The Portion Police

By Annie Conner

For my intro blog, I mentioned that my biggest obstacle when it comes to healthy living is proper nutrition. As a child, I never had a problem eating everything on my plate – this even included the “No Thank-You” helping (the serving of broccoli, peas, etc that your mom says you have to eat in order to be excused from the table). Here’s why: my mom is an awesome cook. A typical day at the Conner household consisted of my mom cooking me eggs and bacon in the morning, she’d send us off to school with a fully packed lunch, and we’d return home from school to a delicious home-cooked dinner. Because of this lifestyle, I developed a habit of eating three huge meals a day with no snacking in between. There was no need to snack - I was always full from the previous meal.

I’ve learned though that eating 3 large meals a day is WORSE than consuming 5-6 small meals throughout the day. WHAT?? You can eat more frequently and it’s better for you?!?! That’s right. Eating larger meals throughout the day causes the individual’s blood sugar and insulin levels to spike (right after their meal) and drop very low during the period before their next meal (causing irritability, hunger, confusion, etc). By eating smaller meals, the individual’s insulin and glucose levels remain steady throughout the day and it minimizes those high spikes and low levels. Eating smaller meals more frequently will also boost your metabolism. By eating every 2-3 hours you’re telling your body that it has energy and it does not need to store calories as fat. Also, you’ll avoid overeating at each meal due to intense hunger.

Armed with this knowledge, I’ve really focused lately on eating more frequently throughout the day. I’ve been integrating peanuts, fruit and string cheese into my afternoon snack and yogurt and a boiled egg for my morning snack. As a result, I’ve felt more awake throughout the day, less hungry at lunch and dinner and more energetic. I rarely have that emptiness in my stomach right before meal-times which allows me to be productive throughout the day and not focus on how hungry I am.

A couple of problems I’ve been experiencing (and maybe you could offer me some advice) are: sometimes, I have to remind myself to eat…that sounds so weird, but it’s true. The morning seems to fly by and I’ll glance at the clock and see that it’s almost lunchtime and I’ve nearly missed my morning snack. The other problem is I’m running out of snack ideas (I end up giving my yogurt a dirty look each time I have to eat it, because I can’t stand it anymore)…do any of you have any yummy snack tips that I can use??

I definitely will continue eating small meals throughout the day, but I’m going to investigate some creative snack foods to “liven up” this new eating plan.

My lifestyle rollercoaster

By Megan Risinger

VS.

There are many successes and failures I experience when it comes to health and wellness. For instance, last week I was very proud of myself for working out 3 of the days (now that coaching basketball has come to a close, I'm starting to use more of my time for myself and for working out). I feel better overall and I know that I am getting into shape and feeling good - I hope to keep it up! I have a race coming up, which is only a 3-mile race, but I still want to be able to feel decent while I run it (and if I get passed by an 80-year-old person, so be it :) While working out is an easier task for me, eating healthy is sometimes a challenge. I love the "bad" foods, but try to limit them as much as I can. Having a busy schedule and sometimes being more frugal - it's hard for me to cook that healthy meal people always talk about. And when it's just me who I'm feeding, I don't spoil myself with a good/healthy meal. I'm on the go all the time, and like most, I use that excuse quite often. I am health conscious, although I don't always follow through - that's better than nothing, right? I might go all out on a meal, so then the next few I know to take it easy. You can ask most people who know me and they'll tell you I love to eat! I have been working on eating better and adding more fruits and veggies to my diet (veggies are hard for me - I only have a select few I like). I know that we all struggle in areas here and there, so it's just best to keep your goal in mind and always be conscientious on how you're treating your body!

Carbs, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways!

By Rachel Conner

Over the past couple weeks I've been thinking, "I eat healthy food and work out a lot...why am I not losing weight and toning up as quickly as I want to be?!?!" Then I read my dad's (Tom Conner) blog below and I realized that my old man is putting me to shame in terms of fitness and nutrition! In comparison, I'm doing about half as much cardio and I'm really not eating as well as I should be. This all got me thinking about everything I've eaten over the last few days. My biggest weakness? CARBS! I've never had a problem with sweets, but bread is my kryptonite. Then my wheel really got to turning. I thought, "I wonder how many carbohydrates I'm really supposed to consume each day..." And where better to find the answer than the world wide web! So I did a little research and found that before I can calculate my daily carb intake I need to calculate my daily caloric intake. Here's the calculator I used. It's not super scientific but it told me that based on my age, height, weight and exercise level, I should be consuming about 1,788 calories a day. On the upside, that's very close to my actual intake each day. On the downside, I'm 100% sure my food pyramid is way off kilter. Next, I went here and found out this info:

