18 Miles!...oh yeah, and a juice fast

OK, before I recap my first day of the juice fast that Emilie has created, I have to talk about my biggest accomplishment yet.  On Saturday, I ran 18 miles!  That's the farthest I have ever run.  When I did my 16 mile run a couple of weeks ago, I had a REALLY awful run.  By mile 13, I was really doubting my ability to complete a marathon and I found myself telling Paul that I didn't think I was going to do it.  Then, when he told me I could drop out if I wanted, I got really mad and told him that there was no way I was going to drop out and have to tell everyone I decided not to do it.  Yeah, it wasn't my finest moment...hmmmm, now that I think about, I bet that's why Paul ran ahead of me for most of the 18 mile run on Saturday :)

So, because of my horrible experience during my 16 mile run, I was really dreading the 18 mile run.  My legs have the tendency to seize up around mile 11.5 and then I'm forced to run with permanent charlie horses...it's not fun AT ALL!  But, this week, I was proactive and made sure I drank Gatorade during the first few miles, and I used my camelback to stay hydrated the whole time.  It worked!  I only had one tiny little leg cramp around mile 15, and it went away as soon as I stopped to stretch it out.  I finished the run feeling good and strong, and I even felt like I had a couple more miles in me.  So, I'm hoping my 20 mile run is just as good.

I'm in the home stretch of marathon training.  The Vermont City Marathon is May 26th, so I only have a few weeks left.  I have reached the point in training where I fluctuate between complete excitement, total fear, and ominous dread.  One moment I am exhilarated by the thought of crossing the finish line, and the next moment I'm terrified of standing at the starting line.  Luckily, I have been through these feelings before with half marathon training, so I can talk myself through them. 

So, on to the second half of this post.  Emilie, my favorite blogger (it's true Emilie!) and Clean Food Challenge creator, organized a three day juice cleanse.  Since I always do the Clean Food Challenge along with Emilie, there was no question as to whether I would participate in the juice cleanse.  It started yesterday and ends tomorrow night.  Totally manageable!  I modified the cleanse slightly to accommodate the high mileage I'm running right now.  I didn't want my runs to suffer, so instead of just juice, I added smoothies to my day. 

My smoothies are pretty much just fruit, greens and water, so I figure it's close to all juice.  I'm also including  hemp seeds in my smoothies for some protein.  Oh, and I'm also allowing myself one cup of coffee each morning.  There is NO WAY I'm giving that up!

Yesterday went pretty well!  I had a smoothie for breakfast and dinner, and I drank Odwalla juice (Green Machine) for lunch.  I planned to make juice in the morning, but I didn't have enough time after my early morning run.  I also guzzled a lot of water!  I had some points during the day when I REALLY wanted to eat actual food.  At one point, my coworker was munching on tortilla chips and I wanted them so bad!  But, overall I felt like I could handle it.  So, I'm now on day two and I'm drinking my smoothie as I type.  I have some yummy juice for lunch and dinner will probably be another smoothie...or maybe one or two glasses of juice.  I'm wondering if today will be more difficult than yesterday.  I find with the Clean Food Challenge that I always struggle half way through.  I guess I'll just have to see what happens.  I'll keep you posted.

Being Mindful

Now that the CFC is over, I have been thinking about how I felt during the week and how I want to proceed from here.  If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that I firmly believe in the 80/20 rule when it comes to eating (and most other things, really).  I don't think any foods should be completely banned ( unless there is an allergy).  Instead, I like to make sure I eat healthy, whole foods at least 80% of the time.  That way, I don't have to worry as much about what I'm eating the other 20% of the time.  Quite honestly, It ends up being more like 90/10.  I really LOVE healthy, whole foods and my regular diet is comprised mainly of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans/legumes.  However, there are times when I just want to eat something that isn't as healthy, and I don't sweat it.  I know that I'm eating well most of the time.

Since I have two kids, I really try to set a good example for them.  We don't have tons of junk food in the house and they always have vegetables as part of their meal.  I don't buy a lot of processed food and avoid the big no no's like hydrogenated oil, high fructose corn syrup and too many artificial colors/flavors.  But, my kids are in school/daycare and have a social life, so these items make their way into their diets occasionally.  Since I provide a healthy foundation at home, I don't worry about it.  I'm not extreme by any means.  I want my kids to develop healthy relationships with food and understand that there's a time and place for everything.  I want them to be mindful about what they put in their bodies.

