February 17, 2013

Eating the Peach

[James & the Giant Peach Soundtrack]

One of the classes I am currently taking is Fundamentals of Nutrition. It's been extremely insightful, even for someone who has been intrigued and dedicated to learning about nutrition on their own. [Though, I haven't and don't always practice good nutrition.]

Over the past few years, I've gotten pretty good at understanding calories, fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. I regulate my diet to match a 40-30-30* rule and try to balance my glycemic index. I'm certainly not perfect, but I shoot for 80-20, eat really good 80% of the time and then 20% can be more flexible. I think that's reasonable and realistic.

In fact, I got my body composition tested a couple weeks ago for this nutrition class.  I was dying to see how my increased attention to my diet has impacted me. Since I had this tested in March 2012, I've changed to:

  • 5% less body fat 
  • 12 lbs smaller
Also, the results showed:
  • Cholesterol: 129 (Great)
  • HDL: 56 (Good)
  • non-HDL: 73 (Optimal)
  • Total Body Water Weight: 69.81 lb [thought that was interesting]
  • Resting Heart Rate: 60 beats per minute 
[She said my heart beat was that of a "marathoner"... [smiles]]
  • Blood pressure: 134/103 
[High blood pressure runs in the fam-damn-ily. Thanks, mom! Plus my stress isn't helping right now].
  • Height: 5'5"
[I was a half inch shorter than I thought. Hmm? But then again, I don't think I've EVER been officially tested on that.]
And, now seems like a better time than any to insert that I've accomplished the first of my MANY New Year's resolutions. I thought about saying discreetly that I met # goal, but what the hell... there it is. Some people might say that a 4 is big for them, others will have the opposite reaction. That number actually might not really mean a whole lot. But I think it's the comparison of where I've come from to get here. At high school graduation I wore a size 15. 10 years later, this is where I am. I don't intend to get smaller, this is just fine by me... maintenance from now on.

[You want the reason why I picked a 4? Sadly, it's because you can usually find clothes in size 4 still in stock and on sale... shopping? Yep. That's the reason. But, I've found that 4s don't usually have long legs like me. So things are never perfect. Bummer.] 

And just because I am tooting my horn, I'll just add I made it through Valentine's day without any cinnamon hearts. The rest of the year should be a breeze. Seriously, that's huge!

Okay continuing...

Now that I am exhibiting general good habits with my diet and no longer trying to lose weight, my focus has changed. Mostly due to this nutrition class. Learning about the breakdown of all foods and non-foods makes you have a different perspective about what you put inside yourself. So, the new focus is on WHAT my fats, carbs, proteins, and other foods I eat consist of. No, I haven't gone ALL organic and chemical free, but I'd like to. Yet, I don't seeing that being entirely feasible with the cost and time that would take. Not to mention, I've always hated how people in that genre look down upon us Dr. Pepper, Spam, and Velveeta cheese eaters. All of which I indulge in, occasionally.

But, with my efforts to maintain my health [and hopefully decrease that blood pressure?, I've been using the following apps. Thought I'd share them with yous alls. Because, let's be real, no one has the time to track this all on their own. Nutrition is complex, more than I ever thought. So check these out!
Lose it!Calorie Tracker
Fooducate
Food Comparison Guide
(Which food have GMOs, etc)
Paprika
Recipe Manager
(Import recipes from  the web)
(Awesome grocery list builder)


And then, if you have the time, check out these podcasts on nutrition:



What healthy changes have you made/want to make?

*40% of calories=carbohydrates, 30% of calories=fats, 30% of calories=proteins.

2 comments:

  1. All I can say, is you are rockin' that bod (this is Brooke, not Ethan...although he probably has the same thought) :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I haven't heard of the app Paprika...I'm going to check it out. I am in the process of collecting tons of recipes so this ought to be helpful. thanks!
    Way to go with all you've accomplished in 10 years. I am SO impressed!
    PS It's almost kayaking weather!!!!

    ReplyDelete

MizunoUSA.com! Never Settle! Shop Mizuno Team Sports! Baseball, Softball, Vollyball! Free Shipping on Orders of $100 - USE CODE: MIZUNO888!