My experience with mindful eating...

For the last month, I ditched every diet -- weight watchers, 21 day fix, calorie counting -- and subscribed to a mindful eating (intuitive eating) mentality.

This meant that all foods were good foods, I could eat anything I wanted as long as I did so with intuition -- listening to my body. 

 When I was hungry, I was to honor my hunger and eat what would be fulfilling.  When I was full, I was to stop before I became uncomfortably full.  

A great analogy for this "comfortably full" zone is a balloon -- when it's empty, it's like when you're hungry,  when it's completely full & about to burst, it's when you're uncomfortably full, but when you let out some hair so it's not stretched way out but still inflated -- that's the target "comfortably full" zone.

During this time I was also in between serious training plans -- I had completed my half marathon and hadn't started into full blow  marathon training yet. 

I was also burned out. 

The nonstop blur of  tracking and tracking and planning and planning and ignoring my body's signals to push myself -- really started to grind my gears and it inevitable got to me. 

Ignoring my body's signals is helpful when my legs are screaming for me to stop, but I know I can keep going.  This habit isn't nearly as helpful when trying to manage weight while providing adequate nutrition.

Investigating the mindful eating concept lead me down a rabbit hole of sorts.  I stumbled across articles on intuitive eating, recognizing body cravings as nutritional needs, and how the diet mentality is actually harming our health.  Here's a short list of important take aways I've collected from the last month:

• Diet Mentality assigns some foods as "bad" and others "good" but food is food, don't give it that power over yourself
• Honor your hunger -- ignoring it is equivalent to ignoring your urge to use the restroom!
• Honor your fullness -- feeding your hunger until you feel full is like the "ahhh" feeling you get on a road trip when you've needed a rest-stop, but you've been holding it for miles, and you finally get to go... such relief!!
• Respect your fullness -- fullness, not overly stuffed-ness... Over filling, using this whole potty mentality, would be like trying to force yourself to go after you've already went! 
• Respect your body -- I'm worthy of a healthy body!!  I also want to show it respect by honoring it with appropriate choices and comfort.
• Get out of your head!!  Constant dieting made me obsessed with food.  Constantly measuring, counting, and planning.  This doesn't make it easy to balance my life or and it gives food too much power over your life!  One thing I started doing recently was a full body check in. During runs when I want to quit, I check in from feet to head and all parts in between.  When I'm hungry I check in with my whole body in a similar way to ensure I'm feeling actual hunger and not boredom, anxiety, or sadness. 
• Diagnose your cravings!  Are you craving a cheeseburger because it sounds fulfilling or because you just watched a bunch of commercials for Burger King?  Are you craving salty food or are you just stressed out? Are you actually starving for that vending machine snack or are you just really thirsty and tired and stressed?

All of these takeaways really make me change my mindset with Kim to what I'm eating. I really had a chance to reflect on why people eat and what nutrition is and what is fulfilling for me.  What I've whittled down all of this to is one single big idea: my eating patterns should love me towards no my goals, not away from them. 

In an oversimplification, everything I eat everything I do and everything I think she's moving towards my goals  not away from them.  

If I'm eating something that's making me feel lousy and making me gain weight -- then I'm not gonna be able to run my best and get in the best shape of my life like I want.  This realization inspires me to make better choices. 

Similarly, if I'm in a negative headspace, then that's going to sabotage my abilities!  I'm gonna convince myself I'm not good enough, not smart enough, not fit enough, not pretty enough… thinking is believing and these negative thoughts are moving me further away from my goals. 

As a goal oriented person, I like the idea of changing my mentality!!  Instead of going through life thinking I'm all about dieting and working out, I'm going to think of it as making positive steps towards my goals!

How do you change your outlook?

 What aspects of your mental game hold you back? 

What research did you do to make sure that your nutrition and fitness are on point?

Foam Roller Monday #1

Do what?

My new training plan calls for foam rolling every Monday.  I had to do a bit of research to figure out what the heck foam rolling meant!! (Apart from hair curling :D).

Here's a great article from runners world: http://www.runnersworld.com/running-tips/how-to-use-a-foam-roller

It breaks down the different ways to foam roll and even provides a few tips on which foam rollers to get for which price range / level of seriousness...

Essentially, you roll different areas of your legs, arms, torso over the foam roller at varying levels of pressure to "massage" the muscles.  Like a deep tissue massage for athletes, the goal is to work out any knots.  

WHY?

Deep tissue massage and foam rolling all lead to myofascial release -- the release of muscle tightness.  My muscle tightness presents itself in different ways depending on the area of the body affected.  In my calves, it feels like my muscles are super stretched out and tight.

In my lower back, it feels like tight little knots -- that I can actually feel with my fingers... this is sometimes called a Trigger Point.  To get my lower back trigger points and my tight calves cause serious discomfort -- and getting  regular massages isn't an option for my budget.

In comes the foam roller -- which I got on Amazon for less than $10.  

How does it feel?

Truthfully -- it's pretty painful.  Much like a deep tissue massage, if you're doing it right - you'll probably feel it!  But it's a good kind of hurt.  The kind of hurt that leads somewhere good...

This isn't to say that it's unbearable or hurts like crazy -- I can just feel it and getting those little muscles to relax takes a bit of work.  

The point is to get back to the point of normal muscle function -- not to injure or over work yourself.  So start slow...

Starting out

For beginners, like me, it is recommended to start with a low density foam roller and to not apply too much pressure.  My blue foam roller is a lower density and higher diameter.  The more dense the foam, the more intense the feeling.  The smaller the diameter, the more intense the feeling.  

As you progress, get a denser and or smaller roller.  For muscle groups that require a lot of focus, a lacrosse ball is recommended which can be graduated to a tennis ball, softball, base ball, and golf ball as you get more and more advanced.  

