Author: Jill McCauslin (Page 20 of 23)

Car Trips and Trying to Be Healthy

August 2, 2018 / Jill McCauslin / 0 Comments

Besides flying to Italy, all of my travel has been by car this year. I’ve made numerous long car trips this summer. I’m talking about trips ranging from six to ten hours. Those days are hard to get my steps in and hard to eat the way I want. I struggle with this so all I can do is share some of the things I try. I’d sure appreciate hearing from others how they handle long car rides.

Entertainment on Car Trips

Now, I’m usually alone when I take these trips. In order not to be bored and not to have to rely on the radio while driving through the West Virginia mountains, I make sure to have some music downloaded onto my phone. I also make sure to have a variety of podcasts downloaded. (Hint: you might download a few episodes of the Becoming Elli podcast for your next road trip!)

Eating on Car Trips

I make sure I have a couple of water bottles in the car. I also try to have a travel mug filled with coffee. It’s a challenge to find coffee sometimes on the road. Since I’m not really a soda pop drinker, this suffices for me.

Travelling to my destination

When I leave home and head out, it’s a bit easier to pack food. I try to pack things that I know won’t make too big a mess and that I can handle while driving. That usually includes a protein bar and maybe a Kind bar, a couple of cheese sticks, a snack pack of mixed nuts, and fruit such as apple or banana, and crackers.

I have not figured out how to avoid snacking while driving. I think I get bored, so I eat. It’s frustrating because I’m not really a snacker. When I’m at home, I don’t graze all day long, but I sure turn into a grazer while driving. I rummage through my lunch bag almost the whole trip.

Because I’m snacking all the time, I tend not to be hungry when it’s lunchtime, so I don’t get much to eat as a proper meal.

Travelling Home

On the trip home, I don’t have the option to take as much in the car with me. I end up stopping at gas stations or fast food restaurants. It’s amazing how I end up suddenly feeling compelled to buy white cheddar popcorn or some other junk food that I would never buy at home when I’m in that convenience store. It’s not like they don’t have better choices, even if they’re not great choices.

It usually takes me a couple of days to recover from the trip home’s junk food mania. Also, my car ends up totally trashed from all this snacking, especially if I buy that white cheddar popcorn.

Getting Steps on Car Trips

The other thing about car trips that I really struggle with is getting in my steps. I try to get some in before I leave. That may be the result of carrying luggage to the car and running back and forth making sure I have my coffee, water, phone charger, etc. I always think that I’ll get up early and go for a walk or a run but that hasn’t happened yet.

When I stop along the way, I try to walk the long way around to the rest room or to just walk around a parking lot. Sometimes I do calf raises while pumping gas. Usually when I arrive at my destination, I’m visiting someone so saying “hey, I need to walk” doesn’t usually work. On my return trip home, I often go for a quick run or a walk around the block to clear my head and get some steps in.

As you can see, I lose all sense of healthy living while driving in my car. I want to eat well and I’d like to at least get in some walking but I really struggle. I usually just say, “oh well, there’s always tomorrow.”

Please, if you have any advice for me, please share it with me.

Note: The photos that I’ve used here were taken as a passenger in a car. I was NOT taking photos while driving.

Vacation Fitness Advice

July 26, 2018 / Jill McCauslin / 0 Comments

I’m going to give you some vacation fitness advice. You see, I’ve had a great summer. I just returned from a ten-day visit to Italy. I went to Venice, Florence, and Rome. It was ten days of eating, drinking, and walking. And then more walking. And even more walking. All three cities were fantastic. Lots of history, lots of churches, and lots of gelato shops.

Walking, walking, and more walking

Here’s my thinking on taking a vacation. I was so happy to be in shape. All my running and lifting and working out paid off. I walked a lot of steps, significantly more than normal for me but I did it without problem. I climbed up some steep hills and lots of stairs and did it without too much huffing and puffing.

If you listened to our first podcast episode, you may remember that we talked about having to lift a suitcase. Well, we rode the train from Venice to Florence and then from Florence to Rome. The train ride required us to lift our heavy suitcases over our heads and into the racks above. It was not the easiest thing because it was awkward, but I lifted that suitcase and got it up there. Not a problem. I got it down too without dropping it on anyone’s head. So, having some upper body strength was great.

I didn’t work out at all. I didn’t run, I didn’t do pushups, I didn’t do squats. Not to be repetitive but I walked. I figured it was a vacation and I wasn’t going to worry about it. I’m happy to say that I didn’t fall apart when I returned home. On my first full day home, I went for a run and was afraid that I’d be back to walking and running. Surprise! I ran my three miles without problem.

