Tag Archives: fitness

by | February 18, 2013

“Do I look like the type of person who has a heart attack?”

February is national Heart Health month, dedicated to spreading awareness and educating both men and women on the risk factors for heart disease.

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It’s in my genes, and the routine cholesterol checks have begun – so far, my numbers are “amazing”. Whew. At a recent routine physical, the NP called me a “poster-child for exercise” and realized her 2-minute nutrition talk probably wasn’t necessary to give to a dietitian. For now, I breathe easy and happily keep on doin’ what I’m doin’.

But I know full well what notes could eventually fill up my medical chart if I weren’t active, didn’t passionately eat healthy foods and ignored the importance of stress relief. When I provide a family medical history, there is one recurring theme – heart disease.

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I will never ever forget an April evening in 2011 when I realized I had missed calls from my mom and sister, voicemails and texts. Something’s wrong…

I still vividly remember the words, the shock and the (horribly anxious) waiting on the couch for hours for more news; the reel of thoughts, what-ifs, memories and pure panic that ensued before I finally got another call. He’ll be okay. Tomorrow will just be another day.  Our family is still complete.

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It can happen to anyone, at any age on any day of the week. I was recently introduced to this video by Elizabeth Banks & the American Heart Association, “Just a Little Heart Attack”.

It perfectly represents the situation that none of us deem possible…until it is, and it’s real and it happens to someone you love:

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Do you know your numbers (cholesterol, triglycerides, blood glucose, blood pressure)?

If you could ask one question related to heart-health and how to improve any one thing, what would it be? (Follow-up post to come.)

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Filed under Dietitians, family, health

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by | January 24, 2013

Yala & lululemon Make Fitness Chic

If you had asked me to pull on some shorty-shorts and hop on a spin bike in front of a crowd, it’s likely that I would politely decline and turn the wheels over to someone else. If lululemon asks, provides the ‘costume’ and adds a room full of (kick-ass) Ambassadors to the scene? …uh, yeah, count me in!

YALA Fitness ball

Only in DC do you get an Inaugural “Ball” focused on fitness & the Yala trend (have you heard? Check this craziness out…), with a dose of celebrity and a lululemon fashion show. We weren’t really sure what to expect, but that combination seems pretty worthy of a Saturday night adventure.

lululemon crew backstage

EXCITED? Why yes, yes we are…. (blurry iPhone pics took over the night)

We had one mission: show that lululemon will get you through the whole day – brunch to sweat to evening out!

I was chosen, along with Emma (see EPIC yoga) to bust out the Boogie shorts – which work really well for laying. Add in some pant-changes, a few jackets and easy-to-pack shoes and voila! All set for the day.

Brunch: Boogie shorts + Studio Pants + Cool Racerback + All-Sport Bra
Accessories: the classic Jean-jacket and a pair of flats.

Workout: shed the Studio pants & accessories, put on the Nike Frees.

Evening Out: Pull on the Spring has Sprung Wunder Unders (yep, right over the shorts!), add a black blazer & some bling (i.e. earrings & bracelets) and go back to flats.

Enter stage Left and walk to the Spin-bike area. Get down to the basics to workout, then pull on the extras to head out on the town. Easy as 1, 2, 3….

lululemon brunch outfitsYala event stretching
Bonnie Wilson Yala Spin pic

GregsListDC TanO downdog yogaGregsListDC Emma Saal EPIC
DC Fit crasher spin stage shot
I work Out bottleGoin out lululemon

Photo credits: Bonnie Wilson, GregsListDC & DC Fit Crasher

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We had a blast; how can a night end badly when you’re rockin’ pants like that?

I’m lucky that my job is casual enough on most days that I can let my lululemon closet decide weekly outfits – along with cardigans, flats, boots, jackets, scarves, etc. – and also take me right to the workout-of-the-day. The colors are always changing and the patterns continue to push the fitness-chic boundaries. I know the price tags are up there, but the quality, versatility and functionality set a new standard. These outfits aren’t a far cry from my daily choices (the patterned pants are new to me…); jeans & cotton take a back-seat to luon all the time.

