Source: thinfithot.tumblr.com via Kathy on Pinterest

For some people eating healthy comes naturally. Others find it easier to exercise consistently but have a hard time being as diligent with diet and nutrition. I’ve always fallen into the latter category. You’ll have to hold me down to get me to take a rest day from running but when it comes to food, I want it all. There was an interesting article in Time magazine a couple of years ago called “Why Exercise Won’t Make You Thin.” While I think the title is a little disingenuous, I could totally relate to some of the points discussed. For . . . → Read More: Rediscovering Food Journaling]]>

Photo by o5com.

For some people eating healthy comes naturally. Others find it easier to exercise consistently but have a hard time being as diligent with diet and nutrition. I’ve always fallen into the latter category. You’ll have to hold me down to get me to take a rest day from running but when it comes to food, I want it all. There was an interesting article in Time magazine a couple of years ago called “Why Exercise Won’t Make You Thin.” While I think the title is a little disingenuous, I could totally relate to some of the points discussed. For example, I’m a big “rewarder” when it comes to exercise and food. Just finish a long run? Let’s have a hot fudge sundae! Complete a big race? Order pizza! While it’s fine to celebrate these accomplishments with our favorite foods from time to time, it was getting to the point where I was rewarding smaller and smaller things. As in, “I worked out this morning!” or “I just ran 3 miles!”. You know, things that probably didn’t need to be rewarded with french fries and Skittles.

Anyway, a couple of months ago I decided it was time to take a harder look at what I was eating and why. I wasn’t gaining weight (ok, maybe a couple of pounds!) but I didn’t feel as good as I thought I should for how much working out I do. I could be better and I knew it. So I decided to revisit a little thing called Food Journaling. I know, there are TONS of calorie counting sites out there. (Calorie Count, My Fitness Pal, and Fat Secret to name a few.) But I’m not even talking about counting every single calorie that passes your lips. Sometimes all it takes is a notebook, pencil, and the willingness to be honest about what you’re putting into your body.

I started out the day after Thanksgiving just wanting to write down what I ate. Not the calories, just the foods. Interestingly, just having to put the pen to paper made me want to eat better things. Something about the accountability of it all made me start to change my habits.  I started eating a lot more vegetables and fruits and cut way back on processed foods and sugar. I mean, do I really want to write down that I ate an entire jumbo bag of Sour Patch Kids? Nobody else was seeing these logs but I still didn’t want that staring back at me. After a couple of weeks I did transition to logging foods on a calorie count website but I’m starting to move away from that again since I don’t like all the numbers running around in my head. I feel like it’s too easy to get obsessive about hitting an arbitrary number instead of just eating the foods that your body needs.

Food journaling works for me in spurts. It’s not something that I feel like I can do all the time, every day of my life. But it’s a great way to get back in touch with healthy eating habits if when I feel like I’m getting out of control. Right now I feel like I’m in the “zone” nutrition-wise and I don’t really need to log things anymore. I managed to drop a few pounds in December of all months and got my butt back into some jeans that I had almost given up on. I also feel more energized in my workouts, which had begun to get a little tedious after a summer of big training ended. I’m sure I’ll have set backs and slip ups down the road but journaling is something that I can always come back to in order to get my mind and body in check.

What about you? Do you keep a food journal?

I’ve been finding lots of fitness-related pins lately. Some are inspirational sayings, some are quotes, others are workout routines.

Source: Pinterest

Here’s one saying I found on Pinterest that I think is very fitting this week: Do something today that your future self will thank you for.

I don’t know about you, but I look at Thanksgiving as a day to be with my family, eat lots of . . . → Read More: Fitspiration: Be Thankful]]>

Have you caught the Pinterest bug? Did you ever cut photos, articles and inspirational sayings out of magazines and collect them on a bulletin board or in a notebook? Pinterest is the virtual version of that.

I’ve been finding lots of fitness-related pins lately. Some are inspirational sayings, some are quotes, others are workout routines.

Source: Pinterest

Here’s one saying I found on Pinterest that I think is very fitting this week: Do something today that your future self will thank you for.

I don’t know about you, but I look at Thanksgiving as a day to be with my family, eat lots of food, watch football and play board games. Oh, and drink copious amounts of wine and/or beer.

But I have been examining this view a lot recently. As someone who struggles with food and is trying to lose weight, is indulging in the gluttony of the holiday really what I should be doing?

