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Would you?

I would. At least I think I might start.

Let me explain.

We were at Panera for dinner and our 7yo son, after he had eaten his fair share of chicken noodle soup, sandwich, and yogurt, asked if he could have dessert. The rest of us were still eating, so I fished out a $5 bill and then he went up with my wife to buy his choice. A few minutes later, he marched proudly back, carrying a huge cinnamon roll and $2.51 in change.

Normally we would pay for the desserts using a credit card along with the rest of the food. But this time, seeing the cash really brought home the value of one cinnamon roll. Two dollars and forty nine cents! That’s a lot!! Granted, it was a big one, but its size just served to underscore how inflated (and wasteful) all of this really was. The cinnamon roll was more than he really needed, and $2.49 was more than it should really cost.

So I asked him a question. I asked him if he had the option to take the two dollars and fifty cents and either buy a cinnamon roll or keep the money, what would he do? After all, either way I end up spending the money anyway.

He said he’d keep the money and skip dessert.

Now, we’ve been paying our kids a weekly allowance for a while, and our rule is that when we go to Target or anywhere else, instead of begging us for toys or any other random item they may want on a whim, they can buy whatever they want (as long as it is appropriate) with their own allowance money. Because of this, our kids now know what $3 will buy, what $5 will buy, and what $10 will buy. They know that for the bigger, better toys, they need to save for a few weeks. They get to make their own decisions and take responsibility for those decisions, instead of all the control and decision responsibility being with us (making us the bad guys every time we say no).

I wondered if the same concept could work with desserts.

My seven year old, the one who said he’d skip dessert and keep the money, is a dessert fiend. He would eat sweets constantly all day if he could. This kid lives for dessert.

So lately, enforcing good nutrition has felt more and more like a battle with him. He’s always trying to see how little “real” food and how much dessert he can get away with. And we’re always reminding him that he needs to make healthful choices.

But what’s his motivation? Dessert is coming anyway, and Mommy and Daddy are always providing it. Any occasions where he has to skip dessert are occasions when Mommy or Daddy are being the bad guys and making the decision for him. And then it’s no longer about living and eating healthfully — it’s about us being mean to him and what little educational value there might have been in the discussion is suddenly lost.

And when you look at the long range consequences of that, how are we preparing him to make good food choices independently? If we always tell him what to eat and what not to eat, how will he ever learn to make his own decisions later when he’s on his own? Maybe we’ve just been raising a monster — one that will go out and buy sweets every chance he gets when he’s on his own to make up for all the sweets that his parents had deprived him of.

And this is where I had my big epiphany.

Why not let him start making the choices now?

Of course if we just ask him whether he wants dessert or not, he’ll always say that he wants dessert — as long as we’re buying.

But once he has the choice of getting the dessert or getting the money, now he has to think about what that dessert is worth to him. Yes, it will taste really yummy right now, but with $2.50 he could buy two Hot Wheels or a pack of Silly Bandz. Or, he could skip a few desserts and get a new stuffed animal or maybe even a Beyblade! Now instead of a hollow choice of sweets or no sweets, a whole new world of possibilities opens up for him.

The point is, the choice is his. He can learn that desserts don’t just magically appear. They have value, and their value can be understood in relation to other things. And he can finally decide for himself that perhaps he doesn’t really need that humongous cinnamon roll.

It’s a far cry from making decisions based on nutritional value and health and other adult concepts, which are vitally important but aren’t real to a seven year old — but I think it’s a step in the right direction.

What about you?

It’s about the impact of sugar on blood-fat profiles (known as ‘lipid profiles’) and cardiovascular risks, and it’s scary!

Now everyone knows that too much sugar is bad for you. But runners typically get to benefit from the equation
Calories In <= Calories Out
In other words, if you consume extra calories, you can just run them off!

Had an extra portion at a business dinner? Run it off the next day! Co-worker brought snacks in to a meeting? Run them off! Need a Coke and a candy bar in the middle of the afternoon for a pick-me-up? Hold that thought!!!

Here’s what the study in the article found:

The strongest relationship between added sugar and blood fats was found in values for HDL-C, which fell from 58.7 mg/dl for those who ate the least added sugar to 47.7 mg/dl for those who ate the most. A higher HDL-C level is associated with a lower cardiovascular risk.

