The science of healthy living

Happy 2013 everyone! This is it, this is the year that you will put it all together and embrace the science of healthy living.  Yep, I said science and I meant it.

Every single thing that we do is the result of a billion (or more) chemical reactions. That sounds like science to me.  No matter if we are sitting at the computer typing, running a marathon, lifting weights, grocery shopping or eating dinner we are nothing but a bunch of chemical reactions. Got it?

Ok, good.

Now let's jump back to the end of 2012 where I was writing about Exercise and Weight Loss (Exercise and Weight Loss Part 1 Exercise and Weight Loss Part 2).  We talked about not counting calories, hopefully that rings a bell.  Today we are going to talk about chemical reactions. THAT is what dictates how we function.  How many calories we burn (or don't burn), how much muscle we build (or don't build), how well our brain can communicate with our hands to type this information, that is all a function of the chemical reactions in our body.

Want to make anything work better or differently, then you must manipulate the chemical reactions in your body to do so. How do you do that? Simple.  Pay attention to the nutrients you put in your body- NOT the calories.

Think about it like this.  My car has a 25 gallon gas tank. In order for me to drive a long distance I had better fill it up, all 25 gallons.  If I put 25 gallons of milk in the gas tank, how far will I get? Probably not too far at all.  But why? It was 25 gallons, the tank was full.

I know, you are thinking- duuuuhhhh, because you can't put milk in your car, it was built to run on gas (I'm old-school, mine is not electric).  If I put milk in it then all of the other reactions that are dependent on the gas do not occur and something pretty terrible may happen. That is pretty easy to see right?


Ok, what if I only put 2 gallons of milk in there? Nope, still not going anywhere.

Ok, now let's look at you.  Maybe you need 2,500 calories a day.  Can we fill you up with 2,500 calories from motor oil? Duuuuhhh, of course not.  I know, you think I am being ridiculous.  I'm not.  What about 2,500 calories of Twinkies? Well, you may get a little further than with the motor oil, but not by much.  Your body was not designed to run on Twinkies.  If you fill your tank with things that your body was not intended to run on, the chemical reactions that take place within you are changed.  Different things happen, and some really important things don't happen.

HERE IS THE KEY- this happens even if you don't get all of your calories from Twinkies. Eating non-nutritous foods, things your body was not meant to run on, affects you each and every time you do it.  The more you do it, the worse it gets...independent of the calories consumed!!!

KEY #2- Lots of things you think are nutritious foods are not! How do you tell the difference? Simple. Avoid things that come in a box. Your meals should be comprised of vegetables, fruits and meats.  Can't get much easier than that.  Those are the things your body is meant to run on.

SUMMARY
It isn't a function of just the calories, just as your car's performance isn't just a function of the gallons. Putting the right nutrients in your body keeps it running just as putting the right gas in your car keeps it running!

Focus on nutrients, not calories.  You're welcome.

Exercise and Weight Loss Part II

The holidays are upon as and surely there is no shortage of articles chronicling holiday workouts- ones you can do on the road, ones that burn the most calories, ones that the Hollywood starts are doing, you name it I'm sure it is out there.  Yes, I understand that the magazines and newspapers need to make money, but do YOU? Ok maybe in the deep recesses of your brain you know it, but I think most people forget that when they buy these publications in search of the best workout to keep them form gaining weight during the holidays.  I'm here to save you some money, spare you the frustration and keep you fitting into your summer wardrobe!

Last time we talked about not looking at our workout as a way to merely burn calories.  Trust me, you will be sorely disappointed if you do that.  Not only will you realize that you burn more calories cleaning the house than you did spending your time on that elliptical, but you will realize that the LESS time you spend in the gym the leaner you will be.  NO, that is NOT a typo.  I said it and I meant it.  Let's look at it this way- you are hoping that one hour of your day will some how magically fix what goes on the other 23 hours of the day.  Not. Going. To. Happen.  Ok, so the next step is spending more hours in the gym and trying to burn MORE calories, right? If 1 hour 3 times a week won't cut it, then maybe 1 hour SIX days a week will!