Thanks to the lululemon Georgetown team for putting this together, to Bonnie Wilson for some amazing photos & YALA + SportsClub LA for a fun fitness-focused night in the city!

Do you mix fashion, fitness & function? What are you go-to choices?

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Filed under DC, Lululemon, random, things I Love

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by | January 11, 2013

Fit Gear: On the Step, Run & Mat

The types of gear and gadgets that you can acquire as a fitness junkie fills a long list – I’ve had the epiphany on-the-run before that the total value of the clothes + technology on me was way more than I’d feel comfortable pulling out of my bank account at any given moment. Problem? Maybe. But this gear makes fitness fun, and isn’t always at the cost of your total life savings.

As of the 2012 holiday season, this list represents the new toys in my collection. Yes I could get my sweat on without them, but for now they’re joining in the fun:

1) Garmin Forerunner 10 – the baby G!

My G-405 crashed and burned, hard, over the summer. It started with a less-sensitive bezel, lead to a nonfunctioning clock and eventually a watch that wouldn’t hold a charge, find a satellite or run with me. Sad day.

After 3.5 years of running with G, I figured a little (training-cycle) break would probably do more good than harm. I snatched D’s Nike stopwatch and ran with that. I learned the run-by-effort skill and went with it. Mission accomplished.

Garmin Forerunner 10 1Garmin forerunner 10 run

Moving on! This little guy was on my Christmas list and he’s here and we’re still in the get-to-know-you phase. I can’t say it finds a signal as quickly, or has really cooperated much at all, yet….but, I trust Garmin. I’m giving him a few strikes mostly because he’s so small and convenient and looks like a real watch instead of a mini-computer on my wrist. If it ends up just being a fancy stopwatch, well, maybe him & his green outfit can get away with that.

2) Fitbit – thanks to the WCS team (holiday office gift)!

fitbit count 1

There’s an upcoming WCS office step-challenge. I never thought I would care much about step count – (see above: Garmin-free running phase) – but it traps you! It has a smiley face that gets excited when you get a lot of steps in a short amount of time (e.g. run) and that smile flattens out pretty quickly when you’ve been sitting/standing at a desk all day.  I know, Fitbit, but we have work to do!

I’m working on a balance. No need for a fitbit clipped-on in yoga, or while getting ready around a tiny apartment. Strap that thing on when walking around DC on a nice day/night, though, and bam! City living wins.

3) lululemon: the MAT – keeping sweaty heads & feet happy by the hot minute.

When I worked for lululemon I sold this mat like it was my job. (Yes, it was.) Whether I was working or not, I told people how amazing this mat is – do you do hot yoga, EVER? do you sweat a lot? do your fear slipping right into the splits when you’re in a lunge? Yes, yes and please-don’t-ever-happen YES. You must have this. Right now. – and couldn’t be happier for them when they were like AH, FINALLY.

I bought the Manduka before realizing all of the above, and I love that purple mat equally as much. But, when sweat comes to crash the party, nothing works better than this dude:

lulu run. the mat
lululemon the mat

No mat-towel needed, no slipping, no frustration. This mat works magic.

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What’s on your fit-gear love list?

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Filed under Lululemon, running gear, things I Love, Yoga

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by | November 20, 2012

Fitness #FaceofFitness Contest!

I entered this* on a total whim the other day, and actually think I was pretty late to the game – it shows on the contest that voting started October 19 and ends today? – but regardless, I’m in!