Today I went running and I’m happy to say that I’m back to my speed that I was running last September when I was ready to run the Akron half marathon. That’s a victory because I was very slow just a couple months ago. So, being gone for ten days didn’t slow me down.

Italian Food

I also ate what I wanted. I resolved that I was not going to worry about dieting or my weight or skipping carbs or reducing fat or any of the things we do routinely. Instead, I ate croissants at breakfast and pasta at lunch or dinner, drank wine and beer, ate gelato, and enjoyed the food tremendously.

I did eat salads because I wanted them. The salads in Italy were beautiful. Everything was crisp and fresh and just lovely. The only dressing was olive oil and occasionally some balsamic vinegar. So enjoyable.

I didn’t think of this but I never snacked. We might stop and get a cappuccino but we really just ate our meals and that was it.

I did not have to buy new clothes when I got home. I think I look pretty much the same.

Vacation Fitness Advice

Now, I don’t get to travel like this very often and this was a vacation, not a business trip. I knew this was a limited time trip so deciding not to work out or run and to eat what I wanted only made the trip that much more enjoyable.

That’s my conclusion: don’t be afraid to enjoy yourself. All that work taking care of yourself pays off when you actually do something different.

Counting Calories or Eat Less and Move More

July 12, 2018 / Jill McCauslin / 0 Comments

If you want to lose weight and you start to look around on the Internet for information on the best way to do so, you’re going to find countless different diets and methods of weight loss. There’s way more than I can discuss in a blog post, but I thought I could pick a few and write different posts about them. So today, let’s discuss counting calories. This is the type of dieting that most of us have been familiar with since we were teenagers: you count calories and eat fewer calories per day or week than you burn.

This is not a new idea by any means. We all learned about this kind of diet and probably have tried numerous times. If you’re very diligent about this and track everything, it may well work for you.

Weight Watchers falls into this category, though instead of counting calories, you count points and over the years Weight Watchers has tried to take types of foods into consideration. You can add some exercise into the mix to try to burn more calories, which allows you to eat more calories each day.

Products like Slim Fast and Nutrisystem also fall into this calorie counting category. The advantage is that you don’t really have to log your food because they’re providing you low calorie food and doing the calculations for you.

The mantra you hear for this is “eat less and move more.”

Counting Calories

The thing about calorie counting is that it doesn’t tell you what to eat. In theory, you can eat junk food and if what you eat falls into your calorie plan, you’ll be OK. In practice, this won’t work for most of us because junk food doesn’t make us feel full for very long and we end up overeating. (Brenda O’Hara talked about this in her interview on the Becoming Elli Podcast.) So, really, the best way to consume fewer calories than you burn is to eat foods that sustain you over a longer period. Eating foods that don’t have a lot of calories and fill you up (think vegetables), you’ll hopefully begin to lose weight.

How you choose to eat is up to you. Calorie counting works for people who follow any number of eating plans, whether it’s vegetarian, vegan, Keto, or Paleo.

The way you follow a calorie counting plan is to determine how many calories you burn in a day. There are many TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) calculators online. You enter in your age, height, weight, gender, and a general indicator of how active you are. The calculator then tells you how many calories you can eat per day to maintain your weight and how many to eat to lose weight. The FDA puts out called Body Weight Planner.

You then track calories. The best way to do that is to log what you eat and calculate calories. You can log your food online; there are many popular sites where you can log. Check out myfitnesspal.com, loseit.com, and sparkpeople.com for different options. Some features you probably will want is the ability to add recipes for tracking and to be able to scan barcodes for easy logging.

I’ve used a couple of different sites and have ended up sticking with Spark People, mainly because I’ve created enough recipes and groups there that it seems like more effort to leave than it’s worth.

Most of these sites will give you recommendations on what to eat and how much to eat to lose weight. I’ve noticed that myfitnesspal always tells me to eat around 1200 calories. I’m sure I’d lose weight at that, but I much prefer the 1500 calorie per day mark that other sites give me.

If you don’t want to log your food online, then to track calories, you’ll need to write them down. Maybe just use a tablet to write down each day’s meals and the corresponding calorie count.

You also need a way to determine how much food you’ve eaten so you can correctly count calories. You’ll probably need a food scale to do this. You can use measuring cups and spoons but determining weight is often the best way to calculate calories.

My recommendation for a food scale is to look for one that has a tare feature; that’s where you can put a dish on the scale and then push a button to reset the scale to 0. That way you can add food to the dish and get a weight just for the food. Also, get a scale that converts weights to both ounces and grams. Sometimes it’s easier to count the calories if you have the grams and sometimes knowing pounds and ounces works better.

