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Swimming Fun & Retiring My Favorite Suit

5/23/2014

I'm ready to retire my favorite swimsuit as of late, my sweet n' sassy cupcake suit, a sad day indeed! However, the stretched out elastic and faded suit serves as a great reminder of the swim miles I've logged over the last several months and the progress I've made in the pool.

See that happy face? I never thought I could look so happy in the water!

Swimming has certain changed over my college days. I loathed those swim sessions and only dragged myself to the pool so I could survive the swim portion of triathlons. It's really no fun to flounder around in the water during a race. These days, I'm feeling more and more confident in my swimming skills and anxious to log some longer sessions in the pool. Whereas before I was struggling mentally to get through a 1500-2000 yrd total workout, my main sets these days are closer to 1500 yrds and I'm pushing 2500 yrds for my total workout. Months of working on swim form seems to finally be clicking, I'm gaining a little more power and definitely A LOT more endurance in the water.

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Tips For Healthy Smoothies (And 2 Recipes!)

5/21/2014

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I love a good smoothie and there are a thousand reasons of why I think they're ahhhhh-mazing. As the temperature keeps rising and we move towards summer, they're showing up all the more in my daily routine and essential in cooling me off while staying hydrated.

While I try to not drink my calories, smoothies are definitely the exception. Depending on how you make one, it can be jammed packed with vital nutrients-vitamins & minerals- that keep my body healthy. They're a great way to prevent fruit from going to waste, to up your fruit/vegetable and fiber intake or to get in some quick calories post-workout to jumpstart recovery. They are easy to customize, travel well and perfect for the busy on-the-go professional or athlete. And because they're in liquid form, smoothies are more easily digestible, making them ideal post-workout as a recovery meal or snack.

Last week I gave my monthly Food for Fuel Series talk, Spring Smoothies, to our independent living residents and this topic was a hit! Here's a quick summary of what we talked about, plus two of my more recent favorite smoothies.

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Meet My Friend Bosu

5/16/2014

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I've had numerous people ask about my lifting routine, what I do in the gym to supplement and support my normal training. So, I will try to post a little more about this subject! Note that all opinions are my own, I am not currently a personal trainer but WAS in college and have about 10 years of weight lifting experience behind me.

I'm back on the gym more regularly now since my marathon in March and overall, my focus is a bit different these days. Before it was heavy weights, focused muscle groups and exercises, but I have been growing weary of that routine and from a time management perspective, it just doesn't work for me! Whereas the focus over the winter is building strength, lifting too heavy of weights at any one workout can really hinder my ability to complete workouts effectively. So my focus as of late has been maintenance of strength and an emphasis on injury prevention. To accomplish this, I wanted to branch out and utilize some new equipment, challenge my body in different ways and streamline my workouts by utilizing multiple muscle groups at once.

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27th Birthday: Cheers to Health, Happiness & Good Food!

5/14/2014

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Monday I celebrated my 27th Birthday!

I'm another year older and hopefully another year wiser?

My "goal" for my birthday was to have a low-key day and eat some good food. Really, I'm not too hard to please! Give me a good cup of coffee, a comfy couch and a cute doggie to cuddle with = happy Kristen!

I opted to take a half day from work and enjoyed a leisurely morning of milling around the house, listening to some country music and taking the dog for a short walk... I kicked off the day on an extra happy (and indulgent) note by skipping my normal green smoothie in lieu of waking up to a little something sweeter:

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Cashew-Date Energy Bites

5/10/2014

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I've talked a lot about what I eat day to day, but what about how I fuel during my training? As I move forward towards summer, training volume is expected to pick up. This weekend I have both an 80 minute run and 2.5 hour bike session on the agenda, both which will require some fueling throughout to get me through successfully!

With the rising temperatures, I definitely rely mainly on fluid calories to meet both my hydration and energy needs. But fluids alone get a little boring and I like to include some solid calories throughout! I've written before about how to pick out the best energy bar at the grocery store (see post here), which is a great and convenient option but often not the cheapest. More recently, I've been experimenting with making my own date-based energy bars from home and am LOVING the result. I have a few varieties I've made but today I am going to share the basic recipe which I adapted from Food52.

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About Kristen

Kristen Chang is Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD) and triathlete residing in southwest Virginia with her husband and dogs. Follow along as she shares favorite fueling recipes, general wellness and sport nutrition tips and stories from her athletic endeavors.
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© 2018 Kristen Chang and RealFoodForFuel, LLC. All rights reserved.
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kristen Chang and RealFoodForFuel, LLC with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Real Food For Fuel Blog

Swimming Fun & Retiring My Favorite Suit

Tips For Healthy Smoothies (And 2 Recipes!)

Meet My Friend Bosu

27th Birthday: Cheers to Health, Happiness & Good Food!

Cashew-Date Energy Bites

About Kristen

Stay Connected

Recent Posts

Proud Athlete Of

Blog Archives

© 2018 Kristen Chang and RealFoodForFuel, LLC. All rights reserved.

Real Food For Fuel Blog

Swimming Fun & Retiring My Favorite Suit

Tips For Healthy Smoothies (And 2 Recipes!)

Meet My Friend Bosu

27th Birthday: Cheers to Health, Happiness & Good Food!

Cashew-Date Energy Bites

About Kristen

Stay ﻿Connected

Recent Posts

Proud Athlete Of

Blog Archives

© 2018 Kristen Chang and RealFoodForFuel, LLC. All rights reserved.

Stay Connected