Buring Calories

Wednesday, January 16, 2013 · Mike Davis

Short week for me as I am off from my Air Guard job on Friday! The days are passing and hopefully I continue to get my conditioning back from my surgery. This week I have started back my strength training and that is a lot harder than the running; my mid-section is definitely not what it was before the removal of my gallbladder and it will take some time and hard work to tone it up. I would like to blame the surgery on it, but my eating habits over the holidays were ridiculous. Now I have to work even harder on two fronts; one my diet and the second being my strength training. The working out part has been pretty successful with my “15 in 13” standard, the diet part is much better but not consistent enough. When working with people I provide a personal training plan that includes both a running and strength training program. This combined personal training plan in itself helps my clients burn calories, however if the goal is to lose weight, daily nutrition has to be part of the plan. I am a great example of this as my weight can easily jump up about 10 to 12 pounds more than I would like despite running and strength training regularly. For me it’s my desire for sweets and my portion control that often push my weight up. When I got serious about my weight in my early 40s I was much more disciplined with both sweets and my portions, but I have slipped some over the past couple of years and as I approach 50 I really can’t get away with it. I am not a nutritionist, but I understand the importance of my diet and I am definitely eating healthier a majority of the time and I also start most of my days off the right way so that helps. Each morning I have a bowl of non-fat plane Greek yogurt with a t-spoon of honey mixed in and a slice of whole wheat toast with organic peanut butter. This starter to my day helps me control my morning diet, but then it becomes a challenge. Lunch is usually leftovers but then I battle my sweet cravings in the afternoon. I try and munch on almonds and walnuts, but often I want something sweet. I never quite give in to the temptation to down a bag of M&Ms or a Snickers bar, but I may grab a handful of trail mix that has some peanut M&Ms in it. I do the best I can. When I work with people that want and sometimes need to get their weight down I really push such things as Greek Yogurt minus the added fruit opting instead to add something less sugar laced. The beginning of the day is so critical and I stress that continuously. Unfortunately many people struggle with breakfast despite the damage it does to their diet. It’s hard to play catch up once you have started the day off on the wrong foot. It’s even beneficial to eat something before you run in order to burn more calories. There is no good case that can be made against eating to start your day. The other night I was at Planet Fitness with a client and the place was mobbed with people and it finally dawned on me that it is January and those New Year’s resolutions are still fresh. People have great intentions but even if they stick with their membership (which in most cases they don’t), they are only covering half what is necessary to drop the weight and keep it off. Again running is the best way to burn calories, but running alone won’t get it done. I can help you with a great training plan and even give you some nutrition tips, but in the end you have to make the necessary changes.