So you set out on that path, certainly burning more calories than you were before. Of course since you are wanting to lose weight you keep your caloric intake the same, or better yet, you may even drop it a little bit -heck that is what all of the holiday magazines are suggesting.  Exercise more, eat less.  The standard prescription for weight loss.  These days you can even find apps for your iphone or armbands to wear that can calculate all of this for you..even better, you can do it without even thinking!! Tell me how that works out for you.. Never mind, let me guess.  For the first week or so, you may actually drop some weight and feel pretty good.  The next few weeks don't go quite as well.  You start to feel tired and run down. You feel 'softer' and have stopped losing weight and may have even put a few pounds back on.  Frustrated you decide to INCREASE the amount of time you spend in the gym. You must've hit a plateau and exercising more to increase your caloric burn must be the way to get through it.

...and so goes the cycle.

Let me fill you in on what is actually happening here.  You have increased your energy expenditure by increasing your exercise, yet you have maintained or even dropped your caloric intake causing a large caloric deficit. This is a rather new state for your body to be in and it hasn't figured out how to fix it yet (read: lessen the caloric deficit) so you lose weight (notice I did NOT say you lose fat. You are most likely losing muscle).  Our bodies are an amazing balance of chemical reactions.  When one thing changes our bodies react in a way to bring things back into balance.  What am I saying? I am saying that if you created a large caloric deficit by exercising more and eating less, your body is going to work hard to reduce that deficit.  It does this by expending fewer calories and asking you to take in more. So the more you exercise, the fewer calories you burn. You head home and then wonder why you are starving and searching for things to shove in your mouth.  Things that once satisfied you now leave you wanting more. Not the recipe for weight loss that you thought you had signed up for. Enter frustration.

So what DO you do? Well, first off stop counting calories. Yes, you heard me.  Stop counting the ones you take in and stop counting the ones you expend.  Stop wearing those silly arm bands and watches that "measure" the calories you burn during your workout.  Stop using the app on your phone that logs all of your food intake and plots it against your exercise. This doesn't work.  (You're welcome) It might work if we did it for a day, but we don't. It might work if all calories were the same, but they are not.  It might work if our bodies didn't respond by expending fewer calories and demanding more be taken in, but they do.

After you throw your armband in the trash, the next thing you need to do is eat something.  Yes, eat.  If we feed our bodies we have a much better chance of accomplishing what we want.  In other words, put food to work FOR YOU.  Lean protein, vegetables, fruits and good fats should be the crux of your diet. Eat small meals throughout the day (every 3-4 hours) and be sure they include the staples I just mentioned. Should you exercise? Yes, of course.  Just don't go into it thinking about burning calories.  As I mentioned in Exercise and Weight Loss Part I  you should look at exercise as a means for making yourself a better functioning machine- for the 23 hours of the day that you are NOT exercising. THAT is what exercise does.

Keep in mind that a large caloric deficit is NOT the way to lose weight.  Eat and exercise, but don't eat less and exercise more.  Eat better and exercise smarter.

You're Welcome.

WV 50 miler. WARNING, LONG POST!

Early mornings, track workouts, long runs, back-to-back days of running topped of with a full schedule of work, travel and family.  Getting ready for a 50-mile race takes a lot of work.  Yes, I said 50 miles.  Having spent my 38^th birthday running 40 miles, I figured that it only made sense to spend my 39^th birthday running 50 miles.

It was 6 am as we stood on the start line- well, more like we milled around in the general area of the start line.  Unlike other races where participants are toeing the line ready to take off like cheetahs, ultra runners are a bit more relaxed. There is a completely different energy at an ultra event compared to a road race marathon distance or shorter.  Strong and determined, but in a calm, laid back manner. There is camaraderie amongst ultra runners that you are hard pressed to find in any other group. Ultra runners are a different breed for sure.

The race director signaled the start of the race and we were off. It must have been an interesting sight as you could see nothing but our headlamps and the shine of any reflective gear caught in their path. The wind was cold and I was thankful I was wearing a hat, ear warmers and a hood.  Following the shoes of the runner in front of me I quickly noticed they had been collecting frost making it appear as though we had been running through snow.  I knew it was cold, but that was just ridiculous.  This Florida girl was missing the warmer weather for sure.