This year, I’m going to do something that my future self (aka 8 p.m. Thursday night self) will thank me for. I’m not going to have seconds of mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls, green bean casserole or pumpkin pie. I will have a reasonable serving of each. I want to be truly thankful for the many blessings I’ve received during the past year. And I want to be thankful for learning to say no to seconds.

On this Thanksgiving Day, what are you going to do that your future self will thank you for?

*Ahem*

Hello?

It seems we may have fallen a bit off the map here at FitMKE. Maybe it was all that post-Great Milwaukee Race excitement? Or maybe a bit of the summer lazies.  It can be so easy to get pulled off track in the summer months. There’s just so much to do! So many places to go!  Back in May (when it was still winter-esque  here in Wisconsin) it was easy to make plans for all the awesome things I wanted to accomplish this summer. And now here we are already halfway through. Writing blog posts aside, I have . . . → Read More: Summer Lovin’]]>

Knock, knock….

*Ahem*

Hello?

It seems we may have fallen a bit off the map here at FitMKE. Maybe it was all that post-Great Milwaukee Race excitement? Or maybe a bit of the summer lazies.  It can be so easy to get pulled off track in the summer months. There’s just so much to do! So many places to go!  Back in May (when it was still winter-esque  here in Wisconsin) it was easy to make plans for all the awesome things I wanted to accomplish this summer. And now here we are already halfway through. Writing blog posts aside, I have to say I forgot a bit how diligent you have to be to keep to a regular workout training during the summer. You’d think it would be easy with the beautiful weather and added hours of sunshine, but then you throw in vacations, summer festivals and late nights with friends drinking beers on the porch (oops!) and it’s easy to get off track.

These past few weeks I’ve done a bit of traveling with my family. And while we logged miles and miles of walking in Chicago and New York City, my regular training schedule has gotten all out of whack. I made the executive decision NOT to leave the fam to go running on these trips, and although I tried to squeeze in some push ups and lunges when I had some in between time in the hotel rooms, I felt a bit anxious when I went out for a run upon our return. I felt a little like, “Can I still do this? Will my legs still work?” (Turns out they worked, and the rest probably did me a lot of good, but taking breaks can really mess with your mind sometimes.)

Photo by Glenn Harper

One thing about summer in Milwaukee is that even though the days last longer, there are just so many fun things to do to fill those extra hours that it’s impossible to do everything that you want. I originally told myself that I might switch to being a nighttime workout person this summer. I pictured myself smiling on sunset runs at the lake– but it seems that every evening some other activity beckons (including watching Harry Potter movies with the kids, who are now out of school and get to stay up late!) I still get my regular workouts done in the morning for the most part (YAWN) but I’m hoping to eventually get out for a moonlit run at some point.  And I still need to get to the pool, and spend a day kayaking, and go for an epic bike ride…

What about you guys? How are you balancing summer activities with summer relaxation? What is still left on your summer fitness list?

Photo by Cr4nberry

What does it mean to be competitive? Is it sprinting to the finish line to beat the girl in front of you? Maybe it’s besting your previous personal record at a race? Racing can mean something slightly different for each individual. I’ve been in many races where my goal has been “just to finish”. But there have been other instances where I’ve definitely been bitten by the competition bug. Overall though, I tend to think that I’m mostly competitive with myself. These days I usually have a time goal in mind for a race and I zero . . . → Read More: A Little Competition]]>

Photo by Cr4nberry

What does it mean to be competitive? Is it sprinting to the finish line to beat the girl in front of you? Maybe it’s besting your previous personal record at a race? Racing can mean something slightly different for each individual. I’ve been in many races where my goal has been “just to finish”. But there have been other instances where I’ve definitely been bitten by the competition bug. Overall though, I tend to think that I’m mostly competitive with myself. These days I usually have a time goal in mind for a race and I zero in on it like a hawk. At most races I find myself trying to shave precious seconds off a previous recorded time. Over the past three years those seconds have added up and I have to admit it’s been rewarding to watch my name climb in the standings. Even though I’ll probably never win a race, it’s incredibly satisfying to set a goal, work like crazy towards achieving it, and then have that goal come to fruition on race day.

