May 25th, 2014 Human Nature
Carrying all of the equipment last night made me incredibly sore today. Wow. I guess I could say I had two workouts yesterday! I gave myself a break today on my workout and it was good. I plan on doing a 5K walk tomorrow. Thanksgiving 2008 was the first "Anderson Family Holiday 5K," and other holiday 5K's followed, so tomorrow I'll bring it back. Not today though...my goodness. When the rain was pouring and I feared my equipment might get destroyed, I carried heavy things quickly. I didn't even think about it, I just knew I had to get them somewhere dry. The soreness isn't a, "I hurt myself" kind of soreness, it's a good kind of sore, I suppose.
Food planning went well today. If you're a regular Twitter follower of mine, thank you! The accountability the commitment creates has proven to be remarkable. Every bite, every day...picture and calorie count. I've really embraced it and had fun with it along the way.
I visited my grandson Noah today. I had him all to myself for about 45 minutes. We had a fantastic time. He motivates me and inspires me to take better care. He's going to have a very young and active grandpa, for sure! We eventually watched some SpongeBob together and it's amazing how he becomes mesmerized while watching. Courtney tells me that he eats more when there's a TV within his view. No TV, he eats much less. SpongeBob on, he'll mindlessly open his mouth for more. Isn't that interesting?? As someone who has done a bunch of mindless eating in front of a TV screen, I see how this might be a natural human thing. I mean, really--he's 10 months. He's so fascinating and smart! And he loves my phone...loves it.
I prepared a dinner for Amber and KL this evening. It was nice sharing a meal with them. I always LOVE our conversations. I grilled some chicken thighs and drumsticks with asparagus. It was something different. That's one of the biggest challenges I've had over the course of the last month, plus--having enough variety. I like what I like and I never force myself to eat something I don't. What I do like, I tend to have it often. Preparing something new this evening was a good practice.
One thing I've noticed lately is not being hungry between meals. I believe in the "eat something every 3-4 hours" advice, because I get how the metabolism is like a wood burning stove. Lately though, I'm just not hungry between meals. I do find myself occasionally having a planned snack because "it's time to give my metabolism something to work with," and I suppose that's okay. I certainly don't know everything about nutrition and the science behind it all, not even close, actually. And I'd really like to keep things very simple. What are your thoughts on this topic? If you're not hungry, do you skip the snack or eat it in the name of fueling your metabolism? I'm afraid if I only ate when I'm hungry, I'd barely hit 1,000 calories a day. I'm not complaining at all. It's just something to ponder.
This is probably one of the shortest and quickest updates in recent memory. You're welcome to see the food I eat on Twitter (link above) and friend me on MyFitnessPal, I'm SeanAAnderson on MFP.
Thank you for reading,
Strength,
Sean
I don't have a morning snack if I'm not hungry but I do always have an afternoon snack. Otherwise I would end up getting hungry later and eat too close to dinner and/or make bad choices. I guess that is because I only have about four hours between the first two but six or seven hours between the second two - I need that snack in between!
ReplyDeleteMakes perfect sense!
DeleteAnd I eat a lot more in front of the TV, too. Mindless eating is bad news.
ReplyDeleteWow you're running a 5K ? That's awesome! Best wishes for you tomorrow! Those grandbabies are amazing aren't they? Well have a safe holiday tomorrow. Take care, Jules
ReplyDeleteNo running! Walking a 5K! :)
DeleteInteresting topic about the metabolism. Lots of theories out there. I thought you'd appreciate reading something on the topic by Mark Sisson, a fascinating guy, communicator/researcher/motivator/athlete and blog writer of the well-known Mark's Daily Apple (http://www.marksdailyapple.com/about-2/mark-sisson/#axzz32o1y9s80).
ReplyDeleteHere's a teaser from his article:
"To graze or to feast? According to many fitness “experts,” grazing is supposed to “stoke the metabolic fire,” while infrequent meals “slow your metabolism.” The idea is that eating many small meals keeps your metabolism plugging away at a high rate for the entire day, helping you burn more fat. Conversely, going too long between meals slows down your metabolism, so that when you do eat, your body is sluggish to respond to the caloric load and you end up storing it as fat.
It’s a neat-sounding theory, but it isn’t true."
If interested, here's the rest of the article: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/meal-timing/#axzz32o1y9s80
Just food for thought. :-) In the end, I trust you will do what is right for YOU.
Thank you Retta for the link!! I'm going to read it while I eat!
DeleteI had a phone call earlier today and didn't read it until just now. Wow. This blows the "wood burning stove" analogy out of the water. The analogy was given to me by a fitness and nutrition teacher who learned her profession at the prestigious Cooper Institute! That's why so many people tout the many small meals theory... Love Mark's Daily Apple!! Thank you for the link-- I will just keep doing what I'm doing and not worry so much about it! ;) I've bookmarked his blog. Very cool.
DeleteI am not to that state yet personally. I try my hardest just to eat 3 square meals a day. For some reason I hate to snack, I almost feel like it is a guilt thing, I feel like I am eating something I shouldn't.
ReplyDeleteI get that, Michael. It's definitely an individual thing for all of us... Whether or not I feel guilt depends on the quality and quantity of the snack, if it's good, like say--fruit, no guilt...If it's an all natural Cliff Bar, despite the fact that it's wholesome and good for my body, I still feel like it's an indulgence---Like I'm not eating it for nutrition, I'm eating it because it's the closest thing I can eat to a candy bar without eating a candy bar... Ultimately, as Retta said-- we trust ourselves and do what is best for us, and that's what works, for us... Right or wrong doesn't apply or matter when we're doing what works for us...if it's right for us, it's good. We're all different.
DeleteMindless TV eating is an odd thing - I can be totally stuffed from dinner, but if I set in front of the TV I almost immediately crave something... its not stomach hunger, its mouth hunger, I need to "taste" something... how odd is it that a 10 month old baby does that ??
ReplyDeleteabout the hunger between meals, I am doing a low carb eating plan, and if I am honest and go with how my stomach feels I am not hungry between my 3 main meals... again its the mouth hunger where I will have a piece of cheese, or a hard boiled egg between meals
"Mouth hunger!!" I love that. It makes sense. Thank you for sharing, Sugar!
DeleteI am a firm believer in stoking the metabolism, starting with breakfast less than 30 minutes of getting up in the morning. I eat 5 meals a day 3-4 hours apart. If I'm up really late, I'll have a 6th light meal. It's working for me.
ReplyDeleteAlso, for the first 5 years of my weight loss/maintenance journey, I did not eat in front of the TV. Now it's not too much of a problem, as long as I'm at the table and have my plated meal in front of me. All part of sticking to what's working!
Im holding baby ant typing w 1 hand, so forgive mistakes.....but my vote is eat the snack....at least some of it. keep that fire going :)
ReplyDelete