Day 80- Napa Ragnar Here We Come!

It is official, team "We Don't Run For Fun," is at it again. This time we will be headed from San Francisco up to Calistoga. Keeping the majority of the team members with just a few new additions.

If this description doesn't get you excited, what does?

PICTURE THIS: The Golden Gate Bridge. Wine Country. You and 11 of your closest friends running day and night, relay style, through some of Northern California's most beautiful scenery. This running event starts in Marina Green, near downtown San Francisco, runners will take awe in the views of the Bay Area while crossing the Golden Gate Bridge as they head toward Sausalito and Mill Valley. Participants will race inland and experience the rolling hills and farmland of Petaluma before heading toward the Valley of the Moon. This race will guide runners south to Sonoma and along country roads to Napa Valley, where endless vineyards will surround runners. The race (and your stamina) will wrap up in Calistoga. Mark your running calendars; you don’t want to miss this race.

Can't wait for the next Ragnar experience!

Pura Vida!

Alica Ryan, NTP

Day 79- Weight is Just a Number

Why are so many of us so obsessed with the numbers on the scale? While no matter how well we eat, exercise, or how well our clothes fit us it will never feel as good as seeing the scale change numbers.

Truth be told, the scale does not tell the whole story. Yes, we have all heard that a pound of fat and a pound of muscle all weigh the same, or that a pound of feathers and a pound of bricks all weigh the same. A pound is a pound no matter what the object is, but there is more to this picture when it comes to your body and trying to loose weight.

First of all, your weight may fluctuate several pounds throughout the day. Think about when you weigh yourself first thing in the morning verse at the end of the day. Water weight can definitely move the numbers up or down and cause you to see a slight difference each time you step on the scale.

What many people forget about is that although the scale may not be budging from that set number, muscle is more dense and takes up less space than fat. This is why as the scale stays the same you may still begin to look leaner and your clothes may fit you better. Look at a woman that weights 140 lb. with 15% body fat verse a woman that weights 140 lb. with 35% body fat. The woman that only has the 15% body fat is going to look a lot leaner than the one with the 35% body fat.

Not only does muscle make you look leaner, it also will help you stay leaner and burn more calories at rest. Muscle helps to boost your metabolism, so that although they weigh the same, a pound of muscle will burn more calories at rest than a pound of fat.

The challenge is remembering that even when the scale doesn't cooperate the way you want, you may still be making progress on your weight loss goals. Focus on how your clothes fit, and the healthy tone you develop from working out. These will be your true markers and will help to keep you motivated.

Pura Vida!

Alica Ryan, NTP

Day 78- The Cove

Here is one of the most eye-opening documentary films that I have had the opportunity to see.

Learn about what really is going on in Japan's hidden cove. This film discusses the cruel treatment and mass slaughtering of dolphins, the effects of mercury, and the battle to help bring this to the public eye. If you have not yet seen this film, I recommend taking the time to see what these beautifully smart creatures are facing and learn how you can make a difference.

To learn what you can do to help, please visit this website: http://www.takepart.com/thecove

Pura Vida!

Alica Ryan, NTP

Day 77- Caveman Diet

The caveman diet or better know as the Paleo diet is based on food that has been available throughout our evolution during the paleolithic era. The idea behind this diet is that our genes and physiology evolved through the process of natural selection and are most adapted to be nourished with the food that we evolved around. After the agricultural revolution foods that were not prominent in our diets, became overly common. Foods like grains, sugar, vegetable oils, dairy, legumes have become a dietary staple in most America's diet.

Health professionals, as well as the government have stressed the importance of removing saturated fats, cholesterol, and red meat from our diets, but the Paleo model believes that this is the wrong advice. Instead the thought is that these newer (neolithic) foods are the cause of common diseases such as, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.

Foods that are allowed on the Paleo diet:

• Lean proteins (ideally) grass fed meat, free range fowl and wild caught fish
• Seasonal fruits and vegetables
• Healthy fats such as nuts, seeds, avocado, olive oil, and coconut oil

To download the Quick Start guide to the Paleo diet, click here.