As long as I’m being completely truthful, there have been times when I’ve felt a little bit of competitive spirit towards other runners. Usually it comes in the form of me picking somebody who appears to be at my level up ahead and saying to myself, “I want  to beat THAT PERSON.” It’s nothing against them, and I’m sure they’re totally nice in real life, but it helps to have that extra reason to push when you find yourself losing focus.  Sometimes I’ll keep picking new people as I’m running so that I always have that new incentive in front of me. (Also, at the Icebreaker Indoor Marathon Relay this year, there  *may* have been a little bit of smack talk between a couple of the relay teams. I believe the word “destroy” was bantered about? It was all in good fun though. At least I think.)

Finding a healthy way to be competitive can be a bit tricky. It can be hard if you work so hard for something and then fall short of that goal. Sometimes no matter how prepared you are, it may just not be your day. I worked for six months to break a 1:50 half marathon last year and I kept missing it again and again until I finally broke the barrier in December with a 1:49:59. (Yes, it was by one measly second but I worked darn hard for it so I’m taking it!) Because that particular goal was harder to achieve it was that much sweeter when I finally got it. Again, I wasn’t racing anyone particular out there, but it was rather me against the clock.

In the end, I feel like the most important thing about being competitive is to keep it positive. It’s less about beating someone else and more about bringing out your personal best. How many of us are in the running to actually win races anyway? I may out-sprint a random girl at the finish but odds are there were dozens- in some cases hundreds- of people who crossed that finish line way ahead of me. If that short burst of competition down the final stretch clinched me a coveted PR though? Then maybe I owe that girl a beer.

Do you consider yourself to be competitive?

One of the things I often find myself saying to people when they ask me how to fit running/fitness into a busy schedule is: “You have to make yourself a priority.” But what happens when your fitness becomes TOO MUCH of a priority and starts to eat away at other areas of . . . → Read More: Trying to Do it All: The Prioritization Problem]]>

Prioritizing. One of the hardest things to do when you’re the type of person who wants to do everything. Some days I find myself saying YES! to everything that comes my way only to end up feeling overwhelmed and wanting to hide under the covers until it all goes away.

One of the things I often find myself saying to people when they ask me how to fit running/fitness into a busy schedule is: “You have to make yourself a priority.” But what happens when your fitness becomes TOO MUCH of a priority and starts to eat away at other areas of your life? The balance can be so tricky for a person like me who tends to go overboard once I find something I love. For example, when I find a new tv show on dvd that I like I’ll watch episode after episode every chance I get until I’ve plowed through a hundred hours of television. And when I find a new class I like (Bikram yoga, Pilates, bootcamp) I try like mad to figure out how many times I can squeeze it in to an already packed running schedule. And don’t even get me started on races. I’m the easiest person in the world to talk into doing another event. “Hey Tracey you wanna do—” “YES.”  “Oh there’s this race I heard about—-” “YES!”

Yesyesyesyesyes.

Don’t get my wrong. I love that I’m able to do all these things. I just wish there were more hours in the day, more days in the week, more weekends in the year. You know, a real original wish.

Meanwhile, I also have to make sure I’m not neglecting my family. Being married to a non-runner means we don’t have to fight over races and run schedules so one of us can always be with the kids. One the other hand, I don’t want to take advantage and and run out the door every free minute I get just because he doesn’t run too.  As for my kids, even though I’m an at-home me,  the weekends are the only time that we actually get to do FUN stuff all together as a family. Unfortunately, that’s when the bulk of racing goes on as well.  As my calendar is quickly filling up from now until next October, I have to remember that even though I’ve made running and fitness a major priority in my life, it’s not my NUMBER ONE priority. So each time schedule another race on a Saturday, I need to balance it out with something fun with the family on Saturday night or Sunday.  (Which means I may have to say NO to that superawesomefun class/event/gettogether taking place.)

When my kids were babies, I had a hard time taking time for myself. I felt like because i was at home with them that I had to take care of EVERYTHING. Anything that involved the family or the household in general had to be perfect all of the time. (Silly, I know, and not to mention exhausting!) When I took up running and racing though, I went through a new period where things suddenly swung wildly in the other direction. I was so excited to find something just for me that everything really became about ME. It took being called out on it to make me realize that I can still have that time for me without it eating up ALL of my free time. Hopefully now I’m coming to point where I can strike a better balance between the two. I still have an itchy trigger finger when it comes to signing up for races, but I’ve learned now to keep a few weekends on the calendar free for some family time. I’m not perfect. I’m sure to slip up from time to time but at least I’m aware of the issue and can try to keep the balance in check.

