Health Nuts

GUEST BLOG | I made it!

The following is a guest post by Beth Shine, an advertising and branding consultant with Colonial Life. She and a team of employees trained for national Run a Mile Day on May 6.

Today's the day! A team of Colonial Life employees have been training all month to run a mile in celebration of National Run-a-Mile Day. I have been documenting my progress over the last four weeks, and lately my visions have turned to a victorious crossing of the finish line with my teammates.

 

Unfortunately, an unavoidable conflict prevented me from making the group run today at 12:15pm. That said, I am thrilled to say that I DID run that mile on my own. I made it in 11:07:51 - not a record breaker by any means, but it is the fastest (if only) mile I've ever run! I wish I could share the accomplishment with the ladies I've been training with, but I am confident they were successful as well.

I want to thank Toni for being such a great leader for us. I also want to recognize the Colonial Life running team volunteers who slowed down their normal pace in order to help us train. You could have left us in the dust, but you stuck with us and showed us how to be better runners. I also want to say how proud I am of the other ladies who stuck with the program. Together we proved that all ages and fitness levels can do this.  I think you all rock!

 

Who knows, maybe there is a 5K in my future (maybe). If this program is offered again, I would definitely recommend it to other staff. And if it is something other companies/organizations are considering - go for it! I never thought I would be a runner, but I am - and proud of it!

GUEST BLOG | A spring cold interferes with training

The following is a guest post by Beth Shine, an advertising and branding consultant with Colonial Life. She and a team of employees are gearing up for national Run a Mile Day coming up in May.

This week has been a little tougher on me personally, not because the running is harder but because I’m battling a nasty cold. Monday’s outdoor run was canceled due to the rainy, windy weather, but we got back out there today and ran two repetitions of five minutes. Friday will be our last training day, running eight minutes and then five minutes with a 90 second break in between. I really hope I am back to 100 percent by Run-a-Mile Day next Tuesday (May 6). I really want to do this!

GUEST BLOG | Run-a-Mile training steps up

The following is a guest post by Beth Shine, an advertising and branding consultant with Colonial Life. She and a team of employees are gearing up for national Run a Mile Day coming up in May.

The Colonial Life run-a-mile team really stepped it up as we started Week 3 of our training for Run-a-Mile Day on May 6. We ran two minutes/walked 90 seconds for four repetitions yesterday, and as the week goes on, we will continue to build our stamina – meaning more running and less walking. By Friday I believe we will be running for five minutes at a time!
Yesterday I tracked the progress of several Colonial Life employees who ran in the Boston Marathon. What an accomplishment! I haven’t even run one mile yet, much less 26! I really admire those runners because I know how much training must have gone into preparing for that type of event. That said, I also admire each staff member who is getting out there to train for Run-a-Mile day. The first step can be the hardest to take, but knowing that you won’t be taking it alone makes it much easier.

GUEST BLOG | Training for national Run a Mile Day

The following is a guest post by Beth Shine, an advertising and branding consultant with Colonial Life. She and a team of employees are gearing up for national Run a Mile Day coming up in May.

A group of Colonial Life employees are training to take part in national Run a Mile Day on Tuesday, May 6. Week 2 of the training concluded April 18. The group gathers every Monday, Wednesday and Friday during April. This week, we had a brisk five-minute warm-up, eight repetitions of 90 seconds running then 90 seconds walking, a five-minute cool down and stretching. The difficulty is increasing each week to prepare us for the big day on May 6.

The group is comprised of all shapes, sizes and ages, but we share the common goal of increasing our physical fitness and completing this program. Everyone works at their own pace and seems to have improved since last week. Most importantly, we are supportive of each other. There were times during the training this week when I wanted to stop, but I kept going and I’m glad I did. I know next week will be tough, but I look forward to seeing what I can do!

Foods I can't live without

The thing I’ve enjoyed most about being a “health nut” is experimenting with healthy cooking. Nothing feels better than eating something that’s delicious AND good for you.

In my quest to eat better, I’ve started cooking with a lot of the same foods, and I’ve learned to keep extras in my kitchen:

Lean ground beef or ground turkey breast. I’ve used these for soft tacos, chili, spaghetti sauce, burgers and meatballs. I keep them in the freezer until the day before I need them.

Frozen veggies. Lately I’ve been buying the bags of corn or Asian style vegetables because they make great sides with dinner. Some of these come in “butter sauce” or “garlic sauce” but that can add a lot of extra calories. I’ve also been buying frozen sliced onions and mushrooms from Publix since I use these with almost everything I cook. I also like using frozen vegetables to make a quick stir-fry.

Brown rice. It’s better for you than white rice and can be added to soft tacos, mixed with a can of diced tomatoes, or eaten with stir-fry.

