Less is More

After an unmotivating winter filled with forecasts of wintry mixes and gale force winds, I did my first half marathon of the year a few weekends ago. I thought for sure I would be the one the clean up crew was following trying to wrap up the race, as I had not nearly put in the training time as I did last fall. I was pleasantly surprised as I neared the finish with the clock under my best time of last year. I shaved a minute off and could not have been happier. As I was sipping on my congratulatory beer (it is imparitive that you replenish your carbs!), I realized that maybe I was setting myself up for failure. I pushed myself so hard that most of the time it left me drained. I had read about the over training and even ignored my husband when he mentioned it, but because Im too stubborn to do it any other way than my own (is there any other way?) I continued pushing. Even though I didnt run as often, the quality of my work outs were what made the difference. I actually kicked up the yoga again to replace some of the maintenance runs. Less is more. Now dont think you can leave with out me tying this into food and nutrition! For starters, most restaurant portion sizes are bigger than the stomach capasity of a table of four put together. If that rib eye you ordered is hanging off the side of the plate that should tell ya something. The amount of hidden fats and oils in restaurant foods can make you readjust your belt loops in no time, not good for bikini season! Keep it simple. The closer to nature you eat the less chance your eating from the chemistry lab. Less is more. We all get a little stumped in the coffee line trying to decide between a venti skinny frappe latte or grande double mocha whip with a collassal sticky bun or the iced doughnuts. You can order a 20 oz. coffee for $2 or a 2 oz. espresso for the same price. Who wouldnt want more bang for their buck! Logically, the 20 oz big gulp seems like the best deal. While you might be saving the bank account your putting your liver and adrenal glands in debt as the constant caffiene stimulation sucks your natural hormones dry leading you to drink more and more. Less is more. I am by no means a fully balanced human being, as I too have my pit falls (hard to believe I know!), but the more I want to push myself harder the more I realize I need to do what is best for my body and mind and that is when things seem to flow. Less is more....

Hidden Calories

I recently saw a commercial on TV that showed a man offering a popsicle to his girlfriend and she refused because it had high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in it. He went on to explain that its all natural because it comes from corn so she ate it. Of course, at the bottom of the screen was 'Paid for by the corn farmers of America.' Its extremely cheap and profitable so the more places they can cram it in things the better for the bank. The problem is just that: it's in everything from breads, ice creams, soups and everything else that comes in packages. The average grocery store has up to 45,000 items and corn is in about a quarter of those, often in the form of HFCS. The average person consumes up to 12 teaspoons of it a day and teenagers and others can reach up to 80% more than that. This leads to Type 2 diabetes, forms of cancers and many other cronic, unnecessary illnesses. The drug industries make a fortune off these diseases. They also try to disguise the name HFCS with terms such as crystalized fructose, which is what it says: crystalized corn syrup. Also added to HFCS is arsnic, heavy metals, lead and chloride. Apetizing right? Think twice next time you go for that soft drink or worse yet a diet version. I wont even get into that one today! Be aware of what your putting into your body and read the labels. If you can't pronounce the ingredients or they are longer than the series of 'Harry Potter,' then chances are its not real food but a cocktail of a processed chemicals.