Embrace Your Emotions

People who are not close to me may not realize it, but I am a very emotional person. I cry during songs, movies, commercials, you name it. I feel things very deeply and intensely, and honestly, sometimes irrationally. Today I thought to myself, “I hate being emotional,” and then I thought, wow, yes, emotions are hard and sometimes suck, but what would be the point of life without them? It would be nice to not have the urge to cry each time I get sad, frustrated, overwhelmed, or scared, but wouldn’t it be much worse to be a robot?

I’m going to be honest; I do not handle disappointment well. Today, I had planned all day to go to spin class after work. I get there and it’s insanely crowded, but I change and go to grab a bike and they are ALL GONE. Not a single bike was left. So I’m standing there like an idiot, all ready for spin class, but I literally can’t go because there are no bikes left (I don’t go to the nicest gym, it’s just a work gym). So I’m incredibly disappointed, I rushed out of work early, and all for nothing, but what can I do? The only shoes I had with me were my spin shoes, so I couldn’t even do anything else. I had already run 6 miles this morning, so it’s not like I missed a workout, but I still felt to incredibly let down. I kept it together, changed, and drove home, but the whole way home I just wanted to cry. I NEEDED those endorphins, spin makes me so happy and it’s an amazing way to release stress. But I kept telling myself, “come ON, you cannot cry over a spin class, get over it.” But for some reason, whenever I get the teensiest bit upset over something, everything else that I’m fighting and get upset about is brought to the front of my mind, so I’m suddenly dealing with all of my problems at once. But it’s set off by something SO SMALL.

I’m really trying to focus on dealing with my problems in a better way, and that’s what inspired me to write this. I feel like I can’t be the only one who loses control of their emotions so easily and needs to check themselves. This might seem like it doesn’t have anything to do with health/fitness, but for me, it does. I’m an emotional eater, something I am working on and dealing with, but I think mental/emotional health is SUCH an important part of the whole health equation! It totally affects physical health, and you can’t be really healthy if you are extremely mentally unhealthy. It’s taken me a long time, but I’ve learned that you have to deal with your feelings and allow yourself to actually FEEL them or else they all come crashing down. I’m definitely not there yet, but just realizing the work that I still need to do is HUGE for me. No more running away. Embrace those emotions–it will only make you a stronger person and able to connect with people more.

This is one of my favorite quotes. When you feel something, feel it all the way. Let yourself get excited, even if other people think it’s stupid! Lukewarm really is no good–be ALL there, don’t tone things down if you really feel them.

Hopefully one person out there connects with this message. As annoying as it can seem to be emotional, I really do believe it is a good thing ❤

What I’ve Been Focusing On

There are SO many different workouts out there, and while I would like to be supergirl and do every single one, I know that I have to pick and choose. I’ve been trying some new things lately while still incorporating the old, and I think it’s working well so far!

My main focus has been marathon training. I’m doing an 18 week program (Hal Higdon’s Novice 2) and this is week 4! The first 3 weeks weren’t bad, but this week is a pretty big increase in mileage. I have an 11 mile run on Saturday and I haven’t run that far in almost a year. Instead of being worried about it, I think I’m just going to take it nice and slow and focus on finishing rather than being the fastest. During my 9 mile run a couple weeks ago I had to walk…that NEVER happens to me. But since then, I have felt a lot stronger on my runs and my pace has improved a little. Hoping that trend will continue and I will get back to where I used to be!

I signed up for a special at a yoga studio for the past month and I’ve really been liking doing some more challenging yoga classes! I feel like it really helps as a runner to get into a deep stretch, but it’s definitely tough! I am so bummed that my month is ending this week, but I’m going to continue going to classes at the gym at work and maybe trying out some studios too.

I’ve also been trying some boot camp/sculpt classes at my gym. I’ve always loved going to classes and find it so motivating! This is a good way for me to learn new workouts and try something different. I’m trying to do 2-3 strength/resistance workouts per week (usually on cross-train days or low mileage days) and I count these kinds of classes! I also sometimes make up my own resistance workout or do a Kayla Itsines workout–either from BBG1 or ones that I’ve found on her blog that I really like! With where I’m at right now, I’m not completely following BBG–I really liked it, but it became a little obsessive for me and I want to focus on marathon training. It’s amazing for people who can do both at once, but I think I would spend my entire life working out if I was trying to do both and not have any kind of social life.

As far as eating is concerned, I’ve been kind of up and down. I am still maintaining a vegetarian lifestyle, but am really questioning it. I do believe in it, but my energy has been down and running pace has been off ever since I started, so that’s the only reason I can think of that would be causing those problems. I am tracking my food to make sure that I get enough protein and started eating some protein shakes, so hopefully that will help. But I am also considering doing a mainly vegetarian diet, but still eat some meat. It’s still something I think about, but as a distance runner, I really need to make sure I’m getting enough protein. Still staying vegetarian for now, but it’s something I’m thinking about!

