A Few of My Favorite Things

I am asked often about my favorites. Of everything. Bars. Protein. Apps. Workouts. Shoes. Gear. Foods. Stores. Places to eat. Which is funny to me because I am always asking my athlete friends what THEIR favorite things are so I can try them out as well! (I actually JUST asked a runner friend over the weekend about her faves). Maybe I just like shopping and trying different things, my husband would say that is the reasons <----. However, I do have my tried and trues and things that I stay loyal to for quality and price or just because I really like them! These of course, are just my opinion and I'm not paid for any of it! :-D

Let's start with my favorite, foods!

FOODS

-overnight oats with nut butter, almond milk and berries

-tuna salad with pretzels or a low fat wheat cracker

-baked chicken with sweet potatoes and zucchini (all in the same dish, drizzle with EVOO and sprinkle with seasonings and a little butter) 

-banana with peanut butter 

-i love snacking on the cherub salad tomatoes! 

-grilled chicken nuggets with a large super food side from chic fil a 

-halo top ice cream

-"my wifes salad" from grouchos deli

-banana, honey and PB toast! 

-pop-chips if you are in a chippy mood

-walnuts, blueberries and almond milk with WARM peanut butter drizzled on top

-I only drink water or sparkling water like pelligrino, perrier, la croix or an occasional unsweet tea. 

PROTEIN

Ascent Whey Protein!

Progenex PB smash is great too but very pricey, Ascent wins in this for sure.

BARS 

I recently tried PICKY Bars and I love them! 4:1 Carb/Protein ratio make them perfect to fuel before or after a hard workout 

RX Bars 

If you want a high protein bar, I love PRObars especially coffee crunch flavor (but they are all good!). Target sells them but only HALF the size and protein! Whole foods has the full bar with 20g of protein.

FUEL:

C4 pre-workout 

Glukos gummies

GU stroop waffles 

GU gels

Nuun hydration tablets 

I prefer the gummies over gels- I like to eat! The waffles are yummy and perfect for an intra carb or long run! *please consult your doctor before using any kind of nutritional supplement!*

ACTIVEWEAR 

I spend more on leggings than tops, my bottom half NEEDS support of a great pair of leggings. I have tried so many pairs- even ones that range up to $98! No thanks! I found the "Zella" line at Nordstrom, their "live in" leggings are THE BEST and half the price of lulu. Also a fun fact: the designer use to design for lululemon. 

Tops I get from anywhere! I have no favorite because I don't need it to do much but look good :) 

Shoes...get fitted. I know, you don't want to spend the money on an expensive pair, but if you are running you will NOT regret it! If you are not running and just lifting- you just need a flat pair. Converse are widely popular among lifters. If you are crossfitting- Nike Metcons are loved by all. 

Socks do matter. Swiftwick, Stance and Feetures socks are all I've tried and I have no complaints! You do not want to run a long distance in cotton. 

GEAR 

All Nathan running gear for hydration. 

Box Stalker weight lifting belts.

RPM speed rope

WODtape

Garmin Forerunner 235 

APPS: 

Strava (for running)

Runkeeper (for running)

HappyScale (for recording weight fluctuations)

Myfitnesspal (obvs!)

Spotify (music)

Wodify if your box uses it (wod tracker)

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WEIGHT FLUCTUATION

"Yesterday I weighed 160 pounds, but today I weighed 162! What am I doing wrong? Do I need to cut back on my carbs?! How did I gain two pounds?!"

This is a common, yet frustrating scenario. I'm sure most of us have been there, I know I have! It's really important for women to understand weight fluctuations when they begin a dieting program so that they do not get frustrated, discouraged and worried they are doing something wrong if the scale is up a little bit one day. 

There are so many things that come into play when you weigh yourself. You are not just weighing fat- you are weighing everything! Where you are in your menstrual cycle, salt intake, water retention, hormones, stress all have a play in weight fluctuating day to day. 

If you are eating in a caloric deficit (staying on plan- not binging, not sneaking in snacks etc) then there is no scientific way for you to gain FAT. You actually have to eat a decent amount of food to start gaining fat, and my guess is that if you are eating that amount you will not be surprised that the scale is up, you will expect it. 

So rest assured that even if the scale is up a little bit while you are on plan, it is OK and it is NOT fat! Typically what I do after this happens is have the person be really strict on their plan for the next few days and drink every ounce of their water then weigh again. Every single time their weight had returned to normal, and mine as well when this happens to me. 

Another "problem"/factor is weighing in the day after a really hard/intense workout. For instance last weekend I ran 12 miles and the next day I was UP 5pounds. You would think I would be down! But it was water- my muscles were sore and swollen from the intensity and strain which causes them to retain water. Even more so if you are lifting weights (causing tears in your muscle that fill with water). A day or so after my long run my weight was back to normal. 

We will also not be weighing in daily, but weekly. This way, you may not ever see your weight fluctuate! You may just see consistent loss the entire time! Our weigh days are Monday's because knowing that you have a weigh in Monday helps keep you accountable over the weekend! 

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WEIGHING VS MEASURING

Welcome to the world of WEIGHING food! Why do we weigh? Why can't we use measuring cups and spoons? This has a really short explanation: because measuring can be extremely inaccurate and you could be eating much more than you think you are actually eating.

The nutritional information on a label is almost always based on the weight of the product. The measurement is just an estimate. By weighing your food, you know exactly how much you are eating. I found this photo example below from active.com : 

Using a measuring cup VS weighing your foods can be throwing you off by hundreds of calories a day. The serving size of oatmeal is 40g or 1/2 cup for 140 calories. If you weigh out 40g, you actually get a bit less than a 1/2 cup but you know you are getting 150 calories. 

On the right, they filled the half cup up and then measured it. It came out to be much more than 40g AND almost 50 calories more as well when you think that you are only having 150 calories. 

If you do not have a food scale, I cannot recommend you get one soon enough! You can get one for around $10 online or in any big box store. If you have been dieting and using measuring cups and spoons, try weighing and see what a difference it makes! 

What should I weigh? 

Everything you can! The only things I do not weigh are eggs, breads, and spices. 

Example:

 Breakfast is two eggs, a slice of toast and half of an avocado. Well, how much is a half? Avocado's can vary in size from fairly small to large. Half of a large avocado is not going to be the same as half of a small one. To accurately track this, you will take the skin off of the portion you want to eat. Weigh it (grams is the most accurate but use whichever unit is best for you) and then log that weight for your serving size. So your log will say "60 grams of avocado" or "2 oz" of avocado. Not just "half" because half can be a large difference of calories depending on the size! 

Also, weigh as much as you can RAW/Uncooked! If the package SAYS that the serving size is for a cooked product, then cook it and weigh it. Otherwise the package is stating the serving size for the product AS IS in the package. 

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