We’ll Make the Best of What’s Around

July 1, 2016 by Meridith

Hey friends!

We’ve been doing a lot of celebrating here at Scoot a Doot lately and with good reason. Good things have been happening in our lives and there’s really nothing better than seeing your friends do well and succeed.

A few weeks ago we were all excited to hear the news that Kyle got engaged to her boyfriend (now fiance), Clay!

At a Dave Matthews Band concert, no less!

We Chicks don’t get to see each other very often in person which is most unfortunate but three of us were actually able to get together this past weekend. Kyle lives in Virginia and I’m in NJ. Victoria’s local (to us) baby shower was her hometown of Lancaster, PA! Score!

Celebrating with Kyle right after her big news and already in the midst of planning a wedding was awesome!

Then there is Victoria, who is expecting her little one! Guys, she is the most glowing pregnant lady ever.

vicpregnant

Thankfully she loves me and my hands because while I logically know the need for personal space, she was very gracious about letting me and our bestie, Kelly, lay our hands on her baby bump. A lot. Like, over and over and over.

handsbelly

It was so good to be together with a portion of my tribe. The weekend was just what I needed: filled with love and laughter and cake! (And wine for those of us without child.)

vicgifts

Twenty-five years of friendship equals many graduations, birthdays, a wedding shower, and now a much anticipated baby shower. It was truly so heartwarming to see all the beautiful and thoughtful gifts she received. The love that was felt in the room was strong.

vicfamily

kylevicmer

There are so many happy good things going on with us all right now and I’m loving every minute of it. Our distance can keep us apart a good majority of the year, when we are together it’s just as lovely as the last.

Tell me about the good stuff going on in your life right now! I’d love to hear it and celebrate your successes and triumphs with you.

My First Coach: A Father’s Day Post

June 17, 2016 by kpjenn

I’ve written before about how a big part of my running inspiration is my mom. She was the marathoner, the mountain climber, the skier and the outdoors woman who brought me along on her adventures so that I would learn an appreciation for the things she loved. She taught me a lot about endurance and finding that little bit extra deep down to keep going.

My mom played a big role in my development as an athlete, but I didn’t realize most of it until I was an adult.
But this post is actually about my dad. Father’s Day is this weekend, and it seemed like a perfect time to reflect on everything he has taught me.

He was my first coach – putting a basketball in my hands for the first time. Buying me a hoop so I could practice lay-ups and free throws in my driveway. Volunteering to coach every team I played on until I was 12.
Each high school game I played, I knew where I could find him: sitting in the top row of the bleachers, watching, taking it all in. After the game, he’d have feedback – and even when I was upset with myself or didn’t want to hear his critique, he was patient with me. I always knew he was right, I just didn’t always like admitting it.

Before every game, he would give me a tip of the day. Anything from “block out” to “drive the lane” – his one tip was always something I did well to remember as I took the court. For an away tournament, he gave me a note card with tips of the day on it so that I could have his advice with me even when he couldn’t be there to watch.

When I went to play basketball in college, that notecard came with me, and lived in my gym bag. It traveled to every game even though my dad couldn’t. My dad would call or text those tips of the day before each game, too, so that I was never without my first coach.

I still have this notecard… it lives in my desk at work and it’s still useful. “Head up” is just good life advice.

Playing basketball taught me more lessons than I could enumerate. About leadership, about working as a team, about repetition and working hard and not giving in. All practical on the court, but even more applicable to life. Lessons I wouldn’t have learned as well if my dad hadn’t fostered my growth as an athlete for all those years.

Exhibit A

His guiding hand has always been there for me, helping me navigate sticky situations, like teaching me how to deal with my 401K. My dad is the king of planning and lists and I absolutely picked that trait up from him, too. He’s goofy (see Exhibit A), he’s funny, he knows more sports trivia than anyone I know. But more importantly, my dad CARES. He cares for his family and for his friends. His heart is big and he goes miles beyond for someone in need. Literal miles. He has traveled halfway across the country on multiple occasions to help family through heavy and trying times. My dad has taught me more about what it means to be a good and kind human being than anyone else, because he lives it. Every day.

I know many people for whom Father’s Day is not a day of celebration – their fathers have been lost to them for some reason or another. On this day, I wish them peace and send them love – I can’t take away the pain or sadness they feel.

