martian 5K Dearborn

I am signing my little sister and I up for the 5k martian run on April 10th. If any of you would like to join, I think that this could be a great opportunity to set a goal and get to know a few of your fellow bloggers.

the whole body plan

I just finished reading Jillian Michael's book making the cut. I had always thought that people shared the same body chemistry. That we all processed food the same way, and that the simple calculation of caloric intake. As it turns out, according to Jillian, people metabolize food in different ways. Depending on the way that your body stores fat can determine a lot about what type of diet you should be eating in order to maximize your results.

For example my body type is a fast oxidizer. This means that I store the majority of my weight in my upper body and crave salty foods. In order for me to maximize my weight loss I should be eating a higher protein diet and staying away from sugary carbohydrates.

In her book she has recipes and workouts. It is very comprehensive plan. My favorite portion of this book, are the inspirational workouts. I think that the hardest part to sticking to a plan is being motivated...


P.S down to 145!!

Saturday

When you are running, there are a couple of things that you MUST do in order to protect your body from injury:

1. Having the right shoe - the contours of feet vary from person to person. Many of us suffer from flat arches, or arches that are too high. When we are running the impact of our body all lands on our feet. If our arches are not being supported properly, you could suffer foot, ankle, leg, or even hip injuries. The most common side effect of having the wrong shoe, is ankle pain or shin splints. To avoid wearing the wrong shoe, it is important talk to a professional shoe salesman. I suggest going into a local own running shoe store. There are three things that I look for when I intend to buy a pair of running shoes 1. Did the salesman measure my feet. 2. Did the salesman ask me questions about the type of activities I will be doing in these shoes. 3. Did the salesman have me walk in my socks to observe my arch. 4. Did the salesman give me many shoes to try on. If the shoe salesman does not observe this type of behavior, I quickly leave the store and try another place.

2. Stretch - This is something that most of us overlook. But if we do not stretch the chances of injury are much higher. Think of your ligaments as a string of hard plastic. If you were to start tweaking that string back and forth vigorously when it has been left out in the cold for a few hours, the plastic is likely to break into two. Now if you let that same piece of plastic warm up and that started tweaking it, it is most likely going flex in the way that you want it to.

3. Cut weight - the more fat we have on our bodies, the harder it is for our bodies to adjust to a serious running program. In the beginning of training I suggest walking for long periods of time, while eating healthy to shed enough weight that you body can take the strain of running.

REMEMBER... PAIN = NO TRAIN

In the beginning... and it was good!

It feels like every week I tell myself " today is the day that I am going to start shedding that extra weight". I get motivated for about two hours, sit down to watch my late night T.V shows and become entranced by the bowl of popcorn that has mysteriously appeared on my coffee table. Not to mention the way that it is dressed with loads of butter and topped with chocolate chips. who could resist?? Coming in at a girthy weight of 151 pounds at 5"2 I think I can afford to resist.

My name is Amanda, I am an office manager of a physical Therapy Clinic. I have access to great equipment, trainers and a strong support system of colleagues and professional physical therapists. so I guess I am out of excuses...

I wrote this blog to track my journey through the trials and triumphs I encounter while running my way from Flab to fab!! Not only does this mean that I have to exercise, but I have to eat right to fuel my body. Within the next 6 months I am going to expose myself to the world. I will be posting an updated pic (don't worry no photo shop here), every Friday to track any noticeable differences. I will also be running three different races throughout the course of this Blog. The first race is the Flushing sweetheart race on February 13Th. This race will be able to gauge my starting point. Any other races will be posted as we come closer to the date. I will aslo be posting tips for the day ( from a licensed physical therapist), recipes, and pretty much anything else that I find pertains to our success.

Because I do not want this to be a journal just for myself, I promise to be open and transparent about progress, as well as failures. This is not just a Blog for me, but for the many people out there that are stuck in an office all day, too exhausted to work out, too stressed to eat right and too sick of trying all of those crash diets to no avail.

Please do not be shy, it is time to step up and get healthy... what do we have to lose but weight?