This 50 miler had its start and finish at The Mountain Institute in Circleville, WV.  Reading the words “mountain” and “West Virginia” should have been enough for me to realize that I would be climbing mountains, but it was not.  Just shy of 7 miles would bring us to the first of six aid stations, Spruce Knob, the highest point in West Virginia.  There was good running on this leg as the trail was mainly grassy with some pine needle covered climbs a few of which were quite steep. I had mentally planned for about 9 hours and knowing we would be out there at least that long I knew it was best to conserve energy and walk.

Not long after we passed the first aid station we had our first encounter with some questionable terrain.  The trail seemed to be a dried riverbed complete with large loose rocks.  I was hopscotching from one to another to another feeling much like I did as a child running through the woods, I started to laugh. This was fun!

The rock covered trail gave way to a leaf covered trail.  Unfortunately the leaves were covering loose rocks that were covering mud.  One wrong step and you were in up to your knees.  Thankfully my shoes were on tight otherwise I might have lost them!  It seemed to go on for miles.  The longer it continued the less I laughed.  I tried to think of it as one big mud run. That worked for a few minutes before my mind switched gears- that isn’t what I had signed up for. That isn’t what I wanted to be doing.  I just wanted to run.  I tried.  I’d get lucky for a step or two, maybe even three before I would sink into the mud or slip on a rock or even step on a stick whose opposite end would somehow find its way into my other foot. OUCH! I was reduced to walking regardless of the flat ground.

Unlike running a road race some of the inherent excitement of trail running is actually finding the trail.  Following the markers can often be a challenge.  Miss one and you’re in the middle of the woods with no map and no cell phone service.

At one point the ribbons we were following seemed to stop.  I looked around and saw some on the opposite side of the creek.

 Crossing the creek I found myself climbing up the side of a mountain.  Literally.  Huffing and puffing hiking my way up, up, up. Somehow I had already forgotten that we had made our way from Spruce Knob down the mountain to the creek in the valley- OF COURSE we were climbing back up. The climb seemed to go on for miles until once again we were on top of a mountain. A small respite form the climb lasted maybe a quarter of a mile and once again we were headed down. From 4200 ft down to about 2400 ft. Downhill often sounds good when you offer someone the choice of uphill or downhill.  Unfortunately down is not always fun.  Too steep to run, never mind the loose rocks and sticks covered in fallen leaves- oh the fun of fall racing. It is fun to look at pretty leaves when they are on the trees, not so fun when they are under your feet.

Running generally gives me plenty of time to think.  Not this time, I had to concentrate so hard on where I was putting my feet, where the rocks were, where the sticks were, where the ribbons marking the course were that I couldn’t think about anything else. Those distractions helped me avoid the thought that I would have to turn around and run back the way I came. Five hours and 48 minutes after the race began I reached the 25-mile mark. Time to head back up the 2000 ft we had just descended.

It was during this ascent that I realized a few things.  I realized that I am not a good hiker.  I had never hiked before. Not a real mountain anyway, and I didn’t want to be doing it today.  Today I wanted to run. I found myself becoming more and more frustrated.  Knowing I would be dead in the water with a negative attitude, I tried to turn it around.  All I could think of was the movie Happy Gilmore when Adam Sandler’s character says “I’m a hockey player, but I’m playing golf today.”  I was thinking, “I’m a runner, but I’m hiking today.” Happy Gilmore, I understand your frustration! I wanted to cry.

I also realized what it felt like to want to quit, to really want to quit.  I was so frustrated, so over slipping, tripping, stabbing myself with sticks. Over hiking and climbing and trying not to trip down the mountain.  I was done. I knew I would make it to the next aid station before the cut off time. I didn’t care. I wanted to quit.  Then it happened, I thought of my clients.

I asked them to do challenging things all the time and I wouldn’t let them quit.  No matter their challenge I wouldn’t accept their quitting. What would they say if I quit? How could I let myself quit if I wouldn’t let them quit? I actually had this argument with myself, thankfully I was hiking uphill and did not need too much brain power to concentrate on my foot placement. Trudge, trudge, trudge.  I kept going.

I arrived at aid station #4, the 33.6-mile mark, 45 minutes before the nine and a half hour cut off. It had taken 2 hours and 45 minutes to get there from the 25-mile mark. Eight and a half miles, two hours and forty-five minutes. Miserable.

