Love to Hate you

I'm currently embroiled in an "on again, off again" relationship with my alarm clock. At 5 am the radio turns on.  I promptly turn it off.  For 4 days in a row I have ignored the alarm clock's valiant attempts to draw me from my bed, to rouse me out of sleep and deposit me upon two legs.

Obviously, I set my alarm for a reason.   It's just that at 5 am I have an equally, if not better, reason to hit snooze.

I can tell myself that I need the sleep, or that the short run I had planned isn't really necessary.  I can justify the additional hour of sleep by saying that I need more than 5 hours a night, that at a particularly busy or stressful time in my life missing a day of training won't do any damage.

All of the above are true.  Simple, easy and true.

But the problem that I have isn't with choosing sleep over training.  It's that I am consistently breaking a non-verbal contract I make with myself each evening as I set the alarm.

SO... 

Tomorrow my alarm will go off at 5 am.  And I will get out of bed.  I may not run.  I may not go to the gym.  But I will go downstairs, walk the dog, drink some coffee and bask in the early morning solitude with the personal satisfaction that comes from keeping a promise.

How well do you keep your promises?

The Boobie Diet

I just puked a little in my mouth.

Believe it or not, this commercial is NOT a Saturday Night Live spoof.  It's an actual NYS Dept of Health Ad. 

There are so many things that I find disturbing in this 31 second blurb that I am sitting here at the computer at a loss as to where to begin.  Aside from the deplorable script and atrocious acting (sorry), this ad is just plain wrong.   On a very basic level.

• Breast feeding isn't about burning calories.  It's about FEEDING YOUR CHILD.  

The decision to nurse your child should NEVER be based on the desire to lose weight.  It's an intensely personal choice, and should not be touted as a weight loss aid.  Additionally, maternity pants should never be held up as an example of a "before" weight.  It has the potential to lead to some incredibly destructive mentalities regarding baby weight and self-image.

Strive for a healthy pregnancy, nourish your child and yourself.  Should you choose to nurse, yay for you. If you don't,  you can still achieve your target weight.  Whether you burn an extra 500 calories or not, it takes hard work, focus and determination.  And everyone is capable of succeeding.  

100 Reasons I Run, #82

#82

• Because it's an amazing accomplishment to take yourself from 0.0 to 50k through nothing more than desire and determination.  

New endeavors take time and patience.  But I promise you that if you allow yourself to succeed, the payoff is more than worth the investment.

Parody or Propaganda?

OK, really?  REALLY?

I detest this sort of propaganda.  People deserve the right to be educated, and in that same vein - they deserve the right to make their own decisions and thus be held accountable for the consequences.

You can't blame a fast food restaurant for making you fat.  You can't blame a fast food restaurant for your health problems.  Though Peter Griffin tried - he sought to sue McBurgerWorld for damages after he suffered a stroke after having consumed 30 of their hamburgers in one sitting :)

As posted on the Fooducate blog, the parody commercial above was created by the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine.  In case you hadn't realized, PCRM supports vegetarian and vegan diets.   In fact, according the PCRM, the 4 food groups should be: Fruit, Legumes, Whole Grains and Vegetables.   While I agree that a diet based predominantly within these constraints is beneficial, it's not the magic solution to our nation's health issues.  

And Big Macs aren't the devil, either.

Thoughts?

Lose-A-Palooza!

Today is Lose-A-Palooza - a one-day social media event to help raise awareness and encourage participation in the Lose For Good campaign. For every mention of "Lose For Good" made on Facebook, blogs, Twitter, and check-ins via foursquare, Weight Watchers will donate $1 - up to $60,000 - as part of the Lose For Good donation. Go to Lose-A-Palooza for details.

Viva la Devolution!

A friend of mine posted this on Facebook, and I had to pass it along....

I have to say though, that I feel the pig is getting a bit of a bad rap here.

Is there any other animal more deserving of representing mankind's devolved state?

Well kids, Labor Day has come and gone, and with it - summer.  Sure, I know that summer isn't technically over, but it sure feels that way doesn't it?  Particularly with the reappearance of the Big Yellow Buses.

It's the beginning of the school year - what are YOU going to learn this term?

I'm working on Exercise Anatomy and Physiology.  Scientific terminology for musculature is brain boggling, in case you were wondering.  MUCH simpler to just say "tush, abs, lunch-lady arms".

What's on your agenda?