Logging, Logging, Logging...

For over a year and a half, I logged every single morsel of food I consumed on MyNetDiary. I know that seems obsessive and time consuming. Obsessive, maybe. But it is always nice to be able to look at and be accountable for what goes my body. Time consuming? It's not as bad as you would think because during the week, I eat a lot of the same foods, so everything is pretty much saved in my spreadsheet and it's really easy to fill in. It's not like I'm starting from scratch each and every day.

Logging food is not for everyone. Certainly not for a year and a half straight. But logging answered a lot of questions for me, such as...

Am I eating the right amount of calories? I like to fall within a certain range 

depending on my workout for the day.

What is my macro nutrient breakdown? Again, I aim for a certain range for each, 

depending on my workout for the day.

Logging also held me accountable. Each and every night I had to stare in the face the number of calories I consumed via ice cream.

Ummmm... why did I never think to do this?

Over the past few months, I have gotten very lax with my logging and eventually stopped. There are several reasons for this. First, I was super busy, and some nights I chose 5 minutes of extra sleep over 5 minutes of logging food. Second, I was a bit stressed and didn’t give a damn about keeping track of my calories for the day.

I've come to a realization during these past couple months of not logging. I normally fall within my desired range of calories and macro nutrient breakdowns whether I log my food or not. I have established good habits, eat a lot of the same foods, and have developed a routine. That being said, I have allowed more of a variety into my diet now that I don't log. But I still eat chicken breast out the wazoo. That will never change! 

I have seen no significant change (for the worse) in my performance, energy level, and body over the past couple months, so I think my nutrition has been pretty good, even if I’m not logging.

Slowly, I am letting go of this “control” thing I have with my food. I think logging was very helpful to me for a long time, but I no longer feel bound to it. I think it has served its purpose for me, and I am sort of organically just letting the habit fall to the wayside. That is not to say I won't ever log my calories again. But for now, I don't feel I need to. Plus, it is more fun to allow myself to eat a larger variety of foods!

(Ha! I wish! I still would rather be in control!)

Have you ever logged your food?

Do you find it to be helpful to you are does it make you obsessive?

How yummy does that Pop Tart ice cream sandwich look?

Hey, it's okay to HATE running!

Since people know I'm a "runner", they are often excited to share if they have started running. Sometimes they will ask questions, but most of the time they will just be excited to talk about their new endeavor with me. I love that! Especially if they have found that they really enjoy running. I know running is a very positive thing in my life. It helps me relax, it keeps me sane, it makes me happy... What I think I'm saying is that running is cheaper than drugs! So if someone else has found that running enhances their life in a positive way, I am extremely happy for them. There is room on the road for everyone!

However, sometimes someone shares with me, "I just HATE running." They don't say it to be rude. In fact, they usually say it as if they are ashamed of their feelings. Like it's a bad thing to hate running. They may even be looking for me to give them tips on how to enjoy it more. Maybe there is something they are doing wrong, or there is some sort of tidbit of information that if I shared it with them, they would love running too.

Guess what?

Some people simply don't like it. That's okay. Just because I love it doesn't mean you have to! It doesn't make me any more healthy or any more of an athlete than someone who doesn't run. There are 1,000 other things one can do besides running if they want to lose weight, get fit, be healthy, get strong, have endorphins, etc, etc, etc! Running is not the MAGIC way to get healthy. It is an avenue, and that is all. If a runner tells you otherwise, they are ignorant and wrong.

Just because someone runs does not mean they are healthy. Especially if all they do is run. If all they do is run, they are missing out on some important components of physical fitness and health. Strength training, cross training, flexibility training, and rest are all important aspects of fitness that should not be ignored.

Running is just cardio. There are many other cardio activities one might enjoy more than running.

So if you hate running, never fear! Exercise should be enjoyable. Do something you LOVE. Hiking, swimming, biking, Zumba, kick boxing... whatever floats your boat!

Anyone out there hate running?
Runners, if you had to do another form of cardio, what would you pick?

