Random Tuesday Musings

Whew. Last week I was still in a funk after the holidays. My sleep is off, and I'm trying to set a new routine for the gym where I go mostly in the mornings so I can take a class in the evenings if I want, but there is no pressure. Right now I leave work, take the bus home, eat a snack, workout, cook dinner with the boyfriend, and then sit down to relax and watch some Netflix and it's practically 10 PM (aka when I should be going to bed soon). It's stressful so I'm ready to try to change that-tomorrow (today was a sleepy morning!).

Last night for dinner I was tired so I remembered something I found on Pinterest and it turned out to be so fabulous.  Coconut Oil Roasted brussel sprouts with cashews and raisins. You MUST try this recipe.  I had mine with sauteed balsamic tempeh and the boyfriend had his with some beef.  I ate the leftovers for lunch and it was just as delicious.  I want to add dried cranberries instead of raisins the next time I make it. It was a nice way to switch up my usual roasted brussel sprouts with just EVOO and salt and pepper!

I'm also loving right now the book It Starts with Food. It's been all over the interwebs and healthy living blogs, twitters, etc. so I picked it up.

(image from Whole 9 Life site)

I tried (did not finish!) a Whole30 a month ago and it taught me that my IBS problems are linked to gluten/wheat in some sense, so I've cut back on them but am not truly paleo since I still enjoy some red wine and greek yogurt! I don't think full paleo is right for me but it's nice to read the book and learn some science behind food and diet (yes, I'm a science nerd).  It's really easy to read and understand so far -I'll let you know how the rest is when I finish it!

I also am stoked because the gorgeous but pricey Target Neiman Marcus Holiday Collection is 70% off right now! My boyfriend surprised me with the gorgeous Alice + Olivia luggage

(photo from Target.com)

I love how the luggage is super funky and would be so easy to spot at luggage claim! After he told me about the sale we went back and got him the men's sweater, the thermos, the serving tray, hipster cookie cutters, and then Proenza Schouler sweatshirt I've been sporting.

What I'm most excited about using is also the Diane von Furstenberg yoga mat. It's pretty thick foam and has a super cute matching carrying case.  A new stylish mat is just the thing to get me started doing yoga regularly again I think!

Check out the sale before it's all gone!

Lastly, after doing Round 3 of Tina's Best Body Bootcamp I decided to sign up for Round 4. It'll be a great way to start the new year before I get into a heavy running routine prior to spring races! I'll let you know how it goes soon.

What are you loving lately?

2012-The Year I Became A Runner

Since it's the start of a new year, I'll be reflecting on the past year and looking forward to all that 2013 has in store in a couple of posts.  First I'll talk about my biggest fitness (and life for that matter) accomplishments of 2012! It's when I knew I was a runner, even though I'm still shy to call myself that!

My biggest fitness accomplishment of 2012 is when I ran my first half marathon this past September at the Philly Rock and Roll Half Marathon. It was my “aha” moment of running.  I have the common story of being an athlete in high school but then gained the freshman fifteen due to lack of exercise, poor food choices, and alcohol.  

Summer of 2011 I decided to get on a treadmill to get back in shape, but was stunned to find I could barely run a mile.  I signed up for a local 5K in October to keep myself motivated, and after that first race, I fell in love with running.  However even though I got involved with it as a hobby with my gear and running 4x a week, I never thought of myself as a runner because I thought I  wasn’t good enough or wasn't  winning races. 

For my first half marathon my only goal was to finish in under 2 hours. Even though I had run the cherry blossom 10 miler earlier that year faster than I thought I would, I still was scared about running the longest distance I had ever run. I had only trained up to 11.5 miles up to the point of race day.  I made a shirt that said “I’m the fast girl your mother warned you about” (my new unofficial slogan now) and was so excited when the weather was great. I was so nervous and around mile 8 my legs started to feel it but I pushed it out and felt on top of the world when I crossed the finish line in front of the Philadelphia Art Museum in 1:48:24! 

I was so elated afterwards and downed about 3 water bottles and some snacks when I finally met up with my boyfriend. He was so excited I met my sub-2 goal (not that he doubted me!). He was hugging me and telling me how proud he was of me when I started crying instantly.  This fit of sobbing just came on out of nowhere. I don’t know what triggered it but can assume it was an emotional release of happiness, stress, and pride.  

At this moment it hit me how important running was in my life, and that I was indeed, a runner.  I wasn't the fastest runner, but I was emotionally invested and dedicated. I enjoyed the struggles and the runner’s highs. What standards or qualifications had I been holding myself to that would deem me truly a runner? Game on, 2013. 

