The Fatty Rewards of Exercise

Can exercise make you fat? A recent article in Time Magazine likes to think so. And the sad truth is that the author and the article are right, especially if you look at some of habits that follow post-calorie burn at the gym.

The simple argument is we go to the gym to workout, burn some calories in hopes of staving off those lurking extra pounds, clock a good sweat session or stress reliever, or train for the next event on the race calendar. But many of us use that gym time to make excuses for what we put into our stomachs post-workout--although I think you could easily argue the opposite that you go to the gym because of what you put into your stomach earlier in the day--and reward ourselves with the junk food, zero-calorie snacks and several nutritional no-nos more at home in the Not That category of the Men's Health Eat This, Not That list. And we do it mainly because that revving of the metabolism, that exercise, not only reenergizes our system or calms our stress but it stimulates hunger. And as the article states, "Exercise, in other words, isn't necessarily helping us lose weight. It may even be making it harder."

Maybe not everyone is guilty of that reward after the workout, but I know I certainly am--just take a look at me chowing down on a massive burrito after the Heatstroke 100 century ride. My family already poked fun at me for that one, especially since I made my food choice so public and so large (I swear the burrito alone weighed five pounds, a little gross in retrospect). And they're in denial over my next admission--or what that's me who's in denial and they're making the oh-so-true accusations.

Yes, I'll eat a burrito after cycling 100 miles. If a Dairy Queen, Culver's or other cold treat is in the vicinity of a long bike ride, you can guarantee that I'll be making a refueling stop afterward. The first thing I craved after finishing the Ironman--and even recently after the Steelhead 70.3--was pizza. After marathons I've literally made a beeline to Weber Grill for a post-race snack mainly consisting of onion straws and a hot fudge sundae. I'll nosh down a larger, not-so-healthy breakfast--like a stuffed french toast concoction or a Walker Bros. apple pancake--if I sweat in Spinning beforehand. And if you really want to get specific, post-race snacks or meals after major races include a massive burger and fries (California International Marathon), pasta and salad buffet followed by Scooter's custard (Udder Century), Ray's Ice Cream where a single scoop is like singlehandedly cleaning up a pint of Ben and Jerry's (Motor City Triathlon), fries and a hot fudge banana sundae at Betty's Pies (Grandma's Marathon), Kopp's Custard (Spirit of Racine), pizza buffet followed by dinner at Morton's Steakhouse (Steelhead 70.3), post-race picnic and Scooter's custard (Chicago Triathlon).

So my diet is far from the best and I'm sure I'm a nutritionist's nightmare. One look at the above run-down and it reads more like something you might find listed in a food journal for a Biggest Loser competitor before the refrigerator raid not for an endurance athlete. But all that exercise makes me hungry and I want to eat--and tend to gravitate toward those foods I try to avoid while training with the exception of the ice cream and ignore the nagging voices in my head that those fries and sundaes aren't healthy.

Wouldn't you do it too, at least on occasion? Maybe it's me but I'm definitely guilty of slogging through a workout just so I can gorge on a meal later. Not all the time that's for sure, and I know I'm not seeing the needle on that scale drop when I do it. Yet even if we try to eat or refuel with more of a smart snack, we could be doomed for failure. Take a five-mile run where on average you'll burn about 500 calories, 100 for each mile. You're thirsty and the heat and humidity made you sweaty so you down a Gatorade to replenish lost electrolytes. Now your stomach is growling so you opt for a Clif bar over a bagel, donut or muffin since it offers the sweet with at least some semblance of good-for-you to it. But once you total the calories between the Gatorade and Clif bar, you've just given yourself the caloric-equivalent, roughly, of a can of soda and and a donut. Healthier option? Maybe. But when it comes to watching the waistline...not so much.

It's easy to argue both sides of the argument and I know I'm not going to stop the exercise anytime soon. Will I lose weight? Probably not anything like Biggest Loser proportions, but I'm not trying to. Could I change my post-workout habits? Most definitely, although cutting out Scooter's would be no easy task. Where do you weigh in? Photo grabbed from naturalhealthhoodia.com. Posted by Kate

Fit-Pic: Secret of Post-Century Eats (or Mine Anyway)

Suffice it to say, one look at the photo at the left and I think I lose my credibility as a Fit-Inker. Here we are talking about fitness, healthy eats and the active lifestyle, and I look like a couch potato chowing down on a definite no-no item. Trust me, the photo has a viable explanation, but one that does not make the nutrition gods pleased in the least.

I have a secret: I'm not talented enough to eat while I'm cycling. At triathlons I'll see several bikes in transition with gel packs taped to the frames, Bento Boxes stuffed with treats and bottles loaded with Gu. As for me, I can barely slurp down enough Perpetuem (a Hammer Nutrition product recommended to me last year for its liquid calories that are easy on the digestive tract) to keep me from bonking on the run. And if I'm riding for distance out on the Lakefront Path, at a century or on farm roads, I nix the fancy aerodrink bottle and only sport a 50-ounce Camelbak with emergency sugars stored in my Bento Box. At the centuries I refuel at the rest stops, and on the farm roads and Path I refuel when I return to start, not riding more than 50 miles when I'm out and relying solely on water.

