Three books

Day one of learning how to reform my eating habits: tofu-spinach scramble with grapefruit bits and pomegranate green tea. Yum!

When someone says "In all honesty..." or "To tell you the truth..." I usually figure he or she is about to tell me a whopper or at least to bend a few facts. That said, I want to tell you about two aspects of my running life (so what's new), nutrition and inspiration. The in all honesty part is that I have hesitated to write this post. Why? Because it involves two (really three) books about fitness that I've read recently that have influenced my thinking in big ways--and I count the author, Stephanie Atwood, as a friend. I even did some editorial work on one of the the books, so I grant that my praise here could seem suspect.

Those who have known me for a while can report that I have whined in the past when I've had to edit books and any other copy that I haven't liked. So you know I would never gratuitously praise bad work, so I must be telling you in all honesty that to me these books should be in every athlete's library--whether the athlete is an elite or (like me) a wannabe whose wanna is to be fit for life.

In particular I recommend Confidence: The Accidental Athlete, which is the story of Stephanie's life-long journey toward fitness. This book gave me the kind of inspiration that I feed on when I need motivation.

And speaking of feeding, the other two books are about fuel for keeping a body fit for life. Although Stephanie is a college-educated sports nutritionist, Belly Fat Blow-Out and Belly Fat Blow-Out 2 (perhaps also known as the return of Belly Fat Blow-Out?) offer an eating program that anyone in this carbohydrate-, sugar-consuming culture we live in can follow and reap large benefits.

I am currently nearing the end of Week Four in this six-week program. The results have been good. I've learned to prepare some tasty, healthy meals. I've dropped 4 of those pesky 5 pounds that mysteriously came to visit me last winter and then decided to stay. 

The program isn't rocket surgery. It basically spells out why your carbohydrate intake any given day should be almost gram for gram the same as your protein intake. I'm not going to pretend I can articulate the science behind this--after all, there are already two good books available that do that--but I'll tell you that for the most part I am a fan of this regimen. To tell you the truth, when the six weeks are up I will do some tweaking to my menus so I can maintain this new way of eating for an extended period and at the same time can keep Z from leaving me for one of the counter help at Baskin-Robbins.

I'm happy to report that my energy level, which tends to dip when I push my training, has stayed fairly constant, although I do sleep soundly at night! I haven't prepared any food that I haven't enjoyed eating (cottage cheese whipped in a blender with a banana and thrown in the freezer for an hour anyone? Z said, "This is good pudding!")

I'm running the Big Sur half marathon in three weeks and don't plan on altering the way I've been eating between now and then.

I will fly through the half marathon like the Red Baron skims over the ocean. Rats! I don't have a doghouse. Guess I'll have to rely on my new, improved athlete's body!