My Weekend

November 10, 2014 / ktbuchs87

I don’t know about you, but I had a jam packed weekend! Last week Adam was able to get me a free entry into the Chicago Hot Chocolate 15k/5k race and the race was this Sunday. I had wanted to run this race, but found out about it too late and the race fee was just a little too much for us so I was super excited when I found out I would get to run. This was my first Chicago race and it was a pretty good experience. On Saturday we went to breakfast at Anne Sathers Bakery and had a delicious meal and then we headed to the McCormick place to check out the race expo and pick up my bib. We of course stocked up on all the free goodies and Adam had copious amounts of chocolate. I have never been in a race this size so it was a bit overwhelming to see so many people! While we were downtown, we also went to a modern photography exhibit, hit up Barnes and Noble, and then headed back to our neighborhood and did a little shopping.

Adam’s breakfast which was 2 cinnamon rolls stuffed with mascarpone. He may have slipped into a sugar coma…

At the race expo

Sunday morning we got up bright and early to head to the race. It was just a little (ok a lot) chilly and because I was in the second wave of runners we ended up standing around for a little over an hour. I will admit, I was slightly cranky by the time that I finally got to the starting line but that was mostly because my hands and feet were blocks of ice! Once I started running though I was able to warm up. It was really neat to run through downtown Chicago, but I did have to fight through the slower runners/walkers. Once I got used to weaving in and out of the walkers, it was really cool to run through streets that are usually busy with cars. I ended up with a time of about 30 minutes and while that is a little slower than my normal pace, I was still pretty happy with my finish. Next year I hope to run the 15k part which will be my longest race yet.

Up early for the race!

Trying to stay warm while waiting to run!

Ok, now for the mushy part of my post today. Today is Adam and my two year anniversary. I know it’s cliche, but it feels like it was yesterday that I was getting ready to walk down the aisle. The memories from that day are so vivid in my mind and I still have to pinch myself to remind me that it actually happened. I got to marry the man of my dreams and these past two years have been amazing.

Adam supports me in everything I do, plus he wakes up at 5:30 on a Sunday to come and stand out in the cold while I run a race. He loves me unconditionally and accept all my little weird quirks and shortcomings. He makes me laugh daily and always puts a smile on my face even when I’m having a bad day. Whether we are out and about or sitting quietly next to each other on the couch reading, I enjoy each minute with him. I’ve heard that the first two years of marriage are some of the hardest, and while every single second isn’t absolute perfection, I’m still waiting for all this hard stuff that people talk about. Maybe Adam and I are lucky, but I think it’s more that we are totally committed to each other and making this marriage strong. We both promised that we were in this for the long haul and that no matter what we would do what needed to be done. I mean it as much as I did two years ago, I love my husband and can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with him! Thanks for saying I do Adam!

How To Start

October 23, 2014 / ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

You’ve decided to be healthier, now what? Obviously you need to totally overhaul your life and daily routine, because what you have been doing isn’t working. But changing everything seems like a huge and daunting task and you’re feeling overwhelmed. Maybe you’ll start next week… Sound familiar? This is a really common problem. People want to be healthier but they get stuck on the getting started part. It feels like their whole life has to change and that is a lot of hard work. So how do you get started? Small. Yup. Start really, really small. That might seem counterintuitive to being healthier, but it is actually a lot more successful than you might think. When you change small things in your life over a longer period of time you have a higher chance of actually sticking with those changes. What are some small changes you can make to be healthier? I’m glad you asked! Here is a list of ideas on little changes you can make to your eating, exercising, and daily life that will help you on the road to being healthier!