Summer Weekly Workout #6 + some!

First of all, Paul had a lot of fun reading your comments yesterday! It was an honor to have him guest post, since I have been asking him to do it forever! See the thing is, Paul is really funny. He makes me laugh so hard, and I want to share his humor with you! Hopefully he will guest post for Meg Go Run again. Maybe he can have his own series... Paul Go Rant. He's good at rants!

On to the workouts!

Sorry, there are no flashy pictures this week. We've been away all week at Johns Hopkins for a week long test for Paul, so I wasn't feeling very picture-y. You get a bare bones post today. You know, the way the pilgrims used to blog.

Oh, and you also get a week + a few days!

Saturday-  8 mile hilly run @ 8:23 pace.

Sunday- Weird running/deck of cards workout you can read about here.

Monday- I ran to the gym! Read about it here.

Tuesday- Strength training- Back, biceps, and legs.

Wednesday-  5 mile run at who knows what pace because my Garmin was being annoying!

Thursday- REST!

Friday-  REST!

Saturday-  8 mile run @ 8:11 pace, upper body strength workout

Sunday-  REST!

Monday-  6.5 mile run @ 8:40 pace


Pros- My chaffing is healing! Wahoo! And three rests days in a ten day period!? My legs are saying, "Thank you!"

Cons- Laying around a hospital room all day really made my knee angry. Even though I had all those rest days, it does not like being stagnant. Daily walks to the cafeteria helped loosen it up.

If your legs could talk, what would they say to you right now? Would they ask you for a rest day? Do they want shaved?

5 Reasons Paul HATES Facebook

Yesterday, I wrote about how I love Facebook. Today, it is Paul's turn! He is Meg Go Run's first guest poster. Fasten your seat belts.

And now.... 5 Reasons Paul HATES Facebook...

1. Candy Crush/Farmville - NO! I don't want to play candy crush with you. Did you not get the hint, the first 32 times I rejected your request to play this stupid game? If Farmville makes you feel accomplished, I'm happy for you. Please, just leave me out of it! I don't want a real or imaginary farm. I don't want to help you with your imaginary farm... I better stop before I piss off the millions of people who build fake farms and force other people to join in on it.

2. Facebook is a Black Hole - So, I logged on to Facebook the other day to respond to a birthday party invite. I got distracted looking at my friend's wedding pictures. His wife seems cool, I'll look at her pictures. Wow, her maid of honor is hot, I'll check out a few of her pictures. The maid of honors' brother looks like this guy I used to work with. I'll check out his pictures. It wasn't the guy I worked with, but jeez his three dogs are really cute. What?! His dogs have their own Facebook page, I gotta see that... So, three hours later, I'm on someone's page who I don't even know. I realized how much time I was wasting, and logged off. Subsequently, I missed my nephew's birthday party.

3. Food Pictures - Congrats, you ate at Texas Roadhouse tonight! That is soooooo cool. Oh, and you had seven pieces of bacon for breakfast the next morning? Good for you, and thanks for taking pictures of every meal that you eat. I really shouldn't be complaining about this. At least people don't take pictures of what they drop into the toilet every day.

4. Duck Face - Once in awhile, it's cool to do a duck face picture. Some folks really like  "pretend kissing", I suppose? Or, did you just throw a bunch of sour patch kids in your mouth? I'm not sure, let's just stop doing it.

5. I Hate Faces. And I hate books.

XOXO- Paul

Why do you love/hate Facebook?

10 Reasons I Love Facebook (And 5 Reasons Paul HATES it!)

Some people HATE Facebook (cough, Paul). I like it! I don't like everything about it, but for the most part, it is a good thing in my life. Let's focus on the POSITIVE today, people! It's all about reasons I love Facebook! We'll save Paul's hate speech for tomorrow... That's right! He has finally agreed to write a guest post for Meg Go Run! Stop by tomorrow for that!

But now.... 10 Reasons I love Facebook...

