Sunday, June 20, 2010

Why I Love My Husband

Tonight I casually asked my husband, "Do you think I should count my calories and look at what I am eating while I'm in training?" His response:

"I will do everything in my power to see that you don't."

Good answer.

Kris went on to say that he thinks if I 'dieted' while training, it would cost me the marathon. "You wouldn't get enough calories and your body would break down and you wouldn't finish the training."

I agree that I wouldn't make it through the training portion either but for a different reason.

Those of you who know me well know that dieting is a dirty word with me. Dieting is so emotionally charged for me that it absolutely does me more harm than good. If I tried to count calories and fat intake etc I would go crazy. Seriously. It would just pile additional stress to an otherwise exciting experience. And I have more stress than I need already thank you.

I have become so focused on my training. It has been so enjoyable and exciting to watch my progress. Not to mention the great feeling you get during a run. But I am also having fun planning the runs, plotting routes, and running with the team. It's all I want to think about. And think about it I do! A lot.

So I can't help but think what impact my eating might have on my performance. I think "what would happen if...." But that is a very slippery slope for me. I definitely can't afford to slip off the edge. So, I'll just try hard to listen to what my body tells me. If I'm hungry, of course I'll eat. If I'm craving french fries I'll have them. If my body is telling me it needs a gallon of Chunk Money ice cream then hand me the spoon and get out of my way!

I'm curious as the mileage increases how my body will respond. I expect I'll get hungrier.  I mean, I'll be burning some serious calories along the way! But I wonder if I'll have cravings. I expect to crave sugar and salt. But I wonder if I'll crave fried foods like I do now. Fried foods and running don't seem to mix. The thought of that heavy food in my stomach doesn't make me feel light on my feet. So I wonder if I'll stop craving that as the mileage  progresses. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, please pass the ketchup. :)

2 comments:

Brian said...

Hey Jill,

For what it is worth, I have a brother who is a freelance personal trainer, and he does not count calories or grams of fat or anything like that. He just watches what he eats. Eat healthy food, avoid junk food, lots of water and protein shakes for good measure. Hope this helps!

Brian

BTW, nice picture! ;)

Unknown said...

Jill,
I'm with you....dieting sucks! It does the same thing to me -- makes me crazy, totally focused on food, so I want to eat everything in sight. I've been reading more lately on listening to your body and what it wants. That's what I want to do too. Sending positive thoughts your way,
Cindy