According to the Paleo Diet lifestyle website, there are 15 rules:

1. The Paleo diet should be high in fat,moderate in animal protein and low to moderate in carbohydrates. Calorie counting is not encouraged, neither is portion control.
2. Eat unlimited amounts of saturated fats like coconut oil and butter or clarified butter. Beef tallow, lard and duck fat are also good, but only if they come from healthy and well-treated animals. Beef or lamb tallow is a better choice than lamb or duck fat. Olive, avocado and macadamia oil are also good fats to use in salads and to drizzle over food, but not for cooking.
3. Eat generous amounts of animal protein. This includes red meat, poultry, pork, eggs, organs (liver, kidney, heart…), wild caught fish and shellfish. Don’t be scared to eat the fatty cuts and all meals with proteins should contain fat as well. Learn to cook with bones in the form of stocks and broths.
4. Eat good amounts of fresh or frozen vegetables either cooked or raw and served with fat. Starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes and yams are also great as a source of non-toxic carbohydrates.
5. Eat low to moderate amounts of fruits and nuts. Try to eat mostly fruits low in sugar and high in antioxidants like berries as well as nuts high in omega-3, low in omega-6 and low in total polyunsaturated fat like macadamia nuts. Consider cutting off fruits and nuts altogether if you have an autoimmune disease, digestive problem or are trying to lose weight faster.
6. Preferably choose pasture-raised and grass-fed meat coming from a local, environmentally conscious farms. If not possible, choose lean cuts of meat and supplement your fat with coconut oil, butter or clarified butter. Also preferably choose organic, local and/or seasonal fruits and vegetables.
7. Cut out all cereal grains and legumes from your diet. This includes, but is not limited to, wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, brown rice, soy, peanuts, kidney beans, pinto beans, navy beans and black eyed peas.
8. Cut out all vegetable, hydrogenated and partly-hydrogenated oils including, but not limited to, margarines, soybean oil, corn oil, crisco, peanut oil, canola oil, safflower oil and sunflower oil. Olive oil and avocado oil are fine, but don’t cook with them, use them in salad dressings and to drizzle over prepared food.
9. Eliminate sugar, soft drinks, all packaged products and juices (including fruit juices). As a rule of thumb, if it’s in a box, don’t eat it. At the grocery store, visit only the meat, fish and produce sections.
10. Eliminate dairy products other then butter and maybe heavy cream. You don’t need dairy, but if you can’t live without, try fermented dairy products.
11. Eat when you’re hungry and don’t stress if you skip a meal or even two. You don’t have to eat three square meals a day, do what feels most natural.
12. Eliminate sources of external stress in your life as much as possible and sleep the most you can. Try to wakeup without an alarm and to go to bed when it’s dark.
13. Don’t over-exercise, keep your training sessions short and intense and do them only a few times per week. Take some extra time off if you feel tired. Consider short and intense sprinting sessions instead of very long cardio sessions.
14. Consider supplementing with vitamin D and probiotics. Levels of magnesium, iodine and vitamin K2 should also be optimized. Iodine can be obtained from seaweeds. You probably don’t need a multivitamin or other supplements.
15. Play in the sun, have fun, laugh, smile, relax, discover, travel, learn and enjoy life like a daring adventure!

Pura Vida!

Alica Ryan, NTP

Food-Pie Picture

Day 76- Chi-Town Cardio

It's been a rainy and dreary weekend in Chicago; perfect for some good ol' mood boosting cardio for the workout of the week!

This workout can be done with any of your favorite cardio equipment, treadmill, stairclimber, elliptical trainer, bicycle, etc. The purpose of this interval workout is to gradually increase your high intensity time, peaking in the middle, and then gradually reducing the high intensity time. Your high intensity speed should push you, if you are on the treadmill then this should be a sprint. Intervals are a great way to burn fat, and will cause your body to burn calories even after you are done working out.

Pyramid style intervals:

• Warm up- 5 minutes
• 30 seconds high intensity, 1 minute low intensity
• 45 seconds high intensity, 1 minute low intensity
• 60 seconds high intensity, 1 minutes low intensity
• 90 seconds high intensity, 1 minute low intensity
• 60 seconds high intensity, 1 minute low intensity
• 45 seconds high intensity, 1 minute low intensity
• 30 seconds high intensity, 1 minute low intensity
• Cool down- 5 minutes

Too easy?

Increase your high intensity times, so that your total workout is longer.

Pura Vida!

Alica Ryan, NTP

Day 75- How Soy Formula is Similar to Birth Control

Granted, I am not a mother, so I don't quite understand the struggle that parents face when trying to do what's right to raise their children. But what I do understand is that soy formula should be the LAST option when it comes to feeding your children.

Why do I feel so strongly about soy? Well, I wrote my first blog ever on soy, because truthfully I am not a fan. Today though I would like to only focus on soy's effects on growing children.

We can say hands down, breast milk by far is the best food for babies.

Breast milk is widely acknowledged as the most complete form of nutrition for infants, with a range of benefits for infants' health, growth, immunity and development.

-- Healthy People 2010, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia

We also know that some mothers are not able to make the choice to breast feed and must supplement the baby with formula. So what are their options? The next best option would be cow's or goat's milk, but some parents feel that these are not ideal due to allergies in the baby, or hormones and antibiotics fed to cattle. So the next logical choice that parents choose is soy, since it is marketed as a "natural" choice and said to be hypoallergenic. Truth be told, soy is actually a very allergic food. And for babies that can tolerate traditional or hypoallergenic cow's milk formula, soy is not recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

So why do I suggest avoiding soy formula, unless it is the only viable option left?

