Running the Numbers
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Math in the Life of Jen
Thomas and Abby
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These are my children.
Now that they are getting
a bit older, I have been
able to find some time to
focus on me.
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To better myself, and be a good role model
for my kids, I strive to stay fit and eat
healthy. This does not come easy for a
working mother taking graduate classes on
the side!
Measuring Fitness
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The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure of
height compared to weight and gives you an
indication of whether you are at a healthy weight
for your height.
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Setting Personal Goals
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My starting BMI is 25.7,
landing me at the high
end of the normal weight
range for my height.
MY GOAL:
Lose 20 pounds
Drop BMI to 22.3
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How much is a pound?
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1 lb = 3500 Calories
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It is safe and reasonable to set a goal of
losing 1 pound per week. The
approximate number of calories needed to
equal a pound is 3500.
Taking it Day by Day
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To lose 1 lb per week, I
need to eat 3500
LESS calories each
week. I DIVIDE
3500 by 7 days to
determine that I need
to reduce my daily
calories by 500 to
meet this goal.
2 Strategies:
-Eat less
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-Exercise more
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Calories per Serving
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How many calories
am I really eating
at breakfast?
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¾ cup of Grape-Nuts 312 cal
½ cup whole milk
75 cal
387 cal
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½ cup Grape-Nuts = 208 cal
3/4 cup = ?
208 x 1.5 = 312 cal
1 cup whole milk = 150 cal
½ cup = ?
150 = 75 cal
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Cutting Calories
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A simple breakfast
change really
adds up!
1 cup Kashi GoLean 140 cal
½ cup skim milk
40 cal
180 cal
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3/4 cup Grape-Nut 312 cal
½ cup whole milk 75 cal
387 cal
Kashi GoLean with skim milk saves 207 calories!
Healthy Choices: Vitamin C
Daily Recommended Allowance (women) = 75 mg
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Broccoli (1 cup) = 123 mg
Vitamin C helps to
(123 divided by 75) fight off colds and
boosts resistance to
164% Daily
Recommended germs by helping to
Allowance
maintain the immune
system. Vitamin C is
Medium Orange = 70 mg
also an important
dietary antioxidant,
(70 divided by 75)
and aids in disease
93% Daily
prevention and
Recommended
treatment.
Allowance
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Diet & Exercise
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Eating a high protein, high fiber cereal with skim
milk helps me cut 207 calories from my daily
calories. If my goal is to reduce my daily calories
by 500, how many calories do I need to burn
through exercise each day?
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500 – 207 = 293 Calories
Reading Labels
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In addition to watching
calories and fat, salt intake
is also important to monitor.
For a healthy adult, the
American Heart Association
recommends daily salt
intake of less than 2300 mg.
Progresso Traditional
Chicken & Wild Rice Soup
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Sodium: 650mg per serving
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Progresso Reduced Sodium
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Chicken & Wild Rice Soup
Sodium: 470mg per serving
The Traditional recipe contains 28% of the recommended
allowance (650 / 2300 = 0.2826), compared to the Reduced
Sodium recipe, which contains only 20%.
Weighing in on Ice Cream
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I LOVE chocolate ice cream. To save on
calories and fat, I buy Edy’s® brand,
which has 1/3 less calories and 1/2 the
fat of regular ice cream.
If ½ cup of Edy’s® chocolate
ice cream contains 100
calories and 4 grams of fat,
how many calories and fat
grams are in the regular?
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Regular Ice Cream
100 divided by 2/3 = 150 Calories
4 divided by 1/2 = 8g Fat
Exercise
I love
because
I get1011
the
0011
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best “bang for my buck!”
To accurately determine how
many calories running burns, I
need to know how fast I run.
3 miles = 0.1034 miles/minute
29 minutes
60 minutes = 6.20 miles/hour
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Running 35 minutes at 6.2 miles/hr = 375 Cal
Early Training
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When I first began
running again,
I started out
slowly and
carefully.
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Weeks #1 & 2
• Warm up 3 minutes
• Run 1minute, Walk 2 minutes
I would run every time the minutes on my watch were
DIVISABLE by 3.
Spring Training
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VT Dairy Festival Milk Run
June 7, 2009
6.2 miles
I am advised to increase my mileage
slowly to avoid injury.
If I increase mileage by 10% each
week for 7 weeks, will I be ready
for race day? Yes!
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Week 1
4.00 miles
Week 3
4.84 miles
Week 5
5.85 miles
Week
4.40 miles
Week 4
5.32 miles
Week 6
6.43 miles
Mama needs a new pair of shoes
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Running in old or worn-out shoes
is one of the most common causes
of running injuries. A good rule of
thumb is to replace your running
shoes every 300 to 400 miles
If I run 13-15 miles per
week, how often
should I replace my
running shoes?
