Post for Shawny

As I sit here tonight on my sore and achy glutes, I hear Bette Midler sing out "did you ever know that you're my hero....yada yada yada....you are the wind beneath my wings" This blog entry is for Shawny, one of my many (two) readers. My sister in iron. My partner in huffing, puffing, sweating and laughing 3 times a week as we put our body through what many might consider needless torture. She is my Greco Lean + Fit buddy. Never without a smile. Never without a sarcastic quick witted comment for those who just beg to be poked fun of.

There are nights when I would consider not going to class, but knowing that Shawny will be there to cheer me on (goad me), I happily (begrudgingly) lace up my outdoor shoes, grab my indoor shoes and race out the door. I like to think that I encourage Shawny to get her arse to class and work 110% as well. Although last sunday when I poked at her to grab a medicine ball while we were doing squats down the ladder (not quite as impressive as that sounds) she yelped back, "I am carrying my towel!" Now, perhaps that towel was weighed down with 8 lbs of brow sweat. Always a possibility at Greco. But I digress...

And so Shawny, as I sit here tonight, barely able to lift my arms to the computer thanks to Colonel Adam taking away the girly weights, I salute you. Or at least I would if I could lift my arm that far.

See ya Thursday! And remember, we actually pay hard earned money for this cruel and unusual punishment!

*cursing added for color and flavor. May not be direct quote. Names were not changed to protect the guilty. Contest not open to those in Quebec.

-jl

Review Wednesday - Keeping track

I am not one of those blessed people who can just casually watch what they eat, walk around the block and lose weight.
I have to fight tooth and nail, and trick my body to let go of the flab. As soon as my body realizes what I am trying to do, it rebels and I have to be a quick change artist and switch it up. For this reason, I find I have to keep track of what I eat and when I eat it. I have tried writing in a journal, but I like reports that show me a breakdown of macronutrients at the end of the day. I have tried the Weight Watchers thing but "points" doing translate well to the real world for me. It works for some, but I don't care for it. My newest addiction, is sparkpeople.com. LOVE IT! I enter my foods based on my food labels or by searching their database for existing foods. I find it helps me see where I spend my calories and how to plan my days from an eating perspective. I also track my workouts there. It is one stop shopping.

Will I still be using it in a month? I hope so, but we all know how fickle I am :)

-jl

The Business of Health

It is hard to know what to eat in this "eat this, don't eat that" world. There are conflicting reports on the news everyday about what's good for you and what's not. Then there are thousands of diets and books on dieting. High carb, low carb, high protein, cabbage soup, low fat, no fat, raw food, yada yada yada. It is mind boggling for the average person. What if someone were to tell us what to eat by stamping a well known logo on healthy food options? That would help right? Not so much. I was saddened after watching Marketplace last month. They were reviewing the Health Check endorsement by the Heart and Stroke Foundation. What consumers don't realize when they bring home a cartload of "healthy" products with that nice little stamp on it, is that they aren't necessarily buying "healthy" items as much as they are buying "healthier" items. It is all relative. Frozen french fries, frozen microwave dinners, and canned soups don't fall under the category of "healthy" but I supposed they are "healtier" than say a big mac and deep fried french fries. Know what's healthier? A lot of items in the grocery store that do not have that fancy check mark on it because they come from companies (and farmers) who don't pay the H & S Foundation for inclusion in the program. (This is for cost recovery purposes, as the Health Check program is not-for-profit.)

I am not totally knocking the program....mostly because I don't feel I have the expertise, nor the backbone to handle to flack I might take for doing so. I think the onus should still be on individuals to educate themselves and employ common-sense when buying fuel for the body. And if we do want a treat from time to time, perhaps it does help to choose the treat item with a health check symbol on it. And I really do understand that the program was established to help guide consumers toward less evil items. However, we are talking about an organization who people turn to for the latest and greatest on how to keep our hearts ticking! I think it is more than a tad confusing to see frozen fries and high sodium frozen dinners as healthy items. Especially given the fact that the H&SF preaches lowering daily sodium levels.

I guess it is pretty tough to make a stamp stick to piece of broccoli.

For more on the Marketplace study see, http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/hyping_health/

-JL