As I reflect on the CFC, I realize that I want the same for myself.  I want to remain mindful about what I'm putting into my body.  I want to eat when I'm hungry and not just because the food is in front of me.  I want to eat sweets because I'm really in the mood for something special, and not just because my co-worker is eating M & M's in her office...or these great bakery cookies, which she brought into my office today.

I had a few bites of each and then put them away.  In the past, I probably would have ended up eating all three over the course of the afternoon.


I really want to practice mindful eating.  So, that's what I'm doing.  I'm trying to make food choices that keep me feeling as good as I felt over the past week.  I'm not eliminating anything anymore, but I am going to pay attention to how much of the "unclean" foods I'm consuming.  A few chocolate chips is one thing, but handfuls each night are a completely different story.  I need to remember to practice moderation.

But, I do have to admit that I am enjoying having the ability to eat some of the foods that I eliminated last week.  Last night, I had these for dinner and enjoyed every bite.

CFC: Days 6 & 7

I'm home from Massachusetts and almost done with the Clean Food Challenge.  Today is day 7!  I'm happy to report that, other than one specific indulgence (more on that later), I was able to stick with the CFC while traveling.  Quite honestly, it was really easy and just proves that it's not hard to eat healthy even when you're on the road and at restaurants.


I had a great time in MA, especially since I was able to shop at both Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.  We don't have either where I live.  This was actually my first time at Trader Joe's and I am completely hooked. Oh, how I wish we had one closer.  I hear one is supposed to open in Albany, NY, but that's about 2 hours south of me.  I travel there often throughout the year, so I'll be able to stock up when I go, but it's not close enough for me to do my weekly grocery shopping.


Since I have two days of CFC to report, I'm going to break it down by day:

Day Six

Breakfast:

I had the orange mango banana smoothie from Starbucks, but I asked them to make it without dairy.  I also ate some mixed nuts.  I was hoping to get oatmeal at Starbucks, but they didn't have any.  So, this is what I ended up with.  It was really good.

Lunch:

I ate this in the food court at the mall.  It's Dal Makhani from the Indian restaurant.  It was really good and contained no "unclean" ingredients.  (Oops...when I just looked this up to make sure I spelled it correctly, I realized that most recipes use butter.  So, it might not have been as clean as I thought it was.  Oh, well. There's nothing I can do about it now.)




Dinner:

This was my favorite meal of the day.  It's from the salad bar at Whole Foods!  Since they list the ingredients in each item, I was able to choose things that were allowed as part of the CFC. At the bottom is a bed of greens, and on the top is kale slaw, sesame tofu, dolmas, black bean and corn salad, quinoa, cranberry and cashew salad, edamame, shredded carrots, roasted mushrooms and eggplant, roasted garlic, hummus and a falafel.  I loved this so much and wish I could eat it every day.

I didn't really have any snacks on Day 6.  We were running around so much that we didn't have the time to eat other than when we got the above meals.

Day Seven

Breakfast:

I had another smoothie for breakfast.  We went to Trader Joe's first thing this morning and then left to come home from there.  So, we stopped at Starbucks to grab breakfast for the road.  This was a perfect option!


Lunch was really just snacks in the car.  I had a tropical Lara Bar and some tortilla chips, along with orange segments and baby carrots.  It wasn't very exciting, but it held me over.


Dinner was a huge salad with tons of veggies and beans on top.  I didn't take a picture because I had two kids crawling all over me with "welcome home" excitement.


I also snacked on some cashews and dried fruit.


So, here's the part where I have to come clean (pun intended).... 


I knew going into this challenge that I was going to be traveling during the last two days of it.  I also knew that I would be traveling with one of my girlfriends and that we would want to drink wine together in the hotel room.  I mulled it over in my head in the week and half before the challenge started, and I weighed my options.  I considered postponing the challenge, but I really wanted to do it with everyone.  I wasn't concerned about eating clean during the trip because I knew I could find plenty of healthy options, and I really liked the challenge of doing it.  But, I wasn't sure I was OK with refraining from the glass or two of wine I knew we would want to drink while hanging out in our hotel room.  So, I decided that I would let myself do whatever felt right when the time came.  I didn't bring any wine with me, but my co-worker did. We didn't have any on Friday night, but last night she decided that she wanted to have some.  We were hanging out in our hotel room and enjoying some girl time, and it just felt right.  So, I decided to have a glass.  I know it's not allowed as part of the clean food challenge, but I don't feel bad about it.  I still ate clean 100% of the time I was in MA, and I still consider the CFC a success.  So, there you have it.  I'm not going to lie about my weekend and pretend that I didn't drink the wine.  After all, this blog is a reflection of my life...real life.  

