Fitness Tour of New York City
This weekend I had the distinct pleasure of making a trip up to New York City to visit my many friends who live there. We all went to college in DC, so I thought we’d all hang here after graduation. WRONG. I am the sole DC survivor. But that’s ok đ It just gives me more excuses to travel! I grew up in New Jersey so I went into Manhattan often. However, I’ve gotten a much different appreciation for the city just going to hang out with friends, instead of going for some special event.
I love working out when I travel because it gives me an opportunity to experience different things. I wrote this post forever ago about working out on vacation if you’re interested. You might also remember that I participated in the Run to Recover in Central Park after Hurricane Sandy. This trip I decided to try out some of the classes I’ve been salivating over reading NYC fitness blogs (including Losing Weight in the City and A Healthy, Happier Bear). Here’s what I thought:
Uplift Studios
Saturday morning my bff Sarah and I teamed up and went to the 9:30 am Uplift Strength class at Uplift Studios. This is a women only facility, so we left Mike reading a newspaper in Starbucks. I think he was very happy to not be dragged to a class with me. Here’s what you need to know – if you live in NYC and you are a lady (though I noticed on their website they do have boys night) GET TO UPLIFT IMMEDIATELY. They offered a “first timers” discount of $16 which was amazing. We arrived early because Sarah was on the wait list and the women working at the studio could NOT have been nicer or more accommodating. They got Sarah into the class, which made me a very happy girl. They also provided water bottles, towels, coffee, snacks, phone chargers, locker room products, everything! This is a full service facility.
As far as the workout, I think I might still be sore. We had Michelle as our instructor and she gave one HELL of a class. She was super high energy and provided a superbly efficient workout. We worked each muscle group to fatigue but only performed each individual exercise once. I loved that! Every exercise I could say to myself, you never have to do this again so PUSH IT. Mixed into the class were three rounds of high intensity cardio tabatas (Here’s info on tabatas if you’re not familiar… they rock). I love mixing high intensity cardio in with strength because it makes my heart pump and my whole body pour sweat. I ⤠sweating. The very small class size was ideal for correcting form and not feeling “lost in the crowd”. Also, the music rocked.
Final summation: I will be going back to  Uplift every single time I go to NYC. Besides being ridiculous accommodating on every level, the workout was top notch. In the words of Liz Lemon, “I want to go to there”
Soul Cycle
In the interest of full disclosure, I was a little skeptical going to Soul Cycle. People who attend classes there are SO in love and obsessed with it, I was certain there was no way it was going to live up to the hype. I also was a little shocked by the $34 / class price tag, but I went ahead and signed up for Emma’s 10 am class on Sunday at the E 83rd Street studio. My first impression upon walking in was, “woah, this is a pretty intimidating environment.” However, after I checked in, I felt much more at ease because they guy working there was SUPER nice. He gave me a pair of shoes and directed me to the locker room to drop my stuff. Then began my completely humiliating attempt to figure out how to work their super high tech lockers. I couldn’t figure out which ones were taken or how to work them. Finally, someone helped me. I basically need a babysitter whenever I leave the house.
When I got into the room, I was shocked by how close together the bikes were. I taught Spinning for 5 years and this was new to me! Mercifully, I reserved a bike in the back so I clipped in a prayed to God I didn’t die. Well let me just tell you… this class left me with NO doubt about why people love this so much. At first I was a little thrown off by all the moving around and syncing up as a whole group, but once I got the hang of it I was totally feeding off the energy in the room. It was a dark, sweaty mess in there and I loved EVERY minute of it. Emma was nuts in the  best way possible, dancing all over the place. It was basically a dance party on a bike. I also loved the little strength training part, which we never did when I taught Spinning. It was just something different and I dug it.
Final Summation: Soul Cycle will give you one hell of a workout but it’s going to cost you. If you want to treat yourself though, this class ROCKS. It definitely made me want to check out other cycling facilities in DC too!
Questions for you guys:
– Ever been to Uplift or Soul Cycle? What did you think?
