A pound is a pound

I usually have Friday coffee dates with some good friends. This past week while chatting one of them mentioned Oprah claiming that muscle weighs more than fat. Wow. Oprah? I thought she was a little more aware than that. The truth is as most of us know that a pound is a pound. A pound is a until of measurement. A pound of flour weighs the same as a pound of butter. That is why it is called a POUND. The difference is the "space" that pound takes up. In general a pound of muscle takes up a lot less space than a pound of fat because the muscle is denser. A 1 pound cast iron weight takes up very little space compared to a pound of packing peanuts. This misconception has been around for so long that people really believe it. It is the same as people believing that the number on the scale dictates their level of health fitness and value as a human. I know the number on my scale. I have known it every day, good or bad, for the past 2 years.  Many times the number won't move and I get as discouraged as the next person  but as long as my clothes keep getting looser and my fitness levels keep improving I am a happy girl.

Speaking of fitness levels I ran 3.93 miles yesterday. My Nike+ Sportband only registered 3.7 but it needs to be re-calibrated. That is a common problem with the Nike+ system. As your running ability improves your stride length usually gets longer so you are covering a greater distance but your foot is spending the same amount of time on the ground as when your stride was shorter. The concept itself is slightly flawed but I still love it compared to the bulkiness of a Garmin Forerunner. My goal is 6-7 miles by October and my ULTIMATE goal is the GR Half Marathon in 2011.  I am still not in love with running but I do enjoy setting goals that seem unattainable and meeting them.