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400/15 = 26.67 weeks
I should buy new shoes
approximately every 6 months
Running the Numbers
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Which is the better deal?
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$89 Asics 20% off
• $79 Asics 15% off
$89 x 0.20 = $17.80
$89 - $17.80 = $71.20
• $79 x 0.15 = $11.85
• $79 - $11.85 = $67.15
Making Calories Count
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Which is
a better choice?
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Daily recommendations for my height and age:
Fat - 55 Grams
Protein - 50 grams
Peanut M&Ms (220 Cal)
% Daily Allowance
12g Fat
4g Protein
22%
8%
(12/55 = 0.218)
(4/50 = 0.08)
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Zone Bar (210 Cal)
% Daily Allowance
7g Fat
16g Protein
13%
(7/55 = 0.127)
32%
(16/50 = 0.32)
Buying in Bulk
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Buying in Zone Bars
from Costco saves me
$24 each month
($47.70 - $23.70)
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24 Zone Bars at Costco
$18.99 = $0.79 per bar
1 Zone Bar at Hannaford
$1.59
30 Day Supply = $23.70
30 Day Supply = $47.70
($0.79 x 30)
($1.59 x 30)
Saving for a Rainy Day
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I love to run outside, but the
weather doesn’t always
cooperate. How much do I
need to save each month to
buy a $599 treadmill by
December?
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April to December = 8 months
$599 DIVIDED BY 8 months = $74.88 per month
Time out!
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The dreaded stomach virus hits our household like
a tornado! I have to take 1 ½ days (12 hours) off
of work.
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I get 48 hours (six 8-hr days) of Personal
Time Off (PTO) each year. If I had
previously used 18 hours of PTO, and used
12 more hours this week, how many full
days off do I have left for the year?
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48
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18
Total PTO
PTO Used
PTO Remaining
18 PTO Hours
8 Hour Day
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= 2.25 Days
= 2 Full Days
Remaining
Yikes!
Sale!
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Buy one, Get one 50% off!
My favorite sneakers are on
sale! How does this deal
compare to others?
1st pair = $89.99
2nd pair = $45.00
Total
$134.99
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This ends up being the same as buying
2 pairs at 25% off, and since I am saving for
a treadmill, I’ll pass on this deal.
Each pair = $67.50 ($134.99 / 2)
Savings per pair = $22.49 ($89.99-$67.50)
Percent Saved per pair = 25% ($22.49 / $89.99)
Tracking My Success
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• I’ve charted my
weight loss progress
over a 2 month span.
• In 8 weeks I have lost
6.8 pounds, for an
average of 0.85
pounds per week.
• I have lost 52%
percent of my goal!
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Measuring My Success
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Starting BMI = 25.7
- Goal BMI = 22.3
3.4
• Goal: Reduce BMI by
13.23%
(3.4 divided by 25.7 = 13.23%)
• 8 Weeks Later BMI = 24.5
(25.7 – 24.5 = 1.2)
(1.2 divided by 25.7 = 4.67%)
Progress Report:
After 8 weeks, I am
approximately 1/3 of the
way towards meeting my
goal.
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(4.67/13.23 = 0.35 = approximately 1/3)
Hitting the Trail
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It takes me about 2 minutes and 45
seconds to run to the Rail Trail
from my house. If I average 9.67
minutes/mile, approximately how
far is the Rail Trail from my
house?
2 minutes, 45 seconds = 2.75 minutes
(45 / 60 + 0.75)
9.67 min
1 mile
=
2.75 min
X
(9.67)X = 2.75
X = 2.75 / 9.67 = 0.2843
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The distance from
my house to the
Rail Trail is a little
of ¼ mile.
Making better time
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To beat last year’s time of
6.2 miles in 1 hour and 8
minutes, how fast does my
average mile need to be?
6.2 mi
68 min
=
10.97 minutes/mile
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Getting to the Race on Time
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The race starts at 8:30 am. I
want to get there no later
than 8:05 to register, warm
up and relax.
If the race is 18 miles away
and I drive an average of 45
miles per hour, what time do
I need to leave home?
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45 miles
60 min
=
18 miles
X
45 X = 1080 X = 24 minutes
I need to leave by 7:40am.
Sweet Rewards
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Based on my weight and
running speed, running
burns approximately 93.39
calories per mile.
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After finishing this 6.2 mile
race, I will have burned
about 579 calories.
No guilt in having ice cream!