– Do you workout on vacation? Why / Why not?Â
A Summer in Summation
We’re not doing Friday Favorites this week. I lost my iPhone on the cruise (wahhhhhhhhhhh) and then I got an insurance replacement but of course it’s a piece of crap refurbished phone so I hate it and I’ve kind of been avoiding it. Therefore, I didn’t take any pictures of my “favorite happenings” of the week this week. Let me think of a few of my favorite moments of the past week right now: Mike and I went whitewater river tubing in Harper’s Ferry, WV for our one-year anniversary on Saturday. Then we went out for pizza at Pete’s New Haven Apizza (the site of our very first date actually… and he let me order a WHITE PIZZA woot woot). Then he gave me this đ (ok I lied, I took one picture this week… but the lighting isn’t good b/c my apartment is like a cave.
Woohoo my very own motorcycle jacket!!!! And it’s awesome because it is purple / pink with a sparkly design on the shoulder. He even got the size right… good for you honey! Now I really wanna go for a ride.
I digress… other favorite moments of the week: I ate Carvel Ice Cream Cake which is absolutely the best ice cream cake available and my friend Bryan and I ALMOST won a cornhole tournament at our company picnic yesterday. We lost in the championship game… womp womp. Anyways, that’s it. I’m really, really looking forward to this holiday weekend because Mike and I are visiting his family in Charlottesville!! I cannot wait to get out of the city and enjoy some sun, fresh air, and lake water.
It’s Labor Day though which means that another summer has come to an end (I know the season isn’t technically over, but I run my seasons more on a monthly basis meaning June, July, August are summer and then September, October and November are Fall). So today’s post is a summer in summation!
Here are my favorite things I did this summer, and the posts that go along with them đ
Bonnaroo Day 1, Bonnaroo Day 2, Bonnaroo Day 3
One Year Anniversary with Mike
My trip to Europe: Post 1, Post 2, Post 3
Now I’m setting my sights on the Fall and thinking about the exciting things that will be happening this season! Monday, there’s another seasonal checklist coming your way so stay tuned and HAPPY LABOR DAY WEEKEND!!! Here’s a picture of Fig just to keep you going…
Vacation Favorites
I know I know I promised I would be back on Monday with all kinds of updates on my trip but I’ve been dealing with some serious jet lag this week, compounded by the need to get back to work after two (glorious) weeks off, and I am covered head to toe in an allergy rash (oh yeah… sexy stuff I know). My goal today is to find an allergist and get an emergency appointment! Anyways, about my vacation! I honestly can’t even say enough about this trip. I lack the words to describe what an amazing life experience it was… and so much fun! I could literally spend the next month blogging about this trip but I HIGHLY doubt anyone is actually interested in that. So here is a one post recap of my absolute favorite moments / events of the trip. (I also finally got pictures up on Facebook today. So if we’re friends… go there for more info if you want it!).
Spending a night in Tivoli Gardens and the G Man showcasing flowers at The Botanical Garden at Rosenborg Palace in Copenhagen
Dancing on deck as we sail away from Copenhagen!
The G Man posing at the Vigeland Sculpture Garden in Oslo, Norway
Traipsing around the Danish countryside in Aarhus… by bus, steam train, and foot!
The Holocaust Memorial in Berlin
Leisurely day at sea with pool time and trivia sessions
General family silliness in Rakvere, Estonia. Sword fighting and vodka tastings
The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg, drinking 7 bottles of vodka with 15 other people and one guide on the “Fun Tour” of Russia, sunset on the water, and wandering the extensive gardens of Peterhof Palace
Climbing to the top of Temppeliaukio Kirkko (The Rock Church) in Helsinki, playing with horses at a horse breeding farm specializing in Finnish Warmbloods, and wandering the cobblestone streets of Porvoo eating toffee.
Freezing my patooty off in the Ice Bar at the Nordic Sea Hotel in Stockholm (The very first permanent ice bar!)
