Moronacity Cycling Journal » Health and Nutrition
The Great Weight Escape
Weight loss is incredibly frustrating. Some of us are just more prone to gaining weight than others. There are women who can pop out three kids, eat whatever they want, and still look like bombshells. Then there is me. I so much as look at a nut and my Polish body swells. The reality is that, while it is more difficult for me to achieve and maintain a healthy weight than some other women, I do respond to diet and exercise. I have proven to myself that consistent exercise, especially mountain biking, will peel the pounds off no matter what I eat or drink. I am working to achieve that, once again. I have been following the Weight Watchers POINTS plan to the letter … Read entire article »
Filed under: Weight Loss
Dreams Indicate REM Sleep
I’ve been dreaming. This is of significance because I haven’t really been dreaming, lately. Call it stress, lack of exercise, lack of healthy food, whatever; the fact is I haven’t been dreaming because I haven’t been healthy. Yesterday, for the first time in a while, I didn’t wake up feeling like I absolutely needed my morning coffee to simply feel awake, to push aside that feeling of drab. This was after a night of dreaming. Don’t get me wrong; I still had that coffee. This got me to thinking: if I’m not dreaming, am I experiencing REM sleep? Do I get better sleep when I dream? According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke article, “Brain Basics: Understanding Sleep,” most dreams occur during REM sleep. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Health and Nutrition
The Necessity of a Heart-Healthy Diet
I find it ironic how, after the day that I wrote several LiveStrong.com articles about heart-healthy diets, I receive my life insurance blood test results with a heart-healthy flag. While my HDL (good) and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels are normal, my overall cholesterol is 16 points too high. This is most likely due to the fact that my LDL (bad) cholesterol is four points less than the high limit for normal. It’s a good thing that I have been eating well this past week. You see, I gained a ton of weight, this fall, and it needs to come off. I have been quite good, this week. I have been drinking a lot of water and my fair share … Read entire article »
Filed under: Health and Nutrition
Red, Painful, Peeling Lips
I spent the last month fighting a condition that created a lot of pain and bleeding for me: chapped lips. I know. It’s weird. It started about the time of Ore to Shore. I headed to Lakeview Arena to get my registration packet and meet my friends, Ali. Ali presented me with a little gift of lip balm (I’ll talk more about that in a later post). The timing was great because, while I had been using Chapstick, my lips were feeling very tight and dry. I tried the new lip balm, and I kept trying it throughout the next month, but it didn’t really do anything. Over the following month, my lips would become bright red, tighten, peel, crack, crust, and bleed. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Health and Nutrition
Mountain Biking IS a Weight-Bearing Activity
It has been my personal opinion, for quite some time, that mountain biking is a weight-bearing activity. I’ve had many mountain bikers refute this because, after all, we are just cyclists. We sit and we pedal. I call shenanigans. I know that I stand a lot when I ride. I know that I must wear super-stiff shoes, or my feet will hurt really badly from supporting my weight. I know that I can use a really crappy saddle on my mountain bike because I don’t sit on it enough to cause any discomfort. I know that all of this is evidence that mountain biking is a weight-bearing activity. This is really important to me because mountain biking is all I really care … Read entire article »
Filed under: Health and Nutrition
Writing About Team Fatty
Today, we’re going to take a little break in the Fourth of July Weekend series. I have more to tell, but I want to share something else, today. Many of you are readers of the Fat Cyclist. As many of you know, Fatty’s wife is battling cancer. Her cancer set something pretty amazing into motion: thousands of people have come together to raise money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. This week, I am doing a series on cancer for my Mountain Biking Examiner column. Fatty was kind enough to let me use some photos from his blog. This is really exciting for me because he is a bit of an e-hero. I am certainly a fan. I figure that since the Tour … Read entire article »
Filed under: Health and Nutrition
Weight Gain After a Workout
Mountain biking is a unique sport in that many of its talented participants are carrying a little extra weight. Michigan is a great example. There are many mountain biking communities throughout the state. These communities consist of a diverse crowd including anyone from super-skinny elite riders to new, novice riders carrying 100 extra pounds. Many of these novice riders have taken up mountain biking because it is a fun, family-friendly activity that anyone can do. I have had the pleasure of meeting many riders who have taken up the sport as a supplement to a heart-healthy lifestyle adopted after experiencing a heart attack. Some riders mountain bike to take control of diabetes. Most of these riders are a part of a much larger group that simply wants to lose weight. The … Read entire article »
Filed under: Weight Loss
To Go, or Not to Go? That is the Question.
I have a bit of a dilemma. I am sick. Tomorrow, I will have been sick for three weeks with a sore throat for all but two days. I’ve dropped out of two mountain bike rides – Sunday’s Copper Harbor ride and last night’s Monday night ride – because I just didn’t have the energy. I feel worn down. I feel useless. Ugh describes my physical state quite well. I … Read entire article »
Filed under: Illness
I Did Enjoy the Burger
You’d think I would learn by now. I was going to participate in rides the last two days, and both days I chose not to ride because I felt kind of strange. At first, I thought I was having a bit of an iron deficiency. After all, I have restricted my calorie intake in favor of weight loss, and I have been getting a fair amount of physical activity. I snowblowed for 3 ½ hours on Tuesday, for example. Wednesday, I felt a little weak and ever-so-slightly woozy. It wasn’t enough to make me think that anything was really wrong, but I felt that a burger (red meat = iron) was to be on the menu. I ended up socializing and drinking beer … Read entire article »
Filed under: Illness
Putting A Positive Spin On It
I have been full of empty little promises to myself. I’ve been struggling to eat well and lose weight along with failing miserably at getting enough exercise. I gave myself permission to be really bad for my birthday, but decided that things had to change. I love to go out. I need social interaction and Coriander, my little, red dachshund, really isn’t gifted in the art of conversation, although she tries. When I go to The Library, I almost always get involved with a fun conversation. There are some other regulars who I really enjoy keeping company with. The problem is that massive beer consumption is almost always a part of the fun, and that is quite the problem where my waistline is concerned. It was … Read entire article »
Filed under: Weight Loss
