Darn you, carby Italian food!

Earlier this evening, my wife and I ate at Sbarro. I wanted to eat at Pho Hoa – what else is new? – but my wife said that she had Vietnamese coming out her ears (a more subtle, diplomatic paraphrase of what she really said), so we had to eat elsewhere.

That elsewhere was Sbarro, and we left both unsatisfied. She ordered a pasta dish she considered too expensive, while I ordered a vegetarian pizza I knew was too carby to make me feel good. To make ourselves feel better, we had a small Dairy Queen Blizzard afterward. (Yes, I’m bad.) It made me feel much better, but I know it wasn’t good for me. I am not making this a habit, I promise.

Tomorrow, I run. Not just because I want to, but thanks to this unsatisfying dinner, I have to. Darn it. I am both unsatisfied and bloated. Bleh.

Update: Shucks, umulan! I just did an upper body workout and some abs exercises. Darn it!

Cheat Days

Mondays are my cheat days.

According to Bill Phillips, everyone should get a cheat day, a day when a person can eat pretty much whatever he wants. (To paraphrase the book, if you want two Big Macs at lunch, have two Big Macs at lunch!) Six days a week, you’re on your best behavior, but on that one day, you can enjoy the foods that you know aren’t necessarily the best for you.

While I do like the idea of a cheat day, I found that my inclinations tend to rest with the advice in this article from BNet. I have a tendency to binge, especially when I’m at home. So the 80/20 rule advocated in this particular article made sense to me. Until last Saturday.

Last Saturday was my son Nathan’s fifth birthday party. My wife and I went to SM North EDSA, where we ate at Pho Hoa for lunch. After my usual delicious chicken salad – with side salad; I wanted extra greens – and two glasses of cool water, we headed home. But not before a scoop of Sebastian’s ice cream. (Cookies Ater Midnight flavor. Sugar-free.)

What happened next for the next five hours was a war inside my stomach. Suffice it to say that I made several bathroom trips over the course of the next five hours. Ouchies.

I’m not sure if it was my body reacting to the artificial sweetener of the ice cream (which was delightful, by the way) or the combination of dairy with the greens. I’d never reacted this way to Sebastian’s before. I was so drained from the afternoon that that night, I scarfed down some spaghetti, a few deep fried spring rolls, and a few meat balls. Ugh. Portion diet fail.

Methinks I’ll have to focus more on the healthy eating part if I’m going to succeed at this diet. A little setback, no biggie. Meanwhile, on today’s cheat day, I’m driving around to search for a school for Nathan. Getting out of the house = getting out of harm’s way = more moving around, less snacking = good healthy cheat day.

Learning about running right

I have a new pair of running shoes, thanks to a very special friend who knows the importance of good equipment to the success of a person’s fitness program. Thank You, God, for blessing me with both awesome shoes and awesome friends! *grin*

The first thing I learned is that my running shoes should match my running style. This article provides terrific information on how to find the right running shoes, based on different biomechanics (how one run), different weights, shape of foot, width of foot, the surfaces one runs on, and how often one runs.

1. What is your shoe size? My shoe size is 10 and a half, with a thumb width of room in front of my running shoes.
2. Do you have broad or narrow feet? I have broad feet. My shoes should provide for this so the sides of my feet don’t blister when I run.
3. How heavy are you? I’m currently 96 kilos, so my shoes should have excellent cushioning and stability qualities.
4. What surface do you run on? In training for the fun run on typical Philippine roads, so my shoe would do well to have a shallow tread that wears well.
5. Do you overpronate, underpronate or are you a neutral runner? I apparently am a mild overpronator, so I need a shoe with excellent shock absorbing qualities near the heel.

All this stuff I didn’t know! Shocking!

My friend took me to Mizuno, which she says studies running in-depth. The Mizuno outlet at High Street has trained personnel who will look at your feet and assess what shoe may be best for you. They recommended the Mizuno Wave Elixir 3, which I then tried on.

LOVE.