Relaxing final day at sea. Enjoying sun and unusually warm weather by the pool and watching Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows on the outdoor movie screen
Allow me to take one self-indulgent moment just to say thank you to my family for this once in a lifetime experience. I was so surprised how many people on the trip were astounded that we all still traveled together even though Doug and I are adults. I think it speaks volumes of the depth of our connection to one another. We aren’t perfect and we certainly have our moments, but I am thankful every single day for my family and this trip created memories that will last a lifetime.
Now vacation is over (sad face) but I am glad to be home to my baby Fig and of course Mike (I missed both of them SO MUCH). There is a still a bit of summer left here in DC so I am hoping to squeeze all the remaining juice out of this season before heading into what I think will be a really exciting Fall. Lots of exciting things on the horizon so stay tuned đ
Denmark Days
Hooray for wireless in our hotel rooms here in Copenhagen!! I was a little nervous because I COMPLETELY forgot that I would need an adapter for all my chargers while we were in Denmark (the cruise ship should be fine because it is an American cruise line). Luckily I snagged one from the concierge at the hotel and I’m writing during a little break in our day. We spent all day out and about and came back for a little rest before spending the evening / night in Tivoli Gardens.
So far all I can say about Copenhagen is WOW. Sometimes it feels like a city of opposites because on one hand our hotel is amazingly modern (you have to put your room key in a scanner to work the lights / electricity in your hotel room… hello Green), but on the other the city is packed with beautiful old architecture. I have loved just walking around and taking in all the sights (and eating the FOOD!)
We flew overnight from DC and arrived here in Copenhagen at 7:15 am local time. Everyone was pretty wrecked from not getting much sleep but for me the key to beating jet lag is not napping. So when we checked into the hotel and everyone went to lay down I used that time to grab a workout. It gave me all the energy I needed for the day ahead!
To start our sightseeing off, we bought tickets to the Hop On / Hop Off bus tour. They are embarrassing and touristy but they are a GREAT way to see the highlights of a city so haters go ahead and hate! We rode through a couple stops including a brief photo stop to see the Little Mermaid sculpture, but we hopped off the bus at Nyhavn, which is kind of a harbor front area. It is packed with outdoor dining and old fashion sailboats. Here we grabbed a bite to eat for lunch and walked around a bit before getting back on the bus.
The Little Mermaid statue / Nyhavn
We got off again at The Church of Our Savior, where I climbed all the way to the top of the spire! The views of the city were unbelievable and it was quite a workout to get up all those steps (my calves are actually kind of sore today… embarrassing). We toured around a bit more before heading back to the hotel for a pre-dinner nap. We ate dinner at the great Danish restaurant pretty close to our hotel. We learned the hard way though that the portions of certain dishes are very large. We ordered way too much food and no one could finish! We wised up going forward though.
View from the outside stairs at the top of the Church of our Savior / A massive portion of food at dinner
On our second day, I got up nice and early and got my workout in before meeting the family for breakfast. We walked over to Amelinborg Palace for the changing of the Royal Danish Guard. It was really fun and unlike the guards at Buckingham Palace some of the guards would actually smile or look at you for pictures which was fun (I saw one of them even messing with a group of tourists and then smiling… so cute!). A rain storm came through so we ducked into a little restaurant for a beer and a small lunch. I got an egg and tomato Smorrebrod, which totally hit the spot! We walked around a bunch, so much that we needed to come back and take a little rest!
Across the River from the Opera House / Changing of the Guard / Egg & Tomato Sandwich
Anyways, glad I got to share a little of my vacation so far with you! I’ll hopefully be back again soon đ
Sweet spire on top of the Stock Exchange (according to the recording on our hop on / hop off bus tour the design is three dragons on at the bottom with their tails intertwined, sick)
You can take a vacation from some things…
So as is probably pretty apparent to everyone at this point… I love planning. Nothing makes me happier than putting together a “plan of a attack” for pretty much any situation. And I love to talk them out with people too (Mike is wonderful and totally obliges me when I start a conversation on a Wednesday night with “Let’s talk through our plan for this weekend”). So it only seems fitting that I would put together a plan for my workouts on the cruise! I already talked about some of my ideas for eating (relatively) healthy on my vacation and part of that does include sticking with my daily workouts.This trip is definitely going to be a busy one with a lot of activities planned for days we are in port, and actually very few strictly “at sea” days. If I didn’t lay out a rough plan ahead of time, I felt I was in danger of skipping too many (which just won’t make me feel good).
