Sunday night, last weekend, I got hit by a ton of bricks in the form of a chest cold, and got to spend the next few days at home in bed.  Fembot broke down a few days and needed a tune-up.

Yeah, I got my days off, but it wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.  I did get to read a bit, and watch a few movies, so that was the good news.  I lost my voice for a day, and mostly slept, occasionally arising for a piece of toast and some fluids.  I had to cancel all of my workouts and coaching sessions.  Even today, as I start to feel more normal than not, I probably will still not attempt a workout to save my energy for tomorrow’s run.

The lesson here is that my intuition was right.  I thought I needed a few days off to recharge my batteries, and indeed I did.  In the end, my body insisted on it. When I was in college, I noticed that right after the semester ended, I would get sick.  I would make it all the way through final exams, and then BOOM – major cold.  It seemed that my body was able to hold on, knowing that all I had to do was get through finals, and then it could let down its guard.  But now, I’m not on semesters, and just go, go, go, all the time, with no clear end dates.  I don’t have a designated break time in which it is “convenient” to have a cold.  I think this is the case for most people, so the best we can do is to try to heed the warning signs, and preemptively take some breaks.

Will you have some break time soon to relax and recover?  Be sure to find the time (or else it will find you).

Water is also extremely important for us humans, and even more so for those who are hoping to lose weight or perform well athletically.

Here are some water facts:

• Water makes up about 60% of the adult human body by weight.
• The average person should drink about 96 ounces of water per day, plus
  • Those wanting to lose weight should consume an additional 8 oz glass for every 25 lbs above ideal weight; and
  • (Of course) additional water is needed with exercise or in a hot environment
• For exercising < 60 minutes, water is the best fluid replacement drink (although a sport drink can be beneficial for exercise > 60 min).
• Fluid loss of only 2% has an adverse effect on circulatory functions and will decrease an athlete’s performance level.
• Water has an effect on many bodily functions, such as endocrine gland function, metabolic function, body temperature regulation, and maintenance of proper blood volume.
• Drinking the right amount of water helps the body use more fat for energy, and it can also decrease appetite.
• Drinking water (ironically) helps reduce water retention in the body.

Make sure you are drinking the proper amount of water every day so that your body can function at its best. 

I think I’ll go get a glass of water now.  Cheers!

• in 2009, 9 states had obesity rates reaching at least 30%, compared to 3 states in 2007
• 2.4 million more people became obese in that 2-year period
• medical costs of obesity are estimated to be $147 billion per year

The article also points out that as obesity rates increase, so does the number of people who will get sick and die from complications of obesity: heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer.

Of course, researchers point to poor diets and lack of exercise as the culprits for the growing trend.  The good news here is that diet and exercise are within our power to control.

These statistics are a call to action!  Now is the time — if you are not already eating right and exercising regularly — to start working toward a more healthy you.

What are you doing today to become more healthy and fit?

Recently I participated in a bike ride sponsored by the Austin chapter of Organic Athlete to visit various vegan restaurants around town.  One of the stops was at a new place called Beets, located on 5th St near Mopac.  Beets was offering the cyclists discounted smoothies, and so I tried one that was made of blueberries, orange, and either spinach or kale (I forget now which).

Almost 20 years ago, I embarked on a mission to become an expert juicer.  I read Juicing for Life, got myself a juicer, and started juicing like crazy.  I tried all kinds of combinations, including recipes that were supposedly tried and true winners.  Frankly, I found most of them disgusting, and dealing with the juicer was a big hassle (cleaning too for-ev-er).  Didn’t take long for me to abandon juicing in spite of the nutritional benefits.

Fast forward to the blueberry-orange-green smoothie.  I was skeptical, but willing to try it.  Lo and behold, it was pretty good, actually.  Even my daughter said it was “okay,” knowing that it had lots of greens in it.

I went back to Beets a few days ago and had another smoothie: the tropical green.  It was bright green, and again, I was skeptical, “knowing” it was going to taste just like ground up greens like back in the juicing days.  Wrong. Tasted like mangos and bananas!  Delicious.  Amazing.  Not just “okay” but rocking!

At the restaurant, they had for sale a book called the Green Smoothie Revolution, by Victoria Boutenko, which I picked up to give me some ideas.  It is chock-full of green smoothie recipes, and so far I am 2 for 2 from that book and looking forward to trying more.

I’ve put in an order for a Vita-Mix (heavy duty) blender based on several recommendations, so I’ll report on that when it comes in.  I’m told that using the Vita-Mix versus a regular blender is like day versus night, and that it is worth its weight in gold, so we’ll see…