CFC: Day 4

Well, another day done!  Today went just as well as the other days.  I'm so surprised about how well I'm responding to the challenge this time.  It's as if my body has been waiting for me to clean it out a little.  I feel great!  However, I did have an issue this morning.  Remember how I posted that my dinner last night was just a big garden salad and that I didn't feel like I had enough protein?  Well, I woke up this morning and a while after I was awake, I started to get that shaky, low blood sugar feeling.  I felt dizzy a couple of times and my body felt tingly all over (the only way I can describe it) and I could tell my blood sugar was low.  I was also ravenously hungry.  My overnight oats were sitting in the fridge and I didn't have time to eat them, so I just munched on some homemade granola (totally clean) and a spoonful of almond butter.  I felt off until I got to work and had the chance to eat my big container of oats.  I looked over my food list from yesterday, and I realize that my caloric intake was pretty low and I definitely didn't have enough substance.  The Clean Food Challenge isn't supposed to be a weight-loss diet.  It's meant to eliminate unhealthy foods from your system and replace them with healthy, whole foods.  Since I ran yesterday, I burned a lot of calories and I didn't take enough in.  I really felt it this morning.  I made sure to eat a lot of protein today and I feel fine tonight.

Other than early morning low blood sugar, I felt great today.  I have definitely reached the point in the challenge where I am physically noticing the difference.  I'm less bloated and sluggish and I'm not craving sugar anymore.  I was in my co-workers office today while she was eating skittles (a guilty pleasure of mine) and I didn't even feel the urge to eat any.  I wore my smallest pair of pants today.  While they always fit me, they have been snug around the waist lately.  I know it's because I have been bloated.  Today, they didn't cut into my gut at all.  It's not weight loss.  It's just the loss of unhealthy bloat.  That's why I love this challenge.  My system really feels clean after I do it.

Here is what I ate today:

Breakfast:  Hmmm...I wonder what it could be.  Oh yeah, overnight oats.  Like yesterday, I topped them with blueberries

Lunch:  A huge container of cut up veggies and hummus.  This is one of my favorite lunches even when I'm not doing the challenge

Dinner:  I made Mama Pea's Black Bean Burgers, which are yummy!  I ate my black bean burger topped with chopped jalapeños and salsa, alongside a salad of romaine, orange pepper, and avocado and a side of sweet potato and regular potato fries.

This dinner was excellent!  I have another burger to eat with a salad for lunch tomorrow.

Tomorrow afternoon I head to Boston for my girl's weekend.  I plan to stick to the challenge the whole time I'm there, and I'm actually really excited about it.  It will be a great way to show how easy it is to eat healthy even when you're on the road.  I won't have wireless internet in my hotel room, so I'll have to blog from somewhere like Barnes & Noble or Starbucks.  I'll have to figure out what to do once I get there.

CFC: Day 3

Wow!  Today was another great day.  I can't believe the first three days have felt so good.  I'm wondering if that means the end of the challenge will be difficult.  I even went out to dinner with my family and another family and was able to stick to the challenge...oh, and we went to a pizza place!  I had no problem eating my huge, fresh salad while they all ate pizza and wings, but I do have to admit that it was tough to watch our friends enjoy their delicious beers.  I really wanted a glass of wine.  Earlier in the afternoon, I went to our local pub (it's actually modeled after a traditional pub) with my boss and two of my co-workers to celebrate the end of a stressful reaccreditation visit (oh the joys of higher education).  I drank water while they all enjoyed wine and mixed drinks.  It was pretty difficult.  I'm surprised that alcohol has been my weak spot this time around.  I mean, I do love wine, but I don't drink it every day (I usually drink it on the weekends).  So, I didn't expect to notice it missing from my life this week, but I do.

Here are my eats for the day:

Breakfast:  Surprise!  Overnight oats again.  I really just love this.  Today I changed it up a bit and topped the oats with blueberries instead of raspberries

Lunch:  Huge salad with tons of fresh veggies and chick peas

Dinner:  Another huge salad

Snacks: raisins and almonds, banana, brown rice cake with hummus (I allow myself to eat rice cakes because they are only puffed rice and salt, but some consider them processed and don't allow them), dried cherries, cashews, Lara balls

I'm not usually a banana eater, but I really enjoyed the one I ate today.

