Training the Next Two Months

Ok, so to get caught up on our healthy living part of the blog.  This is the biggest part of the blog that I have people ask for.  We try very hard to eat healthy while maintaining our chaotic schedules.  It isn’t always easy, and we live off of crock pot meals in the spring and fall time.  As I have previously blogged, we try to NOT eat processed foods, which means almost everything we make does not come out of a box, a can, or it is not a frozen meal.  Now we will eat some canned stuff, but the ingredients on the label are typically 5 or less, and always low or no sodium.  This can be challenging. But somehow we make it work.   

A few weeks ago we begin to get serious about making some final changes to our diets.  We don’t eat badly, but we can do better.  We are going to try these changes for 2 months to see what kind of difference it makes for numerous reasons. 

Reason one; just to catch every one up.  In April, we didn’t get the news that we were hoping for as far as Jason’s physical goes.  His cholesterol changed from the last time, not drastically but enough that the Dr feels that it may be time for meds.  He gets rechecked in late September.  They were nice enough to give him 6 months to try some different things to lower it again.  If it is still not where it should be, then he will be put on a low dose of meds to lower it.  We think we figured out why there was a difference, so we are going to do what we can to make that change and see what happens.  Stay tuned!

The next two months we will all be training pretty intensively for the Warrior Dash that takes place in mid-September.  This is what we wanted to do to celebrate turning 40!  Coincidentally, Jason’s next cholesterol test will be about 2 weeks later!   So what better time to combine training and a better diet.

So in short, I thought that this would be a good time to start the segment I have been wanting to write for a long long time.  I will be taking you all on this journey with us!  Being healthy naturally!  Let me reiterate- My degree is Human Performance and Sport, this degree encompasses a little bit of athletic training, personal training, physical training, coaching, teaching, and nutrition (along with the more mechanical aspects of how does the body move, etc.) No, I don’t use my degree to the extent I SHOULD, but I have used it and it will come in handy during this time frame.  

We will be doing this naturally, without any kind of supplemental assistance. I apologize in advance to those that try so very hard to get us to buy their diets, or supplements. Let me just get this out into the open…I DO NOT believe in supplements to obtain any kind of weight loss, physique, endurance, to obtain energy of any kind, or for training purposes.  I use the word supplements loosely-and it can be anything from a simple protein shake, weight loss pills/supplements, and any kind of more illegal stuff such as steroids. We will be spending the next two months preparing for the events in September naturally!  We will get all nutrients we need through diet, and any changes that happen during our training (i.e., weight loss, building muscle, endurance) will come from just training and diet alone.  Now, please don’t argue with me that supplements of any kind can help, please don’t try to convince me otherwise.  Some people believe they work for any reason they are taking them, and I will not argue that.  I have nothing against anyone who chooses to use them for any purpose.  Simply stated, I just believe that it can all be done naturally over time, and this is the route we are choosing to go.

Along the way, I will try to blog weekly, give updates to where we are and I will also post weekly menus, and training programs that we are doing to prepare.  Because we already exercise pretty regularly and we already do not eat badly, I am not expecting any kind of major weight decrease, there will be some, but nothing major. That is not to say that others won’t experience the same thing if you follow this.  I would like to also add a caveat, that we are avid weight lifters and we lift heavy.  It’s just that this that this is not what we are aiming for.  We are aiming for training for the Warrior Dash, and improving Jason’s cholesterol.  If you have questions along the way just ask.  We are doing this to help anyone that would like it. 

Enjoy!