A Nutritional Sunday

Hiya! How was everyone’s weekend? Well for once, I was not working this weekend. No, I was not out painting the town red either. Rather, I was sitting in a classroom 9 hours a day for my Nutrition & Wellness course.

I’m doing it through CanFitPro, the same Canadian national certifying body as my personal training certification. With personal training, all I can do is give nutrition advice based on Canada’s Food Guide. With this certification, I’m allowed to give nutrition and lifestyle counselling, including individualized diet plans and recommendations. Plus, it gives me a little more authority on the subject!

I’ve always been a food and nutrition enthusiast, so I knew a lot going in. But there were a lot of things I learned this weekend in my course. Here are just a few of them :)

 

1. Protein not only helps in the growth and repair of tissues, but also regulates hormones. Protein is especially important for women in menopause and can help out with hot flashes.

 

2. Digestion of carbohydrates begins immediately in the mouth when our saliva hits it. Protein and fat don’t get digested until they hit the stomach.

 

3. Excess sugar gets a lot of blame in the recent increase in Type 2 Diabetes. But artificial sugars are just as much to blame! A study found that Diet Coke (not regular coke!) was a commonality in children who developed Diabetes after birth. What happens is when the sweet liquid hits your tongue, your brain sends a message to send out insulin to regulate sugar levels in your blood. Except there is no sugar in your blood! Thus your body’s ability to use insulin gets all screwed up. Enough to scare someone out of not only Diet Coke, but many sugar-free sweeteners!

 

4. A lot of people will skip carbs, or a morning snack, before working out so their body has no glucose to burn. The theory is, that instead of burning glucose (your body’s preferred energy source) it will instead burn up fat stores for energy. But burning fat without the presence of glucose also produces a waste product known as ketones.

Ketones are toxic. They alter the pH of blood and can result in coma or death. This is called ketosis and usually identified by an odour to the urine or breath similar to a combination of nail polish remover and ripe pineapple.

 

5. Trans fats come from a process called hydrogenation. It’s when hydrogen molecules are added to oils so they remain solid at room temperature. Margarine is the perfect example of this. But many foods have a “partially hydrogenated ____ oil” in them. Read labels carefully, especially on popcorn, nut butters (even almond and soy butter!) crackers and chips.

Vegetable shortening is another hydrogenated oil and found in many packaged baked goods and even homemade pie crusts!

Remember that the recommended trans fat limit per day is only 2g. My personal recommendation is none. And packaging laws are such that companies can claim 0g trans fat when there is under 0.5g. A small presence of trans fat can be okay, assuming you’re only having one serving and not eating other trans fats throughout your day!

 

**Bonus Lesson**

I apparently have a balanced, aka “neutral” body pH! Most people are typically acidic. High body acidity has been linked to many diseases and is the basis of a lot of nutritional theories. I have no idea how this happened as I eat dairy, animals and drink beer. Perhaps I really am just BalanceSusan :)

 

This is the first post in a new weekly series on nutrition and healthy eating. Sundays are now the day to take a look at what we’re eating and try to make good choices for the upcoming week!

Question of the Day: Any name ideas for this new series? “Nutrition Sundays” sounds l-a-m-e. Mystery prize for the person who comes up with the winning title!

Fitness Friday – Stretching For Runners

Happy Fitness Friday!!

After a brief hiatus last week, I am back to babbling about all things fitness at the end of each week.

This week wraps up what has been a series of several posts that are running related. I wrote about buying the right running shoes in this post and this post. As well as strength training for runners in this post.

Today’s topic covers the stuff you do after a run – stretching. I recently gave a talk to a local running group on the importance of stretching and put together the following program for them. I see so many people come into the running store with an ailment (plantar fasciitis!!) that could be solved, or significantly relieved through a proper stretching program.

I know it’s easy to forget about, or put low on your priority list. This is why I schedule stretching time into my workout time. I know I’m going to stretch 5-10 minutes after a run. So when I’m trying to figure out what time I have to wake up to get four miles in before work, I automatically add those minutes on to my running time.

It’s also worth mentioning that stretching is done after a workout and not before. You never want to strain cold muscles. A proper warm up (like 5 minutes of brisk walking) is the best thing you can do to get the oxygen and blood flowing and your body ready to exercise. If you want to stretch before, wait until after your warm up.

As far as dynamic stretching goes, I’m not a huge fan unless you’re a pro. Especially not weighted dynamic stretching. Some jumping and arm swinging isn’t going to hurt you, just be careful!

Now here is your own personal post-run stretching plan :)

 

Stand with front toe pressed against a wall and heel on the floor. Lift your back heel to intensify the stretch. Stretches: Gastrocnemieus (calf) and bottom of foot.
Good for: Plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis.

