I get the information that I blog about from many different sources, however there are several great resouces that I find myself coming back to over and over. They contain useful, accessible information that is reliable and easy to understand. Some are websites, and some are my bloggy friends. Here's a list of some of my favorite fitness and health related resources:
- WebMD: This is my go-to when I have anything I need to look up about my health, my body, or medications. I used this website religiously when I was pregnant because my doctor banned me from googling things, lol :-P. Seriously though, this is invaluable when I need credible information regarding topics I might ask a doctor about. It can be a bit "science"-ish, but not too difficult to read, and I know I can find just about anything I want to know about.
-Hungry Girl: Lisa Lillien is the Hungry Girl. I look to her to find awesome recipe substitutes, food tips, and healthy eating topics galore. I get her daily emails, which are super fun. She is peppy and exciting, and she makes eating healthy so simple!
-Real Age: Dr.'s Roizen and Oz are the creators of this website. It offers a HUGE selection of fairly short articles on almost anything you can think of health and fitness related. They throw out lots of big science words, but they break them down and explain what they mean in terms that acutally mean something to the common person like me. They lay things out in a way that I can take what they say and be able to apply it to my lifestyle. They offer lots of great tips about fitness, especially for the novice exerciser.
-Active: I found this site originally when I was looking for a 5K to sign up for. They have TONS of local and nationwide races to find and sign up for, not to mention a ton of articles on everything fitness. I am a fan on Facebook, and I also have their app on my iPhone, so that I can read articles on the go! I find their articles on running very useful, and they are one of the first places I go to look up something regarding running topics.
-FitSugar: This website offers all kinds of short fitness articles, with some healthy eating and Hollywoood thrown in too. Lots of fun stuff and great information.
Now for my favorite bloggy friends!
-She's A Fit Chick: I love this blog! She has tons of great infomation on staying fit, exercising and eating healthy. She's awesome! :-) Also, I wrote a guest post for her a few weeks ago! Go check her out!
-Runner-n-Spice: This blogger writes about running, healthy eats, and life. I love reading her posts, and I think you will too!
- Getting the Skinny on Getting Skinny: This is my newest fitness blog friend. She is also in the Navy! She writes about fitness and exercise, and her journey to put her tips to use in her real life. Definitely give her a read!
Well, that is a short list of some of my favorite reads and resources for my blog. What resources do you find most useful?
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Absence
Hi everyone! Sorry I have been a little absent lately, but I'm doing a really intense summer class right now that is kicking my butt. But guess what?! Only ELEVEN MORE DAYS until I'm DONE FOREVER with my undergrad classes!!! Yay :-D
I promise I'll be back with lots of great stuff after June 29th! (And I hope to find a little time before then to post too!)
Until then....Stay fit!
I promise I'll be back with lots of great stuff after June 29th! (And I hope to find a little time before then to post too!)
Until then....Stay fit!
Monday, June 13, 2011
Guest Post!
Happy Monday! I hope no one else is as tired as me this morning, lol...
This weekend I got the opportunity to do my first ever guest posting! Go see my post over at She's a Fit Chick. I wrote about my (mis)adventure with using a jogging stroller for the first time :-)
Enjoy, and stay fit!
This weekend I got the opportunity to do my first ever guest posting! Go see my post over at She's a Fit Chick. I wrote about my (mis)adventure with using a jogging stroller for the first time :-)
Enjoy, and stay fit!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
7 Ways to Make Your Weekend Healthier
Yay - It's almost the weekend!! I know I'm looking forward to a couple days of R&R, and I'm sure you are as well! As much as I want to rest and relax, I also want my weekend to be healthy and fit, and not ruin all the good things I accomplished during the week. So I've come up with a "Top 7" list of ways to enjoy my weekend and be healthy at the same time :-)
1. Go for a long walk with the hubby, baby, and maybe even the dogs. This is a great way to have some family time and get a little exercise in at the same time. I may have to drag the hubby along, but the baby and dogs love going for walks, so it'll be a treat for them.
2. Clean the house. Cleaning burns serious calories, people! I only wish it made cleaning more enjoyable....lol!
3. Go out to eat and have a delicious and healthy meal. I'm thinking something like salmon (yummy and good-for-you) and a sweet potato (okay I may have a little butter and cinnamon on it....the cinnamon is good-for-you ;-) ) or steamed veggies or something like that.
4. Avoid being a couch potato. I have a bad habit of plopping myself on the couch all weekend. :-/ Cleaning the house and going for a walk will help with this, but I will still need to keep my butt off that couch. I can probably help my hubby with one of his many projects, play in the floor with the baby, or take the baby outside to play.
