Simple & Clean

This morning when I opened my reader and discovered Bobbi's May Challenge to lead the Simple Life, I was excited because not only have I already been doing most of these things, but because for the past month I have been slowly transitioning myself into eating very simply and cleanly.

And I must say, I have been doing a fabulous job!

For me, my figure and weight loss are always looming in the front of my mind as I would still like to drop 5 to 10 pounds. However, leading a simple life in the way of what food I eat doesn't really have any bearing on the fact that I want to lose some weight. I know the only way I am going to lose any weight is by adding another component to my exercise regime because I already eat pretty healthy.

So, the way I see this Simple Life Challenge is just a way to further my own agenda of not only putting pure/simple/clean ingredients into my body but by also adapting this idea to other areas of my life.

I have posted before about my thoughts on healthy eating and I sometimes mention what I eat throughout the day, or I may post occasional recipes of meals I particularly like. You probably remember my posts on eating healthy on a budget. But this blog wasn't started to be a food journal and I don't intend to make it that.

But I do intend to further explore the things I love which is of course running and exercise, but also healthy eating, fresh ingredients, organic foods, sustainability, and easy ways that normal people can achieve a healthy balance.

After my first marathon is over on Saturday (!) I can quit thinking about my training for a minute and really start looking at whats next for me, whether that be another race in the fall, a new exercise activity to help me reach my goal weight, or simply a fresh outlook on my life. I think it's definitely due time! I have been stuck in a rut for a while and it's high time I do something about it.

So! Here are a few things I have been chomping down on this week in order to prepare myself (the best way I know how) to be nutritionally sound come Saturday morning.

First off, I have been eating Green Smoothies almost every day since last week! I honestly love them, and I really love all of the nutrients I am eating with my greens. I usually eat them for breakfast with some sort of whole grain for me to "chew" on. I think I am up to using almost 2 to 4 cups of greens, 1 cup of milk (soy or whatever else), 1 T ground flax, 1 spoonful of chunky natural PB, 1 banana and some ice. I haven't strayed too much from this, and have been primarily using kale.


I also made a big batch of dried lima and black beans Sunday night that I have been sitting in our cupboard for a while (probably too long) and have been incorporating them into my lunches and dinners this week. (Which is a very cheap and easy way to add some protein to any meal.)


I have also been eating veggie & protein packed salads and wraps for lunches.



Drinking tons of water as well as coconut water (as I can afford it) after my workouts and during the day.



And the number one thing I have been working on, is not to eat anything after dinner! This has grown increasingly more difficult for me lately and last night I finally said enough is enough! And I feel much better today :)

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That's all I have for now, but here is a bit more about Bobbi's Simple Life Challenge and please head to her site for more information and to sign up!

The Simple Life Challenge from Bobbi at NHerShoes

"How about a SIMPLE LIFE challenge that will get you to save money and eat healthier?? I don’t know about you, but I need to save some money and get back to the more simple pleasures of life.

The challenge comes in three parts!

First part give up eating out for the entire month of MAY!!! I know a lot of you wanted a challenge to get that bikini body, well this is a great way to get there.

Second part, Health Commute Challenge!! Ride your bike at least three times a week(or more) to work or to the store, or taking public transportation, walking, shoot even running!

Third part, Being Simple & Green. Here is a list of ways that you can get simple, and I would love to hear more of your ideas as well.

• Having a date night out at the park
• Inviting friends over for dinner instead of going out, have everyone bring something.
• Do your own pedicure and manicure
• Instead of buying that cup of coffee every day, make your own at home, or shoot give up coffee all together.
• Make all your own breads instead of buying them
• Have a garage sale and make some extra money!
• Read the news online instead of buying the newspaper.
• Do a cloths swap with your BFF’s
• Making a gift for someone instead of buying them something, which is always better anyway.

This May challenge is keeping life in it's RAWIST and SIMPLEST form. I understand that some of you can not bike to work or take public transportation, but what about carpooling or riding your bike to the grocery store??Do you need to simplify your life and get clean inside and out, then this challenge is for you"

My thoughts on healthy eating (for what they're worth)

Since I started this space in January to track my training progress for my first marathon, I have also been reading a ton of blogs out there about running and fitness. In the process of reading and discovering more running blogs, I naturally came across a few really great health and nutrition blogs. Running and eating basically go hand in hand, so it's natural that most running bloggers also talk about the food they eat at some point. I have learned so much about how other runners eat, new health foods I might not have discovered on my own, natural and alternative food sources, but most importantly I realized that my crazy way of eating was shared by thousands of other women (and men) out there.