My friends were waiting for me smiling and cheering.  I feigned a smile. I could hardly say anything. I was afraid to open my mouth, I knew that if I did I would cry. 

I have no idea what Katie asked me.  She either asked how it was going or how I was doing.  It didn’t matter the answer was the same “pretty miserable, awful” was all I could manage as my eyes started to tear up.  She gave me a knowing look and just patted my shoulder “you’re doing great”.

I knew I wasn’t.

I’m not sure why, but I kept going.

Maybe 45 minutes later another runner, Dan, came up behind me.  Poor guy, he was trying to be nice and ask how I was doing. Mumble, mumble, mumble. I don’t even remember what I said, but I’m sure that it wasn’t very inviting or positive.  I had a negative remark for everything he said.  I even thought to myself, “Sheesh, just stop with the negativity!” but it kept coming.  He finally said “how are you on the downhill?” 

“Depends on the footing,” I said and off he went.

A few minutes later a thought ran through my head: after the next aid station I would only have 10 miles to go.  I could go 10 miles. I had gone 10 miles so many times during my training.

Then I had another thought: if I finish the race, but it takes more than 14 hours I will be disqualified. There was a strict 14-hour cutoff; cross the line at 14:01 and instead of having that time posted next to your name you would have the letters ‘DQ’.  If I didn’t post official results then this race wouldn’t count in my quest to run a race in each of the 50 states.  I would have to run West Virginia again.  No way was THAT going to happen.  I wasn’t going to be out here for hours climbing mountains and not have it count. 

I have no idea what specifically it was that brought about those thoughts, but I am sure it was something my fellow runner, Dan, had said. I started to run. Hop scotching from rock to rock as I had done some 30 miles earlier. I caught up with Dan at the next aid station.  I was thrilled to learn that we would follow along a creek for almost 2 miles before turned back into the trees and hit more mountain.

“C’mon, let’s run until we have to climb, “ I said as I started to jog away.  He was right behind me.  We must’ve run for a mile or so when my foot slipped on the edge of a rock. Didn’t seem like a big deal, but as I tried to take the next step the pressure on my toes was unbearable. I let out a few choice words and tried to keep going with a limp.  It didn’t take long to realize that wasn’t going to work very well.  I couldn’t tell if my toe was broken or if I had somehow ripped off a toenail. I sat down, took my shoe off, gingerly rubbed my toes and told him to keep going.

I was afraid to take my sock off knowing that if it looked bad I would feel like I needed to take care of it.  If I didn’t look then I could keep going.  Nothing felt too out of place and I put my shoe back on. Nope, that wasn’t going to work.  I took the shoe off again and started to run with my right shoe on and left one in my hand.  That worked for a few yards, but as soon as I stepped on some sharp rocks I realized that it wasn’t such a great idea.  Darn it, not now.

I refused to let it knock me out of the game at this point.  Had my head been where it was a few miles back, I may have gladly used this opportunity to exit. Mentally I was in a different place.  I had decided I was going to finish the race and I was not going to let this stop me.  I put the shoe back on and tried to once again take a step.  No dice. I tried to run. It still hurt but it was better than walking. Ironic, the thing I had wanted to do, that I had been unable to do for hours was now the only thing that I could do.  Thankfully it wasn’t too long before I had Dan back in my sights.

Together we dodged mud, rocks, bugs and sticks on our way to the 46.2 mile mark.  That was the last aid station and I knew that Katie and my friends would be there.  It was somewhere around 6 pm, 12 hours after starting the race, when we reached the aid station.  What a difference 13 miles and a new friend can make.  I was waving my arms in the air and shouting as we approached the stop.  Katie, Jenny, Don and Bobbie were there to greet me with smiles and cheers of their own.  I was truly a different person than the last time they saw me.  The excitement on their faces showed they recognized it as well. 

It’s Dan,” I said. “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for him.”

Somehow in my walking with Dan, I had left behind the hopeless frustration I had felt miles earlier.  It had been replaced with positivity, excitement and a “can do” attitude. 

