Wednesday, November 19, 2008

AND SO IT BEGINS

And so it begins…I find myself paying more attention to my weekly mileage lately – building it, along with my weekly long run. Last week I had 45 miles and my “long” run has reached 12 miles. The mileage is still low enough where I can still incorporate one day off per week.

I’m not sure why it was such a revelation, but yesterday it occurred to me that anything new is going to be a learning process. I can't expect that just because I say I’m on a health-kick that all the sudden I’m an expert on nutrition. It’s going to be a learning process and it’s going to take time. It’s probably at this Revelation Stage where people fall off the wagon of whatever it is that they’ve vowed to change. They realize that it’s hard work and decide they don’t want to put in the effort. Instead they revert back to their old ways.

Part of my revelation occurred when I realized that the cereals I eat aren’t as healthy as I thought they were – at least according to Nancy Clark. In her book, she lists 5-6 key things to look for in cereals. I figured my Raisin Bran and Cheerios were better than Captain Crunch and Fruity Peebles, so they must be what she was referring to. Once I looked at the numbers, they’re not as good as the guidelines that Nancy recommends. So it looks like I’ll have to do a little grocery shopping.

These are just little things I’m trying to change – along with switching from instant oatmeal to regular oatmeal – that I hope will add up over time.

I admit I don’t understand a lot of this nutritional stuff. Intuitively, it seems like a Chipotle burrito is good for you – assuming you pick ingredients like tortilla, beans, chicken, salsa, and lettuce. This cool nutrition calculator for their burritos lets you can see exactly what you’re getting with your order.

Quote of the day;

“The Ironman is about people who become heroes. It’s about an impossible task proven to be possible year after year. It’s about athletes, the fast ones and the slow ones alike, stripped of everything but the simple desire to take one step farther than they themselves believe is possible.” – Mike Plant, author of Iron Will

2 comments:

Bimibatoo said...

Dude, on the oatmeal you need to switch to the steel cut oats, not oatmeal. Oatmeal is processed. Try making steel cut oats and teff in the morning. Add a little vanilla and cinnamon while its boiling. Use maple syrup in it for a bit of sweetening. Teff is what the Kenyans eat for breakfast.

Chad said...

bimibatoo, I'm taking baby steps. I switched from instant oatmeal to "regular" oatmeal. Can I just pick up steel cut oats and teff at Cub Foods?