Whole wheat noodles. To see my pantry, you’d think I worked in a pasta factory. A couple weeks ago I cooked up some whole wheat bow-tie noodles with meatballs in beef broth with mushrooms and onions. It wasn’t bad.

Canned tomatoes and tomato sauce. I’ve been using these as a base for spaghetti sauce, chili and homemade salsa. Sometimes I even get the organic or the low-sodium kinds.

Black beans. Sometimes canned black beans can be loaded with sodium, but I’ve started washing them in a collander to wash some of the sodium away. I like to use them in chili and soft tacos, or just mixed together with brown rice.

Chicken/beef broth. Sometimes I cook rice in broth to give it more flavor. You can also use it to make vegetable or chicken noodle soup.

Do you have any healthy foods in your kitchen that you can’t live without?

The mushroom cap effect isn't flattering on anyone

I live on a fairly conservative budget, but I look forward to two things all year — a snowboarding trip in the winter and hanging out at the pool, lake, river and/or beach all summer.

In January Target set out their new bathing suits for summer ‘08. I know better than to wait until later in the season (like, say, when it’s actually warm outside) to buy my swim suit; they run out of sizes quick.

But when I tried on the hot pink and white polka dot bikini, I discovered that unlike last year, I was in between size small and medium in the bottoms. The size small caused a disgusting mushroom cap effect (you know, when your stomach or back fat hangs over the bottoms a little bit, resembling a mushroom) and the mediums were too baggy in the butt, causing an unflattering sagging effect. Both were pretty gross. But the bathing suit was adorable and inexpensive, so I bought both sizes in the bottoms thinking I could either get the mediums altered or start exercising my way into the smalls.

I’ve been running pretty consistently since January, mostly because I like how that sounds to say I’m a runner. “Sorry, I can’t hang out right now, I'm about to go running, but I’ll call you later” sounds so much cooler than “I’m really into this rerun of Friends, I’ll just meet up with you tonight.”

All the while I’ve weighed myself on my little white bathroom scale every morning before getting in the shower. I haven’t really lost any weight — losing weight has never been my goal — but I thought with all my running and eating healthy I would be able to notice some sort of difference in the numbers.

Last night I was talking to my friend on the phone about how my newfound muscles are starting to look pretty good (I’m on my way to having abs!), but the numbers on my scale don’t indicate any sort of victory over my body fat. “Muscle weighs more than fat,” she reminded me.

So, last night I tried on the size small bikini bottoms again. And this time I didn’t get the mushroom cap effect! Apparently running and working my abs (along with a diet rich in fruits and veggies) made the fat around my middle melt away.

The best part is that it’s only mid-February, so I have a solid two and a half months until I’ll be pool-side. I’m really motivated to keep working out. I don’t feel that panic that most girls talk about in April as they suddenly realize it’s almost pool time and they haven’t stopped watching Friends’ reruns long enough to break a sweat.

I hope that you’re staying motivated, too. Feel free to share your victory-over-body-fat stories in the comments section of our blog.

Hunger vs. Thirst

In the battle between hunger and thirst, usually my taste buds win and I give in to mindless snacking, never quite filling the craving void. But I’ve heard that often times when you think you’re hungry, your body is really just dehydrated.

So, this morning I had a bottle of water after I had coffee. By 10 a.m. I had downed 40 ounces of water. My bagel and fat-free cream cheese breakfast that usually holds me over from 8 until 10:45 or 11:15 a.m. kept me full until nearly noon.

At noon I refilled my bottle with 20 more ounces of water and snacked on fat free yogurt and granola. I didn’t have time to go home for lunch so I ate my back-up meal for when I absolutely can’t get out of the office, Top Raman. I know, it’s awful for you with all the sodium, but I didn’t even use half of the seasoning pack, in an effort to be a little more “healthy.”

I snacked on chunks of cantaloupe that I brought from home to make myself feel better about the noodle meal.

I’m pretty full from all the water and haven’t snacked as much as I usually do. I’m not sleepy this afternoon and I’m excited about running tonight. I went snowboarding this past weekend and used muscles I forgot I had. My arms, legs and abs were sore when I woke up on Sunday, but it felt so great.

I’m trying to talk myself into participating in the Get to the Green 5K Run that's part of the Five Points St. Patty's festivities next month. I’ve never entered a 5K before, but it is on my list of goals for 2008, so I’m hoping if I sign up for it I’ll actually do it.

I’m really glad it’s staying light outside longer. It makes it easier to wake up and to be productive after I get off work.

So, I need new running shoes; mine are literally falling apart. Any recommendations?

Hi, my name is Liz and I hate whole grains

Hi, my name is Liz and I hate whole grains.

Go ahead and murmur a collective, “Hi Liz” because I know you must hate whole grains, too. Unless you were one of those wheat bread sandwich kids when you were growing up.

