Category Archives: Food

Finding Motivation after a Long Weekend

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sangria Let’s just be honest here, I love LOVE LOVE Sangria. I tried my hand on making some this weekend, and literally had a glass in my hand all afternoon/evening. As a result, I was not interested in doing my good morning run of 4 miles at 5:45 this morning, and it got postponed to after work. :( Bad runner that I am. I also got a pretty awesome sunburn, which didn’t help in my current state of dehydration… so I’m carrying my water around all day today!
Anyone else suffering from a lack of motivation after a fun, sunny long weekend? It’s so easy for me to let the long weekend attitude last all week, and find myself with an entire week of no or pitiful workouts!

This is my plan of attack for getting back on track, thank you Bonnie Pfiester for the motivation…
Get back on track… if that means getting on the scale to assess the damage, then get on there! Don’t obsess about your weight, but let the extra pound(s) gained work as a motivator to get back on the track and watch the food you put in your mouth.

Scale back on portion sizes, which will get your metabolism back to normal. Don’t stop eating the day after you pigged out, your body will hold onto those calories and inhibit your weight loss. Not cool.

This is what I’m working on today- drinking a lot of water. It flushes out the toxins and hydrated my dehydrated body. Drink as much water as you can handle for the next couple days, and you’ll be regulated in no time!

In the words of Bonnie Pfiester, VACATION IS OVER! Click the photo to check out her great blog:

vacation-is-over

Take Care of Me.

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One of the best gifts you can give your loved ones is TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF. Ignoring your health by eating terrible food, not working out, and getting enough sleep will run your body down and you’ll end up sick more often. Meaning your loved ones will be put out of their way by taking care of you. We’re not just talking about getting the flu more often; but especially as we age and our bodies degenerate, we are more prone to falling, catching viruses, and our body isn’t able to fight diseases as well. Those who take care of the

mselves by eating healthy and working out will be healthier as they age. Who wants to ask their children to take care of a 70-year-old mother because she isn’t healthy enough to take care of herself? Not me, if I can help it!

love running

Ignore your body and undermine your own future. Your own potential. Your quality of life depends on it.

Close of 2012

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What an amazing year… how can you begin to cover the highlights of such a fabulous year?

At midnight tonight, the gorgeous ball will drop in Town Square, and we will toast to a New Year! We’ve got the wine chilling, the treats tucked away in the fridge, and our bags packed to head back to Virginia in the morning. I love the holidays, but I also love the chance to a new beginning. I know that while 2012 was amazing, 2013 is also going to be phenomenal. One of the reasons is because I was able to graduate with my undergraduate degree this December, and I am truly able to begin afresh in January. So, while everyone is wildly excited about our new year: 2013, I’m still recovering from 2012!

So I’m gunna go ahead and brag (haha),  you can see why it’s been an exhausting year.

Here are a few highlights:

  • got a great promotion at work
  • ran two awesome half-marathons
  • did a little traveling
  • completed my undergraduate degree
  • ran over 500 miles (which was my goal)

Needless to say, I’ve spent my Christmas break sleeping! Regardless of all this, I still reached my goal of running 60 miles in December… Despite all my days spent traveling :) They were mostly short runs, around three miles, and my longest run was five miles. Considering most people drop off the fitness planet in December, I’m pretty happy with it!

December Run Goal
I’m planning on posting all my New Years goals later this week, things like the races I want to run and PR’s :) My goals aren’t just about fitness, but about keeping my life balanced… so keep posted for all of that!

Some of our New Years Resolutions

Some of our New Years Resolutions

Surviving the Holiday 15

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With only a week before Christmas, who doesn’t dread the part of the Holidays that endorses unlimited eating, forgotten workouts, and the dreaded Holiday 15!?! It’s almost become a part of life, “gain the weight in December, work all year to lose it”. It’s a North American rule. Sound familiar? I think some of us may do the same thing with credit cards… but back on point.

How do we enjoy the holidays without ending up feeling like bloated whales by the time it’s all over? Well, we can be strategic, set some goals, have a few guidelines, and we’ll be sure to Survive the Holiday 15:

Keep moving.

1. Switch it Up.
Take the stairs, get up and get water, park a little farther from the mall. With the added stress of the holidays, we need to keep moving. It’s okay to shorten your Cardio if you can’t fit it in, instead of the gym, try a yoga set on YouTube.

2. Involve the Family.
This season is about family right? Encourage healthy living by involving the whole family! Go for walks with the family through the Christmas tree farms. Park at the end of the street and walk through the lighted neighborhood with hot chocolate. Bundle up and hit up an outdoor skating rink.

3. Try some at home strength training.
Between commercials during your favorite Christmas music, alternate with sit-up, push-ups, burpies, squats and stretches. I’ve found this to be the very best way to fight the urge to munch throughout the entire movie.

