health | The Big White Farmhouse

April 6, 2015

{a year of challenges} March is for Health & Fitness: What I’ve Learned

Playing a bit of catch-up from my Holy Week break!

Last week, I finished up my March is for Health and Fitness challenge and I think it was a huge success. This month long bootcamp was just what I needed and I’m proud of what I accomplished. A few notes about what I’ve learned along the way:

Weight Loss Update
I am so excited to write that after a three month plateau, I lost five pounds and five and a half inches! To help figure out how many calories I should be eating to lose weight while nursing, I used this calculator. Based on that recommendation, I probably eat around 2000-2200 calories, give or take, depending on the day. I tracked my food for a few weeks to stay accountable, but I’m now confident enough to go without it.

Veggie Intake
One of my goals was to eat a salad or green vegetable every day and I’m happy to report that I did 29 out of 31 days. Eating a big, hearty salad for lunch became routine. I tried to incorporate more veggies in with dinner. I added spinach to my post-workout smoothies. I still have work to do, but I think I’ve made baby steps in the right direction.

Water Intake
Water is still a work in progress for me, but I’m improving! I’m learning that a huge part of running is hydration. I’ve started drinking a glass of water as my coffee brews in the morning. I’m also trying to chug and be done with my morning coffee instead of babying it (and microwaving and microwaving…) all morning long. I fill big glasses to have with my meals and even have one bedside. More baby steps.

Half Marathon Training
95% of my exercise has been training for my half marathon in May. By month’s end, I clocked in 58.5 miles! Every week gets a little harder, but is an opportunity to push myself a little further than before. It’s hard to describe what running has done for me…with every mile (no matter how slow), I feel a little bit more like the athlete I’ve always wanted to be.

A few articles I found helpful and informational:

A Sugary Drink with a Toxic Secret
How and Why You Should Warm Up Before a Run
10 Ways to Enjoy the Long Run
Eat Like a Genius: Nutrition for Runners
Learning the Skill of Barefoot Running (this video has tips for posture that have been really helpful for me too)
Foam Rolling Exercises for Runners

Look for my new challenge for April later this week!

March 10, 2015

{a year of challenges} A Health & Fitness Link List

The Dehydrated Girl’s Guide to Water

I liked the thoughts behind weight loss in this post.

This blueberry and avocado smoothie sounds delicious.

Feel Great in 8: an 8 week challenge that encourages you to make healthy choices along with a motivating support system

The 100 Best Running Songs of all Time: I’m checking this out for new material.

I love the free printables Mique made to create a fitness binder.

How to Kill Your Sugar Addiction Before It Kills You

I plan on making these cinnamon molasses muffins soon.

That’s Not Sweat, I’m Just Leaking Awesome.

March 4, 2015

{health} My Top Five Favorites for Cool Weather Running

Today I’m linking up with Rachel (she’s taking over for Jenna this week!) and sharing my top five favorite items I’ve been using when I run this winter:

Victory Fleece Pullover from Target // I love this sweatshirt and have it in two colors. It’s super warm and I love how the back is just a little bit longer and covers my butt. Great for running and just bumming around the house.

New Balance Women’s WT10v2 Minimus Trail Running Shoe // These are my second pair of Minimus shoes and I won’t wear anything else! They are on the barefoot running spectrum and have a Vibram sole. I find them so comfortable and use them for all of my runs.

Garmin Forerunner 220 // Mark surprised me with this watch when I signed up for the half marathon. While I originally balked at the price, I have used it on a few outdoor runs and I quickly discovered its worth. I love that I can see my time, distance and pace at a glance. Another handy feature is the ability to upload my runs onto the Runkeeper app.

The Flipbelt // I found this handy belt on Pinterest and it is so great! I feel safest when I bring my phone while running, but am always frustrated with my arm band. The Flipbelt lets me carry my phone around my waist (along with my keys, etc) with no jiggling around! It’s awesome.

Bon Jovi Pandora Station // I do most of my weekday runs during a break in our homeschooling and on the treadmill. Not my favorite way to run, but you do what you gotta do, right? Those miles can be brutal though, so I’m not ashamed to tell you that classic rock gets me through. The Bon Jovi station on Pandora has a pretty good mix of songs to keep me distracted.

October 27, 2014

{health} Body After Baby #5: The Plan

I recently came across a photo of myself from my wedding almost 10 years ago. I was 21 years old, not a wrinkle or gray hair…and um wow, I was SO thin! As I sit here now, a month postpartum with my fifth baby, it would be too easy to beat myself up with criticism and comparisons: “I’ll never lose this weight. I’m too fat for my ‘fat’ pants.” “Look how skinny that new mom is..why didn’t I work out more while I was pregnant?” “Will I ever look like that again?” In the past, I’ve been more belittling to myself than I would like to admit. This time around, I’m giving myself a lot of grace.

The truth is, I don’t want to be skinny like I was at 21. I want to be a 30-year-old mother of five who is challenging herself to be the best she can be. In the upcoming months, I hope to lose the baby weight, gain lots of muscle, run races and try lots of new exercises. I want to be an athlete.

So with those goals in mind, this is my plan:

NUTRITION

+ Track my food.

I found a few calculators online to help me determine how many calories I should be consuming while nursing. Using that number, I plan to track my food for about a week. (I don’t like to track for very long because I think it can easily become an obsessive behavior.) That will give me an idea about how much food I should be eating and help me to make a few go-to menu plans.

+ Reduce my sugar intake.

I’ll be taking tips from the No Sugar January challenge from earlier this year.

+ Drink lots of water.

I’m notoriously bad at this. I have this plastic mason jar and I’m going to be more conscious of keeping it filled up and available throughout the day.

+ Plan and prep my meals.

