Big Day for the Healthy Types

What a witch! 

I always feel like the biggest hypocrite on Halloween because I preach all day about NOT eating candy and sugar and stuff for fun, and then I go and pass it out to children.  I really do wrestle with that; I know its just moderation and candy can be part of a healthy life, but still, it bugs me.


That being said, I did actually buy candy this year.  In the past I have had a hard time putting it in my buggy, but the BOGO at the grocery store helped ease that pain this year.  A few moments ago I pulled it out of the pantry to bring to our friends' house tonight for trick or treating and one of the bags was open.  I turned to my husband and asked, with incredulity, "did you open the Halloween candy early?"  His hands flew to his face in mock fear and he replied, 

"We must have rats!"

Okay, so here's the thing - if you're one of those people for whom one piece of candy is the trigger on the sugar machine that turns you into a depraved lunatic looking for a fix, DON'T EAT CANDY TODAY.  Y'all, it is just not worth it.


But, if you're one of those people who truly can have just one or a few pieces of candy and walk away, choose wisely and enjoy.  You're one of the lucky ones.


And then get your butt up tomorrow morning and get back on the healthy track.  The holidays have started, and they will be a lot more fun in a fit, functional, active body that isn't weighed down, literally and figuratively, by sugar.


Happy Halloween!  Be safe, have fun, and most of all BE HEALTHY!

My Own Personal Street Dance

I can totally relate.

Have you ever been caught car-dancing?  You know, the head-bobbing, the shoulder shimmying, the singing into the fake microphone...its like when we get into our cars we somehow forget that we are pretty much surrounded by glass through which people can see our every move.  When they're not messing with their phones, that is.

Anyway, I've been caught car-dancing many times.  I almost caused an accident once when car-dancing to "U Can't Touch This."  Yeah, laugh, then watch this and tell me you wouldn't do the same thing.

Anyway, today I was caught street-run-dancing.  This time, it was "Build me Up Buttercup," the one from the Something About Mary, which is still one of my all-time favorite movies even though Brett Favre is in it.  Sung by The Goops.  Anyway, it was early, it was dark, and I was alone on the streets just running along minding my own beeswax. 

And then, it was hammer time.

But little did I know that during my personal salute to jive turkeys everywhere, I was spotted. They thought I was waving to them.  But I think they also thought I might need medical attention. 

Regardless, I waved back.  Going for a run on a nice cool morning is a great way to start a Friday.  Taking a dance break in the middle of the street while running on a nice cool morning is even better. 

I am not ashamed!  Have a great weekend, everyone!  And turn it up and dance!

The Really Awesome Run My Sister Totally Missed

So last week, as you know, I was in Chicago.  And now I am not, which has led me to wonder about 15 kazillion times in the past two days WHY that is.  I am a city girl!  I have a city kid!  Why do I live...here?  Not that here is bad, it's just...well...

*sigh* 

Yeah I know it gets cold there, I don't care.  That's what LL Bean is for.

ANYWAY!  While I was there I went running, duh.  I had oodles of fun on Map My Run making some fun routes for my sister and me to run together.  And then she totally bailed on me.  Well okay she had a leg injury but still, she missed out.

I started out from our hotel, down Michigan Ave, and through Millennium Park.  Ran around the Art Institute, through Grant Park, by Buckingham Fountain, and down to the Museum Campus.  Passed the Field Museum (and the dino), went around Soldier Field, and turned to run along the lake.

And then I saw this:

It honestly took my breath away; I was in awe.  I've been to Chicago loads of times, but I had never experienced it in the early morning, alone, when the streets are quiet aside from other runners, the sun is coming up, and everything is fresh.  In that moment, and this sounds cheesy but its true, I had a sincere appreciation for the freedom I feel as a runner.  I can't really explain what I mean by that.  It just made sense to me at the time that I was exactly where I needed to be at that moment, and I was super thankful to be there. 

As I ran back to my hotel, I passed the door.  I kept going all the way up the lakefront to Water Tower Place, and back down again just because I could.   And because I knew just how lucky I was to do it.

The sidewalks began to fill up, the tourists began to take pictures, and the locals came out with their dogs and strollers to begin their Saturday.  I went back to the hotel and found my family eating breakfast.  My sister asked how the run went, and I told her that she missed a good one.

But now that I look back, I'm kind of glad she did.

I miss you Chicago!  I'll be back soon!

The Vacation High-Five

Fact: Vacations are awesome. 

Also fact: High fives are awesome.

And when your vacation gives you a high five, that's like awesome to a level that hurts my brain to think about.

I went on vacation last week and it was wonderful.  Chicago: does it get better?  No.  No it does not.  Then add my wacky fun family, a wedding, and really nice weather and you've got yourself a Happy Healthy Heather.  Just so you know, that's a good thing. :)

Chicago gave me a big ole high five last week.  Thanks Chicago!  Back atcha!

I had two main concerns before going on vacation:

Concern Numero 1: Clean eating. I was flying, so my capacity for bringing food with me was limited.  Relying on other people or sources for good clean eats stresses me out, so I wanted to make sure I had plenty of access to the good stuff so I wouldn't spend my vacation like some kind of junkie looking for a fix.  So I packed my little ziplocks of oatmeal and almonds, stocked up on Lara bars, and walked to the grocery store first thing.  It was a great way to pass the time while I was waiting for our luggage to arrive.

The next day. 

Yeah, it was that kind of trip.

Concern Numero 2: Exercise. I wanted some. Correction: I wanted lots.  I knew those packs of oatmeal and almonds would only get me so far, and then someone would open the wine.  And there would be crackers.  And there would be pizza.  And there would be pie. And as it turned out, there were all of those things. It's almost as if I have traveled with these people before.

