Holiday Baking Survival Tips

If you don’t want to walk around this holiday season like Santa, wearing stretch pants and supporting a large belly you need to be mindful of your holiday baking. Here are a few tips to enjoy the season of cookies, pies and more without going overboard.

Keep it Simple
Decide on one thing that you want to bake so you don’t have a lot of choices to tempt you. You can also choose to order out and have someone else do the baking so you are not tempted with taste testing beyond what you should.

Find healthy substitutes
There are so many yummy recipes out there to help lower fat or sugar in recipes. Focus on baked goods that offer healthy ingredients like nuts or coconut vs butter and flour. Try using key words like Paleo or Whole30 for new recipes.

Bake only what you need
If you are baking cookies, only bake what you need from the batch and freeze leftover dough in round balls. That way you can always make more later for just the amount you need.

Get Rid of It
If you have baked goods sitting around longer than 2 days share it with others or just throw it away. Save your splurges for things you really enjoy, not the 3 day old cookie that you just want to get rid of.

Overall it is important to find a balance of enjoying holiday traditions yet honoring your fitness goals. Enjoy what you want most, forget about the rest and focus on other activities of the season not related to food.

Training for Runs without Carbs - My Story

A lot of people in my running group would consider me crazy but I started doing my Whole30ish/Food Trigger Detox program right at the beginning of my half marathon and marathon walk training. Last year I gained 7 pounds when I did my training because I let myself eat granola bars filled with sugar on my runs and then would eat to my heart content when I got back. This year I want to focus on doing this to make me feel good while I was training and the reason why I am focusing so much on how I fuel myself.

Because I am doing so much running/walking I am really careful about making sure I do get enough fuel and especially those carb filled vegetables that have so much of the good stuff in it. So far into week 3 of my plan I have had summer squash. Spaghetti squash, beets, sweet and white potatoes to support me.

You do have to think outside the box sometimes to make sure you are getting in the right food. This morning before my early run I had a hard boiled egg and sweet potato soup with coconut milk in it. During runs I drink HYDRATE and carry a dried fruit bar for additional fuel as needed (only on runs 6 miles or longer). After my run I had a RECOVER Protein Shake, omelet with summer squash topped with salsa and avocado and watermelon.

Week 2 I felt the effects of low energy as my body adjusted to this new way of eating but overall it hasn't effected my run times. Week 3 I feel much better. Although I haven't weighed myself since I started and I am not plannign to until after my half marathon I am feeling lighter which makes running even easier.

Interested in learning how to fuel yourself right, how to do a Food Trigger Detox program or to learn about the products I use email me at sarah@lifestyleforward.com.