I’m still focusing on intuitive eating, but kind of tracking my food since I want to make sure I get enough protein. I am also an emotional eater, so tracking makes me think a little more about what I’m eating. This is an area that I continue to struggle with..I think it’s hard to know the difference between overeating/binging/emotional eating. Overeating occasionally is normal, but it can also be a bad habit. Training for a marathon, I really want to make sure that my eating is on point and that I’m fueling my body in the right ways–not just reaching for sweets because I’m upset about something. Definitely easier said than done. Might do another post on this later as I’m trying out some different strategies to deal with stress!

Well, if you read this entire post, I have to say I’m very impressed! I’m really going to try to post more regularly, because I really do like writing and getting all of my thoughts out. I’ll hopefully do a marathon training recap soon as well as more meal ideas. Happy Tuesday everyone!

Meal Plan

While I usually eat relatively healthy, I really want to write down my guidelines for a meal plan, both to hold myself accountable and for anyone else who is interested! I am still trying to eat intuitively, but some of my clothes fit a little tight, so I want to see if watching what I’m eating a little more will make a difference. I’m not a nutritionist, but read a lot about health and nutrition and these are some kinds of meals that work best for me!

The basis for all meals is a complex carb + protein, while incorporating healthy fats and some sweets (because my sweet tooth definitely can’t be denied). For some people, eating 3 meals a day works best, but for me, I would rather eat 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day! I have some stomach issues from time to time and usually eating a huge meal aggravates it, so if I eat more frequently and in smaller portions, that usually helps!

Breakfast: I usually work out in the morning, so breakfast needs to be out refueling!

• 1/2 cup oatmeal made with almond milk/water + fruit + optional granola or nut butter
• 1 cup Greek yogurt with fruit + granola/nut butter/cereal
• 1 egg + 2 egg whites scramble with veggies and a little cheese/avocado
• 2 multi grain pieces of toast/waffles with fruit + optional nut butter. Could also add a scrambled egg white
• Protein bar + piece of fruit (preferably only if breakfast needs to be eaten on the go!)

Morning snack: Breakfast usually keeps me full for about 3 hours after I eat it. Sometimes I can survive without a morning snack, but sometimes I get hungry right around 11am and need something to tide me over until lunch!

• Greek yogurt + granola/cereal/fruit
• Banana
• Apple
• Grapes

Lunch: For lunch I like to pack in veggies because I usually don’t have any vegetables for breakfast (my breakfast 90% of the time is oatmeal)

• Salad (spinach +  lettuce) + protein (chickpeas, chickenless strips, black beans, tofu, tempeh, veggie burger) + 1/4 avocado + any other veggies you like (ideas: shredded carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, roasted zucchini/squash, etc.) + 1 tbs light dressing with a side (ideas: carrots + hummus, multi grain/pita crackers, apple)
• Healthy wrap (multi grain or Flat Out brand) with veggies, one of the proteins mentioned above, and a spread (could be avocado, hummus, etc.) with a side of fruit or extra vegetables (carrots, celery, peppers, etc.)
• English muffin or multigrain/ Ezekiel toast with spinach, avocado, and a protein (I liked a scrambled egg). Protein could also be on the side! Add a fruit or veggie side

Afternoon snack:

• Protein bar (square bar, larabar, quest bar, clif bar, Go Macro bar — there are sooo many amazing bars on the market right now, the options are endless!)
• Carrots/celery sticks/bell peppers + hummus/guacamole
• Fruit/any of the options from the morning snack would also work!

Dinner:

• Protein (tofu/veggie burger/tempeh) + roasted/steamed veggie (asparagus, carrots, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, green beans, etc.) + sweet potato
• Big salad with a protein
• Stir fry– veggies of choice + tofu/tempeh grilled on the stove with 1/2 cup brown rice
• Brown rice bowl- 1/2 cup brown rice, chickpeas/black beans, any veggies! Can add salsa, hummus, avocado
• Omelet (1 egg + 2 egg whites) with lots of veggies of choice, a little cheese, and 1 slice of toast or english muffin on the side

Dessert:

• 2 dark chocolate PB cups
• 3 dates
• 1 serving of a Lenny & Larry’s cookie
• Arctic Zero
• Yasso Greek yogurt bar
• Greek yogurt + honey +granola
• Vegan oatmeal bites/cookies
• 1/2 square bar

Anytime you are hungry: have a half portion of one of the snacks, wait 15 minutes, and assess if you are still hungry. Extra veggies are also always okay too!

Obviously, these are just some ideas off the top of my head! One of my main issues is that I snack too much, so I really want to stick to 2 snacks + a dessert with the CORRECT portion.

My other problem is that I never want let myself stay hungry..if I’m hungry, I need to eat!

If you have ideas for any other meals, comment and let me know! I’m going to try to do some full day of eating posts to hold myself accountable/have a visual of what a day of eating would ideally look like. Again, I am not trained to recommend meal plans, this is just what I am doing right now for ME because it fits my needs. Everyone is different!