Running Shoes

With the New York City Marathon coming up in a couple weeks, there's a lot of buzz in the air about running.  Several of my clients have taken up the sport recently:  it's an inexpensive, convenient and easy way to stay in shape especially if you're on the road--all you have to do is pack your shoes and explore a neighborhood or local park.  New York itself is a giant running haven with it's many running paths, parks and tracks.

So how would one go about choosing the right running shoe?  Today's New York Times features an article on this very subject.  To sum it up, the most expensive shoe may not be the best one for you.  Many running shops will analyze your gait, assess how you run and choose most supportive shoe to fit your stride.

Function and comfort should be first and foremost in your selection.  I recommend buying a half-size bigger than you normally do for athletic shoes:  losing toenails is not very fun (trust me).  If you find a shoe that you love, buy 2 pairs and alternate between them both.  

Your shoe should last 350 miles or 6 months.  As soon as you see permanent creases in the heel cushioning, it's time to replace.  But definitely as soon as you feel slight pain in your knees during or after a run.

Avoid gimmicks like the Skechers Shape-Ups, Reebok Easy Toners or the barefoot 5-finger shoe.  These types of shoes do not lose weight for you, nor are they a magical fix-all.  They are simply...gimmicks.  

When you're ready for purchase, ask for a discount!  Running boutiques love students, gym members and fitness addicts!

The Post-Wedding 15

Since getting married, I have put on a solid 4 pounds. 
Ouch.
In my line of work, weight gain can be a career killer.  I always want to look the part and feel my best, no matter what stage of life I find myself in.
So, I marched into my dietitian's office yesterday for a reality check.  Turns out I'm not alone in the weight-gain category:  most newlyweds pack on about 15 pounds during their first year of marriage!!  15?! 
How is this possible?!
Newlyweds want to put the new Cuisinart sitting on the counter to good use.  New wives try to show their husbands their cooking skills.  She eats as much as he does.  The goal of fitting into a little white dress is now behind them. The honeymoon at the beach is over.  Crash-dieting right before the wedding slowed down her metabolism significantly. 
For my part, I didn't lose a huge amount of weight before my wedding but since being back from our honeymoon, I have been so focused on other things I tend to miss workouts.  I have been celebrating with friends and eating rich foods.
I promise to be consistent with my new diet & exercise program and will keep you, dear reader, posted.

Skoogfit Conditioning Class!

Winter is looming, the holidays are right around the corner and the dreaded 5-pound weight gain is threatening to come between us and our hard-earned beach bodies!!!  For this reason, Skoogfit is branching out to small-group (max 8 people) circuit-training and conditioning classes.  We'll do conditioning circuits of 30-seconds on, 20-seconds of transition time for 6-12 exercises with a break between each sequence.  No coordination need apply, no dancing involved.  Just hardcore people determined to improve their fitness level and stay in shape!  All fitness levels welcome!

 

The dirty details:

Where: Ripley Grier Studios 72nd Street, 3rd Floor, Studio 2R and 3R (check the day of to confirm the room number)

When: 8pm Wednesdays & 7pm Fridays in November/December (except for Thanksgiving week and ending December 17th)

Who: With the Skoog!

Cost: $280/person ($35/class with a twice-weekly, 4-week commitment--1 class cancel can be forgiven)

How: Sign up by emailing me at jenny@skoogfit.com

 

Invite friends, co-workers, spouses or give my class as a birthday gift to your best friend!!  Spread the word to anyone you know who might be interested!

 

An Ode to Quinoa

Earlier this year, I kept a food log for my dietitian so I might lose a few pounds for my wedding.  I was getting sick of my usual brown rice-with-dinner and my body craved another grain to shake things up.
Enter Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa).

This grain originates from the ancient South American Inca culture, also known as the 'mother grain'.
I'm a huge fan for several reasons:

• Quinoa contains more high quality protein than any other grain: 6 grams per serving!
• It is a complete protein: it provides all essential amino acids
• A gluten-free food!  No more puffiness!
• It's filling but not heavy like pasta
• Quinoa is quick and easy to prepare: 10-15 minutes and dinner's done!

Typically, I make my quinoa following the basic cooking instructions on the box except substitute water with vegetable broth to give it some zest and added flavor.  I use quinoa as a side-dish with baked fish and steamed vegetables for an amazing meal!

What's for Dinner?

There is so much information in the media right now about eating 'clean' or 'whole' or 'raw' or 'organic' foods that it can become confusing what all these words mean. What's this 'macrobiotic' craze, anyway? Community gardens? Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution? Processed foods?

When I was growing up, we were unknowingly eating organic, whole, local, home-grown food. You see, we lived on a small farm in rural Minnesota where we maintained a garden and ate the animals we raised. Why? Because we had a large family and one man to support us all on his trucker's income. I guess you could say we had a 'community' garden supported by 11 people (Mom, Dad and 9 more-often-than-not reluctant children).

