Tag Archives: healthy food

Back from Vacation!

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Just came back from the best vacation ever! Tyler’s family is much more relaxed on vacation than my family was, so it was an adjustment… and I had to FORCE myself to slow down! We didn’t even have Internet.  Even though it was more relaxed than what my family does, we still did a lot of stuff, and kayaking was one of them! We went twice last week, and I got stuck a couple times because the water was so low- AND I almost died getting stuck over a water fall with rocks jutting out at the bottom! Don’t worry; we only had class 1 rapids on the first two miles, and the rest was pretty calm. :)

Since we were nestled in the mountains in the middle of nowhere, there were plenty of hills to train on. Not that I’m actually training for anything right now, but I can pretend. :)   I was seriously sore every day that I ran. I did a couple four-mile runs, but on those mountain trails, it felt like twice that! It was so awesome to run on such gorgeous trails.Williamsburg Run for the Dream

I did terrible on not eating sugar during our trip, and I’m going to have to pay for it for a couple days. So back to the strict diet from here on in! :) How are your summer fitness goals coming along? What do you find the hardest to maintain during the warmer months?

Eating Healthier

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As a runner, it’s so easy to think “It’s OK, I’m going to run today” and proceed to eat whatever I want. Which is pretty often ice cream, chocolate, brownies… and then I make myself sick. And is not definitely not healthy.

Another Mother Runner

OR it’s the OTHER extreme, and I eat tons when I really don’t need to be eating all that. One of my new years resolutions was to eat more veggies (which is hard to do with such a busy schedule), and I’ve been able to incorporate them into my daily routine, but I want to set higher goals than that (no, I’m not starting the Paleo diet… yet).

Cutting out white flour and sugar is about as lofty of the goals that I’ll setting this summer, while trying to run in the summer heat!
I’m in Virginia, and SERIOUSLY this humility is worse than usual (since  I’d really know what usual is since this is my second May here!).

There are a few really important things to include in your diet is you are a woman running. The first and foremost thing you should be worrying about is your iron levels (this is the one I struggle with the most). This is vital in transporting oxygen through your bloodstream, as well as providing a key building block of muscle tissue. One thing I found interesting is that caffeinated products will counteract with your iron intake… so wait a couple hours after eating or taking your iron supplement.

The next important dietary need is calcium, (you know, all that stress on your bones in running). If you don’t drink milk, purchase calcium added products (soy dream, rice milk, orange juice).

Can’t believe I’m saying this, but the third most important thing to include is FAT, from nuts, olive oil, seeds, and avocado but stay away from saturated fats (which mainly come from animal products. ewww).

Notice the lack of white flour and sugar in this list? Yup. Need to cut those out!

Awesome list of foods adapted from Running For Fitness

Staying Healthy on the Road

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With the warm weather here in Virginia Beach, all I can think about is tanning by the ocean. My hair whipping in the wind, and my skin soaking in the sun. My waterbottle strapped to me since I dehydrate quickly… and just generally being on the go. With our lives ramping up for summer, it’s easy to lose sight of our fitness and health goals. It’s far to easy to skip the healthy snack and hit up ice cream at the beach or fast food on the road, but that can quickly undo all of our hard work! Now, I’m not against a little dessert here and there (see photo below), but we can stay healthy (and save some serious money) with a little lot of planning!

What you need:

  • A sweet little cooler that can roll or be carried to the beach or Busch Gardens (my two ultimate destinations this summer)
  • Apples/Banana’s with peanut butter
  • Trail mix (preferably with chocolate, except if you’re gunna be in the sun all day. yucky)
  • Mini carrots with dip or hummus
  • Premade sandwhichs (no meat, that can give ya Salmonella)
  • Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies. Healthy and filling!
  • Tons of water bottles. Freeze them to keep your cooler cold

If you stay healthy during the day, you can afford (both financially and physically) to go out and enjoy yourself in the evening. If you’re heading out to a resteraunt, order a salad with the vinaigrette dressing. If the day in the sun leaves you famished, order the grilled, baked or steamed options and resist ones that are fried or battered (think grilled chicken or salmon with a baked potato or steamed veggies).

Enjoy the sunshine (load on the sunblock!) and stay healthy this summer. I know this girl is aching to enjoy some beach time!