The Faithful Mo's guest post: "Carbs aren't the devil"

Annie asked me if I was interested in writing a guest post about how nutritional needs for athletes are different than for others.  I thought this was a good idea, especially in this age of Atkins and similar “carbs are the devil” diets, to explain how carbohydrates can really be your friend if you’re active and to give some guidance to those reading who exercise for longer periods of time.  Honestly, this post is a little hypocritical of me to write considering I had gastro-intestinal (GI) issues during my first marathon from unwise fuelling the days before my race but all I can say is - do as I say, not as I do!  And as a firm believer in “you learn a lot more from your mistakes than you do from your successes”, I will certainly not be making that mistake again.

Talk to anyone who does any type of sport at any competitive level and they will tell you that they rely on carbs to keep their energy up.  This is not an excuse to pig out on pasta the days before a big race or big game.  This is simple science.

The simple fact is, your body can only store enough energy (glycogen) to sustain about 90 minutes of exercise.  After this point, without extra fuelling, you’re in danger of running out of energy and doing as they say in running circles “hitting the wall”.  Poorly fuelled muscles are associated with needless fatigue so the more glycogen stores you have, the more endurance you will have.  This fatigue is not only represented by tired body parts, it also seriously affects your mind and how mentally strong (or weak) you are.  It’s amazing, really.

How carbs can help

You can extend your endurance either by storing up glycogen before your event, replenishing glycogen during your event, or both, using carbs. 

Replenishing glycogen involves consuming carbs during the event.  Thanks to sports drinks and gels, this is becoming easier and easier to do while “on the run”.  For athletes in sports that are given breaks and a convenient place to store their gear, like tennis players on changeovers for example, they have the luxury of being able to use much more cumbersome forms of carbs, like bananas.  Runners unfortunately have limited space to store their carbs and therefore usually rely on sports drinks and gels.  I don’t think you’ll ever see a runner go by with a bunch of bananas strapped to their fuel belt!

Popular during event carbs – Gatorade, trail mix, sports gel:

Increasing your glycogen stores involves “carb loading” the days leading up to your event.  This is generally only required when your event is longer than 90 minutes but even if your event is shorter, you will reach the starting line with maximum energy already in your system to perform at your best.   Most people associate carb-loading with plates upon plates of pasta, but there are many other forms of great carbs if you’re not a pasta person (but really, who isn’t a pasta person?!).

The trick to both storing and replenishment is knowing how much to do and when to do it.  Not enough or not often enough and you’ll run out of gas.  Too much or too often and you’ll likely wind up with GI problems.  Just like training for your sport, this too has to be practiced so you can figure out what routine is good for you on your big day.

Carbs’ best friend: protein

To make the effect of your carbs last even longer, pair them with protein.  Protein slows the digestion of carbs, which encourages the body to release energy slowly and steadily, rather than a quick hit – something that is crucial for endurance events.   Have pasta with chicken or a poached egg on toast.

Carb-loading doesn’t mean fat-loading

Be careful as fat often comes together with carbs.  Instead of eating a roll slathered with butter, eat 2 rolls.  Instead of cream sauce on your pasta, have tomato sauce or primavera.  Some fat is needed of course but don’t stray from your normal fat intake. In fact, you shouldn’t even increase your daily caloric intake, just increase the proportion of your calories that comes from carbs. 

Yes you will gain weight - temporarily

Your body will automatically store an additional few grams of water for every gram of glycogen so during the days leading up to your event it is common to gain a bit of weight.  This extra weight is primarily made up of the carbs you’ll need to get through your event so don’t worry, you will use it all up!

Not all carbs are created equal

There are good carbs and bad carbs.  This is pretty simple but it should be mentioned.  While beer is a source of carbs, not a good pre-event choice.  Post-event, for sure!

There are so many factors in play on your big day, whatever competition it may be.  Things like the weather and your opponent are totally out of your control but if you have worked really hard, the last thing you want is for something like an upset stomach or heavy legs to keep you from performing at your best.  Ask me on June 1^st how my marathon went and I can assure you, I will not be telling you I had 3 porta-potty stops!

Taken during my 1^st marathon, at about km 18:

Good training and good eating!

Mae: Wii Active 2 continues to kick my ass

I am entering week 4 of Wii Active 2, and have completed one of the two available programs so far (the 21-day cardio kick start on level 'hard-as-all-hell'). Today was my first workout of the 9-week program, also on level hard. I own the two previous versions of EA Sports Active, and this is by far the best of the lot. Version 2 includes:

• a usb dongle that attaches to the back of the Wii console which communicates with two new peripherals that you wear: a heart rate monitor on your left arm and a controller attached to a band on your right leg;
• limited need for a controller in your hand with the two new controllers that constantly monitor your movement and heart rate;
• ability to use free weights of your choosing (can control for different weights) instead of those cheap exercise bands that are provided;
• way improved warm-up and cool-down sessions
• ability to track your progress online (see below for this morning's results).

