It's Friday, which means time for Friday Five and the topic is staying healthy over the holidays. But today, I've got a little twist on my usual post. In a nice little "stars aligning" moment, I'd already partnered with Kohl's Activewear to give you all some ideas for how to stay fit over the holidays. We all know that it's such a busy time of the year and all of the office parties and holiday open houses and dinners out add a double whammy: Not only are you too busy to get your workouts in, but you are filling your workout time with events that offer way too many yummy foods. And the beer? Umm, I may have already bought six different holiday beers. Maybe. But that's a post for a different day. Before I get to my tips, I have … [Read more...]
How a night owl gets a workout in
Have you entered the giveaways on the Reader Appreciation Blog Hop? No? Go, do it, then come back and read. As I sit here, yet again, with the clock ticking towards midnight, I think about the workout I won't be doing at 0'dark thirty in the morning. I'd like to pretend that I'll get up early and run, but we all know that won't happen. What will likely happen is that I will get up at the last possible moment to get my older kid ready for school. Then, I'll take the younger one to school, usually in mismatched clothes and with my hair uncombed (yeah, I'm that mom) and then return to the house. Where I will drink coffee and eat breakfast and start some laundry. THEN (and only then) I will consider heading out for a run. I'm a night … [Read more...]
Tips for staying fit on vacation
There used to be a time when we'd go on vacation and I'd come back a few pounds heavier. We'd go out for every meal and I hadn't yet learned to choose smaller, lighter meals for the majority of my meals. It was VACATION and I was going to eat what I wanted. Yeah. As you know, I just got back from two weeks in Ireland. Guess what? Not only do my pants still fit, I actually lost a couple of pounds. So, it seems pretty fitting that April, Patty, and I decide that the Tuesdays on the Run topic this week would be fitting in running on vacation. Spoiler: I only ran 19 miles while I was in Ireland. And 13.1 of those were my race. Why? Because we spent most of our time staying out in the country and the roads in Ireland are hella … [Read more...]
South Block Juice Cleanse Review
Recently, I was given the opportunity to do a juice cleanse in exchange for a review on my blog. I had heard of South Block Cafe many times (it's local to me) and had had the opportunity to try their juices after a Revolve spin class. When I read about Sue and Courtney's experiences, I decided it would be something interesting to try. So, why do a juice cleanse? Here's what South Block has to say: A Juice Cleanse is a completely safe and natural way to give your body the necessary nutrients while at the same time giving your digestive system a much needed break. It's meant to be a lower calorie, natural way to provide your body with lots of vitamins and minerals, while leading you to healthier eating habits. It's not intended … [Read more...]
Metabolic Effect Update
I hate calling it a diet. I know that the primary meaning is "the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats," but it seems to more often than not "diet" refers to a strict eating plan designed to bring about weight loss (or some other physical change). So far, the Metabolic Effect Diet is more the first for me than the second. First, I've always done better with frequent meals. It keeps my blood sugar much more even and I don't feel the need to snack nearly as often. Second, I don't feel like any food is restricted. I can't eat as much as some things that I might have in the past (cookies, "junk" food, etc.), but if I want a few bites, I can have them. The key here is to only have a few bites. And it's … [Read more...]
How marriage is like fitness
20 year ago, I made a decision that changed my life path: I made a random stop by the fraternity house where many of my college friends had belonged. I had heard a rumor that some alums were there hanging out for the evening. Beer Geek was one of those alums. 1 year later, I married him. 19 years of marriage later, I know I made the right decision. In many ways, keeping a healthy marriage is much like keeping a healthy lifestyle. So, here are 5 tips for maintaining a healthy marriage as well as a healthy lifestyle. 1. Don't compare. Your marriage, just like your fitness, is yours alone. Don't compare other couples public behavior to your day to day marriage. Same thing with running - you don't know where they … [Read more...]