Lil Bit of Background
Before I immersed myself in this blogosphere I wasn't really surrounded by like-minded eaters. My family never ate particularly healthy growing up (not particularly unhealthy either), my boyfriend enjoys healthy food but doesn't naturally crave foods inherently healthy on a regular basis (he used to have an aversion to anything labeled organic because he thought it was "made of beans or somthing" Men!), my co-workers in the past have never generally eaten the way I do. So for me to stumble across an entire network of people just like me has been pretty enlightening.

Someday soon I will share more about me and my background. I think that will explain a bit more about my eating and exercise habits and patterns. But in light of yesterday's post, I wanted to comment briefly about how I qualify the foods I eat.

I used to count calories and log all of my food on MyFoodDiary.com. Before I started using this site and logging my food and exercises, I thought I was a supremely healthy eater, and I was partly right. But I wasn't paying enough attention to some things that were adding a ton of extra and unnecessary calories to my day (like dressings, sauces, methods of cooking).

This site is a fantastic resource and it truly helped me refine my eating habits. It taught me the right ways to eat healthy. It also helped me to examine everything that I ate, in turn revealing some of the uglier facets of my diet. I would say that going through this process (about 2.5 years ago) changed my life, changed my outlook on food, and helped me to become a smarter eater.

How I Eat Today
Now I don't count calories. Partly because of the fact that I run so much but mostly because MFD ingrained in me the correct way to eat/correct portion size/how much I can comfortably consume in a day.

In the past few years, I have been desperately trying to add more fresh fruit and veggies to my diet. I read somewhere that an easy way to do this is when you are at the grocery store, spend the majority of your time in the outer edges of the store rather than in the aisles where all the paakged and processed foods are. This seems counter-intuitive but I had never thought of it that way, and now I cannot shop without considering that. Try it! It really, really helps you think about what you're putting in your cart.

Generally, I pick up a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables and I incorporate these into all of my daily meals. For breakfast I usually eat oatmeal or cereal with fresh fruit and coffee. For lunch I usually have a veggie-packed salad, wrap or sandwich with a side of fruit or veggies. If I only pack a salad I try to add in some healthy carbs like whole wheat bread, brown rice or quinoa. For dinner, I try to cook something that we both will enjoy, that is also healthy and packed with fresh vegetables and a healthy meat. We rarely eat red meat or pork, we try to stick to ground turkey breast or ground chicken, or boneless skinless chicken breasts. For snacks during the day, I always have fresh fruit. I think I eat an apple every day, plus bananas, plums or whatever else is in season.

I also am getting more thorough about reading food labels and choosing items that I can actually read and understand the ingredient list. Although I am severely limited by budget these days, I spend a lot of time in the stores trying to find items that are as all natural and organic as possible and are also low in sodium. I cannot always afford organic, which is okay for me right now. I cannot get all of my gorceries at Whole Foods, so I shop smart at a few different stores and do what I can. I would like to be able to afford to eat organic produce and food exclusively, but right now that is not an option. So I focus on buying tons of fresh produce and purchasing organic when it is possible. The most important thing for me is to make sure that what I am consuming is made up of things that I don't find offensive and damaging to my body.

I do not diet, and I try not to limit myself too much. I actually think that diets in general are crap. My general rule is to be able to eat what I want one day a week. So if I want to share some french fries at happy hour on Friday, I will! Or if I want a cupcake or some greasy pizza, I can enjoy these things in moderation. I have gotten better at stopping myself from going overboard with junk foods, and the healthier I eat, the less I crave these things.

I think the number one mistake those who are trying to lose weight make is denying themselves the food that their bodies are craving. You have to learn to be an intuitive eater, but this does take time, so initially you're going to have to make some sacrifices. This doesn't mean when you're on a "diet" you're limited to 1000 calories a day and you can't touch sweets. If you love sweets and you're craving them, you're just going to eat more and more food until you satisfy that craving, which was probably worse than eating the sweets in the first place! Also, if you're working out alot, limiting your body the calories it needs will actually be counter-effective and will cause your metabolism to slow down rather than speed up.

The bottome line is that if you want to get healthier and lose weight, start exercising and eating more fresh fruits and vegetables! Crazy right? But it is literally that simple.

Americans tend to want someone to give them the answer, they want the easy way out, and they don't want to do any work to see results. So they turn to whatever fad diet is out there and might lose a few pounds, but end up gaining it right back. Eat fresh and natural foods rather than packaged processed ones, get active, and you WILL see results.