I'm pretty happy with my meals for the day, but I feel like I needed more with my dinner.  We were originally supposed to go to UNO because they were donating 20% of each meal purchase to help fund a local children's museum that is in the process of being established.  I had already looked at the menu online and selected the chopped power salad (minus the chicken and feta) and the farro salad. I knew that would be enough to satisfy me.  But, the wait time was 45 minutes because of the size of our party, and we knew that the five kids with us, which included a one year old and a two year old, would never hold it together that long.  So, we decided to go somewhere else.  Since we went to a pizza place, my choices were limited.  Most of the salads had meat and cheese on them, so I ordered a large garden salad.  It was delicious and full of tons of different veggies, but it didn't have much staying power.

So, I'm almost halfway through the challenge and I'm feeling pretty good.  I'm hoping the second of the challenge goes just as well.  I'm wondering if it will be difficult to stick to it while I'm on my girl's weekend in Boston.

CFC: Day 2

What a great day!  Having done this challenge before, I know that there are good days and bad days.  There are days that I embrace the challenge and feel healthy and strong.  Then, there are days that I feel grumpy and frustrated.  Well, today was one of the good days.  I felt great eating my healthy food throughout the day and got excited about all of my yummy treats and meals.  I had a fabulous lunchtime run (4 miles) and felt energized the rest of the day.  It's days like today that make me realize how important it is to eat healthy as much as possible.  Trust me, I firmly believe there is room in every eating plan for some of these (my kryptonite):

But, I also realize each time I do one of these clean food challenges that I just feel better when I eat healthy, whole foods.  I know that some of my fellow CFCers are having similar revelations today.  For their experiences, check out Emilie's blog.

I do have to admit that I had one rough moment this afternoon.  At about 2pm today, after a chaotic and stressful morning at work, my colleague offered me some M & M's.  Any other week I would have scarfed them up, but this time I politely refused. I felt good about it, but I did find myself longing for those little nuggets of chocolaty goodness.

So, here's a rundown of what I ate today:

Breakfast - The same oats as yesterday (no picture necessary)

Lunch - A huge salad and a sweet potato (no picture because I was so hungry that I ate it and then remembered that I wanted to take a picture)

Dinner:  Mama Pea's Spanish Quinoa and cut up veggies.  I can't post a link to the recipe because she doesn't have it on her website.  But she does have it in her wonderful cookbook.  I highly recommend you buy it.


















(Wow...look how scratched my dining room table is!)

Snacks - Angela's Endurance Crackers, fresh mango, almonds, cashews, raisins, carrot sticks, cucumbers, snap peas, Lara balls (real recipe with instructions coming soon)

So, it was a day of great food and good vibes.  I'm feeling so good this time around.  I'm wondering if the whole challenge will feel good, or if I'll have one of those dreaded bad days eventually.

CFC: Day 1

WOO HOO!  One day down, six to go.  Today was a great first day of the challenge.  I had a bunch of healthy, whole food to keep me satisfied throughout the day and I'm sitting here at 9:45 pm feeling very full and satisfied.  OK, I would be lying if I didn't admit that there were some moments throughout today that I was really tempted by some of the foods that aren't "allowed," but I was able to get through the weak moments pretty easily.  My worst point was tonight at dinner.  We had yummy homemade lentil soup, and Paul and the kids were eating bread and/or grilled cheese sandwiches on the side.  I LOVE eating a hunk of bread with soup, and I also love grilled cheese.

It was tough staring at this

While I was eating this

My eats for the day included:

Breakfast - Overnight oats with almond milk, maple syrup and raspberries

Lunch - A huge salad with tons of fresh veggies (no picture because I had to eat it quickly between meetings)

Dinner - Lentil soup

Snacks - almonds and raisins, fresh mango, homemade Lara balls (walnuts, dates and cocoa powder blended together in the food processor and rolled into balls), carrot sticks and cucumbers

Water - approximately 90 ounces (not quite enough but I plan to do better tomorrow)

Tonight I made Angela's Endurance Crackers to eat throughout the week.  I tasted a few after they came out of the oven and I think they'll be a great snack to help me get through the week.

