When the Best Laid Workout Plans Often go Awry

As outlined in The (Almost) Naked Truth, my weekly workout plan was:

Mondays: Mom & Baby Yoga

Wednesdays: Mom & Baby Bootcamp

Thursdays: Yoga on the Beach

supplemented with P90x, walking, running, etc.

But as Steinbeck essentially said: even the most organized of goals may not happen...

The first Wednesday following the above mentioned post, I had contacted the owner of the bootcamp and also emailed the woman running the classes; I found out what I needed to bring and the name of the location I needed to go. Yup, I knew the name of the place, not the address. In the age of SmartPhones and Google Maps, why on earth would I need more?! 

The first Wednesday, I packed my car full of baby gear and was off. At the end of my iPhone app directions, I found myself at a park with signage that matched the name of where I was told to go. I drove around its perimeter looking for strollers, bootcampers, or babies. Nada. 

Once parked, I went back to my phone checked the website and the emails, but found no guidance. So, I fired off an email explaining my predicament, drove to a near by path and went for a jog. The following Wednesday with an actual address in hand, I found myself faced with a sweet little baby in need of a longer morning nap. I let my daughter sleep, and worked out to P90x DVD for the remainder of her nap.

The moral of the story: When life throws a wrench in your workout plans, make it into an opportunity to do something different! If there is one thing Mom & Baby Yoga has taught me, it is that with some adaptation and a couple of breaks for feeds/ diaper changes throughout, most workouts are still possible. Moreover, working out can be a great opportunity to engage your infant for an extended period of time. Lay down a blanket near your mat, have toys on hand, sing to your baby and make adjustments to involve them! It may sound like I'm suggesting you create your own at home version of a three ring circus. But, you'd be surprised how exciting this can be for baby!

Supplemental, Cost-Effective Work-outs:

Walking briskly: This may not sound all that exciting, or revolutionary for that matter, but doing so for an hour can burn a few hundred calories. Choose a scenic route (whether its through the touristy areas of your city, by the water or through the mountains). And use a pedometer to track your pace, distance, and calories burned; for my iPhone, I have the free "GPS Watch" App which works quite well!

Running: If you hate running, but have good cardiovascular endurance, the 10 and 1 technique, wherein you run 10 minutes and walk 1, works very well; you may find you're able to run longer and are happier doing so! I also highly recommend, getting off the road and onto a trail. The beauty of the great outdoors acts as a marvellous distraction. For those of you who are easing back into workout life, after say chid birth or a cesarean, a program such a this Learn to Run may seem monotonous, but will get you happily running, injury free before you know it!

My brother's results without changing his diet

P90x: The reason I love this so much because it's incredibly hard, but oh so fun! The creator of the program, Tony Horton touts "muscle confusion" as the reason for its success. Because the plan outlines different work-outs for each day, your body doesn't habituate the same way it would completing the same workout. And as a result, there are no plateaus. Admittedly, I have not read any research on this principle. What I do know, this plan gets AMAZING!!!!! results. Having used the DVDs over the course of several months, I was running faster than ever (I knocked almost 5 mins off of my 10km race time from the year before); I was undoubtedly in the best shape of my life. Of the DVDs, the ones requiring the least amount of equipment are Cardio X, Kenpo X, Plyo X, Ab Ripper X, and Yoga X.

NB - before starting any exercise program, consult your doctor. Before starting P90x, there is a fitness test that needs to be completed (comes in the DVD package).

Don't be ashamed if you need to ease into running, or need to hit the pause button on your workout DVD. What is important is to be consistently active and enjoy what you do!!!

The Best Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies, EVER!

As mentioned in Dieting can Make you Fat, I don't diet because I do feel it is too restrictive and can lead to feelings of failure. Instead, I strive to make healthy decisions throughout the day, every day; I modify my foods at restaurants, read labels in super markets, make a lot of foods from scratch, and alter recipes. The two most important objectives when I am making food are to make the healthiest, best tasting version of whatever I want to eat. It just so happens, I have a very substantial sweet tooth. Here is my version of a recipe I found to make

The BEST Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER!

Preheat oven to 325°F      Grease cookie sheets with vegetable oil

Mix above ingredients together and set aside:

2 cups No Additive Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 tsp salt (I use slightly less than 1/2 tsp)

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

In a separate bowl, cream together:

3/4 cup Trans-Fat Free Margarine* or unsalted butter, melted

1 cup Organic Fair-Trade Brown Sugar

1/4 cup Organic Fair-Trade White Sugar

Beat together:

1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

5 tbs egg whites + a splash more or 1 egg and 1 egg white

Slowly whisk in dry ingredients that were previously set aside.

Combine:

1/4 cup crushed pecans or nuts of your choice **

1 cup Organic Fair Trade Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Chips will likely fall to the bottom a bit and will need to be pressed into cookies when putting them on cookie sheet. If the batter needs more moisture, add an additional splash of egg whites.