But I’m extraordinarily grateful to be able to celebrate my dad, because I’m extraordinarily grateful that my life has him in it. He is one of the best things about who I am. And he’s still giving me tips of the day.

Finding Motivation in Unexpected PRs

June 3, 2016 by kpjenn

I’d be lying if I said that the last couple of weeks in the gym have been stellar. In fact, the last couple of weeks have been anything but stellar, from both a gym and nutrition perspective. Have I been working out? Yes. Have I been eating healthy? For the most part. Have I also been totally exhausted and consequently lacking motivation? Oh yes.

It’s been really difficult to push myself on days that I have to work out by myself and even more difficult to convince myself to go run or do any kind of heavy cardio workout. I couldn’t even.

So, it was a really pleasant surprise that after my weekend away (hiking and camping and watching baseball), getting back in the gym this week felt good. It probably helped a lot that we mixed up our workout routine again – instead of lifting heavy, we’ve transitioned into more HIIT-inspired workouts with elements of CrossFit (kind of). The boyfriend is currently training for his next Physical Fitness Test, so we’ve put more emphasis on those elements: running, pull-ups, crunches, and supplemented with other conditioning and weight training.

These workouts remind me a lot of what I used to do in high school and college basketball practices. Lots of conditioning and strength training that kicks my butt and simultaneously humbles me and reminds me how strong I am. That’s an awesome feeling.

Never was this more evident than earlier this week: I hit a massive PR on my bench press and then cranked out more pull-ups than I ever have.

It was really the pull-ups that got me though, because we did them at the very end of our workout and I was totally gassed. We pyramid them, starting at 6 and going down to 1, before working our way back up to 6. That ends up being 41 pull-ups.

As a kid, I used to do gymnastics and could do pull-ups and chin-ups no problem. I would actually do them all the time in my backyard. But, add about 20 years and 100 pounds and pull-ups got really, really difficult. Last summer, I could barely do one. But, this winter and spring I worked hard on the skill and now I can string them together much better. So, it was a huge win for me the other day when I did our 6-5-4-3-2-1-2-3-4-5-6 pyramid without failure.

They might not be the prettiest, but I’m proud of them and the hard work that I’ve put in to be able to even do this many. Seeing how far I’ve come in less than a year gives me the motivation I’ve been lacking to keep pushing myself, to keep programming workouts that challenge me and force me to work on my weak skills. To turn those weaknesses into strengths.

Moral of this story: sometimes we have down weeks. Sometimes we struggle to find our stride, literally and figuratively. Sometimes, we just want to eat ice cream and cake and sit on the couch and watch the NBA playoffs. But, sometimes, looking back at where you were and the progress you’ve made can be just the kick in the pants that you need to get your head and your heart back in it. Our bodies are capable of really amazing things – I’m excited to see what the next amazing thing is.

Camping: A How-To for Food

May 25, 2016 by kpjenn

This weekend, we have plans. We’ll be spending the long weekend (and my birthday!) in the Shenandoah Mountains in Virginia. I’ve been looking forward to this camping trip for a couple of months and now that it’s finally upon us, it’s time to start deciding what foodstuffs we’re taking along.

Okay, this is Alaska, but camping there is amazing, too. And isn’t this view incredible?!

Now, planning a menu for a weekend spent in the woods, sleeping in a tent, without a proper kitchen, can be a little daunting. But, thanks to years as a girl scout and parents who took us camping as kids all the time, the task of packing the foodz isn’t so bad.

(Really, we can chalk it up to my dad’s affinity for lists that has been passed down to me. Everything seems more manageable with a list .)

Getting started might be the hardest part, but here a few steps I take to make sure cover all my bases.

What Are The Cooking Conditions?

I always start with this question, because knowing how I’m going to be able to cook my food usually determines what I can bring. This weekend, I’m tent camping, which means no camper or RV with a kitchen. We’ll either be cooking over the fire (dinners) or using my camp stove to boil water for breakfast, and packing lunches that don’t require heat (pb&j!). Knowing that I have a campfire with a grate gives me lots of options – this weekend we’ll be using trusty pre-made (by me) foil packets. We’ll put salmon filets in some, and sliced potatoes, onions, garlic, etc. in the others. They turn out to be some of the tastiest meals ever. Yum!