I was planning on doing a half marathon the weekend I get back from the trip, but I’ve decided against it (It just felt like too much to travel the weekend after getting back), so my next distance race isn’t until late in September. That takes some pressure off me to try and get in “long runs” on the cruise (which would have to be done on a treadmill… woof). But I’d still like to try and get back to more regular runs and start increasing my distance again so I’m ready for the fall season (I can still run the distances but it’s not as easy as it was… in fact it’s pretty challenging at this point). I’m thinking I’ll take the two “at sea” days (one is a Sunday and one is a Saturday) to try and get longer runs in (perhaps like 8-9 miles) and other days try and maximize 45 – 60 minute workouts by making them intense. Here’s my plan:
Monday: 5 mile Run + Light Abs
Tuesday: Strength Training / HIT Cardio (circuit style workout)
Wednesday: Speed Workout (8 x 800 Meter @ 5K Pace, 400 Meter Jog to Recover)
Thursday: Strength Training / HIT Cardio (circuit style workout)
Friday: Free Day to do Whatever (
Saturday: “Easy Workout” in the Gym – Cardio or Easy Weights
Sunday: Longer Run (8-9 Miles)
Monday: Strength Training / HIT Cardio (circuit style)
Tuesday: 5 mile Run + Light Abs
Wednesday: Strength Training / HIT Cardio (circuit style)
Thursday: Speed Workout (4 – 5 x 1600 Meter @ 10K Pace, 400 Meter Jog to Recover)
Friday: Free Day to do Whatever
Saturday: Longer Run  (8-9 Miles)
Sunday: “Easy Workout”
To prepare I’ve assembled some ideas from around the interwebs, especially for the circuit workouts and free days. There is a running track on the ship, but I imagine it’s probably a very short one so we’ll see how much I use it. It is very possible I will need to juggle things around after I get on the ship and have a better sense of our schedule, but it feels good to have a rough plan of attack. Happy Monday!!
Friday Favorites
This was a really, really good week! I got to have dinner with a great girlfriend who I love spending time with, run with my favorite running buddy (and life buddy too), eat Sweet Frog frozen yogurt (which is THE BEST), and spend a whole night eating pizza and drinking beer with my softball team. As you know, I embark on my vacation this weekend, but before I go I have plans to see a great friend who is going back to Boston while I am away (I got her for a whole summer and I feel like it went by SO FAST. I’m going to miss her), attend Mike’s family reunion brunch in New Jersey, and PACK. Sometimes I don’t have enough appreciation for how great my life is, and that’s a shame because I am so blessed. On the phone this morning my mom gave me an excellent piece of advice. She said, “Stop majoring on the minors. Major on the majors.” Such a simple concept, but so much truth for me. I get bogged down in silly little stuff a lot, and I lose sight of the big stuff that actually matters. I can’t wait to take some time on this vacation to regain some perspective đ Have an excellent weekend and I will see you soon!!
Fig photo bombed some blog photography earlier this week. There are a lot of cat pictures this week… just deal with it.
This is literally one of my favorite sights to wake up to in the morning.
Fig once again demonstrates his complete lack of utility in the kitchen… just hangin.
The Battitudes “awards banquet” at Armand’s Pizza in Silver Spring. Bryan won “Best Midwesterner / Beard”… it was a landslide victory.
Evan won “Most Improved” and Dump won “Most Valuable Tape Measure”… it’s a hipster thing, just go with it!
Aaaannnddd in my crowning achievement for the season, I won “Best Dance Moves”… most notably for my “towel dance”, which I did on base anytime I got a hit.
