Category: Fitness

No such thing as a bad food
Fitness

No such thing as a bad food

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Eating healthy and enjoying life’s celebrations can be tough. As a dietitian we are taught about the major impact of food in everyone’s lives. We have to eat to live!

There is no such thing as a bad food! Only over consumption and portion sizes. Let me clarify a bit here. Yes of course some foods lack fewer nutrients than others, which could make them “good vs bad.” Although, you can still enjoy your MacDonald’s burger and fries every now and then. When we are eating these things constantly, that’s when it can become and issue with your health. Eating more nutrient dense foods are better for your body overall. So enjoy the great foods we have, maybe less often as treats! (Not cheats!)

I recently celebrated a lot. We had our 2 year wedding anniversary, 2 weeks later Valentine’s, 2 weeks later my birthday. All while I was trying to avoid alcohol and sweets. I still fed my body healthy food during the week. Indulging more on weekend celebrations– things we haven’t done in some time. I enjoyed myself! I do not feel guilty. I did not make myself go workout due to “bad food choices.” That is not a way to live. Workouts should never be a punishment but more a reward for your body. It’s amazing what our bodies can do! Reward yourself with a great sweat while enjoying the endorphins after.

During my weeks full indulging I noticed my mood was very different. I was a lot more tired and things irritated me when they might not have before. I found this interesting. When I gave my body real nutrient dense foods that taste great my mood, view on the world and everyday life were so much better. I was so much more positive toward myself and my body. What a great thing to notice about myself. Anyone else have this too?

Thanks for reading— E.W.

My No Alcohol & No Sweets Challenge… and more
Fitness

My No Alcohol & No Sweets Challenge… and more

mypittyfullworld1 Comment

Well, I’m back on my challenge of no alcohol and no sweets. I did this before Christmas for 3 weeks. Then I started it again after New Years for another 4 weeks or so. I indulged, way indulged, this weekend for our 2 year wedding anniversary, which is actually Tuesday. So I will re-start on Monday until the end of February for my birthday.

You may ask why… well I have found that I feel a lot better if I don’t have these things. I usually only drank on the weekends while we would always, always, always have sweets at work. Does anyone else have that issue?! Eat healthy at home, away from work, but it seems 10x harder at work?! Ugh. It is a challenge for me. We’re always having parties with great food. I work with some amazing cooks/bakers. Anyway, I feel a lot better, my workouts feel more productive and I’m less “bloaty”during the week. Now, note we did buy some Girl Scout cookies so I may have had a few of those during my time of no sweets. But I limited myself to 1 a day, if I wanted one.

If you’re interested in doing this with me, comment below! Maybe I can start a small group!

My Dietitian training, we learn to teach “there is no such thing as a bad food.” I don’t like to have people limit or take anything out of their diet. Some people will say well McDonalds is a “bad food” place. No, it is the amount and how consistent you are in eating McDonalds. If you’re eating it everyday all the time, yes there are better food options. But this doesn’t mean you can’t go have a classic American cheeseburger every once in a while.  A good way to think about healthy eating, it is a lifestyle choice. Everything you put into you mouth is a choice. You get to choose the things you fuel your body. Most people are surprised by how better they feel by making easy diet changes. Our bodies are pretty amazing things. —Also, if you bought into one of those cleanses for the New Year, it’s a bunch of crap. If you have a working liver and kidney you’re getting “detoxed” everyday all day. You feel like crap because you probably over ate over the holidays (guilty). So put on your walking shoes, grab your pup and go for walk, you’ll feel better soon. And drink more water. Most people are walking around dehydrated. Our brains read the hormones for thirst and hunger almost the same way. So before you grab for those chips for a snack at 3pm tomorrow, grab some water, see how you feel after. You probably won’t want those chips anymore.

Pupdate: Merle and Hazel are now used to each other. It is officially one week since we got Merle, and she turned 10 weeks this week. They seem to be adjusting well. Hazel is just exhausted every night. We are still working on potty crate training but she will get it soon, I’m sure. Merle likes to wake up at 2am and 4:30/5:00am now. I have went in a couple of times this week at 2am to calm her down. She did eventually go back to sleep. This week, we are not going to give in when she cries. We will attempt to hang tough. She is sleeping in her crate in the next room, while Hazel has to sleep next to me. I think it is helping her realize she isn’t being replaced. I’m not sure if Merle would do better in our room in the crate, but we may give it a try. To see daily pictures check out the Instagram or Facebook pages linked on the side of the blog. Both are called PittyTails.

ugh, I forgot my fitness watch!
Fitness

ugh, I forgot my fitness watch!

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This morning I forgot my beloved new iWatch. I have been wearing mine religiously since Christmas. I love the fitness aspect of it. I used to wear, sometimes still do, a FitBit tracker. I feel that my day is better knowing how much or little I move. It makes me conscious of my movements throughout the day. I meant who wouldn’t love to know, they took 10,000 steps that day! Do you have a fitness watch you love? does it help you? are we addicted to technology? (probably).

here’s what happened…

woke up at 4:45 to attend a 5:30 am Camp Gladiator class. Mind you Merle, new 9 week old pitbull pup we got Saturday, cried for about an hour last night making our bed time later than usual. Therefore, the alarm came QUICK! Husband said he would wake up when I did so he could start the day with the pups. Got dressed, got Merle out of her crate – which had soaked puppy pads inside – which she was standing in (icky!), by now it is 5:15. I GOTTA GO! I grab a banana, fill my Yeti and quickly rush out the door. Half way through the drive, I notice I forgot my watch in the mixed of helping get Merle outside, clean up and get me together. For about 2 minutes I debated  “should I turn around?!”. Then I decided no, not worth it. Although now, I am sadden I didn’t. I feel that my whole workout wasn’t as good because I couldn’t check the time, calories, heart rate and steps.

This burning thought to turn around for a watch got me thinking…  why did I must have it? Why did I think that my workout counted more because I wore it? I shouldn’t be this attached to such a physical worldly object. My workout was great! I did not need this watch to tell me that I was doing a good job, or to post the final picture of what I “did” during my workout before most people woke up that morning. I need to be more mindful of my workouts. Listen to my body and not rely on something electronic to tell me so. Now don’t get me wrong, I love the technology of my iWatch. It provides me a sense of security when running, if I don’t take my phone. The series 2 iWatch can call 9-1-1 if needed, track my location while telling me distance, calories burned and time. With this lesson learned today, I will take in stride the days my steps and calories don’t get counted during my workout. Taking these days to listen more closely to my body!

For those wondering “what is Camp Gladiator?” (CG) check it out here: Camp Gladiator    I love CG, I attend multiple classes a week! It has changed the way I workout. I would high recommend this to anyone looking for a group workout class with lots of energy, great people and accountability.

Thanks for reading… Peace & Blessings –

E.W.