How Many Meals Do You Have to Prepare?

I find it really helpful when packing for a camping trip, to plan out each meal ahead of time, that way I know exactly how much food I need to pack. This weekend, we’ll be out two nights, so as you can see from the above grid, I’ve planned out our days by food. This plan will be my grocery list for tonight and my packing list for Saturday morning. I’ll just throw things in the cooler and we’ll be good to go!

What Are Your Daily Activities?

Knowing what you’re planning to do each day you’re out can really help determine what food you should bring. Typically, when I camp, I like to be pretty active, so I know that the food I bring needs to sustain long periods of activity, but also be easy to throw in a day pack. We’ll be hiking for much of the day Sunday, so while breakfast and dinner will be had at the campsite, lunch and snacks will be on the trail. Protein bars, trail mix, granola, and pb&j sandwiches are all great options. They’re easy to pack, both in the car and in your day pack, they’re full of the protein and carbs to sustain a long day of activity, and they’re yummy!

Be Bear Aware: Food Storage

One thing that’s important to consider every time you go camping: how am I going to store my food? Remember, you’re going to be in a wilderness area – you’re coming in to an animal’s home and just because you set up your tent and stake your claim to an area doesn’t mean that all of the critters will leave you alone. Growing up and camping in Alaska, I was taught to always be bear aware, and that included knowing how to store my food while in the woods. If you’re car camping, lock it up inside any time you’re not using it. If you’re tent camping, make sure you store your food in a bag, off the ground, away from your campsite – never in your tent! Flimsy walls will do nothing to keep a bear at bay.

Pack Out What You Pack In

Piggy-backing on the last point, the last key to a successful food venture in the woods is cleanup. Food waste and trash are notoriously smelly, and nothing attracts wild animals like the pungent aroma of last night’s dinner. Proper disposal of these items not only ensures that your campsite stays safe, but also guarantees that you’re doing your part to keep the wilderness clean, so that you and others can come back and enjoy it again. If you’re in a campground, there will be dumpsters for you to use – we usually take our trash out after dinner every night so it doesn’t sit in the car and stink things up. If you’re backpacking, you’ll need to pack out your garbage and dispose of it when you reach an appropriate garbage can.

Ultimately, camping is the funnest and cooking over a fire is one of my most favorite things. I’m looking forward to a weekend in the mountains, relaxing by the tent, hiking through the woods, and enjoying some s’mores by the fire – it’ll be a very happy birthday, indeed!

Quest Nutrition: Our Two Cents

May 9, 2016 by kpjenn

Last month, Quest Nutrition announced a new initiative: QuestLabs – a space to share new products with customers while they are still in the development stage.

As a member of Quest Labs, you’re an essential part of our innovation process. This privilege comes with many benefits, including access to products that haven’t been released to the public, plus the ability to help us continue to improve through your feedback. You’re now a stakeholder in Quest and it’s an honor to work with you. Welcome to Quest Labs!

As a fan of Quest protein bars and protein powder, I knew I wanted to get in on this, so Clay and I ordered a few of the test products to try…

Protein Bar

Clay: It’s Quest. They’re perfect. Nothing new here.

Kyle: Hahaha. Well, yes. That’s about it. I’ve been using Quest protein bars for a couple of years now and I love them. Lots of flavors, low in sugar and carbs, high in protein. Great for a pre-workout snack, these are often my breakfast go-to for a long run. The new flavors released here were Oatmeal Chocolate Chip, Rocky Road and Blueberry Muffin. Though it was difficult to pick a favorite, I think I have to give this one to Oatmeal Chocolate Chip. I would like more of this immediately.
Crunch Bar

Clay: A really nice offering that steers away from the typical protein bar platform. I dislike that Quest advertises “3g of net carbs” on the front. Carbs are carbs, and these guys come in at 18g of carbs per bar. 10g of sugar isn’t enough to be too concerned with, and it really helps in the flavor department. 12g of protein help round out the macro portfolio, along with 4g of fat.

To me, these feel confused. They don’t know if they want to be a protein bar, or an energy bar. With that, it’s hard to categorize them. That said, these are delicious. The texture is light and crunchy, and the typical “whey” taste of protein products is non-existent. The Waffle bar offered vanilla and maple syrup notes, along with a VERY realistic Belgian waffle flavor.

