Six weeks to a better you: week 2

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Ashley Coomes
  • 319th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  The participants now realize that life happens and sometimes your eating habits are less than desirable in certain situations.

The six participants of the Body Gem® program have completed their second week. Each has submitted seven days of meals and exercise logs to Staff Sgt. Shaleika Anderson, a Health and Wellness Center dietician. She will comment on each participant according to their logs and each participant will describe how they feel they did the past week.

The weekend socialite
The socialite is at Eagle Flag, which is an expeditionary combat support exercise. During the last week, she was given meals ready to eat in a simulated austere condition. Sergeant Anderson has analyzed the nutrition information from a MRE and what to watch out for.

Sergeant Anderson's advice - It's tough to watch calories when your only choice is an MRE. One MRE contains approximately 1200-1300 calories. The majority of the foods contained in the pouch are high in carbohydrates, fat and sodium. The carbohydrates in the foods are from high sugar, low fiber sources, which are the ones you want to limit. However, in field conditions, you will be doing more physical work that will help your body burn off those excess calories. When you are able to get an actual meal, really focus on including your fruits and veggies. Also, try to fit in some time for exercise. Even if you have to break your exercise into three 10-minutes sessions throughout your day, you can still see benefits. Most importantly, make sure you are drinking plenty of water.

Old dog needs new tricks...
This last week was a difficult one as far as working on my goals is concerned. I was able to run in the base-wide fun run, but then left to attend a conference for the rest of the week. Due to the location of the conference I was attending, eating healthy food was difficult, not to mention the fact that we were limited in time so I ended up eating a good bit of junk food. Although I didn't eat a whole lot, it wasn't the kind of food I should have been eating. That, coupled with the fact that exercising was difficult, made it a bad week for my goals. But now that I am back in town, I am running again and eating the way I should. This should get me back on track and ready for a 5K run this upcoming Saturday.

Sergeant Anderson's advice - On most days, you ate one to two meals at a fast food restaurant. Your food choices were high in fat and calories, and there were no fruits or vegetables consumed on a regular basis. Preplanning is the key when you are pressed for time. Try taking healthy snacks (i.e. carrot sticks, yogurt, graham crackers, etc...) with you to avoid going to the snack bar. When eating out, look for healthier options on the menu. For example, have a grilled chicken sandwich instead of a cheeseburger. Go for a side salad instead of fries. This will help you stay within your calorie level, and ensure your consuming the right types of food.

Tri-athlete in training
This participant took the week off and headed south of the border. See how the calories in cervezas stack up in next week's update.

Beef cake
This past week, I was sick, so meeting any of my goals was difficult. I noticed that I didn't feel like eating at all so I only ate a third of my needed calories and could really feel a drop in energy because of it. I tried to offset the lack of meals with eating high-calorie foods. I know, I know... not eating as much doesn't justify a binge at a fast food restaurant, but it sure was tasty. I didn't have the energy to go to the gym either. Friday was the first time I did any exercise, and it was only half of my usual Friday training regimen. This week, I'm trying to make up for a week lost to the mystery virus. My recommendations last week were to eat more vegetables, and this week I'm attempting to eat some sort of veggie for my three main meals. I'm also going to try to do a split routine for exercise since I'm still low on energy in the morning. I'm going to try to lift weights in the morning and run in the afternoons. We'll see how long that lasts.

Sergeant Anderson's advice - The majority of your calories are coming from high fat/high protein sources. You are consuming very little carbohydrates. Although your body needs protein for muscle building, you must still consume a healthy amount of carbs. You can get carbs from a number of sources such as breads, cereals, pasta, fresh fruits and vegetables. Make it a goal to consume at least three servings of fruits and vegetables per day (normal recommendation is five servings per day). Decrease fat intake from protein sources by choosing lower fat meat items. For example, have baked or grilled chicken at home versus a drive through restaurant. Try roast pork instead of bratwurst.

The lifestyle change
Well, I'm a couple weeks in to this, and I've started to get a little lazy with logging stuff. Only on the weekends, though. I was writing down EVERYTHING to log, but I caught myself forgetting to write stuff down, and then forgetting to log it. But, I have started fixing all my meals for the week on Sunday, a suggestion made by the tri-athlete in training. So, that should help with my portion control, and reduce my sodium a little, since I'm eating homemade stuff instead of microwavable goodies. Hopefully, I'll continue to stop eating when I'm full.
I still fluctuate with my calorie intake, though. It's really difficult to eat the amount you're supposed to when you're trying to teach yourself to not eat when you're not hungry.


Sergeant Anderson's advice - It seems your dinner meal is the largest meal of the day, which for most people, is not a time of day there is much physical activity. Having those extra calories at the end of the day can really hinder weight loss efforts. Try to consume more of your calories during the part of your day that you are most active. That means adding more to your breakfast and lunch meals, and decrease at dinner time. Also, on the weekends, try not to skip meals, which causes you to eat more at the next meal. This will help balance out your calories on those days.

Newly Wed
This week I moved. The stress of packing is enough to make you grab a doughnut and a grande cappuccino topped with whip cream to drown it in. My meals were few and far between because I was very, very busy getting everything together. I did well in fighting the urge to eat unhealthy foods during the stressed time. But then, once the weekend came, I over indulged. After the move, I laid on the couch and enjoyed a few glasses of wine in celebration.

Sergeant Anderson's advice - Great job cutting calories down closer to your goal!! However, there are still a few places we can make some minor changes. Be sure to watch portion sizes, especially with higher calorie foods. This may ensure your fat intake does not increase above your limit. Also, on days that you go over on calories, be sure to add more exercise to your normal routine. This will help burn off the excess calories.