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Spring HEALTH Challenge + Giveaway

March 6, 2011 in Uncategorized by traveleatlove | 35 comments

Are you in? I get back from Napa and Sonoma later this week, and once I am recovered from my redeye flight (They KILL me!), I am ready to be healthy again. Winter and illness and spending LOTS of time at home snacking and just kind of letting it all go health-wise has gotten me feeling really sort of icky.

I need to make some small changes to restore the balance in my life and more than that, to have energy and to be able to sleep normally. Will you join me on my quest for better health?

To sweeten the deal, I am taking advantage of a gift code giveaway from CSN Stores. So as we prepare to spend more time outside, you can check out outdoorsy things like wood swing sets or fitness gear like yoga mats, weights, and just about anything else you can think of. They have just about everything! I am giving away a $30 gift code, and all you need to do to enter is to leave a comment telling me the small (or big) change you are making toward better health this spring.

Since I’ve been talking about renewal, I have really gotten myself to start thinking about it as well. And when I get back I need to hold myself accountable to the following things:

1) Getting to bed earlier. Every morning, when I wake up exhausted I promise I will unplug at 9:00 in order to ease myself to bed earlier. And at 11 PM I am still usually reading emails/blogs/job hunting etc. and my mind is whirring well past midnight. Must stop.

2) Smoothies. I need to drink spinach smoothies five days a week. They are easy and delicious, and when I consistently drank them I had so much more energy. I’d like to juice more as well, but my juicer is so messy! I’ll try for twice a week. Beet, carrot, and ginger juice happens to be my favorite, FYI.

3) Three quality workouts a week, preferably two at the gym that I am donating money to each month. My workout trifecta would be 30 minutes of all out cardio and two strength workouts each week.

4) More movement in general. I need to organize my time so that I am working enough but not from 7 am until midnight each day. I need to leave my house more. Of course, the weather needs to be a little warmer. But you get the drift. I have spent enough comfy months in my house, and getting outside and just walking is something I need to do.

I hope you don’t mind if I check in weekly via a blog post. And I hope my goals don’t stress anyone out; they are truly to feel more energetic and to support my readers’ healthy goals as well. I would love it if you would check in with ME too!

So, let’s get started. Do you have any small changes you are going to make toward better health this spring?

Technorati Tags: challenge, eating, exercise, fitness, giveaway, health, workouts

Tags: challenge, eating, exercise, fitness, giveaway, health, workouts

Team 4all

January 25, 2011 in Uncategorized by traveleatlove | 7 comments

Did you know that I spent Kindergarten through Eighth grades in a tiny Catholic school in NJ? It’s not something I talk about much because it’s not something I really like to remember, but when I received an email from Boston Sports Woman regarding an opportunity to be a brand ambassador for women’s fitness outfitter, Team 4all, my early school years were the first thing that came to mind.

Team 4all, starting with the name, is something I can get behind, and their Gain Power in 2011 campaign sounds it could be something I have written myself in past blog posts.

“Forget the crash diets, the fad eating trends and endless hours on a treadmill. We’re skipping the resolution to lose weight.
We’re going to improve our game, crush our opponents and still have time for a fun weekend. We want to gain power this year. Join everyone at 4all in our resolution to gain power in 2011!”

To enter the contest to become a brand ambassador, interested bloggers were asked to write a blog post based on the following prompt:

What or who inspired you to start a fitness/sports routine and how are you planning to gain power in the New Year?

That’s where Catholic school comes in. Without getting too into detail about this scarring experience, I will just share that the physical fitness program was absolutely atrocious when it came to girls and sports. It was everything every TV show gym class makes it out to be, awful uniforms, picking teams, bullying, general weekly mortification. Our physical education teacher was, I could recognize even at nine years old, a giant chauvinist (who also happened to be horribly out of shape; the only sport he did was beer can opening while watching sports, I am certain) always choosing boys to lead teams, cheering on the boys, and choosing rough “boy” sports like football and hockey. Those of us with less athletic ability were made fun of not just by fellow students, but by the teacher himself. And by those of us, I mean girls.

When I started at my public high school, I was inspired by a family friend to play field hockey, a sport she dominated in throughout her four years at the school. While field hockey was NOT for me, I relished in our weekly two mile runs, and where I was awful at hockey drills, I often was one of the first to come in during the “long” run. A desire to run more and a dislike for the field hockey program propelled several of us into winter track, then spring track, and the following fall, cross country.

