fitnessprincess’s BodyBlog

Perhaps because I was obese most of my life and only recently (four years ago) managed to lose the weight (110 lb in my case) I have a morbid fascination with those articles that seem to appear with increasing frequency in popular magazines like People.  So, of course, when I saw the cover of last week’s issue (May 21, 2007) of People an irresistible pull drew me to hand over my hard earned monies and purchase the magazine.  What always irritates me about these stories is that you never read about people who lost their weight in a healthy way and who actually look and live a healthy lifestyle.  It always seems as if they select individuals who starve themselves to reach their goal weight.  Their photographs tell it all from my perspective – they are skinny fat people.   Case in point:  the supposed diet of the six individuals recently featured in People magazine as having lost more than 100 pounds.  Their diets and workouts were listed in the issue and it doesn’t take a genius to determine their supposed caloric intake using FitDay.  The first lady, if she provided honest information, subsists on a whopping diet of 800 calories a day, runs an hour 5 days each week and lifts weights 3 times a week.  If she lifts, it’s gotta be those pink dumbbells because her photograph sure didn’t show any muscle.  If you think her diet and lifestyle are extreme, then consider that of the last lady featured at the bottom of the page (p. 116).  She lives on 600 calories a day, reportedly runs 2 mile every day and strength-trains on weekends.  Her purported diet includes 2-3 cups of strawberries or grapes and a cup of water for breakfast, a veggie salad with fat-free dressing and a cup of water for lunch, and a piece of chicken, 1 cup of rice-a-roni rice, 1 cup of green beans, and a cup of water for dinner, and a Chips-Ahoy 100-calorie snack pack for a snack.  Ugh!

If these stories are true (and I don’t doubt that the are) then it’s no wonder that these women and others like them can’t sustain their weight loss long term.  Why don’t these magazine’s ever feature stories about women like myself (I am celebrating 4 years of maintenance come July) who get to eat 1600 calories of quality macronutrients from real non-processed foods a day as a result of building up muscle through weight training, and who not only look healthy but are healthy?

Sometimes I feel as if I lead two lives - one by day and a different one by night.  By day, I am a university professor.  By evening, fitness princess, aspiring fitness competitor.  LOL!  Bet that many of you feel the same way.

Every once in a while one of my lives touches the other.  That was the case this week as last week was final exam week and Monday course grades were due.  I always find the schedule and process amusing:  Final exams everywhere begins with reading a period, a time for college students to prepare for their final examinations.  Based on my experience few of them use the time the way it was intended but that’s not pertinent to my discussion here.  Following reading period, the examination schedule begins.  At my university as at most, the faculties have no say in the exam schedule.  Sometimes you get a day early in the week. Sometimes, you end up with the last day.  I always hate that.  I have found over the years that student performance is strongly correlated with the examination schedule:  students perform strongly early in the week and poorly late in the week.  Just common sense.

You will never find faculty grading period on any college calendar.  Students and administrators never give a second thought to the fact that faculty need time to properly grade student examinations and papers and then to compute student final course grades.  My institution is no different.  So, I found myself struggling last week to grade final presentations and final exam papers for the graduate class I taught and final presentations, term research papers, and team contribution grades.

I worked all weekend and finally finished grading at 2:30 am Monday - grades were due at the Registrar’s Office at 9 am.  I always get a kick out of turning in the grade reports:  There is always this trail of faculty making the annual pilgrimage.  Some like me relieved, even happy at having completed their work.  Others exhausted and harried.  Still others annoyed and nasty - no doubt understandably due to lack of sleep.

Our institution always "rewards" faculty with an "appreciation" brunch at 9 am.  I like many don’t go.  There’s nothing edible at this event - eggs, bacon, sausage, french toast, muffins, danish - the usual fatty breakfast fare.  Aside from the unattractive menu, I am usually just too tired and don’t want to go, smile, and chat with anyone.  So, I went home and treated myself to a well deserved nap.  Nikki, my 18-year old siamese cat, was happy about it - he got a warm body and Nikki’s always up for a nap.

OK so how did all of this impact my evening life?  Well, during finals, it put a crimp in my usual exercise schedule.  That made me cranky, tired, and I ended up with a cold.  No complaints though.  I think this is simply my body telling me it’s had enough of my double life and asking for a well deserved break.   And that’s what it is going to get this weekend, a break!