Among some blood fats linked to higher cardiovascular risk, the converse was true: Triglyceride levels went from 105 mg/dl in the group that ate the least sugar to 114 mg/dl in the group that ate the most. The so-called bad cholesterol, LDL-C, went from 116 mg/dl for women who ate the least sugar to 123 mg/dl for women who ate the most. There were no significant trends for LDL-C among men.

Ouch! That’s a double-whammy!! Sugar makes your good cholesterol go down and your triglycerides and bad cholesterol go up!

And the problem, even for runners, is that sugar is processed so quickly, chances are you’re not running it off before it starts affecting you.

But wait, there’s more!

Data from the mid-1990s show that 15.8 percent of the typical American’s diet was composed of added sugar — 21.4 teaspoons or 359 calories per day. That’s up from 10.6 percent in 1977–1978.

And in the study cited in the article, the study participants that were in the highest-consuming added sugar group ate about 46 teaspoons of added sugar per day! Try to visualize that. If you need help, take a look at this article which shows what a mere 18 teaspoons looks like, and also tells you how much sugar is found in common drinks (one can of Coke has about 10 teaspoons!).

Added sugar is everywhere you look. Yes, you can avoid sodas and chocolate bars and candy. But how about ketchup, spaghetti sauce on your pre-race pasta dinner, and the runner favorite Gatorade? All of these have added sugar in the form of “caloric sweeteners,” the most common of which is corn syrup. And even if you can control your sugar intake, do you know how much sugar your children are eating every day?

So what’s a runner and a concerned parent to do?

“What it really means is we have to go back to things like whole grains and vegetables and fruit and eat things in moderation in order to be healthy,” [study co-author Dr. Miriam B.] Vos said. “Plus, a good healthy dose of activity.”

What that means is just because you can run a marathon (or a half, or a 10K…) doesn’t mean you can balance excess with excess. Excess non-nutritional caloric intake balanced by excess distance does not a healthy runner make! If you achieve balance by putting too much on both sides, your balance may break.

After we finished a wonderful shrimp and risotto dinner this evening, my wife said, “You should go to the gym tonight.” I was feeling rather full, but it was my turn to work out — and I was excited to add some mileage to my Run 48 States endeavor. So I changed into my running clothes, and off to the gym I went.

My plan was to run an easy 10K. I didn’t want to push it after dinner, but I really did want to start racking up some miles.

The reality

But once I started, my “easy” pace didn’t feel so easy. I told myself that after a mile the dinner would settle and I’d feel better. A mile passed and then I told myself that after two miles I’d feel better.

The second mile was harder than the first. By 2 1/2 I was just hoping to be able to make a 5K. I finally did make 5K (barely), and then I had to stop.

At first I was really disappointed.

Disappointed that I didn’t run the whole distance. Disappointed that I ran 5K at such a slow pace. Disappointed that I felt so tired and spent.

But what was my alternative? To not have run at all?

The realization

Sometimes any run is better than no run. A slow 3.1 miles is better than 0 miles. 300 calories burned is better than 0 calories burned. And trying and making an effort is better than not trying at all.

So what if I didn’t run 10K? I ran. And it wore me out. And then I listened to my body and stopped.

There’s nothing wrong with that — and I got home in time to help put the kids to bed.

That’s good enough. In fact, that’s great!

I was talking to two single friends at work who were comparing notes with each other on their P90X fitness plan. They were going on and on about how much of their time it takes up, how much grocery shopping they need to do to prepare the prescribed menus, and how complicated the workouts are with pushups (many variations), pullups (many more variations), kenpo x, yoga x, plyometrics, x stretch.….

Fitness doesn’t have to be that complicated!

I have a family. We barely have time to eat dinner together some days. I don’t have time for P90X or whatever else the latest fitness craze is. I also don’t have time to balance tempo runs, speed intervals, hill intervals, and complicated running programs which require me to measure VO2Max, Max Heartrate, Target Heartrate, Lactate Threshold, and who knows what else so that I can reach my new PR. I haven’t had a PR since 1997.