What about you? How do you balance  running, racing, or working out with all the other areas of your life?

Recovery from any injury or surgery usually comes with its fair share of pain. It can be really difficult to stay motivated during the healing process. What happens if your injury leads to chronic pain? What if you find yourself facing a chronic injury pattern, or a physical condition that limits your ability to be active because of pain? It can be very frustrating, de-motivating, and I have known more than a few people that have given up an active lifestyle because of chronic pain. Devastating.

I’m doing a variety of things to manage the chronic pain that comes with my . . . → Read More: Reconstructing a Beer Runner: Acupuncture, What’s with the Needles?]]>

Hey gang.

Recovery from any injury or surgery usually comes with its fair share of pain. It can be really difficult to stay motivated during the healing process. What happens if your injury leads to chronic pain? What if you find yourself facing a chronic injury pattern, or a physical condition that limits your ability to be active because of pain? It can be very frustrating, de-motivating, and I have known more than a few people that have given up an active lifestyle because of chronic pain. Devastating.

I’m doing a variety of things to manage the chronic pain that comes with my condition.

• Modified exercise plan (I’m not too proud to do some low impact training, yo. Water aerobics, FTW!)
• Heat/Ice Therapy
• Regular Physical Therapy (twice weekly)
• Medical Massage Therapy
• Acupuncture

I am going to spend some time talking about each of these activities over the next few weeks, but today I want to share my acupuncture experience with you.

Photo by Gomesmam

How does acupuncture work?

“According to the Eastern Tradition of Medicine: Traditional Acupuncturists believe that where Qi becomes blocked pain and illness develop. Qi flows through channels, called meridians.

Meridians traverse the body and run from head to toe. Acupuncture points are located along the meridians. There are 352 commonly used acupuncture points. Traditional Chinese Medicine believes blockages in the flow of Qi may be due to physical, mental or psychological trauma.

Traditional Five Element Acupuncturists believe that the body does not function as a separate entity (like a machine) to the mind and spirit. It is sometimes very evident that emotional or mental stress produces physical symptoms such as headaches, indigestion, palpitations and bowel problems. It is also apparent that physical problems, such as chronic disease or severe pain, have a detrimental effect on our spirit and emotions; we may become depressed, tearful, angry or frustrated. In Five Element Acupuncture, body, mind and spirit are treated as one and each person is considered as a unique individual.

According to the Western Tradition of Medicine: Acupuncture stimulates the release of natural pain killing chemicals within the body. These are released in several areas of the body – around the needles, in the spinal cord where the nerves run, and in the brain. Acupuncture also causes the release of other natural substances in the body which promote healing and aid recovery.”

Source: Peter Sadler, www.petersadler.net

I have been so fortunate to find a practitioner who is incredibly educated and compassionate. We spent most of our first session going over a very detailed medical and physical history. She really wanted to examine all aspects of my life, even beyond my neurological issues and recent surgeries. She wanted to know about my diet, my sleep habits, my digestion, my skin, how much I sweat, etc. We really dug into all aspects of my routine. Once she felt she had a bit of a feel for what I wanted as an outcome from my treatment, we finished off the first session in one of my new favorite places…her table.

After listening to the pulses of each of the meridians, she had to decide on needle placement, based on my condition and what I wanted to accomplish. (Pain relief, increased physical and emotional strength, anti-inflammation of tissues, and the ability to return to the active lifestyle that I love.) She inserted the needles at specific points on my body. The needle insertion doesn’t hurt. (The needles are very thin and solid, so they don’t hurt like the stick of a hypodermic needle.) In fact, as she inserted certain needles into particular points, I began to feel unusual sensations in my body. Rush of comforting heat, tingling, maybe even…floaty? Heh heh. To be perfectly honest, I don’t yet know how to describe all of the sensations I feel when undergoing treatment. Here’s what I do know.

When I am laying on the table with all of the needles inserted, I begin a journey, and it’s different each time. My body goes through an incredible range of sensations. Ranging from a zinger of mild discomfort to a feeling that my body isn’t even touching the table… I know, I know. Totally weird, right? Well it is. It’s weird, and new, and maybe something is happening that I don’t understand, but dammit, something is happening, and I like it.