5. Play with the dogs. I'm sure they would appreciate the attention....they probably feel a little neglected lately, since the baby arrived...plus, it keeps me moving.
6. Hang out with friends and family. Studies have shown that social connections make people happy. When I'm happy, I find it easier to be healthy. I also find that I try harder to be healthy and fit, and that I want to instead of forcing myself to do it.
7. Relax. Making sure to relax and recover from the week is key to being healthy. High stress levels make it more difficult to lose weight and be healthy. Also, good decision making is hard when you're super stressed. Your metabolism is also negatively affected by stress. So sleeping and relaxing is very important in having a healthy and fit weekend. I may take in a movie or an episode or two of NCIS (my fave!)...or maybe just play on facebook/twitter/blogger :-) Oh, and I will most certainly be sleeping in!!
What do you think of my list? What ways do you use? Let me know in the comments below!
Have a great weekend, and stay fit!
1. Go for a long walk with the hubby, baby, and maybe even the dogs. This is a great way to have some family time and get a little exercise in at the same time. I may have to drag the hubby along, but the baby and dogs love going for walks, so it'll be a treat for them.
2. Clean the house. Cleaning burns serious calories, people! I only wish it made cleaning more enjoyable....lol!
3. Go out to eat and have a delicious and healthy meal. I'm thinking something like salmon (yummy and good-for-you) and a sweet potato (okay I may have a little butter and cinnamon on it....the cinnamon is good-for-you ;-) ) or steamed veggies or something like that.
4. Avoid being a couch potato. I have a bad habit of plopping myself on the couch all weekend. :-/ Cleaning the house and going for a walk will help with this, but I will still need to keep my butt off that couch. I can probably help my hubby with one of his many projects, play in the floor with the baby, or take the baby outside to play.
5. Play with the dogs. I'm sure they would appreciate the attention....they probably feel a little neglected lately, since the baby arrived...plus, it keeps me moving.
6. Hang out with friends and family. Studies have shown that social connections make people happy. When I'm happy, I find it easier to be healthy. I also find that I try harder to be healthy and fit, and that I want to instead of forcing myself to do it.
7. Relax. Making sure to relax and recover from the week is key to being healthy. High stress levels make it more difficult to lose weight and be healthy. Also, good decision making is hard when you're super stressed. Your metabolism is also negatively affected by stress. So sleeping and relaxing is very important in having a healthy and fit weekend. I may take in a movie or an episode or two of NCIS (my fave!)...or maybe just play on facebook/twitter/blogger :-) Oh, and I will most certainly be sleeping in!!
What do you think of my list? What ways do you use? Let me know in the comments below!
Have a great weekend, and stay fit!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Feature Friday
Today is the first of a new series of posts I'll be doing! They are called Feature Friday and they are posts where I feature something I love. In them, I'll tell you about the "something", which could be any type of product or other thing, where/when I got it, how it works for me, and why it's a favorite of mine. Hopefully my features will also become your favorites!
For my first feature, I want to tell you about my favorite running shoes.
This is the Nike LunarGlide + shoe. LOVELOVELOVE! And yes, they are this color, maybe even a little bit brighter. ANOTHER REASON TO LOVE! I absolutely love the color of these shoes (if you couldn't already tell that). They also had other bright and great colors, but I just love the bright blue and lime green. These shoes are totally me! I got these shoes as a gift, so I can't tell you exactly where they came from, but I had been looking at them for quite a while.
I love them for several reasons. I have flat feet, so I fall in the "underpronator" category, and these shoes are perfect for helping with this issue. My arches always feel supported. Since I have been using them, my feet never feel sore from pressure. When I start having problems from my underpronation, my knees and hips hurt too from lack of sufficient support. These shoes have great support and reduce that pain as well.
I also tend to get shin splints when I run often, and these shoes greatly reduce the frequency and severity when I do get them. Shin splints are awful, and anything that helps with them is great. When they get really bad, I can hardly walk. And these shoes are an important part of my attempts to avoid shin splints.
The LunarGlide +'s alre also great quality shoes. I have had them for about a year and a half, and they still feel and work just as great as the day I got them. Also, they have great shoelaces. Weird shoelaces get on my nerves (yes, I have weird pet peeves, lol). These shoelaces are not too long, so they don't drag on the ground and trip me (I'm clumsy enough without any extra help :-P). They're also not too short to make them hard to tie. They are just the right length!