Christmas Survey from Hungry Runner Girl Blog

Happy Holidays! I've been super stressed and busy but realized that there is only 12 days until Christmas so I need to start listening to lots of holiday tunes and get excited for the festivities!  When I saw a Christmas Survey on Janae's blog and Carissa's blog (both of which are awesome blogs to follow) I knew it would be super fun to fill out and get me in the holiday spirit today, when I'm fighting off a cold. 

1.  Favorite Christmas Album/CD/Song?
This year my favorite christmas album is Michael Buble's  Christmas.  That smooth, crooner voice is perfect for holiday songs. 

(Source)

However, my sister and I's special Christmas song is Bruce Springsteen's Santa Clause is Coming to Town.  We have the whole live beginning bit memorized too, haha! It's the Boss c'mon, NJ pride, and all that jazz :)

2.  Run on Christmas morning or take the day off?
I'll probably run later in the day after opening presents, eating breakfast, and having a couple mimosas, but we'll see because I love running in the AM.  My parents have a treadmill too, so I know I'll be able to get  a run in sometime!

3.  What do you usually eat on Christmas morning?
My dad usually makes a big eggs and meat spread or some sort of pancakes with fruit.  Now that we're all older there is always some champagne and mimosas too while which we watch the parades on TV!

First EVER Friday Favorites 12/7/12

Hello all and happy Friday to you!
I've decided to do a Friday favorites post since I try lots of things, have a Pinterest full of boards and pins, and bookmark like crazy online,and I love the ones done by Carlyn at "Just Keep Sweating" and Kristin at "Iowa Girl Eats".

Favorite Winter Beer of the Week

(Image from Lagunitas Brewing Company site)

My boyfriend got me turned onto Brown Shugga from Lagunitas Brewing Company last weekend when he picked up a six pack. There are so many awesome winter beers out there. This ale isn't too dark and does have brown sugar and caramel notes which make it very yummy!

Favorite Workout Song of the Week

Ke$ha gets me pumped, and I'm not ashamed.

December Goals

Let's see how I did with my November goals first!

November Goals:
1. Drink 1 gallon of water a day.- Haven't quite been drinking a gallon. It's hard to drink at my job since I'm in a biohazard lab with no food or drink allowed inside and definitely harder on the weekends when I don't have my water bottle with me at all times. Still need to work on this.  
2. Eat consciously and limit snacking between meals. I was pretty good on this besides this weekend when my Internet was acting up and my food logging was not as consistent. 
3. Allow one "cheat" treat a week. I think I need to allow myself one  meal without guilt. I still try to get something more healthy and end up having little treats.  
4. Keep logging food and try to focus on mostly clean meals. I've been better at logging and trying to plan my meals. 
5. Be positive about myself-This I accomplished. I still want to drop some weight but have been admiring the muscle I put on in the past few months!

December Goals
1. Clean eats and maintain calorie goals!
2. Drink more water and green tea instead of coffee!
3. Compliment myself everyday!
4. Lose 5 pounds before NYE! 
5. Eat more veggies with meals and as snacks!

A big help this month has been the #Elf4Health challenge.  You are paired with an elf for 2 weeks (and then the partners change) with daily challenges that focus on physical and mental well-being.  Today the challenge is to track fiber intake!

I'm excited to continue doing this challenge and become even healthier this holiday season instead of falling of the wagon! I was doing really well on my healthy goals this week and even lost a pound but went off track Saturday night with one too many beers.  My weight is back up again but I'm hoping it's just water weight.  I'm back to clean eating and good workouts this week! Hopefully I see some progress!

What are your goals for December?

Post Thanksgiving Blues

I'm sure many of you indulged this past weekend with Thanksgiving festivities and travelling to relatives' houses.  My mom is a fabulous cook, and I definitely cheated on non-paleo treats this weekend.  I had a couple moments of severe food guilt and bad body  image.  I've decided to move on and get on a plan to look fabulous for Christmas.  Lots of water, logging my food, exercising, and working on moderation during the slew of holiday parties and events on the calendar already. 

 I've found drinking some lemon water in the morning has helped.  I also have started taking all my multivitamins and supplements including probiotics (helps with my IBS), Super B Complex, and the new addition of CLA tablets.  Tonalin CLA is derived from safflower oil and supposedly helps with reducing fat and increasing resting metabolism.

I'm coming to terms with some weight gain I've had recently and have decided that if I can lose a couple inches I KNOW I've gained lots of muscle from consistent strength training through Tina's Best Body Bootcamp .  Maybe with healthy eating and exercise, the CLA will help!

With my increased consistent use of supplements I've been turning to a lot of online shopping.  It's easier, and I can find great deals to save me money.  I've come across a site called Vitacost who was looking for people to review their products. Vitacost sells the high quality health and wellness products I want at super affordable prices.  According to Vitacost, they have over 2,000 of the top natural brands and health living products such as baking flours, chia seeds, vitamins, protein bars, and pre-workout aminos.

