New Years Eve-Eve

I’ve never been a huge New Year’s resolution maker, but I always have goals. I, and I know many people agree, think that anytime is a great time to start a goal -- not just the first day of the year. Nevertheless, here is my list of a few goals I hope to achieve in 2015:

Improve my crow pose and headstand.

I would love to get deeper into my crow pose and stronger in my headstand. I’m excited that I’ve accomplished these two

Achieve forearm stand and a full king pigeon.

Forearm stand is my next inversion goal, just before I get ready for handstand and its variations. Just casually attempting it recently I’ve realized just how much core and arm strength I’m going to need to get myself into the pose. I’ve also been working on my king pigeon for a while. For this I need to continue to work on my backbends.

Try aerial yoga and SUP yoga at least once. Revisit hot yoga.

I love yoga but I’d like to try aerial yoga and SUP yoga each at least once to see if I will learn anything new, or if it could help my routine. It’s also hard to move out of my comfort zone so I think these two classes will be great challenges. I’m also going to aim to revisit bikram yoga a couple of times.

Finish a marathon.

I’ve been signed up for my first full marathon for two months now, but training is really going to ramp up after May when I participate in another half.

Run 2015 kilometers in 2015. Try a running streak.

I’d like a secondary running goal. For now I’m playing around with two ideas. While I’ve seen many people run 2014 miles for their year, I think kilometers is a goal that’s daunting enough for me. My other thought is to try a running streak and see how long I can last.

Continue to practice making healthy eating choices. Intuitively eat.

This year I’ve made a huge change with healthy eating. I’ve lost weight, I’ve been sick less, and mentally I feel more clear than I have the past few years. I really want to push to eliminate the occasional binge eating that I fall into, and focus on eating to nourish -- not because I’m bored.

Rainy Running

You know you're desperate for a run when you race home from work and commuting, jump into your gear, and don't even contemplate using the cool, rainy weather as an excuse to skip speed training.

Although, maybe next time I should take a few mixtures to wash off my makeup before I go for a run in the rain.

I was so desperate to make time for my run that I held off on eating dinner. I was so hungry that I devoured the biggest plate of roasted veggies, brown rice, and my current Gardein obsession (this week it's Fishless Filets).

I want to get back out for an easy run tomorrow but my IT band is super tight even after stretching it and my hip flexors so I may have to settle for a walk, but that's okay. As much as I have a training plan in place I'm trying to be kind to myself so I can keep loving running.

What's your favourite post-run meal? With the cooler weather I'm loving anything warm!

Meal Prep Crazy

I love meal prepping. Seriously. All week I brainstorm what I'm going to cook up for the following week. Usually I focus on a soup or a salad that I can eat for lunch, and dream up what I might snack on. 

This week I went a little crazy and meal-prepped my breakfast, lunch, AND dinner: 

My hours at work are picking up and lately I've had to stay a little later to get work finished. Taking the train makes my day even longer because sometimes I have to wait around for one to arrive. I'm trying really hard to keep my activity levels up this winter so any time I can spare, whether it means fitting in a workout before work or getting to the gym in the evening, is great .

There are so many things you can prepare ahead of time. For example, I eat a grapefruit almost every day for a morning snack. I don't want to make a mess trying to eat halves of juicy fruit at my desk so I peel the fruit from their skins on Sundays and they stay delicious all week. 

This week I made a huge pot of hearty minestrone soup for my lunch. I make so much soup that I usually have to put two portions in one larger container so save my containers for the rest of my food.

In the afternoon I usually snack on veggies and hummus. Each day I open up the fridge and take what I need.

As I mentioned, I also made breakfast and lunch for the week. I prepared some protein waffles that work great after a morning workout as well as on a quiet morning. I either throw them in the microwave or the toaster to warm them up, drizzle with honey, and pair with some fresh fruit.

For dinner I roasted up a variety of vegetables and divided them into containers. I also cooked up some brown rice and I'll probably add some form of protein.

Cantaloupe was also on the menu this week. My sweet tooth is threatening to get out of control so having some fruit that's easy to get to makes choosing healthy options a little easier. 

Do you go meal-prep crazy or do you make your meals each day?

Early Mornings & Grumpy Nights

I'm forever setting my alarm at an early hour to get some exercise in before work, and today I finally did it! I rolled out of bed shortly after 5, and was at the gym right when it opened at 5:30. I had planned to eat something small before I left but I wasn't hungry in the slightest... weird! My hunger after the gym was another story.

I devoured a banana and a vegan breakfast burrito. I'm not going to lie, I promised myself that microwaveable burrito if I woke up for the gym. 

I was ready for a post-gym nap but I settled for an almond latte before work. 

I came home and was so grumpy. I didn't have a bad day, and I don't feel overly tired, so I'm just not sure why. I settled for some comforting food and yoga to bring me out of my funk. 

How do you fix a bad mood? 

Working From Home and Avocado Cravings

I got to work from home tonight. I wouldn't want to do it all the time, mostly because it means I work later hours, but it was a nice change of pace.

I got to sleep in until 8(!!!) and it was wonderful, especially since I haven't been sleeping well lately. I stayed in bed checking social media and emails for almost another hour before I got up, grabbed a banana, and went to the gym. It's been a weird couple of weeks so it was nice to sneak some speed training on the treadmill and some cycling into my routine.

I've had the biggest craving for an avocado lately so, even though it was cold and I was still sweating, I made sure to stop by the grocery store for one of these green beauties:

Before my shift I made it into a creamy sauce by blending in with some olive oil, garlic, and goat cheese and poured it over some zucchini spirals.

I definitely satisfied that craving... for now. 

Also, the perks of working from home? Hanging out with this guy (when he's not barking at me for attention):