Friday, January 19, 2007

Nutrition and Faith

Training Day Off
Time: NA
Total Miles for Jan: 31.2
Total Cross Training for Jan: 21.1


Today is a rest day for me and it comes at a great time. Work went well today. I run the IT Computer training department for a large grocery store chain in the southeast. Today I taught beginning Access XP and I had some good students that picked up the application really fast which makes the class go a heck of a lot smoother.


My background is more technical but I'm getting used to teaching the Microsoft Office Suite. I used to work for different computer learning centers teaching several different technical certifications from A+ to the MCSE tracks. I left that job to work for a company called Ahold Information Services where I served as a Senior LAN Administrator supporting the Intel servers from the IBM X-Series to the Dell Power Edge architectures. Ahold used to be the parent company of the grocery store chain I now work for. Ahold divested our company last year and I was offered a position into the new organization. I was very excited not be on a 24/7 on call rotation anymore, that I do not miss. No more 2am problem tickets to deal with. I've been in the IT arena now for about 14 years in various roles and I've been teaching for about 8 of those years.


Well, enough about my work experience...geez that sounded like I was applying for job...sorry about that. Today my calories are bit lower then I would have liked. I consumed only about 1300 calories today. It's a good thing today is a rest day. Let me talk a little about what I'm doing nutritionally.


ABOUT MY NUTRITION
My plan consist of very little processed foods and mostly whole organic foods. The macro nutrient breakdown I've been following since the beginning of Oct 2006 is as follows:


Carbs - 50% - 60%
Protein - 15% - 25%
Fat - 20% - 30%


I have tried all the variations that have been debated and for me to loose fat it's mostly about calories in and calories out. I will say that I have noticed a big increase in energy since I switched to a higher carb diet which makes sense since our bodies use carbohydrates for energy and I need them to properly fuel my body for my runs. I was very successful on a low carb/high protein diet as well but I was not doing near the amount of running or cardio in general. I was doing more strength training. I stay away from simple carbs all together. I also consume about a gallon of water a day and I'm a firm believer in taking a good multivitamin.


There is no secret pill to losing weight and getting fit. I would say that your diet is the most important factor for being successful. You can do all the exercising you want but to be successful means to start in the kitchen and have the determination to stick with your plan. When your getting ready to eat that big piece of cake ask yourself is this really worth it? Chances are no. For me its about believing in myself and knowing that my faith will get me through.


Tomorrow I have 5.4 scheduled and I know I can count on my faith to get me through. Happy running and have a good night.

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