I’m training for a 3-day, 180-mile charitable cycling adventure in the Colorado Rockies, scheduled to begin next week. I’ve been working on improving my fitness level for months. It has been tough to stay consistent with a 9 year old at home and a busy work life. With all that, I haven’t always succeeded in getting to the exercise. Another big challenge for me has been eating the right foods in the appropriate amounts to fuel my increase in exercise. But what confounds me the most is how to measure or quantify if everything balances out on a daily basis. A good web site I found to help understand and plan for my daily nutritional needs is:
We all know that good nutrition for women includes several servings a day of fruit and leafy green vegetables, fiber from whole grains, beans and legumes to give our bodies power, and minimally processed foods as a mainstay. Of course, we also need to make sure we have lots of calcium for bone strength and understand that over-eating protein can cause bone decreased bone density. That is a lot of information for me to juggle with my daily life. I try to do well but often fall short of achieving these goals. Measuring the good, bad and the ugly is the key to inspiring me to strive to greater nutritional and exercise heights.
Coincidentally, I discovered a tool that helps me manage this complex process. It takes into consideration my age, current weight, fitness and weight goals, and measures my food intake against my exercise levels to give me, with a tap of my finger, my carb/protein/fat intake measurements on a daily basis. It is called Tap & Track, and I purchased it for my iPhone. I’m just getting started, but so far I’m loving it. The only drawback I’ve discovered is that you cannot go back and edit your food intake or exercise once you have entered it. The food you need to enter is not always exact, but there are similar choices and they even have a host of popular restaurant menus with specific items listed. Last night, I picked up food from PF Chang’s and thought, oh, no there goes my plan to track my diet, but I was very pleased to find that I was able to log what I consumed, down to the dish! Tap & Track can also be managed online <http://www.tapandtrack.com/home/index>, as can similar programs, such as the Pyramid Tracker on the USDA site <http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov>. Check these and other out and start tracking, measuring and being inspired to improve your fitness!
Three tips I thought worthy of sharing as you train for your next exertion adventure:
1. Eat to control cravings and boost energy
Eat breakfast, Eat regularly, Cut the junk and Eat more complex carbohydrates
2. Don't cut out the fat
Your body needs fat for healthy brain function, vibrant skin, hair and nails and helps
control cravings
3. Get plenty of calcium - 400 to 1,200 mg/day, magnesium - 500 to 800 mg/day, vitamin D - 400 and 1,000 IU daily
No comments:
Post a Comment