Top 5 Dates

After going out on a date last night, it got me thinking a little about some of the best dates I’ve ever been on and/or dates that I think would be really fun. Here are my top 5 picks:

1. Stating with my date from last night; dinner and bowling. Dinner allowed for some quality get to know each other time then bowling allowed us to interact and be a little competitive. It was fun getting to see his goofy side. Here is a picture from the bowling evening…

2. Going to a sporting event. This can be a little expensive but if you pay attention there are almost always ways of getting cheap tickets. I’ve been lucky enough to score some great tickets to Hurricans games lately.

3. Cooking dinner together followed by a movie. Cheap date… Always nice when dating on a budget. And who knows, you may learn he can cook 😉

4. Going to a local park. Again, it is cheap. You can pack a picnic and a frisbee or just go for a walk.

5. Dinner and game night with another couple. I’ve never actually done this but I think it could be a lot of fun with the right couple.

What are some of your favorite dates?

Raleigh Snow Day

As much as us southerners complain about the cold, I think we all really do love those one or two snow days we get a year. Yes, it does close down everything but it does bring about a few good things as well….

First and foremost, most of us got a lot more fresh air and exercise during the snowy weather. Many went outside to throw a few snowballs and maybe even sled down a half dirt, half ice little hill. Bet you didn’t think of all the exercise you were getting as you laughed and ran back up the hill to go again. Then once you were outside for a while, shivering set in. This shivering although it was uncomfortable helped you to burn a few extra calories. And finally, snow often times means a little more family and friend time that is often lacking in our busy day to day lives.

I hope you took some time to enjoy the snowy weather. Never know when it’ll hit again down here!

Exercising in the Cold

I don’t know about you but these freezing temps and crazy lows with the wind chill has been about enough to put me over the edge when it comes to getting my workouts in. So I wanted to give you some tips on how I manage exercising in these not so great conditions:

1. Dress appropriately. This means layer up. Dress in some form of dry fit, sweat wicking layer on the bottom to help keep you dry, a major part in staying warm. Then add a couple layers to keep your core warm. My favorite top layer is a fleece vest from old navy (see picture below). Next add some warm gloves (get sports gloves, you’ll be happy you did). Finally keep that head warm. I know many of you females don’t like hats so at a minimum wear something to keep your ears warms.

2. If working out indoors fits you better:

– find something good to watch. I have much better luck completing my indoor trainer rides when I put on some action packed movie.

– you can still run with your running partner. Just because you are running inside, run on the treadmills side by side and carry on your conversations as you normally would.

– since running or biking can be a bit of a drag inside, mix it up a little by working in some intervals. For example, instead of a steady 4mile run, do a 1mile easy warm up, then ever quarter of a mile pick it up or slow down alternating each time. Then for your last half mile slow down like you are doing a cool down. This way you are breaking it up into little pieces and it will be easier to get through the whole thing.

What are some tips you have for getting your workouts in during these not so great weather conditions?

Nut Butter Balls

One of my favorite, easy grab and go snacks are these nut butter balls. They are a little messy to make but they do make for a great, protein packed snack for the rest of the week. Here’s how they are made:

Step 1: gather all ingredients (1/2teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4cup almond butter, 1 cup oats, 1 tablespoon chia seeds, optional teaspoon if shredded cocconut, 1/4cup peanutbutter, and 2-3 tablespoons honey)

Step 2: Combine all ingedients in a bowl and mix. Mixing with hands is the easiest method.

Step 3: Roll into balls.

Step 4: Place in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.

Step 5: Enjoy!

This recipie made approximately 15 balls.

Let me know if you decide to give it a try!

Happy Sunday!

Spaghetti Squash

Last night I was craving pasta but didn’t want to settle for something high in calories so I went with spaghetti squash for noodles and a “sauce” of olive oil, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and basil. Then I added steamed broccoli and mushrooms and baked chicken. It turned out delicious! 🙂

How it’s made:

1. Chop the spaghetti squash in half long ways and scrape out the “guts”

2. Coat with olive oil sea salt and pepper.

3. Place face down on baking sheet, bake at 375 for 40-45min.

4. While it’s in the oven get the seasoning ready. (Salt, pepper, basil, and parasean cheese… No specific amount. Just to what you enjoy, mine was mainly Parmesan cheese)

5. Bake chicken with salt and pepper on it at 375 for 20min. Make sure the middle is white all the way through. Cut into little pieces when done.

