Fred D Mentor Group - Part II (Page 100)

 
Last several ride I have been wearing arm warmers.  I also ordered this Casttelli jersey and a vest from my LBS.
 

 
 
 
 
I am also leaning heavy on a local sprint in Oct 13 and a marathon in Nov. 

I'm another one of those who falls into the camp that eats "okay", but whether I try to be strict or let things slide, it doesn't impact my weight.  It almost certainly impacts my body composition, but just standing on the scale you wouldn't know that I was doing anything different from one week to the next.  To Fred's comment about small kids and snacks foods, I fall prey to this all the time cause it's easy to fill that small void quickly with something out of a wrapper.  Halloween is never good...

I'd like to eat healthier, but am the first to admit that 1) I'm a bad cook, 2) I don't get any enjoyment out of it (which is a little bit tied to number 1).  I'd rather be doing something different, and avoid spending time in the kitchen.  Wrong approach I know, but it is what it is right now.

Just realized that there is absolutely no point to my post, but I do like everyone's inputs and thoughts, because it lets me pause and consider what I could be doing differently or better.

I love the nutrition and food discussion.  I think all of Rusty's points are bang-on and the kind approach I try to take with food.

I also took the time to learn to cook - like really cook and I stay away from recipes that call for processed foods as part of it.  I'll do boxed or canned broth, or a tablespoon ketchup or something but stay away when it calls for things like a can of condensed cream of chicken soup.  I always want most of our grocery list to be produce. 

I am also a firm believer in keeping the 'joy' in food.  By classifying everything as good or bad or not partaking in things like social eating such as Thanksgiving we take away some of the fun of eating and ignore that taste really matters. There's a balance of course and healthy foods can be delicious - one of my favourtie burgers is a veggie burger from a local veggie restaurant (SO GOOD!)

Admittedly, I don't have a lot of advice specific to weight loss - I am pretty well usually always within 5lbs of my high school weight. I am actually pretty proud of that. I am still young (32) but I work a sedentary job and know that I have established a pretty good baseline for healthier habits now.  But I do really like donuts.  :P

I've also been wearing arm warmers - for my entire ride - the last few weekends. While I suspect that I'll ride the trainer 90% of the time during the winter, I am interested in trying some 'colder' weather riding. Nothing arctic. Baby steps. It would only be during daylight and dry/safe road conditions - so the exception not norm. I know exactly what to wear for a 5 - 10F run but I'm at a total loss for riding gear in 30 - 40F. While I realize it is somewhat variable, does anyone gear recommendations? I don't want to spend tons of $$$ since this will be pretty new and I might wimp out quickly. I've been looking at long bibs and full length gloves. Any other 'must' haves. 

I am impressed at how well everyone eats I also like Polan's book. I have the small "food rules" book in my kitchen. I know a lot of people who eat organic produce, free range and grass fed beef and I think that is awesome but must be very expensive.

Just curious as to how you guys eat, do you use a coop? Organic? Local grocery store?

Here in AZ, there are very few farmer's markets. It's hard to eat local and seasonal when it is so hot here in summer and nothing grows. I believe most of our produce comes from Mexico and CA.

We are a family of 4. Both my husband and I are athletes, our boys are 10 and 13, also into lots of sports, they eat non stop! I shop primarily at 2 stores: Safeway (1 mile from my house) and Sprouts Farmer's market (a bit of a drive but close to my workplace). I use coupons and the weekly ads. Our weekly grocery bill often gets close to $200. I don't buy Organic produce unless it is on sale but I do spend a little extra on free range chicken and free range eggs. I am vegetarian but the rest of the family are not. We do have more pre-packaged foods in our pantry than I'd like but I think my kids eat very well overall.

Woo hoo!! Congrats!

During the summer we get as much of our food from a Farmer's market or directly from a farm/producer as possible.  The rest from a Grocery chain (Superstore or Sobeys).  During the winter, the local produce becomes very scarce so we have to rely a lot more on grocery stores.  We get our meat and eggs from local whenever possible.  The exception there is chicken - any locally produced chicken is stupid expensive for some reason.

As for organic vs non-organic, I'm a bit indifferent there.  If I can get organic for the same price (or very close) then I will but it's pretty low on the priority list.

I lived in Scottsdale for a couple years, so I know what you're talking about. I used to shop at AJ's which was crazy expensive - no way with kids.  I'm only shopping/cooking for myself, so in some ways it's easier. In others, it is harder as I feel like I waste food.  In the summer I live off of farmers markets and staples (whole grains/dried beans etc) from the local grocery store. Organic is nice but matters more for some foods than others. There are plenty of websites that provide rankings on this, but my general rule of thumb is that if I eat the peel/outside then I prefer organic or local. Just because a farm is not certified 'organic' doesn't mean they use chemicals thought. They may simply not have done the work for certification. I really do try to support local farmers and there are a LOT of them in NY/NJ.  