Thanksgiving meal consisted of the turkeys (free-range!) we raised over the course of a year, milk from the cow (hormone-free!) in the grassy pasture (!!), eggs (organic!) from the neighbors' chickens, potatoes, carrots and corn from our garden (pesticide-free!)...we were eating world-class food! We even made our own ice-cream (move over, ben & jerry)!

I am pretty lucky to understand where my steak, eggs, turkey and cheese come from...witnessing firsthand the beheading of chickens, skinning cows, slaughtering pigs and the dilemna of eating Fluffy-The-Bunny. I am decidedly not vegetarian but am conscious of my purchases, making sure my steaks aren't from some creepy midwestern antibiotic-ridden mad-cow-disease-infested factory, nor my eggs from 'nervous hens'. Sometimes I get grossed out drinking cows' milk. I just can't shake the memory of tugging an udder for eternity only to have the cow kick over the bucket after hours of my hard work!

Many of my city-folk neighbors do not appreciate this process: how is a child raised in Harlem, Brooklyn or the Lower East Side supposed to know where their chicken nuggets come from? Unless they've visited a farm or taken a course on horticulture, 'hormone-free' or 'organic' might just be fancy words on supermarket packages.

A great place to start understanding our food might be Michael Pollan's book, "The Omnivore's Dilemna". In it, he tries to answer some of the most basic questions about our food: Should we eat a fast-food hamburger? Something organic? Or perhaps something we hunt, gather, or grow ourselves? I also really loved the movie (or book), "Food, Inc." It's a fascinating look at industrial, processed foods. Visiting a farm, apple orchard or community garden might shed some light on where food comes from.

Even I learned something on a recent Connecticut farm visit! Did you know Venus Fly Traps need a little raw hamburger every now and then?!

The Sugar Ban

I live in a mixed-income neighborhood in Harlem but do most of my grocery shopping at Whole Foods. When I run into a particular ingredient shortage, I head to the local bodega just up the street. It never ceases to amaze me when I see my fellow neighbors buying chips, soda-pop, ice cream, candy and cheap processed--if you can call it--food with food stamps.

In the news recently, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is seeking to ban sugary drinks from the food stamp program...yet, I see ads all around town trying to fight this proposal. This is the same guy who banned smoking in bars & restaurants, trans fats from restaurant food and forced chain restaurants to post calorie counts on their menus. New York officials wrote that spending government money on "foods of little or no nutritional value not only contradicts the intent of the program, it also effectively subsidizes a serious public health epidemic." Bloomberg has said, "Sugar-sweetened drinks are not worth the cost to our health, and government shouldn't be promoting or subsidizing them."

Next up: the salt ban...Bloomberg plans on tackling the amount of sodium allowed in foods by getting manufacturing companies to commit to voluntarily reducing sodium in their foods. A man after my heart...!

The cigarette ban certainly worked for me...I quit smoking when the smoking ban took effect. In addition to it not being 'cool' anymore, it was easier not to light up if nobody else was doing it. I hope the sugar, salt, trans-fat, calorie-counting initiatives work for others the way the smoking ban worked for me!!

A vicious cycle

I have amazing clients...they inspire me every day. Even though I've been doing this for years, I learn so many things each week from everyone in my life.

I'd like to share a story about a client we'll call "Penny". She has been trying to lose weight ever since we met 5 years ago and we have seriously tried everything. We worked out with a heart rate monitor, we boxed. We took up running and quit drinking. She kept a food log for me and truly tried her hardest.

After countless doctor appointments (including visits to an endocrinologist), thyroid checks, visits to Canyon Ranch and sleep studies, we were both so frustrated we'd cry together. The weight wouldn't budge. And believe me, I am emotionally invested in this peach. If you knew her, you'd be too. She is really, really cool.

Then. A few months ago, the weight started coming off. A pound per week. Slow and steady. She has lost TEN POUNDS so far!!!!!!!! I am overjoyed!

I asked Penny if she could explain to me exactly how this happened...was it Soul Cycle, the new amped-up spinning craze? How about our decision to lift really, really heavy weights? Could it be that she started seeing a dietitian? Was she getting more sleep? Did her schedule suddenly lighten up giving her less life stress?

All of the above, it turns out. In fact, Penny pointed out that the biggest change was consistency and balance. She became more relaxed about eating, achieved a better work/life balance, developed an addiction to spin classes and in turn, her emotional state has evened out.

My lesson is this: sometimes, obsessing about losing weight becomes the problem. A vicious cycle of disappointing weigh-ins lead to stress lead to self-sabotage which lead to weight gain. And so on.

Go Penny! I am so so so proud, happy, and ecstatic!