Dare You To...

Happy Monday!  Hope you all had a great weekend!  Did you try anything new?  Check out the April Adventures roundup over at Meals & Miles!  Lots of great ideas for new things to try.

Since my success with running for fun, I've dipped in my miles again, but THAT'S OKAY.  I'm still working out, and I'm still enjoying myself.  I do want to get back in running shape, though, so this morning, I was planning to attempt a long run (for me, that'd be five miles) before an abs class.  Didn't happen.  I had a really poor night's sleep and just wasn't feeling up to it.  A spent a little while feeling guilty, but then decided that it's alright so swap today's plan for tomorrow; there was still time to make it happen.  ... But then I didn't.  I'm human.  It was raining.

I DID GO TO THE ABS CLASS.  I did something.  I did not do any real cardio conditioning, (after basically taking the weekend off,) and then proceeded to spend the day planted wit…

Wait, another new month?  Sorry, guys, I'm a little bit in shock here.  I feel like every. other. week. I'm writing "So it's a new month; let's look back on last month's goals and accomplishments and set new ones for this month!" ....  Didn't 2012 just arrive?  Like... yesterday?  No?  It's April?

Okay, FINE!  I'll carry on then. April, it is.

March was busy. Crazy busy. And not only the usual busy--lots of added curveballs, too.  Did I finish my 50 miles?  I think I was just short on the running front, although if you count elliptical miles I passed it.

I'm sort of in a rut with my running, and I'll tell you why:  setting a goal to run 600 miles in 2012, or 50 miles each month, turned running, a relatively new interest of mine, into WORK.  That's no fun.  Instead of thinking "Oh, look how bright it is outside!  I should go for a run!" I have been thinking, "I'd like to go to Spin Class, but I really should run…

Housekeeping first: we've got three lucky winners for the PopChips Giveaway! Random.org helped me select entries 19, 24, and 100: Laurel C, Kabri, and Heff (my first Facebook fan--paid off)!  Congratulations!
Thank you to all who entered; stay tuned for the next great giveaway :)

With that in mind, let's talk about smart snacking.


"Oversnacking" is something I've been struggling with recently, so I thought I'd share the principles guiding my own snacking choices going forward.

There are many components that go into snacking in a smart way, but today I'd like to focus on what I see as the two main dimensions: QUALITY and QUANTITY.  I'll give my quick advice on these, with some wise words from Michael Pollan's Food Rules: An Eater's Manual along the way.

But first, the obvious question: why snack at all?  Snacking isn't for everyone; some people get by very well on a solid three meals a day, period.  We're not all like that, though.  Some …

Alright, friends, it's been a week!
(Don't forget: POPCHIPS GIVEAWAY!  Last few days to enter: CLICK HERE!)
Did you fulfill last week's dare to shut down before bed?  How did it go for you?  Did you find it difficult to fit in time, did you enjoy the half or whole hour of peace before slipping into sleep?

If you were unable to give it a go, please give it a try!  It makes such a difference, really.  Do not forget to prioritize sleep!  You can read more about the fundamentals of sleep at FitFluential.  Balanced Bites also discuss how bright lights after the sun goes down can negatively influence your metabolism.  So try making your 7-9 hours a habit--a priority--and aim to get 30-60 minutes of technology-free downtime before bed. Let your brain ease into the darkness, let your body understand that it's nighttime, and let your mind become free of the stresses that distract it from relaxing.

That's what I'm about to do. I'm about to crawl into bed (later than …

TGI-Monday!  Sure, it's late Monday night... Tuesday by the time you read this, I know.  Just bear with me.

But first...  Be sure you entered the PopChips giveaway!  Three lucky readers get a month's assorted supply, so enter here!

NOW, back to why we're being thankful for Monday:  This morning after uploading my own post, I read a thoughtful piece by Angela at Eat, Spin, Run, Repeat, in which she challenges (yayy) us to treat each Monday like New Year's Day, to start fresh, to say that this will be a good day, a good week, and to make plans to ensure as much.


She suggests selecting a focus for the week, and to take steps toward that focus all week long.  Specifically, each Monday, she (and I) will declare...

One main focus for the week, which may or may not change from week to week,Two things I'm going to do as part of the focus to make my week better, andThree benefits I'm going to see/feel/experience as a result of these positive actions.(Quoted from Angela.)…