How Long Should You Wait to Exercise after Eating?

from ACE's Essentials of Exercise Science:

"It is generally recommended that exercisers wait about three hours after eating a full meal to engage in a strenuous exercise program.  That is about how long it takes for a balanced meal including some carbohydrate, protein, and fat to move from the stomach into the small intestines, where nutrients are absorbed and energy becomes available.  Exercising before food has had time to empty from the stomach can cause cramps and abdominal discomfort.  But people respond differently and there is no set amount of time to wait.  If an individual exercises in the morning, a quick carbohydrate--dense snack might help to provide some energy during the workout without a lot of discomfort.  Generally, carbohydrates are digested in about an hour, while protein takes about two hours and fat about four hours.  But remember, most foods are a combination of the three types of macronutrients."

Basic Stretch Routine

Whether you have been participating in the current 21 Day Yoga Challenge or not....Or whether you have a regular Yoga practice or not.  Stretching in between workouts is an excellent way to protect your muscles and joints.  Here is a a basic stretch routine you can do as either a cool down post workout or in between workouts:

  

Reclined Leg Stretch Series each leg

   Upper leg extended toward ceiling, with back body on the ground for 6 breaths
   Upper leg extended toward ceiling with head & upper back curling up into a sit up for  3 breaths
   Upper leg out to the side with back body on the ground for 6 breaths
   Upper leg across body with back body on the ground for 3 breaths

Lower Body Thread the Needle each leg for 6 breaths

Happy Baby for 6 breaths     

Upper Body Thread the Needle each arm for 6 breaths

Downward Facing Dog for 12 breaths

Pigeon Pose each leg for 6 breaths

Revolved Side Angle for 3 breaths each side

Half Splits Twist (IT Band Stretch) for 3 breaths each side
   From a Low Lunge Position w/back leg down and front leg straight (in half splits) place
   same hand as back leg down on mat between legs (aside upper, inside straight shin) & twist
   over straight leg.

Frog Pose Variation for 3 breaths each leg

Downward Facing Dog for 12 breaths

Standing Forward Bend for 12 breaths

Standing Forward Bend for 12 breaths
   Forward Fold Center/Right/Left
   Twist Right/Left
   Switch which leg is in front of crossed legs
   Forward Fold Center/Right/Left
   Twist Right/Left

Simple Heros Pose with Eagle Arms 6 breaths each arm   
   Right Under Left Arm, Pull Elbows up and hands out
   Left Under Right Arm, Pull Elbows up and hands out

Childs Pose for 12 breaths


Unfamiliar with some of these stretches?  E-mail me (cagib1@charter.net) and I will send you a WORD doc containing pictures of the poses.

Don't Give Up

Self Respect

Week 3 Results

If you are participating in the Current Fitness Challenge then you need to weigh/measure tomorrow (or Saturday) morning.  Follow the guidelines as before on Measuring Results.  If you are officially participating, you will need to e-mail me those numbers by Sunday. 

Good results=GREAT!  Poor results=REFLECT on what was good about the past 3 weeks and what was not so good....Reset and Move Forward!  Need Help=I'm here...just let me know cagib1@charter.net

"Any change we make will only be temporary unless we make ourselves responsible for our own change."  ~Anthony Robbins

Bad Weather Run

If you don't have access to a treadmill for those bad weather run days but don't want to get off schedule.....Do an indoor interval run.  Put your pedometer on your shoe and do some warm up walking lunges and/or jump squats, turn on your tunes and get going.  If you have stairs, great you can use those.  If you don't have stairs no biggie cause this will kick your indoor run into high gear regardless.  Do 45 seconds to 60 seconds full out and then 15 seconds to 30 seconds active recovery...you can do this for 15-20 minutes.  Check your pedometer and see how far you were able to go.  Or, the other way you can do this is to go close to full out in your normal run time (e.g., if you typically run for 5+min before a slower jog/walk interval then do that same course for up to the entire duration of your normal runs).  Some ideas for the "work" move:  leaned back knee highs, tuck jumps, rock star jumps, stairs, running in place, box jumps, ski jumps.  Some ideas for the "active recovery" move:  butt kicks, toe taps, light run in place, march in place, jumping jacks, jump rope.  Have fun!