Just take time to enjoy the peace and love during the Holiday Season

Just take time to enjoy the peace & love during the Holidays

Watch your Eating

1. Eat before you go. If you are planning on hitting up a really great Christmas spread, make sure you eat before you go. All those little appetizers are not as safe as you think, and the salad you ate on the way out the door will help cushion the little treats you may indulge in.

2. Pick a Treat.
Once you make it to the party, make sure you get a drink in your hand (tea or water), which will limit your handling capacity. make the rounds and decide on your selected treats. You know your limits. Make sure that every piece of food has been considered (and don’t just eat chips… what’s so special about that?). Ps. Skip the egg nog, at up to 350 calories a cup, it’s just not worth it!

3. Keep your eating clean at Home.
Just because it’s a big party out there doesn’t mean you have to forget about healthy eating at home. Keep the carrots, celery, oranges and apples handy this Christmas. This is one of the best ways to balance out all those Christmas parties, meals and celebrations.

We hope you take time to spread love and peace during the Holiday Season.
Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving in the Rear View Mirror

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With Thanksgiving in the rear view mirror, and the few pounds we gained still hanging on for dear life (what’s a post thanksgiving week without running off the weight?), but in my case, and my co-workers case, there is no shame! Between the turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole and cranberry bliss bars, I had a delicious holiday and there wasn’t tooo much damage done!

Before our game. I was all smiles, having no idea how terrible of a game would ensue!

Later that weekend we went bowling and Black Friday shopping, (scored some awesome deals!), and of course, I ran. Not as many miles as I wanted to (I had these high and lofty goals of running about 20 miles. hah). Instead I did about 13.
I’m getting a little faster, this week it’s been about a 9:35 min/mile compared to last week, I ran about a 10:08 min/mile. I’ve been moving faster, breathing better, and feeling stronger! Granted, I had some longer runs last week (like 7 miles) compared to my longest run this week being 4 miles, and I generally take my longer runs slower. At this point I’m 12 miles away from my goal (of running 70 miles in November)- meaning I have 4 miles/day to run. Urg. It’s so cold in the mornings!! :( BUT I CAN DO IT!

On a non-running note, I am SO excited for Christmas! Because I work in higher Education, my office CLOSES for the week between Christmas and New Years so I’m lounging around (aka going on long runs) and relaxing!

I know this sounds strange, but I do more running on holidays than I do during regular life because not working actually gives me time to go on those long runs! Anyone else feel the same way?

This American Thanksgiving

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Since I do come from American roots, I have celebrated more Thanksgivings that I can count. Actually, I don’t really remember one that I missed! I come from a large dutch family that is loud and lively, and always up for a good time filled with chocolate pie, laughter and games (sometimes guns, with the season closing that weekend). And since I’m born Canadian, I was lucky enough to celebrate twice!

Here is my long list, to join all my friends spamming our newsfeeds, of things I’m grateful for:

1. Two glorious days off work. Well, with the weekend backed up, it’s 4 days in a row! Feel sorry for my overworked, frazzled brain!

2. I’ve been keeping up with the running. So the pounds won’t be sticking. BRING ON THE TURKEY and PIE! <3

3. The temperatures are GLORIOUS for long runs. I’m not training for anything right now, so I suppose you could call me a ‘recreational runner’. Wait, you can call me that even when I am training for a half-marathon. Running is about being fun. Not a lot of seriousness involved… don’t judge. :)

4. Spending time with my amazing family. When I got married, I struck gold, because his family is wonderful! I’m more about the family than I am about the food. That’s what Thanksgiving is really about for me.

5. And the food. I can’t wait to try the gloriously unhealthy Cranberry Bliss Bars I made (yup, stole the recipe from Starbucks!) I spent the whole evening in the kitchen tonight making food, and I’m equally excited for the HEALTHY Sweet Potato Casserole I made from Dashing Dish! It’s going to be delicious, along with the Pumpkin Coffee Cake for first thing in the morning. Wow, I’m gaining weight just typing this.

What are you in charge of making? First time at this dish or are you a pro? I’d love to hear about your Thanksgiving food!

Excited about a 5 mile run in the morning! Enjoy your holiday!

Happy November! Food & Goals…

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This week I found the cutest food blog… “Dashing Dish”. With the holidays coming up, I’m excited to give these super healthy and low fat meals, helping me plan healthy holiday food without giving-up on our healthy goals!

This extremely healthy and delicious dish has only 174 calories per serving. With that delicious maple pecan topping, it’s amazing that the calorie count is that low! Click on the photo for the recipe…

Goal Setting

Excited about the Month of November and planning out new goals!