There have been days at work where sitting down at my desk makes me want to cry just a little bit, but unlike Sir Mix-A-Lot, I do not "like (my) big butt(s)." The number of squats you do in these workouts is whackadoodle, but I'm also getting some good weight training for my arms. All in all, I highly recommend it.

Mae: Running confusion

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have opted to start a 13 week walk/run program that I thought was pretty similar to what Annie would be doing. This book was recommended to me by a co-worker who picked it up last year and subsequently ran a 5K. After listening to her story and seeing Annie's running journal, I got my cranky arse on the treadmill. The last thing I wanted to do was overdo it and injure myself, and the book I chose specifically mentioned that the program was designed to prevent injury in new runners.

I was speaking to said co-worker yesterday about a completely unrelated matter and mentioned that I've completed the first two walk/runs in week 1, and that I've run (cumulatively) for 21 minutes. Her response: "WHAT???!?!?! Are you kidding me? THAT is not the program that I did!" I got a similar response from Annie based on her Running Room program. Hmmmmmm.

I came to the conclusion that I must have picked the maintenance program instead of the starter (there are several in this book). Turns out, I didn't. I was/am doing the recommended 13 week beginner walk/run, and yes, it does start with 1 minute of running followed by 2 minutes of walking. Co-worker said she started running for 30 seconds followed by something like 4 minutes of walking. That sounds more reasonable to me given my weight and complete lack of running experience. I have to admit that after those first two workouts I was feeling like I perhaps pushed a little too much, but I wanted to trust the "proven" method. What the hell?!

Amazon to the rescue! This comment explains everything. Turns out I was following the program in the newest edition of the book, which is completely different than the one published in 2001. Damn revised program, you're getting the heave-ho! Thanks for nothing, Sport Medicine Council of British Columbia!

Mae: Week 11 weigh-in

Eesh, I am veeeery late with this post. I was debating whether or not to wait until Monday and post two weeks at once, but I thought better of it given that it's the last day of the year and all. I've been off track; I'm not gonna lie.

We held a pretty big party at our house catered completely by me just before christmas, which was a good thing because almost everything came from my beloved Cook's Illustrated 'healthy' cookbooks (nobody was the wiser). Everything was pretty much in check until that point, but the whiff of turkey and gravy was enough to put me over the edge. In addition to bacon, this was probably the one thing that I craved the most during the vegetarian years. Sigh.

I'm up a pound, but fear that this coming Monday will tell an even worse story. However, I have been exercising like a FIEND. I bought Wii Active 2 (post to come) and am in some serious squats hell: to the point of having to take Aleve in order to sit without crying!

Weigh-in: +1
Loss to date: 15

P.S. I've seen Annie more frequently than usual over the holidays (we're super busy professional ladies and all) and have to say that she is looking pretty goddamn amazing.

Annie: I ran for two minutes!

Haha, I know, big deal. But to me, it really is!

I've been reading John Stanton's book "Running," which I wrote about in my last post. One of the pieces of advice he gives is that you should look to increase your challenge to yourself in your workouts somehow every week or so, both to push yourself to improve and to guard against boredom.

At my stage of the game, I'm pretty sure that just getting back on the treadmill multiple times a week is taking care of improving things - so I'm not too worried about that. But I am easily bored when exercising, which is why I was always better at sports like tennis, which involve some competition and keeping track of score (even if I usually lost!) than individual, solitary sports like running. Once my mind starts to wander, I'm sunk.

Last week I added a couple of minutes to the duration of my treadmill sessions (now up to 42) - today, I added a couple of minutes of honest to goodness running: one at the 18:30 mark and one at 29:00.

I can't believe I will ever be able to run many minutes consecutively - but I've also read numerous testimonials of runners who've said the very same thing. Stanton himself talks about having started out overweight, running in the wee hours of the morning so his neighbours wouldn't see him struggling to make it from lamppost to lamppost. So we'll see!

The other thing that keeps me from getting bored? The new playlist the faithful Mo made for me! It has something like 76 songs on it, so I'm good for a couple of weeks before I run into repeats. It's great! She's going to make me a race playlist for Ottawa, which I'll hear for the first time that day - fun!

I've already requested that a song from my latest playlist be included... here it is (turns out I'm a Flo Rida fan - who knew?!). I dare you to sit still!

