Weekly roundup: Friday potluck

Welcome to another installment of the weekly roundup we all know and love: Friday potluck! This week's theme? Oh, hell, it's a potluck. There is no theme this week. Just be happy no one brought jello salad.


HOW TO MAKE A JOGGER ANGRY

The Angry Jogger put together a list of comments we're all sick of hearing from non-runners, including the eternal runner vs. jogger debate. My favorite on AJ's list: "I only run when someone is chasing me!"

One corollary "I only run when" comment AJ missed, and one that annoys me most:

"You ran how far? I wouldn't DRIVE that far."

(Um... of course you wouldn't. You lack both motivation and wit.)


BUT(ter)...WHAT?

Just when you think she can't take her diabetes-inducing cooking to new lows, Paula Deen launches a new line of flavored butters for sale at Wal-Mart.

*shudder*


NOT SO FAST!

There is good news on the nutrition horizon! Fast food accounts for a smaller share of calories in the U.S. diet!

Before you go cheering a return to slow-cooked, home-grown meals, note that the report from CDC shows fast food calories as a share of daily caloric intake... So it may be that Americans are eating just as much fast food as they did five years ago, they're just eating more calories overall.


THIRTY'S THE NEW TWENTY

Source: someecards.com via Jana on Pinterest

 

Yep. I'm glad I lived that decade, and you couldn't pay me to re-live the era when I lost more than one pair of shoes because a stranger hurled on 'em at a bar.
(I'd MUCH rather lose a pair of shoes because a runner hurls on 'em at a finish line.)


PARK IT

ParkScore ranks cities by the level of public park access.

Does your hometown make the list of Top 10 Cities for Parks?
(My score: I've lived in 2 and traveled to all but one of the top 10...)


IN MY KITCHEN...

Mmm... coffee!

Yep, I'm still a coffee addict.

I drink (mostly) decaf now, and will for the next few months, but it's good to know that my habit is a healthy one.

According to the New England Journal of Medicine, coffee drinkers have higher mortality risk than non-drinkers BUT coffee drinkers are also more likely to be smokers.

Once you account for the effects of smoking, coffee drinkers are healthier than non-coffee-drinkers! (The NYTimes has a good summary of the findings in: "This is your brain on coffee.")


QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

"Bad weather always looks worse through a window."
Tom Lehrer

HAPPY FRIDAY, FRIENDS!

Training for two: week 18 details

Here are the workout details from week 18...
Baby is keeping me awake most nights already, but otherwise so far, so good!

Friday: 3 mile walk

Saturday: prenatal yoga

Sunday: 3.25 mile run

Monday: 3 mile walk

Tuesday: 3 mile walk

Wednesday: 4 mile walk, 1 minute plank, and 20 each: lunges, squats, and leg lifts

Thursday: 3 mile walk
(I may squeeze one more prenatal yoga video in before bedtime tonight...)


THE TALLY:
16 miles walked, 3.25 miles run, some strength training, and (at least) one prenatal yoga session.

This was the first week since moving when I got home from work and had enough energy left that I wanted to work out in the evening. Next week I might even try a post-work Jillian Michaels workout!


WHAT I LOVED READING THIS WEEK:
Exercising Through Your Pregnancy by Catherine Cram and James F. Clapp

Cram and Clapp* provide the facts about fitness during pregnancy and debunk many of the myths.

You've heard that you have to quit running and that cycling will cut off your baby's blood supply? Mmm... those old wives' tales are proof that the world is full of well-intentioned (but ultimately terrible) advice.

Cram and Clapp debunk the junk advice and provide you with an easy-to-read summary of the science.

If you want to keep working out after you get knocked up, READ THIS BOOK.

I have to thank Alma for recommending the book. It totally changed my perspective about the level of fitness I can (and should) maintain during pregnancy.


*Seriously, the authors could've chosen nom-de-plumes that didn't sound like the punch line to a dirty joke... But I digress. The book is good.



Public Service Message from Captain Obvious: These posts are not intended to be a set of week-by-week pregnancy workout guidelines. Every woman needs to do what's right for her and her baby, with a doctor's guidance, of course. I'd just like to keep y'all up to date on how things are going in my little world.