As a whole, I think these will do great serving its purpose as a mid-day snack, or a grab and go breakfast option.

Kyle: We differ here – the “net carb” issue is one that has been long debated, and while I’m generally trying to cut back on my carbs as a whole, the 18g here (and the 15g of fiber) don’t much bother me. Mostly because I would eat this in the morning and that’s when I like to have my carb heavy meals anyways.

These also call to mind other “cereal and milk” bars that are on the market now, but these succeed in being much healthier. Thumbs up, Quest.

End of story: These things were awesome. We tried Waffle and Peanut Butter Chocolate and I would like both of those in my life frequently.

Keto Cup

Kyle: So – I’m going to say that these babies were delicious. They come in four different flavors: vanilla creme, chocolate fudge, mint and peanut butter. And as products that are meant to fit a loose ketogenic diet, they are high in fat. Clay will get more into what keto is and why he takes issue with these, but I’m going to tell you that as a treat? These are awesome. I’m not following a ketogenic diet, but I do like to make sure I get enough fat in during the day. I also have a major sweet tooth. Usually this results in me wanting cookies. Or brownies. Or both. At the same time. Unfortunately, those things are sugar bombs and make me feel gross after too many.

Keto Cups seem to fill that hole nicely. I would have one cup (a serving is two) a day when I felt like I needed a little treat, and I was surprised at how good they were! Thank you, fat, for packing in the flavor!

Ultimately, these won’t make it into a regular rotation, but I could see this product being an “every once in a while” treat.

Clay: Oh boy. Here we go. First, I would like to say that these are all opinions based on MY fitness and nutritional goals. Everyone’s mileage varies, so please keep that in mind.

I will preface by saying that I LOATHE health and wellness marketing. “Lose 10 lbs in 10 days!” “Get shredded in a month with fat burners!” “Guaranteed to add 40 lbs of mass!” While not complete lies, it is certainly misleading. They never add the whole “smart workouts and smarter dieting is required” part. It leads to bad body image, disappointment, and ultimately leaves an inexperienced individual feeling like they don’t want to come back to fitness. While Quest didn’t take it this far, there are still questionable marketing techniques in the name.

The Keto Cup.

First, the facts. A whopping 26g of fat, with 11g of carbs, and 7g of protein. It’s definitely a snack based on ketosis, the act of forcing your body to use fat for energy instead of carbs. The diet is a bodybuilding staple that allows for high caloric intakes, while still dropping body fat. The old phrase “fat doesn’t make you fat, carbs and sugar do,” is the general idea of Keto dieting.

Quest named it that to hit a place that doesn’t exist in the market. Low-carb sweets. The flavors are essentially Reese’s cup, Oreo, Thin Mint, and chocolate. My issue is that I doubt anyone actually Keto dieting wants a snack that has 11g of carbs. That’s extremely high for something not in a meal. Low carb? Sure. Call it that! Keto? No. Dieting for ketosis is difficult, requires an incredible amount of discipline, and instead of marketing a diet friendly product, it feels like Quest has made a mockery of the ketosis process. Long story short, while Keto is low in carbs, low in carbs does NOT automatically mean Keto. Keto Cups are just that. A low carb, high fat alternative to candy. They taste great, and have a nice macro profile for a NORMAL low-carb diet, but not for a Keto diet. Even on refeed days, Keto dieters seek more “real food” carbs than this can deliver. Solid product, misleading name. Quest’s marketing team made the product leave a bad taste in my mouth on this one.

To lighten things up a bit, I did really like these. I will definitely eat them again. I maintain a fairly low carb diet, and these will help with the sweet tooth cravings. They are absolutely delicious. When I go on a hard cut, where reaching a state of ketosis is the goal, they will be removed from the diet. Again, this is all based on YOUR goals for YOUR body. My issue is not with the product, but the branding.

Conclusion:

We both really like Quest products and I think we’re excited to see the ways the company is branching out. It will be interesting to which of these things make it to mass market production – QuestLabs has a great customer forum going, where folks are offering their reviews, and I think they genuinely care about what we have to say.

