Day 43: Fast Food, Physical Therapy & the Like...

Yes, I had two of these yesterday and no I don't feel bad about it. :)

Up until now my blog has been a weekly endeavor, but I have something to write about today so I thought I'd break the trend. Yesterday I went to my physical therapist to assess how bad my hip flexor injury was and luckily it wasn't anything crazy. My right glutes are not activating so my left side is taking a beating when running and exercising. Also, having an office job isn't helping my hip flexors become less tight. For the next few months, I'll need to work on activating my right side so it can take some of the work back from my left and stretch my hip flexors multiple times a day.

Great picture from PopSugar of a hip flexor stretch. I do a simpler version since my flexibility is a bit lacking.

I already stretch a lot at work and do strengthening exercises. In fact, in a given day, my co-workers probably get tired of me on the floor or working with bands for two minutes here and there, but I know it's what I need to do in order to stay healthy and achieve the goals I have for myself.

Here are some stretches I do in the office: http://www.acefitness.org/acefit/healthy-living-article/60/3458/the-3-stretches-you-should-be-doing-if-you/

Often times people talk about the work they do in the gym, on the pavement or wherever they're exercising but they don't talk about the amount of time they foam roll, perform mobility exercises and stretch. These extra things are what will keep you exercising long-term. As I'm getting older, I'm learning the exercise I do in the gym and on the trails doesn't mean shit if I'm not fully taking care of my muscle imbalances, posture, flexibility and other key factors that don't get a lot of publicity. For example, I haven't been warming up before I run lately because I'm so excited to run that I've completely forgotten everything else. If I want to continue running I have to put in quality time warming up, stretching and foam rolling. The behind-the-scenes actions are far more important than what people see on race day at a 5k, half marathon or 50k.

Here's a great, quick article about hips and hip flexors in particular: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/flex-those-flexors-3-steps-to-powerful-hips.html

Yes, I had one of these yesterday too. It was delightful. :)

As far as nutrition goes, yesterday was "interesting". I basically ate fast food and junk food all day. I stayed within a decent calorie range, but my decisions were all over the place. I think I need to focus on eating more whole foods in order to stave away cravings, but is that realistic? I'm not sure if a strict style of eating is for me. I guess I should try it for a longer amount of time to see if the cravings really do go away, but then again there's always some party or get-together once a month where I will have cake or something homemade that will offset not having cravings, so maybe it just makes sense to understand that cravings will always be a part of my eating habits and I don't always have to indulge them. It's similar to energy levels for me. I always want a nap mid afternoon and have been this way for a long time. This hasn't changed when I've had a strict eating regiment and when I haven't, so I guess I just need to learn to deal with this and do the best I can with it. It doesn't mean I don't get work done, get in my exercise or anything else, it's just uncomfortable. Being uncomfortable is okay though. A lot of greatness comes from being uncomfortable: people run 100 miles, start up companies flourish from founders who sacrifice sleep and relationships, people fight evil dictators in war, etc. There's a quote I always think about when it comes to comfort:

All of this to say, if I'm wanting to be a great trainer, the best runner I can be for my 50k next year and lose this weight, being comfortable can't be my goal. It's more like my enemy. So, where does that leave me? It probably makes sense to go with an 80/20 rule. Eighty percent of the time I'll eat whole foods, and twenty percent I won't. Again, a lot of this experience comes down to figuring out what makes sense for me and hoping this translates for to my readers as well. There is no perfect diet and there is no perfect exercise plan. Everything has to be tailored to each of our bodies, interests, genetics and so on. In fact, a co-worker of mine found out yesterday that their body doesn't respond well to spinach, strawberries, avocados and a few other foods that most people consider "healthy". Just because it's healthy for me doesn't mean it's healthy for them. These are important lessons to learn and I continue learning them on a daily basis.

By the way, I know you're looking at the pictures of cheeseburgers and doughnuts wondering if I gained any weight yesterday and the answer is no. I walked over 15,000 steps and didn't let cravings turn into overeating. There's a big difference between the two. I can indulge without losing track of my goals.

And yes, I had a slice of this too. :)