Over the years of paying close attention to my eating habits, I have discovered what situations and feelings will trigger me to mindlessly or emotionally eat easier than at other times. The biggest one is stress or feeling overwhelmed about something. I quickly have to find a way to distract myself by other means in those situations, because otherwise I will undoubtedly nose dive into our ice-cream stash and eat it all.

The past few weeks I have found another trigger. My previous “working” space.

As you may recall, I complete all of my blog work time during the kid’s mid-day nap time. I get a solid 2-3 hour block of time and I have to use it fully. This often meant that I would prepare my lunch and plop myself down at the kitchen table with my netbook to get moving on my posts, catching up on emails, and other related tasks. My fanny would chill in that kitchen chair or standing at the counter the duration of that time. Well…the duration of that time minus the little pit stops I would make on occasion to the pantry to mindlessly grab something to nibble.

I have no problem eating snacks when I want them. But I do have a problem eating snacks when I’m not hungry and when I’m not even enjoying them. When I recognized this habit I quickly made some necessary changes. I stopped trying to get things done while eating my lunch. I will sit at the kitchen table, enjoy, and pay attention to my food. I will also take this time for some quiet reflection and prayer. Then, I pack myself up and move out of the “food zone” so I don’t mindlessly meander to the box of cereal. I work more efficiently and now, when I have my snacks, I must make a conscious decision. I don’t know about you, but I much prefer fully savoring my food, so I quickly resolved this trigger issue.

However, I have another trigger that I have never fully mastered. It still gets me almost every time. Social events. I have picked up some tools and approaches that guide me to more balanced decision making while at these events, but I still have to try really, really, really hard to put them into practice. Take last night, for example.

Our church had a special gathering for those who work in the small groups community. Peter & I plan to once again sign on to lead a group this upcoming fall with our friends, so we put on our party hats and gathered with other church friends for a night of fellowship. I went in knowing that I could possibly come across a lot of good food, but that I also didn’t want to eat past full. I reminded myself to do the following:

• focus on that “feeling of health”
• pick and choose what I really want to eat/drink
• focus on the time with friends I haven’t seen in awhile
• pay attention to my hunger and eat slowly/mindfully
• simply do my best to honor the body and health God has given me

It worked! I dined on two small wraps – one ham and one turkey – plus a bit of fruit.

They also had brownies up for grabs, but I decided not to grab one. They didn’t look as thick, chewy, and fudgy as I like - so I passed. I didn’t feel the need to grab one simply because it was there. Instead, I satisfied myself with the other food and the knowledge that if I had a sweet hankering I could have some ice-cream, which I would enjoy more, at home later. Sometimes I just need to go in with a plan of action and a reminder that I have the power to choose what truly satisfies me. Although, I can’t promise I would have had the same results had there been Oreo Truffles in the mix. 😉

• How do you handle triggers for mindless/emotional/over-eating?

Would you believe me when I tell you that my half marathon looms on the calendar just shy of 20 weeks away? You may call me a crazy person for saying “just 20 weeks away”, but have you seen how this year has flown by already?! I have and I know that 20 weeks will pass before I know it. I also know that I like having a plan of attack. So, this crazy person signed on to Runner’s World this past weekend to see what training plan their Smart Coach would spit out at me.

I liked what I saw. Each week includes the following runs:

• 2 shorter, easy runs (2-3 miles through entire plan)
• 1 speed work OR tempo run (starting at 4 miles and building to 6 at the end)
• 1 long, steady-state run (starting at 6 miles and building to 12 at the end)

I like the look of this plan for a variety of reasons. When training (aka doing whatever) for my 10K, I had been fitting in two 4-5 mile runs during the week. I prefer the idea of splitting one of those into two shorter runs. It will keep my mileage in the same range, but feel more manageable for my time and my body. Score.

Secondly, I knew I wanted to take a slow and steady approach to preparing myself for the half-marathon. I’ve been looking into training plans for awhile now to have an idea of what I will need to commit to for adequate training. I figured I would go with a standard 12 week program from Hal Higdon or something similar. Yet, I found I like the look of the longer training plan. Why? This plan builds in lower mileage recovery weeks every fourth week, so I can slowly build up over time. I prefer a longer plan that can fit in recovery time rather than 10+ weeks of straight-on mileage increases and intense training. I don’t know if that is the “best” way to do it, but it sounds like a good fit for me. I would already plan on running regularly similar to this plan anyways, so this keeps me in check with caring for my body as I prep for my race.

Lastly, I kind of love speed work and tempo runs. Sure they build endurance at a faster pace, but they also give me a little thrill at pushing myself in new ways and allow me to mix up my running. For this self-proclaimed exercise ADD gal, that makes me happy. And I completed my first one today!

I found a public track close to where I live to hit up for speed workouts. Fabulous! I loathe the treadmill so it thrills me to have a track for these runs. You would think running around in circles would bore me as much as the treadmill, but it didn’t. How can boredom set in when my mind runs wild with visions of hosting boot camp classes there and the crazy workouts I could use to torture whip clients into shape. 😉

But back to the workout. The plan called for a one mile warm-up, then 1600 meters (4 laps) in 8:00 minutes, followed by 800 meters (2 laps) of a recovery jog, then another 1600 meters (4 laps) in 8:00 minutes before cooling down and rounding out my 4 miles. Well…I get an A for effort! I did the first speed interval just fine, then crapped out after one lap of the second interval and decided to just finish up my 4 miles at a steady pace. No biggie! I still ended up with a great run covering 4 miles in 35:56 for 8:59 average pace:

That’s another great thing about this plan. Having twenty weeks allows me to feel more flexible with my runs. I know what to shoot for, but I also know that if my body tells me to adjust some things I will still end up with ample training. I didn’t have to worry about completing only one speed work interval today because I have many other chances to challenge myself with such a workout. And I will accept that challenge you betcha! I can already tell track workouts will be the workout I love to hate!

• Do you like having workout and/or training plans? I do, as long as I can build in some flexibility to keep me sane.
• Of Possible Interest: 4all by Jofit (the AWESOME fitness apparel brand I work with) has a special contest going on right now to provide a makeover to four women’s golf or tennis teams. Check it out!!