The biggest concern to me is the estrogenic effects of soy. According to the Weston Price Foundation, "Babies fed soy-based formula have 13,000 to 22,000 times more estrogen compounds in their blood than babies fed milk-based formula. Infants exclusively fed soy formula receive the estrogenic equivalent of at least five birth control pills per day." Research also suggests that females fed soy formula as infants may have early onset of puberty, longer duration of menstrual bleeding, or more painful menstrual cycles. Since soy has been shown to be an endocrine disrupter, boys fed soy-formula, may have less testosterone, due to the high levels of estrogen in the formula. This disruption can lead to learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder, smaller than normal testes, and altered male characteristics after puberty.

If that alone is not enough to convince you to avoid soy formula, how about these reasons?

• High levels of aluminum found in soy formulas which can be toxic to the nervous system and kidneys
• Extremely high levels of manganese, some formulas contain 80 times more manganese than human breast milk, and has been suggested as a link between ADD
• Contains phytic acid which can reduce the absorption of nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, and zinc. And may in the long run cause growth problems in children.
• Lacks complete amino acids
• Other studies are still being concluded but have suggested possible connections with weakening of the immune system, thyroid damage, neurological damage, and reproduction issues.

For a great chart comparing human breast milk to soy formula, visit Dr. Sears's website.

If you would like a brochure from the Weston Price Foundation regarding the dangers of soy, visit their website.

So although conclusive long term studies still need to be done regarding the effects of soy formula later on in life, I still believe that the information out there already is enough to convince me to avoid it. Again if soy formula is your last resort, then so be it, but there are many more options out there that you can try first. Visit this website to learn about how to make your own baby formulas.

Pura Vida!

Alica Ryan, NTP

So al

Day 74- Best Ad Ever, oh yeah and about the shoes...

What a catchy slogan, "You are the Technology," and not too bad to look at either. You sold me! Wait, what are they selling anyways?

Vibram, five finger shoes are showing up everywhere, but what exactly is this new trend?

It's called barefoot running and the idea behind it is exactly that; mimicking the feeling of running barefoot but with a little extra protection.

So unlace your sneakers, and get naked...well at least in regards to your feet.

What is the point of running barefoot? Isn't it all about arch support, absorbing shock, cushion, and the newest design and research on high tech sneakers? So with all that effort they have put into making our run more comfortable, now we are being told that it's actually better to run without?

According to an article in Runner's World, shoes do serve a purpose; they deceive the body. "Here's a explanation, based on your body's proprioceptive abilities- that is, the way it can communicate up and down all pathways. When you run barefoot, your body precisely engages your vision, your brain, the soles of your feet, and all the muscles, bones, tendons, and supporting structures of your feet and legs. They leap to red alert, and give you a high degree of protection from the varying pressures and forces of running. On the other hand, when you run in socks, shoes, inserts, midsoles, and outsoles, your body's proprioceptive system loses a lot of input."

Running shoes are designed for us to land on our heels and then roll to our toes, but can you image running like that when you are barefoot? No way, that would be too painful. Landing on your heels can result in undue shock and potential injury, especially to your knees and back.

So why then do we run like that when we wear shoes? Experienced marathon runners actually land on the balls of their feet as well, which keeps their stride light and smooth. Then there is the 1960, Ethiopia's Olympic marathoner, Abebe Bikila, who won the first of his consecutive gold medals sans shoes, while at the same time creating a world record of 2:15:17.

Other draw backs of running with shoes:

• It can impede our natural gait, which may result in shortened achilles tendon and calf muscles.
• It takes around 4% more energy to run with shoes, not only because of the added weight, but because we have to force our bodies to propel forward when we strike first on our heels.
• When a shoe is doing all the work that your feet would normally do, then you can cause the foot muscles to stop working as effectively and loose proper form and function of your feet.
• Heel striking can decelerate a runner, opposing the natural desire to move forward with each step.

Word to the wise: Go slow, ease into barefoot running. Shorten your distance considerably when first starting out, to help avoid injury. It's going to take time to retrain your body to run on the balls of your feet, so don't get discouraged.

There are also other barefoot shoes out there, I just like the ad for this brand.

For more information on barefoot running check out these additional websites:

www.runningbarefoot.org

www.barefootted.com

www.barefootrunner.org

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/even-if-the-shoe-fits-forget-it/

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v463/n7280/full/nature08723.html

http://sportsci.org/jour/0103/mw.htm

Pura Vida!

Alica Ryan, NTP