Tag Archives: healthy-living

Return of the Pleasant Evening Walk

Daily Life!, Food for Thought, Workouts, , ,

Mac gets at least a short walk 1-2 times a day, regardless of the weather. It’s been a sweaty summer so many of these walks have been super unpleasant and resulted in a stinky mommy. But it’s necessary for him because we don’t have a nice, fenced yard for him to run around in during the day. I’m happy to report that some pleasant weather has finally returned to SW MO this week, and we can finally enjoy our walks again! Mac is especially excited…

photo(42) photo(41)photo(38)Yes, it’s still warm, but the humidity is slim to none, making it feel amazing outside in comparison to the rest of the summer months. I’m excited to finally look forward to our time together outside again. And hopefully this means that Nick will finally be joining us for some evenin’ walkin’ in the near future. If Nick has to choose between sitting on the couch watching TV or going walking in hot and sticky 100 degree weather, the couch always wins. Smart guy, right?

Cute little street we always walk down. So quaint!
Cute little street we always walk down. So quaint!

The forecast for the next 7 days is still in the 90’s each day, but low humidity is also in the forecast. So I’m okay with it đŸ™‚Â  We’ve gotta soak up some daylight while we can during the next few weeks before the time changes. It’s so depressing when the sun is setting, and I’m still just driving home from work for the day! Then our long, pleasant evening walks will turn into dark and cold mini-walks around the block. I cannot complain though; my love of Fall will keep me happy with or without some sunny outdoor time!

Pretty!
Pretty!

Workout

This morning I woke up bright and early to make it to the gym for a solid hour before my busy day had to begin.

I was feeling pretty spry and lively when I arrived, so I hopped on the treadmill for a 30-minute interval workout consisting of walking, jogging, and sprinting. I love counting down the minutes during an interval workout as opposed to a certain distance. It always makes the time and miles go by so much faster. My 30-min. interval brought me to around 2.9 miles, and I was sweatin’ like a piggy!

I then completed some upper torso work, mostly focusing on my shoulders, chest and biceps with a circuit very similar to what I completed on Wednesday. I’m always a creature of habit, so I’m hoping this weekend Nick and I can go to the gym together so I can change up my routine with some free weight exercises. (I hate that part of the gym unless he is with me!) I finished off my workout with some light cardio on the Elliptical for about 15 minutes before heading home.

Breakfast

Can you guess what my breakfast was today??!! You got it: hot oatmeal with blueberries! I’m still loving it đŸ™‚ And I had some Greek yogurt for extra staying power on the side.

photo(37)And now I’m off to finish up this workday and figure out what we’ll be having for dinner. I’m in the mood to cook and it’s Friday, so this usually leads to me becoming a little creative with our evening meal since I have the extra time. We’ll see what I can come up with!

Hope you’re Friday is going great! We can at least be happy that the weekend is here again!

Lovin’ Oatmeal & Chilly Run

Food for Thought, Workouts, , ,

I don’t know what it is about my tummy this week, but I have been cravin’ and lovin’ oatmeal everyday! I’ve always liked oatmeal (and make it often), but this week it’s been my breakfast everyday. Something about how the warm oats fill up my hungry belly makes me feel so cozy and ready to take on my day! So this morning’s food obviously followed suit.

Breakfast

Blueberries and oatmeal and Greek yogurt, oh my! It was delicious and filling as always. Plus I was excited to find a plain vanilla Greek yogurt in my fridge this morning so I could mix in my remaining blueberries. I love to eat blueberries plain, but when I’m having coffee with my breakfast, this is never okay to do. Plain blueberries + hot coffee = YUCK! If you’ve never tried it, just don’t. It’s terrible. So I had yet another blueberry-filled breakfast but mixing them into my oats and then into my yogurt as well. All yummy!

