Accent Fitness

Marlene's Tips for Holiday Feasts

Tomorrow, we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday which reminds us all to be thankful and greatfull for all of the blessings in our lives. On that note, I would like to share some of my tips for celebrating the holiday feast when you lead a heathy, yet still fun, lifestyle.

• On the morning of the holiday meal, do CARDIO!  Aim for at least 45 minutes but anything is better than nothing.
• Prior to the meal, limit alcoholic drinks to 2 DRINK MAXIMUM.  Excessive alcohol intake prior to eating a large meal will damper your pleasure sense to enjoy the food.  It also inducing potential overeating.
• Prior to the meal, avoid filling up on simple carbs fillers such as crackers, chips and bread.  Save your calories for the good stuff!
• For the meal, have one full plate of everything you want.  Don't restrict your selections.  This allows you to feel that you aren't missing out on any of the good items.
• After you have consumed your plate, STOP.  Do not go for seconds immediately. 
• Wait at least 15 minutes before you consider getting seconds. 
• In lieu of seconds, you could allow yourselves to have another alcoholic drink or even another dessert item.  A plate of seconds will probably cost you around 1000 calories.  A drink is only 150 and a drink item (like another slice of pie) is around 450 calories.  So either of those is a better option than the second plate.
• The final reason to avoid seconds, the pleasure hormones which give you enjoyment when eating good food are dulled after you have ingested the initial portion of the food.  So although you believe it tastes so good and you just have to have more, the "more" will not be as satisfying as the original.  Most people just mindlessly eat so we aren't tuned into this but seriously, it is worth considering.
• On the day following the holiday meal, do not weigh yourself.  The excessive food and alcohol intake will lead to a misleading weight.  Alcohol can also dehydrate you so you might end up weighing less, but that is just water weight and again, it is not a good indication of anything.

Finally, the #1 rule which everyone should follow even if you ignore the ones above.... NEVER EVER eat anything that you don't truly want to eat.  Do not be peer pressured by friends or family.  Do not listen to the 'it's the holiday, you must it is' or 'you are already thin, you shouldn't have to worry' or 'it's just one day.'   Ultimately, it's your body and your life.  Take control and stay in control!

Happy Holidays! 

Today's Training: Run, Golf, Kick June 23th, 2009

Interesting run this morning.  I was doing well with my intervals but then I cramped up when starting the third interval because I totally forgot to drink any water in the morning.  So my poor body rejected my attempt to push it.  I had to walk over a mile to get home.  Hopefully won't make that mistake again anytime soon!

• RUN: 1 mi warmup-> .7 above pace. 1.30mi pace -> .7 above pace -> 1.30mi pace. Walk cool-down
• Golf: Mariner's Point 9 Hole Golf Course. 1:15min.
• Kickboxing Boot Camp: 60 min. Taught class.

Day-Before Race Prep

I survived three days off from training...just barely though.  And I believe I succeeded with my Glycogen Loading plan because I ate lots of healthy calories and carbs and gained the 2 pounds that was predicted. YAY!

We went up to the city today for pre-race packet pick-up, which ended up being a sports bag filled with goodies..guess that's what you get for your $500 race registration fee. LOL.

All in all, I am feeling fairly good about tomorrow's race.  Hoping against the odds to get decent night's sleep although that usually remains elusive given my abnormal sleep patterns and the insanely earlier time that we will need to get up.  Wish me luck!!

 

Glycogen-Loading Schedule (Carbo loading) for Alcatraz

Based on my research, I created my carbo-loading plan for the race. This plan utilizes the latest research which debunks the popular myth that a big bowl of pasta the night before a race is going to help you. You need to build up the glycogen reserves in the body for several days prior to the race. You also need an exercise taper, which I am looking forward too!!!

So based on my kilogram weight of 56.7, here's the breakdown:

Day	Date	Carb intake	Exercise Intensity (% of VO2 max)	Exercise Duration	%Maximum Heart Rate
Monday	8-Jun	227	75	90	85
Tuesday	9-Jun	227	75	40	85
Wednesday	10-Jun	567	75	40	85
Thursday	11-Jun	567	70	20	82
Friday	12-Jun	567	70	20	82
Saturday	13-Jun	567	Rest	Rest	Rest
Sunday	14-Jun	RACE DAY

Here are some other common mistakes that athletes make who attempt to carbo load and fail to achieve their goal. Written by the Department of Sports Nutrition, AIS www.ais.org.au/nutrition

Common mistakes include:

• Carbohydrate loading requires an exercise taper. Athletes can find it difficult to back off training for 1-4 days before competition. Failing to rest will compromise carbohydrate loading.
• Many athletes fail to eat enough carbohydrate. It seems athletes don't have a good understanding of the amount of food required to carbohydrate load. Working with a sports dietitian or using a carbohydrate counter can be useful.
• In order to consume the necessary amount of carbohydrate, it is necessary to cut back on fibre and make use of compact sources of carbohydrate such as sugar, cordial, soft drink, sports drink, jam, honey, jelly and tinned fruit. Athletes who include too many high fibre foods in their carbohydrate loading menu may suffer stomach upset or find the food too bulky to consume.
• Carbohydrate loading will most likely cause body mass to increase by approximately 2kg. This extra weight is due to extra muscle glycogen and water. For some athletes, a fear of weight gain may prevent them from carbohydrate loading adequately.
• Athletes commonly use carbohydrate loading as an excuse to eat everything and anything in sight. Consuming too many high fat foods will make it difficult to consume sufficient carbohydrate. It may also result in gain of body fat. It is important to stick to high-carbohydrate, low-fat foods while carbohydrate loading.

Today's Training: Brick at Alcatraz distances (minus hills) May 31th, 2009

I was not very motivated to workout this AM.  It was cold outside and I did not sleep well.  However, once I started going on the bike, I felt full of energy.  I believe the Domino's for dinner really helped! I had one of their pasta bread bowls and one slice of John's pepperoni pizza.  Not the healthiest dinner but this is the second time that I felt a noticeable difference in my energy level after enjoying a larger than normal dinner.  Domino's could become my favorite pre-race meal! :-)

• BIKE: 18 miles. 1 hour.
• RUN: approx 8 miles (Garmin 405 froze up on me around mile 2, grrr.) approx 7.0 mph avg (I hope).