Most medical experts say that 60 percent of the calories you eat every day should come from carbohydrates. To find out how many carbohydrates you need, multiply the number of calories you need by .6. For example, if you need 2,000 calories per day, 2,000 multiplied by .6 = 1,200. So you know you need 1,200 calories from carbohydrates. There are 4 calories in a gram of carbohydrate. Take your 1,200 calories and divide by 4 = 300 grams. Knowing the calories and the carbohydrate grams you need will help you when you're reading a food label.


Once the calculator on that same website did the math for me, I learned that I need 1,072.8 calories from carbohydrates, which equals 268.2 grams of carbohydrates each day. Here are some interesting facts I discovered about carbohydrates on MyFoodDiary.net while surfing the web:

Carbohydrates are separated into simple carbohydrates (sugar), complex carbohydrates (fiber) and starch. Carbohydrates can also be separated into groups based on the Glycemic Index, which measures how high and how quickly blood glucose levels change after eating carbohydrates. The higher the Glycemic Index, the higher the rise in blood sugar and the longer it takes to return to normal. For a healthy diet, it is best to focus on foods with a low Glycemic Index (e.g., whole grains, oats, and whole wheat pasta). Foods with a high Glycemic Index have been linked to elevated risks of heart disease and diabetes.

Carbohydrates are the body's main source of energy. They are easily digested and broken down into glucose, which the body uses to perform its numerous functions. In contrast, protein and fat are more difficult to digest and are needed to build tissues and cells in the body. For this reason, most of your energy (calories) should come from carbohydrates.


The following is a list of foods that are classified by their Glycemic Index.



Low Glycemic Index:
Pumpernickel Bread, Pasta (whole wheat), Bran Cereal, Soybeans, Lentils, Baked Beans, Peaches, Apples, Oranges, Milk/Yogurt, Chocolate






Moderate Glycemic Index:
Sourdough or Rye Bread, Shredded Wheat, Banana, Pineapple, Orange Juice, Ice Cream




High Glycemic Index:
White bread, Short-grain Rice, Cornflakes, Waffles, Potatoes, Carrots, Watermelon, Soft Drinks, Jellybeans, Honey





Because these tidbits of information on carbohydrates have now been brought to my attention thanks to the internet, I have decided to keep a week-long food journal to keep me accountable to balancing out my food pyramid. I will soon post this for the world to see, so keep a lookout for that entry!

Running towards improvement

By Tom Conner

I thought I would give you a brief glimpse into what a week looks like for my diet and exercise program. Keep in mind that in my younger days I was a distance runner. Then, after a foot injury, I gained weight due to becoming sedentary and not watching what I eat. Recently, I've become active again in the sport I love and I've made some serious diet changes resulting in weight loss, a boost in energy, and a regained sense of self-confidence, all of which I am working very hard to maintain.


Sunday- Ate at my favorite buffet for lunch. Need I say more? Ate a light dinner of meat and fruit. Ran 4.5 miles at a 8.5 minute pace

Monday-Banana and OJ for breakfast, with soup and salad for lunch and pasta for dinner. 40 min. on the treadmill with 3 reps of weight training using 50 lbs weight.

Tuesday- Fruit for breakfast with salad for lunch and went to Naked Tchopstix for dinner. Basically had noodles. Left knee had some soreness, so no exercise.

Wednesday- Same breakfast as Monday and then I had chili and a roll at Longhorn for lunch. I had penne pasta with chicken and 1 piece of bread with butter for dinner. 30 minutes on the elliptical and I did 50 crunches-no weights.

Thursday-fruit and a bagel for breakfast with a salad at the Rathskeller. Dinner at Cheesecake factory and had 8oz sirloin steak with veggies. Elliptical for 30 minutes with 50 crunches.

Not a real successful week because of the soreness in the knee. Planned on running the Saturday St. Patrick's Day run downtown on Saturday but will not because of the left knee.

Did not lose or gain any weight. Better luck next week.