It's also not recommended to foam roll the lower back -- I've been working with a Chiropractor and do a "doctor approved" modification standing with a wall -- and sometimes a tennis ball to target the pressure points - be careful here!  I wouldn't want anyone to hurt themselves, so consult your doc!

My routine

For my First Foam Roll Monday I will be doing the following.  Please note -- I've foam rolled before, but not every Monday, so this routine is new-to-me and may require tweaking/additions/subtractions

• Calves
• IT band
• piriformis
• Hamstrings
• Adductors
• Quads
• Lower Back (With modifications and a tennis/lacrosse ball if needed)

Do you foam roll?  

What is your routine?  

How often do you foam roll?  

What's your favorite muscle group to foam roll?

New Plan

If you've been following my blog,  you'll have noticed that the last few weeks have been pretty quiet on my end.  I've dropped out of the blog-osphere to address some issues at work, church, and at home -- but am now back!

The same issues have caused a small break in my training -- so I've had to adjust and change up my 25 week Marathon plan to an 18 week Marathon plan -- From PopSugar that I found on Pinterest! 

This plan is a bit more aggressive than the last plan (which had gentler phases) but it's what I need to get to Finish!

As per normal -- I will have to probably adjust/readjust and tweak to make this fit.  My goal is the same -- an injury free run to the finish line without stopping for walking breaks.

Completing my half marathon definitely gave me a positive outlook on this new challenge-- it was tiring but didn't destroy me!!

Stay tuned!!

What do you do when life clashes with training?

How you keep everything in balance?  

How do you find the time or make the time for training?

Weeks 3 & 4 of Marathon Training

Blah!

The last two weeks have been just been "BLAH"!  I'm sure you were probably able to tell this from the last few posts.  My runs have been a mix of good and bad.  My moods have been a mix of highs and lows.  Enough excuses... here's how the weeks went

Week 3 Planned//Actual

Monday -- Cross Train // Rested

Tuesday -- 25 min run // OFF

Wednesday -- XT // OFF

Thursday -- 25 min run // Ran 38 mins

Friday -- OFF//OFF

Saturday -- 5 miles // OFF

Sunday -- OFF//OFF

Week 4 Planned //Actual

Monday -- Cross Train // Yoga

Tuesday -- 30 min run // Ran for 25 mins

Wednesday -- XT // Stretching + REST

Thursday -- 30 min run // Ran 27 mins

Friday -- OFF//OFF

Saturday -- 3 miles // OFF

Sunday -- OFF//3 miles easy + 0.6 mile walk

How am I feeling

After the tragic loss of a family member, running seemed impossible (notice Week 3).  But the more that time passes, the more life is returning to normal (week 4).

My body feels fine -- I'm actually acclimating to the new shoes, remember to stretch a bit more, and eating what feels good and makes me feel good.

Goals for Week 5

• Fidelity to training plan - 100%
• Listening to my body -  (i.e. -- sleep when tired, eat when hungry, stop when full, stretch and recover when sore...)
• New goal  --  read a physical book.

What are you goals this week?

 How did last week's training go for you?  

How do you bounce back after a sad/tragic/stressful life event?

Over dressed

I love fall!

I love when the leaves change and the weather is crisp and cool!

Running in the fall is a luxury that I've waited all too long for. 

This morning the forecast said 58 degrees and sunny so I swapped out my tank top for a long sleeved tee. 

I laced up and headed out only to realize the forecast was about ten degrees lower thank reality -- especially in the sun. 

My sleeves ended up rolled up as far as they could go as I cursed myself for not turning around to change. 

The run was not as hard as last time, but my legs are definitely still sore. I think I've figured out the reason -- I have to break them in more! 

I realized that the shoes I've been training in have less than fifty miles on them and are a different fit and support level than my old shoes. This has made my calves tighter and ankles more sore than usual. 

Hopefully running in them more will help me acclimate and adjust. 

How long does it take you to break in new shoes?

Do you struggle to break in new pairs?

How do you stretch your ankles and calves?

Bad run

It was cold. I was tired. My legs were sore. 

We've all been there... Struggling to lace up and leave. 

My run this morning was a bad one... But a bad run is still better than no run at all. 

So I pushed for fifteen minutes and did the mile I needed by walk/running until I had finished. 

I can't shake the feeling that I'm a failure since I didn't finish the run I planned.  How silly!  My rational brain realizes the irony since not even 30 days ago I completed a half marathon!!  One fifteen minute run doesn't define me as a success or failure -- and one failure isn't final!!!

Today I will spend time stretching the soreness out of my legs and back and remembering that I am more than a bad run!

What do you do when you're feeling tired and unmotivated?

How do you bounce back from a bad run?

Rained Out!

The eastern seaboard of the US is being hit by hurricane Joaquin.  Even here in my little town -- far from the beaches -- we are feeling the effects.  It has literally rained every day this week.  This crazy weather has flooded our streets, broken tree branches, and caused all around chaos with my running plan.

Photo Courtesy of Cnn.com

Normally, I try to run outdoors as much as possible and sprinkle in a few treadmill runs whenever it feels right.  This makes running on the treadmill, something that is normally a bit like slow torture, bearable -- since it feels like a treat.  Unfortunately, when I have to run inside, it's like the worst thing ever.  Each minute feels like an hour, each mile a marathon -- not enjoyable.

To spare myself from 5 miles of unbearable boredom today, I'm deciding to diversify instead.  I will be using my very small in home gym (i.e. adjustable barbells and a yoga mat) to complete a CrossFit WOD instead.

This will give me a bit of cardio, a bit of strength, and then at the end I will stretch stretch stretch.

What do you do when it's raining?
What do you do if it won't stop pouring?
What type of indoor workouts keep you sane?