Challenges to Eating Healthy:
Living with my boyfriend has created some eating challenges for me. I went through a phase last year where I was doing a lot of baking for him (and for me because I love to bake) which meant that we had a ton of sweets around all the time. It is also challenging because when we're together I am more likely to cave in for the junk food, like pizza, chips or bar food. It's also sometimes hard to make a dinner that is healthy but one that he will also willingly eat (I think I have done pretty well with this, although I know he won't be sharing in my tofu dishes any time soon).

The people you're around can create huge nutrition barriers for you. My co-workers used to always tease me about the salads I brought for lunch, or the fact that I wouldn't go eat certain foods when we went out. My dad gives me speeches when I don't want any pork chops he's cooked when I come to visit. I have learned to just get over this because I know that the way I eat is the best (and healthiest) way for me. People are just different and everyone does things differently. If you let yourself succomb to the pressures of eating like everyone else, you will never reach your nutrition goals.

This brings me back to this blogosphere. The fact that I have not always been surrounded by healthy eaters has created a challenge for me. But connecting with all of you through this forum has made me realize that I am not a weirdo for eating the way I do. It's not crazy to crave health food stores and be super excited about Farmer's Market season. It's not insane to want to try out meat substitutes or soy milk or not wanting to eat a big hunk of meat at a barbeque (although I do love me some hamburgers and hot dogs). It's not weird to order a salad for lunch that GASP doesn't have any meat on it, or heaven forbid, I eat without dressing. It's not completely insane to want to buy organic even though sometimes it means shelling out a few more dollars. It's normal to care about how I fuel my body.

So thank you all for opening my eyes to this healthy network of those who are teaching me more every day about how to be a healthier and stronger woman. I have realized now that this is the one thing I truly love and am passionate about. Who knows where this will take me?

Weekend Roundup: Slooowww 4 Miler and Lazy 8 Miler

We had a great time this weekend visiting some of my best girl friends up in NC. One was turning the big 3-0, and the other came down from Washington, DC to celebrate with us. It was the first time that all three of us had been together with our boyfriends in tow (both friends have relatively new boyfriends, and not everyone had met) and I think I enjoyed it more than anyone, because for once, my boyfriend of almost three years wasn't the only guy tagging along. :)

Saturday morning, my running buddy and I (the birthday girl) got up around 9 AM (a bit later than we had hoped...) to tread out on a quick run. I know I said I wanted to talk her into running 8, but neither of us could stand more than about 4 in our current conditions. We spent Friday night out at our old stomping ground, Chapel Hill, where we probably drank too much and ate too much late night veggie nachos at the institution that is Cosmic Cantina on the famed Franklin Street.

So we set out to do an out-and-back 5 and at about mile 2 I was checking the Garmin to say, "It's cool with me if we turn around now..." So that was the end of that, but at least we got a short run in during a busy weekend. (I won't mention how long it took us to run 4, we weren't in top form.) We then proceeded to make blueberry pancakes and bacon for everyone (and banana buckwheat pancakes and turkey bacon for us health nuts) which ended up leaving the house in a burnt-bacon smoky fog and us in a comatose state on the couch for the rest of the afternoon, which I cannot say I minded.

Our big night out was Saturday, which the birthday girl had us scheduled for an early dinner at a new Lebanese restauraunt in town, Sitti, and then a night out at the rooftop lounge of the new bar Solas in the Glenwood district of downtown Raleigh. We had a great time catching up and spending time with the friends who mean the most to us. It was good for me especially, because since moving to Charleston I miss having girls around who really know me inside and out.

Sunday morning we dragged ourselves out of bed (or off of our air mattresses in the living room floor that we were sharing with Birthday Girl's deaf white cat, Pharoah) and got ready to say our goodbyes. The DC folks were heading to the train station and we were looking forward to a greasy Sunday morning feast of Bojangle's before our almost five hour drive down south. Anyone who has ever tasted the greatness that is Bojangle's, knows that it is definitley the best hang over food imaginable, and we definitely feasted on it, and with great pleasure. It was for that reason (and possibly the Andnolini's we picked up when we rolled back into Chucktown...oops, blame that one on the bf) that I missed my weekend long run on Sunday (scheduled for 8 miles) and felt like such sluggish crap Monday morning.

So last night after work, although I was tired and cranky and came home to a severely dirty apartment, I persuaded myself to go out running, and I was hoping I could crank out an easy 8 miler so I wouldn't feel like I was already failing (a measly two weeks in) on my marathon training plan. I am one of those people who likes to do everything in order if I have a set plan, I don't like to switch things around, or miss a day here or there, because I feel like once I start to do that, everything else will just fall out of place (like they did last time I tried training for 26.2). I told myself that if I started out and I just felt off, that I would chop it to a 4.5 mile run, and run a bit more Tuesday night.