1. It allows me to stay connected with people that either live far away or I don't have time to get together with.

Like Kim!

2. I get to see pictures of your family vacation, your night on the town, or child's first day of school.

Source

3. I get to learn interesting things about myself. Like my Old Person name is Myrtle.

4. I love getting annoyed by certain people's posts. I don't hide the posts. I keep reading them... just to be annoyed.

5. It gives me an arena to pimp my blog.

6. I have an outlet for posting cute cat pictures.

7. Facebook lets me know when it is your birthday! That way, I can act like I remembered on my own.

8. Funny memes. They are EVERYWHERE!

9. It's a place I can ask advice on a myriad of topics and get several different answers within minutes.

10. Facebook helps me procrastinate.

Be sure to stop by tomorrow and learn why Paul HATES Facebook!

Why do you love/hate Facebook?

I'm on the Lean Cusine-Free Diet!

Don't worry, this is not a post in which I tell you what to eat and what not to eat. You're big boys and girls, you do not need my nutritional advice! (Unless you ask for it!) This is just me rambling a little bit about what I eat and don't eat.


A little back story...

My eating has changed drastically over the past several years. I used to restrict, eat "lite" foods, drink diet drinks, and over exercise. I was larger than ever. I did not feel good. I was tired all the time and felt trapped in an eating/exercising circle of hell!

This was me. Sooooooo me.

Almost two years ago, I revamped my entire approach to food and what it meant to be strong and fit. No more "lite" or "diet". No more two hours of cardio a day. What did I replace all of this with?

- Lots more protein.

- Lots more strength training.

- Carbs at the right time.

- Less running.

- LOTS of food.

I will admit I was pretty strict at first. I liked to stick to a certain number of calories and a certain number of macros. I would drink protein shakes before bed. For a little while, I ate too little carbs.

Over the past year, I have relaxed a bit. I stopped logging calories (gasp!) and upped my carb intake a bit. I started to eat more of what I craved so I get a more variety now. I still eat a lot of protein, I still view food as fuel. I have just evolved to be a little more lax than I was a year ago. It hasn't affected me negatively yet (physically, mentally, performance wise) so I am going to stick with it!

True Story: I eat healthy most of the time.

True Story: I have treats every day.

**When I say "treats", I don't mean Greek yogurt with honey!**

I do not follow a certain diet. I am not paleo. I am not G-free. I am not low carb or low sugar. (I train hard-my body needs sugar and carbs!) I am lucky that I don't have any allergies. Brussel sprouts make me puhp but they do that to everyone, right?

Never juiced!

I'm not into elimination diets, (since I have no medical reason to do so), but  I am trying to think whether there is anything that I have absolutely eliminated from my diet....

I can't think of food in which there isn't a single circumstance in which I wouldn't eat it. There are foods I eat very sparingly... like fake sugar or fried foods. So I can't say I don't eat those. I very rarely eat them.

Looking back at this post, I guess the one thing I could never see myself never eating again are Lean Cuisines. Not only are they horrible for you, but they don't even taste good! So I'm on the Lean Cuisine-Free Diet!

Am I forgetting something? Do you think there is something I probably would never, ever dream of touching? Let me know! Because I could be missing something. (I'm not talking about foods in which I simply wouldn't like the taste... I'm talking about things that are bad for you. Like aspartame or black tar heroin.)

Is there anything you have completely eliminated from your diet, no ifs, ands, buts, or special circumstances?

Signs it's summertime....

- It's 3:00 am and I'm still watching Youtube videos.

- There is a thick layer of cat hair (thicker than normal) coating the entire house.

- Most days, my wardrobe goes like this: jammies, workout clothes, back into jammies.

- June 26th was the first day in two and a half weeks I had to set my alarm.

- 10:23 pm is a perfectly acceptable time to dye my hair.

- I don't know what day of the week it is.

- I start clicking on links such as: "Kim Kardashian shares gym selfie while daughter North is napping", and "Inside Prince George's Life".

-My legs are more often shaved than not shaved.