  • The Push-up challenge! I don’t know about you, but doing more than about 7-10 pushups has eluded me. This challenge will bring us up to 40 pushups at the end of the month! Checkout my Facebook for the calender.
  • At the beginning of the year, I made of goal of 500 miles this year. Since I had some trouble this summer, I need to catch up! You’ll find me and my pretty Garmin on the trails a lot this month, going to log 70 miles.
  • Get back on my situp/crunch routine… my abs need some love.

What are your November goals? We’d love to hear them!

Keep out of the Porta-Potty

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Question from a runner:

I’ve been running for a couple years, but my half-marathons are constantly plagued with needing to stop in at the porta-pottys. What am I doing wrong?

My perspective:

Ever been on the trail (or treadmill) and you just have to go? This is when I’m delighted that I’m on a treadmill and can hop off and utilize the washroom. The dreadful part is when I’m at least 5 miles from the closest washroom, and to my delight, I am in the woods.

Let me tell you a story, it was only a few days before my wedding. I was running to deal with stress (of not fitting into my dress. JK), and along came the urge. Yes. I had to go. Being in a strange city where I generally don’t run, I was not aware of the need to stay away from certain plants, or even what they looked like. Yes. Poison Ivy was in the general area of the woods that I chose to, ahem, defecate in.  Perfect. It wasn’t a bad rash, but it gave the boys something to laugh about at their bachelor party.

Ever experience this… situation? The burning gut? I think the biggest problem was that I wasn’t on my regular diet (I’m pretty regimented), and wasn’t running at my regular times. I know a lot of people that have their races ruined because of their need for quality time with a porta-potty. How do we avoid this?

In the excitement of race day, we often change up our eating schedule and are running at a different time of day. This can be extremely upsetting to our nervous system, especially if you suffer from gastritis issues. Even if there aren’t any issues, the GI tract can be jostled by the running movement.

TALK TO A DOCTOR: A doctor can help you pinpoint issues like lactose or gluten intolerance, irritable bowel syndrome, or other gastritis issues.

FOOD DIARY:  A food diary can help you avoid problems while racing. High fiber foods go through your system quickly, causing problems. Fatty greasy foods can make you sick when running on either end, since they are hard to digest.

FIGURE OUT WHAT WORKS: If eating a banana and peanut butter an hour before your works on an average day, don’t switch it up. By the time race day comes by, you should have developed a routine that mimics the actual day, so there isn’t any surprises. Stick to the plan.

Can you relate? What are your tips to keep out of the porta-potty on race day?

Looking to the Fridge for a Runners Staple

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Food is a vital part of having enough strength to run, and Spinach is one of the best foods for runners to consume on a regular basis. While protein bars are easy while running out the door, taking the time to cook up a good recipe with spinach can improve your running performance. Low in calories and high in vitamins, it is one of the most nutritious foods to consume. Because cooking concentrates nutrients and fiber, a serving of cooked spinach gives you even more bang for your buck than a serving of raw.

Spinach is high in iron, vitamin C, lipoic acid (which aids the regeneration of Vitamin C and E), and calcium.

If you’re nervous about implementing this food into your diet, try is recipes listed below; a warm soup for a fall evening, spinach dip for movie night, and spinach/strawberry salad for a nutritious lunch.

Just click on the photo for a delicious recipe!

Spinach, Chicken and Rice soup

Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Introducing my shiny new Garmin!

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After much deliberation, I finally decided on a running watch. It arrived last night, and I was so excited, I slept with it on! My husband told me I’m like a little kid. Whatever. Anyways, I got up at the crack of dawn to log in a little run, just to hear it beep! It’s pink, shiny, adorable, and I’m so excited to start uploading my runs and tracking my progress really accurately. Don’t worry, I will take at least 21 photos of it over the weekend and post them on Facebook like a nine-year-old. What watch do you use to track your runs?

As is extremely clear, I’ve been MIA the last 2 months. That’s because I took a Biology class that was absolutely awful and every spare second, that I wasn’t working, was spent taking tests, doing labs, and writing papers (my other class wasn’t easy either). Thankfully, I have one more lab due tonight, and I’m done the class! Note to readers: Never take an 8 week Biology class. Online. Hell on earth.

Moving on. Even my running has slowed down, and my love handles are screaming out for attention. But they can wait. I’m more concerned about eating healthy (maybe a little less hot chocolate and wine would be good for me though!) and getting back into running slowly. I started fainting on my runs because of the heat this summer, so I haven’t had a good run in a couple months. A doctors visit, several iron supplement experiments, and cooler weather later, I’m back on the road. So I’m up to running 2 miles a day, making sure to take it slow. While it’s discouraging to pick it up so slowly, it’s more important that I’m healthy and if that means taking a break and doing a lot of yoga instead, I’ll deal with it. Life is about balance.

Are you guys enjoying the cooler weather? Has it affected your running? Let me know how your recent runs have gone!