I’ve been trying to incorporate more whole grains into my diet for about two months now. I gag with every bite of my high fiber, high protein, whole or multi grain bread. I chose whole grain spaghetti noodles instead of the regular, delicious ones. And when I couldn’t force myself to eat the spaghetti I bought another box of the bad-for-you-non-whole-grain noodles and mixed it half-and-half with my healthy noodles. I ended up pushing the whole grain spaghetti to the side and eating around it.

Despite my disgust for whole grains, I have been eating relatively healthy. I went shopping and bought a mango, avocado, lettuce (not iceberg), pine nuts, soy nuts, bean sprouts, dried cranberries, yogurt, granola, oatmeal, various vinaigrette dressings, bleu cheese crumbles, black beans, tomatoes, broccoli, black olives, peppers, pineapple, apples, humus, bananas and juice.

I made varying, tasty salads, stir-frys, omelets and sandwiches. I’ve accepted that I’m never going to like whole grains. There has to be another way.

If and when I ever have children, they will be wheat bread sandwich kids. We can all sit down at the dinner table and I’ll eat my white bread sandwich and push my whole grain pasta around on my plate, while making them eat every bite.

What do you struggle with? How do you cope?

There's something fishy about my nutrition plan...

I used to think that fish oil was something “old people” took, along with their joint and osteoporosis supplements.

The thought of swallowing a fish oil supplement grossed me out. What if it tasted like fish? Or worse, what if it gave me stinky fish breath like that kid in my fourth grade class?

But it seemed like everywhere I looked, health experts were touting the benefits of the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil. So finally I caved in and bought some.

Throughout my nutrition plan, I’ve had to struggle to eat healthy and exercise. I’ve cheated several times (a shared pitcher of Long Island Iced Tea at the bar last weekend, ice cream sandwiches throughout the week) but one thing I’ve tried to be very consistent about is taking my fish oil. The pills are a little bigger than I’d prefer, but they’re not so bad if you wash them down quickly.

According to the Mayo Clinic, fish oil has been shown to prevent numerous medical problems, including heart disease, high blood pressure, rheumatoid arthritis, strokes, cancer and more. It’s also been linked with improving brain function and preventing Alzheimers (no wonder people say fish is “brain food”).

On top of all that, studies have suggested that taking fish oil in conjunction with exercise aids in weight loss.

I don’t know if it helped me burn more fat on the treadmill, but I think the fish oil has really helped me focus, especially at work. I could really see a difference when I forgot to take it. And I like knowing that it’s good for my heart. After all, heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States.

Of course, you have to be careful about where your fish oil supplement comes from since some fish contains mercury.

But aside from the issue of mercury, fish is one of the healthiest things you can put into your body. Besides the aforementioned benefits of omega-3s, fish are typically low-fat, high-protein and full of vitamins.

I don’t think there’s a magic pill or food to make you healthy, but fish and fish oil can definitely help. It irritates me that so many people look for an easy solution. They think being “healthy” means cutting out carbs or drinking diet sodas instead of regular. I get especially frustrated when people say “Oh, this chicken is good for me because it doesn’t have any transfat...”

...Hold on, I just got a salad from McDonalds and I need to drizzle ranch dressing all over it. Man, I love being healthy.

Okay, so I’m kidding about the salad thing. But does anyone else share my frustration?

Or maybe you'd like to share your thoughts on fish oil?

Making cookies fit the nutrition plan

So Wednesday night I got a hankerin’ for some cookies. I longed for the sweet, gritty batter, the gooey half-melted chocolate chips, and of course for that fresh-baked-cookies-smell that lingers in the house long after the oven has cooled.

There’s more pride in baking something from scratch (no offense, Betty Crocker), so I went to the grocery store to get everything I needed. Chocolate chip cookies are not on the nutrition plan, but I had a goal in mind: to make my cookies as healthy as possible.

So I grabbed a bag of whole wheat flour because I heard it’s more nutritious and has more fiber than white, bleached flour. Instead of regular sugar, I found a bag of brown sugar that was half Splenda, and bought Egg Beaters instead of eggs. Finally, I found some reduced-fat butter with half the fat of regular butter.

They weren’t the best cookies I’ve ever had. In fact, something made the batter stickier than normal and I ended up having to scrape the cookies from the pan. But they tasted okay and at about 100 calories each, I didn’t feel too guilty about eating them.

I’m learning that being on a nutrition plan doesn’t mean I have to give up the foods I like. For instance, on Monday night I made burgers with ground turkey breast instead of beef. They tasted even better than greasy beef burgers once they’d been slathered in veggies, ketchup and low-fat cheese.

Does anyone have any other ideas for healthy foods that can be used place of not-so-healthy foods?