Metabolic Effect Diet and WIAW
I'm not really one to talk about dieting. I've been within a 10 pound range of weight since I lost the baby weight with Shoo. But I'm feeling soft and even my running skirts aren't fitting as well as they should, so I need to make some changes. I know Kim has had a ton of success with the Metabolic Effect, so I'm checking it out. I've skimmed it enough to start, but I really need to do a more in depth read. It's not earth shattering ideas, but most of what it suggests are things that have worked for me in the past: 1) More frequent meals, 2) Protein at every meal, and 3) decreased amount of starchy carbs. I do like that it doesn't tell you to eliminate entire food groups or even entire foods. It just suggests limiting how many bites … [Read more...]
Friday Five: Favorite Fitness Activities
When the ladies of the DC Trifecta (Mar, Cynthia, and Courtney) suggested "Five favorite fitness activities" as the topic for today, my initial response was "I only run". And, well, that may be true right at the moment, but it wasn't always that way. I mean, running will be my number one love as long as my body agrees, but the days of forcing myself to workout are long gone. I work out now because I love how it feels. I'm looking forward to mixing some cross training back into my life in a few weeks. So, here are my five favorite ways to get the blood pumping: 1. Running - I love running. It makes me happy. Even when a run sucks, it's better than no running at all. 6 years ago, I ran my first 8k. It nearly killed me. I'd … [Read more...]
How to live with a Crossfit spouse (guest post)
Today, I'm handing over the controls to a new friend from Elf for Health. She's going to share her expertise about something I know nothing about: living with a crossfit aficionado. Enjoy! (And stop on by Pavement and Pixie Dust to hear me share my expertise... on beer and fitness.) Hi,Becki from Pavement and Pixie Dust here. I’m fairly new to the run blogging community and I’m excited to be participating in the Elf4Health blog swap. Thanks to Erika for hosting my blog and make sure to check out her post over at my spot (rkjalernpan.blogspot.com) I am good at a lot of things. But when it comes to being an expert, I really had to stop and think. The first few things that came to mind were eating dessert for breakfast, talking to my … [Read more...]
Wii Fit U + Fit Meter Review
Confession: We love our electronics around here. Confession #2: We are fond of Nintendo products. While we do have limits on how much time our children can be interfacing with screens (unless they are reading on the kindle), we do own quite a few options for the time that they are allowed. Both boys have DS handhelds and we've had a Wii for years. I'm not much of a game player, but even I've had a rockin' good time with the Wii. So, when Nintendo offered to send me the Wii Fit U and the Fit Meter to review, I was all over it. I've always wanted to try out the balance board and I'm definitely looking for new ways to help my one child burn off excess energy and to get the other child moving. Takeaways: the Wii Fit U game … [Read more...]
Running couch potato
Recently, the NY Times reported on a study of how much time runners training for a marathon spent sedentary. Not surprisingly, it found that, when not actually working out, the runners were just as sedentary as everyone else. No conclusion was drawn as to whether all the running balanced the sedentary behavior, but still, people, that's a lot of sitting. I've been trying really hard this year NOT to be a couch potato. Like many people, my job involves sitting in front of a computer. I shop online. I socialize online at least some part of every day. I drive when I need to do a grocery trip or Target or any number of errands where I'm either taking something with me or bringing back something. I am, however, fortunate in two ways: … [Read more...]
Revolve Party!
A while back, RevolveDC offered me a chance to come for a free ride and bring 20 of my local friends. Obviously, I jumped at the chance and sent out word to my local running buddies and some of the moms' groups I belonged to. It didn't take long to fill all of my allotted seats. I rode on Wednesday with a friend and Angel kicked.our.butts. So, I took Thursday as a rest day to make sure my legs were up for a fun ride on Friday. Friday, a decent percentage of women showed up for the ride. (Most of us were moms and we all know that kids can throw a wrench in plans.) Once again, Revolve did not disappoint. Friday's instructor was Grant Hill. This was the third time I've taken his class and he ALWAYS pushes me harder than … [Read more...]