6. Steam the broccoli and mushrooms. Only takes about 10min on medium-high. I added some of the seasoning to it.

7. When the squash is done be SUPER careful to not burn yourself. Use a fork to scrape out the “noodles”

8. Mix everything together.

9. Serve and

10. Enjoy!

As a side note, one spaghetti squash, one head of broccoli, one carton of mushrooms, and two chicken breasts, made more than enough for four people.

Let me know if you decide to give it a try!

Things I’m loving *Thursday

Well since I missed Tuesday for a couple weeks now I thought I’d make up for it by posting it on a Thursday…

Harris Teeter brand vitamin water. Zero calories and a little kick of flavor. I haven’t tried them all yet but I think the lemonade one is my favorite so far.

Instagram. This has by far become my go to social media. I enjoy all the filters. Makes me feel like I’m actually taking good pictures 😉

I have never been a huge hockey fan but I have been fortunate to recieve free tickets on several occasions this season and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. The games are fast paced and the atmosphere is great. Win or lose, I always have a good time. GO CANES!!

This is an out door group fitness class with locations all over Raleigh (and elsewhere). The one I went to was awesome. The instructor catered to all levels and made the workout a ton of fun. If you are looking for something new, you should give it a try.

Wine and Design. It is just as it sounds. Bring your own wine and they teach you to paint a particular picture. I had a great time and I even got a cool piece of art out of it.

Hopefully you can enjoy a few of these things yourself. Have a great Thursday!

Treadmill Workout

I know many of you runners are hating these colder, shorter days and have been pushed to the runners least best friend, the treadmill. Although it is a handy machine, the minutes can seem to drag by. Here is an hour workout (including warmup and cool down) that will hopefully help you to stick to that hour you targeted when you walked into the gym:

10min warm-up:

3.5-4.0 (walk) 5min (5min)

4.5-5.5 (light jog) 5min (10min)

40min main set:

Long Slow Set:

6.0 (very comfortable jog)–5min(15min)

6.5 (comfortable)–4min (19min)

7.0 (could go a while but getting more difficult)–2min (21min)

7.5 (tough but not a sprint, tempo pace)–1min (22min)

7.0–2min (24min)

6.5–4min (28min)

6.0–5min (33min)

7.0–3min (35min)

7.5–2min (37min)

7.0–3min (40min)

6.0–5min (45min)

Quick Speed Set:

6.5– 1min (46min)

8.0 (not an all out sprint but difficult)– 1min (47min)

6.0– 2min (49min)

8.0– 1min (50min)

6.0– 2min (52min)

8.0– 1min (53min)

6.0– 2min (55min)

5min cool down:

4.5-5.5 (light jog)–3min (58min)

3.5-4.0 (walk)– 2min (60min)

*can adjust speeds based on your running ability. This workout is based on someone who typically runs 8:45-9:15min miles. See descriptions of how each speed should feel to vary it up.

**the last numbers in parenthesis are what the time on the treadmill should read …just incase any of you get runners brain like me and can’t do math on the fly 😉

Happy Running!

Exercising Under the Weather

From a few of my new to running/exercising friends I have been receiving the same question over and over again… I have a (insert small sickness…cold, sore throat, etc) should I still workout?

Unfortunately the answer isn’t straight forward and depends on you body but here are some guidelines to consider…

– Are you achy? Is it hard to get out of bed? Are you absolutely drained? — if this is the case, a day of rest is probably for the best.

– I’m starting to feel some symptoms but I’m fuctional — this is kinda the gray zone. My recommendation is to still workout but take it down a notch. If you were supposed to do a hard run, maybe go for an easy walk/jog instead. You’ll still get the endorphins boost but you won’t be draining yourself.

– I’m not feeling absolutely terrible but this cold, cough, etc is lingering forever — this is another gray zone but I tend to say if something has lingered for more an 3-5 days it may be time for a rest day.

Regardless of if you decide an off day is beneficial to you, when you’re feeling a little under the weather, be sure you are eating (getting protein), drinking plenty of water and getting extra sleep.

Also, if you do take the off day, don’t guilt trip yourself. Remember, you are exercising to be a healthier person. Listening to what your body needs is important in being the healthiest you can be.

Wishing you all a healthy Tuesday!