Baked cookies at 325°F for 15-17 minutes. Let cookies rest on cookie sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

* Check your margarine labels to ensure there are no  hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils

** Because I have taken out a lot of the fat from the original recipe, I want to add in healthy Omega-3 fats instead. The fat and protein from the nuts will help you feel satiated and less likely to go back for several more cookies. The nuts as well as the whole wheat flour will also diminish a sugar surge and crash.

NB - these are still cookies. Though sugar from the original recipe (Best Big, Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies) has been cut back, the fiber increased, and the saturated fat largely substituted out, these still are treats and should be treated as such!

Nutritional Information

Based on the batch divided into 18 cookies - brackets compare to the original recipe
Calories 288 

Total Fat 11g (2.9g less fat)

            Saturated Fat: 2g

Sodium 206mg

Total Carbohydrates 28g  (12.1g less carbohydrates)

            Sugar: 19g

Dietary Fiber 16g    (14.5g more fiber)

Protein 3g

Yoga by the Beach & a Tool to Stayed Fuelled

So yesterday was my daughter's and my first time at Yoga by the Beach! Being a new mommy, time has a tendency of escaping me. I was sitting down early morning enjoying my coffee while my baby girl played. She drifted off to sleep. So, I decided to get some light cleaning and blogging done. When all of a sudden, it was time to leave! Now for any of you who have young ones, you know, it is never just as simple as getting dressed and out the door. Additionally, my mom was joining us and didn't have a yoga mat. As quickly as humanly possible, I gathered baby blankets, sunscreen, pacifiers, yoga mats and mat bags, organized everything in my jogging stroller, and was off! Because my husband uses our car during the week, my plan was to walk. With time against me, I had to RUN and RUN FAST!!! What made things ever the more interesting was the juggle of yoga mats and baby paraphernalia. The unplanned 4 km dash to yoga in the 30°C (86°F) weather made for an excellent warm-up. Though next time, I will definitely allow myself for more time to leisurely run rather than almost sprint!!!

Yoga by the Beach was great! Though it wasn't as vigorous as some power (Ashtanga) classes I've attended, it combined enough strength poses with stretching to leave me feeling both exercised and refreshed! I love yoga in general because it builds lean muscle, improves my balance (great for preventing injury while running), posture, and back health.

Due to my impromptu race to yoga, my walk/ hike back home (we live up a bit of a steep hill), and the long walk my family took to & from dinner that night, I burned more energy than I normally do in a day. In situations where I am working out intensely, my weight is creeping up, or I am finding my blood sugar drops leaving me unexpectedly famished, I like to use "The Daily Plate" (a calorie & workout calculator). The site takes into account your age, height, weight, general activity level, and weight goals. It then establishes an amount of calories you should be consuming to attain that goal. While I do not like the idea of anyone stressing over calorie counting, religiously measuring their food and/or not listening to their body when it's hungry, I love features of this site. It has an app for smart phones, promotes sustainable weight loss (it only has the option to lose up to 2 lbs. / week), and has a vast inventory of foods and work outs. In using this tool yesterday, I figured out had burned over 800 calories. As a result, I needed to eat MUCH more than usual. 

NB: Nursing mommies, you cannot rely on the site's projected calories; we need more! A good projection can be found at Calorie Counter: Breastfeeding and then put into "The Daily Plate". This tool should only be used to ensure you are getting ENOUGH calories, not to cut back or ignore hunger cues.

That's all for now! 'Til next time, Namaste.

The (Almost) Naked Truth

So here is the "skinny" on me...

                                                   

6 weeks pregnant

Typical Me     

Weight:            135 lbs. (61.24 kg) +/- I only weigh myself yearly              

Height:             5’7” (1.7m)                                

Jean size:          Between 26-27 waist                      

Bust size:          34 B                                              

Dress size:        Between 4-6                              

8 weeks after c-section

Post-Pregnancy Me

Weight:            153 lbs. (69.4 kg)

Height:             Same

Jean size:          Scared to find out

Bust size:          36 DD                                              

Dress size:        Between 8-10

Of course, I would like to get back to my old self, like, yesterday! But Lord knows, that is not remotely possible. My plan is as follows: I am going to adhere to the general principles laid out in the past three entries in this blog; I will workout in ways that do not interfere with my baby’s nursing needs, AND are fun & effective.

Mondays, my baby & I are attending “Mom & Baby” Yoga.

Wednesdays, we will attend “Mom & Baby Bootcamp”.

Thursdays, I have found “Yoga by the Beach” 20 minutes from our house that allows babies.

I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew, like a goal of working out daily. Committing to three days seems manageable. If I strive for more and am not able to follow through, I will be more likely to give up. So three days it is! Though, I will supplement this schedule with almost daily walks, and occasional running, hiking and P90x videos (more to come on these workouts & why I love them so much). I want to play the rest by ear and work with what’s best for my baby and me! As I attend these classes and do these workouts, I will post more about them. Feel free to post comments or questions you have.