Dan and I headed off toward The Mountain Institute. We had just under 4 miles to go and had 2 hours to do it.   Crossing cow pastures, scaling barbed wire fences and even doing a little running.  We were closer and closer by the minute. We knew what was waiting for us in the last mile. A half mile climb, pretty much straight up, fondly referred to as “cardiac” followed by a relatively runable path down to the finish.

This last hill was not going to get the best of me.  “Just remember, it isn’t as long as the rest of them,” Dan said.  It was true; this one was only a half mile long.  Then no matter what it was only a half-mile to the finish. 

Dan went on ahead as he is a much stronger hiker than I am. I was doing the best I could; my heart was pounding and I was huffing and puffing. As I got to the top of the hill I took a deep breath serving as both a sigh of relief and a means to return to a normal pattern of breathing. One half mile of grassy trail to go, I was running to the finish.

As I neared the left turn that would bring me down the hill to the finish, I saw Don and Bobbie.  I was so overwhelmed with happiness that I wanted to cry. Crying doesn’t work well while running; I did my best to hold back the tears.  I could hear my name called over the loud speaker as I neared the finish.  Now the tears were really starting to come.

I’ve never been one to throw my arms up in victory as I cross a finish line, but this time I did.  I didn’t even think about it.  With all that I had experienced that day I was so thrilled to have survived and crossed the finish that there was no way you could’ve kept me from doing it.  There, as the sun was setting Katie and Jenny were waiting for me and so was Dan, we had finished.  Not only had we finished before the 14 hour cutoff time, we had finished in under 13 hours! Twelve hours and fifty-nine minutes to be exact.  I couldn’t have been happier. 

Fifty-four people started the race, 28 finished.  It could have very easily been 27.  I had never wanted to quit so badly.  I just wanted to stop the misery I was feeling.  I wasn’t thinking any further into the future.  But now, after having crossed the finish line I was so glad that I did not quit.  I finished.  I did it. It was hard.  It was very hard.  It was the hardest thing I have ever done.  It wasn’t even what I had trained for.  I had trained for running, not mountain climbing. Without Dan’s company and his unknowing gentle encouragement I may not have realized that I did have the ability to succeed in this environment. Had this been any other race, I could have been left behind.  Not in ultra running.

Running isn’t about the actual journey itself, it is more about what we learn on that journey.  I learned that in life there are many things we encounter that we think we aren’t ready for.  Paths that we are sure should be different:  wider, flatter, and easier to traverse.  The thing is those paths don’t really lead us to our ultimate goals.  It is the narrow, steep, rocky path that allows us to really achieve great things, to conquer our fears, our doubts and ultimately ourselves. On these paths in life, with a little help from others we discover more than we ever thought we would.

P.S.

When you are climbing a mountain, literally or figuratively, find someone who has done it before and walk beside them.  Do not expect them to carry you, to do it for you.  You must do it for yourself.  It is only then that you will be able to walk with  the next person and encourage them.

Thank you to everyone that encouraged and supported me- I love you guys!

Exercise and WEIGHT LOSS..Part I

"Wow, you must burn a ton of calories running!" This was the reaction form a client when I told her about my upcoming 50 mile race. My face must've evidenced some confusion as she continued to say "well, running that far.."

Wow, I hadn't ever thought about it like that.  Well, I mean, OF COURSE I realized that I was burning calories.. heck as long as we are still living we are burning calories.  What I mean is that I never looked at my running as a way to burn calories.  That has never been my intention.  I love to run. I have goals to accomplish with my running which require me to train to become better. I run to improve my performance, not to burn calories.  In fact, the more I run, the FEWER calories I burn doing it.  No, that is not a typo.  The more efficient I become, the better I am at covering a certain distance at a given speed, the less it costs my body to do so.

This little interaction highlighted a major error in thinking. Thinking about exercise as a way of burning calories for weight loss.  Yeah, yeah, I know you burn calories when you exercise, but you burn calories just being alive and no one seems to look at THAT as a way to burn calories and lose weight (although we should).

