two kinds of iron.

First, the kind you pump:

One thing I've noticed about many of the healthy living blogs I've been reading is that there's a lot of emphasis on cardio, but not much on strength.  Well, not here!  I started lifting this summer, following a slightly modified version of the plan in The New Rules of Lifting for Women.  While the tag line "Lift like a man, look like a goddess" makes me cringe, and I've pretty much ignored the nutrition section, I like that it sets out a realistic, gradual weight training plan that (with a few modifications) I can do at home with adjustable weight dumbbells, a step, and a balance ball.

I'd fallen off the wagon the last month or two, though, and wanted to incorporate lifting back into my exercise routine.  I'm starting the program over (but this time I can do heavier weights!), and the plan is to alternate days of lifting and running.

And now for the kind of iron you digest:

...or in my case, realize you've been ingesting a disturbingly small amount of.  Oops.  I'm a default vegetarian (no real objection to meat...just rarely ever eat it), so most of my food sources of iron are of the type that is not as easily absorbed by the body.  That means vegetarians need more iron in their diets.  A quick glance at what I eat told me that I'm not even getting close to the 18mg recommended for meat eaters.

Because I'm a genius, I brushed off the boyfriend's suggestion a few months ago that I needed to be taking an iron supplement, and was mystified as to why I have been wanting to sleep all the time despite implementing my regular seasonal affective disorder remedies (hooray light box and going outside) and seem to be shedding more than usual.

So I'll be switching away from my beloved non-iron children's gummy vitamins and onto stuff with iron.  I'm hopeful that it'll help, but if it doesn't, it'll be time for a visit to the doctor and some bloodwork.

*I have not received any compensation from the authors or publishers of The New Rules of Weightlifting for Women, or the manufacturers of the generic iron supplement vitamin I picked up at the corner store.  I just use the products.