Related Posts with Thumbnails
Stay connected!
Search

Entries in healthy habits (11)

Wednesday
Jan182012

Running Playlist Favorites

Are you on a fit in 2012 wagon?  I haven't set any specific fitness or running related goals for this year and am trying to just keep fitness and running part of my life (although I would love to run a race during this pregnancy if I can find one that fits timing wise)

Music makes a big difference in those workouts where I am either a little less than motivated or am being particularly challenged... basically anytime I have to work out in a gym, on any cardio machine, or for those really long runs.  What is it about a gyms that make you want to head right back out the door?  The music they play and the background sound of all the cardio machines whirring is enough to make me cut any workout short just to get out of there.  So I rely heavily on my favorite running playlist that I crafted during marathon training to help me block all of that out and get into a zone.

These songs helped me keep moving during long training runs and now they are helping me keep going at my seriously slow preggo pace.  They are not the most current nor songs I might listen to at any other time other than working out.  Sometimes the words are ridiculous (honestly most of the time I don't listen to the words). 

But the beat works for running.  Some songs are perfect for when you need that extra push for a sprint session, others for when you need to cruise for distance.  Some give this happy upbeat feeling and others give an "I am going to kick ass" focus. 

  • Holiday - Green Day
  • Are You Gonna Be My Girl - Jet
  • Burnout - Green Day
  • Mr. Brightside - The Killers
  • Forever - Chris Brown
  • Skater boy - Avril Lavigne
  • Everything to Everyone - Everclear
  • I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas
  • Since U Been Gone - Kelly Clarkson
  • Kick Some Ass - Stroke 9
  • Happy Boys and Girls - Aqua
  • Get The Party Started - Pink
  • When I Grow Up - Garbage

Happy running!  Now go kick some ass.

In other news, if you haven't looked in the SOPA and PIPA bills that are in Congress definitely check them out. 

Friday
Feb042011

Gearing Up for Winter Running

One of the things I find very appealing about running is that it requires very little stuff.  Essentially just a good pair of shoes, a good supportive sports bra and a sidewalk.  Easy-peasy, no excuses, just go out the door and do it.

Outdoor running in the winter is a slightly different story.  Without good gear a run can turn from exhilarating to not-so-much fun in a matter of moments.  This winter I have been doing much longer runs outdoors and had to upgrade my workout wardrobe to include cold-weather running gear.  I was skeptical at first, heading out in my hodge-podge of random layers.  After a few runs turned damp and cold I gave in and placed an order for the real deal stuff.  It is so worth every penny. 

 

With the limited hours of daylight during this season I am also squeezing in some time on the treadmill for weekday runs.  While the scenery is lacking, the climate control is kind of nice.  And I can shed some layers so that is pretty nice too. I picked up some super cheap tanks from Forever21 that are working quite nicely for shorter runs.

 

Healthy living things I am loving this week...

{At the Gym} Tempo runs 

{Cardio} The exhilaration from a nice long run on a cold, winter day.

{Eating} Frozen peaches simmered in a dash of sugar and vanilla for a light dessert

{Balance} Shoulder stands in Friday's yoga class

Friday
Nov122010

Heathy Habits & Chocolate Tarts

It seems like the moment I decide that I am going to focus on losing weight I become a cookie monster. 

I always avoid the diet word but for me losing weight includes being more aware about where I could maybe cut back a little and that is enough to trigger cookie monster mode.  Suddenly I need to bake.  And then I don't want to throw away those treats so I guess that I will have to eat them!  So needless to say, little progress has been made on losing those extra pounds in the last two weeks.

But I have regrouped and found my willpower to moderate the desserts/treats.  It is surely not the end of the world that I ate two banana cupcakes* and a bowl of peppermint ice cream one night this week and a piece of chocolate tart* three nights last week.  Right?  (Good thing I am not on the biggest loser or they would surely have kicked me out for that!)

Health things I am loving this week...

{At the Gym}  Seated Rear Delt Raises with dumbbells.  Excellent for the upper back and shoulders.

{Cardio}  Cross-training. I am mixing up my running with getting on the stairmaster- which felt good.  Other than walking I haven't done any other cardio outside of running for a good eight months!

{Eating}  Shrimp!  I love shrimp.  They are on my favorite food list.  And they are apparently quite nutritious being a good source for iron among other things.

{Balance}  Getting enough sleep.  This is a constant struggle for me as I like to get my runs done in the morning but I am a total night owl.  I am making a huge effort to be enough of a grown up to get to bed early enough so that I get the sleep I need to be able to keep up my energy.  This also means accepting that I just can't do everything I want in the hours between getting home from the day job and bedtime.

 

*Banana cupcakes and chocolate tart recipes to be posted up on Two Cooks One Kitchen as soon as I can fit it in before bedtime ;)

Friday
Oct292010

Fitting in Healthy Habits

Keeping a healthy lifestyle seems to be one of those goals that takes a constant effort.  As soon as you hit a milestone, say making yoga part of your weekly routine, you still have to keep making the effort to keep it part of that routine.  It isn't quite a simple as checking something of the to do list (say crossing the finish line of a race- although that is rewarding).  Healthy habits are always on my resolutions... But these days I am looking at those be healthy goals as a work in progress.

I am a huge fan of lists, status reports, action plans, etc.  And I blame it on being your typical Type A planner type.  What does this have to do with developing a healthy lifestyle?  Well, I have really enjoyed creating the posts for what would be on my must see list for a Chicago vacation so I want to do something similar for healthy stuff.  A round-up of sorts on the things that are working for me or that I am trying at the moment to work towards my goal of healthy living (and losing those last 6 pounds).