 

 

 

 

 

Stand with one foot in front of the other. Push your weight forward, slightly bending the front knee. Back leg remains straight.
Stretches: Soleus, gastrocnemius
Good for: Plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grab on to your shoe laces and pull knees together. Do not let knees float apart and push hips forward to intensify the stretch.
Stretches: Quadriceps (front of thigh)
Good for: Runner’s knee, ITB syndrome

 

 

Lunge forward with your front leg. Bend your back knee down so it is hovering above the floor. Take the same arm as the back leg and stretch it toward the ceiling. Lean back slightly, then to the opposite side.
Stretches: Front hip flexor
Good for: Hip flexor injury

 

 

 

In a standing position, cross your ankles and lean forward. Repeat with other side.
Stretches: IT band (along side of leg)
Good for: ITB syndrome

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sit with legs straight in front of you. Bend one leg up and over the other. Twist your body to wrap around the outside of the bent leg.
Stretches: IT band, lower back, hips
Good for: ITB syndrome, hip flexor injury

 

 

 

 

 

In a seated position, bring one heel inward and stretch the other straight out in front. With a straight back, tip forward from the hip in the direction of the outstretched leg.
Stretches: Hamstrings (back of thigh)
Good for: Pulled hamstring

 

 

Lying on your back, bring one leg towards the ceiling. Keeping the legs straight, pull the outstretched leg toward your body.
Stretches: Hamstrings
Good for: Pulled hamstring

 

 

 

Lying on your back, press the outside of one ankle against your other knee. Reach between the legs and grab the thigh of the bottom leg.
Stretches: Glutes, hips
Goof for: Hip and sciatic injuries

 

 

Click here to get the PDF version of these stretches. Print it out and hang it on your fridge and go through it whenever you get home from a run. Your body will not only love you for it – but I bet you’ll get better at running because of it too!

Reflections of a Festival Gone By

I have yammered time and time again on this blog about the trials and tribulations of living a healthy and sane life while dealing with a social anxiety disorder.

I do this because I believe it is an important issue to address. There are tons of people out there who are shy and nervous, and feel like outcasts because of it. Some of these people suffer from debilitating panic attacks and don’t even know why. I just want to give a head’s up that yeah, it happens, but it can be perfectly okay.

I have come a long way from my diagnosis nearly ten years ago. I’ve learned to challenge myself socially waaaay more than I ever thought possible. But that doesn’t mean I don’t sometimes still struggle with some these challenges.

Case and point: The Foodbuzz Festival.

I met and talked to a gajillion amazing bloggers over my weekend in San Francisco. But going into it, I was scared shitless.

So many people-filled events were on the schedule. Day after day I found myself lost in crowds, talking to new faces, and trying to figure out where I was supposed to be.

I arrived Thursday excited and ready to take on the city.

Source   

That enthusiasm spilled into Friday, where I also met up with my fabulous roommates.

Danica, husband Jay, Elise, Janetha, Holly.

And settled into our presidential suite.

Most certainly nicer than any apartment I’ll ever live in.

Friday night, I was pumped to mingle and meet all the bloggers I’ve been reading for so long. Fuelled by perhaps a little liquid courage ;)

Saturday, I was so excited to try out the long line of tables at the Tasting Pavillion, I hardly noticed the crowds I had to fight through!

But by Saturday evening, I lost steam. I’d have enough of the crowds. I started to feel nervous. My eyes began to dart around the room and my hands trembled. I didn’t want to be there.

I know many people described this as their favourite event of the Foodbuzz Festival, but I just wasn’t into it. For beginners, they only served wine with dinner. I hate wine (like, legitimately, all kinds). So I stayed sober with water.

I will say, the food made up for the lack of drinks.

Golden beet tart. I’ve never thought of pureeing beets as a filling for something. I love beets, and really enjoyed this dish.

Seared scallops with fennel.

These were hands down the best scallops I’ve ever had. Not chewy and overcooked like all my other scallop experiences. Perfectly mild and flaky with a creamy fennel sauce that I loved.

The “meat” of the meal was just meh.

Rosemary infused rack of lamb. I like lamb kebabs or chops. But I do not like giant hunks of lamb. Plus, it was overcooked. In case you haven’t noticed, I prefer my meat on the rare side ;) Bonus points for the sides though – the wild mushrooms and butternut squash puree in this dish were fab.

The most lacklustre part of this meal was… dessert!! I know.

Cake? With fruit? Really? Tarta de Alemandras with oranges. Essentially a tiny round of dry cake with fruit I can get in Canada. Thumbs down. Where’s my Ghirardelli chocolate?

I will say, my anxiety did slightly subside once we were seated. I was sharing a table with fabulous food bloggers after all.

 

But it took three hours to serve all four dishes, and by the end I just wanted out. No more noise, faces, people to talk to. Just some peace and quiet, and maybe a beer.

I heard many people talk about what they thought of other bloggers while at the festival. Some were a perfect reflection of who they are on their blogs, while others seemed more reserved, or even “stuck up.”

As someone who is at times painfully socially awkward, I often get labelled as being a snob because I can be cold and quiet. It takes a while for me to warm up to people, and even then, I don’t always have something to say. I rather hear what you have to say. That’s why I went into journalism, duh :P

I will give props to Foodbuzz for making the festival as welcoming as possible. Perhaps it’s the foodie nature, but I found the atmosphere to be a lot more relaxed and jovial than my time spent at the Healthy Living Summit in Chicago. Perhaps it’s because it was bigger, or maybe because they served more liquor ;)

My point is, Foodbuzz was an amazing experience that I wouldn’t change. But it taught me that I can’t just throw myself into these social situations and expect to completely own them. And I especially can’t beat myself up about it when I don’t. I am who I am and can only try to be the best version of myself I can be. I’m incredibly lucky to have such beautiful people and experiences in my life at all :)

 

To see some of the festival in live! action! watch Lynn’s stellar video on the weekend below:

 

My other Foodbuzz Festival/San Francisco recaps:
California Dreamin’
The Bakery That Changed My Life
All Good Things Come To An End
A Food Lover’s Paradise
A West Coast Story
Grateful for Cafe Gratitude