I’m Quitting Yoga Because Of Some Stranger On The Internet

Hello! Yesterday after I posted about the Tinkerbell Half I chugged some Spark and headed to my mom’s. She was off for the day and my lil brother is on Spring Break so it was the perfect time for a mid-week visit.

We walked and talked and ate… all my favorite stuff.

I suspect Clyde thinks my phone is a treat because he sits so still when I take a picture of him and just stares right at the camera. He did this for the longest time before I put the camera down.

I also made a mini-cake with my little brother. A while back I bought him a small red velvet cake kit. He doesn’t really have any experience cooking or baking so it was a joint project. But right before we started I cut my finger chopping an apple (rookie mistake) so he had to take over the main duties and I just bossed him read the directions.

We added sprinkles to the finished product and it looked so fancy! No one would suspect this was his first cake baking endeavor.

He was mostly just excited to eat it and oddly annoyed that I delayed his first bit with pictures…

“Okay Monica, you took a bunch!”

Dog pile!!!

This morning I hit up yoga for a good stretch session and then Trader Joe’s for some breakfast essentials. I don’t know if I’

(I interrupt this sentence to share that fact that Vegas just barked 3 feet away from me and now I have to clean it up.)

Ugh.

Anyway.

I don’t know if I had tried this before but I know this TJ’s reduced guilt guacamole is going to be my latest obsession. It is amazing.

Breakfast!

This morning I hit up a new-to-me yoga class at the gym. Today was a rest day from running and I am determined to do more cross training on my off days. If I don’t find a good cross training workout I end up running more and it’s not good for improving my running because I’m tired for my scheduled runs.

This class was filled with older ladies (like my Grandma) so I wasn’t sure it would be good for me. But I did get in a great stretch session. I am so NOT flexible because I run a lot and don’t stretch. My hips are super tight. My calves are tight. My toes are tight. I am a mess.

Basically, I’m bad at yoga.

I follow a lot of super awesome yogis on Instagram. I see them doing handstands and ballet style moves on the beach and in front of waterfalls. I want to be like them! I want to be flexible and graceful instead of red faced and frustrated in downward facing dog.

Wait… I am comparing my Chapter 1 with some random girl’s Chapter 20. So I stop myself. And I am proud of what I can do. I am proud of myself for going to level 1 yoga and stretching out my hips that serve me well mile after mile.

Truthfully, I don’t really compare myself to yoga pros, because I know I am just starting. And I know our bodies are different. And I know that if it was my goal to do a floating one handed eagle handstand (I made that up) I could do it with work and patience and practice.

Every day I get comments and emails from readers saying, “I wish I could run that much!” or “I could never run a sub 2 hour half marathon!!” or… “Insert some comparison here”

I have been running for over 8 years. It’s my passion and I love it. Don’t compare where I am today to where you are today.

Take inspiration from blogs and Insta and whatever else and use it to make you happy and motivated. But don’t compare, that never feels good.

Do you.

Question: On a scale from 1 – 10 – how do YOU feel today?

1 = death bed

10 = you can conquer the world

The post I’m Quitting Yoga Because Of Some Stranger On The Internet appeared first on Run Eat Repeat.

Small Changes + Cherry Blossom Hopes

In January, I felt AMAZING.

Ok, that’s partially a lie. The first week or so of Whole 30 SUCKED. I was waiting for that yay! awesome! feeling, and I was stuck with headaches as my body detoxed and got used to a super-clean diet again.

I’m trying to get back there again. I’m not liking the way my clothes are fitting and I’m definitely noticing the effects of a less-clean diet on my mental health. No joke, I feel happier the more vegetables I have. 

My diet is decent these days. My breakfast and lunch are usually perfectly healthy. It’s snacks and nights out where I fall apart. Something like Whole 30 works for me short-term FOR SURE (per Julie’s recent interesting post on abstainers vs. moderators, abstaining is easier for me short-term, but longer-term, I’d like to get closer to moderation.)

Anne recently asked me if I stuck to Whole 30 after I ended/how it’s affected my diet since. Well, I left for vacation several days after I finished and fell head-first off the wagon, and now that “puffiness” is returning.

As I caught myself in the mirror at Uplift this morning, i was tempted to pick myself apart and stare at my midsection that doesn’t look how I want it to. But I stopped myself and made myself think of a positive thought to replace that. I enjoyed watching my biceps in the mirror as I lifted. I was proud that when Kat asked if anyone wanted a heavier weight, I made eye contact and said “hell yeah I do.”