Mae: Week 9 weigh-in

Pretty mediocre results yet again, and I'd be lying if I told you that this isn't really starting to bother me and undermine my confidence.  I'm averaging 1.6 pounds per week, and given the amount of work I'm putting into this, I thought it would be better. Exercise has dropped off again while our basement is undergoing a bit of a reno. I'm sure that getting that on track would help a bit? Also, Weight Watchers has (very stupidly, in my opinion) decided to roll out the new plan (in meetings) during Christmas. Yep, you heard that right folks - Christmas. So I won't be starting the new plan until January. I'm hoping that it will make a difference, but who knows. Sigh. 

Weigh-in: -1.2
Loss to date: 15

Annie: Treadmill

We bought a new treadmill a couple of weeks ago (smokin' deal at Canadian Tire), but it took us until this week to get a plastic runner to go under it. (The faithful Mo had advised it was a good idea to avoid putting a treadmill directly on carpet, which I have in my basement - the little fibres get sucked into it and can clog up the works over time.)

So today was my first activity points session on it - and I have to say, it was far, far more enjoyable than the same 35 minutes on my bike. I don't know whether it's because it's all new, but I actually enjoyed it!

I started out doing 3.5 mph, and quickly realized that wasn't going to be sustainable for 35 minutes, so slowed it down to 3.2, then back up gradually to 3.4, where I spent about 15 minutes before slowing down again.

My bad knee is quite stiff tonight - not great. But the good news is I was able to get booked for a cortisone shot just before Christmas, so hopefully that'll make the knee a little more cooperative for another few months.

It was satisfying to know I was sustaining a pace. That was one of the things that bugged me about the bike - every once in a while I'd catch myself slacking a bit, and would wonder how long I'd been doing that. This way, I'll at least be able to hold myself accountable for every session.

I hate calling it a "workout," it seems so lame. What's a better thing to call it, that doesn't make me think of the hairy spandex-clad ape-men at the Gold's Gym I attended for a very brief time in Montreal in the late 80s?

I have 8 points left for today, but am scared to eat them because they'll show up on the scale in the morning. But I left points on the table yesterday, too (story will follow, with my weigh-in tomorrow), so that's not a good idea.

Hmmm. What to eat?

Nighty-night, blog.

Annie: Damn.

When I entered my 30 righteous minutes of cycling from this morning in my online points tracker, and awaited the reward of a "3" showing in my activity points log, I had a shocker.

2.

Those 30 righteous minutes are now only 2/3 as righteous! 

I must have passed some magical milestone with my last loss, meaning the ride that was worth 3 points a few days ago is now only worth 2.

Of course, I experimented with different ride lengths to find out how long I'd have to go to get back up to 3: for now, it'll be 35 minutes.  Sneaky sneaky, Weight Watchers!

A note for the faithful Mo (aka DJ WeightWatcher)

I'm going to need playlists in 35 + 5 minute increments, please!  :o)

Annie: Shawty got low low low low low low low low

For me, the length of time I'm able to exercise (in an individual activity, like cycling or walking or - hopefully someday - running) depends largely on the music playing in my iPod.

I mentioned a while back that when I first started with the cycling in my basement (is that what the beautiful people call "spinning" or is that something else?), I was using the music in my iPhone - which is generally slower-beat music. I don't tend to listen to dance music "recreationally," so there isn't much of it in my usual music mix.

It helped to have the music (my very first cycling session lasted 15 minutes, and I think a big part of that was that I hadn't had any music at all), but it wasn't music that got me pumped up.

Enter the faithful Mo

The faithful Mo, our lone (so far) blog commenter other than each other, reminded me that she had given me a great little iPod last Christmas, to help me on my then-plan to start running. Of course I remembered the iPod, but I hadn't been thinking about how much more convenient it would be to use it on the bike than the iPhone, since she had also bought me an arm-band holder for it.

So I charged it up and brought it downstairs, got on the bike, fired it up - and found she had put a 30-minute dance mix on it to get me started! I had completely forgotten about that!

The difference has been huge.

There are almost no songs on that mix I would normally listen to (for example, in my car), since dance music isn't generally my thing.  But on my bike? I love it!

Come on, I dare you to sit still to this!



I don't know whether it was intentional, but the last song she put on the mix was Ricky Martin's "La Copa de la Vida" - which, as I get to the end of my workout, keeps asking me "Do you really want it? Do you really want it?"

Yes!  :o)

Annie: I was wrong.

Yesterday was Husband's birthday, so we went out as a family for dinner. 

He was feeling crummy about getting old (it was a "big" birthday, as they say), so we went to a place we used to go years ago when we were young and fancy-free; it was in our neighbourhood where we used to live, so we just don't get over there much anymore.