I need a plan. Without it, I scrounge around, looking for anything easily ingested with one hand. So along with my weekly meal planning (using my favorite notepad!) for the entire family, I will also be making a list of healthy choices for me. Sunday nights will be prep time: breakfast burritos for the freezer, veggies and cheese chopped for snacking, etc.

FITNESS

+ 10,000+ steps daily.

I use a Fitbit One to track my steps and it’s so helpful. I want to get in 10,000 steps minimum, but hopefully work up to more like 15,000.

+ Do a combination of walking and running.

From two weeks postpartum, I made an effort to walk almost everyday. Now I am starting the Couch25K program, which will hopefully help ease me back into running.

+ Add in the weights.

I love weight training, but for some reason, struggle with consistency. I’m going to research some programs and see what sticks.

+ Try new exercises.

I am going through this postpartum workout DVD, but can’t wait to try a few new things. A few exercises I’ve been considering: Jillian’s 30 Day Shred, pilates, Kickboxing Bootcamp, or maybe another round of Insanity.

+ Include the kids sometimes.

Exercise is good for all of us!

SELF CARE

+ Take 30 minutes everyday to do something just for me.

What are your favorite ways to stay healthy? Do you have a great workout website or DVD you can recommend to me? I’m up for trying anything!

January 15, 2014

{2014 challenges} No Sugar January: the Halfway Point

{adorable sugar bowl made by Paulova Ceramics}

Hello. My name is Ashley and I am addicted to sugar. What is it about the holidays and falling completely off track? The past few months have been especially bad. When it comes to sweets, I tend to be an all or nothing kind of girl. I can’t just have a piece of chocolate and put the rest away. Oh no! That chocolate calls to me from the cupboard (in a secret spot away from little hands!) until I devour the rest!

With the new year, I knew I needed a detox to lose a few bad habits and re-gain a bunch of good ones. I wanted to cleanse my insides a bit and get rid of some of my belly bloat. I also knew that a better diet would inspire me to consistently exercise again. So No Sugar January, a 30 day challenge, was born!

My rules:
+ No sweets: cookies, ice cream, cheesecake, brownies, etc. are all off limits.
+ Nothing with artificial sweeteners.
+ Natural sugars (in the form of fresh and dried fruit) are allowed.
+ This is not Whole30. Gluten is allowed, but try to limit how much I eat.
+ Traces of sugar seem to be in everything, so try to eat as raw and clean as possible.

I’ve been keeping a bit of a daily diary through the process. Take a peek:
DAY 1 | Feeling positive. This is going to be easy! DAY 2 | I have a minor headache that has lingered all day. DAY 3 | The headache is back…thank goodness this is the worst of the detoxing so far! DAY 4 | I’ve re-discovered that I’m an emotional eater. I had a hard day with the kids and I just want a bowl of ice cream! DAY 5 | French onion meatballs and green beans for dinner…yum. DAY 6 | Starting to crave smoothies as my something sweet. Bringing the fruit & spinach smoothies back into regular rotation. DAY 7 | Italian chicken with broccoli for dinner, which was gobbled up by everyone. I had a double serving of the broccoli…who am I? DAY 8 | Jumped on the scale today “just to see” and I’m down almost a pound and a half. Good push to keep going! DAY 9 | A couple of dried apricots seems to satisfy my sweet tooth. DAY 10 | Dinner was pork stir-fry with lots of veggies. Delicious. DAY 11 | The boys asked for chocolate chip cookies. I bought some (which I never do) because I don’t trust myself to not lick the batter. DAY 12 | While walking today, I happily discovered that I felt no lingering aching or pain in my ankle. Maybe there’s a connection to the change in diet? DAY 13 | Today was the launch of Big White Farmhouse and I decided to break the “no sugar fast” to celebrate with an apple fritter. Tasted good going down, but I had a belly ache later. Worth it. DAY 14 | Even with the taste of sugar yesterday, I feel ready to continue the challenge. I think there’s a lesson in moderation here.

Two weeks down, two to go!

August 19, 2013

{health} My Journey to Health: An Update

As hokey and overused as the word “journey” is, there really isn’t a better word to describe the past eight months. Back in January, I was at least thirty pounds overweight and miserable. I felt terrible about myself and the example I was setting for my daughter. I knew I needed to make a change.

I truly believe that is the first step to health: you need to want it. BAD. You need to commit to the entire process: the good, the bad and the ugly. And so I began with baby steps. I knew I’d never stick with it if I made radical changes all at once, so I started small and went from there. One week, my only goal was “Drink more water”. Really! Another week I tried to eat something green everyday. Small, attainable changes that weren’t intimidating.

As the weeks went on, I grew more courageous in both my exercise and my eating. I started Insanity in March and completed seven weeks before I quit due to the stress in my knees. I trained for a 5K and completed my very first race in May. I soon grew to love fitness and wanted to try a little bit of everything! Weight training, pilates and lots of running filled most of my summer. I frequently varied my exercise to avoid boredom and burnout and there is so much you can do!

A few of the websites and apps I’ve used:

+ Tone it Up!
+ Nike Training Club app
+ Runkeeper app
+ Blogilates
+ Fitness Blender

In June, I spontaneously decided to complete a Whole30 before going on vacation. While my original intention was just to lose a few extra pounds, the benefits of Paleo eating were amazing. I have since adopted an 80%/20% mentality and it has really changed my world. Look for a separate post about that soon!

Fast forward to today. I am 30 pounds lighter and have learned to love this amazing body of mine. For the first time in a long time, I am proud of myself and what I’ve accomplished. And that feels good.

P.S. If you are on your way to health and need some encouragement, I would love to hear from you. The support I received from family, friends and even Instagram “strangers” was so helpful and appreciated and I would love to pay it forward.

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