I remember from the last time that day 2 and 3 tend to be the most difficult, so I'm hoping tomorrow isn't too bad.  I have some delicious food packed to eat at work tomorrow and I have a great dinner planned, so I should be fine.  I just have to remember that handfuls of chocolate chips aren't good to eat every day...or are they?

I'm Ready to Get Clean!

OK, so tomorrow is the day I start the Clean Food Challenge.  This will be my third time doing it, but only my second time doing it as part of an organized group.  The first time I participated was in June, which is also when I started this blog.  I love this challenge, and I might have nagged Emilie a little bit to organize another one.  After weeks (OK, really months) of not eating as healthy as I should - I guess this is where I should admit that my attempt to go sugar-free was a complete flop - I am in desperate need of a clean food challenge.  I feel bloated, sluggish and just generally yucky.  My pants are snug, my skin is a mess, and I am on edge most of the time.  Sure, some of it is because of work stress and general life stuff, but a lot of it is because I have been overdoing it with handfuls of chocolate chips at night (what, you don't eat handfuls of chocolate chips at night as a snack?) and the random snacking on chips and cheese sticks and my kids cheddar bunnies.  As someone who prides myself on my healthy diet, this isn't really a great way to function. Honestly, how can I be a healthy living blogger if I'm not practicing what I preach.  Just to clarify, I totally believe in living a healthy, balanced life which includes the occasional indulgences.  I'm not an extremist when it comes to what I eat.  I have no problem eating the occasional bag of Doritos or Taco Bell bean and cheese burrito.  After all, I subscribe to the 80/20 rule.  Unfortunately, in the past few months, this has been more like the 50/50 rule, which I'm not comfortable with.

So, in an attempt to get myself back on track, I'm committing to the Clean Food Challenge for one week.  What does this mean?  It means that I can't consume dairy, sugar, gluten, processed foods or alcohol.  I will only eat clean foods (i.e. whole foods), and I will drink 120 ounces of water each day.  Some people cut out coffee, but that's not an option for me.  I fear for my husband and children if I don't have coffee in my system.  After all, cutting out wine is hard enough.

This challenge is going to be especially challenging because I am going to Boston with my friend next weekend (Friday - Sunday).  It's going to be just the two of us, which means two days of me time.  No kids, no work, no responsibilities.  I love Boston and all it has to offer (especially the food), and I really think it's going to be fun to experience it while I'm participating in the clean food challenge.  I will have to try to find healthy food places to visit that will allow me to stick to the challenge while still enjoying yummy food.  We're planning to visit Whole Foods and Trader Joe's (sadly, my town doesn't have either) while we're there, so I'm sure I'll be fine.

So, tomorrow will be day one of the challenge.  I will blog about my experience each day with recaps of what I'm eating and how I feel.  I'm excited for tomorrow, but today I enjoyed these.  

Don't let the fruit deceive you.  There was a lot of chocolate frozen yogurt underneath it.

I know I can have them again in a week, but it was still a nice way to end my phase of gluttony and get ready to clean up my act.

Date Night

As I mentioned before, the past few weeks have been pretty chaotic.  Paul and I have both been busy with work and other obligations and the kids have had a lot of activities and birthday parties to attend lately.   As parents, Paul and I really strive to make sure that our kids have the opportunity to participate in a lot of fun activities without over scheduling them and negatively impacting our quality family time.  We do the same with our own activities and outside obligations.  In addition to our full-time jobs, we are both part-time graduate students, adjunct college instructors and runners.  So, it can sometimes be difficult to manage it all and make sure that we strike the right balance.  The past couple of weeks have been particularly busy, and our whole family was feeling the strain.  So, tonight we made time for each other.  We ignored the meal plan and the household budget, gathered up some pads and pens, and made our way to our favorite Mexican restaurant for a family date night.

Ben took this picture and it came out really dark, but it's still pretty good for a 2.5 year old

Even though we had to rein the kids in a few times, it was completely worth it.  It was just what our family needed.  Plus, I got to have sangria, which is just what I needed before I start the Clean Food Challenge on Monday.

So, when life gets crazy and overwhelming, make sure you find the time to reconnect with your family.  It doesn't have to be at a restaurant or cost any money.  It just has to be somewhere that your family can spend quality time together (like your living room).

On a totally separate note, these pictures make me realize how much I need a real camera.  My iPhone just isn't cutting it any more.  I guess I better start shopping!