Back in the day (and, in fact, when I had my successful WW run), I used to order their cheeseburger with a tossed salad on the side (light ranch dressing).  It's a family-run place - no brought-in food - and the cheeseburgers are really, really tasty... and char-grilled as opposed to being fried, and on a whole wheat bun, which are nice things in a restaurant. I counted the whole meal for 15 points - the burger and the teaspoon or so of dressing in which I dipped my salad.

So that was my order last night, and it was delicious!  Then, still having a whack of points left on arriving home, I had a Hershey bar (my absolute fave - a real treat for me) and a glass of skim milk. I finished my day with 0.5 point left to spare, and went to bed at 10:30, feeling great, planning to get up at 6 to ride my bike.

1:00 a.m.

Cramp. Cramp! CRAMPCRAMPCRAMPCRAMP!

Bathroom!

I'll spare you, dear reader, the gory details, but suffice it to say that my intestines did not appreciate the sudden influx of fat. Either that, or I caught a terrible 2-hour flu.

6:00 a.m.

Alarm goes off for biking.

I feel awful, and don't want to get up.

I think about the picture on my sister's marathon blog of the bright blue porta-potties she had to use along the route of her marathon because she had what she delicately called a "bad tummy," and then I think how easy it would have been for a bad tummy to be a reason to stop running. (Quite honestly, I think of a bad tummy as a good reason to stop sitting upright.)

So I dragged myself out of bed, thinking "this half-hour ride will be nothing compared to a 4+ hour run - and then the endorphins will kick in, and I'll feel better for the rest of the day."

I was wrong; I still feel like crap.

But I have 3 new activity points in the bank!

Mae: Week 2 weigh-in

Things have slowed down considerably this week. I'm not all that surprised by this and know that week one is usually an anomaly. I'm down 1.2 pounds, but as a former WW leader once said, "down is down, and it ain't up, so be happy."

Highlights
I finally got on the treadmill tonight and did 35 minutes of moderate to intense walking. I vow to make this a more regular event. Also, The Mister is on board and is following along with the iWatchr iPhone app. This makes things quite a bit easier because, well, we tend to eat badly together.

Lowlights
I hosted a little get-together at my house yesterday, and I made fairly healthy and low point stuff. Annie brought the most delicious dip (maybe she'll tell us about it in a forthcoming post) and the day could have been very manageable, points-wise. But I started to loose track, and was picking at things here and there thinking that I would add it up later (any seasoned WWer knows that this is a dangerous game and not advisable). I wasn't horrendously over, but I recognize that this is a bad habit that got me to this weight, so I have to keep that in check. I also tend to not want to count wine. Ugh. If only!

Weigh-in
- 1.2

Loss to date
- 6.4

Annie: Very funny.

What song should come on my iPod's shuffle as I entered the 29th minute of my cycle this morning?

Nickelback's How You Remind Me, the refrain of which is "are we having fun yet?"

Haha.

And, for the record, no.

But while I don't enjoy the exercise, I enjoy having exercised.

Have a great weekend!

Annie: Crutches

No, I'm not on crutches - I'm just realizing that I have crutches when I'm on points: foods and tools that I absolutely must have.

They are:

• Weight Watchers' Take Out Tonight cookbook - my sister (a marathon runner who just eats sensibly all the time) and I have both used this book so much that our copies are falling apart. (They're also both splattered with ingredients.) We're yet to try a recipe from this book that wasn't tasty, filling, and low in points. In fact, my panic yesterday at the discovery that I'd lent this book to someone and now couldn't remember who had it, inspired this post. (Sister bailed me out by emailing me a recipe - I now have new copies on order for both myself and Mae!)

• Slim-Fast Peanut Butter Crunch Time snack bars. These aren't the meal replacement bars - they're snack bars; I think they taste A LOT like Crispy Crunch, and they're 3 points.

• Laughing Cow light cheeses - 1 point each wedge, or 2 points for 3. I take them for lunch with those huge Wasa or Ryvita crackers, and soup - very filling, you get a milk serving, and yummy.

• Kettle brand Baked chips - HALF THE BAG is 5 points, and they taste like chips, not cardboard. The Aged Cheddar flavour is my fave, but they're all good.

If it seems as thought I'm a bit too focused on snack foods, it's because I am - that's part of what got me into this mess in the first place. But last time around, anyway, and anytime I've had partial success since, I've found it's because I've been able to integrate healthier choices into my snacking.