Sad but True

I feel bad for all the misinformation out there that is actually making folks lives more difficult and fat loss goals harder to impossible to achieve.  I ended up having to go to the doctor Saturday afternoon in Spring Hill and since that took so long and the kiddos were with me, we ended up eating out before coming back home.  While we were sitting in our booths talking about how good the kids were coloring inside of the lines of their activity books/menu.  I couldn't help but overhear the conversation in the booth next to ours.  It was a mother, two daughters (about 12/13 and 8/9), and a father.  The mother was turning down cheese for her daughters' order stating that she is trying to teach her daughters early what not to eat so they don't get overweight.  Okay, that's a good intention....the problem is the execution, example and the misinformation.  Good, we eat entirely too much processed cheeses and an overload of the wrong dairy....but on their table was an abundance of bread, overdressed salad, and creamy soups.  The mom was clearly "not" eating food in order to lose weight so what she instead ate was a salad draped in salad dressing (you might as well eat the battered, fried whatever as it's the same difference) and a cream based soup.  She would have been less calories and way more supportive to order some actual food (grilled protein and veggies).  Because she was clearly hungry...she gave into the bread by the end of the meal.  It's not her fault she is so misinformed regarding calorie restrictions and poor choices.  She's hungry and understandably so.  What's worse is her body and fat loss is suffering right along with her.  What's even worse than that is she's passing that poor body image and constant negative battle on to her two girls. 

Education on what to eat is a huge part of your fat loss battle....Knowing that it is better to feed yourself the right foods rather than starve your body is crucial.  Eating Supportively  &  Healthy & Yummy Recipes  Mindset and that inner dialogue we have with ourselves is vitally important not only to ourselves but our children.  Your Children Are Watching

Improve yourself and your circumstances by first educating yourself on the facts not the fads.  Beating yourself up is not helpful to you or your children so move forward on your journey in acceptance that you are where you are period and that you will arrive at where you are going by taking daily actions in each present moment...learning from each and making the next even better.

Bible Challenge

What can I say, I can't let January go without one final "challenge" ;-)  And this one may not seem fitness related however, I can without hesitation say it is my daily foundation and without it I would not have had the fitness success I have had.  Daily Bible Study might sound unrelated, but think about it this way....I start my days thinking about something outside of myself, outside of my problems and my little world.  It puts my entire day and existence in perspective and provides me with the Grace and Direction I need to not stray too far from my journey (which as you can probably discern is more than just fitness).  So, with that....the last but certainly not least Challenge I will offer you this first month of the new year is a Bible Challenge. 

I have done this particular "challenge" before and am looking forward to doing it again.  Today I started "The Bible in 90 Days" and thought it would be great to invite you to do so as well!!!  You don't even have to buy a special Bible to participate.  If you have the actual 90 day Bible, great, but if not, just Google a 90 day plan for the particular version that you have. 

If you are participating, I would love to hear from you....leave me a comment ;-)  God Bless!!!

Overwhelmed?

If you are breathing and responsible for anything other than showering, sleeping, and eating, you get overwhelmed.  Life is complicated and the more obstacles you have the more obstacles you encounter...can be a vicious cycle for sure.  Finding balance is key, but as I have said numerous times balance is fleeting and like happiness something you constantly have to appreciate while you have it and strive for when you don't.  Balance

Like superpowers, being overwhelmed should be used for good and not bad.  Don't let your anxiety and stress cause you to forfeit your goals by giving up on them.  Just because things seem impossible doesn't mean they are .... just means it's time to sit down and examine what is or isn't working and regroup.  My personal experience is that if I am overwhelmed, anxious, and feeling like I should just surrender it's likely because I have let my boundaries be violated either by me or others in my life.  The best thing at that point is for me to sit quietly by myself and honestly assess what my situation is and how to go about fixing it (not quitting it).  There are good reasons to jump ship on something, but make sure you are doing them for the right reasons and not because you are stressed and it's just easier to bail than reflect and move forward.  Two excellent books that have helped me tremendously are "Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life" by Henry Cloud and John Townsend & "Codependent No More" by Melody Beattie

"We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee."  ~Marian Wright Edelman

"The highest reward for a person's toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it."  ~John Ruskin

Reminder Board

Reminders:

Hope to see you Saturday.....Free Monthly Workout

Next Friday the 27th (or Sat the 28th) is our next weigh/measure in....How has week 2 gone?  Current Fitness Challenge

Waiting for Comments on interest:  Clothes Swap  & 5k Saturdays