A friend once told me that a true runner doesn’t look outside to see if he’s going to go out or not.  A true runner only looks outside to see what he will wear.  Now if you’re the die-hard 15 mile runner this might be true, and it might even be true if you just simply love to run and are able to bear the elements, but for me I’m a fair weather or hit the treadmill kind of girl.

When the weather isn’t working in your favor, you can do your exact same workout on the treadmill.  My husband calls my condition wuss-itis (rude, I know) but if I’m going to get a better workout in the comfort of my treadmill with a fabulous show or movie playing right in front of me, then why not?

Why do we have to brave the elements to be an avid runner?  It’s still running isn’t it!  Those so called “true runners” are prideful and are only saying such things so that they can make themselves seem like better runners.  If you want to be a better runner than me, then beat me in distance or by time.  Don’t try to tell me that running in the rain makes you a better runner.  To me, you only look dumb.

My number one rule when flying is to never touch your face under any circumstance.  If it is absolutely necessary, use hand sanitizer and be extremely brief.  The problem with airplanes is the recycling of the air.  If one person has a cough, cold, flu, or any type of illness, it will no doubt be picked up in the air and then circulated and circulated until the whole plane gets the illness.

I am probably sounding like the worst germ-a-phobe, but it is absolutely true.  There is no place for the air that we breathe out to go.  They pressurize the cabin, make sure there are adequate levels of oxygen sufficient for those in the plane, and everything else is recycled (probably the worst recycling there is).

If you don’t go to my extreme of never touching your face, at least bring hand sanitizer with you.  Every little bit helps, and I know that no one wants the flu right before they go on vacation.  That is the time that you want to be the healthiest, not having to worry about being ill.  Do your body a favor, and be a little more cautious next time you are on a plane.  The person next to you might be carrying more than just luggage.

SPF? What is that? I just put on sunscreen because it keeps my skin from burning and prevents that leathery look that so many people are sporting on the beaches these days.  I usually choose a middle SPF, which sounds safe to me.  Something like a 30 SPF that gives me a slight tan but yet keeps me safe from skin damage.

To be completely honest, I have no clue what SPF even stands for.  Sun… protective… force?  So I looked it up, and it actually stands for sun protection factor (I was pretty close, don’t laugh!).  Anyways, the SPF number supposedly lets you know how long you can stay outside without burning.  For instance, if you use SPF 20, you can stay our in the sun 20 times longer without burning than you would had you not applied the sunscreen.

Interesting, but still pretty vague to me.  I have no idea how long it would take my skin to burn and the varying harshness of the sun, times that by 30 seems like more work than I am willing.   For those that need a little simplifying, most articles I found recommend using at minimum a sunscreen that contains SPF 15 if you are going to be out in the sun for 2 hours or less, and a SPF 30 if you are going to be in the sun for over 2 hours. 

I LOVE to eat.  I love food, and so do all of my friends and family.  Because of this, whenever we get together, it is always around some sort of meal, dessert, or drink.  Every activity is centered on what we are going to be eating.  The food dictates the type of activity, and even the people that are going to be attending.

If it is bratwursts and burgers, you know all the guys are going to be there, along with most of the girls because who doesn’t love a barbecue?  If it’s small finger sandwiches, fruit salad, and chocolate éclair cake, then it’s a girl’s night out. 

Food even determines how everyone enjoys themselves.  If the steaks are dry, it’s not going to be the awesome night that we thought it was.  Food is extremely important when it comes to social gathering.

This problem doesn’t end with my friends and family.  Most social gatherings have a central element of food, whether it is centered on a meal or desserts and refreshments afterwards.

Let’s face it!  We are a nation that is obsessed.  We obsess over food whether we eat a ton of it, or if we are calorie counters.  We can’t seem to talk, eat, make, buy, share, or get enough of it.

There has been a recent outbreak of frozen yogurt shops all over my city.  Now we have Yo-zone, Fro-yo, Yoasis, Red Mango, Spoon me, Hello Yogurt, and I could go on!

My husband and I absolutely LOVE them!  We would probably go every week if we had more in our budget to spend simply on dessert!  Who can go wrong with all their flavors, and when they have the topping bar that you can pick how much and whatever you want!  YUM!

After about the 30^th or 40^th time of going out for yogurt, I decided to look it up and see if I was truly getting a healthy alternative to ice cream (I didn’t go too soon, just in case it wasn’t).

I found this article on the Associated Content and it pretty much sums up my findings:

“If offered the choice between ice cream and frozen yogurt, in most cases, yogurt will be the healthier alternative, although you’ll need to read labels carefully to avoid surprises. Some “healthy frozen yogurt” can have a fat content of up to 15 grams per cup, which exceeds that of many ice creams… When comparing frozen yogurt to standard ice cream, the yogurt will generally have the advantage. Most regular ice cream is ten to twelve percent fat by weight while frozen yogurt varies from two to four percent. Keep in mind that many low fat frozen yogurts compensate for the lower fat content by adding extra sugar. That low fat “healthy” frozen yogurt may not be such a good option if it has twenty grams of sugar.”