It felt so comfortable! Unlike my current running shoes – I won’t mention the name because I don’t want to necessarily place the blame on the shoe manufacturer when I was the one who bought the pair of shoes that wasn’t right for my feet – this one provided comfort and support in all the right places. It was light and felt really stable.

Feature Benefits
Mizuno Wave™. SmoothRide Engineered, Composite Double Fan Wave provides the perfect blend of support and cushioning in a low-profile, lightweight package.
SmoothRide. Engineering approach to minimize the rapid acceleration and deceleration of the foot during transition, creating the smoothest ride possible.
AP Mid Sole. Lightweight, responsive, yet durable cushioning copolymer.
AIRMesh. Provides the utmost in breathability and comfort of the upper.
X-10™. The most durable carbon rubber that allows for longer wear in high impact areas and supplements traction at heel strike.
G3 Sole. Combination solid rubber/blown rubber forefoot outsole design for cushioning, flexibility, and durability.
Dynamotion Fit. Developed in Mizuno’s Sozo Studio, Dynamotion Fit™ is the next generation of design technology to maximize fit and performance in athletic footwear. By extensive study of the foot in motion, Mizuno discovered that traditional footwear distorts in the collar and heel during the gait cycle resulting in heel slippage and a poor fit. Dynamotion Fit relieves the stress the foot naturally places on footwear – eliminating distortion for a perfect fit.

How could you say no, right? I am SO looking forward to running today!!

And can I just say: OMG! IT’S RED!

Healthy restaurants

For the past few months, I’ve been packing lunches to ensure that the food I eat while at work is mostly in line with Bill Phillips’ Body For Life program. Occasionally, I am unable to pack a lunch, so where do I go?

Where do you go for healthy meals?

Pho Hoa or Pho Bac. My favorite restaurants are Vietnamese restaurants because of the nature of the food they serve. Their chicken salads (Goi Ga) are made of shredded chicken breast, lettuce and cabbage, topped with peanuts, basil leaves, and roasted garlic, and served with a spicy-sweet honey-vinegar dressing (I hesitate to call it a vinaigrette, given that it doesn’t have an oil base). You get your protein, a ton of healthy fiber-rich vegetables, and wee amounts of sugar and fat. You can also try their pho’s (noodle soups), but they’re so delicious that I start to wonder about their MSG content.

Kenny Rogers Roasters. This franchise has created a market on healthy eating, and for the most part, they’re faithful to their advertising. When here, I like to get their tomato, pesto, and mozzarella sandwich, which is served on a delightful grilled whole wheat panini. Their chicken’s good too, obviously, but I’m not too hot about their carb-laden side dishes.

Pollo Loco. Surprise, Pollo Loco is actually a pretty good alternative to the chicken restaurants. Their chicken is also spit-grilled (albeit basted in their oily juices, but whatever), plus they serve it with salsa instead of gravy. Their side dishes are less carby than KRR, and include corn and carrots, my personal favorite.

Where do you like to eat when you’re watching your weight?

Preparing for “Run Against Pain”

Hi all! This is Future Thin Guy, excited to tell you that I’ve signed up for the Run Against Pain!

Run Against Pain is an eight-kilometer run on October 18, 2008. Organized by the Pain Society of the Philippines, Run Against Pain starts and ends at the Quirino Grandstand along Roxas Boulevard. There are five competitive categories, with cash prizes for the top finishers.

There’s more information about Run Against Pain on GannsDeen.com, so be sure to visit. I literally am blogging this after coming back from a 30-minute training run at Grace Christian Village. Bill Phillips’ Body For Life advocates the 20-minute aerobic solution, so today, I practice-ran. Last weekend, I practice-ran too. As the weeks go by, I’m sure it’ll get easier and better, and I can challenge myself more.

It’s a little ironic that I’m in pain preparing for this run against it, but that’s all part and parcel of getting into my best shape, yes? I didn’t build this mega-mall of a body in a day, so I can’t expect to tear it down in a day.

I’m also working on Episode 1: Fat. I’ll upload that next Monday, so be sure to visit. And tell your dieting friends about this future thin guy; we can create this network of encouragement for overweight Filipinos working on building their bodies for life.