A couple months into weekly treatments, what changes have I seen?

• Reduction of inflammation in my tissues – (I have also changed my diet to support anti-inflammation of my tissues.)
• Increased mental clarity – Inability to concentrate or think clearly at times is a big problem for patients with too much cerebrospinal fluid, it’s referred to a “brain fog”, and it is incredibly frustrating.
• Reduced usage of analgesics and narcotics for pain management.
• Reduced stress that comes with chronic pain.
• Gradual increase in physical activity.
• Increased stamina – If you know me personally, you know that I work A LOT and that the @MobileInterns keep me hopping. Every day poses challenges, I feel better equipped to face them.
• I LOVE treatment. It is a physical and emotional comfort for me.

So, there you have it. Two months ago, I did not have an opinion about acupuncture. I went into this completely open minded, but not overly hopeful. (Okay, maybe I was a little bit skeptical. Just a little.) I am stunned at the change I have seen in my body and my heart in just two months. I attribute some of this to the treatment itself, and rest of it to my practitioner, Jen. She is one of the kindest, funniest, honest human beings I have ever been fortunate enough to meet. She makes my life better, she makes it easier to be grateful for the beautiful life I have, even when the day is long and the road is hard.

I’m pretty sure that last sentence was a rip off of some random song lyric. Awesome.

Later Gators.

Next post: Physical Therapy, aka “Getting Strong Now!” (Can you hear the Rocky music?)

I’ve been a bit of a slacker in getting my series installments up here on FitMilwaukee.com, and I feel pretty bad about that. So, I’m sorry. (Inhale, exhale.) Now that I’ve acknowledged that I haven’t been able to keep up with my previously promised blogging schedule, and apologized for being such a slacktard, I’m moving on.

That’s how I’m working on getting through the ups and downs of recovering from surgery, dealing with the ups and downs of my condition, and coping through setbacks in the healing process and training schedule. I acknowledge the frustration, disappointment, sadness, or just general pissed-off-ness, . . . → Read More: Reconstructing a Beer Runner – Try again.]]>

Hi. Howareya.

I’ve been a bit of a slacker in getting my series installments up here on FitMilwaukee.com, and I feel pretty bad about that. So, I’m sorry. (Inhale, exhale.) Now that I’ve acknowledged that I haven’t been able to keep up with my previously promised blogging schedule, and apologized for being such a slacktard, I’m moving on.

That’s how I’m working on getting through the ups and downs of recovering from surgery, dealing with the ups and downs of my condition, and coping through setbacks in the healing process and training schedule. I acknowledge the frustration, disappointment, sadness, or just general pissed-off-ness, and then I let it go. I think it’s really helping me stay focused on healing. Setbacks are part of healing from any injury or illness. Setbacks can turn a great week of workouts, a strong month of physical therapy, or even the feeling you get from your first post-injury half marathon into a puddle of disappointment, complete with a sniveling beer runner, wallowing in the middle of it. Setbacks. Total assholes.

I totally took this photo on a walk. Ooooooh look at the symbolism. (Snerk.)

So, while I’ve been able to do a lot of things in the past weeks, spend more time with my kids, travel a bit more for work, and get more physical therapy and ACUPUNCTURE(!) into my schedule, I haven’t been cleared to run yet. The latest setback in January was a big one. I will be returning to a more regular workout schedule this coming Thursday. That was kind of a long time to wait. (Since early January…) I’m worried about the possibility of another setback. Sometimes I feel like I just NEED it to be okay THIS time. I have another half mary to train for… I’m nervous… I get my self all in a tizzy… So, how will I handle another setback?

I’m going to try something that my amazing (and very wise) acupuncturist has taught me.

“Touch it and let it go.”

It’s something she learned from her yogi guru a very long time ago. Those big fears, disappointments, traumas, even memories, can follow you around and keep you from having the strength to get back up and try again. So, you acknowledge the pain, frustration, sadness, even guilt, (that’s the touch it part) and then let it go. Really let it go. Holding on to that crap will only make it harder for you to get up and try again.

And that’s how you’ll get there.  It won’t be in one big glorious triumph. It’ll be a few stops and starts. It might take a little longer than you thought, but that’s how you’ll do it. By trying again.

Next week’s post: What’s with the needles? Acupuncture for treating injuries.