Food/Drink

Eat out less. Do eat out more than three times a week? Are you always getting fast food for your lunch? Try cutting back just a little. If you eat out four times a week, cut down to three. If you are always buying your lunch, try making and bringing your own just a few days a week. By making just a small change you will be saving not only calories, but money as well. Plus you will be able to control exactly what you eat when you make it.
Eat slower. Many of us are really busy and tend to eat either really fast or on the go. This tends to make us eat more because our body isn’t really registering that we’re eating a meal. Try and slow down when you’re eating. Really taste the food, take small bites, and enjoy the meal. The slower you eat the chances are greater that you will feel fuller sooner. This little trick can help you stop eating more food than you need.
Eat less. Try eating a smaller portion of food. If you normally make and eat a big pot of spaghetti, try eating half and saving the other half for lunch the next day. You don’t have to do this for every meal, just start with one and then keep adding more meals. You’ll eat less and be able to have leftovers for lunches and dinners during the week
Make one healthy swap. If you normally eat white rice, try brown rice or quinoa. If you usually eat white bread, try whole grain. If you usually eat flavored yogurt, try plain greek yogurt with cut up fruit. Try a lettuce wrap instead of sandwich bread or adding an extra serving of vegetables. Little food swaps like this can save you calories and get you used to eating better quality food. Again, you don’t have to change everything you eat. Start slowly and over time change more and more things.
Add a glass of water. Try drinking one more glass of water than you normally do each day. Switch one of your sodas/juices/lattes with a glass of water. Water is super important and most of us could be better at drinking more.
Keep a food journal for one day. You don’t have to obsessively write down everything you eat every single day, but pick a day and write what goes in your mouth that day. At the end of the day, see what you’ve eaten. Having it all in front of you can help you see where you need to improve your eating habits. Maybe you snack way too much in the afternoon because you don’t have enough to eat for lunch.

Exercise

Walk. If you have never exercised or haven’t exercised in a very long time, walking is a great place to start. Add just 10 minutes of walking to your day and work your way up from there. Once you’re able to walk for a good distance, start adding other exercises. Maybe jog for a few minutes or do some crunches. Keep building from there and soon you will have a pretty decent workout routine.
Move more in general. Little things can really add up throughout the day. Park your car farther away from the building. Take the stairs instead of the escalator. Walk over and talk to your co-workers instead of sending them an email. Maybe you can’t fit in a 30 minute workout everyday, but you can move more and every little thing helps
Enlist a buddy. Find a friend to take walks with you or try a new class together. Having someone else to keep you accountable makes working out more of a priority and can make it more fun.

Daily Changes

Get enough sleep. Sleep is really important for good health. It is when your body is able to shut down and recover from the day. Muscles are repaired during sleep along with other tissues and brain functions. Try going to sleep a little bit earlier at night, even just fifteen minutes can make a big difference.
Stop negative talk. Talking bad about yourself will get you nowhere fast. Putting yourself down won’t make you healthier, it will just beat you down. Try saying one good thing about yourself everyday. Yes, you might feel silly at first but it can really have a positive effect on your mind and attitude.
Limit TV time. If you normally spend your entire evening in front of the boob tube, try and cut down. Instead of four hours of TV a night, try two and go read a book, exercise, mediate, take a bath, anything but sitting on the couch. I get that watching TV is a relaxing and brainless activity many people enjoy after a long day, but there are better more productive things you can do that will help you unwind even better.

All these things might seem like insignificant ideas that won’t amount to much. But doing a lot of little things like this will add up over time. As you start to get used to each new habit, add in another and then another. Soon you will realize that you have changed all of your unhealthy habits for healthier ones and that it seemed like you did so without much effort. You can’t just magically get healthier overnight, it takes time and dedication. Start small, go slow, and you will get there before you know it!

Healthy Or Happy

October 6, 2014 / ktbuchs87

I have noticed that there is a popular sentiment that arises when people talk about being healthier: “I would be healthier, but I would rather be happy.” They might not necessarily say that exact phrase, but it’s close. I would eat better, but I don’t want to be miserable. I would work out more, but I don’t want to hate life. I would take care of myself, but I have other things going on. For some reason, there seems to be a disconnect between being healthy and being happy.

This idea pervades the health world all the time. Diets are associated with denying yourself what you really want to eat, what would make you happy, and eating foods that are boring and tasteless albeit good for you. Exercise is tied in with punishing yourself for eating poorly or torturing yourself to make your body look good. In order to be the best you health-wise, you have to deprive yourself of happiness.

