Tag Archives: Diet

Progress, Not Perfection

Posted by hellyontherun in 10k, Fitness, Healthy Eating, Race and tagged with , , , , , ,

Welp, I’m T-minus 3 days for race day!! I mentioned a 10k I have planned for on Sunday and my intentions are to run it FAST. I’m a little scared, lol!!

Truth be told, I really want a PR. And considering I haven’t actually raced a 10k, a PR isn’t too farfetched. I last ran a 10k about two years ago when my friend Amber visited me to do an Arizona race. I recommended Lost Dutchman because of its beautiful desert scenery.

Except it was cold, cloudy, and torrential down pouring that day 😦

Fun times

Despite the awful weather, we both had decent races. She placed 5th female overall and 2nd in her age group for the half marathon and I placed 1st in my age group for the 10k (even after stopping to tie my shoe!).

Amber the Runner and me ❤

I ran a 47:14 with a 7:35 average pace.

Fast forward almost two years and I feel like I can beat that…

…but by how much?

That is the big question.

I have a number goal in mind…an ambitious one, but my hope is to run the race HARD, whatever that might produce. I know my “hard” is different than my “hard” from two years ago so I’m curious to see what I can make happen given good race juju.

I’ve had some pretty good training runs lately that has boosted my confidence. But, my diet has still been realllly bad #storyofmylife

I was invited to work with a trainer at a gym called PNP Fitness (Progress Not Perfection) and while at the beginning I thought we’d be talking more things fitness, our conversations have turned to all things diet.

You all know I’ve struggled with food/eating healthy for a looooong time. I feel like each time I try and change my habits, I fall back to the same unhealthy patterns.

Meeting with Will from PNP these past few weeks has been some good tough love I’ve needed. He’s really made me confront some of the reasons I go to fast food and convenience.

Some things I already know:

-I know fast food/take out is expensive.
-I know fast food/take out is for the most part unhealthy.
-I know I’m not teaching my kids healthy eating habits.
-I know that some home cooked meals can be quick if fast and convenient is what I’m looking for.

I know those things, but I really don’t care or as bad as it sounds, care enough to change.

And that’s pretty much the honest truth right there. I don’t care enough to change my eating.

The dreaded ‘why’ question

Will started breaking out the ‘why’ questions. And I hate them, they’re annoying, but only because they make me think about something I don’t like thinking about.

He asked me why I qualified for Boston. This was interesting because it wasn’t how.

I qualified because I worked really hard, trained really hard, wanted it really bad.

I cared.

Post Boston I don’t really have anything I care about as intensely. Will asked if I wanted to get faster or if I was satisfied with where I was.

I don’t know. Sometimes I want to get faster, and sometimes I don’t care.

Will I be bummed if I don’t PR on Sunday? Yes. But I have to realize that just focusing on running can only get me so fast. At some point, other aspects of my training will have to change.

Like my diet.

Do I care enough?

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–Is your diet an area you struggle with? Have you ever talked to someone about your diet?

–Do you struggle with caring about things?

Check out my Instagram on Sunday to see results from the 10k–wish me luck!! xoxo, helly

 

Squat & Diet

Posted by hellyontherun in Healthy Eating, Marathon Training, Running and tagged with , , , , ,

Yep that’s pretty much what’s been going on over here….

I’ve been running, but what I’ve really been doing is squatting like I’ve never squatted before and trying to eat better. I have no idea who I’ve become.

So my coach right now is really focusing on pre-habbing (you know, doing the stuff people do when they get injured but BEFORE they get injured). Every Tuesday and Thursday I’m supposed to cross-train/strength train and like a good student, I’ve been doing all of my assignments. There’s more that I do besides squatting, but there’s def more of those than anything else. My Moms Run This Town chapter also has a month long squat challenge so everything has coincided quite nicely (or not? lol!).

Nothing has humbled me more than single-legged squats. Holy shit, those are hard.

I’ve become one with squats. After almost a month of squatting, I no longer dread them but accept them as part of my daily routine. While I have two scheduled days of strength training, I’ve found myself squatting and doing core work every single day. And after almost 4 weeks, I can finally begin to feel the hard work paying off.

It took me longer to get as motivated for the diet part, though. No surprise. But, last week was my first full week of being mindful of what I was putting in my mouth. My coach gave me a list of food ideas–this I love because I’m totally a person who likes being told what to do, in this case, eat.

Tuna has become my best friend. I’ve made this quite a few times. I’ve also been making a lot of smoothies which pairs great with our 105 degree temperatures 😀

1 cup almond milk
1 banana
mixed berries (to your liking)
spinach (or kale–I switch b/w them)

and voila! A yummy smoothie! Sometimes I’ll throw in chia seeds or Greek yogurt for funsies but with or without, it’s yummy.

I’ve been easing myself back into running. My coach has given me a break from speed work and tempos to concentrate on getting everything healed (foot feels amazing!). I finally feel like I’m getting back to normal with everything. I definitely felt my mojo drop a little and now that summer is arriving (my happy season), I’m ready to get to work.

100+ degrees? No sweat!

–Do you like squats? (They were seriously my death but now I don’t hate them as much anymore) Am I the only one who dances around trying to hold a single legged squat?

–What’s in your favorite smoothie?

–Your thoughts/feelings on summer approaching?

Fast Food Struggles

Posted by hellyontherun in Healthy Eating, Running and tagged with , , , , , ,

I’ve written about my love for fast food before, and I wanted to update you all on how I’ve been doing.

I have not eaten at McDonald’s in two months. I repeat, I have not eaten McDonald’s in two months!

This is huge for me. I was a crazy person when it came to the Quarter Pounder with Cheese meal and would have it 3-5 times a week. You read that right. Large size too (gosh, the McDonald’s fountain drinks are amazing–tackling my soda intake is for another day lol). I’ve tried quitting McDonald’s before, watching Super Size Me and reading Fast Food Nation to no avail.

But ever since post pregnancy I’ve become more serious than I’ve ever been with running and knew that if I wanted to improve, my diet would have to too.

CONFESSION: I still eat fast food.

I no longer eat McDonald’s or Burger King, KFC makes me nauseous just thinking about it, Arby’s has zero appeal but…. In-n-Out is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

I justify eating at In-n-Out by saying it’s the healthier of the fast food options but I’m not kidding myself, it’s still counts.

I think what makes it difficult to let go of fast food completely is that I love the convenience of it and I hate to cook. I’ve tried, but when what I attempt doesn’t come out tasty it’s such a blow to my self-esteem. I wish I had the same approach to cooking as I do running: practice, practice, practice. But, sadly, I don’t.

I wanted to tackle the biggest hurdle and I knew that was McDonald’s. If I could not eat that, everything else would be easier for me to handle and that’s proven true as I avoid all the other places I frequented.

I know eliminating all fast food, In-n-Out included, isn’t realistic. I believe in everything in moderation. I know someday I’ll probably drive thru McDonald’s again but it won’t be the same. It won’t bring me the satisfaction it used to. I’m so proud of how far I’ve come these past few months, not just in weight loss and training, but as a person. I’ve proven to myself that if I have a plan, I can be disciplined enough to follow through with it.

–What are struggles you face maintaining a healthy lifestyle?

–Do you like fast food?