Breakfast Blend? More Like Breakfast Blah!

I decided (on Friday night) that I was going to no longer have “Folgers in my cup” during Lenten season. I knew it would be a challenge as coffee is always…and I mean always…a part of morning routine. But the more I thought about it, the more it was clear that I didn’t necessarily feel any more awake with coffee and it always left me with a stomach ache and one big hot flash after sipping the last drop.

I’m on my third day of no coffee and I must say that I’m surviving quite well. That is, if you ignore the irritability I had the first day and the pounding headache that is still hanging around up there.

I’ve searched the internet for coffee substitutions and tea is always the first recommendation. I’m not a tea lover; I’d say more a tea liker. I have friends that are as obsessed with tea as I was with coffee, but I can’t seem to get hooked on it. It just doesn’t have that same “consistency” as coffee...more watered down than I would like.

A couple of friends have commented on my Facebook saying they have given up coffee and I would L-O-V-E to hear if you have, too! If so, what are you drinking in place of it? Are you a tea drinker? If so, what is your favorite kind? Do you add anything to your cup? 

#WorkItOut100: Week 7 Recap

With week 7 ending, plantar fasciitis is just starting. I've had this problem before, but with the help of a compression sock, it eased the pain and made running tolerable. That's not the case this go around. I can barely walk without wincing once my left heel meets the ground and the second I try to transition from walk to run, the pain shoots up from my heel to achilles tendon. Oye! Taking these next 7 days to give my running feet a rest and trying out my elliptical and bike feet. 

I am currently sitting outside in the 70* weather with the sun beating down, and the thought of not being able to run in this is killing me! But I need to be smart and not push myself or else I could end up injuring myself even more. I am headed to meet some friends at the park to play volleyball...something I haven't played in years! You never know, maybe my abs will work the most from all the laughing that is to come? 

P.S. Are you experiencing any injuries? What are you doing to still stay active all while being smart and giving your injury the care it needs?

Friday Favorite: Nike+ Running App

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Unlike the post about the MyFitnessPal App I wrote about earlier this week, the Nike+ Running App is not being deleted anytime soon. There are many (hundreds) fitness apps that have been created - from workout plans to tracking how much water your drink - but this one is ranked numero uno in my world. Why?

- Easy to use
- Many features including GPS, pace tracker, timer, calories torched, and pedometer
- FREE
- Audio feedback 

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There are days when it feels liberating to leave my phone at home and just run, but with training for my half in full swing, it's helpful to know the logistics of my runs. It's also helpful being able to look back at previous runs to see how my time has improved (hopefully) and to see how many miles I have logged for the week/month.

P.S. - What app(s) are you downloading lately? 

Reminder

http://thebestunexpected.com

Increasing Community

Slowly scroll down my blog. Notice anything new? 

If you aren't related to Captain Obvious, let me point out to you that I am now a member of Healthy Living Blogs! I noticed their button on a blog that I follow and I was curious to see what they were all about.

The values of team HLB - community, encouraging and nurturing others, lifting one another up in a healthy and positive way - were very similar to mine so I applied, I was accepted, and now P.S. Wish You Were Here will be in their directory within a few short weeks!

I am continually seeking out ways in which I can grow my readership and this was a great first step. The satisfaction I get out of sitting down and letting my thoughts fill the screen is an experience that I want others to be a part of. I want my readers to see more than words, but rather a down to earth perspective on life and all the joys and sorrows that it may bring.

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I want to say a quick thank you for the feedback I received from Creating a Monster. I felt very vulnerable the second I pushed "Post" and the hours that followed. Being honest with yourself is one thing and being honest with those around you (virtually or physically) is taking it that much further.

If you are dealing with an issue, whether it be with food or not, I urge you to talk to someone about it. If you don't feel comfortable doing that, start a journal. I strongly believe in not keeping everything in that already jumbled up head of ours because it only adds to the mess!

#WorkItOut100: Week 6 Recap

Last Sunday my body spoke to me and to my own surprise, I listened. For my birthday, my friend Anna gave me the Jillian Michaels Yoga Inferno DVD. I couldn't wait to try it out as the Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown DVD that I own was starting to sound like nails on a chalkboard. I mean seriously, that woman can go from tolerable to annoying faster than I can go from Cobra to Downward Dog.

Yoga Inferno is split into 2 workouts that last 30 minutes each. What I love about this video is that it incorporates both yoga moves and cardio, so I feel like I am doing more than just stretching my body into a pretzel for an hour.

It's about that time to start training for my half marathon in early May! As much as I crave routine, I'm feeling a little rebellious this go around which means I won't be following a training schedule. My loose plan of action is to get in a couple runs a week with one being longer than the rest, while also adding weight training and yoga to give my legs some relief.

Question & Comment: Have you tried a workout DVD that you recommend? If so, please share! 

Creating a Monster

Confession: I created a monster. It doesn't live under my bed or in the closet, and I'm not friends with it like Rihanna claims to be with hers. It doesn't attend Monsters University and it doesn’t have seven eyes and three hands.

When I first started my journey to become healthier about two years ago, I downloaded the MyFitnessPal app to help get things started. If you aren’t familiar with it, it is essentially an electronic food diary that tracks your calories, both from food in your body and calories burned from workouts.

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MFP helped me lose the weight I had gained in college, taught me to make better decisions when eating out, and I became more disciplined with my eating habits at home. I began reaching for more fruits and veggies and slowly began passing on my can of Coke a day because I didn’t need 150 calories to come from high fructose corn syrup.

The monster started roaring when I moved to Denver. I would forgo dinners with friends because God forbid I went over my calorie limit one time. I wouldn’t want to go downtown because God forbid I have a couple drinks that dawned the name “Empty Calories”. I would lie in bed thinking about how many calories were going to be in my breakfast and I would run that extra mile solely because I wanted to burn a certain number.

The monster was me.

Ask me how many calories are in a certain food and I could tell you. Ask me how many calories an average person would burn running for an hour and I could tell you.  It’s rash, it’s maddening, it’s unhealthy, it's exhausting, and it’s not the way I want to live. Plus, I hate math anyways.

Last week it dawned on me that I was the one creating the madness and I had the control to stop it. I was continually setting myself up for more insecurity, stress, and failure every time I was opening the app.  After a long, heartfelt talk with a best friend, we came to the conclusion that living this way was unhealthy to not only my body but my mind. I wasn't pointing out the positives because I was too strung up on the negatives, and in result, I was living in a vicious cycle of poisoning self-talk. 

I then committed murder and killed MyFitnessPal in one quick click.

Where am I now?

I am in a place of self re-construction. I’m working through certain “projects” that either need remodeling or a few touch ups or a complete makeover. There are thoughts in my head that will take some time to rid of, but I can tell you that a weight has been lifted off my shoulders since not having to tell my iPhone how many grapes I had for an afternoon snack.

I know I’m not alone in my struggles as we all have negative things in our life that can eat us alive. But what if we can choose to not let it? What if we can choose to tell ourselves that we are better than that, we are more than that, and that we are lovely? 

I also know that MFP can be a helpful tool for those trying to lose weight because it helped me do just that. I also know that it can lead to further problems so please, be cautious of your intentions with the app and once you have a panic attack over not being able to enter in your lunch until two hours after eating it, KILL THE THING! 

Question & Comment: Do you use MyFitnessPal app? What are some positives and negatives you have experienced with it?