Leaders of the health realm play into this idea, to some extent. How many times have you heard a new fad diet claim that you can still eat the foods you love and lose weight, somehow implying that food that is good for you is food that you don’t love? How many new fitness trends focus on the no pain no gain motto? Or advertise that their workouts are really intense, but if you only devote yourself to twenty minutes of torture you can look like a fitness model? I know that not every diet or fitness trend out there does this, but I feel that on some level they still make the association that being healthy takes a little bit of being miserable.

This is so far from the truth, and it is one of the obstacles that stand in the way when people think about being healthier. No person wants to give up being happy or submit themselves to deprivation and torture to be in a better state of health. For awhile, I thought that if I wasn’t denying myself some type of happiness when it came to my health, I wasn’t really getting healthier. If I didn’t feel totally worn out after a workout or say no to an extra helping, I wasn’t doing it right. Inevitably I would give up on my diet and working out because I didn’t like feeling miserable. Sound familiar?

I want to help perpetuate the idea that healthy and happy go hand in hand. Eating well doesn’t have to be a battle of temptation. You can find food that is delicious AND good for you. You might have to experiment a little to find out what you like and you might have to let your tastes adjust to less processed food, but you can eat good for you food and still feel the joy of eating good food. Exercising doesn’t have to be a tool of torture. There are so many ways to work your body that I am sure you can find something that you enjoy doing. Again, you will have to try different things and see what you like the best and what your body can handle, but you can find pleasure in working out regularly. Instead of viewing being healthier as something that is going to take happiness away from your life, view it as a way to add your happiness. You’re taking steps to add years and energy to your life, you’re taking control of your health, and you’re taking pride in yourself. These are all healthy things that can make you happy.

When Routine Becomes Too Routine

September 22, 2014 / ktbuchs87

Ask any member of my family and they will tell you that I am a big fan of routine. I like knowing exactly what I should be doing at each moment in the day. I like having tasks to do and then being able to check them off my list as I complete them. Having a routine helps me to feel in control and it also keeps me on track. It helps me accomplish my goals and gives purpose to my day. Some people might find having a routine too boring and rigid and like to face the day with no plan in mind and let what may come, come. That is totally fine, but I am not those people. In my mind, routine is a good thing. Until it isn’t.

When you make a choice to be healthier, I would say that establishing some type of routine will be crucial to your success. It’s good to have a plan set for what you are going to eat for the week, what workout you’re going to do for the day, and what goals you have in mind for your health. In this sense, a routine will help keep you on track and moving towards what you want. But we have to be careful to not become so addicted to our routine that it starts to hinder our health.

I began to notice that I was becoming so used to doing the same thing over and over again that my progress had actually stalled. While I wasn’t losing ground, I definitely wasn’t gaining any either. I also started to notice that any sort of change to my routine would throw me for a huge loop and cause me a lot of anxiety. I wasn’t flexible to the little wrenches that might be thrown into my day and it stressed me out. Stress and anxiety are the opposite of helpful when you are trying to be healthier. I started to worry about straying from my ideal routine or plan and that was all I could focus on. What would I do if this happened? How could I avoid any possible challenge to my routine? What can I do to make sure that I never have to stray from MY plan? Those aren’t healthy or helpful questions.

In case you hadn’t noticed, life doesn’t really care too much about your plan or your routine. It is going to do whatever it wants and you can play along or fall by the wayside. No matter how much I plan out my day or week, there are going to be things that have to change and I am going to have to adapt. That is a good thing! I realized I was missing out on so many fun things because they didn’t fit into what I thought I needed to be doing that day. I can’t go to the movie at that time, that’s when I’m suppose to be doing yoga. You want to eat that meal instead? Sorry I already planned this one out three days ago. I was trapped in a box that I had made myself and ironically it was causing me to stray from my healthy goals.

