Always Learning

This healthy living journey is one of constant learning. You would think that after two years, I would know everything. (Please note the sarcasm.) 

Absolutely not. I hope I will always have the attitude of a student of healthy living. There is so much to know, and new research is constantly being published. And I am always learning something about myself.

This week, I learned the value of rest. Not just taking a rest day every week, which I do. But also allowing my body some recovery time from the rigorous workouts that I put myself through. As I mentioned in my most recent update, I have learned to love exercise. I don't skip workouts because they are a part of my life, my daily schedule.

I do cardio six days a week, strength training two to three days a week. I base my workouts around running, because that is my favorite cardio/therapy. And last week, I put together a new training plan with the goal of running a half marathon in May.

In chatting with several running friends on Twitter, someone recommended building in "step back" weeks into my running plan. Weeks with less mileage and less strenuous workouts to allow some time for my body to recover. I know about step back weeks, but I've never put this concept into practice. Maybe because I'm too driven. Or I'm afraid of losing ground in my weight loss progress. I don't know.

As I wrote out my training plan, I decided this past week needed to be a step back week. I only did two strength workouts, and I ran three miles less than the week before. Mentally, this was tough. I wanted to work hard like I usually do. But I didn't.

And the pay off was an AMAZING run this morning! Faster and stronger than I have felt in a month. I am now a believer in the need for recovery weeks. I learned something new!

Always be a student. Even if you have reached a maintenance level of your healthy living journey, there is still plenty to learn!

The Negotiator

Scene: the snack aisle of a big box store (not THAT big box store, but a big box none the less)

This week is our turn to provide snacks for Ladybug's preschool class. We have to bring in juice boxes and prepackaged individual snacks so the teachers can allow the kids to help themselves, encouring them to be more independent. If you've read this blog for any amount of time, you know that we try to limit processed foods.

My preferred snack

 And this is reflected in my choices for the class snack. I would prefer to buy bananas, grapes, or dried fruit and nuts, but they require a little too much effort (refrigeration & washing the grapes, avoiding bruises on the bananas, possible nut allergies, etc). So I usually opt for individual boxes of raisins and some type of whole wheat cracker. (Versus a non whole wheat product that would have even less nutritional value.)

I do not believe that cookies, Cheetos, or other such snacks make an appropriate mid morning snack for children who need brain power to learn and energy to play. I definitely do not think that "fruit snacks" are healthy in way. However, my daughter, as a typical four year old, thinks they are awesome.

Photo credit: stock.xchng

So, we are in the snack aisle, and I am trying to remember how many snacks I need to buy and peruse what is available. LB sees the "fruit snacks." (I use quotation marks because there is precious little actual real fruit in them.) She is fixated and starts to ask if they can be the snack we bring to school.

Absolutely not. Over my dead body, I think to myself. But I say, no, they are not real food, and Mama wants to buy real food for your snack. LB counters with, but you don't have to eat them Mama. They are for my friends, and they like these. We go back and forth like this for a minute or two. Thankfully, the store wasn't busy and there were no other customers nearby to hear me explain (for the thousandth time) that Mama likes to provide snacks that are healthy and good for growing boys and girls.

My child is quite the negotiator. She came up with several good arguments why I should buy them. Finally, I found enough better quality prepackaged snacks and we were able to move on. But not before she tried to sneak a box into the cart. I have made certain decisions about what snacks I will and will not allow in my home. Fruit snacks are NOT acceptable.

Do we eat processed snacks? Yes, because I do not have the time or energy to make crackers every week. (Homemade crackers are awesome, but time consuming.) However, I opt for the best quality I can find. I read labels. If the ingredient list is short, it's on the good list. If the first ingredient is enriched flour, it's out. If there is HFCS, it's out. If there are artificial dyes, it's out.

I'm not trying to sound holier than thou and say that our food choices are better. What I am trying to say is that I have certain food priorities and I try my hardest to stick to them. Even if my four year old has learned some great debating skills.

Do you have food priorities?

Happy Mamavation Anniversary to Me!

I can't believe I missed my 2 year anniversary with Mamavation! It was last week, and my Ladybug (4.5 years old) was still on break from preschool. I don't get much down time when she's home. Even now that she's back to school (mornings), my days are full to over-flowing. Studying for my certification as a personal trainer, church activities, family activities. Also I'm still trying to figure out blogging from my android tablet, and find a twitter app that I like. That makes for times when I seem a bit AWOL. It's not intentional. Mamavation gals, I miss connecting with y'all!


Here's a quick recap of what's been going on with my healthy living journey.

Fitness: I've stayed on track with my workouts during the last few weeks. I really do enjoy exercise! (I certainly couldn't say THAT two years ago!) I ran a Prediction 5k on New Year's Day. I got new dumbbells for Christmas. Oh boy, those are fun! My android tablet was also a Christmas present, and I found a fun workout app called Workout Trainer. When I'm at a loss of what workout to do, I look there for direction. All is well in the fitness department.