So, long story short - these shoes are AWESOME! I would definitely recommend them. I believe that they now sell LunarGlide + 2's that are even better than these. I looked on the Nike website, and the 2's are $100, which is a pretty good price for Nike running shoes! If I didn't love the ones I have so much, I would totally get a pair of the 2's.
Hope you've enjoyed my first Feature! Happy Friday!! :-)
For my first feature, I want to tell you about my favorite running shoes.
I love them for several reasons. I have flat feet, so I fall in the "underpronator" category, and these shoes are perfect for helping with this issue. My arches always feel supported. Since I have been using them, my feet never feel sore from pressure. When I start having problems from my underpronation, my knees and hips hurt too from lack of sufficient support. These shoes have great support and reduce that pain as well.
I also tend to get shin splints when I run often, and these shoes greatly reduce the frequency and severity when I do get them. Shin splints are awful, and anything that helps with them is great. When they get really bad, I can hardly walk. And these shoes are an important part of my attempts to avoid shin splints.
The LunarGlide +'s alre also great quality shoes. I have had them for about a year and a half, and they still feel and work just as great as the day I got them. Also, they have great shoelaces. Weird shoelaces get on my nerves (yes, I have weird pet peeves, lol). These shoelaces are not too long, so they don't drag on the ground and trip me (I'm clumsy enough without any extra help :-P). They're also not too short to make them hard to tie. They are just the right length!
So, long story short - these shoes are AWESOME! I would definitely recommend them. I believe that they now sell LunarGlide + 2's that are even better than these. I looked on the Nike website, and the 2's are $100, which is a pretty good price for Nike running shoes! If I didn't love the ones I have so much, I would totally get a pair of the 2's.
Hope you've enjoyed my first Feature! Happy Friday!! :-)
Saturday, May 14, 2011
5K = Conquered!
Goal # 8 is finally accomplished! (even if it is a little lot late :-P ) I ran in my first ever 5K yesterday!
I ran with my sister-in-law and our 5 year old neice. Yes, a 5 year old! My main goal (besides finishing) was to just keep up with the 5 year old :-) Since my training didn't really go so well (aka- didn't really happen, haha), the 3.2 miles of this run was the farthest I had run since my early preggo days last July. So, I was expecting it to be super difficult and all I wanted to do was make sure I could keep up with the kid!
We started off strong, and got at least a mile behind us before we had to slow down the pace a little. The neice started getting tired at this point. We were able to keep her (and ourselves) motivated for a little bit longer before we had to stop and walk for a minute. From then on, she stopped and walked a few minutes here and there while my SIL and myself ran slowly beside her. We really wanted to be able to run the whole way, even if it was really slowly. I gave up and walked a time or two with my neice though :-)
Around the halfway point, a group of police cadets passed by us, and they really concerned the 5 year old! Lol!! They were chanting (or whatever you call it that they do), which kind of freaked her out, and they were catching up to us, and then passed us. She didn't like it that they were beating us, haha!! Competitive little chick :-) She wanted them to slow down so we (she) could "win"! But they didn't....so we kept pushing on.
When we had about 3/4 of a mile to go, she started really lagging, and I'll have to say I was getting pretty tired myself! We had to try and keep her motivated, and thankfully a lot of that last little bit was downhill.
Then, we FINALLY came in sight of the finish line! We almost sprinted towards it, and crossed it at an "official" time of 42 minutes and 4 seconds! Not bad for my first ever, and definitely not bad for the 5 year old girl! That averaged out to a 13 mintute 33 second mile! I'm happy with that for sure.
I was pretty beat when I got done, and my knees and hips HURT! I told myself I would feel accomplished once I recovered :-P I was proud, but I was so tired I pretty much didn't care.
I was expecting to be really sore today, but I feel pretty good! My knees have ached a little bit, but other than that I feel fine. I am so glad that I finished it, and it feels good to accomplish a great goal!! I hope I can do another one, but I may wait a month or two, haha!
Oh, and just in case anyone was wondering, the winner had a time of 15 minutes 19 seconds (TOTAL!), which was a 5 minute 3 second mile. WHOA! I have never run that good of a mile, even when I ran all the time. I would like to get that good, but I know that'll take a while. For now though, I'm good :-)
Lastly, a group photo of our "team":
My neice is in bright pink on the front row, my SIL in pink right behind her, and I'm behind my SIL in blue (yep, I was not matching...didn't get my shirt in time, oh well! Lol)
Have a fantastic weekend!
I ran with my sister-in-law and our 5 year old neice. Yes, a 5 year old! My main goal (besides finishing) was to just keep up with the 5 year old :-) Since my training didn't really go so well (aka- didn't really happen, haha), the 3.2 miles of this run was the farthest I had run since my early preggo days last July. So, I was expecting it to be super difficult and all I wanted to do was make sure I could keep up with the kid!
