I'm currently in the Mile High City and getting as many red blood cells as I possibly can, before I return to Jax on Fri night.
I am attending the American Dietetic Association Adult Weight Management certification course which is a valuable certification in my future field of dietetics. It is only the first day and my mind is soaked with information and I'm trying to process it all. I'm learning some new info with new research but a lot of the info is material that I learned in my dietetic program.
Unfortunately, this course will not provide me with tips and advice for all you multisport athletes out there. If you are over 400 lbs and looking for behavior modification tips, exercise guidelines and VLCD (very low calorie diet) suggestions, I can tell you all about that.
In all honesty, this certification course is very important for me as a future RD (registered dietitian) who holds a MS (master of science). As most of you know, from reading my blog, I love educating others as much as I love inspiring others. If I can inspire the average fitness enthusiast to pursue his/her first sprint distance triathlon I hope that I can also inspire, educate and guide the individual who is 200 lbs overweight, with Type II diabetes, who battles metabolic syndrome, in addition to a handful of medications to have a goal of exercising 150 min/week (according to ACSM - American College of Sports Medicine: 150-250 minutes/week of moderate-intensity physical activity is associated with prevention of weight gain
and more than 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity physical activity is associated with modest weight loss). Perhaps, I can motive and inspire that same person, after he/she has lost the recommended 5-10% weight which has shown to reduce serious health conditions such as metabolic syndrome, to one day set his/her sights on walking a 5K.
I'm learning a lot of great information during this certification course which is applicable to all people, no matter what the fitness level or body weight. It's funny because when I was in graduate school, my 3 or 4 hour evening courses made me feel even stupider (ok-uneducated in the field of exercise physiology) than when I started grad school. My mind was totally overwhelmed with information that made no sense to me, no matter how many times I tried to comprehend that crazy Kreb Cycle. But all of a sudden, it just made sense. It's like the light switch came on. As I dive deeper and deeper into this world of health, fitness and nutrition, I find myself wanting to comprehend information on a much deeper level. I want to know the why's, how's and what's with nutrition, not just "ok-tell me what I need to know so I can tell other people". Maybe that is why there are so many books on the shelves, from no-name authors who think they have credentials to write a weight-loss book just because they have a rinky-dink "nutrition" certification that they received on-line and no formal education to back up there reasoning why it is ok to x-number of calories, x-types of foods at x-times during the day. oh-and throw in exercise to the mix and you have one stressed out book-consumer who is on a 1200 calorie diet trying to train for a marathon...need I go on?
During this talk I find myself listening to speakers (8am-5:30pm today and Thurs, 8am-12:30pm on Fri) and while taking notes to prepare for the post-certification course, I have another notebook writing down my thoughts how I can better educate and help others lose weight and learn to eat at that healthy weight. That is, be able to exercise and eat healthy F-O-R-E-V-E-R. Seems like a big task, but I'm up for it.
I have been thinking a lot lately about my philosophy on eating healthy and exercise so here it goes:
"Choose wholesome food with few and/or natural ingredients, when planning portioned controlled meals and snacks. Your lifestyle of healthy eating may need to be modified but should be continued no matter what age, who you are with or where you are in the world in order to prevent weight gain. Your lifestyle of healthy eating should support your necessary exercise routine so that you can live a healthy and balanced life."
I'm still working on it but I'd thought I'd throw it out there for now :)
I am attending the American Dietetic Association Adult Weight Management certification course which is a valuable certification in my future field of dietetics. It is only the first day and my mind is soaked with information and I'm trying to process it all. I'm learning some new info with new research but a lot of the info is material that I learned in my dietetic program.
Unfortunately, this course will not provide me with tips and advice for all you multisport athletes out there. If you are over 400 lbs and looking for behavior modification tips, exercise guidelines and VLCD (very low calorie diet) suggestions, I can tell you all about that.
In all honesty, this certification course is very important for me as a future RD (registered dietitian) who holds a MS (master of science). As most of you know, from reading my blog, I love educating others as much as I love inspiring others. If I can inspire the average fitness enthusiast to pursue his/her first sprint distance triathlon I hope that I can also inspire, educate and guide the individual who is 200 lbs overweight, with Type II diabetes, who battles metabolic syndrome, in addition to a handful of medications to have a goal of exercising 150 min/week (according to ACSM - American College of Sports Medicine: 150-250 minutes/week of moderate-intensity physical activity is associated with prevention of weight gain
and more than 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity physical activity is associated with modest weight loss). Perhaps, I can motive and inspire that same person, after he/she has lost the recommended 5-10% weight which has shown to reduce serious health conditions such as metabolic syndrome, to one day set his/her sights on walking a 5K.
I'm learning a lot of great information during this certification course which is applicable to all people, no matter what the fitness level or body weight. It's funny because when I was in graduate school, my 3 or 4 hour evening courses made me feel even stupider (ok-uneducated in the field of exercise physiology) than when I started grad school. My mind was totally overwhelmed with information that made no sense to me, no matter how many times I tried to comprehend that crazy Kreb Cycle. But all of a sudden, it just made sense. It's like the light switch came on. As I dive deeper and deeper into this world of health, fitness and nutrition, I find myself wanting to comprehend information on a much deeper level. I want to know the why's, how's and what's with nutrition, not just "ok-tell me what I need to know so I can tell other people". Maybe that is why there are so many books on the shelves, from no-name authors who think they have credentials to write a weight-loss book just because they have a rinky-dink "nutrition" certification that they received on-line and no formal education to back up there reasoning why it is ok to x-number of calories, x-types of foods at x-times during the day. oh-and throw in exercise to the mix and you have one stressed out book-consumer who is on a 1200 calorie diet trying to train for a marathon...need I go on?
During this talk I find myself listening to speakers (8am-5:30pm today and Thurs, 8am-12:30pm on Fri) and while taking notes to prepare for the post-certification course, I have another notebook writing down my thoughts how I can better educate and help others lose weight and learn to eat at that healthy weight. That is, be able to exercise and eat healthy F-O-R-E-V-E-R. Seems like a big task, but I'm up for it.
I have been thinking a lot lately about my philosophy on eating healthy and exercise so here it goes:
"Choose wholesome food with few and/or natural ingredients, when planning portioned controlled meals and snacks. Your lifestyle of healthy eating may need to be modified but should be continued no matter what age, who you are with or where you are in the world in order to prevent weight gain. Your lifestyle of healthy eating should support your necessary exercise routine so that you can live a healthy and balanced life."
I'm still working on it but I'd thought I'd throw it out there for now :)