Or do they just know the way you are???
On Friday morning, Karel and I headed to New Port Richey to stay with my parents. I was so excited to be back home and spend some time with them. We brought Smudla and although she hated the trip down there (MEOOOOWWWWW's the WHOLE 3 1/2 hour drive!) she is just loving the screened in pool/patio and being able to roam around the house. So long as she doesn't accidentally bump into my parents two cats.
Karel had two races this weekend. Yesterday was in Pinellas Park and today is in San Antonio. Yesterday was an exciting day for me because I had my bridal shower! Getting married is so much fun! I enjoyed being around my friends, mom and bridesmaids and it was just a nice afternoon of yummy food and LOTS of gifts :)
When thinking about my bridal shower and leaving it up to my maid of honor, mom and a few other girls, I tried really hard not to step in. Of course, my personality wants to do everything, even plan my own bridal shower, but I was strong and I just sat back and let everyone plan a wonderful shower at my mom's house.
In the midst of planning this shower, I started thinking about the food and what we would have at the lunch table. Without my input, I was in good hands with lots of people who knew me well. We had a lot of different foods but the main dishes were veggie pizza, fruit, veggies and dip, wedges of spinach and cream cheese stuffed in a pita, pretzels and salsa, deviled eggs, Triscuits and cheese and my croissants w/ low-sugar jelly inside. As for the desert, no rich cake w/ icing. Instead, they bought an Angel food cake and they loaded it with fresh strawberries and we served it with slow churn strawberry ice cream on the side.
It was funny that we didn't have a table of deserts, a bunch of fried or sugary foods or any really unhealthy dishes. Actually, we didn't even have any meat now that I think about it. It is just great that people know me so well that having "unhealthy" food at my bridal shower would just not be representative of me. But then again, no one really complained about the food choices and isn't everyone on a quest to eat healthy anyways?
In part of my title for this post I wanted to express how important it is that your friends, family and significant others really know you. Knowing your likes, dislikes and dietary preferences is one thing but what about knowing why you eat a certain way. Furthermore, why not express to people why you train the way you do instead of just telling someone "I have a 4 hour ride and 40 min brick run on sat".
It is really important that you talk to your significant other, friends, co-workers, family, and anyone else that is part of your life, and without being defensive, talk about your choices for food and discuss the importance of training long hours on the weekend (if you are training for a long distance race or you just enjoy endurance sports). I find that so many relationships (friendships, marriages, dating relationships) fail because there is little communication about the lifestyle of multisport athletes. Even if the healthy addiction started well-into the relationship/marriage, it is important to talk about this choice to really change your entire lifestyle. People are pursuing a healthier lifestyle and because of lack of communication, I know that there are people out there that just don't understand what we do, why we do it and why we love what we do.
After talking to the ladies at my bridal shower and hearing their tips for a successful marriage, communication is key. Words of advice also included laughing, listening and lots of love. I think the advice that I will really take away is that every relationship is unique and it is important to always stay best friends.
I made this post short on purpose so that everyone out there can think about ways to improve their relationship (if needed) in a way that works for the two of you. I don't believe that people should struggle with their weight loss goals because the other person in the house is bringing in sabotaging foods to the house. I don't believe that a person training for a race should feel guilty about going out for a long workout if the other person in the relationship can't understand why it is important to train the body for an IM distance race. However, I do believe that training schedules can and SHOULD change so that there is compromise in a relationship and that the world is not over if a training session is cut short, missed or altered in order to spend time with the family, the other person or to attend a family function. It's just training and believe me, the body will appreciate it more if you are consistent with quality training rather than getting obsessed with every little detail of training and that more is not always better.
If you are around people that question what you do, take time to explain to people why you eat a certain way, why you need to sleep a little more to recover from a workout and why you train the way you do. If that person continues to give you a hard time about your diet and training schedule, re-evaluate if that person is giving you energy (as a good friendship/relationship should) or taking your energy. I know Karel and I will have a successful relationship just like many others out there and I really enjoy hearing from people about how they make their relationship work. Everyone relationship is different and lifestyles are different.
From a nutrition point of view, I really think it is worth the time to make lifestyle changes for yourself, for your family and with your significant others so that you don't feel like you have to live your exciting and healthy life all alone.
I've been saying this since day one, when I met Karel in May 2006...
People don't have to have the same passions but it is important that two people in a relationship have similar lifestyles.
