Weight and Racing

Anybody who's been running for a significant amount of time will tell you that racing is not the way to lose weight.  You have to race because you love it.  Racing for the wrong reasons is a prescription for frustration, burnout, and quitting.  

The flip side of this coin is that when I'm over my prime racing weight, even by five pounds, my time suffers.  Every pound that I'm over racing weight is a pound that I have to move - over 5, 10, 13, or even 26.2 miles.  The extra pounds weigh down my knees, my form suffers, I can't feel the light, seamless wind move around my body, I feel sluggish, and it even effects my breathing.  This year, I want to finish the Chicago Marathon in 5hr or less, and getting the extra pounds off will help me achieve that goal.

Right now, I am over my prime racing weight by ten pounds.  In 2009, I ran the White Rock marathon at 136lbs, which was tough.  At the moment, I'm at 140lbs.  My prime is 130lbs or less.  If I can get under 130, that would be great, but... I'm not sure my body can get there at my advanced age of 32.  ;)

So what am I doing to achieve this?  Well, the truth is, I'm kind of trying to feel things out.  I've been on Weight Watchers for years (I'm a lifer!), and the new points program is killing me.  I've only lost three pounds in two months.  I really, really hate it.  I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but... it's something.  I wish they wouldn't have changed it, because the old way worked just fine, and it was healthy.  One thing I am going to try is eating big bowls of greens.  I tend to mix carbs, protein, and produce into my meals, but I think that I should try upping my intake of orange and green produce.

I am also hoping that since I just kicked out of off-season leisure and into season training, that my workouts are going to trim off a few pounds.  I only use processed sports nutrition on superlong runs; therwise I kick it with my trusty pre-run bananas.

I'm working my way through getting off these pounds.  Losing weight while training is tricky - it's not like normal weight loss.  Healthy nutrition is crucial to good workouts, and there are certain superfoods that can make your workout or race (like bananas!)  You can't just eat less - When I was new to running, I did it for all the wrong reasons (as a weight loss plan!), and I tried the whole normal "diet" + racing.  I was miserable.  My workouts sucked.  It's about finding the right foods that give me energy and strength, without adding bulk.

As of today, I'm 140 lbs - let's see where I'm at in a few months!

Dieting Doom

This may or may not be a surprise to you guys, but I don't really believe in diets - at least not the kind that are restrictive or wild and crazy or where you're starving.  Certain eating plans are better than others - for instance, you all know I've got the love for Weight Watchers.  WW taught me how to cook and how to eat healthy food that didn't roll off a conveyor belt.  It really changed my eating habits forever.  For me, WW has been a great addition to my life.

Here's why I have a problem with diets... So often, I hear girls on diets talking about how much they hate themselves.  They talk about how fat they are or how ugly or gross they are.  Seriously?  If somebody called you fat or ugly, you'd deck them - right?  They'd automatically be on your sh*t list, and you'd tweet the heck out of badmouthing them. 

So why is it ok to talk about ourselves that way?

Listen, I am all about having a hot bod.  Sometimes my weight is a bit higher than I'd like or I'm flabbier than I want to be, in which event I Weight Watcher the daylights out of my eating.  I lay off the cheese a bit and up the lean protein.  Sometimes, I feel like a failure for gaining five pounds.  I felt pretty crappy for gaining fifteen pounds last year after my marathon training was over.  Since then, I've been paying better attention to really eating what my body wants, and that weight's been coming off - nine pounds of it so far.  So you see, I get the whole "watching your weight" thing.

Sometimes, I even feel bad about myself, but then I realize I am being crazy.  Because you know what?  There's nothing wrong with me.  Any bad thing I have to say about my body is just neuroses, and... nobody thinks self-abuse is okay.  Girls that are constantly talking about how disgusting they are drive me insane.  It's just... no.

I guess for me, I just really can't stand the whole self abuse thing.  Where does that come from?  Don't say the media, because that's such an excuse.  We all have our own brains.  I am well-aware that I am not a model or an actress.  I am not going to be ridiculous and blame some TV marketing campaign for my lack of independent thinking.

I guess this turned into a sort of rant.  Time for some cheese.  ;)

Yum in Your Mouf: BBQ Turkey Joes

OK, this is not the best food photo I have ever taken, but... your happy stomach will more than make up for my lack o' food photography skillz!

Get excited, because this is a healthy meal that won't pack on the pounds.  Good FOR you and will make the narcissist, scale-watching side happy, too.  You know what else?  It's EASY.  I made this in 15 minutes flat, start to finish.  You have no excuse. 

Now, as I am wont to do, this is a Weight Watchers recipe that I snazzed up.  I like things to the spicy side, so dial down my "Spice-ups", if you fear the flavor.  ;)

Don't fear the flavor!

BBQ TURKEY JOES

WW Points: 6

Servings:  4

Ingredients:

• 1 large clove of garlic, minced
• 1lb lean ground turkey (often, ground meat is sold as 1.25 lbs. HINT: Buy the patties.  They're the same thing and are usually sold in 1lb packs)
• Cayenne pepper
• Onion powder
• Meat Seasoning/Dry Rub (See recipe below)  
• 1/2 medium bell pepper, chopped  
• 1/2 medium sweet red pepper, chopped  
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped  
• 1 cup barbecue sauce   (I like Sweet Baby Rays)
• Arugula, enough for topping
• 4 medium mixed-grain hamburger buns

Meat Seasoning:

*Also works GREAT as a dry rub.  From Tyler Florence, King of BBQ.

Mix together the following ingredients.  This rub is exceptional on any sort of meat.  Keep the rub in a glass jar, and it'll keep for over a year.  This is my very favorite dry rub/mixed seasoning ever.  EVER.

