will provide details of one exercise in particular she gave me another time, that shows the collateral damage this injured hip has caused to the rest of my body (but hey, I can incline bench press 105 lbs.).</p>
<p>Did some preliminary research tonight into Griffith Park and Observatory in Los Angeles (it’s where the Hollywood sign is) for this weekend; it has a lot of hiking trails of varying difficulties. Am looking forward to trying some out and seeing how well I respond. But I don’t think I’m going to do well with that four-hour flight - the sitting is going to be challenging. </p>