Note: The opinions offered above are our own – we were not offered any compensation or free products by Quest.

Why I Hate “Cheat” Days

April 25, 2016 by kpjenn

You know what phrase I actually hate? “Cheat Day.”

Why?

Because “cheating” connotes bad behavior. Cheating says to me that you’re doing something you shouldn’t be doing. Cheating implies that the food that you’re eating is bad and wrong and you should have to rationalize when you allow yourself to have it.

That’s messed up.

Or at least it is from a “I want to eat healthy and look fit but maintain a healthy relationship with food” perspective.

It’s a real struggle to meal plan every week, prep healthy lunches for work, count macros and ensure that my body is getting enough protein, fat and carbs to fuel my workouts (and my life). It’s also a struggle when I’ve eaten the same thing for lunch for three weeks and dinners have consisted of salads and chicken. Or salads and turkey burgers. Or X meat + Y vegetable… and all I’m looking for is a little pleasure in the food I’m eating.

In order to make sure I don’t start hating food, or seeing it merely as a tool, I make room for those “bad” things. Like this weekend – my boyfriend has worked for nearly a month straight, we’ve had little time together in the evenings after the gym before we both collapse with exhaustion, and every weekend has been busy, between travel, work and other commitments. We both needed a break.

Rather, first we needed sleep. Then we needed a break.

Breakfast of Champions

So, Saturday was an unplanned rest day. No alarms. Slept until 10:30. Woke up, got donuts, toodled around running some errands and doing a little shopping, picked up some used books, and then had an amazing date night on the waterfront in Old Town Alexandria. And THEN we got ice cream.

Not once throughout the day did I think “oh man, I feel so gross.” Or “I should have worked out today” – because I know that 1. I work hard enough every other day that one (or two) days off in a row is necessary. 2. My body has been so tired for the past week that my workouts have been lackluster at best. I’d rather be rested and healthy in the gym than tired and dragging. 3. I really like donuts and ice cream and my boyfriend, and enjoying those things together just made my soul feel lighter.

I love this guy. I love him even more than I love donuts and ice cream.

Basically, what I’m saying is that 80% of the time, my diet is very much dialed in to my fitness goals. But 20% of the time, my diet looks different, but still dialed in to those goals. Because ultimately, I know I can’t achieve the gainz or the pr’s I want if I’m not feeling my best and I’m not happy. Stress and fatigue are killers. And a disordered relationship with food only exacerbates those things.

So, yes. This weekend, we were off the meal plan wagon. But do I feel like I cheated? Not even a little bit. Taking care of your body also means taking care of your whole self – and my whole self feels a lot better after a weekend away from schedules and details and obligations and plans.

Race Recap: Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run

April 13, 2016 by kpjenn

Last Sunday, while Mer was being blown all around the Atlantic City Boardwalk, I was being similarly assaulted by the breeze down in DC. The Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run, the annual spring time 10 miler in the DC area, the other bookend to the Fall’s Army 10-miler, and the kickoff to what many consider training season for summer and fall races, was a bit of a blustery affair.

Having looked at the forecast the week of the run, I knew going in that it was likely to be a bit chilly. Temps were predicted to be in the low 40s and the weatherpeople kept mentioning that mayyyybe there’d be snow. Or sleet. Definitely cold. I was (mostly) mentally prepared.

Saturday evening, before the race, participants received an email notifying us that due to the weather conditions we would be facing:

Elimination of all race signage and overhead structures at the start and finish lines
Elimination of all on-course signage including split time clocks
Elimination of all tents on the Washington Monument Grounds except for the bag check tent and the main medical tent
Elimination of pre-race warm-ups and post-races awards ceremony

Having been feeling mostly “meh, it’ll be cold, but it won’t be too bad” about the race, I was rudely awakened by these changes. I checked the weather again and to my ~~horror~~ surprise, I saw that in addition to a new predicted temperature of 37 degrees, there would be wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour.

Say what?

Dude. That’s miserable. And cold. And it’s April why is winter back?! I texted my boyfriend and suggested that he would want to dress warm in the morning. Being from Florida, this kid has no winter running anything… so I dug out an extra pair of running/ski pants for him to wear and he found a sweatshirt that was running friendly.

