Splash it On, Step it Up with Nakano!

Two things I'm always working on are staying active and eating healthy.  I want my girls to know how important it is for them to take care of themselves - and to really understand what that means.  As a Mizkan blogger advocate, I was really excited to see them launch the Nakano Splash it On, Step it Up challenge this summer.  The program encourages participants to get active and make healthy choices - one of the campaign goals is to help people eat more veggies - how cool is that?!

If you're interested in becoming healthier or could use support in your healthy lifestyle, I encourage you to check it out.  There is an app to help participants worldwide track their steps, as well as healthy eating and workout tips. Nakano rice vinegars are flavorful and pack a bold flavor that pairs wonderfully with vegetables.  The website has some great recipes that incorporate their products.  Entrants are eligible to win gym memberships, personal training sessions and workout bags.  What are you waiting for - let's Splash it on and Step it Up!

Disclosure: I am compensated for my time working as a Mizkan Blogger Advocate, but my thoughts and opinions are my own.

Gearing up to Go Red February 6th

As someone who has been very personally affected by heart disease, I do my best to live a heart healthy lifestyle and be an advocate for the American Heart Association and its programs. Are you familiar with the Go Red for Women campaign? It’s a great program designed to help inform and empower women to live heart healthy lifestyles, know their risk factors, and understand the symptoms of a heart attack.

Here are some simple steps to love your heart, courtesy of the AHA:

Use as many calories as you take in. Interested in some calculators for determining how many calories certain activities burn, or how many calories you need a day? I love the Self Magazine site calculators here. The site also has great information on nutrition, healthy recipes and exercises. If you’re looking for some motivation to get in shape, the Self Challenge is a great program.

Eat a variety of nutritious foods from all the food groups. Need a refresher course on the food groups? The USDA my pyramid site is a wonderful resource for all ages. I love being able to double check that Sweetpea is getting a good, balanced diet.

Eat less nutrient poor foods. Looking for a way to indulge your sweet tooth but still eat healthy? The Eat Better America site has a wonderful resource for “healthified” versions of traditional treats.

Want to learn more about heart health, risk factors, and symptoms of heart diseases? Check out the AHA website and the women’s site, Go Red For Women. I hope you’ll mark your on February 6th to wear red – let’s show our support and help spread the word!

Information is power, and we owe it to ourselves and our families to take good care of ourselves! What heart healthy activities do you incorporate into your life? Are you heart smart? I’d love to hear from you!

Marathoning Part 1 - The Decision

I came across this post recently, and was inspired and intrigued to learn more. Luckily for me, my friend Deb at Stilettos to Sneakers is a marathoner, and she graciously agreed to write a guest series on marathoning for us! Are you inspired to run a marathon? Just looking to find your inner runner? She has tips for all of us. I have always wondered what prompts someone to set such a lofty goal. This first post is about the decision, and reasons you might want to run a marathon. Please show her a warm welcome and lots of comment luv!

I have been running for a very long time - at least 26 years qualifies as a long time in my mind. I was 14 when I made that first run around my neighborhood, and running soon became an addiction of sorts. It felt so good to get out in the crisp air and move my body. I continued running even when I became an exchange student in Japan - then through college, multiple moves, a divorce and a marriage. In fact the only time since then that running hasn't been a part of my life was when I was pregnant with twins.

I often get asked the question, "Why a marathon? Why run 26.2 miles?" My answer is always twofold: first, that it feels good to accomplish something as physically and mentally difficult as completing a marathon, and second, that having an endgame or goal keeps me training.

My first marathon coincided with my 30th year. I was ready for an accomplishment in my life. I was a bit unsure of where I was in life, where my career was going, whom I was dating - you name it - it was a very confusing time of my life.

With encouragement from a friend, I started training for a spring marathon. Crossing that finish line was one of the best feelings I've ever had in my life. (right behind holding my children for the first time, falling in love with my husband and eating chocolate!) The feeling of accomplishment when I finally put my foot over the finish line was euphoric.