I'm going to let you in on a little secret.  Well, it isn't actually a secret, just something that most people don't know.  When it comes to things that affect how many calories you burn in one day exercise is responsible for a VERY small percentage (maybe 12-15%). Want to know what IS responsible for the majority of calories burned? YOU!!! (60-70%) That's right, the cost of your just being alive is what burns the most calories.  This should highlight AGAIN, the issue with our focus of 'calorie burning' during exercise for weight loss.  What if instead we focus on ways to make ourselves burn more calories in every moment of our life, better yet, on ways to NOT store fat? That, my friends, is why we exercise and what we should be focusing on when we exercise.

Physical stress (resistance training exercise) causes a host of chemical and hormonal changes within our body making the environment conducive to metabolizing ("burning") fat.  Even better, when we are burning fat, we cannot be storing fat- YES, this is what you are looking for. Wait, it gets even better.  A well planned weight training program will build a body that costs more to run- meaning burn more calories just existing... talk about the answer to your prayers!! 

Will just any kind of training do? Nope.  Weight training is a must.  Without that the proper hormonal environment is not created.  Will just any weight training do? Nope. The stress on the body must be something that it cannot easily overcome (read: you must work HARD).  If you pick up a weight for an exercise and can do 25 reps, it is NOT heavy enough.  Not heavy enough to stress the body.  Not heavy enough to cause change.  Not heavy enough to burn fat.  Not heavy enough to get you the results you want.  Not heavy enough period.  There should be a gradual increase in the amount of weight used.  What was a challenge before will not be a challenge now. No challenge? No hormonal change. Period.

Follow me? When you hit the gym forget endless hours on the treadmill or elliptical. No more Zumba marathons.  Find the free weight area and DO WORK.  If you aren't sure how to properly perform the exercises or how to develop a proper training program, hire a trainer.  That is what we are here for. 

What is your goal?

Here it is- Friday night. Seems like the talk around town is of Gator Football and rightly so, the first game is tomorrow. I bet you're thinking that I am planning who I'm going to meet up with for tailgating or where I may go to watch the game..umm no.  It is Friday night, so what does every good little runner girl do on Friday night?? YES, sits down and plans her running route for the next morning.  After all, it IS almost time for bed.  Have to hit the sack early if I've got to get up early. Yes, last week I was up at 330 and I may very well be up that early again.  Why am I telling you this AGAIN? Excellent question.. I thought you'd never ask.

As I was running this morning, I couldn't help but think about what I was doing.  Not the actually running part, but getting up early in order to get my run in before I needed to be at work. Early enough, in fact, that MY alarm went off before my husband's did.  Not something that generally happens when you are married to a resident- talk about a crazy schedule. I was up, out the door and on my run while most people were still in bed.  Most of those people probably had intentions of getting up early as well. Maybe they were going to get up early and head to the gym.  Maybe they were going to head out for a run.  Maybe they were going to workout in their living room.  Either way, I was up and running while many well intentioned people (maybe even YOU) were still tucked snuggly in bed.  How does that happen?  I guess a better question would be WHY does that happen?

I know why I got up. That is an amazingly simple answer. I mentioned it last week- I'm training for a race. Period. I have a goal and a training plan that will help me reach that goal.  All I have to do is follow it.  Doesn't get much easier than that.

So why are so many people still sleeping while I am out running? I'm guessing because they do not have a plan.  And because they do not have a plan, they must not have a goal.  Surely if they DID have a goal, they would have come up with a plan- or they would have hired someone to make one- to get them to their goal.
Maybe they picked a goal but they aren't really invested 100%.  Why whould that be? Well, maybe the goal isn't their goal.  Maybe it is something someone else suggested they do.  Or even worse, maybe they are doing it for someone else.  Either of those scenarios would explain why they are still sleeping.  They haven't bought into their goal.  They don't really want to do it.  If you REALLY REALLY want to do something you won't let anything stand in your way.  Think you can't? Then you don't really want that goal.

Think I'm being hard on you? I'm not.  Just doing something most people are afraid to do- I'm being honest.

I get busy, heck I have about 5 jobs.  I travel. East coast, west coast you name it.  I know what my training plan is and I make it work.  I may have to move a run up or back a day depending on where I am, but it gets done. My husband is in his chief year of residency.  For the past 6 years he has managed to fit in his training and his healthy eating. NO MATTER WHAT.  Why? Because he is committed to his goal 100%.