The next morning dawned bright and clear… and effing cold. I had on more layers than I ever run in (I get hot really fast and hatehatehate that feeling, so I usually minimize as much as possible). We planned to arrive at the start with just enough time to drop our bag and get in a corral in order to minimize the amount of time spent standing around. Our metro ride into the city was filled with dread and the ardent desire to turn around and crawl back in a warm bed.

Clay’s face pretty much says it all…

Fortunately, our planning worked well and when we got off the metro at the National Mall, we were able to jet over to the starting area, drop off our stuff and shiver our way into our corral. We only waited about three minutes before our wave started and then we were off. I don’t think I’ve ever been so grateful to run that early in the morning ever – moving helped us warm up pretty quickly.

The first couple of miles were tough, as I was fighting cold muscles and a cold body in general, but our intervals (run a mile, walk a minute) worked well for our pacing and before long we fell into a comfortable stride. The wind was a nuisance a lot of the time, though, threatening to blow off our hats or working against us as we ran up the Potomac near the Kennedy Center.

As we came back around to the Tidal Basin, we crossed the halfway point and were feeling pretty good. Some brave souls came out to cheer and were pretty loud at this area as it’s also where runners return to finish. It was great to have the crowd support and to people watch as we went by.

Hitting mile 6, my knee began to twinge a bit – I’ve been dealing with some Runner’s Knee for the past month or so, which has made training somewhat tricky. Running intervals for this race was really key for me to be able to run strong, as just when my knee would feel really tight, it would be time to walk a bit.

The second half of the race takes runners around Haines Point, which is really pretty, but very windy. Part of it had the wind at our backs, though, and that was just the extra umph we needed to push for the finish line.

As we came back to the Washington Monument, the sprint to the finish was real. I was ready to be done, go home, take a hot shower and brunch hard. We crossed the finish line together and immediately put that plan in to motion.

Victorious. And cold.

All in all, despite the chill and the wind, it was a beautiful day to run in DC. And I had the best running partner. For not feeling very trained, this race was comfortably paced and a good shakeout for summer marathon training. I’ll be playing with my race strategies this summer, so playing with intervals and speed work will be on the schedule. I’m looking forward to what this race season brings!

Recipe Box: Pumped Up {Healthy} Cookie Dough

March 21, 2016 by kpjenn

I don’t know about you, but I love to bake. And even more, I love to eat. While I’m baking. Don’t get me wrong, I love cookies and cakes and brownies – but even more, I love cookie dough and cake or brownie batter. Something about the pre-baked goodness just makes me feel some kind of way.

Now, I know there’s always the risk of the “raw egg” situation – but I’m a risk taker. Honestly, until the cookie dough betrays me, I’m going to keep eating it. I like to live dangerously.

However, worse than the raw eggs is all the sugar. My favorite cookie dough makes my favorite cookies: oatmeal chocolate chip. My great aunt’s recipe calls for both brown and white sugar. They’re delicious, but generally, not that good for you. And I gave up junk food for Lent. So while I may want to eat cookie dough, I can’t.

I’ve also set some higher fitness goals for myself with regards to the weight room and that means upping my protein intake – I typically get my protein from a protein bar in the morning, tuna or grilled chicken at lunch, a protein shake after the gym and either more chicken or ground turkey as part of dinner.

This all gets me pretty close to meeting my protein goals, but some days I just need a little more umph.

Enter one of my favorite snacks: Healthy Cookie Dough Dip from Chocolate Covered Katie

photo source: www.chocolatecoveredkatie.com

Now, her recipe is pretty well on-point. I’ve made small tweaks to fit my needs.

1 1/2 cups chickpeas or white beans (1 can, drained and rinsed very well) (250g after draining)
1/8 tsp plus 1/16 tsp salt
just over 1/8 tsp baking soda
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup nut butter of choice (I prefer peanut butter, but any will do.)
up to 1/4 cup milk of choice (unsweetened almond milk is my go-to)
1 scoop of protein powder of choice
~~Sweetener of choice~~ (No sweetener needed for me!)
1/3 cup chocolate chips (Or none. Again, Lent)
2 to 3 tbsp oats

Throw all of these things (except the chocolate chips) into a food processor. Let it spin for a minute or two, empty into a bowl (or a tupperware if you’re me and you like to snack on it over a couple of days), mix in your chocolate chips if you’re using them and enjoy! You can serve it with graham crackers or don’t even bother and just use a spoon. #guilty.

