Will Run For Ice Cream

I have been compensated in the form of a gift card/money/coupon and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free. All opinions expressed are mine and honest in nature. My workout routines usually consist of early morning workouts before I take Lil Man to pre-school, or working out while he is at preschool. That usually results in me being rushed for pre-workout or post workout fuel. Normally, I don't eat before working out if I run when I first get up. But I've found that if I have to wait until mid-morning, I usually require a little something in the tank. And I always require something post workout. I had the opportunity to try Hemp Heart Bars from Manitoba Harvest . I'll be honest,

We lost Sally this past Summer ( When I Met Her, She Wasn't My Favorite ) when she died suddenly. For awhile now, Hubby has been looking for a young pup to train as a hunting dog. We found him. Although I wasn't fond of getting a Mountain Cur, I did find out that they get larger than our other dogs. They require a lot of exercise, and I'm thinking in addition to a hunting dog, I may also have a future running partner. I named him... wait for it.. wait for it...

I have been compensated in the form of a gift card/money/coupon and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free. All opinions expressed are mine and honest in nature. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I think eating real food is the best way to get nutrition. However, I know that I personally don't always eat all of the nutrients that I need, and sometimes supplementing is easier ( especially when I'm pressed for time which I seem to be a lot! ) I had the opportunity to try 3 of BeFit's new nutritional products.

Since my last snowy adventure on the Appalachian Trail (you can read that here)   I haven't been back out running. I don't mind ( so much ) the cold on the trail, but running in the cold on the road, just hasn't seemed like fun. And, I'm pretty much over the treadmill at the moment. So I've been cross training But, with an upcoming race, I know I need to get some mileage in. So today, I forced myself outside.

Well, let's just say that Godiva got the best of me over Valentine's weekend. Combined with stress, the fact that we were off of our schedule with not having preschool for 5 days, and that chocolate/candy was in abundance everywhere, I had several days of eating a lot of junk. ( really not happy about this as I slipped into old habits) . Combine that my hormones are out of whack ( that is another long story, but no I'm not pregnant! ), my weigh in this week resulted

I have always been that girl at the gym (or races) with the shorts over the leggings. Because without my shorts, I didn't feel confident. I don't know about you, but no matter what size pants I wear, when I workout, well things get caught in places that I don't really want them to get caught. So I wind up constantly readjusting my clothing and feeling really self conscious. Then I tried the heartbreaker skirt from Skirt Sports . From the moment I put it on, I was hooked. And my confidence level soared.

As the sun warmed things up to the upper teens, I couldn't help myself but get out and check out the Appalachian Trail. I'd been there a couple of weeks ago and it was very runable (and the parking lot was clear of snow). Well, duh, I forgot it snowed between then and now! I saw that no one was going up to the lot, and after I turned in, I realized why. It was ICY! I also forgot my microspikes or yaktraxs. After stepping out of the car, I realized I needed something more than my trail shoes. So I decided to go back home and get something so that I could have a better footing. I started down the hill, with my foot on the brake, I never even touched the gas, I started sliding.

So.... after I decided to say   Goodbye To Calorie Obsession   I ate everything. And I mean EVERYTHING over the weekend. Ice cream ( an entire pint of Ben and Jerry's) , cupcakes, pizza, wings and chips... oh the chips and dip. Monday morning I was a bloated cranky mess. I felt horrible. But, there was still some ice cream left and after a rough morning, the ice cream ( and cupcakes ) didn't last through the afternoon. However, by Tuesday I was back on more of the right track with making healthier choices. I still struggle with getting enough veggies into my routine! But I knew that I had to weigh-in this week, and I do have goals that I'm trying to reach. I won't reach those goals eating the amounts of food that I was eating. I was full and still eating 'just because'. So, after 2 days of being back to being aware of the food that I was eating, with my official weigh in, I lost

I have been compensated in the form of a gift card/money/coupon and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free. All opinions expressed are mine and honest in nature. It's no secretly lately that I like my Mocha Latte. I've been having an afternoon treat to help keep the sugar cravings away (yes, I know the latte contains sugar ;) but it does help me from just eating sugar all afternoon and evening But I wanted to share with you an alternative to that Mocha Latte. I haven't been making a daily swap, but I do occasionally swap out my coffee or mocha for an Amino Energy Drink from Optimum Nutrition  I tried the iced cafe vanilla flavor. And no, it doesn't taste as good as my mocha latte, but... it does have some essential amino acids which I know my body can benefit from .... especially on hard workout days. And I did enjoy the taste.

Full Disclosure: I received a pair of Yaktrax free of charge for the purpose of providing a review. My opinions are completely my own based on my experience. I love snow... seriously... being a Southern girl from MS, and now living in PA, I still get super excited at just the mere mention of the word snow. So, when we got 30 or so inches ( The Blizzard of 2016 ) I was thrilled. But I also found out the hard way that it's not always easy to walk ( or run ) in the snow or when there is re-freeze and it's icy. I have fallen numerous times. I think I've found a solution. Meet my latest running ( or hiking or walking ) gear - yaktrax run 

I'm serious... this eating low calorie or trying to stay within a certain range is driving me batty. ( stomach grumbles )... apple slices look delicious but I refuse them because it would put me out of my calorie range. In my opinion, there is determination/will power and then just borderline silliness. And refusing to eat an apple when my body is physically asking for food in my opinion is silly. For 9 days while trying to adhere to this range or that range of calories (Am I eating too little? Am I eating too much?) I became a scale obsessed calorie obsessed stressed-out deranged woman. And my weight didn't budge. Well, I'm here to tell you I'm done.

So, I said that Extremely Low Calories Stalled My Weight Loss   ... but after looking back at my food log in MFP, I averaged the calories for each week to determine what I was eating for a loss.. and the week that I didn't have a loss. After talking with my dietitian friend and getting some tips, I've decided to experiment with my calories. I don't want to specify a range because I don't want someone to eat 'what I'm eating' because that's what I'm doing. I'm 4'10" and I weigh 114lbs - my calories will not be the same for someone who is taller.

So, I'm doing the Biggest Loser challenge (Get Fit) at the local gym... ( Sabotaging Your Diet) well... I was doing great ... and then.. I reverted back to some old habits (eating for comfort, eating cause I was bored, eating "just because") and really after some higher calories days my weight was ok.. it actually even dipped a little. Stock image.. not me :)  But then I freaked out and restricted my calories more than normal. I hate to give a number since everyone is different. But I was hoovering around the 1000-1100 range. And those calories were.. well... junk food for the most part. After 3 days of really restricting my calories... my weight jumped up MORE than last week. So at this point, I'm a pound heavier than my weigh in last week.