How Running Has Helped Me Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

Here I am in June last year – a lean, mean running machine!
Update: My cold is now pretty much all gone, so I’m finally going to be able to go running outside today!

Since I haven’t been running consistently lately, it’s been pretty hard for me to maintain my same weight. When I’m running consistently, I’m usually able to eat pretty much whatever I want without having to worry about gaining weight. When I’m not running and I gain a little weight, do I worry and think it’s a big deal? No, because I always know that it will come off again as soon as I’m running. But with my sister’s wedding in exactly two months, and a bridesmaid’s dress that is now too small, I’m actually getting little worried. But I have eight weeks to lose weight – if I lose 2 lbs a week, I’ll have lost 16 lbs (trust me, I don’t plan on losing that much weight, it’s way too much!). My main priority is to be in the same physical shape and have the same muscle mass that I was at last year, when I was running/cross-training five days a week. Here are a few ways how my active lifestyle helped me stay healthy all-around:

• when I’m active, I’m always concerned with staying hydrated; I usually drink about 12 large glasses of water a day

• I don’t over-eat, because I’m always concerned with how it will affect me while I’m running. I usually try and eat a full about meal four hours before I go running, and will have a banana or an orange as a snack 30 minutes to an hour before I run.

• When I have a solid running/exercise schedule, my sleep schedule improves a lot.

• I make healthier decisions in general, because I think about how the food I eat will affect my running (ie, I won’t eat a doughnut on a day I’m going running because I know if I do I’ll be tasting it throughout my entire run; or I won’t drink wine because I know it will dehydrate me).

• I make sure I get a good mix of foods, including lean meats that are high in protein and plenty of carbs. I don’t ever look at carbs as being something bad! And I make sure I eat plenty of fruits and veggies high in potassium and other vitamins and minerals.

Your turn: How does running/exercising help you make healthier decisions and maintain that lifestyle?

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Clean Eating Update and Smoothie Recipe

Hello all! The last time I updated you on my clean eating, I was having a few obstacles I was trying to overcome, and I wanted to give you a brief update on how everything’s going:

• Going out: Clean eating sure can be a struggle while going out. I mentioned in yesterday’s blog post that I attended my cousin’s wedding shower last weekend. This time of year is always crazy busy for me, but now, it’s gotten even busier – I have something going on every agile weekend until July. For the most part, I’ve been able to make healthy choices, but when someone puts a piece of cake in front of me (today, last weekend, and next weekend, we’re celebrating Easter dinner a week early because we’ll be in South Carolina for the holiday), I just can’t say no!

• The coffee dilemma: I think you all know that I LOVE my coffee. Well, I’ve been really trying to avoid putting sugar or weird creamer in my coffee, but I love my International Delight Almond Joy creamer a little to much to to give it up completely. Up until now, I was trying to use skim milk, almond or vanilla extract, and stevia to make my coffee experience more enjoyable. And since I can’t have cream (high cholesterol), I have moved back to enjoying my International Delight creamer.

• Swedish fish: My husband bought me these little guys the other night and I couldn’t help but devour them. What can I say, I don’t have the best willpower.

I understood when I decided to try clean eating that it would be difficult, but I don’t regret any of the foods that I’ve eaten. For the most part, I’m trying to stick to this lifestyle, and I do feel so much better because of it! Luckily, because JP is trying to eat healthy, too, it’s not as difficult as it would normally be.

Also, I mentioned in yesterday’s post that I made up my own smoothie recipe. If you love coconut and you like strawberries, you’ll LOVE this:

Lis’ Strawberry Coconut Super-food Smoothie

Ingredients:
1/2 cup lite coconut milk (I used Thai Kitchen
1/2 cup 0% fat Greek yogurt (I used Chobani)
1/2 cup chopped strawberries, fresh
1 banana
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1 tablespoon sweetened coconut flakes
3 stevia packets, to taste
10 ice cubes
A splash of water to help break down ice cubes

Directions:
Put everything in the blender, and blend. Enjoy!

You can also substitute other ingredients (I want to try substituting the banana with watermelon and/or pineapple in the near future). Also, if you’re on a Paleo diet, just substitute the Greek yogurt with more coconut milk. There are so many different ways you can make this recipe!