But it turns out that the 8 miles felt fine, and I finished in a relatively good time of 1:20:44, with my fastest mile being mile 8 which came in at a 9:44 pace. Not too bad for being a late in the day run after a weekend of gluttony and laziness. I think my only saving grace was that I drank almost a gallon of water yesterday. Woo hoo hydration!

Tonight's run is scheduled for 2 miles GP, 2 miles T, and 2 miles GP. I might either take tonight off to get some work done, or just go on a short 3 mile tempo run, depending on how much time I have. All in all, I feel like I am getting back into a good running rhythm, and I still feel like I have the motivation to get this done.

Yesterday my grandmother asked me, "Are you sure you want to do this?!" (in reference to said marathon) and I replied, "No! But I want to accomplish it." I hope I can prove myself right after a few more months of this...

Here's to motivation

My running experience started way back when in high school cross country. At my school, it seemed like every body ran XC (or at least started out the season with the intention of doing so) and a few of my good girl friends ran as well, so I decided to join in.

I would say that my motivator was always to get in shape, because in high school, I wasn't exactly the fittest person. I was very involved in theater and chorus, and had never been the sports star. I tried soccer for a while, but our women's team was best in the county so that didn't last very long. I had done some track and field in middle school, and I still felt like there was an athlete inside of me (underneath a bit of fat, unfortunately) so I wanted to do something that would "force" me to get in shape.

My friend Jess and I embarked on the XC season our sophmore year with not very high hopes. We cheated on our "long" runs, stopped off at friends houses, and basically made a mockery of the sport as much as we could. When track workouts came up, we usually did a few of the workouts and then ducked behind the bleachers and headed home. We didn't do this because we were bad kids, we acted this way because we weren't in shape and instead of being embarrassed at being the worst on the team, we made jokes and laughed it off like it didn't mattter.

Needless to say, when our meets came up they were nothing but miserable, gut-aching, torture.

For some stupid reason one day, Jess and I decided to sign up for a Saturday out of town meet. Why would you do that if you hated it so much, do you ask? Good question, and I have no good answer. I guess we knew inside that we wanted to do better at the sport, so we signed up for something extra thinking it would motivate us to improve.

Morning came the day of the meet and we did everything we could to get out of going, (this in itself is a great story, maybe I will put that out here one day) but to make a long story short, we had to go.




So we get to school and load the bus that cold morning, and play "What's worse?" all the way there because we were THAT miserable.

When we get there, our coach is telling everybody their goal times. When he finally gets to me, he says, "Kristin, your goal is just to finish!" He laughs it off, and I do too not wanting to look hurt and embarrassed, and I end up posting my best meet time of the year that day.

That one sentence has stayed with me ever since that morning, and has probably been the main reason that I keep pushing myself to constantly improve. After I finish my marathon, I plan on calling him up and telling him the story, and letting him know how much of an inspiration and change to my life that one sentence has made.

So back to the here and now, last night was my first track workout of my marathon training plan, and I headed to the Mt. Pleasant track to run 3 miles and then 4x100s. I was originally going to run a quick 3 mile loop around Mt. P, but then decided since I didn't really know the area, just to suck it up and run laps.

I was immediately brought back to high school, when we would all gather on the track to do a sprint workout, and Jess and I would be sucking so bad that after a few sprints we ducked out (deathly afraid of our coach catching us and yelling at us in front of the team) and headed home, or to a friends house to do something "more fun." In reality we were just completely lazy.

But now, I actually have some confidence in myself and in my running ability, and when I arrived at the track to find a large group of runners waiting to start a practice, I wasn't nervous at all to be running amongst them.

I summised pretty quickly that this was a group of beginner runners training for the bridge run in April, with their "Get Over It!" t-shirts giving them away. Most of them seemed to be very new to running and were completely way too bundled up for an running workout.

As I went through my workout, slowly they trickled onto the track, some walking, some barely jogging. Some of them were my age, some were older, but they all had one thing in common--they wanted to be better.

Although I was quicker and more in shape than they were last night, I haven't always been that way. Running there with them last night I was thrown back to that time when all I wanted was to be in shape, to be able to run a 5k easily, to be better, and I know that's how they were probably feeling as well.

It has taken a few years, but running has completely changed my life. It has given me more confidence in myself, given me more energy, it has changed my body and my outlook on life.

In 4 months when I am running those last 6.2 miles after already running 20, and I just don't know where that extra push is going to come fron, I know I will be thinking about that cold morning back in high school when my coach thought I would never finish a 5k, and I know I will be able to push through.

Here's to motivation, here's to making it through, here's to running.