One of my favorite guilty pleasures at work is dark chocolate-covered espresso beans. A little shot of caffeine AND chocolate? YES PLEASE. When we do have them, I easily fall into the habit of having a few after lunch. And mid afternoon. And late afternoon. The past few days, I’ve been trying to make an active effort to choose fruit instead.

And I loooove me some wine, but I know if I often have after-work plans and I have goalz, I need to put my goals first, not my wine. I don’t want to give it up completely, but I’m not keeping it at home any more and limiting myself to two drinks on weeknights and four on a weekend.

Nothing huge, but my diet doesn’t need a huge overhaul, just some small changes.

Cherry Blossom Ten Miler

This is the second time I’m running this race — this time as part of Anne’s Cabot Team. I just re-read my recap, and apparently I feel exactly the same right now as I did going into it last time. Haven’t run double digits since the marathon, still want to PR (8:58 pace or less.) I still feel the same way — if I have an OK day, it will be possible. Need to be super careful of how I eat on Saturday/the rest of this week, and after that, leave it up to how I feel Sunday morning.

And then BK, I go hard next week with training.

1. What are small changes you make when trying to fine-tune your diet?

2. DC people — I obviously know the city well, but am bringing a friend for her first time. What do you think are must-sees for first-timers AND what new restaurants should I know about?

Related posts:

1. Cherry Blossom Ten Miler Race Recap
2. Back to the Basics
3. Fatty Foods Affect Memory and Exercise – Well Blog – NYTimes.com

Week 33 Weigh-in

I was really, really tempted not to post today's weigh-in. I had a small gain last week, but I wasn't concerned about it at all. I was thinking I should cut back on calories just a touch (to 2,000 per day or so); but then this week just... happened.

I want to start by saying that I didn't binge! I am very proud of my binge-free streak right now. But we had a couple of days when we went out with friends, when we ate at Jerry's friend's memorial, and when we splurged on dinner and dessert in Detroit on Monday--all of which caused me to consume more calories that I probably should have. Which is why I was really tempted not to post a weigh-in today! However, we all know that's how it starts... a bad week, and then a skipped weigh-in. Maybe one more. Then the weigh-ins are few and far between, as the scale climbs.

So, I'm posting this for accountability. It's hard to post a gain (especially two weeks in a row!), but I don't want to allow this to get out of control. The whole point of my weigh-ins is to keep me accountable, whether I gain or lose weight. Besides, I'm still far under my goal weight, so I am happy about that.

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I Am Super Excited About This Race But Need Your Help

Hello! How’s it going? Today I set out for a run with 4 hill repeats. I ended up running about 5 miles to warm up and then doing an overpass 4x for the hills.

I am super excited about my next race (well one of my next races, I don’t know if I have one before it because I’m not organized)…

I signed up for the Tinkerbell Half Marathon and the 10K. Together those races are considered the Pixie Dust Challenge!! How cute is that name?

I love Disney races (despite that I had to sell a kidney to cover the costs, I really liked my kidney we’d been through a lot together)! They are the best races to dress up for and there are so many photo ops and I just feel like everyone is in this happy Disney magic spirit.

And to make it even more fun I signed up my mom to run the 10K with me. She’s been wanting to do a race together and we were going to do one recently but our schedules haven’t worked out.

So I surprised her with this news last week and she is so excited!! Me too!!! But I need your help.

What should we dress up as? I kind of want to dress up as a duo or Disney friends or something. I’m okay re-doing a costume I’ve done before but am also open to something super random.

Past Disney Races / Costumes:

Sleeping Beauty costume

Disneyland 10k

Disneyland Half Marathon recap

Tinkerbell Half Marathon

Toy Story Jessie Running Costume

Disney World Wine and Dine Half Marathon 

I really like Disney races, obviously. Anyway. Thoughts on a costume I can run in? Thoughts on a costume I can do with my madre?

Thoughts on other stuff you just feel like sharing today??

Question: Thoughts?

Are you running this too?

The post I Am Super Excited About This Race But Need Your Help appeared first on Run Eat Repeat.

Chocolate Souffle with White Chocolate Sauce

Before I start raving about this lovable chocolate soufflé recipe, I have to thank you for showing up, once again, as the best friends a girl could have. Thank you for supporting me and Eating in the Middle: A Mostly Wholesome Cookbook! I love you for it. On to the chocolate soufflé recipe (the 253-calorie chocolate soufflé...

