a healthier me

So in recent months events have transpired that have left me searching for a healthier me.  For starters, I am running another half marathon in about a month from now, and had gotten really out of shape since my last one back in march.  This was very difficult for me because I basically had to start my training over from square one and it hasn't been easy.  Also, the hubby and I have been trying to get pregnant since March and while I believe there isn't necessarily anything wrong with either of us and that God is ultimately the giver of life and his plan and timing are perfect (even if I don't understand his plan or timing at this time in my life), I figure getting healthier wouldn't hurt and the healthier I am before getting pregnant only means a healthier pregnancy, easier delivery, and a quicker bounce back to pre pregnancy state.

So here we are.  I have noticed some major changes to myself as a result of the lifestyle changes I have made.  to begin with :

1. I stopped drinking soda.  I usually would only drink soda at work but it always left me feeling sluggish and bloated.  Like way bloated and it felt gross not to mention soda has so much sugar in it and instead of drinking the water I need I was replacing it with soda...not good.  Well I have done really well with this, I actually bought a soda the other night and it was so not good!! It tasted like syrup, I will treat myself to a Sonic Dr. Pepper on occasion because they are amazing but that's more of a treat than a regular thing.

2. Drink more water.  The thing that really helped me with this was the UTI I got about 2 weeks ago, it was miserable and I needed to drink a ton of water and that started the habit, now, I feel like I cant get enough water, my consumption has probably doubled or tripled in the past 2-3 weeks.  I actually feel so much better I don't get as frequent headaches and I feel more energized and less sluggish like I did before. Even though its a pain in tha ass havin to go pee every 40 minutes.

3. Eat more.  I know this sounds crazy to some of yall but I really don't eat enough.  I have this nutrition for runners book that is so informative and has really opened my eyes to things I didn't know before, like you actually need a certain amount of saturated fat especially if your doing vigorous exercises. It made me realize I am not eating nearly enough especially based on the running and stuff that I am doing.  Also, I found this awesome website where I can put in the food I eat and the exercises and daily activities I do and it will show me how many calories I need and have burned.  Yeah...I have been getting about half the calories I need to be eating especially since I'm running so much more my bodies basal metabolism is faster sooo yeah I will follow up with this one.  I am going to track what I eat for a week and then analyze it to see what I need to do. But basically I have to force myself to eat....I get hungry but then nothing is appetizing so I have to force myself to eat frequent snacks and to eat something when I wake up and before bed.  Due to my work schedule the previous sentence is important otherwise I find myself eating once a day (again, not good).

4. Decrease caffeine intake.  This has been very gradual, I was noticing a while back that I was drinking alot of caffeine, several cups of coffee in the morning, energy drinks at work, and like mentioned earlier soda.  This one related more to the trying to start a family aspect than anything because I have heard large amounts of caffeine intake can affect the ability to get pregnant,  So I have gradually decreased my caffeine intake it gets rough at work about 2 AM but if I do some calf raises and walk around a bit I feel more awake.  I have completely cut out the energy drinks except on a rare occasion and I only drink one cup of coffee before work.

Now don't get me wrong I am not all unhealthy looking and such, I get enough calories to maintain my figure and not look all sickly.  This whole thing isnt about the way my body looks I like my body and thats not what I want to change its more of an internal thing relating to the way my body operates. but I want to eat better so I can run better, start a family, and generally just feel better.  So far so good, I have noticed a difference in the way I feel, just healthier in general, and I think my running has been positively affected too since I actually feel good while running and after.  This pursuit of healthiness is still a baby only about two weeks old and I can only look foreword to the positive outcomes in the future!!