Week in Workouts:
Friday 7/27:
- 60 Minute Spinning Class
Saturday 7/28:
- 90 Minute Level 2 Hot Yoga Class
Sunday 7/29:
- Rest Day!
Monday 7/30:
- 5 Mile Treadmill Workout
- 75 Minute Level 1.5 Hot Yoga Class
Tuesday 7/31:
- 60 Minute Cardio / Strength Intervals Class
- 4.5 Mile Trail Run
Wednesday 8/1:
- Speed Workout (400 Meter Interval @ 10K Pace, 100 Meter Recovery. Repeat x16)
Thursday 8/2:
- 60 Minute Cardio / Strength Intervals Class
Bon Voyage!
So I alluded to this earlier in the week but today you’re getting ALL the gory details. This weekend, my family and I will be taking off for a once in a lifetime vacation through Northern Europe. Growing up, I was extremely blessed to have the chance to travel a lot with my family. We did two family trips to Europe (one to London / Paris, and another through Italy… our homeland!) and then I studied abroad in Ireland while I was in college. While studying abroad I grabbed my backpack and my roommate and traveled all over the place. Needless to say, I love Europe and feel extremely blessed to have had so many amazing travel opportunities.
Zimm Family vacation in Skagway, Alaska.
For how tight knit my immediate family is, we haven’t traveled much together in recent years. Last summer we FINALLY got out schedules to mesh for a cruise to Alaska from Vancouver (prior to this we realized that the last time we did a family vacation with all four of us was to Mexico on Christmas / New Years in 2003/2004!) We had so much fun on our cruise last summer, we were determined to do another family vacation this summer. I have long been floating the idea of a Mediterranean cruise because I really want to see the Greek Isles and Turkey, but after doing some extensive research (thank Mom… you rock!) we all went crazy over the idea of doing a Baltic Cruise. We’ve literally been planning this trip since January so I can’t believe that it’s actually ALMOST HERE!
The clan braving the “Cliff Walk” at Capilano Suspension Bridge in Vancouver, Canada.
To start our trip we’re going to fly to Copenhagen, Denmark and spend about 2 days. I’ve been doing tons of research because sightseeing will be on our own for this time. I’m really excited to go to Tivoli Gardens, climb to the top of the Round Tower, and eat plenty of open faced sandwiches (Smørrebrød in Danish).
After spending two nights in Copenhagen, we will board the cruise ship and set sail! First stop will be Olso, Norway where I can’t wait to pose for a picture at the Holmenkollen (world famous ski jump!). Next we will circle back to Denmark, stopping in the city of Aarhus. Here we will have a chance to see the Tollund Man, the most well-preserved prehistoric body! My dad and I are super into science (My dad is a chemist) so we are super stoked for this. Finally, we will stop in Warnemunde, Germany which is a short train ride outside Berlin! I have actually been to Berlin before (I took an impromptu trip during final exams of my semester in Ireland… I got a round trip flight for 15 euro it felt wrong NOT to go!), but I went right before Christmas so I’m excited to see how different the city looks during the summer months. Since I have been before though, my family graciously accommodated my request to visit the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp before touring the city. I wouldn’t say I am “excited” to visit this place as it will undoubtedly be a very upsetting experience, but I think it will be a very emotional and unique experience. Sadly, most of world history isn’t “feel good” history, but I think it’s still important to educate myself.
We will get a rest day at sea as we head further east. Our next stop will be Talinn, Estonia. Here I am SUPER excited to go on a day trip to Rakvere and visit a castle built by Monks! After Talinn we arrive for two days / an overnight in St. Petersburg, Russia. I think this was probably THE selling point of this cruise for our whole family. With two days and an overnight we will really be able to see more of the city, but I am the most excited to see Peterhof Palace, which is sometimes referred to as “Russia’s Versailles”. I also plan to enjoy plenty of vodka, caviar, and Russian folk music! After leaving St. Petersburg we have two more port cities before returning to Copenhagen. First stop is Helsinki, Finland, where we will be heading into the country side to visit a traditional Finnish farm. I’m planning to roll up my sleeves and get dirty. Finally, we stop in Stockholm, Sweden for our final port. Here we are planning a canal cruise (was I the only one who didn’t know that Stockholm was actually a chain of small islands??) and exploring Gamla Stan (Stockholm’s “Old Town”).