-I start lurking and intermittently posting in Big Brother message boards.

-Random shows start popping up on my DVR- like Fashion Police and The Test. And they get watched.

-My sports bra tan comes back full force.

How do you know it's SUMMERTIME?

Who says working out has to be boring?

I love mixing up my workouts, especially in the summer when the warm weather makes me want to get outside. Also, the whole "not working" thing gives me the time I need to drive to a new running trail... or to just take my sweet damn time with my workout!

One of the many things I am excited for as I embark on my new side business of personal training is designing workouts for clients. I love making my own workouts and I am ready for the challenge of making workouts that help others reach their goals!

Most of the time, if something is working, I stick with it. But when I feel the urge to get creative with a workout, there is no telling what I will come up with!

For instance, this past Sunday, Paul and I went on one of our famous disc golf/running dates. The place we were going gave me two running options:


Choice #1: Run the EXTREMELY HILLY back roads around the park.
Choice #2: Run in circles around the .75 mile paved walking trail around the park.


I was feeling lazy and did not want to run hills, so Choice #1 it was. But wouldn't that be boring, running around in a circle seven times?

Not with a deck of cards... MUHAHAHAHA!

What I did was combine running with a deck of cards workout. If you don't know what a deck of cards workout is, you can read about it here!

My workout was this:

1 mile run

1/4 of a deck of cards workout

1 mile run

1/4 of a deck of cards workout

1 mile run

1/4 of a deck of cards workout

1 mile run

1/4 of a deck of cards workout

1 mile run

It equaled 5 miles and 1 deck of cards workout total. I was exhausted. Try running after doing a bunch of mountain climbers, burpees, and jump squats. It's humbling.

(Yes, I carried a deck of cards with me for  5 miles. Luckily there was no one else around to judge.)

The best part of my workout? I got to kick around in the "Splash Pad" at the park. It's a fenced in area of several sprinklers for kids to play in. Well, there were no kids around, so I took off my shoes and rinsed some of the sweat off of me. It felt soooo good. I thought to myself, "This must be what Ali feels like when she gets to jump in her pool after a run!"

Source

This is not me, but it is the Splash Pad!

Have you ever done anything weird to mix up your run?
Ever go to a "Splash Pad"?

Coming very soon: Megan Michael Training

I earned my ACE Personal Training Certification a little over a month ago. It seems like I am taking my sweet time getting my personal training business set up, but there is a lot to think about!

Here is what I have done so far:

1. Secured a business email address.

2. Decided what services I will provide.

3. Designed a web site.

4. Created business cards.

5. Drew up a release of liability waiver.

Here is what I am doing this week:

1. Obtaining liability insurance.

2. Having the release of liability waiver looked over by an attorney.

3. Putting the finishing touches on my web site.

Once I have done those last three things, Megan Michael Training will be open for business! Don't worry, once it is official, I will announce it with FANFARE on Meg Go Run!

Have you ever started your own business?

Any advice for me as I start this new endeavor?

I ran to the gym!

For the first time in my life, I ran to the gym! I have lived 2.5 miles from my gym for the past 6 years. I don't understand why it took me until yesterday to actually run there.

While it is definitely not a scenic route, it is a relatively safe route. It was a great way to break up the run a bit.

Speaking of breaking things up... Since it was a chest/ shoulders/ triceps day, I decided to mesh a little upper body action into my run. After every half mile, I got down and did 10 push ups. It was a sneaky way to pound out 100 of them without getting too tired. I suggest trying it on your next 5 mile run, and I also suggest making sure you don't care what pedestrians or motorists think of you.

At the gym, I did my standard...

Yay, no push ups! Well, I did them during my run...

I'm thankful that in the summer, I have the time to do something a little more random to break up my usual training. It's easy to fall into a rut. Normally I enjoy doing the same 'ol thing. But not yesterday. Yesterday, I needed something a little different!

Have you ever run to the gym?

Are you going to try my run/push up idea?

How do you break up your normal routine?