So... from this week I am loving

{At the gym} Combo free weight exercises. Particularly the bent leg deadlift into a shoulder press with dumbells.  Love this exercise.  Great for the hips, rear, and shoulders.  (I have seen this in those women's fitness magazines but can't find it right now- when I do I will add a link. But it is basically just as it sounds- when you come up from the deadlift go straight into a standing shoulder press in one smooth movement.)

{Wearing} Lululemon Cross Train Crop.  I tend to really dislike tight workout pants... But I love these.  And the length is perfect for this time of year... and for shorties like me. Most cropped workout pants look ridiculous on me but these work.

{Cardio} Interval training.  I am trying to work on my speed right now as well as burn off a few pounds and so am doing a lot of intervals in my runs.  I am doing .25 to .5 mile intervals and they are really lending towards a runners high.

{Eating}Minimizing processed food.  We started to cut out processed food earlier in the year and then with marathon training we cut out even more.  I refuse to cut out sugar (or use processed sugar substitutes) or carbs.  But removing processed food from our diet makes absolute sense to me.  And most of the things we would buy processed (say granola bars for example) are super easy to make... (we have started to share these homemade pantry type of things on our cooking blog.)

{Balance} Family walks.  We are shutting off all the electronics and going for a walk each evening before bedtime.  Good for the dogs, good for us.

 

image from Whole Living

Friday
Sep242010

The Caffeine Habit

I have a long history of over-indulging on caffeine, starting in college.  This past year I successfully reigned in my caffeine habit. I thought I would share a bit about how I went from over-indulging to just right in case any of you are thinking about cutting back too.

To give you an idea of what I mean by over-indulging... I would start each day with a cup of coffee while I get ready, a travel mug of coffee during the commute, a grande in a venti cup of coffee (ends up being nearly a venti with room for cream) around 10am, then a switch to Dt Coke at noon with around 3-4 cans during the rest of the work day, maybe have an afternoon coffee, and probably 2-3 glasses of Dt Coke in the evening... So yeah, can we say caffeine junkie!  No wonder I felt burned out all of the time.  As I am getting older, I am trying to make sure that I am taking care of myself with healthy habits.  Being a caffeine junkie is not a healthy habit!

To be honest I didn't set out to minimize my caffeine intact, my first goal was to eliminate diet soda.  I live my life with a strong belief in the "in moderation" when it comes to diet but I my diet soda intake was excessive.  It was essentially replacing water so that can't be good.

I puffy heart coffee.  Not mochas or lattes but good old drip coffee with a touch of sugar and a dash of half and half.  I am adament about not completely cutting coffee.  But too much is too much.  And if I can be a coffee snob for a moment, Sbux is not a fantastic coffee.  It is convenient (across the street from my office).  It is also too bitter and burnt for my preference so I would add a lot of sugar and half and half.  If I am drinking a higher quality coffee (like Intelligentsia or Metropolis) then I use a fraction of the sweeteners.  My goal was to cut back to 2 cups of coffee a day, 1 while I get ready and 1 travel mug.  Then I am keeping to higher quality stuff (thus a huge decrease in my daily sugar intake) and also adding one less paper cup to the garbage each day.  It seems like if you want to find a health benefit or risk for anything you can find one.  I like this article, as there have been some benefits found for drinking a moderate amount of coffee but they reinforce that it moderation is key as any negative risk come from excessive drinking. So for me, 1-2 cups is a-okay!

Ok, so how did I eliminate diet soda, cut back my coffee, and start drinking a significantly higher amount of water?  Through a series of steps that included eliminating and replacing:

  1. Stop buying it!  If diet soda is in the house I will drink it.  So cut the supply!
  2. Then I cut back to only having one soda at work with my lunch.  And forced myself to drink water the rest of the afternoon.
  3. Find a replacement... I need flavor and water can be so boring.  So I would keep something like Crystal Light in the fridge.
  4. Bring a large cup and a slice of lemon to work.  The flavor from the lemon slices is a huge help for me.  Having a larger cup at my desk equals less trips + drinking more water + less waste from the plastic ones at my office.  This sounds like a small thing but it made a big difference.
  5. Keep the high quality coffee at home.  If I start my day drinking the good stuff, the stuff from that shop across the street taste even more burnt and bitter... Thus much less appealing.
  6. Keep a pitcher of water with lemon slices in the fridge.  Yum!  Water that is super cold and has been fully infused with lemon is seriously good stuff.  When I started doing this I cut out the Crystal Light.  Sometimes I will add lime slices. 

I have roughly cut 75% of my caffeine and completely cut out diet soda.  I don't even think about drinking a diet soda anymore; the few times I did sneak one in at work it was less appealing as I remembered.  And that lemon with water stuff- it is simple yes but a very effective replacement.  I am now drinking 100 times more water.  And I feel great.

Now a days, if I feel sluggish it is because I stayed up way to late where as before I felt sluggish almost daily.  I feel so much better.  I have found the right balance of caffeine intake for me.  Everyone is different of course but I hope that if you are trying to cut back that this post will be in some way helpful.  A cold turkey cut will work for some, for me it was a series of steps to eliminate and replace.

Has anyone else been working toward a healthy balance with caffeine?  Would love to hear what other tricks/approaches have been working well.