What a Week!

Whew!  I can't believe the week is over.  It's been chaotic and overwhelming and productive, and it's finally done.  I'm not done with my thesis, and I still have a lot to do at work, but a lot of the pressure has been removed with the completion of some major projects.  So, I feel like I can handle everything else that I have coming up in the next few weeks.  Unfortunately, because this week was so crazy, I haven't done much picture-taking (with my phone, since I still have no camera), so this post will be picture less.  I also haven't done much exercising, so I don't have much to write about on that end.

But, things are looking up...

I was able to get to the gym today for a quick jaunt on the elliptical, and I have a 6 - 7 mile run on the schedule for tomorrow.

I updated my work calendar for next week and blocked out time most days for a lunch hour run.  So, I'm feeling positive about my ability to stay on track in the coming weeks.

Emilie is planning another Clean Food Challenge and I am already signed up to participate.  We'll be starting on February 27th.

Oh, and I'm finally ready to take this blog to the next level.  Last week, I purchased a domain (unfortunately, My Own Trail was already registered to someone else) and in the next few weeks I will be unveiling my new and improved blog.  It will have a different name, but this blog will link directly to it.  I'm so excited to take my blogging to the next level.  Now, I just have to learn everything I need to know about blogging before I move forward...I'm sure I'll find time for that somewhere in my day.

Back to Reality

This past week, our little family enjoyed a short vacation in Florida. 

We visited family

swam in our clothes

and spent 2.5 fabulous days at the happiest place on earth. 

It was so much fun to watch my children experience Disney World for the first time. 

Ben (2.5) was in awe of Mickey Mouse and is still clutching and kissing the Mickey Mouse stuffed animal that his grandmother bought him while we were there. 

Amelia (7) discovered a love of rides - especially spinning rides - and I had so much fun taking her on all of them. 

Overall, our flights there and back were uneventful and both kids traveled exceptionally well.  What more can a parent ask for.

But, alas, as is the case with all vacations, ours has come to an end.  We are back home with bloated bellies after too much junk food and the tired crankiness that often accompanies the readjustment to the real world.  It's tough for an adult to get out of vacation mode, and it's even worse for a 2.5  and 7 year old.  Paul is in bed with a terrible cold, and the house is in need of major cleaning.  But, we are all home safe and sound with a batch of fresh memories that will continue to feed our souls.  It was just what we needed as we make our way through the last couple of months of the cold, dark winter.

It's time to get back on track and prepare myself for the upcoming months of races/events that I am registered for.  Half marathon training has begun and I'm slowly adding swimming and spinning as my cross training to prepare for this summer's triathlon.  I'm contemplating another clean food challenge (actually, I'm hoping Emilie spearheads one) and cleaning, organizing and decluttering.  I'm ready to move forward.  I love having a few weeks of vacation mode, but I always welcome the beginning of a training plan and a more structured schedule. 

P.S. Please excuse the quality of the photos.  They were all taken with my iPhone.  Our camera died a while ago and we have yet to replace it. 

Done!

I decided to end my Clean Food Challenge after a week instead of ten days.  When I did the original challenge, it was only a week long.  For some reason, I thought doing a ten day challenge this time would make me feel even "cleaner."  However, once I hit the one week mark, I decided that I was ready to be done.  Any longer, and I think I would have ended up feeling burned out and negative about the experience.  Instead, I'm ending the challenge feeling great about my success and more mindful about my body and what I put into it.  Like last time, I'm not going to deny myself any foods, but I am going to pay closer attention to what I'm eating.  I have come to realize that I have a pretty significant sugar addiction, and I need to make sure I don't let myself eat too much of it.  I firmly believe in eating everything in moderation and still plan to enjoy sweet treats occasionally, but I have to remember that "occasionally" is the operative word.  I'm also going to make sure I try to avoid refined sugar as much as possible and use alternatives that are more natural.  Other than sugar, I'm ready to introduce the other "restricted" foods back into my life.  I don't believe in complete deprivation, and have no need to eliminate entire food groups from my diet.  Obviously, if I had food sensitivities or dietary choices (i.e. vegan) that required the elimination of certain food groups, I would do it.  But, I think a healthy diet should contain a lot of variety and moderate amounts of all of the food groups. 