Next time you find yourself saying that you don't know why you haven't arrived at your goal take a step back and assess the situation. Do you really have a goal? Are you 100% committed? DO you have a plan that will take you there?

Do I ever hit the snooze button. Unfortunately yes, then I remind myself why I always need a goal.
It is as simple as that. Goal, plan, follow, achieve. 

I love my job!

It is 10pm and I am sitting in my hotel room reflecting on a weekend in Dallas with GNC.  This weekend was the Vision Women's Expo- a gathering of all type of vendors catering to women. Clothing, jewelry, shoes, cooking demos, CPR classes, teeth whitening, you name it it was here.  Women of all ages attend, often lining up outside before the doors open.

Going into these events with my GNC family, we know our booth will be a big draw. It always is. Offering samples of multi-vitmains, fish oil, meal replacements and protein shakes we find ourselves busy all day while some vendors are left wondering where their customers are.  Although we know we will be a hit, we never know just how many lives we touch until the event comes to an end.  That was the case again this weekend.

I would be lying if I said people aren't excited to get free samples- trust me, they are.  But what they are even happier to get is an answer to a question that has been haunting them, sometimes for years. It often starts with a seemingly innocent comment or question: "Will this curb my hunger?", "Do you have anything that will help me lose weight?", "A friend told me about this product, does it work?" It takes an ear to hear the words coming out of their mouths, but a brain to hear what they are ACTUALLY asking: "Can you help me?". A chance meeting between two people leading to the clarification of  permanent fat loss and dispelling of nutrition myths is a freeing and empowering experience.  Seeing the tears in someone's eyes as they are pouring their heart out to you and the relief and excitement when they realize that they NOW have the answers that they have been longing for is absolutely priceless.  I am so thankful for the opportunity I have to help those around me.  Thank you GNC for affording me this amazing opportunity to help change people's lives.  Live Well!

Common Questions

It has been a while, but please don't confuse my absence from blog writing with an absence from WANTING to write! Lots of great things going on in my world, unfortunately they all require time which subsequently eats into time I had set aside for other things. Ehh, that's life, right?

It is 4am as I am sitting here writing this. Yes, I said 4am.  You're probably thinking that I had a hard time sleeping and am just using my new found time to get caught up.  You couldn't be more wrong.  Nope, I was sleeping just fine.  In fact, I was a bit confused when my alarm went off at 3. Yep, 3am on a Friday morning.  Shouldn't we at least get to sleep in as the week comes to a close? If you are most people then that answer would be a resounding "YES!" As the week draws to an end and the weekend is peeking around the corner most people let out a sigh of relief as they are dreaming of a long, comfy night in their bed. Or maybe even a few nights in a row! Ok, enough of the ramble.. why am I up so darn early? Why, for goodness sake, will I get up far earlier on the weekend than I will during the 'work week'? Easy answer.  I'm a runner and I am training for a race. Period. If you 're a runner you understand.  If you're not, you think I'm nuts.  I'm ok with that.

This blog has been swirling in my head during my runs. Now it is time to bring it to life.  As I am running I often think of the questions that people often ask me when they find out that I run ultra marathons:

1. You run all that way (30 or 40 or 50 miles) all at one time?? How long does that take?
2. Don't you get bored?
3. Do your knees hurt?
4. Why in the world would you do that?
5. What do you think about?
6. What do you eat when you do that?

Sure there are others, but those are the most common.  Generally even after those questions are answered I get another "you're nuts" comment.  I don't mind.  I just smile. Lately I have been smiling even more. And giggling, on the inside, when people ask these things.  I can't overlook the parallel in confusion- you see these are the SAME questions I'd like to ask a non- runner.  Someone that sits on the couch all day doing nothing.

1. You sit all that time? Watching reality show after reality show? How long does that take?
2. Don't you get bored?
3. Do your knees (and your back, and every other joint in your body) hurt?
4. Why in the world do you do that?
5. What do you think about?
6. What do you eat when you do that?

We are both 'confused' about what the other does on a normal basis. Funny though, I welcome the questions and use them as an opportunity to enlighten people about the wonderful experiences I have had during my races and my training.  This is more than I can say for the outcome of MY asking these questions to a couch dweller.

Just something to think about...