Part 2 of answering emailed questions from various sources. Part 1, about fitness, can be found here.
So, are you on a diet?
No. I was actually just curious to see what I ate on a daily basis, and if/how it affected my workouts. This 40 Day experiment is really about my body and wellbeing as a whole.
Are you sure you’re not on a diet?
I’ve never been on a diet. Funny side story about that. In college, when I was 6’1″ and all of 120 lbs, I was working as a stringer for the local newspaper and went to cover a campus lecture by Naomi Wolf, a well-known feminist. I was 19 or 20 at the time, and when she asked how many women in the 250-person audience had never been on a diet, I naively raised my hand. She turned to me and called me a liar in front of everyone, and I spent the next hour wishing that the floor would open up and swallow me whole. I’ve never forgotten that. And no, Naomi, I’ve still never been on a diet.
What’s your biggest nutrition challenge?
I am a carb lover. I could easily spend my entire day eating bread and cereal, sometimes interspersed with cheese. That’s not to say that I don’t like fruits and vegetables, it just means that they’re not my go-to foods at all. By tracking everything I’ve ingested, it’s made me more aware of my eating habits, so that maybe this time I’ll have grapes instead of a granola bar for a snack.
So is there a connection between what you eat and the quality of your workout?
Looking back, it seems that my best workouts come the morning after nights where I’ve had a fairly significant portion of meat. That seems like a clear sign that in addition to my fruits and veggies, I should also be aware of my protein intake. The problem is that I’m not a big fan of meat, so on most nights I’ll have just enough to give my 3-year-old the illusion that Mommy is eating a little bit of everything.
So why not protein shakes?
I have to admit that I’m a little bit freaked out by protein shakes. I try to minimize the amount of processed food that I eat. That’s not to say that I never eat anything from the middle aisles of Safeway, but I’d much prefer to get my protein from a glass of skim milk or a container of yogurt than from a protein shake made from synthetic ingredients.
What’s your favorite fast food?
A vegetarian burrito bowl from Chipotle; I could eat that five times a week. Pizza would be my runner-up, but I’m pretty picky about my pizza quality. And third place goes to In-n-Out Burger.
Do you like to cook?
As my lengthy series of Random Recipes probably indicates, yes, I do like to cook. I don’t always have a ton of time to do it, but I love the process of creating and experimenting. Of course, I’d like it even better if someone else cleaned up the mess!
If you’re a healthy weight, why do you give any thought to what you eat?
It’s true. My weight is good and my cholesterol level is a ridiculously low 142. But my mother died at age 55 from heart disease, a complication of obesity. Knowing that I have that kind of genetic history does make me even more aware of my lifestyle, not just for myself but for the example that I set for my son. Does that mean that I won’t eat pepperoni pizza? Hardly! But it does make me more aware of the value of moderation.
Keep ‘em coming, people. Glad to know that you’re out there, and happy to answer whatever questions you have.