• 3 tablespoons paprika
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon dry mustard
• 3 tablespoons coarse sea salt

1) Brown turkey and garlic in a nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, about 8 to 10 minutes. While the turkey is cooking, add a healthy dose of dry rub, onion powder, and cayenne.  Use your best judgment.  When the turkey is browned, drain off the liquid.

2) Add peppers and onion and cook until tender, about 3 minutes.

3) Add barbecue sauce; heat thoroughly, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes.

4) Top bottom half of buns with turkey mixture; top with a small handful of arugula. 
Cover with top half of bun and serve. 

You're welcome.

Pimpin' Pad Thai

As some of my readers may or may not know, I like to cook my meals for the week ahead of time.  Most Sundays, I write a shopping list, buy all my ingredients, then spend my afternoon cooking and packing meals into Gladware.  Then I freeze everything and grab n' go my meals for the rest of the week.  It's a great way to make sure I minimize how much processed food I eat, and inevitably my body feels better.  I like to know exactly what I'm eating!  I'm suspicious of ingredients that sound like chemicals. Sometimes I use Amy's Organics frozen foods... but I try to cook my own food as often as I can.

I've been slackin' in the Sunday Cooking department over the past few months, but now I am back to cooking my freezer meals!  This week, I hit upon a particularly delicious pad thai recipe, so.... you're welcome.  :)

Look how pretty the peppers are in the wok!

See below for the recipe...  One note, I like my food HOT, so for the chiles, I used several green thai chiles with a couple red jalapenos - and I kept the seeds in.  Dee-licious.

WW PAD THAI (with chicken, shrimp or tofu)

WW Points per Serving: 8

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

•     7 oz packaged rice noodles   
•     1 pound(s) uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
•     1/4 cup(s) fish sauce, divided
•     4 cup(s) broccoli, florets
•     1 medium carrot(s), finely sliced
•     1/4 cup(s) fresh lime juice, divided   
•     3 Tbsp sugar   
•     3 Tbsp water   
•     1 1/2 tsp ginger root, fresh, finely minced   
•     2 spray(s) cooking spray   
•     4 tsp peanut oil, divided   
•     1 tsp green hot chili pepper(s), or red chili pepper, Thai-variety, deveined, seeded, minced*   
•     1 medium garlic clove(s), minced   
•     1 1/2 cup(s) bean sprouts   
•     2 1/2 oz peanuts, dry-roasted, salted, minced (about 1/2 cup)   
•     1/2 cup(s) cilantro, fresh, minced   

Instructions

1. Soak noodles in cold water for 1 hour.
2. Place chicken in a small bowl and cover with 1 tablespoon of fish sauce; set aside.
3. Steam broccoli and carrot until crisp-tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Immediately immerse in cold water; drain and set aside.
4. Meanwhile, in another small bowl, combine remaining 3 tablespoons of fish sauce, 3 tablespoons of lime juice, sugar, water and ginger; mix well and set aside.
5. Coat a large wok or skillet with cooking spray and warm over medium-high heat; add 2 teaspoons of oil. When hot, add chicken; cook, stirring occasionally until chicken is cooked through, about 4 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and cover to keep warm; set aside.
6. Drain noodles thoroughly. Off heat, coat same wok or skillet with cooking spray and warm over medium-high heat; add remaining 2 teaspoons of oil. When hot, sauté garlic and chili pepper until just fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add noodles and fish sauce mixture; cook, stirring, until sauce is mostly absorbed, about 3 minutes. Stir in chicken and peanuts; remove from heat. Add remaining tablespoon of lime juice, bean sprouts and cilantro; mix well. Yields about 2 cups per serving.

**Penny's Word to the Wise: The fish sauce smells GROSS during prep, but is super tasty once it's all cooked and stuff.  :)

Behold (!) the deliciousness!

Sesame Noodles w/Yum on the Side

Back when I was training for my marathon, I was running bookoo miles.  I ate mostly healthy food, but lots of it because I was working out so much.  THEN the marathon was over, and I went a little crazy with the soda and sugar and French Fries.  Six pounds worth of crazy, SO I'm back on Weight Watchers.  I like to try to catch my extra pounds before they get away from me.  I'm not going give weekly reports because losing 6-10 pounds isn't that exciting, and it stresses me out anyhow.  I get stage fright.  How about I'll just let you know when I'm back to my healthy weight?  Good? Good.

Today's recipe is.......

Sesame Noodles with Chicken

*From WW Online

*Makes six servings at 5 points each

• 1/2 pound(s) uncooked whole-wheat spaghetti, or whole-wheat udon  
• 1/2 cup(s) scallion(s), green parts only, chopped  
• 1/2 pound(s) cooked skinless, boneless chicken thigh(s), cut into thin strips  
• 3 Tbsp rice vinegar  
• 3 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce  
• 2 Tbsp hoisin sauce  
• 1 Tbsp dark sesame oil  
• 2 tsp chili sauce, with garlic  
• 1 1/2 tsp honey  
• 1 Tbsp cilantro, fresh, finely chopped  
• 2 tsp sesame seeds 

Penny's Additions (optional): 1/2 cup of snowpeas, 1/2 cup of shredded carrots, dash of garlic powder, dash of onion powder

Instructions
1) Cook noodles according to package directions. Remove 1/4 cup of pasta cooking water; drain and rinse.
2) In a large bowl, combine noodles, scallions and chicken; toss gently but well.
3) In a cup, combine reserved cooking water, vinegar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, oil, chili sauce and honey; stir well.
4) Pour vinegar mixture over noodles; toss gently but well to coat noodles. Sprinkle with cilantro and sesame seeds; serve. Yields about 1 cup per serving.

Here's what you'll have left...