On Friday morning, Karel and I headed to New Port Richey to stay with my parents. I was so excited to be back home and spend some time with them. We brought Smudla and although she hated the trip down there (MEOOOOWWWWW's the WHOLE 3 1/2 hour drive!) she is just loving the screened in pool/patio and being able to roam around the house. So long as she doesn't accidentally bump into my parents two cats.
Karel had two races this weekend. Yesterday was in Pinellas Park and today is in San Antonio. Yesterday was an exciting day for me because I had my bridal shower! Getting married is so much fun! I enjoyed being around my friends, mom and bridesmaids and it was just a nice afternoon of yummy food and LOTS of gifts :)
When thinking about my bridal shower and leaving it up to my maid of honor, mom and a few other girls, I tried really hard not to step in. Of course, my personality wants to do everything, even plan my own bridal shower, but I was strong and I just sat back and let everyone plan a wonderful shower at my mom's house.
In the midst of planning this shower, I started thinking about the food and what we would have at the lunch table. Without my input, I was in good hands with lots of people who knew me well. We had a lot of different foods but the main dishes were veggie pizza, fruit, veggies and dip, wedges of spinach and cream cheese stuffed in a pita, pretzels and salsa, deviled eggs, Triscuits and cheese and my croissants w/ low-sugar jelly inside. As for the desert, no rich cake w/ icing. Instead, they bought an Angel food cake and they loaded it with fresh strawberries and we served it with slow churn strawberry ice cream on the side.
It was funny that we didn't have a table of deserts, a bunch of fried or sugary foods or any really unhealthy dishes. Actually, we didn't even have any meat now that I think about it. It is just great that people know me so well that having "unhealthy" food at my bridal shower would just not be representative of me. But then again, no one really complained about the food choices and isn't everyone on a quest to eat healthy anyways?
In part of my title for this post I wanted to express how important it is that your friends, family and significant others really know you. Knowing your likes, dislikes and dietary preferences is one thing but what about knowing why you eat a certain way. Furthermore, why not express to people why you train the way you do instead of just telling someone "I have a 4 hour ride and 40 min brick run on sat".
It is really important that you talk to your significant other, friends, co-workers, family, and anyone else that is part of your life, and without being defensive, talk about your choices for food and discuss the importance of training long hours on the weekend (if you are training for a long distance race or you just enjoy endurance sports). I find that so many relationships (friendships, marriages, dating relationships) fail because there is little communication about the lifestyle of multisport athletes. Even if the healthy addiction started well-into the relationship/marriage, it is important to talk about this choice to really change your entire lifestyle. People are pursuing a healthier lifestyle and because of lack of communication, I know that there are people out there that just don't understand what we do, why we do it and why we love what we do.
After talking to the ladies at my bridal shower and hearing their tips for a successful marriage, communication is key. Words of advice also included laughing, listening and lots of love. I think the advice that I will really take away is that every relationship is unique and it is important to always stay best friends.
I made this post short on purpose so that everyone out there can think about ways to improve their relationship (if needed) in a way that works for the two of you. I don't believe that people should struggle with their weight loss goals because the other person in the house is bringing in sabotaging foods to the house. I don't believe that a person training for a race should feel guilty about going out for a long workout if the other person in the relationship can't understand why it is important to train the body for an IM distance race. However, I do believe that training schedules can and SHOULD change so that there is compromise in a relationship and that the world is not over if a training session is cut short, missed or altered in order to spend time with the family, the other person or to attend a family function. It's just training and believe me, the body will appreciate it more if you are consistent with quality training rather than getting obsessed with every little detail of training and that more is not always better.
If you are around people that question what you do, take time to explain to people why you eat a certain way, why you need to sleep a little more to recover from a workout and why you train the way you do. If that person continues to give you a hard time about your diet and training schedule, re-evaluate if that person is giving you energy (as a good friendship/relationship should) or taking your energy. I know Karel and I will have a successful relationship just like many others out there and I really enjoy hearing from people about how they make their relationship work. Everyone relationship is different and lifestyles are different.
From a nutrition point of view, I really think it is worth the time to make lifestyle changes for yourself, for your family and with your significant others so that you don't feel like you have to live your exciting and healthy life all alone.
I've been saying this since day one, when I met Karel in May 2006...
People don't have to have the same passions but it is important that two people in a relationship have similar lifestyles.