Eating on the Go

Post graduation I thought my life would be a little less on the go but turns out I was all wrong about that. Even though I am only working part time, it seems like I am still, just as much as I was in college, eating on the run. So I thought I’d share some tips with you about how I manage this on the go eating in a healthy way:

1. When buying groceries, think about your week ahead and be realistic. As great as it would be to have the time to, to as soon as you get home from the grocery store measure out everything into on the go baggies, maybe that’s not realistic. So think about spending the extra $1 or so to have them pre-packaged. Some of my favorites are: baby carrots, apple slices, almonds, and pistachios.

2. Avoid buying the grab and go salty and sugary snacks. If you don’t have them you can’t eat them.

3. Buy an insulated lunch box and an ice pack. This opens up your ability to pack many other healthy snacks such as low fat string cheese, yogurt, and sandwiches with deli meat.

4. Plan ahead. If you know you are going to have a busy week, take a couple hours on the weekend to prepare your snacks/on the go meals. Or if you are like me and your mornings always seem to be a little more jam packed than you expected, pack your snacks the night before.

5. Drink water. This can’t be emphasized enough. Water is essential to maintaining health and your waistline.

Some of my favorite on the go snacks include:

Bananas, grapes, low fat string cheese, apples, almonds, pistachios, Greek yogurt, baby carrots, cucumber slices, and whole wheat crackers and peanut/almond butter.

I hope this helps! Happy Monday! 🙂

Holiday Update

Sorry for the long time between postings. It has been a busy and very happy holiday season. To give a quick update lets head back to Dec. 18th. That is the day I graduated from NCSU and drove home to Charlotte…

Charlotte is where I spent time with family through Christmas. We did our typical Christmas Eve traditions of going to church, making a big family meal, driving around looking at Christmas lights, opening a new candy cane ornament and PJs from Grandma, and of course we wrote our letters to Santa (yes at 22 I still write a letter to Santa). We have a great time and lots of laughs as we act maybe a little less than our age…hangiing spoons on our noses, making the wine glasses sing, and balancing napkin rings on our heads, but it is all in good fun. Christmas day we also have our family traditions. On Christmas day we first have to check for Santa. Santa comes to the basement and Dad has to go downstairs and check first to make sure he came. And guess what… he sure did!! 😉 My favorite part is always the stocking because it is always jam packed with more than I could ever imagine or fit in there myself. Next, we move back upstairs for breakfast and presents. Alex (my brother) always goes first handing out his gifts to everyone since he can hardly handle keeping secrets…hints why he buys on Christmas Eve!! We open one gift at a time to make Christmas last as long as possible. This year we finished opening gifts at 2pm (granted we don’t start till about 10am). It was a great Christmas 🙂

Then a few days later as a family, plus a couple extras (Lindsey, Alex’s girlfriend & John, my boyfriend) all flew down to Mexico to ring in the New Year. Everyday was 70-80 degrees!! I defiantly miss that since NC has become the Arctic all of a sudden. We were there for one week and had a blast hanging on the beach, playing games, and doing maybe a bit too much drinking. John and I (and I think Alex and Lindsey) managed to get in a few good workouts. It was fun getting to run in a new place and explore a little. My favorite thing to see along my runs were all the Iguanas. They are some awesome but slightly scary looking dudes. While we were in Mexico we had a very cultural New Years Eve experience. We got on a boat with about 400-ish other people, maybe 30 others who spoke English, and cruised to an island for dinner and a show. I think we even saw a Mexican proposal…not sure though since it was in Spanish. Even though the water was rough, it started raining, and the food and drink sucked we still had a great time brining in the New Year all together with our extra large 12 grapes (a Mexican tradition similar to our black eyed peas and collard greens) and dancing. I’m pretty sure we all agreed that we would never do it again but we were all glad we had the experience. On the last day of the trip we visited the Myan Ruins. That was pretty cool but then again there were so many Iguanas I think I was more fascinated by them than anything else. It was a great trip with lots of laughs and good memories.

And now… unfortunately the holidays have come and gone and it is back to reality. Well kind of! I am currently applying for nursing school. I am looking to apply to accelerated bachelors of science nursing programs to start in the fall. I got my first application in yesterday. If any of you have advice or experience let me know!! I am all ears 🙂

I hope you all had a happy holiday season and returning to reality hasn’t been too rough!

Stay Warm!! 🙂