Friday, December 14, 2012

"Diet" Doesn't Always Imply "Lose Weight"

Diet: 
noun
1. Food and drink considered in terms of its qualities, composition, and its effects on health.
2. A particular selection of food, especially as designed or prescribed to improve a person's physical condition or to prevent or treat a disease.
3. Such a selection or a limitation on the amount a person eats for reducing weight.
4. The foods eaten, as by a particular person or group.
5. Food or feed habitually eaten or provided.
6. Anything that is habitually provided or partaken of.

I begin today's blog entry with this lovely definition as I am getting increasingly annoyed with the nutritionally-uneducated's association of the word "diet" with the act of trying to lose weight (i.e. fat). Yes, a diet can be used as a means to trim down (and should by many!), however there is so much more to it. You could be on a diet to GAIN weight, a diet to gain muscle (like myself), a diet to lower cholesterol, or perhaps a diet to reduce blood pressure. Everyone is on a diet of some sort whether they realize it or not and the average American needs to understand this! I've been thinking about this issue ever since yesterday when I had a lunch out with colleagues to welcome a new person into our group. I was loathing the newbie's choice of Ruby Tuesday's as a dining destination but was pleasantly surprised when I got there, read the menu, and saw that the food selection had vastly improved since my last RT's experience years ago. I ended up ordering a grilled salmon filet with grilled asparagus and steamed snap peas...Yum!! At the end of the meal my manager asked if we wanted any dessert and I said "No thanks, I am on a clean-eating diet". I didn't elaborate as these sadly aren't people who would be interested in what that means but my response was met with an eye roll and one of those faces that you know is saying inside "why is she on a diet when she doesn't need to lose weight"..."she obviously has body image issues"..."one slice of cheesecake won't hurt her"...I'm going to have one even though everyone here knows I'm a good 100 lbs over-weight"...  I tried to smile and change the subject but boy was I ticked! My office really needs a wellness-coordinator position and it should be me haha! I was thinking yesterday afternoon how I'd love to start sending out monthly, weekly, or even daily diet and fitness tips to my co-workers but I'm sure it would not be met appreciation by most. In fact, in that overly corporate tight-ass environment I'd probably get canned for it!

Anyway, now that you are all in-the-know when it comes to dieting, I'll move on to my fantastic workout today! Not wanting to lose any PTO days as the year is coming to a close, I took today off from work. I know I've said this before but PTO days are soooo much better than weekend days! Unfortunately it is with great sadness that my former favourite Saturday spin class is no longer. It's not my place to get into details (and I really only know one side of the story anyway) but let's just say there's a bit of drama going on down at World Gym and some folks appear to be afraid of a little in-town spinning competition. Unfortunately, us paying members have to suffer because of it. Since I don't yet know who will be taking over that time slot, didn't want to risk starting my weekend with a crappy spin class, and had the day off, I instead took my other favourite spin class which was today at noon. Today's instructor is also fantastic but I usually can't get to her classes due to my work schedule. Working out mid-day is kind of annoying for a morning person such as myself but her class is definitely worth it!

I arrived just after 10:00 and began with a truly awesome bi's and back sesh. Okay, I really began with a fake-n-bake sesh but I justify the unhealthiness of it because having a nice glow helps to keep my SAD at bay!  It was so nice and quiet in there at that time of day; I was able to get everything I needed and not be harassed by too many creeps haha. Here's the split of today's weight sesh:
-Standing cable bicep curls (1x20 then 2x12 w/increased weight) I'm LOVING doing these and the cable cross-overs lately (for shoulders) but it's hard to find both cables available during the busy times I am usually there.
-Standing spider-curls (3x16)
-Standing bosu ball hammer curls (3x8)
-Standing bosu cable rows (3x20)
-Weighted back extensions (3x12)
-Bent-over bench rows (3x12 each arm)

I had few minutes to spare prior to class so I added-in 3 sets of 20 side crunches (each side) on the back extension machine. Tomorrow is going to be a shoulders, chest and core day so I plan to hit my core much harder then! After my weight sesh I was beginning to get hungry so luckily today's spin class was only 45 mins vs the usual 60 mins. Boy was it intense though! The 1/4 scoop of Super Pump I downed prior to getting to the gym had totally worn off and having done legs yesterday and spin on Wednesday, my hammies were really struggling! It was a great class though (as expected!) filled with mostly hard rock tunes like Nickelback and Buckcherry which always keep me going!

On my way home I stopped into Whole Foods to get my favourite sweet-potato burrito for lunch and picked up some ingredients for a yummy grilled chicken asian-inspired salad I'm going to make tonight. I'll post a pic on Twitter so be sure to follow @PortlandGymRat for that and other fun diet & fitness tweets that don't make it into my blog! I'm going to cut-out now as I still have some items to check off of my daily list prior to dinner and then I need to get a solid beauty sleep because after my workout in the morning I am meeting with the maXtreme creator for a photo shoot for the website! Ahhh busy busy busy these days. Keep at it gym rats and remember, no matter how much you train, the proper "diet" is key to your success.


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