To sum it up, find out the information before hand and watch those toppings!  Otherwise, you most likely have a healthier alternative to the, thought-to-be-irreplaceable ice cream.

Find the article at http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1361088/is_frozen_yogurt_healthy.html?cat=5

With one kid dumping over the Cheerios, one kid screaming in the dining room, and whatever else you have going on, who has time for themselves?  Sometimes, I find it difficult to even find a minute to break away for my morning shower, and you can forget about make up and a blow dry.
Over my limited experience, I have found that maximizing my free time, may be the only way I can try to continue a healthy lifestyle for myself.  For instance, when the baby goes down for naps, I can choose to either add an extra hour of sleep for myself, or I can use the spare time to catch up on some exercising.  Remember that every little bit counts, and your efforts will all bring you closer to your goal.
Maximizing your free time, not only means using it wisely, but being smart about where and how you place it.  When my husband is home in the mornings, I find that a good time to ask him to watch the kids for an hour or so, and get a morning jog and a shower in.  Utilize your resources, including friends, older children, and your husband.  They all can help you as you strive to be the best mother that you can be.
Remember that this will not only benefit yourself, but it will also benefit others.  You will have more energy, and be a happier person, and who wouldn’t want that?

To be pregnant is the greatest blessing in my life, and I will be forever grateful to have the opportunity to be a mother.  With that said, I sometimes feel, as I’m sure we all have done, that my pregnancy is not a beautiful thing.  I often dwell on how thin I was before I became pregnant and have a hard time finding myself still attractive.

To those of you who are having the same problems I found the following section from What To Expect When You’re Expecting: 2^nd Edition the most helpful:

“In a society as obsessed with slenderness as ours, where those who can pinch an inch despair, the weight gain of pregnancy can easily become a source of depression.  It shouldn’t.  There’s an important difference between pounds added for no good reason (willpower gone astray) and pounds gained for the best and most beautiful reasons: your child and its support system growing inside you.

Yet in the eyes of many beholders, a pregnant woman isn’t just beautiful inside but outside as well.  Many women and their husbands consider the rounded pregnant reflection to be the most lovely—and sensuous—of feminine shapes.

As long as you’re eating right and not exceeding the recommended limits for pregnancy weight gain, you needn’t feel fat—just pregnant.  The added inches you’re seeing are all legitimate and will disappear soon after the baby is born (p 160).”

In these busy times, who honestly has the time or the patience to weigh and count calories?   For those of us with limited patience, writing down everything you eat is probably one of the most annoying and aggravating tricks for losing weight. I was flipping through a magazine this morning when I saw a product that can solve my laziness and tracking what I eat.  It helps you manage how much you eat, and of what diet groups you eat simply by adjusting your jewelry!It is called A-Wrist-A-Trac and they give you a set of colored bracelets, each representing different food groups (Ex: fruits are pink, vegetables are green, carbs are brown, etc).  Once you eat a certain food group, you simply transfer the bracelet from one wrist to the other.My favorite thing about the product is that no one around you will know what you are doing!  You don’t have to pull out this notebook every time you eat something that says to everyone at work, “Hey everyone!  I think I’m fat and am dieting!”  It’s quite the fashion statement and helps you create healthy habits of eating well without the nuisance of writing things down or counting calories.  You can find the product at www.awristatrac.com .

My weekly trip to Wal-Mart left me feeling probably more excited than necessary.  I love eating healthy, but I also love to eat the foods I love: things like ice cream, soda, chocolate, etc.  I made a fabulous discovery found in the seasonal isle for backyard barbecue supplies.

Hanging on one of the corners was a small frozen popsicle tray for under $2!  Honestly, it looked pretty cheap, but then again I don’t have the money for expensive things so I went with my gut and bought it.

I’m so glad I did because for the past month I have had unlimited popsicles according to my juice buying whims.  It has been quite the steal.  Popsicles in my stores in New York cost around $4 for a box of 8!  Now I am buying a gallon of light juice for about $2-$3 and making about 30 popsicles per gallon (not to mention all the juice we drink and not use as popsicles)!

I like these little popsicles because they are guilt free as well.  I buy light juice, or 100% natural juice and have found it is such a brilliant alternative to other frozen summer treats!

If you have any other money saving tips, drop me a comment!

The ongoing battle is still alive and well concerning the need to put calorie information on food items given by all major restaurant chains in the U.S.  With only a few cities with passed laws, Congress is now working on a national law.

The first city to pass such a law was New York City in July 2008.  The law was met with shock.  Cara, a New Yorker said, “I was blown away, I’m not a no-carb type of person, and I usually don’t even think about it. But you pick up a little muffin with your coffee, and it has 630 calories in it? That’s a bit extreme!”

New Yorkers were shocked and some made healthier decisions, while others did not.  The key is they were now supplied information that they can choose to use or not use.   The best decisions come from the best and most unbiased information.  While some items at Starbucks may be fat free, they still can pack on the calories.  The consumer needs to know this! 

I know that some do not share my same view and wish to be kept in the dark.  Fine.  Choose naivete, but don’t inhibit others from the necessary information to make quality decisions.   We are consumers, but we don’t have to be blind consumers.