Nutrition: Now that the holidays are over, it's time to re-group and re-focus. Keeping processed food and added sugar out of my body are a priority, as are proper portions. I know in my head that proper nutrition is a huge part of the weight loss/healthy living equation. Now to work on my follow-through.

Days full of activities make menu planning a necessity. I found a fun magnet menu planning list that I keep on the fridge. That keeps my plan right in front of my eyes. And the bottom portion tears off as my grocery list. Hello, organization! I need all the help I can get!

The Scale: I sort of took time away from the scale during the holidays. I wanted to enjoy and not feel overly guilty. As I said, now is the time to re-focus. I weighed in last week (up 5 lbs since Thanksgiving, not great, but not bad), and re-measured myself. So that is the new starting pointing. I still celebrate that I've lost 35 lbs and numerous inches in the last two years.

I've written down my goals for 2012 to help keep me focused. My goals are not only about losing weight, but about being a healthy person, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. If you don't have any goals written down, I highly recommend that you do that TODAY!

Welcome to all the new members of the Mamavation Sistahood. Feel free to let me know that you are new and what your Twitter ID is so we can chat on Twitter.

Here's to a healthy 2012 for all of us!

Healthy Appetizer: Spinach-Cheese Balls

When I'm invited to a party or get-together and I'm asked to bring food to share, I always like to make something healthy. However, I've had some ideas that I thought would be good and they were real bombs. Healthy food should taste good!

I finally found a winner of an appetizer. And even though it calls for biscuit mix, I made it a tad better by making my own with unbleached/unenriched flour. Even small little changes like that can improve the health factor of a recipe without losing any flavor.

A favorite appetizer around these parts is a sausage-cheese ball, and this is the same thing only with spinach. I don't have anything against sausage, I was just trying to offer a somewhat healthier appetizer option at the party. They were a hit! And you can easily double this recipe for a larger crowd.

Spinach-Cheese Balls

Spinach-Cheese Balls

1 box frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed to drain
1 cup biscuit mix (homemade or boxed)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
a pinch of salt
tomato sauce for dipping (optional)

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray (or line with parchment paper). In a large bowl, mix all ingredients, except tomato sauce. Shape mixture into 1-inch balls; place on cookie sheet.

2. Bake 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from pan. Serve with tomato sauce for dipping.

Makes about 30 balls.


Linking this post to Healthy Food Friday on Mamavation.com

Prediction Run 5k Recap

The first day of a new year. What better day to have a race! Our local running club hosted the Prediction Run 5k, which is a very unique race. There is no race fee, but they ask that you bring canned goods which are donated to a local food pantry. Also, when you register for this race, you have to predict your finishing time. The winner is the one who finishes closest to their prediction.

I've been struggling with some chest congestion for the past week. I know the rule: if a cold is above the neck, you're good to go. But be extra careful when the symptoms are in the chest. I ran today being careful. I wanted to run, and I'm stubborn. I predicted a finishing time of 39:00, which would be faster than my most recent 5k finish. I really believe I could have come close to that if I had been 100% healthy.

The race was at 10:00am, plenty of time to get myself up and going. (I did stay up alter than usual last night, but not until midnight. I never make it to midnight!) Since we didn't have any music duties at church this morning, Hubby and Ladybug dropped me off at the race while they went to hear a friend preach at his church.

One of the catches with this kind of race is that no electronics and/or timing devices are allowed. It is on a certified course with timing chips, but runners have to just run and pace themselves. (There were walkers too.)  I had plenty of time after I checked in to stow my gear and make a visit to the porta potty.

This is the third time I have run a race at this park, and I struggle every time. I finally figured out what the problem is: no shade. The temps were in the upper 40s at race time, but the sun was bright and felt hot. This made me appreciate my usual o'dark-thirty running time.

There were about 100 participants, and the course was 3 laps around the lake. I'm not fond of this kind of course because the faster runners lap me. But I had to get over than and focus on running my own race. I gave myself more walk breaks than I usually would and gaged my pace on how easily I could breathe.

My finishing time was 41:27, much slower than my prediction. But considering how I felt, I'm happy with this result.

My warm fuzzy moment of the day: there were lots of other folks out walking, biking, and running. There was an older couple walking their dog and were going in the opposite direction on my second lap. As I saw them on my third lap, the woman had started jogging and was out-pacing her husband. She gave me a big smile and said, "You inspire me!" I gave her two thumbs up and a "You go, girl!" As I was coming into the finish,  she was there cheering for me. We gave each other a thumbs up, and I told her to stick with it.

You never know who you will inspire when you keep your eyes focused on your goals! What a great way to start a new year!