So...my point to this long-winded explanation goes back to that torpedo you see entering my mouth as well as another treat that I luckily didn't capture on camera. When I finish those long bike rides, I'm still hungry. Take Sunday, for example, where my husband and I rode the Heatstroke 100, battling some gentle rollers and medium to tough headwinds for the day:

• Rest stop 1, roughly 9 miles into the ride. Chowed down a banana slathered in peanut butter--my favorite pre-ride breakfast--and drank some Gatorade and water. I ate my last banana the morning before, didn't eat before leaving the house at 6 a.m. and would prefer to skip breakfast than resort to fast food.
• Rest stop 2, 22 miles later at mile 31-ish. Stole a bite of my husband's apple, more banana and peanut butter, two slices of watermelon, more Gatorade.
  
• Rest stop 3, 60 miles in. Handful of trail mix, two more slices of watermelon, three cups of Gatorade.
• Rest stop 4, 10 miles later. We talked about skipping this stop but we did get off our bikes and I grabbed a cup of Gatorade before continuing onward.
• Rest stop 5, 80 miles in. Half a banana with peanut butter, a cookie, an apple, more Gatorade and water.
• Rest stop 6, less than 5 miles to go. A Nutter Butter and water.
• I think I ate another apple somewhere along the way, and I feel like I ate more at stop No. 5 than what I listed but I can't remember it. Also, I continued to sip from my Camelbak while pedaling.
  

Some people reading this run down of my food intake might be ready to slap me in the back of the head as they do in the "Should Have Had a V-8" commercials, knowing that there's no way I ate enough out there. I'm convinced I'm a nutritionist's nightmare even though I really don't feel hungry while I'm pedaling and the reward comes after the bike is in the car and the miles are done for the day. I'm the one who caters to the "feed me" stomach by feasting on ice cream. Last year after the Heatstroke 100--easily the longest day on a bike ever thanks to hills, constant headwinds and extreme heat--the Dairy Queen within eyesight of our car was calling our names. But my ice cream needs post-ride didn't end with a one-time Blizzard. After practicing on the Ironman Wisconsin course last August, I'd pass a Culver's on my way out of Verona and I hate to say it but not once did I pass up stopping before driving back to Chicago. I'd spill the concrete on myself trying to drive and eat before ignoring the custard craving.

Alas, the DQ received our business once again at the end of this year's Heatstroke 100. Filled me up too--at least until the following day. Monday morning and I'm famished, and the banana, cereal and then bagel do not want to fill me up and there's no ice cream in sight either. As for what to eat the day after riding 100 miles, two days after logging nearly 50, we figured the massive torpedo in my hands was justified. So the burrito that's twice the length of that from Chipotle and has to weigh close to five pounds became the "I-deserve-it meal." I confess I only nibbled--I passed on ordering my own foot-long brick--but if it my name on it and not my husband's I totally would have chowed down. Maybe not the healthiest of post-race eats--loaded with chicken, easy on the lettuce and beans but just enough guacamole, and two tortillas to build the monster--but it satiated my taste buds. Posted by Kate

End to Healthy Weight Week

Photo grabbed from juliaf at stock.xchg

Apologies for not mentioning earlier in the week that this week, January 18-24, was Healthy Weight Week. Even without knowing of this unique week to keep the calories in check, the fridge stocked with healthy items (or a list of restaurants to hit that won't throw your weight out of whack), and visits to the gym plentiful, were you able to feel satisfied with that number on the scale? Maybe those Christmas cookies finally sweat out of your system, you parted ways with the snacking, you tried a new fitness class or you went outside to move around. How did you keep moving?

I surprised myself when I look back on the week. I hit the gym every day, even if some were less-than-stellar workouts, sweat my butt off at Sunday morning and Thursday night spinning, rode my bike even though it was 20-something degrees, experimented in the kitchen with new salads and Trader Joe's Freekeh (loaded with fiber and protein), tried Circular Strength Training at Equinox, lunched on healthy cuisine at Spa Cafe, and passed up a sweet treat pit stop since I had already splurged on a Carol's cookie. I'm thinking I'm going to have to continue the trend to keep the needle from rising this winter and enlist myself in Healthy Weight Week Part Deux.

If you're regretting some of the choices you made during Healthy Weight Week, why not vow to start over on Sunday and create your own week of eating right and working out? Sure, we all need a little motivation now and again, but missing out one week doesn't mean you can't rebound and get back on track. And for me, I'm using Tuesday night's The Biggest Loser to keep me on the bandwagon. Watching all of those pounds disappear from week to week and I'm thinking I can't allow my fitness to falter or pick up the pounds the BL contestants are shedding.

Plus January has more unlying motivation that runs the entire 31 days. January is Oatmeal month and National Lose Weight, Feel Great month--two more reasons to work for that healthy weight. Keep these in the back of your mind and those pounds to shed and fitness goals to achieve can be within reach. Posted by Kate