So I walked to the grocery store and carried the groceries back. I got up the next morning and ran 5 miles.  The next day I ran seven miles and walked all over the city.  I carried my kid around, wore a backpack, and went the long way everywhere.  I even took the stairs in the hotel all the way up to the 16th floor.  And when I uploaded my GoWearFit, it rewarded me with nice big numbers that made up for all the pie.

And it was really, really nice.

Tomorrow I'll post pics of my gorgeous run along Lake Michigan under the lights of the city.  For now, I'm still reveling in the fact that I am back from a week of vacation and I didn't take a step back in my wellness. 

Thanks Chicago!  I'll be back soon!

Good day!

Holiday Fit Tips!

It's the holidays, but your health never takes a holiday!

Wah wah, how sad. I know, I'm such a buzzkill.

Anyway, to help keep you (and me) focused on our health and fitness this season, I'm sharing some of my Healthy Heather's Holiday Hints each week for the next couple of months to help you remember that you CAN enjoy the holidays without needing to wear stretchy pants at the end of it.

Here are this week's tips. Ready? Here we go!

1. Anticipate hurdles and make a plan. Unless you live a very sad life, it’s unrealistic to think that you will not be invited to at least a couple of parties during the holidays, laden with cookies, cakes, candy, and more. But it IS realistic to think that you can get through the party without eating it. Think ahead and try these tactics for controlling your food environment:

• Volunteer to bring something (and make it something you can eat without stress)
• Bring a bottle of water and keep it in your hands, refill throughout the party as necessary
• Spend time socializing, not eating.
• Practice responses to people who pressure you to indulge. From experience, I can advise that crossing your arms in front of your face and shouting, "back off, hater!" is not recommended.

2. Be realistic, not defeated. Some people throw up their hands during the holidays in defeat, assuming there is nothing they can do to be healthy. While it isn’t realistic to think you may go from couch potato to triathlete during the holidays, it IS realistic to believe that you can enter January without needing to wear one of those belly bands that pregnant women wear to extend the waist of their pants and avoid buying maternity clothes. Define what success means to you and make plans to achieve it. Success may be not gaining weight, it may be losing weight, it may be just not eating Aunt Martha’s sweet potato pie until the button pops off of your jeans. But one word of warning: until you believe in your ability to do that and actually want it, your plans are moot.  I'm just sayin'. You gotta want it.

3. Get stubborn. Sometimes maintaining a certain standard of health means just being stubborn. Channel your inner three-year-old and just say NO to people or events that hijack your plans. No way, no how, no thank you. It can feel awkward at first to turn down someone’s chocolate caramel goo-goo brownies with fudge icing, but trust me: they will get over it. Okay, they might not get over it, but you will.

The holidays can be nostalgic, emotional, carefree, and indulgent times. Just take care to apply those elements of the season to the actual living people around you, not the food. I hope it is a wonderful holiday season for you, full of health and emotional well-being.

Good day!

Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch

Ouch.

Step.

Ouch.

Step.

Oh, hi. Don't mind me. I'm just walking off this morning's run.

Ouch. Ouch. Step.

Sometimes you get out there and start running, you know, and you just glide effortlessly down the street.

Ouch. Ouch. Step. Ouch.

And other days you have to dig really down deep to keep from getting back in the car. 

Really deep.

I dug to the bottom today.  But I did it. Eight miles of hills, done. My quads are still punishing me.

I think I will bike tomorrow. 

Yeah, I am definitely biking tomorrow.

Ouch

Step

Ouch

Step...

:)

The Sweet-Tooth Button

Hi friends!

I spent an absolutely glorious weekend camping with friends.  It was just what I needed to clear my head and move on to a (hopefully) smoother and more relaxed chapter of life.  Yay for good friends, nice weather, and state parks.

During that camping trip we found ourselves talking about the differences between how we cook/eat now and when we were growing up.  Some memories were nostalgic (remembering cultural dishes that "mom used to make") and some just showed our age (like how we used to be able to eat a lot more than half of one s'more before feeling sick).

Well friends, it's that time of year when people starting eating sugar waaaaay beyond the point of feeling sick: sick to their stomachs, sick of their lack of discipline, and sick of being sick!  That's right: the holidays.  Pretty soon the "fun size" candy bars will be doing their damn best to convince you that you can have just one.  And it will be FUN!

Uh-huh. :)

That "just one" is what I call activating my sweet tooth button.  When I was a kid, I could eat a lot of s'mores.  And I did.  I ate sugar like there was some kind of national sugar shortage and the President himself had asked me to make sure I stored all of it in my belly for safe-keeping.  And let me tell you what, I took my job seriously and I was good at it.

I'd like to think those days are behind me, but they're not; I still have that sweet tooth.  But it's been modified. It's new and improved!  Now it has a button that has to be activated, and I alone hold the key. 

What activates it? That first bite.  As soon as I eat something super-sugary, the button has been pushed.  And just like the machine that my body is, it starts a-chuggin.  The gears start to turn, the whistles blow, and the conveyer belt begins to roll towards my stomach, looking for more sugar.

I think you know what I am getting at here.  If I am asleep at the wheel, that conveyer belt will get loaded down with all sorts of crap I don't really want to eat.  But once that button has been pushed, it is really really really hard to remember that until later, when the gas has run out and everything grinds to a halt...and I have a sugar hangover.

And let me tell you, friends, that ain't pretty.

Do you have a sweet-tooth button?  When does it get pushed?  As we head into the holidays, keep an eye on it and remember:

YOU are the only one who can push that button.  And YOU can also pull the plug.  Just don't wait until you have to unbutton your pants to do it.

Sometimes the scariest things at Halloween are wearing a "fun size" costume.  Keep your wits about you.

Good day!