Don’t own a scale. Don’t need a scale. Don't want a scale.
WHY? Because weight isn’t a perfect indication of where my physique, health, and wellbeing are at. Additionally, I hate the idea of weighing myself all too regularly. One day, I could be heavier due to water weight. Also, the number may not be going down as much; we've all heard it, "muscle weighs more than fat". That isn't meant to be a consolation. Muscle is denser. So just because the pounds aren't dripping off my body, my dress and pant size could be going down & my clothes be fitting better overall. 

So HOW am I going to MEASURE my success? Easy. How my clothes fit, how I feel, my energy level, and how I look will be short-term measures of success. I will literally weigh in on my progress in a month's time.

Need to rush off to yoga! Stay tuned. More to come!!!

3) Europeans are on to Something

The final of three early lessons was a result of trips to Europe during my youth. Though my mother had ingrained in me I should never feel the need to diet, we did grow up with low-fat, reduced fat and diet foods in our house. Furthermore, North American media reinforced the notion that I should select these options as much as possible. When I went on a high school exchange to Europe, I was shocked to discover that reduced fat options were not available to me. In addition, Coke Light did not taste like Diet Coke, and so I was left substituting water, espresso, and the occasion beer or glass of wine for my go-to drink. What resonated with me even more than the lack of “low-fat” options was the fact that the general population was much leaner than what I was used to. People ate, drank and enjoyed! And somehow, despite my increased bread, cheese, and whole milk consumption, every time I have been to Europe, I’ve come home lighter than when I’ve left.

My theory as to why: When in Europe, I only eat fresh, all natural foods. In general, people go to the market almost daily. As such, most of the foods are not heavily processed, artificially flavoured, or packed with preservatives. When they are consumed, our body knows how to digest the ingredients. Furthermore, full fat holistic foods (whole milk, whole grains) keep us satiated longer. We don’t digest them as quickly as refined foods. As a result, our insulin level does not spike and crash. When we do eat refined carbohydrates, the opposite occurs; our insulin soars, and so does our blood sugar. The excess sugar is not burned immediately and it turns to fat. Insulin and blood sugar crash; we are left HUNGRY, wanting more refined carbohydrates to keep our energy up!

Research on the Mediterranean Diet

The diet itself is higher in vegetables, fruits, cereals, nuts, fish, table fats & oils, and wine & beer than the American diet  (Nestle, 1995, p. 1314-6). Conversely, the North American diet is substantially higher in meats, fish, eggs, sugars, and dairy products. Public health studies have observed that people living in regions bordering the Mediterranean enjoyed “rates of chronic disease that are amongst the lowest in the world and life expectancies that are amongst the highest” (p. 1313). Because socioeconomic factors are lower in those regions than more industrialized countries, it can be deduced that diet is the leading factor for these findings (p. 1313).

·      NB cereals in this context refer to grains such as oats or couscous and not the cartooned box variety. Also, diet refers to foods a person habitually eats and not the restriction of foods to lose weight.

In a study wherein hundreds of participants were randomly assigned to either a low-fat, low-carb or Mediterranean diet, those adhering to that of Mediterranean lost almost double the weight the low-fat group had (Blüher, Brickner, Fiedler, Fraser, Golan, et al., 2008, p. 229).

References

Blüher, M., Brickner, D., Fiedler, G.M., Fraser, D., Golan, R.,

Greenberg, I., Henkin, Y., Katorza, E., Marko, R., Sarusi, B.,

Schwartz, Z., Schwarzfuchs, D., Shahar, D.R., Shai, I., Sheiner, E., Stampfer, M.J., Stumvoll, M., Tangi-Rozental, O., Thiery, J., Vardi, H., Witkow, & S., Zuk-Ramot, R. (2008). Weight loss with a low-carbohydrate, Mediterranean, or low-fat diet. The New England Journal of Medicine (359) 229-241. Retrieved from http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa0708681#t=abstract

Mediterranean Diet Pyramid (2012). Retrieved

from http://www.google.ca/imgres?q=mediterranean+diet+pyramid&um=1&hl=en&client=safari&sa=X&rls=en&biw=1270&bih=632&tbm=isch&tbnid=3OKprxZk_ryclM:&imgrefurl=http://www.safe-and-easy-weightloss.com/MedDietPyramid.htm&docid=erhtdzEpewJc5M&imgurl=http://www.safe-and-easy-weightloss.com/images/MediterraneanFoodPyramidGraphic.jpg&w=612&h=792&ei=aUT3T6GcBcvsqAGNg92LCQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=461&sig=118003037183292474121&page=1&tbnh=118&tbnw=91&start=0&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:83&tx=65&ty=61

Nestle, M. (1995). Mediterranean diets: historical and research

overview American Society for Clinical Nutrition (61), 1313-1320.  Retrieved from http://www.ajcn.org/content/61/6/1313S.full.pdf