This week is flying by!
On Wednesday I ran about 8 miles with Ali, Lindsay, Megan and Susan - I heart running with these ladies! It was a bit speedier than my usual easy run, so I wasn’t sure if it would effect how this morning’s tempo run would go.
I guess I should think more positively, because it went well! It was gorgeous – 65, no humidity – and I felt great.
The goal was 2 miles warm up, 3 miles at about 7:55 pace and 2 miles cool down.
I felt good enough to push it past the third tempo mile and maintain around my goal marathon pace for the last part of the run – hooray! Now if only every summer morning were like this one…
Favorite breakfast – Ezekiel sprouted grain cinnamon raisin toast, raspberries, blueberries and peanut butter. NOM.
You may be sick of pictures of my breakfasts, but I still haven’t found the motivation to cook any new and exciting recipes – partly due to the fact that it’s been pretty hot out and I’m avoiding my oven like the plague, and partly because I’ve just been so darn busy.
But I have been reading up on my nutrition news, and one recent study is causing me to have a sad.
The study looked at whether limiting access to fast food restaurants and increasing access to supermarkets in low-income neighborhoods improved fruit and vegetable consumption and overall diet.
The answer has to be yes, right?
Not so much.
The study found greater supermarket availability was not related to diet quality and fruit and vegetable intake (sad), but fast food consumption was related to availability and proximity to fast food restaurants in low-income study participants (not surprising).
I guess it would be too easy to build more supermarkets in low income areas, expect people to completely change their habits and buy tons of fresh produce. I think the problem with this tactic is the old, “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink,” saying.
You can’t just plop a supermarket in a new area and expect people to understand what to buy that is good for their health, how to prepare and incorporate these foods into their diets and how to do it cost effectively.
I’m sure these supermarkets also sold tons of processed, cheap foods, which probably seem easier to buy and eat than fresh produce.
Clearly, education is also needed to help people actually change their behavior and their diets. I’m always thinking about what I want to do when I’m finally a dietitian (if the powers that be love me at all, it will be within a year or so!), and one thing I would love to do is supermarket education. Or basically, shopping with people and helping them pick out their foods and making sure they know what to do with them.
I mean, my one of my favorite things to do is go to Whole Foods.
It’s like my Disneyland. And helping other people like it as much as I do (or even half as much)? Awesome.
Just how will I do this? Well, I’ve got a year to figure it out…
Question: How close do you live to a grocery store? Do you think it effects your diet? Do you like grocery shopping?
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