Anyways… that’s my trip!! Like I said… this is once in a lifetime stuff right here and I can’t wait to simply savor every moment of it. As for the blog… fear not! I’ve been working ahead and there will be pre-scheduled new posts up every day for you to enjoy. I am HOPING that perhaps I might be able to sneak in a blog post here and there, but internet on cruise ships isn’t great and it can be expensive so no promises.
Now for the final feat before my trip… PACKING. I have 50 lbs of luggage for 14 days!!!! I am not known for packing light so this could be a real challenge. There is a laundromat facility on the ship, so I might need to do a load of workout clothes (workout clothes are the one thing I don’t re-wear… gross. You’ve seen how much I sweat!) so I can bring less with me.
Christina Eats Snacks
Here we are once again for the weekly food check in!! The title of this post was meant to be a reference to the podcast “Mike & Tom Eat Snacks“… I guess the explanation kind of killed it but whatever. So last week I said I wanted to work on some key things in the next week: snacks, not fearing hunger, and not overeating while home alone. Two things went well, one not as well… that’s life I suppose.
While I didn’t totally pig out while home alone, it wasn’t excellent either. Maybe “excellent” isn’t a realistic goal though. I tried hanging out in bed as opposed to on the couch, that definitely cut down on mindless eating. I also tried to fill my time home alone with getting ahead on stuff around the apartment or snuggling with Fig. We did munch a little too much in front of an episode of Pretty Little Liars though. It was a scary episode! Maybe I need to just make a “no eating while watching TV” rule. That could be tough.
The “not fearing hunger” thing was a very interesting experiment and I definitely noticed a difference. The best thing of the week, though, was SNACKS. I did some research around some healthy living / eating blogs and got some inspiration. It’s difficult for me because I actually work in an office so my snacks need to be mobile and often pre-portioned (I hate doing excess dishes / lugging all kinds of containers on my 1.25 mile walk to work in the morning). I still keep my snacks relatively small (around 200 calories) but it definitely helped to have nutritious snacks that stuck with me between meals. Here’s some of what I came up with:
1/2 Cup of Cottage Cheese – 110 calories
One Medium Yellow Peach – 60 calories
Total = 170 calories
10 ounces of black coffee – 0 calories
1/2 Packet No Sugar Added Hot Chocolate Mix – 30 calories
1/2 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder – 60 calories
Total = 90 calories
Arnold Sandwich Thin – 100 calories
1 Tablespoon Chocolate Peanut Butter Better’n Peanut Butter – 50 calories
Total = 150 calories
Dannon Oikos Non Fat Greek Yogurt – 130 calories
1 Cup of Watermelon – 46 calories
Total = 176 calories
Medium Banana – 105 calories
Total = Â 105 calories
While I have chosen not to share my weight on the blog (I’m making steps to have a healthier relationship with food / my body but let’s not expect miracles here people), I actually have lost 4lbs! I’m still a couple lbs above my “marathon weight” but this is the lowest I’ve been since the marathon so yay!! And what is better is that I haven’t felt like I’ve been dieting at all… cha ching. I’ve got a big vacation coming up next week (details to follow later this week) and that’s going to be a big challenge (I’m going on a cruise and cruises aren’t exactly known for their lack of available food options). It’s all included too so there’s no incentive NOT to eat everything! I’ve been spending some time thinking about some strategies to enjoy every aspect of my vacation while not making myself miserable.
- One treat per day. I believe that vacation is a special time and definitely the place to treat yourself. My goal is to identify one special treat per day and really really enjoy it without feeling guilty!
- Eat the Bread, Skip the Sides. Or vice versa depending on the sides. I really love bread, but on top of a big meal it’s too much. Sometimes though, I’d rather have the bread and then just some meat / veggies. I guess we’ll call this “picking one carb”.
