Not All Calories Are Created Equal

I have been noticing something lately, calorie count is posted every where. The whole theory being, hey this is only 200 calories eat it. I also realized it when I began tracking calories for the first time a few months ago. I love the My Fitness Pal application for my iPhone. But, yes there is a big but and I want to talk about it and hear your thoughts as well.

Not every calorie is created equal.

The problem is, there are junk calories and quality calories. I think sometimes people get so wrapped up in tracking calories, that they are not paying attention to the nutritional value of those calories. For example, one of the biggest offenders of this is anything with a 100 calorie claim. Thole little prepackaged snacks drive me nuts. First of all, it is 100 calories of junk food usually and I find it just leaves you hungry within 30 minutes.

Now if you eat 100 calories of lean protein, vegetables or fruit, you will be fuller for much longer. The other change will be in how your weight comes off. I always find that I am able to lose weight 3x quicker when I am eating clean wholesome foods and tracking those calories. I know it might not be easy at first but it really will make a difference over the long term. Transition yourself over time and the change will not be as drastic, it will just be a gradual lifestyle change.

5 ounces of chicken breast is 175 calories and spinach, tomato and green peppers sauted together is about 50 calories. Did you know a cup of spinach is 7 calories?!? A medium tomato, only 35. Think about those tiny numbers.

Then you walk into a Panera Bread, and see a sandwich with a 400 something calorie content. You get a small sandwich and end up being hungry an hour or 2 later. This is the decieving part about all those calories being posted: that is all they post. You have no idea how many grams of fat are in that item, how much saturated fat there is, and carbohydrate content, just to name a few. When you are looking at nutrition it is so much more than a single calorie number. There are so many other factors that play into nutrition and weight loss.

My final point about eating out all the time is it is an unknown. I say unknown because, yes your resturaunt might post the calorie context on their menu or it even may be in your My Fitness Pal app, however that is only an estimate.

Think about how inconsistent a simple cup of coffee can be. One associate may put 3 tablespoons of sugar in a regular, another may put up to 4 or 5. The chef in the kitchen may use more oil than the recipe calls for. There are so many variables in calorie content when you are eating out. This is why I prefer to eat at home when I prepate my own food. I know sometimes it is impossible to avoid though, so I say just be aware of the inbalance and make sure you compensate for it.

For example I always over estimate calories when I eat out and I make sure I am under my calorie goal if I feel like I have filled up my day with non wholesome foods. I know it is impossible not to eat outside of your house but make sure you are smart about it when you do it. I always order my dressings on the side, I put my own sweetner in my coffee, things like that. By having little tricks it can really make a big difference at the end of the week.

Do you agree that not all calories are created equal?

Where Will ZOOMA Go Next?

Remember that torn calf?

It is healing :)

And to kick off my fall racing season I plan to get out and run a half marathon.

What better half marathon than a race geared towards women? My first ever of this sort hehe and I am super excited!!!! The motto of ZOOMA is:

Run, Laugh and Celebrate

I am an ambassador for them and I will be running the half marathon on September 22nd and I hope to see you there :)

ZOOMA is running a contest right now where you can guess there next race location! Go over and enter today for a chance to win big!






By the way I have a promo code to help save some $ on the race entry!!! CCAMB10 Save $10 off the half and $5 off the 10k

Fit Parents Will Only Encourage Fit Children

I knew when I was pregnant with Peanut that I did not want her to struggle with her weight like I had for the last 10 years. In fact, as parents, we always want better for our children, so with this in mind I knew I had to make some changes.

Let us not beat around the bush, I had A LOT of BIG changes that I would have to make. I remember taking a course in woman's health when Peanut was 2 months old and I wrote a paper on childhood obesity. I saw statistics like if a child has 2 obese parents they have an 80% chance of being obese, with one parent it is 50%.

I thought about it, did I really want to give my child a head start on something horrible like that?

Nope, not a chance.

SO I set out to do what I felt would be best for her. I worked hard and started to change my lifestyle. I knew that I wanted my daughter to have a fighter in her, I knew that if I was a fighter then she would have a strong example to learn from.

We started together, jogging in her jogging stroller when she was about 1. It became a nice way for the 2 of us to bond when I got home at night after work. She and I really looked forward to our nightly runs and as she gets older now I let her run sometimes and push her small jogging stroller. Also I have started taking her to the track and let her walk while I run. After we do exercises and she tries to mimmick me as I do push ups, sit ups and planks. She has fun.

On her own, I have her enrolled in gymnastics and she enjoys doing that. She also likes to go to the playground and climb things, jump around and attempt the monkey bars. I know one day she will be whizzing right through them :)

The other thing she enjoys is being around me in the gym when I am working out. I try to let her do this once or twice a week. I really like how she gets curious about the equipment and does her own things. I feel this will help her in the long run.

Watching her, I know she already looks at exercise and exercise equipment as fun. She loves counting reps as we do push ups and she enjoys being with me when I am working out.

The main goal for me is to have her just be active and healthy. I do not want her to have the struggles I did with exercise and obesity. I want her to have a head start on being fit and healthy and I know if I continue to let her find her own love of it then she will never have a problem.

Of course I would love if she decides to be a runner ;)

But to me, all that matters is she find some exercise, sport, or activity that she loves and learn to excel in it. This is how I have come to love running and racing, and I just want her to have the same thing.