We’re talking about race tees on the Tuesdays on the Run linkup: do you wear them in a race? After a race?
For me it’s simple: never, ever wear the race tee before you’ve actually run the race! I do like to wear race tees to work out in. I love visualization and symbolism. Reminding myself of something I worked to achieve, or a race I rocked? I find that incredibly motivating.
Cleaning Up
So not that that’s out of the way, you might find yourself veering off your New Year’s resolutions by now. All that clean eating? Shedding pounds? Cross training? How’s that going for you now that we’re almost a quarter of the way through the year?
Since the race tee discussion is pretty cut and dried for me, I thought I’d share a few tips on how I clean up my diet and get more movement into my days:
- No deprivation. It seems counter-intuitive, and anyone that gets to know me knows I eat pretty healthy most of the time, but that doesn’t mean I deprive myself. Depriving yourself is just an invitation to binge, or eat too much of the foods you know won’t get you where you want to go.
- Know your why. Maybe you know why you run. Maybe you know why you’re active. Do you know why you want to eat better or lose some weight? If you don’t have a reason, when the cupcakes come out, you’ll probably cave.
- Enjoy it, for God’s sake! Which kind of goes back to #1. Did I feel guilty about the turtle bar I indulged in after my long run? Heck no! I enjoyed every single, delicious bite! So put away the phone, the books, put your treat on a pretty plate, and enjoy the heck out of it.
- Get right back on track. There’s no “I already blew this so I’ll just restart Monday” thinking for me. Sure, sometimes I eat things I didn’t plan to eat and know aren’t the wises choices. The very next meal is an opportunity to get right back on track. One treat won’t make you fat; only treats on a regular basis will.
- Stop putting chocolate chips in everything. Um, maybe you don’t have this problem. Obviously, I do. I wrote about it here. It doesn’t mean I don’t use chocolate chips; it just means not everything I bake needs chocolate chips!
- Savory breakfasts. I love waffles, pancakes, muffins, breakfast cookies. Even though most of the ones I make are pretty healthy, the truth is I just don’t need sweet breakfasts all the time. Sweets just fuel the sweet beast. The weird thing is when I make a savory breakfast, I enjoy it and I don’t miss the sweets. I still have to force myself to do it. So if I’m eating waffles every day, I know it’s time to start throwing in some savory oatmeal or some eggs for breakfast instead.
- My Fitdesk. Ok, enough of the food already! It’s not just about the food, although food is probably the more important part of the equation. Running __ miles doesn’t give me the excuse to sit on my butt all day. Which is why my Fitdesk is useful.
- Standing to read email. I put my ipad on our kitchen counter on a little wire shelf. Someday I’ll get something prettier, but for now, it’s working for me. Instead of always sitting down to read my email, I stand up. Little things like that add up to big changes.
- Frequent walk breaks. I have my Garmin Vivoactive to thank for that. It lets me know when I’ve been inactive too long. It’s part of why I chose it over the 225. Most of the time I listen to it.
- Stairs. I haven’t been doing this as much lately, since I’ve been resting my ankle, but I’ll go up and down our stairs for no reason other than to get a little more movement into my day.
And one final thing: if you’re not where you want to be, if where you want to be seems to far away and too hard to attain, don’t beat yourself up with exercise. Trust me; that doesn’t work.
I’m not telling you to not move, I’m just telling you you can’t out-exercise a bad diet. Exercise is vital to a healthy life, but too much of anything isn’t good for you. Just some final food for thought.
I’m linking up today with MCM Mama Runs, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and My No Guilt Life for the Tuesdays on the Run linkup.
You’re so right. The food adds up way too fast. I cannot move enough. Really? Stop the chocolate chips?? Dammit. Thanks for linking up!
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I didn’t say I was stopping chocolate chips — just that I’m not adding them into recipes that don’t call for them.
I had cookie dough baked oatmeal for breakfast this morning. 🙂
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YES to no deprivation! I can’t stand seeing these “diet” plans that cut out entire food groups–cutting out all grains is insane as they do have a lot of nutritional value, you just have to select the right grains. My take on race tees is that you don’t wear them till you run the race.
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I am actually willing to try most anything when it comes to diet.
Most diets that cut out grains don’t necessarily cut out carbs. Carbs are everywhere!
I do think I would probably benefit from cutting out dairy, but I always go back to it.
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I save the savory breakfasts for Sunday. My mom did that when I was a kid, and I do it now. I made French Toast this past Sunday since I hadn’t had it in quit a long time, and it hit the spot. The rest of the week is healthy cereals with yogurt/Greek yogurt, or bagels with peanut butter.
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Oh no, weekends are for the treats! Actually, my mom wasn’t really much of a breakfast person — maybe that’s why I love it so much??