Now that the challenge is over, I'm ready to move to the next phase of Operation: Summer Damage Control.  I'm ready to add new forms of exercise to my routine so that I can improve my fitness and keep myself from getting bored.  As a runner, I consider myself pretty fit.  However, what I have come to realize is that running (and the occasional elliptical session) isn't enough to keep my body fit.  I need to incorporate other forms of exercise so that I use all of my muscles and improve my fitness.  So, I spent the past week reading through other blogs and thinking about the kinds of exercise I want to add, and I have come up with this:

Running:  3 - 4 times a week with at least one of the runs being a long run of 7 - 10 miles

Cross Training: 1 - 2 times a week - alternate between swimming, spinning, and the elliptical

Strength Training: 2 - 3 times a week

Yoga/Pilates: 1 - 2 times per week

I'm going to start out with this plan and see how it works for me.  Having it written down will keep me accountable and, hopefully, more likely to be successful.  It will require some changes in my schedule to make sure I fit everything in, but I'm positive it will be worth it in the end.  I know that the addition of these different exercises will help me improve my fitness, make me a stronger runner, and most importantly, keep me healthy and grounded.

Working for the Weekend

This weekend was one of those weekends that is so filled with fun and activities that you are left on Sunday night trying to catch your breath and wondering where the time went.  We went non-stop from the time we woke up on Saturday morning until we went to bed Sunday night. 


This weekend was the annual Battle of Plattsburgh event that our town hosts to remember the famous battle that happened here in 1814.  Each year, they have games, activities, reenactments, and music that lasts through the weekend.  We look forward to it each year.

So, we filled our weekend with Battle of Plattsburgh activities. 


We ate ice cream downtown while enjoying the festivities.



We marched in a parade.






Right before he fell asleep

 It was Amelia's first time in a parade.  It was Ben's  first time too, but I'm not counting it since he slept through the entire thing...in his stroller...while we walked behind a high school marching band.  Seriously, who is this kid?


We played old time children's games at the Children's Village Fair.



Amelia loves Little House on the Prairie. 
This is her "Mary" dress.



We ate our last Italian ice of the season (well, I didn't eat any...).

      

The Battle of Plattsburgh took up a lot of our weekend, but we also had other things to do.

The kids had karate and swimming lessons.

(There are no pictures of Ben's swimming lesson because I was in the water with him)

We visited a co-workers farm where we held baby chicks and fed goats and sheep.

Amelia attended a friend's birthday party at an indoor waterpark and finally conquered her fear of the waterslide.

It was crazy and chaotic, and sometimes even frustrating, but it was also a really good weekend.  We may be tired and behind on the laundry and cleaning, but we are all starting the week with smiles on our faces and the memories of the past two days.  That's really what life is about.

In the midst of the crazy weekend, I was able to stick with the CFC.  I ate a lot of fruits and vegetables and whole grains.  I avoided all of the junky snacks at the Battle of Plattsburgh celebration, including two of my favorites...fried bread dough and poutine.  For those of you who don't live directly below Canada like I do, poutine is an incredible dish comprised of hand cut french fries, cheese curds and gravy.  It's basically a heart attack in a dish.  It doesn't sound very appealing, but trust me when I say it is amazing.  I think I'm going to create my own "healthified" poutine to eat once the challenge is over.  If I'm successful, I'll post the recipe here.

The one area that I didn't do well with was my water consumption.  I didn't drink my 120 ounces each day, so I'm trying to be more diligent about it this week.  I'm not going to list my meals for you because they were basically repeats of what I have been eating all week, but I do have one meal that I'm going to highlight.  On Sunday night, I made myself this for dinner. 

It was fabulous.  The burger is a Sunshine Burger, which I decided was OK to eat as part of the clean food challenge because it contains only whole, real ingredients.  I made green bean "fries" by roasting them in the oven at 425 for about 20 mins.  I'm telling you, these are good!  I drizzled some sriracha on to for a little heat, topped the burger with avocado and tomato, and dug in.  YUM!  Who says clean food challenges actually have to be challenging? 

In the chaos of the weekend, I was also able to get in a long run.  I did 9 miles with some women from work on Sunday morning and it felt great.  The sluggishness I experienced on my previous run was gone, and I felt like I could run forever.  My legs felt great, my lungs felt great, and my mind felt great.  I don't know if it is the fact that I have less chemicals in my system or if I was just having a good running day, but I had a really good time.