Another comment I often get is, "Oh I could never run a marathon!" My answer to that is, "No, with that attitude, you never could..." You have to reach down and find your I-can-do-anything attitude. You have to believe in yourself. With the right training, anyone can run a marathon. It may sound a little inspirational-poster-y, but it's completely true.

If you think you might be interested in running a marathon, here is my top ten list for why you should consider it!
Ten Reasons to Run a Marathon:
1. To achieve a goal and to obtain a sense of physical accomplishment in your life
2. To get in shape and lose weight
3. If you can run a marathon, you can do anything
4. To make friends - there is a big marathoning community
5. Run for a cause
6. Get the very cool finisher's medal
7. Get the goodie bag
8. After long training runs, to be able to eat anything you want
9. It's a great resume builder
10. A great way to commit to lifelong fitness

This week's homework: Think about whether marathoning is for you. Is it a goal you would like to accomplish in your life? Would you like that sense of accomplishment? Are you ready to say, "Yes, I can!"?

Questions? Feel free to comment on my site or email me at mommy2twinkies@yahoo.com

A little more about Deb: As a former banker, From Stilettos to Sneakers describes my life. My closet is full of beautiful shoes that I still wear, even though they are not appropriate for my current job: stay-at-home Mommy of my beautiful twins, Angel and Little Man and CEO of our household. My 'sneaers' or running shoes are part of my daily life as a crazy runner! In addition to running, I'm a bit of a foodie and love to cook, love wine (somewhat trained), and speak French and Japanese. I also love to travel.

Fitting in Fitness

I'm a day later than planned on this one, sorry for the delay!

Two of the most important things to consider when planning an exercise strategy are choosing something (or a variety of things) that interests you and finding a way to fit exercise into your daily routine that doesn't feel forced or unnatural. When you look forward to working out and it fits naturally into your daily life it is much easier to consistently meet your fitness goals.

Prior to Sweetpea's arrival, for me that meant getting up at 5:00AM and meeting my mom at our local YMCA 3 days a week, taking a morning pilates class another day and attending my favorite class, cardio kick boxing, on Saturdays. This worked well for me because EmDee was on an early morning schedule and was leaving about the time I needed to get up. It meant I got to spend quality time with my mom, and I felt refreshed and energized for my day after a good early morning workout.

Lately I've been struggling to get up at 5:00AM due to periodic middle of the night feedings or simply not going to bed when I should. EmDee is still leaving early in the morning for work most weeks, which means I can't go to the YMCA because their daycare doesn't start until 8:00AM. I need a new plan!

One strategy I have been successfully implementing is fitting small bits of exercise into my day while I get ready and while I'm on my way to work...don't laugh, this may sound strange to you when I explain it!

I do push ups and sit ups before I get in the shower in the morning, usually 25 push ups and 50 sit ups. I do squats while I'm washing my hair, calf raises while I'm brushing my teeth, and pilates breath exercises while I'm driving into work. These are times when I'm otherwise preoccupied with things I have to do, but I can multitask pretty easily. These little bits of exercise add up and reduce the amount of strength exercises I need to do separately.

What I've decided regarding cardio is this - I'm committed to making a class at the YMCA each Saturday. I have a 10 minute solutions kickboxing DVD that I am going to challenge myself to use each day for at LEAST 10 minutes. I think that sounds realistic, and as I get used to fitting these smaller cardio sessions into my day, I'm hoping I will add additional sessions until I'm working out 30-50 minutes at least 4 days a week.

What do you do to fit cardio and strength workouts into your life? I'd love to hear what works for you!

Tweightloss Diaries - Healthier Eating

Photo by David Silverline

I’ve joined the Tweightloss challenge with some of my Twitter friends. I would like to get back into some of those last remaining outfits that I haven’t sported since Sweetpea came along, and more importantly, I’d like to increase my energy level. I was in the best shape I’d been in since playing organized sports when I got pregnant, and it felt great. I slept soundly, had energy all day long and LOVED the feeling of strength and flexibility that came along with my regular workouts.

