The last week has not been a stellar one for me as far as healthy eating is concerned. A late discovery of never-given-away Christmas chocolate and cookies at work meant I was on an all time sugar high. And sugar, along with caffeine, is my drug. Chocolate, in particular. However, something I have been working on for the past six months, and something I really have vowed to redouble my efforts on for the new year, is healthy eating. In general, though we splurge, we eat fairly healthy, but I really want to go beyond that. I want to eat foods that are natural or contain very few ingredients, I want to put more fruits and vegetables into my body and less processed stuff. Hence fantasies of somehow getting an East Coast Trader Joe's.
And to my first point, I want to reduce my sugar intake. Not just the candy and whatnot ( I don't generally eat that much of it) but also in foods that I generally thought were healthy. I say this because I have a deep and abiding love for Special K Almond Vanilla cereal, which I thought was good for me. Until I realized the third ingredient was sugar. Really, Special K? I knew at 14 grams of sugar, it was fairly high, but seeing that it was the third ingredient really drove it home. So this past weekend, I looked for a new cereal and bought a new steamer basket. When I manage to not give in to the processed stuff for several days, I do feel so much better. I feel lighter and leaner and I have more energy. In addition to that, I also enjoy several cups of green tea throughout the day, which is a nice break from water. I'm also trying to make healthier meals with more natural ingredients and more variety.
Anyways, enough of the bandwagon, I'm trying. Last week though, I didn't try so hard. I had a lot of salt, a lot of sugar and I didn't drink much water. This all seemed to culminate during yesterday's 12-miler when my right hamstring started to cramp. This isn't a problem I normally have, but it hit with a vengeance. Throughout marathon training, I've struggled with tight and sore hamstrings (something that has never affected my running before) but yesterday was awful. I just couldn't stretch it out. Deciding not to be stubborn, and heed E's advice, I called it a day at 10 miles. I think I need a good yoga class to work out these kinks, stat.
I saw a commercial that Kashi has a new cereal that has the protein equal to 2 eggs, I cant find it yet, so I dont know how it taste, just passing it along
ReplyDeleteJake used to love that cereal too and I told him to check the ingredients hahaha. Cereal is tough. You know when something's unhealthy but you're eating it anyway (like Cinnamon Toast Crunch of Lucky Charms - I'll get CTC once every couple months, and I know what I'm doing to myself, but it's a reward food), but so many cereals SEEM healthy until you check the facts. Go with Cheerios. Even Honey Nut Cheerios have low sugar and they give you the "sweet cereal" fix.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of Kashi Go Lean berry crunch or something like that. Whatever you do, stay away from their 7-grain puffs or whatever. It's like eating cardboard. If you're feeling adventurous, you could make your own granola! My mom would make it for me in high school, and you can do it with milk or yogurt, or heat it up. I heart variety.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, and Special K has a high protein cereal now. I'll do mostly that with a little bit of Special K's granola (just to add a little crunch and sweetness) and fresh blueberries. It's a good combination.
ReplyDeleteInstead of (or in addition to) yoga, I'd go for a nice long massage! :) Eating healthy and eliminating processed foods isn't as easy it might sound. I think the key is moderation (as it is for everything!). If you like the cereal, have the cereal sometimes, just also have other breakfast foods to turn to as well.
ReplyDeleteThe best thing's that's worked for me is food journaling. It's kind of a pain, but when it's all written down, it's easy to see the areas that need fixing. I did it for a month last spring and it helped me turn a corner in my eating. And drink that water! :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the healthy(er) eating. It's a constant struggle for me - I love me some junk food, and Jax is NOT an easy place to find healthy food.
ReplyDeleteI'd LOVE to have a TJ here! Whole Foods is nice, but not quite the same.