CARBS. I love carbs. But carbs are also not so great for you – especially those traditional carbs like breads, granola, pasta, potatoes… I always try and eat as low carb as possible but I of course have my faults – a quick sandwich for lunch, toast for breakfast, the occasional pizza, granola bars so I wanted to cut out those quick easy fixes for a meal, especially since I haven’t been able to workout because of my back flair up. My week of low-to-no carbs still included carbs, but not those empty carbs, I also kept my keto rules in mind for my eats! Here’s how it all went down…
goals
Fitness Friday 06.19
It’s June! Which means it’s our half-way point in the year where we can check in on our fitness goals, reassess if we need too and prioritize our focus.
Normally about this time of the year, B and I are gearing up to start training for a half marathon. Unfortunately for us, we have yet to be registered for our next half. Timing and dates with a few of the races we want to do aren’t lining up with other plans, so we are still on the hunt for a half to run this year! But working out has taken a bit of a halt for me recently…
I’ve been down and out from the workout department that’s why I’ve been focusing more on my food because that is the one thing I can control at this moment. I’ve shared that I was diagnosed with chronic back pain when I was 16 – so I’ve always lived with back pain and restrictions, well right after our 10-miler, I grouted our bathroom shower and effed up my back! Perhaps the worst it’s been ever, the entire month of May I was out for the count, and struggling through painful everyday interactions. Resulting in a doctor visit, and now following up with physical therapy – I am luckily feeling better with time, but reluctant to get back into the workout game.
Fitness Friday 05.19
It’s time to talk food, that thing we love to hate – especially when it comes to your fitness success and reaching those goals. Food has always been a struggle for me, understanding the balance of life, the things I love (that aren’t so great for you) and then also understanding my gastro issues that have been recent within the last 2-years. Because let me tell you, I love cake and cookies and cupcakes and I believe in the beauty of balance – especially when it comes to enjoying the finer things in life.
Within my health and fitness journey, there are a few rules I’ve learned that work for me while being able to have that balance – and when I’ve been very strict with them I see great results – and when I’m a bit more lenient I know exactly what I need to cut to see a change. But one thing is for sure, whether I’m strict or not – I always enjoy those cupcakes.
Little to No Carbs – Fun fact: Carbs are hidden in a lot of different things that appear to be healthy or good for you – this includes a fair amount of fruits and vegetables, like carrots, apples, bananas, and melons (just to name a few). So really understanding what foods you’re putting in your body and what they contain is half the battle – then you just have to cut them out! Also pasta, just stop eating it.
When in Doubt: Berries – Speaking of knowing what is good for you vs. what is not – when in doubt when it comes to your fruits, berries are the way to go. These are your besties and easy rule to remember: raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries. Yes.
No Dairy – This one isn’t so tough for me, since I’m lactose intolerant I pretty much steer clear, but I am able to enjoy hard cheese – like Extra Sharp Cheddar – so I can get my cheese fix, although I noticed that when I completely cut this out pre-wedding, I felt great and was trimmer. So I think there is some method to the madness of a dairy free diet, whether you have an allergy or not.
Say Bye to Pizza – I will admit, I also indulge in pizza every now and then when we’re home for the night – but again, when we cut out pizza for nearly 4-months pre-wedding the extra weight and temptation went away! We also can’t do cauliflower crust, because my stomach hates me – so it really became all or nothing from a pizza perspective.
Complicated Order – Don’t be afraid to have a complicated order at the restaurant and also just say no to the free sides ahead of time – because as much as you think you won’t eat that side of fries with your burger, let me tell you you’ll probably have at least half if they’re in front of you! So when it came down to it – I would order a burger with NO bun (yup! cut those carbs) and I would order a side salad in place of the fries (bye, carbs!)
The biggest thing to understand when it comes to food and your health – not everything works for everyone. Sure, there are a few obvious things that should be avoided, but no one “diet” works for everyone. The second thing to understand that it’s not a diet – it’s a lifestyle, you truly have to be proactive every single day to make smart food choices.
10-Miler Recap – 2019
This past weekend was our 10-Miler race weekend, and officially kicked off our 2019 running season! We’ve ran this race for the last 5-years, aka 50-miles, and it’s always challenging in new ways but also always so rewarding once the race is finished. Last year’s race was a huge accomplishment and super significant in my fitness journey and my life journey – it’s funny how races can be like that. This year my goal was to simply run the whole race without stopping.
If you’re an avid runner, especially an average one like me, you know that every race is different, every variable is unpredictable, not matter how much you train or prepare. For me, during this race I was feeling great until about mile 7, then the side cramps kicked in and the leg soreness started and stayed for the last three miles. I slowed down a lot, but I also was able to pick up speed and I just didn’t stop, B stayed by my side too which definitely helped, even though we didn’t have the best finish time.