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I Need a Seeing Eye Dog. Send Help.

Hello! How’s it going? Earlier we talked about RUNNING or more specifically my new running watch. Now let’s talk EATING.

I am so weird with cravings all the time. I’ll get the most intense and random cravings a few times a week and have to have that food asap. A lot of the time it’s actually healthy things or at least not complete crap food. Like this weekend I needed to eat tuna or else.

Last night it was turkey and spaghetti sauce. A quick trip to Target and I had the ingredients (plus a new scratcher for Vegas).

I made the major rookie mistake of going shopping HUNGRY. I made an impulse buy of popcorn and ate most of it on the way home (and it’s only 2 miles away).

Extra lean turkey, zoodles and marinara = a healthy dinner that solved my craving.

Today I tried to run but my body said YOU NEED A REST DAY. I decided to listen because I had to, my legs would not run.

It was a gorgeous day so I just enjoyed a walk. Walking is a great form of exercise because you can look at instagram while you do it. At least I can (because I’m not opposed to falling in public).

Then, I got ready for my first eye doctor appointment in almost 10 years. I got Lasik eye surgery in college. But lately I’ve noticed my eyes can’t see certain things people around me can see. It’s nothing major for example,  the signs at Morongo the other week but it scared me so I made an appointment.

Long story short, I’m going blind and will soon need a seeing eye dog. Send help.

I came home upset about my diagnosis and asked Vegas to be my seeing eye cat. He just ignored me and kept sleeping. Typical.

Back to my search for a dog helper. I might put an ad out on Craigslist or send out a dog signal (like the Bat signal but for a dog, obvi).

Let me know if you have the scoop on a pet that will help me with my life, feed itself, is housebroken, can be alone if I go on vacation for 2+ weeks at a time and doesn’t mind that I’M VERY LOUD!!!

There was a massive apple in there somewhere…

And I did some awkward stretching in my car because I was early for the appointment (which never has happened before in my life).

Question: Would you rather walk or run?

The post I Need a Seeing Eye Dog. Send Help. appeared first on Run Eat Repeat.

Kids first Wings game

Ever since Jerry and I went to the Red Wings game in October, the kids have been asking for us to take them to a game. We finally got tickets, and yesterday was the big day. They were super excited to go!

The game wasn't until 7:30 pm, so we decided to plan on having dinner in Detroit beforehand. In the morning, I did speed work on the treadmill: 4 x 5:00 at 7:30/mi pace with 2:00 jogs between. I would have preferred to do it outside, but it was crazy windy yesterday, and doing speed work outside is hard enough without wind.

I started with a mile warm-up at 6.0 mph, and then bumped it up to 8.0 mph for the intervals. I'm surprised at how good I feel at that pace now! Doing five minutes at 7:30 pace isn't all that hard anymore (on the treadmill; outside is another story)--it definitely gets my heart rate up, but I don't feel like I'm struggling to get through it. I did the two minute jogs at 5.0 mph, and then I finished the workout with a short cool down. Good workout!


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TomTom Spark GPS Watch Review

Hello! I have been running with the TomTom Spark GPS Fitness Watch over the last couple months. I’ve received a bunch of questions on how I like it, but I wanted to give it some mileage before sharing my thoughts. Now it’s time to talk about it…

The TomTom Spark is different from a lot of other fitness watches because it can hold a lot of music and can be hooked up with wireless headphones. This allows you to run without a phone / ipod and headphones for music. Boom! Or should I say Spark!

It’s a GPS watch, music player, multisport tracker and heart rate monitor all in one. Your playlist can be downloaded from iTunes or Windows Media player and put right on the phone. It holds up to 500 songs. That should be enough for a full marathon or two (or three).

The watch connects to your computer to upload the data. Runners are often data people. I am not so much. But I do appreciate when it’s easy to see running stats. This info is important for training! (For people who are responsible about mileage and improving, not Monicans…)

I used the watch at the Jerusalem Marathon. I was a little afraid it was going to have a hard time finding a signal since I was halfway across the world from where I usually turned it on for a signal. But it was no problem at all! The watch had a good connection and battery life the whole time!

