Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Vibrant and Not So Vibrant

Today was a day of discovery.

Discovery One: I am an efficient fat burning machine (but that I eat too much, hence I'm not as slim as a pin).

...or at least, I'm better than average.

My work has just initiated the Vibrant Living program. A company comes in, they test all of us, personalise a program to improve our health and fitness (read: productivity at work) and then monitor us every four months on progress.  Sounds good so far, especially when you consider we get a heart rate monitor as well!

This morning I had my fitness test - measuring, skin folds (argh!) and fuel efficiency.  Very surprisingly, my fuel efficiency was pretty good (above average), and apparently my most efficient fat burning zone is 81-90 beats per minute.  This for me is equivalent to a casual Sunday stroll, so I'm very surprised.  The woman running the assessment recommended I work out between 120-130 bpm, as I would still apparently be burning fat here, but also have cardiovascular benefits.  Right-e-ho, out the window goes intense interval training then?

But how am I going to train for a half marathon then?  Better ask that question tomorrow when I finish up with  my nutritional assessment.  On the plus side, I got to wear sports gear all day at work today which was a bit of a novelty.


Discovery Two: Miraculous hunger appears from no-where the moment I get home from work.

A tough habit to crack.  When I come home from work I put down my handbag and go straight to the fridge for a pre-dinner snack.  Even when I'm not hungry leaving work, I swear I miraculously become starved the moment I walk in the door.  Why?!  I can't figure it out!  I don't even have a strategy in place to combat it.  Padlocking the fridge seems a bit extreme....


Discovery Three: If I don't exercise in a day, I barely move

I was reading about pedometers yesterday - an intriguing idea.  I bet I barely walk at all during the day: bus to work, desk job, bus home.  Could be interesting/motivating/devastating.

I'm looking forward to getting my heart rate monitor, but am wondering how to incorporate a pedometer into my wardrobe without looking like a complete drop-kick... like those people who wear their phones in little pouches on their belts!


Discovery Four: Celery and Honeydew Melon is not a good juice combo

Due to not being able to eat (or drink coffee) for two hours before my fitness test, I didn't have breakfast.  Breakfast is a major event in my day - breakfast, coffee, news headlines, Facebook perusal... I definitely embrace taking my time in the morning - usually about 90 minutes from out of bed to out the door.  Basically it was all out the window, so I was ready for work in record time.

Anyway, I digress....

Healthy, satisfying breakfast options in the mall where I work are hard to come by, so I opted for a juice.  I read the other day that people should consume more green, so I opted for a vegetable/fruit juice combo - celery and melon.  Hmmmm.... not as bad as beetroot and strawberry (yes, I've tried it), but seriously tasted like I was drinking earth (and I like celery).  Tick on the healthy, miss on the satisfying.  Thank god for ruby grapefruit skewers.





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