The Curse of the French Fries

My cycle coach claims he can tell what I ate for breakfast based on what my perspiration smells like on the bike. The thought has always disgusted me, but I have told myself that it can't be true; no one can smell the good or poor decisions I made during my last meal based on my sweat.

Well, I stand corrected.

For the past three days, I have been craving french fries, which is strange, because I hate potatoes and anything made out of them: Tater tots, french fries, baked potatoes, potato chips, potato pancakes, etc. Two nights in a row, I drove past burger places, just staring, debating if I should pull over and get a late night snack. I was a good girl though. There was always a reason not to stop: I don't need the calories, my cash is running low, I would have to stop and wait, adding an extra 10 or so minutes to my commute... you get the idea.

Then I received a text from one of my YoungLife girls, asking if I could meet her at a burger joint to chat. I arrived to find her and another one of my girls munching on french fries. "You can have some," they told me. Listening to the angel on my shoulder, I declined. When they left the restaurant though, I still had half an hour before my next commitment. I gave in. I ordered a small side of fries with ranch dressing.

Even as I dipped the fries and shoved them in my mouth, I felt disgusted with myself. I was doing this in secret; I was ashamed of my decision. Isn't that a sign that I should not have been committing this act of gluttony?

I arrived at my next commitment: Training some volleyball players at the gym. As we jumped up and down on Bosu balls, balanced on Swiss medicine balls and lifted weights, I could smell the salt and fried seasoning oozing through my pores. Ick! I could not believe how strong the stench was!

Today, on the bike trainer, I noticed the scent of citrus from the orange I devoured before class. It smelt so much better than the fried potatoes dipped in ranch from the evening prior.

Moral of the story: You are what you eat.

Perspiration At Its Finest

I feel sexiest when I'm drenched in sweat.

Odd, I know. I remember walking down the street toward a cafe after teaching a gnarly cycle class one day and passing Ryan Gosling. Drops of sweat were literally dangling from the ends of my hair, which was falling loosely out of my ponytail. My shirt had pit stains, not to mention the ugly sports bra sweat lines. Not only were my cheeks bright red from exertion, but my entire face looked like I had spent the day lying at the beach basking in baby oil.

So not attractive, yet I felt so confident about my ability as a cycle instructor, as an athlete and as a woman. Ryan caught my eye and said hello. It's all about the sweat.

So what causes us to sweat?

Eccrine glands in the skin are designed to help our bodies adjust to different temperatures, whether hot or cold, aka thermoregulation. When we begin a challenging workout, the brain sends a message to the eccrine glands to dissipate excess heat.

Sweat is composed of mostly water, however, it also contains urea, minerals and lactate. Some sweat may have a flavor to it. I once read a post on Facebook about what you are eating too much of if your salt tastes a certain way. For instance, salty sweat meant you were eating too much sodium in your diet. If the sweat is sour, there is too much dairy in your diet. However, this post claimed that if your sweat tasted like margaritas... well, that was enough said. Sweat truly can give you a look into your food choices though. It can be a great indicator of a balanced diet!

Margarita-flavored sweat... yeah, not so sexy...

Not to fear, there are many sexy things associated with a good sweat. For example, sweating leaves your skin glowing (or just beat red like mine) and helps detoxify your body. It can help strengthen your immune system and boost your mood. When you think about it, sweat is medicine! And the best part is, all it costs is some hard work!

So lace up those running shoes and get outside! Pay attention to your body and how great you feel as the sweat begins to pour! Perspiration at its finest!