Motivation for Fitness

Hello Anon!

Okay… this could easily get dangerously sciencey… But I’ll try to keep it simple…

Ammonia is NH3. The main source of NH3 in our bodies in Amino Acids. Amino Acids are the building blocks of protein. If you don’t fuel yourself properly, your body will break down Amino Acids to use for fuel. When you break down Amino Acids, you can get that ammonia smell. 

This can be a sign that you are not getting enough fats and carbohydrates in your diet. Consider this general information (that any dietitian will advise you)

• 25-30% of your daily calories should come from fat
• 45-50% of your daily calories should come from carbs

How low do those numbers need to be in order for your body to start breaking down Amino Acids? I cannot say.

Another possibility is that your water intake is too low. If the ammonia in your body fluids is not diluted enough, it will become apparent in your sweat and your urine. Aim for at least 1 or 2 clear urinations every day.

One other time it is common is in ultra runners. In that case it can only be avoided by careful and proper fueling during the runs. Your body should not need to break down Amino Acids for a weight lifting session (no matter how intense) or an 8k run.

Cheers,
~Bonnie 

Hi! 

Thank you! :D

I am personally a fan of the eating every couple of hours (after having tried several different methods, it is the one I have returned to and feel most comfortable with.) But often times with small meals you end up feeling hungry. What I tend to do is pack the type of mini-meal or snack that I can split up. Think baby carrots, grapes, cherry tomatoes… etc. That type of snack will tie you over because it has fiber but it also means you don’t have to eat the whole thing before your scheduled eating time.

Find what works for you. For me, I try to avoid the “in between” eating. I already eat every 3 hours like clock work and, for me, that’s enough. I know that desire to eat is just my brain being bored or fixating in an unhealthy way. Learn your own personal body and brain cues.

You could also try drinking some water instead. It is common to get the two sensations mixed up. Drink some water. If you still feel hungry after 20 minutes, then grab some food.

Another option is to pre-measure all your food for the entire day and take from it when you feel hungry. When it’s gone, it’s gone, but take from it any time you want.

Cheers,
~Bonnie 

Hi Anon!!

Thank you very much! :D

A great way to improve your time is speed work (also known as fartlek.) You can do this on a track or on the road (though I don’t recommend it on a trail due to the heightened risk of injury.)

Start with something simple like this:

• run at your normal race pace for 1 minute
• run at 95% max for 30 seconds
• jog to cool down for 30 seconds

Rinse and repeat. Each time you surge, decrease your max effort a little bit, but you shouldn’t be fully rested when you finish your 30 second cool down jog. Part of what makes us faster is getting the body used to needing to recover quickly.

You can also do 1 minute fast and 1 minute slow, increasing the time until you reach 5 full minutes of each. Once you make it to 5 minutes, begin decreasing your times until you’re back down to 1 minute of each.

If that seems like too much, just go for a run and set your watch to go off every 2 minutes and sprint your little heart out for 30 seconds when your watch goes off.

There are tons of other ways to get improved speed and what works for one person my not work for another. Check out running websites and see what their training coaches say.

Good luck!!

Cheers,
~Bonnie 

I don’t know who you are (or why you’re anonymous) but I seriously love you right now. Like, you totally made me want to do a silly little happy dance.

Actually… I think I will…

<3 

That’s a really tough question, because it depends on your focus.

Do you want to learn about:

• intake and nutrient RDI’s
• weight loss intake
• endurance athlete intake
• weight lifting/bodybuilding intake
• plant-based/vegetarian/low-carb/paleo/gluten-free or another type of specific intake

There are a ton of things to learn and know when it comes to nutrition and I think a good place to start would be refining your question a little. Find your focus and then follow it, otherwise you will just be over-run with information.

Personally, I would look towards the science end of it (because I’m a total geek like that) and find out about how the different nutrients impact our systems, why we need them, what are essential and non-essential nutrients etc…

If, however, I have read into your question a little too much (I do that sometimes) and all you actually want to know is about the nutrition in your food, then check out this link. It has a full breakdown of nutrition values for pretty much any food you can think of.

Cheers,
~Bonnie