If you have time for some reading: Barbara Kingsolver (she live part time in Tucson) wrote an interesting book "Animal, Plant, Miracle." It is her family's diary of a year spent eating only what they could grow, raise, or procure locally. (coffee was an exemption.) Pretty funny stuff in there.  For example, domestic turkeys have to be artificially inseminated. I'll stop here as I've now passed the s/b/r topic. But that is a job I'm glad I do not have to do. 

I love Barbara Kingsolver's books - i haven't read that one ...

Anyway, as for shopping we just use our local grocery store.  This year we did have a little garden and harvest lots and lots of cherry tomatoes and a few beefsteaks.  That was pretty cool - we didn't have a bumper crop of the other things we planted - the baby greens were not as plentiful as I thought. More experimentation next year. 

I don't usually buy organic - on occassion when it's the only type of that produce I am looking for. And I do use quite a few sort of convenience items that are canned - like beans (love beans), diced tomatoes, etc.

My shopping caveat is that I make a really specific list with quantities that match what I need for cooking (because i've planned the week's meals) - i will buy only 2 baking potatoes if that's all the recipe calls for or I will break off only a small piece of ginger.  I rarely buy in bulk. On occassion I will stock up on things I know i'll use that won't spoil. 

This year, with training for IM I didn't get to the farmer's market at all which I usually love - there's one on Wednesdays just a block from work.  But that's only in the summer.

I had the exact same problem.  My wife always went but it's something that I really enjoy doing and I missed it.

There was actually a recent study out (saw this on the news) indicating that organic, while more expensive, was not found to be "healthier".  Came out of Stanford, so I assume has some credibility.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/09/04/organic-food-health.html

This isn't a knock against organic foods, just something I had seen.

I've ridden to the point where my drink bottles have frozen.  Tip - keep it in your jersey pcoket if it's that cold.  I'll ride outside all season as long as the roads are bare.

Things that work for me.
 - Wool Socks (do not have to be thick).  DeFeet make great ones.
 - Wool Underlayer.  Again, I have one from DeFeet that is incredibly thin, but keeps me very warm.
 - Fleece lined tights (wind breaker material on the outside even better, but costly)
 - Fleece lined toque or headband
 - Toe Covers for the shoes (or Duct Tape)
 - Two pairs of gloves (one small, thin pair if needed + a good weather/wind resistant pair)
 - A good fleece lined jersey
 - A wind vest or Jacket (I tend not to wear one because my favorite jersey has a wind breaker coating on it)
 - Neck warmer/balaclava if the wind is bad
 - Pair of knee warmers if a really cold day for under the tights

That's what jumps to the top of my head.  My body tends to be a bit of a furnace, so I may only have 1-2 layers while others are sporting multiple layers, and I'm still unzipping jerseys cause I'm too hot.  Where I struggle are the fingers and toes.  I don't think I have the best circulation and the extremities are where I will tend to suffer a bit.  Still don't have a handle on that yet.

I only get one chance a week to ride outside, and as long as it's not totally miserable I'll try to get out the front door.  With only a couple of small adjustments the list above is basically the same for running. 

Excellent!   So we'll be racing Oceanside together?  Lemme know if you have any questions on the course etc.

Lack of sunlight is the only thing that will put me on the trainer...which it has done already during weekdays.

As far as weather.  Cold temperatures have never stopped me yet.

So what's everyone's trainer proocol for this winter?  Trainer road?  Jorge?  Ergvideos?

I'd like some structure, but I learned I can't do Jorge's program and a run concentrated winter without a potential for injury

Gues that means Washington > USC  

Shane - which I expect will be somewhere in the same torture level as Jorge!

Why not just trim down Jorge's program?  I think there are guidelines for what to keep and what to remove if you are more run focused.  If they aren't on the program itself they are likely buried in the thread we kept going for it last winter.

heh.  funneh

So, we are in that fun time of year where I'll see everything. Today on my walk from the subway to my office (I am just wearing a heavier sweater) i see a guy bundled and wearing ear muffs and then a girl in short shorts and flip flops. 

I am hoping we'll get out for weekend rides right to November but it will completely depend on the weather. And i need to get booties. My feet turn into ice blocks really quickly.

I haven't had the compunction to set up the trainer again but that will be happening soon. We downloaded the sufferfest videos and will be giving them a try.