Day Eighty Seven: Spring

I love spring. The weather starts warming up, hikes and trail runs are more feasible, and outdoor playtime for the kids comes easy. I hope that you're able to engage in some family fun runs to get the whole group into the action of exercising together. Make sure that you have some good sunscreen that doesn't burn your eyes when you sweat.

I hope that the 90 days has come easier for you than you'd originally imagined. By now, you should be somewhere in the range of total weight loss between 9-15 pounds since January 1, depending on your initial BMI, your exercise routine, and your nutrition intake over the last eighty seven days.

What follows Spring? Swimsuit season. If you haven't toned up those arms or intensified your cardio routine, now's the time. Here are some of my favorites...

1. In the middle of the weight workout, move to the treadmill and do one fast mile. I usually do this around 8 to 7.5 minutes, which is fast for me but not for others. You be the judge...your muscles should burn, and your heart rate should soar.

2. Take your normal strength routine, and add one mile to the beginning for warm up, one mile to the middle (see #1 above), and one mile to the end to burn off additional reserves. I'll usually do the warm up mile at a 10 or 9.5 min pace, and the end mile around 8.5 or so. This combines aerobic with anaerobic exercise, and takes a normal routine and kicks it up a notch.

3. If you have a "long" run once weekly or so, take it up/down to 5 mi. Stair step it so that that you run the first mile at a warmup pace, the second at a medium pace, the third at a more challenging pace, then repeat #2, then repeat #1. For example, Mile 1: 10 min pace, Mile 2: 9 min pace, Mile 3: 8 min pace, Mile 4: 9 min pace, Mile 5: 10 min pace. Adjust pace as necessary.

4. Take one mile during your normal run and interval train. I like to do this on a 3 or 4 mile run. I'll take one of the middle miles of the run and do .20 at 7 min pace, then .20 at 9 min pace, then repeat both, and the last .20 is at a 7 min pace to finish off the mile. I usually follow it with a slower pace to bring my heartrate back down, around 9.5 min pace.

You also have some other options to kick up your nutrition program. You can take your cheat meals from twice weekly to once weekly. If you choose to do this, I would make it for a pre-determined amount of time so that you don't feel too deprived. I'll be doing this from now until my last final, which is on May 14. Drink at least 3 liters of water daily and decrease your alcohol consumption. Make sure you're taking in 1200-1500 calories of real food each day, and take that multivitamin to fill in the cracks. See you in your bikini!

Day Seventy-Seven: Me & Michael J

Alex P Keaton was one of my teenage crushes. I used to watch his character, played by Michael J Fox, on the show Family Ties during my formative years. When he came out to Back To The Future, I begged my Uncle Brian (my step-mother's step-brother if that's not complicated) to take me to it on one of his visits to El Paso. What 80's girl didn't read about Michael J in Tiger Beat magazine? Its so strange that after a couple of decades, he's now on my mind all of the time.

I'm joining the small group of students that research with Dr. Edward Castaneda, the head of the Psychology Department at UTEP. I'm unbelievably honored & humbled that he is allowing me to study under his tutelage. I'm currently a student in his psychobiology class, & his area of research is on dopamine receptors with reference to drug addiction and....you guessed it...Parkinson's Disease. Parkinsons Disease is a condition that occurs when the dopamine receptors in the Basal Ganglia region & cells of the Substantia Nigra that release dopamine in the brain degrade & die. My Great-Grandmother Cade had Parkinson's, & so does Michael J. From the Post on Day 33: Real Pain, you'll recall that dopamine is also released in the brain when we eat emotionally. The addiction to the effects of dopamine is real. Being able to study dopamine & DA Receptor systems/Ascending Motor Systems is amazing for me. Here's an animated clip ... http://www.michaeljfox.org/living_popupActionInTheBrain.cfm

I've been taking my licensing exams to work in the laboratory with rats, which includes surgical procedures, lab safety, & bloodborne pathogens. I've studied more this spring break than I do normally during the semester trying to get them knocked out so I can begin my hands on. I've been so torn inside thinking about the procedures that are conducted during animal studies in order to understand & learn how to treat diseases and addictions. Then, I think of Michael J & realize that every single advancement made in medicine is done at the hands of animals. Thank you, animals. I now thank you every time I take an Ibuprophin or a birth control pill.

Guess what the number one non-drug prescription is for Parkinson's...Exercise. "Given what we know about the universal health benefits of exercise, it is not surprising that exercise & physical therapy are the most frequently suggested non-pharmacological treatments for Parkinson's disease. Exercise programs can help people with Parkinson's stay active & relatively limber, improve balance & motor coordination."....-MJFF website.

I've been thinking of Michael J as I go to sleep at night. I wonder how he's feeling. I wonder what he's thinking. I wonder if he's praying for me & the many thousands of researchers in research labs looking for better drugs, cures, & further understanding of our complicated brain & its diseases. I'm praying for him.