What was super awesome about the 10-Miler race this year was it was my friend K’s first big race! We ran back in October for K’s first 10k and after she kicked that goal’s but her next goal was to run this race – and she kicked this goal’s butt too. I was so proud of her, she persisted through all the elements, through all the miles and crossed the finish like with pure victory!!
Running is just as much of a mental game as it is physical and I’m always reminded of that with each race, but also realize that I’m able to face and conquer new challenges with each one and know that I am capable!
Fitness Friday 02.19
Guys! Confession: I’ve been totally slacking from a fitness perspective – after working through and fighting the urge to rest with prolonged chronic back pain (almost 4-months) – my routine has been completely shot, because I all of a sudden haven’t been resisting the urge to rest as much! #FailedRoutine
I’ve been slowly working through the back, getting back my strength and working to be back to the place I want to be with my routine. I’ve also been itching to get running again, I’ve actually been dreaming about running – but I’m an outside runner and the winter doesn’t really jive well with that. But, enough with the excuses – time for plans on how to get back into the groove for 2019, for real this time!
First things first, stop making excuses. I haven’t been getting up out of bed for my early morning workouts, and I easily bow out of the evenings blaming the commute or being tired. It’s time to start waking up and working out!
Seriously, cut those damn carbs. Again, lazy is easy and carbs are a lazy way to eat. Better planning for meals and proactively cutting out those carbs will help balance the inconsistent workout routine.
Establish a running routine. As I mentioned in my 2019 fitness goals and above, I want to incorporate running as a more prominent staple into my fitness routine this year. We are already signed up for a race in April, but I want to sign up for half marathon… or two *grins* this way I’ll have a training schedule to help me stick to this goal.
Are you struggling with your fitness goals? How do you overcome them?
Fitness Friday 01.19
It’s a new year, which mean it’s time to reset on your fitness goals, evaluate wins and losses from the past year and start focusing on the now and make things happen! Because Fitness has and will continue to be a priority for me, I wanted to really focus on specific goals for my health and wellness beyond my other goals for the new year and what better way to kickoff the first Fitness Friday than with clear goals of the year!
Run More! Running has always been part of my fitness, some years more miles than others – with the goal of still running a handful of races, I want to incorporate running in my routine beyond the training for the races and making it more of constant.
Build My Core Strength. This should have been a priority for the past 13 years – due to my chronic back pain – which has been flaring up more than lately, I’ve been thinking about ways to moderate this more as I get older. And one thing that I’ve been told in my years is building my core strength, so by adding in a simple addition of regular planks I hope to build this up!
Less Carbs. Plain and simple. I’ll begin buckling down on this a bit more, as I’ve been enjoying the finer things in life lately.
Remaining Consistent with Bootcamp. The last two years I’ve gotten into a good groove, seen progress and continued to get stronger. I like the group fitness class and it’s an easy way to check off 2 or 3 days of workouts in the week!
Although I’m not working towards fitting into a wedding dress – this past year was a good year of maintaining my routine, sticking strong on my diet. I worked so hard to establish that routine and make the big progress that I did – I don’t want to loose that routine or happiness I gained in myself. So here’s to another year of becoming and loving your best self!
My 2019 Goals
New year, new goals – am I right? I am sure the interwebs and your social feeds have been bombarded with everyone’s resolutions, positive mindsets and consistent workout routines and clean diets for the last 8-days. Well for me – I’ve been really thinking about what I want to accomplish this year, especially coming off of a super normal 2018.
So as I’ve been thinking and thinking… and then looking back at past goals there were a few that came to mind immediately – traveling and my health routine. More to come on the health routine – I’ll be kicking off my monthly Fitness Friday posts with my 2019 fitness goals, because those my friends will be a lengthly list as well. *smiles* Ok, ok, back to my 2019 goals.
More trips! This is pretty much a goal every year – and last year’s travel goal was a bit lofty, thus our travel game in 2018 was a bit weak compared to years previous. So this year, I’m going to keep it simple and focus on longer weekend trips that B and I can take together whether it’s a car trip or a cheap flight. The other sub-goal of more trips is trying to fit a few new cities in – we’re repeat vacationers, so I want to make sure we keep exploring new places!
More time for friends. We have friends that live next door, we have friends that live 1-hour away and we have friends that live hours away — so it’s important to continue to make time with all of the friends no matter how far away they are. And the key to this is planning ahead!
Spend breaks. I have yet to be successful with this goal – and I know this will be a hard one, but we’ve had friends that have been successful with this and say it really helps! So we need to plan for our spend break(s) and make it happen.