The biggest changes I made to Katie’s recipe are taking out the sweetener – Lent, duh – and adding the protein powder. Obviously, you can use whatever protein you prefer, but right now, I’m a little obsessed with this:

Quest Peanut Butter Protein. This shizzzzz is so delicious. Easily the best-tasting protein with the best composition. Less than 1 gram of sugar, 23 grams of protein and only 110 calories per serving. It tastes mixed just with water or almond milk as a post-workout shake and it is incredible in any other kitchen concoctions. That’s one of my favorite things about Quest products – they bake so well! Granted, I’m not actually backing this cookie dough, but you totally could!

Needless to say, I’m obsessed. I think the last time I went to Wegman’s, I picked up four cans of chickpeas. Specifically so that I have them on hand to make this whenever I want.

The best part? It fulfills my cravings for something sweet without blowing up my entire diet, which is always a win. Maintaining a healthy relationship with food is a thing I am alllll about. Food is delicious and I enjoy eating it and I don’t like feeling guilty when I do. This absolutely keeps that from happening. Happy tummy, happy Kyle.

We Are Never Getting Back Together: The BMI Scale

March 7, 2016 by kpjenn

Weh-heh-heh-hehlllll…. this post has been a long time coming. This particular issue has loooong been one that I’ve had strong feelings about, but recent developments have really begun to grind my gears. Maybe it’s because I’ve changed my fitness routine that I’m facing it more head-on, but damn if I’m not righteously pissed at what that crappy height-weight ratio has done to my brain.

Some background:

The body mass index scale (BMI) was established in the early nineteenth century – so, you know, it’s vintage – by a guy named Adolphe Quetelet who was working on what he called “social physics” and the BMI was meant to measure obesity rates in populations. Seems simple enough, but therein lies the problem.

This crude scale, which calculates your BMI indicator by diving your weight (in kg) by your height (in m), really only measures tissue mass as a whole and doesn’t take into consideration your body composition at all. So, when calculating your BMI, it doesn’t matter if you carry more belly fat or are a body builder – the numbers on the scale are the only ones that matter.

Though science has advanced significantly since 1830, this calculation, unfortunately, has not. In 1973, scientist Ancel Keys said of the BMI calculation: “…if not fully satisfactory, [it is] at least as good as any other relative weight index as an indicator of relative obesity.”

Um. WAT.

That’s basically saying “this calculation we’ve been using for more than 100 years is pretty bad, and even though we have new math and new science things that would probably be more accurate, it’s fine.”

And thus we see how society has adopted BMI as the accepted, “easy” indicator for who is overweight and what a “normal” body type looks like.

Numbers. We’ve been conditioned to respond to numbers with a positive or negative reaction regardless of the type of work we’re putting in at the gym or how our body is built.

That’s total crap if you ask me. And I say that as someone who is just as susceptible to those reactions as anyone else: according to that scale, I’m overweight.

Fortunately, I’m not the only one who thinks the scale is a loser. Recently, Hellogiggles published an article discussing a recent study that debunks the BMI scale as a measure of health. It’s a good read and definitely preaches to the choir – as an athlete, I’ve long felt misrepresented by the scale.

From the time I was 3, I’ve been involved in some sort of athletic activity. I played basketball from the time I was 6 through college. I was a double varsity athlete in high school and was voted “Most Likely to be on the Cover of Sports Illustrated” my senior year. I skied, snowboarded, ran, and hiked every year of my childhood. As an adult, I’ve continued playing the sports I love and began running and lifting weights. I love being active and I know I’m a pretty healthy individual.

For equally as long, I’ve been able to find things about my body I didn’t like. Or a thing, rather. No matter how active I’ve been, I’ve always – always – had a little belly. My teammates all had nice flat tummies and I was over here with my belly pudge. I also always weighed just a little bit more than my friends. Not a lot. But enough that I never really liked to bring it up. But I actually didn’t think too much about it because I was so athletic, and I would say that growing up, I had a very healthy relationship with food and body image.

As an adult, however, I’ve encountered instances where the numbers on the scale have predetermined something about me to someone else, and that’s really not a good feeling.