- Daily workouts. This requires no explanation.
- Sharing is caring! I love trying new foods and experiencing local cuisines, but that can be a lot of food to try. This trip I’m going to try sharing more dishes with other people so I can taste / experience many different foods without having to stuff myself!
Friday Favorites
Fig and Bernie sharing an afternoon snooze
Fried pickles with Buttermilk Ranch at Island Way on the Fourth of July. The one fried food I can’t give up đ
A little late but my favorite shot from the Japandroids show at Rock and Roll Hotel
Enjoying a complementary glass of Watermelon Sangria on the patio at Helix with some girlfriends.
Mike and I enjoying Fourth of July dinner at Island Way with my parents. Photo complements of my wonderful Mom (I guess Mike didn’t get the “wear red, white and blue on the Fourth” memo)
My Week in Workouts:
Friday:
- 3 mile Run
- 2 hours of Tennis
Saturday:
- Rest Day / Played Golf
Sunday:
- Rest Day
Monday:
- 5 mile Run
Tuesday:
- 75 Minute Level 2 Hot Power Yoga Class
Wednesday:
- Speed Workout (1/2 Mile Warm Up, 4 x 1000 M Repeats with 400 M rest, 1/2 Mile Cool Down)
- 75 Minute Level 2 Hot Power Yoga Class
Thursday:Â
- 60 Minute Cardio Strength Intervals Class
Eating on Vacation
I feel like eating too much and vacation have become almost synonymous these days but I’m determined to find a way to break that cycle. I do think vacation is a time for some special treats (like chocolate cake on fourth of July or key lime pie at the Sugar Shack) but if I go too overboard I just end up miserable! On my trip to NC I really tried to focus on some healthy eating strategies.
Here’s what went well:
- Listening to my hunger/satiety cues. I tried to be really diligent about this… Eat when I’m hungry, stop when I am satisfied. For the most part it went really well. There were several times where I noticed that I “wanted” to eat more but I was actually satisfied and ready to stop eating. I do really like to eat so I need to be careful to slow down and check in with myself.
- Eating actual meals. Sometimes on vacation I can just snack the day away. Or sometimes I found myself saying I want to try and push lunch off to later so I’ll have a snack now. This just leads me to overrating non nutritious foods. On this trip I was a lot better about starting the day with a healthy hearty breakfast and packing a healthy sandwich for lunch at the beach. I ate less and felt more satisfied…. Imagine that. I was also able to control myself better around unhealthy foods because I wasn’t really hungry.
- Keeping up with daily workouts but also being flexible. Working out makes me feel so good I never “take a vacation” from that. Mike and I went running and to the gym for workouts pretty much every day. It was so unimaginably hot though so I found running to be a little challenging. I intended to do a ten mile long run on saturday morning but I just couldn’t face 85 degree heat at 6:30 am. I slept in and promised myself I wouldn’t beat myself up over it. That was a major accomplishment for me đ
What I still need to focus on:
- Dinner parties with hors d’oeuvres. I don’t know why this is such a hang up for me but I routinely overeat in situation where hors devours are served. On Friday night we had a BBQ at the house with a few of my parents friends and I was trying to be really conscious of not eating too much before the actual meal was served. Friday actually went pretty well. I didn’t eat a ton of appetizers and then I cut back on my main meal a little so I didn’t feel too full. However, Saturday my dad, brother, mike and I returned home from golfing to find some unexpected company had stopped by. My mom had put out cheese and crackers and I was hungry. I totally ruined my dinner by eating too much! Need to come up with some new strategies for this.
- Drinking enough water. I usually drink a lot of water but on vacation I never do unless I’m working out. I ended up drinking a ton more diet soda than I normally drink too, which isn’t the end of the world but it’s not the best either. I need to think up some new strategies here. I brought my nalgene but it never made it out of my bag đŚ
Well this is another week so here’s to moving forward and feeling good!! This is a process so I don’t expect things to be perfect from the start. I think it’s going really well for now đ
christinazimm
Pennies on the Run 