No scrolling before bed. I’m so guilty of this, and habits die hard – but this is one I really want to work on. In fact, making it more of a rule, like no social media for an hour before bed as my work-week rule of thumb.
Keeping fitness a priority. As I mentioned, more to come on this – so stay tuned!
Continue being creative. One way that I’m able to express my creativity is through decorating our house and doing DIY projects or up-cycling furniture – and then sharing my projects and creations with all of you! So I want to continue to be inspired, take risks and be creative!
There are of course a million other things I want to work on for myself and do in this next year, but these were the few that stood out to me as priorities for the new year – that are just good for the soul.
2018 Recap
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! Happy all of the things! I took a bit of an unintentional hiatus for the end of the year, which seemed to be needed, thus back on track and a bit delayed here is my 2018 Recap, which I’ve been very reflective on this past week leading up to the New Year… and with mixed feelings, might I add… 
Compared to 2016 and 2017… the only word I could think of to describe this past year was normal. 2016 was an epic year, it was the year we got engaged, the year the Cavs won the NBA Finals, the year I transition into a new job, plus we had some awesome trips mixed into all of that. 2017 was of course #ourweddingyear including more vacations and just all around amazing-ness. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with normal – it was just figuring out what’s next after two amazing years of it all.
So as I tried to not to overlook our “normal” 2018, I started thinking back about everything we did. From two great trips, including one new city, to countless days/nights with friends, pool days & birthday parties with our nieces, lots of weekends back home, and many dinners and day dates in between – our 2018 was anything but normal mainly because of all the wonderful people we spent our days with – which I think is evident with the pictures above.
I also had some personal accomplishments coming off a year of ups and downs, and finally getting my butt in gear physically and professionally. It felt great to run two long races without stopping from our 10-Miler in April to our half-marathon in August — it makes me want to continue our running streak and find new races to run, while sticking to our favorite ones. A few other accomplishments I was proud of was joining the board of a nonprofit and my one-year anniversary at my company!
So here’s to 2018 and loving the new normal in 2019!
Fitness Friday 11.18
It’s that time of the year, the gatherings, dinners, the holidays are creeping in quick! If you’re like me and go to THREE different Thanksgivings within a four day period, you can quickly kiss away all your fitness progress, that’s if you decide to indulge in each and every one, not to mention all the booze!
So in order to maintain and not gain this holiday season, here are some easy tips to remember and still enjoy the holiday meals and get togethers.
(1) Get that Workout In! This is one of the most important ones and will help you keep your sanity – the best bet to insure you check this off the list is getting it done early. Just because you have a few days off doesn’t mean you should forget your normal workout schedule, plus once festivities start and the first mimosas is poured you won’t be too motivated to workout! If you’re traveling to visit family, hit up your cousin who spins or goes to the gym and go to a drop-in class with them.
(2) Smarter Alcohol Choices. Tis the season for holiday brews… and yes they’re delicious but they’re packed with calories and carbs – one of our local favorite Christmas Ale’s has 200 calories in a 12oz. bottle and 20 carbs! Ah!! Try not to drink your calories and carbs and check out the Keto Alcohol rulesI like to follow, stay away from beer, opt in for those bubbles! Red wine is also a good choice or pure spirits, but be sure to avoid those sugary mixtures.
(3) Don’t Go For Seconds. Don’t do it!! This is where all bets are off, and no good will come of it. In addition to refusing seconds, limit your portions – when you’re heaping that stuffing onto your plate use the rule of thumb to make sure you see the bottom of your plate!
(4) Stay Hydrated. It’s important to stay hydrated throughout the day, it helps flush out toxins and even can help if you’re planning to indulge in the adult beverages. This is also easy to forget if you’re traveling and driving to multiple houses throughout the day making the rounds – pack a water bottle ahead of time and keep it in the car!
(5) Eat Breakfast. Make sure you eat a good breakfast and other meals throughout the day before your big meal – I think it’s human nature to try not to eat so much during the day knowing you’ll be indulging later in the evening, but this can lead to going up for seconds and binging. By eating healthy throughout the day you’ll be more full and less likely to over do it at your holiday meals!
At the end of the day you’ll enjoy the holidays as you want, but after Thanksgiving starts the endless holiday gatherings, pretty soon we’ll be making New Year resolutions – so remember, it’s OK to NOT over indulge in the holidays, just maintain balance, because you don’t want your New Year’s Resolution to be the same as the year before!
Catch-up on past Fitness Friday’s: Physical vs. Mental Battle | Accountability and Food | Maintaining Balance
the bee life 