The past sixteen months have been incredibly rewarding and at times challenging. One thing I’ve struggled with has been fitting exercise into my schedule without sacrificing time spent with family. I hate to admit it, but apparently I have also adjusted my portion sizes to account for full time nursing, which isn’t necessary anymore now that Sweetpea is solidly eating, well, solids! As a part of the Tweightloss challenge, my goals are:

1) make healthy food choices and eliminate some of the mindless evening eating I’ve been doing
2) fit exercise into my schedule in a way that is rewarding and unobtrusive

A few years ago I read French Women Don’t Get Fat and I remember enjoying the practical tips to healthier eating that the book presented. I decided to check this book back out from our local library and revisit it to help kick start my Tweightloss. As an added exercise, I’ll review my “findings” with you! Check back next week for more updates.

Last night I read the first three chapters of the book. It is a fun, quick reading book, and as I’d remembered, full of good tips. After revisiting the introduction chapters, here are the strategies I’m going to employ this month:

1) Keep a food diary - I know this is important, and I’ve been tracking my points but not the specific foods I’m eating. This month I will track the specific foods and timing of my meals to see if there is a pattern that needs “tweaking”.
2) Practice ritual eating - I will return to eating sitting down, savoring my food, and not multitasking at mealtimes. (something I am notorious for now that my time is so scarce) I am also going to start eating off of a smaller plate to help portion my food correctly and keep me from overeating.
3) Eat fresh foods - This is so much easier in the summer/fall when there is a wide variety of fresh produce around, and I’m going to take advantage of that fact. Hand in hand with fresh foods is cooking as many meals as possible yourself, so you are aware of what your eating and what is going into your body.
4) Make healthy substitutions - If there is a weakness you have for a particular unhealthy food, see if you can “healthy” it up a little bit by making smart substitutions. An example would be choosing light butter or applesauce in some of your baked goods, 2% cheese instead of the full fat variety, or reducing the amount of pastry in your favorite fruit dessert.
5) Drink more water - This is one I hear a lot, and I have been making a concerted effort to increase my daily water intake. I like the suggestion from this book to drink a big glass of water before bed and right after waking up—it helps fulfill my 8 glass a day goal, and counteract the dehydrating effects of sleep.

Are you working to improve your eating habits? What tips and tricks are working for you? Check back in tomorrow when I post about my fitness goals.

Healthy Competition

Health and fitness have long been interests of mine. Growing up as a gymnast running around in a leotard half of the time, it was very apparent if I gained any weight. At times I had coaches that bullied me and my team mates into losing weight through whatever means necessary. Luckily this sparked my desire to learn more about nutrition, as opposed to some of my friends who became anorexic or bulimic. I know what I need to do in order to lose the rest of my "baby weight", but so far I have been more interested in playing with the adorable Sweetpea than in taking her to the YMCA daycare and running myself through the paces. Since I work outside the home, I want to spend my evenings with my family. Sweetpea has been struggling with sleep lately due to a few pesky molars. Her return to night waking has temporarily halted what had become my routine of working out after she went to bed. I'm not nursing as often now that she is drinking whole milk at daycare. My waistband has started to shrink...or my mommy belly to pooch...sigh.

What we all need when we want to start a new habit, or return to an old one, is incentive. I found mine in a friendly weight loss competition with my coworkers - I hate to lose...except in this case, (the weight) right? In order to further amp up the incentive factor, I thought I would mention my goal here so I have some added accountability. I will be checking in with updates on how I'm doing and I'll include some tips that work for me. Do you have weight loss or improved nutritional goals this summer? I think the summer is the best time to lose weight and improve my diet because of all the wonderful local produce that is available and the excessive heat that tempers my appetite.

The competition is based on average % of body weight lost, and we are on teams of 2. My goal is 10% weight loss, which luckily appears to be the general consensus. At the moment I am most focused on increasing my activity level and improving my food choices. I am going to start a food diary in hopes of finding something easy that I can eliminate to reduce calories. After that, I'll focus on portion control...saving the best for last-HA!

Have a great weekend!