Confessions of a Fitness Blogger

It is funny how often I go out with friends and people bring up that I probably do not even eat fat or never miss a workout. The truth is, I do both those things. And really, I do a whole lot of other not-so-healthy things too. We all have our weaknesses and I have said before that carbs, Netflix, and cats are just a few of mine.

There was once a time when I thought that everyone who had a fitness blog or taught a fitness class was in peak health and athletic performance. Then, I read an article by a fitness blogger in which she drank beer. It was a jaw drop moment and man, was it nice. Yes, we all have those guilty pleasures. And yes, that includes fitness bloggers, fitness teachers, and chances are, it just might include you too ;) Do you do any of the things on my confessions list?

1. I love carbs and eat them often. Really, it does not take much for me to sit down and eat and entire loaf of bread or down an entire basket of those bread rolls restaurants bring you to fill up on. Guilty as charged.
2. Sometimes, I choose watching TV, sleeping, or doing nothing at all over working out. Gasp! Sometimes, the day is just too long and that wonderful workout I planned to review gets pushed to another time. Or, I do half the workout because half is better than none.
3. I eat before bed.
4. One of the main reason's I run on our gym's treadmill is because I can watch HGTV or E! while doing it.
5. My husband eats more salads than I do. I think food runners think we are purposely tricking them when the hubs gets a salad and I order the veggie burger with onion rings. Onion rings should be a confession all on their own.
6. Sometimes I fall over in yoga. Yes, this can happen to anyone. Those poses be hard!
7. I often simultaneously envision my fitness instructor applauding me for my hard work and me hitting them for what they are doing to my body.
8. I hate arm workouts. So much.
9. When my scale reads a number that shocks me, I will often turn it off and move it to different areas of the bathroom. Because it must be the scale's position that is giving me a bad reading.
10. I opt for the lowest weight option, always. This is not as much a confession as a belief that there is no reason for me to be lifting more than 5-10 pound weights. Sorry Orange Theory, it just makes no sense.
11. Last week I had three Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks. Three!
12. I will go to a workout class because I got a new pair of leggings or cute top.
13. I will not go to a workout class because I have nothing to wear and my butt is still sore from yesterday's workout.
14. I get cellulite.

Well, don't I feel better :) Do you have any of these fitness confessions in common with me? What are some of your fitness secrets?

TBT: The Pros and Cons of Eating Eggs

There has been a long standing debate in our house about whether or not eggs are healthy. Seems like our house if very similar to the rest of the health community. Some say eggs are terrible for you because of the high cholesterol count, others say that the omega fats and protein are pro's that far out-weight the cons. Like so many foods out there, there are pro's and con's to eggs as well.

Pro's of Eating Eggs

Let's start with what most people are concerned about when it comes to health: weight. In a controlled study, those who ate three eggs per day while on a diet lost more weight than those who did not. Eggs have 5-grams of fat (1.6-grams saturated and 2-grams monounsaturated, 6-grams protein, less than 1-gram of carbs, 10% of the daily value of B12, and 11% vitamin D.  

The part where eggs get there bad wrap is at the cholesterol in egg yolks. The American Heart Association recommends eating 300 mg or less of cholesterol per day; eggs have 186-mg cholesterol. In the past cholesterol has been considered the lead contributor to heart disease. Now, new studies are showing that cholesterol is not as bad as we once thought. Turns out, LDL's are a whole lot worse. There are both good and bad forms of cholesterol depending on the carrier. Carriers of the "good" cholesterol are High Density Lipoproteins (HDL), the "bad" ones are the Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL). Cholesterol and saturated fats are two of the main components that make up and LDL. Cholesterol on it's own is not what is bad, cholesterol and saturated and trans fats are the combo that we want to steer clear from. Eggs are low in saturated fats and have no trans fats.

This is great news for those that love eggs but hate heart disease. You can eat them! Eggs have not been shown to increase risk of heart disease in people who have healthy levels of cholesterol.

Con's of Eggs

If you already have high cholesterol, that is the biggest con of the egg. Different people have different levels of cholesterol. Like fat, there is no singular amount of cholesterol in any person. As we already know, cholesterol is not the baddy, LDL's are. People who have high blood cholesterol levels tend to also have high LDL levels. This means that people with higher levels of cholesterol should keep their cholesterol intake down. Therefore, nixing that whole eating tons of egg yolks bit. By loosing the egg yolk you will loose about 2.6-grams protein, 60 calories, all of the vitamins and nutrients, all of the cholesterol, and almost all of the fat.

Then comes the environmental impact of eggs. Eggs are not as bad as the meat industry, but it is not great either. Ethically, caging chickens in cramped and dirty environments for their eggs is just as bad as any other part of the meat industry- it is awful. But, free range chickens have greater access to pollutants, meaining the free rage eggs have higher pollutants as well. This Pandora's box of ethics vs. health is something that most people do not want to get into... Including me. 

In the end, whether you eat eggs or not depends on your person preference and current health. Those who have diabetes and high cholesterol are advised to steer clear of anything more than three eggs a week, including what is in their food already. Those that do not have any health factors to be altered by eating eggs can find them beneficial to a healthy diet. Eggs are a simple way to get quite a large amount of protein and Omega-3 and 6 fatty acids with very few calories, tans fat (none, actually) and saturated fats tagging along.

Here are a few more articles if you are interested in doing some extra egg research.  

Mind Body Green 

Eggs: Healthy or Not? Huffington Post 

Pollutants in Free Range Eggs 

Myth about eggs 

This article was originally posted on October 16, 2013 :)

6 Health Questions I Do Not Know the Answer To

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There are plenty, and I mean plenty, of ways to find out information on the internet. But, no matter how hard I look, a few questions of mine have still gone unanswered. Like most with a question, my first stop is the internets and it's wealth of knowledge. Unfortunately, these answers seem to not exist or I am at a loss for where to find them. 

I, therefore, set these questions out to the internets. Do you know the answers to any of these or have questions like them? 

1. What is a healthy body muscle percent?

We all know about body fat percentages, BMI, water percentages, and visceral mass, but what about muscle percent? Is there a healthy amount or is it just whatever is left over after everything else is a healthy number? 

2. Should I be sore after a workout?

This one is a little less of an unanswered question and a little more of a question that has many answers, all going in different directions. It also seems to change whenever the mood strikes. Is being sore a good thing for muscle growth like some say, or does it mean we breathed and drank to little?

3. Does height really make a difference to BMI?

It would make sense that it does since BMI only really covers two dimensions and we are three. But, would we have really gone this long in the health industry with something that measures us all wrong? I don't know... we did it with food. 

4. Give me real foods that are healthy and not fads

This is more a statement than a question. I am a bit simple when it comes to food and prefer to stay away from fads and "secret foods that will increase energy and health". I love spirulina and kale and vitamin B12, but there are so many fad mixes and sugar replacements out there; can't we just be healthy without jumping on a band wagon? 

5. Is a gym membership worth it?

We know that working out in groups is better for keeping us on track with our fitness goals, but do gym memberships count as groups? This is something I have been wondering as I have been taking more Orange Theory and Hot Yoga classes throughout the week. Unfortunately, I have found no conclusive data that shows a marked difference between health of non-gym and gym goers to share with you. 

6. What should I avoid to loose weight?

Haha, I tricked you on this one! There is a very good answer to this and one that will have it's own blog post quite soon. People have a predisposition to eat and not eat certain foods from the three categories- fats, carbs, and proteins. One of these three is harder for the body to breakdown and will cause weight gain. Thankfully, close monitoring of how what you eat effects your body, or, a quick genetic test will give you the answer.