photo(33)Workout

I woke up a little later than usual when I’m wanting to complete a morning workout because I knew I only wanted to run outside this morning as practice for my 5K coming up in less than 2 weeks! I woke up at 5:40 and rolled out of bed and into my running gear. Mac was wide awake but had to stay home since he can’t run farther than 1.2 miles without me dragging him. We’ll just blame it on his extra short legs. đŸ™‚

It was still dark when I headed out, but my RunKeeper app kept me company and provided a little light on the dark streets. My extra motivation this morning?? It was COLD when I set out! I had on a tank knowing that I would be hot by the time I got to mile 2. But I was wishing I had on a little more clothing! It was pretty glorious to run in the cool morning. It felt like Fall might actually be upon us very soon. If only the whole day would stay that cool…haha. Forecasted high of 86 degrees today here in Springfield-land. Oh well…

I completed 3.5 miles in 31m 15s which is an average pace of 8:55 per mile. Yay me! For a girl that has NEVER been a runner and struggles through just about every run I complete, this is a great time. Especially when I’m running alone in the dark at 6 AM. After this, I think it’s safe to say I’ll hopefully breeze through the Glow Run on the 14th. Let’s hope my girlfriend that I’m running with is ready too! We’re gonna rock it! In our best neon running attire, that is. đŸ™‚

Hope your Thursday is off to a great start. We’re almost to the weekend already!

Toasty Morning!

Food for Thought, Workouts, , ,

I was going to name my post this morning ‘Sweaty Morning’ since I got in a nice, long workout before the workday. But as I was finishing up on the elliptical around 6:20 AM, I was watching the sunrise out the windows of my gym. It was truly breathtaking and turned the sky a hazy orange. The site of the orange sky sent chills up my spine, and I was immediately cozy and content. It reminded me of a crisp, Fall morning! At least the way it looked….yes, it was already over 70 degrees outside, with a forecasted high of 92 today. Yuck! So even though it is still summer and humid and icky hot, my brain is in Fall mode, and I’m officially ready for cooler weather here in the Ozarks! So back to where I started, ‘Toasty’ seemed like a better word to describe my feelings this morning. Toasty feels more warm and cozy than the words Sweaty and HOT!

Wednesdays are always a little fun and different for me because it is my night off from Jazzercise. This makes the day fair game for whatever workout I want to dive into. This morning, I awoke around 5 AM to get a nice long workout in at my gym. Since I had almost more than an hour to burn once I got there, I started with a 30-min. interval workout on the treadmill. Mostly a mix of incline walking, jogging, and 30-second sprints. This took me up to 3 miles, and I was a sweaty mess! I then completed a circuit of strength training on the weight machines (no free weights today!). I did mostly upper torso (shoulder and arm) work, but did a few sets of leg presses and hamstring curls as well. Gotta take advantage of an empty gym!

Busy gym this morning!
Busy gym this morning!

This left me about 10 minutes before I had to rush home, so I completed my workout with 10 minutes, or 1 mile, on the elliptical. I tend to be a cardio junkie, so mornings when I get in some good strength training make me feel extra awesome for the rest of day!

Breakfast

Breakfast this morning was courtesy of my productive self last night. I prepared a bowl of overnight oats last night and washed a bowl of berries that I would stir in this morning before digging in.

Oats and berries. YUM!
Oats and berries. YUM!

Into my overnight oats, I added…

  • 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
  • 2/3 cup vanilla soy milk
  • 1 TB chia seeds
  • 1/4 cup nonfat, plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 packet of splenda
  • a couple shakes of pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon

This concoction is a go-to breakfast for me since it just has to sit in the fridge overnight! This morning I added in the berries and tossed the container in my bag on my way out the door. I eat my breakfast at work, and my overnight oats are always a treat when I’m at my desk!

Looks Gross, but Tastes Amazing
Looks Gross, but Tastes Amazing

My coworkers think I’m crazy. I haven’t coaxed them into trying my cold oats yet. But they’ll come around. đŸ™‚

Hope your Hump Day is off to a great start! Catch ya later!