The thing that makes it the most affordable is that if your order is $49 or more you get FREE SHIPPING.  Even if you are only picking up a few things that total less than $49, your order will ship for only $4.99, no matter the size.  Like I said, I'll be reviewing some products from them, if you are still skeptical.

I thought I'd just pass on a great find, especially since like the whole world, they are having a Black Friday/Cyber Weekend sale which ends Monday Night (11/26) at 11:59 where you get 15% off EVERYTHING! Check out Vitacost. 

What supplements or health products do you love and use?

Holiday Tips for Staying Fit

Hello all! I'm still trying to figure out how often to blog and have been super busy!

Tina's Best Body Bootcamp has been great. It's been more difficult to fit in the longer workouts for strength training so I've just been doing the best I can, but I'm excited to get sweating a lot before Thanksgiving. The isometric hold sets were killer, but I love challenging myself to use heavier weights, even if it's just for 1/3 sets.  I can't wait to kick it into high gear for the holidays!

 I've also been trying to do a Whole 30 challenge this month also where you eat all whole unprocessed foods on a paleo diet (no grains, no dairy, no sugar, etc.).  I've cheated a bunch, mostly with a couple glasses of wine or beer. I'm not losing weight really, probably due to the cheating.  I have noticed a lot less bloating though.  I also have IBS (sorry TMI) and not eating any grains or essentially being gluten-free has helped A LOT.  That is probably the best thing I've learned from this challenge. I knew if I made it a pass/fail challenge on myself I'd feel awful so I've been focusing on being conscious of what/how much I eat and hopefully going to take it up a notch after Thanksgiving. I am determined to lose 5 pounds by Christmas and feel GREAT for New Years!

Since Thanksgiving is coming up I thought I'd share some of my holiday tips for staying fit.

1. Limit drinking.

My alcoholic drink of choice is two glasses of red wine or a vodka/club soda with lime. I also like the vodka/club combination because if you drink just club/lime in between, nobody knows or will ask why you're not drinking.  It's not just alcohol but all the holiday punches, hot chocolate, and Starbucks peppermint mocha lattes to watch out for.  I always try to go for a skinny latte at Starbucks and just limit myself to small glasses or tastings of high sugar/calorie liquids!

2. Buy a new outfit!

I'm going to buy a really cute sparkly dress for New Years and a cute dress for Christmas that I want to look fabulous in.  I'll leaving it hanging on my closet door so I see it as a reminder every day.

I'm thinking this dress for Christmas-SO cute!


3. Bring something you want to eat to a party!

I love baking and making really awesome sweet treats.  We all know sweet treats and indulgent foods are happening almost every week from Thanksgiving to Christmas due to all of the parties and get togethers.  My usual strategy is to make a delicious sweet treat but also bring something more healthy such as a lightened up spinach dip or fruit salad.  People appreciate the unique dish (I mean who really needs 5 plates of box cookies and brownies!) and then you know there is something that is healthy for you to snack on too!

4. Most of all, enjoy in moderation!
This is such a cliche, but I believe in treating myself.  I know because I indulge in sweets and alcohol, I'm never going to have the fitness model body but enjoying time with friends and family and good food is important to me, especially around the holidays.  I always just try to fit a workout in, drink lots of water, and make sure I'm eating enough protein and veggies.

Please comment if you have any other tips for the holiday season or really great recipes you'd love to share!

Bootcamp and Food Guilt

Hello all! I'm just finishing my 2nd week of Round 3 of  Tina Reale's Best Body Bootcamp! (More info at http://www.tinareale.com/best-body-bootcamp/)  It's been great for me because after running my first two half marathons in September and October (WOOHOO!), I'm looking to take a few months to really start strength training more to get toned for the holidays! I love having a plan to tell me what exercises to do and learning to try new things because usually 

I stick to the basics in the gym i.e. bicep curls, tricep dips, deadlifts, etc.  Moves like the scorpion or wall squats have been challenging but it's fun to try to up my weights and get a good sweat on. So far, I highly recommend signing up for the next round if you get the chance!

Halloween weekend was hard for me. I had a low after going out last Saturday and drinking booze and then binging on candy corn and chocolate. Then I just dwelled on how awful I am and bad I look and how it's all my fault.  I need to stick to the MyFitnessPal calorie  goals while minimizing treats.  I know it is unreasonable to just suddenly start eating extremely 100% clean eats so I'm going to focus on ENJOYING one "cheat" a week and allow myself to  balance out some less healthy things I love with more veggies and lean protein.