I planned to talk about my exercise goals and future fitness plans, but this post is too long already.  I think I'll save that topic for tomorrow or the next day.  I hope your weekends were filled with fun and excitement like mine.  If not, there's always next weekend.

Just Checking In...

I'm in the midst of an incredibly long day that won't end until after my FSA (my daughter's elementary schools' version of the PTA) meeting at 9:00 tonight.  I planned to write my recap of days 5 & 6 during my lunch hour at work today, but I forgot my camera and the cord for my iPhone.  So, I have no pictures.  I want to wait to do a post because the weekend was so full of fun and activities that I don't want to just tell you about it.  I want to show you.  So, I'll have to do a proper post tomorrow morning.

For now, I'm just checking in to say that the Clean Food Challenge is going well.  I'm struggling more with the desire to eat junk this time than last time, which I think is because I'm the only one doing it this time.  Last time, there was a group of us doing it, and I felt the power of camaraderie.  this time, it's just me.  But, I did resist all of the junk that was around me this weekend, and I feel better for it.  I won't lie, I'm looking forward to the end of the week so I can eat some chocolate and drink some wine, but for today I'm OK.

The only blip I had this weekend was when, in the midst of the chaos of two activity-packed days, I pulled into Starbucks to order my standard weekend treat - a skinny vanilla latte.  Quite honestly, I wasn't even thinking.  It's not that I was intentionally cheating, I just didn't think about the challenge at all.  I had just survived a morning spent shuttling both kids to karate and swimming lessons (which are held at the same time in different locations) by myself because Paul was helping a friend put a new floor down.  I needed a boost, and as we got ready to head to the next activity, I mindlessly pulled into Starbucks, ordered my latte, and drove off.  It wasn't until I had enjoyed four sips of it that I suddenly remembered that I wasn't supposed to be drinking it.  Oh well, we all make mistakes.  It wasn't worth beating myself up over.  I decided that the damage was already done, and finished the latte.  But, I didn't let it sabotage the rest of the challenge.  In the past, I would have justified other indulgences by telling myself that I had already ruined the challenge.  This time, I enjoyed every drop of the sweet, milky caffeine, and then I moved on.  I think that's actually significant progress.

So, there's a brief update.  I have a big post planned for tomorrow with weekend highlights, including what we did and what I ate.  I also have some exercise updates and a plan for the coming weeks.  See you tomorrow!

Clean Food Challenge 2.0 - Days 3 & 4

Well, I made it through two more days.  Quite honestly, I'm having a pretty easy time.  I'm not feeling as grumpy as the first two days, and I think that I  made it over the sugar detox hump.  I still have my moments...moments where I have to go into the pantry and smell the bag of chocolate chips because I want chocolate so bad, but they pass pretty quickly.  I'm eating a lot less dried fruit, and when I do eat it, it seems really sweet to me.  All in all, I think this whole challenge is going pretty smoothly.  However, the weekend just arrived, and we have a jam-packed schedule that will put me in some pretty tempting situations.  I'll just have to keep reminding myself that this is only temporary and that my body will feel better once I'm done.

When I got home from work tonight, I went for a 3 mile run.  I don't know if it's because I haven't been able to run much lately, or if it is because I'm in the process of detoxing, but I was pretty sluggish and struggled through the 3 miles.  I remember the same thing happening the last time I did the clean food challenge.  It only happened in the beginning last time.  By the end of the challenge, I had more energy and endurance during my runs and workouts.  I'm going to pay close attention to it this time and see if the same thing happens.

For those who may wonder what I can possibly be eating, here's a list of some of the meals I have been enjoying:

Breakfast:  Overnight oats with almond milk and blueberries or a smoothie with almond milk, spinach, banana, blueberries, mango, hemp seeds, chia seeds and oats

Lunch:  Giant salads with tons of fresh veggies from my CSA and some beans for protein or leftover bean, corn and rice salad from dinner.

Dinner:  Fresh veggies, salads, sweet potatoes, beans and rice with black beans, corn, onions, tomato and avocado (this was absolutely delicious!)

Snacks:  dried fruit, veggies with hummus, rice cakes with almond butter, almonds, fruit and spinach/kale smoothies

Beverages:  coffee (one per day), water, seltzer, detox tea

As I said, my weekend is crazy, but I plan to stay on track.  I'm also going to make sure I run both days to get back on track.  Since I have been slacking so much on exercise lately, I'm in the process of developing an exercise plan for next week.  I'll post about it next time.