Calories in <= Calories out

The formula for fitness is easy. Make sure you burn as many or more calories than you consume. Keep the calories you consume as healthful as possible. Make the calories you burn as enjoyable as possible. That’s the long term solution to health and fitness — and it’s a lifelong commitment, not the latest exercise or diet fad promising to get you lean and trim (or buff, or strong, or fast…) in 90 days.

Now if you’re an elite athlete, it’s different. Maybe that’s what it is. Maybe we all want to be elite. Maybe if we train like the elite athletes do, maybe if we follow the complicated and rigid training programs, maybe if we make our workouts more scientific, then maybe we too can be elite someday or at least be able able to move forward a few feet in the pack at the starting line because now we’re in a different pace group.

Or maybe we’ll just create more stress for ourselves, not enjoy running as much, and not enjoy as much time with our families as we otherwise could.

Keep running simple and enjoyable

I’m a big fan of Leo Babauta’s Zen Habits. He knows how to keep things simple. Sometimes de-cluttering and simplifying helps us to rediscover the joy and wonder in activities that at best we have started to take for granted, and at worst have become a chore and a burden. Leo has a great post on simple fitness on his site. Check it out, and leave a comment below to share your thoughts.

And then for your next workout forget about all the complicated stuff. Lace up your shoes, leave your watch and heart rate monitor at home, and just run for the fun of it. You’ll be glad you did.

But by following these three rules, you can avoid the extra holiday pounds and stay in top running shape.

1. Watch your portion sizes

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Just because the food tastes really good doesn’t mean you need to fill your plate. Smaller portions means less calories. If you’re at a party with hors d’oeuvres, then use a small plate and be sure to leave some whitespace around your food. Take only small portions of a couple of selections and make yourself have to choose to go back for more instead of piling your plate high. Not only does this cut down on your portion sizes, it also makes you look like less of a glutton! And inbetween the crab rangoon and saucy meatballs, make sure you select some fresh vegetables and other healthful choices (see #2 below).

When at a buffet or sit-down dinner, remember that you are in control of how much food you put on your plate. Most plates, especially at restaurants, are much too large for regular portion sizes. Keep some space around each item on your plate instead of filling it. When eating, try to put your fork down between each bite and don’t pick it up again until you’ve swallowed. In this manner, you can pace your eating just like you do your running!

2. Opt for healthful choices

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Most holiday fare is extremely rich — which is what makes it so good! You don’t have to completely avoid the good stuff (after all it is the holidays), just make sure to mix in healthful choices as well. When selecting your portion sizes, try to make the portion sizes for healthful choices a little larger than their more tasty but less healthful counterparts.

So what do you select for healthful holiday fare? Start with salads and fresh veggies (but remember not to go overboard on the dressing). If fruit is available, that’s great too! If you start with some low-fat low-calorie healthful choices, you’ll satisfy some of your appetite and will be less tempted to over-indulge on the decadent stuff. Sauces tend to be extremely high in unwanted extra fat and calories, so try to find selections that go light on the sauce. Creamy sauces (hollandaise, alfredo, etc.) tend to have more calories and fat than other sauces (au jus, marsala, etc.). Opt for fish or white meat over red meat. And always go for the veggies!

3. Calories In <= Calories Out

Photo credit: danielito from morguefile.com

No matter what you choose to eat (or how much) over the holidays, remember that your ultimate weight gain (or loss) is governed by the above equation. Calories In come from the food you eat, and Calories Out are the result of energy burned during activities like running.

If you over-indulged the night before, or if that extra dessert was just too good to pass up, then all is not lost. Just tack another mile or two onto your next run to make up for it! Of course, you should always try to make the calories you take in be as healthful as possible — but after all, the holiday season only comes once a year!

So if you can’t pass up that succulent steak, or just have to try the five layer chocolate cake which is to die for, then go ahead! As runners we have a decided advantage over our non-running associates. Running is a very efficient way to burn calories. Although your actual calorie burn rate will depend on your body weight and running pace, the general rule of thumb is that running will burn about 100 calories per mile. To figure out how many calories you’re burning, use this handy calorie calculator from MapMyRun.com.

So enjoy your holidays, have fun, and get out there and keep running!