If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you know that in the last 6 months or so, I’ve really taken to lifting weights in favor of running or cycling. I’ve built a ton of muscle and I’m so proud of the strides I’ve made. The gainz have been in my favor.

But, gainz in the gym also mean gains on the scale. Muscle is more dense that fat – a fact many of us are familiar with. More muscle therefore equals more weight. Not a bad thing, right? If one’s goal is to build muscle and strength, you want this result. I want this result.

Unfortunately, because society has warped my brain, I still have a hard time with this paradox. Stepping on the scale at my doctor’s appointment last week and seeing “158” blink at me from the display, I felt… disappointed. Like all the work I’ve been doing in the gym wasn’t helping. Like all of that 158 pounds was sitting right around my tummy and everyone could see my gross muffin top.

I texted my lifting partner (who is also my boyfriend) and whined. His response was perfect: “Muscle mass. You squat 185 pounds for reps. That happens. Ignore the number.”

After some more whining from me and some more rational words from him, I felt better. He was right. That number is just a number. It doesn’t say anything except how much gravity is affecting my body mass, and that’s a pretty empty statistic.

I still have my hang ups, but I’m working really hard to focus on making progress in the gym and reaching my fitness goals – which have nothing to do with the number on the scale or what the BMI says that I am and everything to do with feeling good about what my body is capable of accomplishing.

Spring (Running) Awakening

February 19, 2016 by kpjenn

I guess it’s almost spring? It’s supposed to be in the 60s in the DC-region this weekend, so I’ll take it. (I’ll be across the country in sunny San Diego for a work thing, but it’s the idea that I’m going with, so work with me people.)

Anyways. I’ve talked previously about how I’ve stepped back from running and taken a long break – really not running at all since crossing the finish line at the Baltimore marathon last October. My body needed a break. My mind needed a break. Running and I needed a break. Like Ross and Rachel.

But now, it’s spring, and I’m getting antsy. I’m ready to mix up the workouts again. I’m putting things on the calendar.

To get my itching feet tuned up and in gear, I’m kicking things off next week with a 5k in San Diego with some coworkers. I’m a little nervous at how well I’ll feel during (and after), considering I haven’t run in… 4 months, but no matter! This race (associated with my annual work conference) is always a good time and pretty casual – no pressure, other than not to fall on my face.

After we get back, I’ll have a little over a month until my next two races. This is when I have to get down to business.

The first weekend of April is chock full of all the miles. I’m not running a marathon, but by the time Sunday is over, I’ll have run more than 20!

Back in December, a group of friends and I entered the lottery for the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run. It’s a notoriously big race in DC and can prove difficult to get in to. So, we opted for the group option in hopes that our chances would improve. Improve they did! We all got in and are looking forward to braving the hoards of tourists that descend upon the city during the Cherry Blossom Festival to get our miles in.

While all of this was going on, my boyfriend mentioned that he wanted to maybe, kind of, probably run the Marine Corps Marathon this fall. Of course I was on board for that! We could train together! (Never mind that he’s WAY faster than I am.) We could commiserate together about the pains of marathoning! (Again, did I mention that he’s faster than I am?)

But then I remembered a crucial detail: while he is in the Marine Corps, and therefore gets an automatic entry into the race, I would have less of a guarantee. MCM is also a lottery race – newsflash, it’s popular. Go figure. So, I would have two options for getting in: take my chances on the lottery and possibly not be selected, OR run the Access Granted 17.75k race in the spring to earn my spot in MCM.

I mean, the answer was pretty obvious. I was going to take my chances and try for 17.75 and see what happened.

Never mind the fact that 17.75 is the Saturday before Cherry Blossom. Nope. That’ll be fine.

And take my chances I did. I set the alarm on my phone for 11:55am on February 17, sat patiently at my computer waiting for registration to open at noon, and squeaked in! I’m glad I remembered to be ready when reg opened because the race sold out in 8 minutes!

Not as fast as Adele tickets, but damn son.

So, the next couple of months will be a little intense, running wise, but I’m really excited about it, because it means that the summer of 2016 will be spent training for yet another marathon and I’ll get to do it with one of my all-time favorite humans. That’s a win!

Bring on the miles!

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