Running became a part of my life when I was 14, and while we have had a love/hate relationship for many years, what inspires me most this year continues to be the 2010 Boston Marathon, and, more specifically, the hundreds of little girls I high-fived along the 26.2 mile route. No matter how tired I got, one of my goals during the marathon was to interact with the crowd, and the excitement on the faces of little girls from Hopkinton to Boylston Street was enough to make even the most exhausted runner beam with joy.

I was inspired in those moments because while maybe in many schools, boys’ sports still reign supreme, and we know that professionally the money is with the men’s teams, these little girls were witnessing thousands of women pushing their physical and emotional limits to complete an awesome race.

That's me!

In the end, I know every step I take is for my own health, mental and physical, but during those long runs or on the days where it is too cold to go even to the gym, I think back to the girls along the marathon route and hope that they keep that day somewhere in their hearts the way that the runners do, maybe even some day drawing upon those memories to be fit and have fun at whatever activities they decide to try. I would love the opportunity to represent Team4all

I am also pretty inspired by the fact that the girl who was picked last for nearly every sport is about to run a fifth marathon.

Take that angry Catholic school gym teacher! Smile

Technorati Tags: fitness, running, sports

Tags: fitness, running, sports

Friday Foodie Feature

July 1, 2010 in Uncategorized by traveleatlove | 6 comments

Long weekend! I have been waiting for this moment for a long time. I have a wedding on Saturday which should be a ton of fun, but Sunday. . . oh Sunday I am doing nothing. Beach, sun, sleep, wine, more beach, more wine, more sleep. And I have some new wine, since last night I did some wine tasting at The Urban Grape. Open only a couple of weeks, The Urban Grape is definitely my new go-to store for wine tastings, a high level of wine knowledge, and a completely friendly, educational, non-intimidating environment. You can see my full first review here. Last night was the first in-store tasting for The Urban Grape, and there was a great selection of wines. I was able to replace the Rosé that my cat broke and also added a few new wines to our collection. The hubs also took advantage of their growing beer selection to add some beers to our fridge.

This weekend marks my husband’s last weekend of Master’s work, minus the thesis part. That means his last exam will be turned in on July 4. . . independence from weekly assignments! He has until August 28 to turn the thesis in, and while that will be difficult it will be much more on his own time than regular classes. He graduates on Thanksgiving day in Galway Ireland, and I couldn’t be prouder

So that’s my weekend, what are you up to? Any fun parties, barbeques, or fireworks? Do tell!

Today’s Friday Foodie Feature is Jess from A Fete for Food, a fellow MA girl, fellow Boston marathoner, a fellow UMASS grad, and all around wonderful blogger. She is a registered dietician and certified personal trainer which gives her an incredible insight on food, fitness, and health, and to boot she is a great writer who clearly loves what she does.

How long have you been blogging? I’ve been blogging for about 18 months now.

What is your favorite thing about blogging? Least favorite? My blog, called “A Fete for Food” roughly translated from French/English, means “A party or celebration for food.” That’s what food blogging is all about, right? Thus, my favorite thing about blogging is sharing my voice and love for healthy habits and healthy eating with others. I like to share recipes (when they work) and the stories behind them. My least favorite aspect about blogging is feeling like I need to update constantly. This has been a more recent frustration, as “life” (new job, longer commute, more rigorous training schedule) has made it difficult to update on a regular basis.

What has been your most fun blog post to write? My most fun blog post to write was the Boston Marathon post. I was SO happy to finish and SO happy to share my experience with others. http://www.afeteforfood.com/2010/04/boston-marathon.html

Where do you see your blog this time next year? Next year, my blog will be turned into a book about what not to do. No, just kidding, but eventually I’d like to use my experiences that I’ve documented or will document on my blog to turn into a best-selling food memoir. Dream big, right?

Is there anything else about your blogging experience you would like to share?
Like most everything else, it’s about telling your story. I see so many bloggers getting caught up in the numbers games and popularity contests; if that’s why you blog, you’re missing the point. Enjoy it for what it is, and then live your life offline!

Remember, I need a couple of guest posters as well as a Friday Foodie Feature for next week while I am tasting wine in Sonoma and Napa . If you are interested, leave a comment or email me at traveleatlove (@) gmail.com.

Technorati Tags: blogger, fitness, Food, health