Since it can track heart rate you need to wear it like a normal watch with the face on the top of your wrist. I go back and forth with how I wear it depending on if I want those numbers on any given day. The way I’m wearing it below won’t work for heart rate, but the ‘usual’ way above will.

Overall thoughts on the TomTom Spark Fitness Watch: It is super easy to use. The readings while  I am running are big and clear. I have the watch showing me Pace / Overall Time / Mileage while I run. The numbers are easy to read with a  quick glance. It has a great battery life (I used to charge my last watch every night but can go a few on this one). And even though it’s easy to read the watch is a good size (not so big you need a wheelbarrow to carry it with you on a run like other watches). I dig it.

You can check out this watch here on their website. It is about $249 directly from them. There are also other running watches for less if you don’t need the it to have music or be multisport.

Question: What time is it?

Me: 8:42pm. PST.

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Eating in the Middle is Published!

Today is cookbook day! Eating in the Middle: A Mostly Wholesome Cookbook — my first cookbook, and second book, is published!! Now you can walk into every bookstore, all the Barnes & Nobles, any room in my mother’s house…and rest assured you’ll find two very special photos of me on book covers: one in plaid, one in a bikini top. And...

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Lately

Some of my favorite posts from other bloggers are the random looks into their lives, so here we go, via some photos from my phone and random thoughts.

Somehow Lacey’s wedding was a year ago already! FB reminded me of the fun night I had with friends AND my parents.

Speaking of Lacey, I went to a Soul Cycle Hamilton ride with her on Friday. I’d tried really hard to avoid the Hamilton craze, but…now I get it. And want tickets. Well, maybe 2018.

It’s true. Good thing he’s so cute. (P.S. Follow the dumb crap I do on Snapchat at theodorable211. << Because why would I have my social handles match? #branding) 

He also really likes to take care of his grandma.

There’s nothing cuter than my baby cousin walking around in my shoes, right? 

My friend Meg came home with me for Easter and brought this delish quiche.

photo via Meg’

What, like it’s weird for single women in their 30s to dye Easter eggs?

Here’s why you don’t need to ask your followers to sign up for notifications on Instagram. I started seeing 1,000,000 of those posts this morning and wondered if I needed to do so for work, but the tl;dr is: not yet, and so long as you have awesome content, maybe never.

Y tu? How was your weekend? 

Related posts:

1. Uh oh…
3. The Days Are Long, but the Years Are Short

NutriBullet Pro 900 Series | It is Better Than Vitamix?

If you’re in the market for your very first blender, looking to upgrade your existing unit, or you’re simply ready to enter into the wonderful world of delicious fruit smoothies and healthy green drinks, then don’t do another darn thing until you’ve finished reading this. And be sure to scroll down for the video review! 

After the Nutribullet peeps sent us the NutriBullet Pro 900, Matthew and I whipped up some smoothies. It’s a machine that is beyond fantastic. Nutribullet has a very good reputation (my Auntie lost over 20 pounds while using her Nutribullet every day), but I honestly didn’t expect to be as blown away by their 900 Series as much as I was. It was like being caught in a tornado inside of a wind tunnel during a hurricane. These are our Nutribullet first impressions.

THE MACHINE: The unit is very well made with solid construction. It’s big, yet space-saving due to its slender build. Matthew was impressed with the power of the motor. The Nutribullet blended our smoothie in mere seconds and left no pesky chunks like some other blenders do.

BREAKING DOWN ICE CUBES: The real test of any good blender is how effectively it can break down ice cubes. One of my tests for the Nutribullet was to break down 10 ice cubes as part of my morning smoothie. It did so effortlessly and in record time compared to any blender I’ve ever used…ever. This was an eye-opening moment, considering that I spent over $600 on my Vitamix that is less than one year old. Uggh! The Nutribullet handled 10 ice cubes better than my expensive Vitamix ever has.

LEARNING CURVE: The simplicity of operating the Nutribullet, along with the no-nonsense accessories it includes, should leave you with only one challenge, and that is to figure out which smoothie combinations you love the best. But even that learning curve can be resolved quickly since Nutribullet provides you with a recipe booklet and smartphone app with a ton of recipes to try.

So that leaves the question to be officially answered: Is the Nutribullet better than Vitamix? In my opinion, for the purpose of mixing up smoothies everyday with the ease of operating the machine, getting a great smoothie as a result, and then cleaning up fast, the answer is yes. Nutribullet is better.

CHECK OUT OUR VIDEO REVIEW

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