We started off strong, and got at least a mile behind us before we had to slow down the pace a little. The neice started getting tired at this point. We were able to keep her (and ourselves) motivated for a little bit longer before we had to stop and walk for a minute. From then on, she stopped and walked a few minutes here and there while my SIL and myself ran slowly beside her. We really wanted to be able to run the whole way, even if it was really slowly. I gave up and walked a time or two with my neice though :-)
Around the halfway point, a group of police cadets passed by us, and they really concerned the 5 year old! Lol!! They were chanting (or whatever you call it that they do), which kind of freaked her out, and they were catching up to us, and then passed us. She didn't like it that they were beating us, haha!! Competitive little chick :-) She wanted them to slow down so we (she) could "win"! But they didn't....so we kept pushing on.
When we had about 3/4 of a mile to go, she started really lagging, and I'll have to say I was getting pretty tired myself! We had to try and keep her motivated, and thankfully a lot of that last little bit was downhill.
Then, we FINALLY came in sight of the finish line! We almost sprinted towards it, and crossed it at an "official" time of 42 minutes and 4 seconds! Not bad for my first ever, and definitely not bad for the 5 year old girl! That averaged out to a 13 mintute 33 second mile! I'm happy with that for sure.
I was pretty beat when I got done, and my knees and hips HURT! I told myself I would feel accomplished once I recovered :-P I was proud, but I was so tired I pretty much didn't care.
I was expecting to be really sore today, but I feel pretty good! My knees have ached a little bit, but other than that I feel fine. I am so glad that I finished it, and it feels good to accomplish a great goal!! I hope I can do another one, but I may wait a month or two, haha!
Oh, and just in case anyone was wondering, the winner had a time of 15 minutes 19 seconds (TOTAL!), which was a 5 minute 3 second mile. WHOA! I have never run that good of a mile, even when I ran all the time. I would like to get that good, but I know that'll take a while. For now though, I'm good :-)
Lastly, a group photo of our "team":
Have a fantastic weekend!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Injury?
Okay, so I'm gonna have to make a small confession here...it has been over a week since my last run. .....ummmmmm, oops?.....
I finally got back out on the road Tuesday (yesterday), and my last run was the Sunday a week ago. And let's just say it was not pretty.
Immediately upon starting, both my knees and hips were hurting. I have no idea why! My hips have hurt on previous post-pregnancy runs, but not until after a run. And my knees have not hurt at all until now. I dunno what's going on! I figured that maybe I was just tight and everything would loosen up if I just kept going. I. was. wrong. (mostly). My hips did get a little less painful - until I slowed down to a walk. Then they hurt worse. My knees, however, had no such luck. They hurt continuously throughout the run and subsequent walking.
I did at least get about 1.5 miles of running in, and about .15 of walking.
This is just really not good considering my first 5K is in oh, let's see....THREE DAYS! AH!! Yikesyikesyikesyikesyikes!
What a perfect time to get a freaking injury! And I have no idea how to deal with it. It's not good to just push through it, but I can't really do too much resting either, seeing as how the big event is in only 3 days. And I can't take a bunch of pain meds because of the whole (***Possible TMI Alert***) breastfeeding thing. I also don't want to make it worse, either, by pushing through the pain.
How do you deal with a sports- or exercise-related injury?
I finally got back out on the road Tuesday (yesterday), and my last run was the Sunday a week ago. And let's just say it was not pretty.
Immediately upon starting, both my knees and hips were hurting. I have no idea why! My hips have hurt on previous post-pregnancy runs, but not until after a run. And my knees have not hurt at all until now. I dunno what's going on! I figured that maybe I was just tight and everything would loosen up if I just kept going. I. was. wrong. (mostly). My hips did get a little less painful - until I slowed down to a walk. Then they hurt worse. My knees, however, had no such luck. They hurt continuously throughout the run and subsequent walking.
I did at least get about 1.5 miles of running in, and about .15 of walking.
This is just really not good considering my first 5K is in oh, let's see....THREE DAYS! AH!! Yikesyikesyikesyikesyikes!
What a perfect time to get a freaking injury! And I have no idea how to deal with it. It's not good to just push through it, but I can't really do too much resting either, seeing as how the big event is in only 3 days. And I can't take a bunch of pain meds because of the whole (***Possible TMI Alert***) breastfeeding thing. I also don't want to make it worse, either, by pushing through the pain.
How do you deal with a sports- or exercise-related injury?
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