If I try to just give up snack foods cold turkey, or if I try to replace a salty or sweet treat at the end of the day with a healthy zero-point vegetable (or that godawful zero-point soup the WW evangelists are always pushing) I won't be satisfied, and I won't stick to the plan. Sure, it's mind over matter, and sure, I should be stronger than that. But I know myself, and if I want this thing to work, it has to work for me. So the snacks are in, damn the torpedoes!

I made it to 20 minutes on the bike last night before caving. Will have to check how many Milky Way Minis that would've been worth! Aiming for 25 tonight.

Annie: This is going to be harder than I thought.

Last time around, I was young and carefree, like Mae over there. Haha.

It may only have been seven years ago, but it was a long seven years. The most important change, other than my body's clearly having aged:

Child.

Last time around, I had a very busy professional life, but my leisure time was my own. Husband was very supportive (and frankly, worked shifts, so wasn't around half the time anyway), and I was able to exercise whenever I wanted to.

Now, though, there's Child. Child is four years old, and very busy. And inquisitive, and smart. And prone to doing dangerous things (like jumping off high things) if not supervised and ordered not to do dangerous things. Specifically, each time the mood hits.

Which leads to my current challenge: how to get my exercise time in with Child around? Husband still works shifts, so when he's not around, I'm a single Mom: which means if I want to get in my exercise after work and before 8pm (which I prefer because I sleep so terribly), I have to do it with Child around.

Take tonight. Tonight was the night I was going to do my first (of four this week, remember) 30-minute stint on my bicycle, which Husband set up on a trainer for me in the basement. I had set Child up with SpongeBob (I know, my how-to-be-a-terrible-parent blog is coming soon), and had logged, oh, maybe 3 minutes.

"Mommy!  Mommy!"

"Yes?"

"I want to come downstairs with you."

"OK, come down, but please play with your train set."

"OK"!

"Mommy?"

"Yes?"

"Where are my train cars?"

"They're in the box."

"But I don't see them..."

This continues for another, oh, 10 minutes.  I am, at this point, on the verge of tears. Then,

"Mommy? I have to go poop."

Child is able to poop alone - but tonight, can't remember how to turn on the light in the bathroom (the same one Child enjoys turning off when I'm in there).

So I ended up getting off my bike three times before packing it in (once to turn on the bathroom light for the poop, once to wipe Child after said poop, and once because Child had wandered into the laundry room and wasn't responding to my calls to come back out into sight).

Total time on the bike: I'd love to say 20 minutes, but it was probably more like 15.  The good news, which is actually quite awful news, is that in that interrupted 15 minutes I managed to work up a full sweat, and get to the point where I couldn't say more than a couple of words.

Seriously: 15 minutes. God, this is going to be long.

362 days to do.

Annie: Well, this is it.

Day 1 is over, and I'm here. Yay?

Though I ate sensibly, I didn't count points today - still coming to grips with what was (I have to say) a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, and a delicious post-Thanksgiving dinner: hot turkey sandwiches the next day have always been, for me, just as much a centre of focus as the original turkey dinner.  I made my best-ever gravy this year, which meant I also made my best-ever hot sandwiches this year; but now, they're all behind me and the Thanksgiving Project has begun.

I weighed myself this morning, so have my benchmark. Intend to have Husband take a "before" picture of me, which I'll post here too - later this week. If I post a new picture every 20 lbs, how long will it take to really see a difference? My bet is 3 pictures.

My plan for this project: find out whether I can lose 100 lbs in one year. In theory, it should be do-able: they say 2 lbs/week is reasonable, so in 52 weeks I should be able to lose 104. (For the record, that would still have me above a "healthy" BMI, but I think BMI is made for people with teeny skeletons, which I have not, so that's the last you'll hear of that on my half of this blog.) My plan includes:

• My umpteeth return to Weight Watchers: I lost 70 lbs on their "Winning Points" program (i.e. about 4 generations of the program ago) somewhere around 2003. I always say I'm Weight Watchers' worst nightmare, because I'm the fat girl who's always telling people how that program works. (It does work - you just have to stick with it, which I clearly did not.)  Since the "Winning Points" program worked for me last time, that's what I'm doing again this time - so while I'm using the online tools for counting points, my program won't work exactly to the website's formula. No worries, though, as long as I can count, I'll be fine.
• Exercise 4x/week. I have bad knees, so have decided to stay away from high-impact activities until I've lost some weight to begin with - I figure my odds are better in the long term if I do what I can to protect them. Once the knees have less weight to support, I'll (I hope) do less damage to them with impact activities. So for now, it's my bicycle set up on a trainer in the basement: four nights, 30 min/each to start.
• Supporting, and being supported by, my friend over here. God help us both.

Points begin tomorrow, as does the exercise routine. 364 days to go.