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I’m with you on the race tees. I’m more of a savory breakfast kind of girl…..although those pancakes in Las Vegas were wonderful.
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They were good!
Sadly, I would eat that for breakfast every day (probably every meal) — if I could.
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This is a great thoughtful list. It makes you take stock! It’s true about the exercise thing… you can’t run off a bad diet! As for the race tees… I will definitely wear them to work out in once the race is finished! But never before! And usually not during!
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I always wear my t-shirt AFTER the race 😉
Know you WHY?…so important! My why: my health, happiness, sanity, my kids, to motivate/inspire others
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That dessert is to die for!! I love your tips about cleaning up your diet. Deprivation works for NO ONE!
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It tasted even better than it looks. 🙂 I also bought their version of a protein bar & took a little taste today after my run (planning to try it out on my long run this weekend). Wow. Just wow. Could be dangerous! Must run many miles to eat!
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I am so guilty of eating junk food and then trying to “run” it off. I know it doesn’t work like that but still….
As far as a race shirt, I don’t generally wear them to race but as long as it doesn’t say “finisher” or “I did it” then I say wear it if you want, or not!
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I’m pretty good about fueling my runs on pretty healthy food — most of the time. Not always.
Seriously, I don’t have the best metabolism and trying to run off (or over exercise another way) just doesn’t work for me.
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I read somewhere that having sweets for breakfast helps satisfy the craving so the rest of the day you don’t feel deprived if you eat savory/non-sweet. I think the article was about cake for breakfast!
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I’ve read that too. I think it really depends on the person. When I start my day with something sweet (like I like to), I tend to just want more sweets. Nothing really out of control, but I’m working so hard to lose those last few pounds.
There’s almost always a treat somewhere in my day!
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Great tips! I do a lot of the same – standing while doing work, taking the stairs, not feeling (too) guilty when I treat myself.
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Great post for today Judy! I try so hard to out-run, out-workout a bad diet. It simply does not work! Still struggling a bit, ok I fell off the wagon last week, but I’m back on, trying to watch what I eat and make smarter choices when I can. I also know that I must have my treats, sometimes it only takes a bite or two and it does help. 🙂
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Well, you did have a very tough week last week Tricia. You’re human!
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I agree about the race shirts Judy…never until after i have completed the race. I just talked with my coach today about my bad diet. While I am thin, it does not mean that I do not possess a terrible sweet tooth. Last week I inhaled a full bag of peanut M&M’s, you kknow the 12 ounce size in just a couple days. And the nightly ice cream has got to go. I’m hoping my running friend Diana can help me out. It really is a problem and I could probably perform better if I cleaned up my intake!
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Well, you are lucky to have a good metabolism (something I’ve never had!) but you’re right, even if you’re thin, it’s still important to eat healthy . . . most of the time. 🙂
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All good tips (love reading email standing up) but I think #1 is so important! Life is too short to not eat what we love! I credit having a daily treat for helping me lose 35 pounds 5 years ago and (mostly!) keeping it off.
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It gets harder and harder to have those treats as you get older. At least for me. Keep in mind I’m in my mid 50s — weight loss was never easy for me, but it has definitely gotten harder as I got older.
But anyone who follows me on IG knows I do NOT deprive myself. 🙂
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Agree with all of this ! My motto is everything in moderation. No way can I deprive myself because yes, I will overeat. I would also say reduce portion size… we can live on a lot less than we think.
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Yeah, well, I am a volume girl. So my solution to that is to eat on salad plates instead of dinner plates.
But the portions in restaurants here are obscene! I once ordered an appetizer portion of gnocchi that was dinner for me for like 3 days!
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Ohhhhhh, chocolate chips… mmmmmmmm… I was just thinking today that I haven’t baked in FOREVER and that’s totally why. Lol!
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I have gotten better in not eating some cc while baking. That used to be a real problem! It wouldn’t be much, but boy, even a few chocolate chips here & there sadly add up for me.
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This is my current battle and that is the truth, you can not out exercise a bad diet, you will kill yourself. I have been trying to clean up the eating but slowly. I have a piece or two of Dove dark often after a meal and when I have the urge I will have dessert, but luckily I don’t have that often. What got me the most was having an extra beer or cocktail and then I am snacking on nuts or pretzels…so no drinks all weekend and reasonable portions and I feel better 🙂 I am not good at being too strict, but I am trying to ask myself, are you really hungry? No, stop eating.
I think ever thing you make looks amazing, but i am too lazy to try to do it!
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Absolutely true! No reason to cut out all things evil completely, even if no chocolate chips are involved. I try, try to be judicious and healthy most of the time!
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