Hey friends! Happy Friday! First things first: remember a few weeks ago how I shared that my Nutrition for Runners co-author Jason was in town and we recorded a short running nutrition Q&A video? It’s live on his site now! Check it out: running nutrition Q&A with a Registered Dietitian. We discuss commons mistakes runners often make with nutrition, the difference between exercising and training, and questions like “I’m running and eating right but not losing weight – what gives?” Enjoy!
And now, let’s kick start the weekend with some Friday faves – please feel free to play along in the comments!
1) My new iPhone lock screen picture – one of me and Matt from hiking in Canada. It makes me smile every time I turn on my phone. This suspension bridge (on the Dog Lake hike in Kootenay National Park) was absolutely stunning – one of my favorite hikes on the trip!
2) This furry little face. We missed her while we were away but she was taken good care of thanks to a combination of my mom and a pet sitter. 🙂 She must have missed us because she has been SUPER affectionate all week!
Sidenote – if you have a cat, buy this scratch/lounger combo. Zara is OBSESSED with it and she doesn’t claw our carpet anymore – win! Matt bought it awhile ago and it was the best purchase. She loves to claw madly in it, play it in, and then fall asleep in it. Lol!
3) Sunshine-filled morning run dates!
I wasn’t feeling the track workouts this week since I’m tired and sore from all the hiking in Canada, but it was too nice out to miss out on a fun social run date! Sokphal and I hadn’t seen each other in WAY too long due to lots of travel on both our parts, so we met up yesterday morning for some miles and chatting. She just came back from running the Stockholm Marathon (!) and I wasn’t in the mood for anything intense either so we did a nice run/walk approach and covered about 4 miles. Perfection!
4) Friends moving to town!
One of my grad school BFFs Steph and her fiance Tom just moved to DC (from NYC) a couple weeks ago! SO excited to have them here. Steph and I met up for dinner last night at a new to us spot in Arlington – Grand Cru Wine Bar. Great food and loved being able to dine al fresco in their courtyard! Steph and Tom are getting married next weekend – so excited for the two of them, and to have a little reunion with the rest of our grad school crew!
5) Stretching!
As you guys know, I’ve been working with Paul Medina from Capital Energy Training once a week for awhile now (more details on our partnership in this post – we’re doing a client referral and blog/training exchange) to improve my mobility, strength, and flexibility, especially as it relates to running. I missed two weeks of sessions with him while we were on vacation in Canada and I REALLY felt a difference in how tight/stiff my body felt, especially after all the hiking and basically no stretching! I hit up yoga earlier this week (at my usual fave Edge Yoga via ClassPass) which felt amazing, and this morning Paul came over for a good stretch.
It felt amazing to stretch out my hips and hamstrings in particular – everything felt so, so tight after all the uphill hikes and sitting still for long periods of time on airplanes. I’ve enjoyed working with Paul so much that I think we’re going to start paying to have him see Matt once a week, too – he wants to work on some strength work for soccer playing and do some shoulder mobility/strengthening to help with back pain from sitting all day.
6) The fact that the new FDA nutrition label will include “added sugars.”
You guys know I’m not into calorie counting or label reading beyond looking at ingredient lists (to make sure you are eating whole, real food without a ton of additives), but one thing I’m excited to see is that the new FDA approved nutrition label (which manufacturers have until 2017 to implement) will include a call out for “added sugars” rather than just showing total sugar. Here’s a comparison between the old label (left) and the new label (right) where you can see the added sugar change:
Original photo source: FDA
This is nice because it will help to show the difference between products like dairy and fruit and nut bars that have naturally occurring sugar, and products that have a ton of non-naturally occurring sugar added to them. If you are interested in learning more about the changes being made, fellow dietitian Regan Jones posted a great overview on the Healthy Aperture site: What You Need to Know About the New Nutrition Label.
7) Homemade sauerkraut.
Blog reader Kim very kindly gifted me some of her homemade sauerkraut recently and I’ve been enjoying it a ton and wanted to give her a quick shout out/thank you! You guys know I love sauerkraut – not only is it delicious and a fun addition to salads, sandwiches, and fried egg creations, but it’s also really good for you – lots of probiotics and fiber! (See also: Why You Should Start Eating Sauerkraut.)
What are your recent faves/things you are loving lately?
Have a fabulous weekend, my friends! We’re sticking around DC and looking forward to some summery BBQ and outdoor time. 🙂
Weekend reading:
- Eat: Blogger’s Favorite Summer Recipes (great round up that includes my old fave Greek Lamb Burgers!) // Sweet and Spicy Roasted Almonds // Healthy Five Minute Breakfasts // Tart Cherry Pie Snack Balls
- Move: Free Exercise Classes in DC this Summer
- Think: A Neuroscientist Tackles Why Diets Make Us Fat (three cheers for Mindful Eating!) // What Does Healthy Even Mean? (amazing post)
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