Fitness Magazine’s Face of Fitness Contest
(tweet/share with #FaceofFitness hashtag)

 

As of yesterday I went from #229 to #30, and now it’s kind of exciting and I’m here to ask for your support! You can see my submission below, and if you’re so inclined, please click through to vote:

lululemon Georgetown Ambassador Run 1

Vegetarian BQ Marathoner

By day I am a corporate wellness dietitian, coaching people to change their lives and make healthier choices. By any other time I am a runner and yogi, spreading my passion with anyone who will listen, run or stretch with me! I lead weekly group runs as the Georgetown lululemon Run Ambassador, share my adventures in fitness through my blog – dietitianontherun.com – and join fitness groups around DC to meet like-minded people. Two years ago I cut out meat from my diet, and was training for my first marathon. My own food philosophies and habits were evolving. Now I have four full marathons behind me, and as of October 2012 I am a Boston-qualifier. I love to help people realize that finding your fitness passion will open doors in every aspect of life! By challenging yourself you realize what you’re truly capable of – that the lines of your comfort zone should always be tested. My face is always smiling because fitness teaches me how to grow and become the best version of myself!

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I sort of have a career history with Fitness magazine…we continue to cross paths!

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Thank you for your vote and/or for coming here to read the story!

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Filed under about me, Goals, Lululemon, new things!, running

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by | June 22, 2012

O.L.B.A – Spreading the Good Words

I remember extensive searches during my Dietetic Internship, looking for Dietitians speaking up online. It was even a project of ours for one rotation, “Best RD Blogs”.  I found a few sites – some of which have strongly survived the online world’s fleeting fads – but wasn’t thoroughly impressed by most of what came up. I couldn’t wait to get those two letters behind my name, and  start using my voice, training and experience to really talk nutrition, diets, trends, news, fitness, and food.

DOTR Collage

In the meantime, people have really caught onto this information medium; the list of blogging dietitians, nutritionists, holistic health professionals, yogis, runners, cyclists, etc is seemingly never-ending!  Instead of searching high and low, we’re digging through noise and finding which ones really strike a tone with our own thoughts, philosophies, questions and lifestyles. I find new sites to subscribe to on a weekly basis;  now it’s a challenge to keep up with all of the things I want to read and soak in, battling the number of hours my sanity can stand to stare at a computer.

onelovelyblogawardgraphicAll of that said, one of my favorite new RDs (Congrats in order!), Carlene of Carlene’s Figments,  recently passed on the One Lovely Blog Award (OLBA) to DOTR. Her OLBA list is one worth bookmarking – sites to check out and read often. Of course, part of this blog-game is to pay it forward, spreading the love to the sites I can’t keep my eyes off of.  And, as usual, sharing random facts about myself:

  1. Friday Bike-muting – I finally figured out a route and even convinced D to join me. It’s completely out of his way, but our ride eventually lands him on a road that he can turn around on, and head straight to his office. One day out of the driver’s seat, miles for me, more miles for him – win!
  2. Making noise – I put the following apps in a folder on my iPhone labeled “Loud”: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest & WordPress. Yes, I check it often, but it’s a good reminder to leave them all  alone on days I need some quiet.
  3. Flipping through pages – My current nightstand book-buddy is Deep Economy, by Bill McKibben.
  4. Counting the days  – DC, I heart you (you know this), but you’ve got nothin’ on the Southwestern sun. Our New-Mexico trip is quickly approaching, and my roots are itching for a dose of green chile.
  5. On the Champs (Elysees) – Aside from one cruise and a few trips over the Texas/Mexico border (ill-advised, at this point), I’ve never been outside of this country. Wanderlust firmly planted itself, and we have tentative plans to witness this next year to fix that!

To spread the love and good words, the following links come highly recommended by yours truly. My Reader rarely skips a date with their pages:

Nutrition Blog Network – had this existed three years ago my searches would have been much easier. All Dietitian / Nutritionist blogs in one place. Brilliant.

Tiny Buddha – it’s nearly impossible to keep up with every post, but skim and search and you will undoubtedly find something (many things) you can’t help but bookmark and read more than once.

MindBodyGreen – a scan of the homepage reads “Why Every Athlete Should do Yoga”, Russel Brand and a collage of Wellness Experts that look like they’d be down for any adventure, any day. You can’t go wrong here.

The Wellness Warrior – while not every post is something I’d agree with 100%, this Warrior is a great resource and shares a great mix of recipes, nutrition news / tidbits, motivation and inspiration.

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Happy Friday! What site would add to that list?

 

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