Tag Archives: calcium

Female Runners and Calcium

July 6, 2012 By in Reads, Uncategorized Tags: 27 Comments

I wanted to ramble on a topic that has really hit home for me.  Not me personally, but I know a very fast runner (by fast I mean she is one of the top 50 females in the marathon in the US).  She struggles with this and she asked  me to post a blog on it because we all know my obsession with calcium and getting enough it.

Granted this is important for males too, it is especially important for females. For females that have lost their period, this is EVEN MORE important (Do not ever argue, it’s normal to not ever get your period when you are 22).  Females that have lost their periods do not absorb calcium correctly and their bones become weaker which can lead to a stress fracture or bone break.  When you do not have your period, your bones do not heal as quickly or as normally.

If you have one stress fracture…you are much more likely to have another…and another…and another…

So anyways, as a college aged female she was busy, active and quite a fast runner.  She didn’t get enough calcium and her nutrition wasn’t terrible but it was not spot on either.  She was at a very rigorous school as well as being a varsity runner so she had a lot going on.  While nutrition was important to her, it wasn’t the number one focus.  She would also like to point out that like many bloggers and female runners out there, she was not into drinking or partying.  

She began losing a lot of bone mass and density.  This happened over the course of a few years and by senior year it lead to her first stress fracture (ending her collegiate season). It healed eventually and she was able to run again (and still be mind boggling fast) but her bones were far weaker.

As she is 30 now, her bones will never be as strong as that of someone who got enough calcium during that time.   She now gets stress fractures repeatedly.  As in saying 8 weeks…no big deal…I’ll just start running again after it heals..try doing that every few months because your bones are too weak.

I’m not saying that will happen to you, I just think as young people we take our health with a grain of salt and live in that “we aren’t injured now” so let’s keep going along the way we are…think about the future when it comes… 

If you are a female lacking your period, you need to be getting more calcium then a regular person (runner or not).  A regular person needs about 1000 mgs daily and a female lacking a period needs 1700 or more.

I personally strive for about 2000 milligrams a day because I’m paranoid of getting another stress fracture.  Plus I enjoy a lot of dairy in my life.  I normally take a calcium supplement as well as my multivitamin which brings me pretty far up.

Question for you:  Do you get enough calcium? 

10 Foods I eat on the Regular

April 13, 2012 By in WEGO Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , 21 Comments

WEGO: 10 Things I Couldn’t Live Without. Write a list of the 10 things you need (or love) most.

We all could write a mushy gushy post about 10 people, things, friends, family we couldn’t live without.   That would be easy now wouldn’t it?

I get a lot of questions about food and what better way to answer then talk about foods I consume close to daily.  I mean this is called Fueled By LOLZ afterall, in between all those lolz-I have to eat…sometime…

  1. Peanut flour-Lately a lot of my pancakes have been peanut flour based.  I make bread with it, whatever.  I consume this type of flour more then any other. 

Chocolate peanut flour pancakes

  1. Flax Meal-If I don’t consume peanut flour pancakes, I consume flax meal pancakes.  Chances are-I’m having one or the other daily.  I enjoy the amount of fat in flax. 
  2. Muscle Milk-Ever since I tried a free muscle milk with Laura at my 5k in Atlanta, I’m addicted.  It’s an expensive habit but they are so easy for on the go and when my tummy is constantly grumbling in class.
  3. Gas Station Coffee-Always having this.  Every day.  Another expensive habit.  No explanations needed. 

Yeah I normally look like a crack addict when I go in to buy it as well...

4. Eggs.  Eggs are easy to cook-I am simple and not talented at cooking.  It’s like god knew I needed an inexpensive easy to cook food to make up for the expensive crap I buy

5. Hot chocolate.  It’s still 40 degrees in Northern New York.  So while ya’ll enjoy your ice cream, I’ll enjoy my hot chocolate.  (Also-diet hot cocoa sucks…just saying.). 

I don’t know why I decided to hold up three fingers but I put in hot cocoa and this is what I found.

On that note-life just got tricky and I just went to look at my pantry and refrigerator to see what I have stored in there.   Clearly I eat a lot at home…

7. Canned and frozen vegetables.  I normally try and steam something at night to go with whatever meat I’m having because it’s easy and quick.

8. When I eat on campus I eat a lot of quiche, but I guess that falls under eggs…I guess…not really.  I like to get wheatberry salad but they never seem to have that anymore.  Rude. 

 9. Oh I just noticed the giant hoard of pumpkin that I have in my pantry.  I add pumpkin to everything (mostly to get more servings of vegetables but also so I can maintain my orange glow…).  I kid.
10. Finally, I go outof my way to find products with calcium.  Whether it’s milk, greek yogurt, ice-cream, whatever else…if it’s got a lot of calcium-I’m all over that because I am 100% paranoid of getting another stress fracture.  #calciumwhore

That was almost too hard for me to figure out.  Right then.

Question for you:  What foods do you eat on the regular? 

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