I will never be a person that can just fly by the seat of my pants. I will always have to have some type of schedule or routine because that’s who I am. But I am working on going with the flow more often. I am learning to say yes to things that weren’t originally in my plan and letting go of the anxiety that creeps up when I can’t cross something off of my list when I think I should. It’s ok to have some wiggle room in your life, in fact I would say that it’s necessary. Say yes to an impromptu meal with a friend from out of town. Surprise yourself and your significant other by doing something out of the blue. Don’t worry about not getting in a full hour workout or eating the exact meal you prepped. Adapt to the situation and make the healthiest choice possible at that time. You’ll be a more well-rounded person and you’ll get to experience amazing opportunities along the way. You don’t have to throw all caution to the wind and forgo routines or plans all together. Instead of a rigid schedule you HAVE to stick to, set a general map for your day or week and make decisions as they pop up. As long as those decisions are propelling you toward your ultimate goal, don’t stress about the ride!

How To Stay Hydrated

September 10, 2014 / ktbuchs87

Water is important. Not to be Captain Obvious here, but without water you and your body do not function. Your body needs an adequate supply of water to carry out it’s everyday normal functions. Water helps move your blood through your system, which in turn helps your organs function, which then make you function. Water helps you perform at your best, not just with normal things like breathing but also with tougher things such as exercising. Being dehydrated even just 1% decreases your performance by 5%. Water also helps to keep your metabolism going, your skin glowing, your hair shiny, and your appetite in check. Just to make things even tougher, you’re constantly losing water. Not just through sweat, but even things like exhaling cause you to lose water. So you NEED to make sure you’re replacing all that water loss.

Summer time is usually when we really keep tabs on our hydration. Nothing like 90 degree weather to help remind you to drink water. But as we start to enter into fall and the colder months you still need to keep tabs on your hydration, maybe even more so than in the summer. During the winter (I know, I know, you don’t want to even be thinking about winter, but it’s coming) it is so easy to forget to drink water throughout the day. You’re not sweating profusely, the sun isn’t blazing down on you, and let’s face it, snuggling in front of the fireplace with a big glass of water doesn’t sound too cozy. But the colder months tend to be drier which can suck moisture out of your body. And because your body needs all that water, you have to make sure you replace it.

If you find it hard to get enough water into your day, or you need some ideas on how to make water a little more fun (it can be a little boring sometimes), here are a few tips to help keep you hydrated and healthy!

Carry a refillable water bottle with you all the time. If you have water with you at all times it makes it easier to remember to drink water throughout the day
Find a fun water bottle. It might sound silly, but having a cool or new water bottle might make you drink more water. A while back I bought this camelbak water bottle and the straw was so cool that I found myself downing about three full bottles a day. While I didn’t enjoy running to the bathroom every 2 minutes, I did get adequate water intake!
Add fruit. If you’re one of those people who hates the taste of water or thinks it’s so boring, try adding some fruit. Think beyond lemon or lime and try fresh berries, watermelon, or even things like mint leaves. Having a little natural flavor can help you to drink more water
Try some ice. For me, the idea of a room temperature glass of water is not appealing. Adding ice cubes to your water can help make it more palatable, plus ice cold water may rev up your metabolism and help burn more calories.
Eat high water content foods. While you still need to make sure you are drinking water, you can also eat your water. Foods that have a high water content can help to contribute to your overall water intake. Eat things like celery, lettuce, leafy greens, or melons (especially watermelon!) to help your water.
Set a schedule. If you’re really busy throughout the day and just forget to drink water, set a reminder on your phone to have a glass or so every hour. Or you could do this and make sure that you’re drinking a certain amount by certain times during the day.

Making sure that you get enough water is a really important part of being healthy. The rule for a long time has been eight 8 oz glasses a day, but don’t focus on a certain number of glasses or ounces. As long as you drink water throughout the day, you should be properly hydrated. If you workout, make sure you replace the extra water lost through sweating. Unless you’re an Olympic athlete, just stick with plain water. You don’t need any fancy rehydration drink full of vitamins and electrolytes. A healthy and balanced diet along with enough regular water will help you function just fine! Long story short, go drink some water!