Days Like This

July 30th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Healthy Habits - (4 Comments)

Yeah, there’ll be days like this.  Mom was right.

Cucumber Slices on Eyes

(why yes, that cucumber did come from the CSA share. thank you for noticing.)

Your Thoughts are Very Powerful

We all inevitably have times in our lives when we’re feeling less than stellar.  The next time you’re laying there with cucumber slices on your eyes because you’ve had a tough day – consider the fact that the thoughts that you think and the emotions that you feel are very closely tied.

Have you ever been somewhere completely harmless but are feeling just dreadful?  Read more...

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Sea of People

July 24th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Fitness - (4 Comments)

Zak and I are in Lake Placid today to cheer on a friend who’s participating in the 2011 Lake Placid Ironman.

Sea of People Lake Placid Ironman 2011

(click pic to enlarge!)

All those green and pink round things in the water are the athletes who were waiting to head out on their 2.4 mile swim at 7 AM this morning. (The men are in green, women in pink.) After their swim is a 112 mile bike ride and then a 26.2 mile run for dessert.  Read more...

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Green Smoothie Revolution

July 18th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Good Reads - (3 Comments)

I’m about to put Green Smoothie Revolution in the library book drop, but thought I’d write a little something about it first.

Green Smoothie Revolution by Victoria Boutenko

Written by Victoria Boutenko and published in 2009, Green Smoothie Revolution is a fairly quick read.

(it’s only about a half inch thick.)

The first 1/4 inch is ten short chapters filled with facts and information explaining why green leafy vegetables are the miracle food that they are.  The the other 1/4 inch is the 200 green smoothie recipes and a couple of case studies and personal anecdotes – from weight loss to simply feeling better after an increase in consumption of leafy greens.  Read more...

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Your Fridge Looks Good Naked

July 14th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Healthy Habits - (4 Comments)

A clean refrigerator feels really good.

A Clean Fridge

Like a sneeze, only better.

I just cleaned out my fridge (and I just sneezed). It wasn’t even that bad (the fridge), but I can’t deny that it looks and feels pretty amazing now that I’m done. Putting away groceries was an extremely pleasurable, mind blowing, out-of-body experience.

(ok, I admit it.  I’m trying to make this post climactic.)  Read more...

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Two Running Hacks

July 10th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Fitness - (Comments Off on Two Running Hacks)

I usually sketch out exercise plans a couple days in advance, taking the weather forecast and our schedule into account when coming up with a loose idea of what I’ll do in the days ahead.

I knew I was going to “ride Saturday, run Sunday” – but when I woke up this morning, I felt the need for a little *something* to make today’s run more interesting and fun.  Read more...

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One Step Toward a Healthier Diet

July 1st, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Healthy Habits - (6 Comments)

Sometimes eating better is more about what you don’t buy as compared to what you do buy.  One trick to making healthier food choices more frequently is to simply stop buying unhealthy foods in first place.  That might sound painfully obvious or maybe it feels absolutely impossible – but if you can manage to leave these foods at the store, it works like a charm for a few reasons:

1. It’s much easier to resist temptation at the grocery store.

Especially if you eat before you shop.  Read more...

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The Company You Keep

June 19th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Healthy Habits - (7 Comments)

Have you ever heard that you’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with?

Cobbs Hill

I slept late yesterday and inadvertently missed the run with my neighborhood running group.  No biggie – instead I hopped on my bike and went out for a solo ride when I got up.  (See my little bike shadow up there?)  These totally perfect, it’s-almost-summer mornings have been impossible to resist lately.  Read more...

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You Ran Right Into the Sign

November 23rd, 2010 | Posted by Alison Spath in Fitness - (3 Comments)

You know that saying;

What we see depends mainly on what we look for.

Sometimes the answers that we seek are right in front of our very eyes, it’s just a matter of opening them and taking a look.

slow sign

A couple weeks before all this finger felon business went down I’d read an article on Mark’s Daily Apple called The Case Against Cardio.  (If you already love exercise and have no problem making time for a regular run or workout, that article is worth a read.)  It got me thinking that regular, lower intensity work outs can be A-OK.  Maybe even better than ok – maybe slowing down is actually a really good thing.  Read more...

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How To Lose Weight and Keep It Off For Good

November 20th, 2010 | Posted by Alison Spath in Weight Loss - (16 Comments)

Once upon a time I was that girl who tried and tried to lose weight and never saw any real, lasting results. While I never had a huge amount of weight to lose, I did know I wanted to be slimmer than I was for what felt like the majority of my life.

The post-pregnancy weight was always a little scary but eventually came off after each pregnancy with the addition of some moderate exercise. Then in early 2008 when I found myself back at my post-pregnancy weight and I hadn’t just had a baby – I knew it was time to get serious.  Read more...

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My Run, My Run, My Run is My Drug

May 27th, 2010 | Posted by Alison Spath in Life - (19 Comments)

Some where in the span of the last half year – give or take a couple weeks – life went from sickly sweet and seemingly picture perfect to oh-so-insanely soap opera-ish that even Susan Lucci would have to change the channel because she can’t keep up.

Yes, once upon a time I used to watch All My Children.  So sue me.  Read more...

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