Pros and Cons

Pros: No food limitations except for quantity. You can eat any food group that you want. You can also do this with any diet plan you want to follow.

Cons: Logging food can take time and for this to work you have to know how much you’ve actually eaten. Guessing usually means you’re underestimating what you eat. You may be frequently hungry. This is hard for many to do on a continual basis so if you’re going to do this, try to find some way of eating that works for you for the long term.

Resources:

There are many resources out there for information and tracking your calories. These are just a few of the better known.

www.reddit.com/r/loseit/

www.weightwatchers.com

www.myfitnesspal.com

www.loseit.com

www.sparkpeople.com

A New Holiday Tradition: Running a Firecracker Race

July 5, 2018 / Jill McCauslin / 1 Comment

I realized that I now have a new holiday tradition for the Fourth of July. I now celebrate Independence Day by running a Firecracker Race.

Hudson Firecracker Race: 5K

Today I ran a Firecracker 5K in my hometown of Hudson, Ohio. It was a fun race with about 300 participants. Because it was a home town race, I knew a fair number of people. Chris and I decided to run this and signed up for it at the last minute. Well, at least in time to get the lower rate and still get a shirt.

Hudson Firecracker 5K

The exciting thing was that I won my age group. I ran the 5K in just over 34 minutes, which was about two minutes faster than the race I ran in June at Carolina Beach. Today was just as hot as that race but this time I was better prepared. My water bottles had frozen water in them and I brought my cooling towel. I decided not to wear the compression calf sleeves and I wore looser clothing. So, while I was hot, I was not over heated this time.

Age Group Winner

Cleveland YMCA Firecracker Race: 10K

Last year, Chris and I ran a Firecracker 10K in Cleveland. That was a fun race too. It started in downtown Cleveland and we ran past the Browns Stadium, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and some other nice parts of downtown Cleveland. That race was hot too. I guess that’s what happens when you run in July in Ohio.

Chris and Jill at 2017 Firecracker 10K

The exciting thing about this race was that Chris won her age group. Hey, maybe this should be the new holiday tradition: someone wins a trophy!

Charlotte Firecracker Race: 5K

In 2016, I ran a Firecracker 5K in Charlotte, North Carolina. My son and I ran it; it was his first 5K.

2016 Charlotte Firecracker Race

That race was also very hot. It was in the early evening and was a race to support a local school My son got way overheated. I was hot but I had my cooling towel for that too. The fun thing about this race was that it ended at a swim club and people went swimming. We didn’t take swim suits but I’m sure if you were from the area, it would have been great fun. They had beer and food to help with the celebration.

So for the past three years, I have run a Firecracker race to celebrate Independence Day. I think it’s a good tradition. I’ve run three different races in three different cities. Maybe that’s a good tradition too. Don’t run the same race every time. Just go out and find a Firecracker race.

Trail Running Tips

June 28, 2018 / Jill McCauslin / 0 Comments

Tired of running on roads? Want something a bit different? Try trail running.

In Becoming Elli podcast episode 12, Jill Rango talks about improving balance and one of the things she mentions is to go outside and go for a hike. Walking on uneven trails with roots and rocks on the path makes our muscles work a bit harder and improves our balance.

Running on a trail takes this one step further. Trail running is a specialized kind of running. It’s a great change from street running. Running on dirt and grass can be easier on your legs and ankles though running on uneven surfaces can be a challenge.

One of the benefits of trail running is not having to deal with cars and the fumes from cars.

Here’s some tips for trail running:

If you’re just starting out with trail running, look for easier trails. These can be smooth, wider trails. There’s a park near me that is very popular with both walkers and runners. The path is wide and smooth. Of course, there are some uneven surfaces and some roots to watch out for but it’s a fairly easy run. From there, you can move to less polished trails. These are often narrower and more strenuous. Work your way up to these harder trails.

Jill and Chris Trail Running

When trail running, you need to pay attention. You can’t be looking all around enjoying the scenery. You need to keep your gaze out in front of you because you can’t count on the trail being smooth. There may be rocks, roots, and fallen trees in the path. You want to avoid tripping and falling.

On the other hand, enjoy the scenery. It’s ok to pause to look around. Running through a forest or along a stream or through a meadow is enjoyable. I often find myself stopping to take a photo when I’m out on a trail.

Running along the Cuyahoga River

Slow your pace on the trail. Whatever you run on the street, plan on being slower on the trail. It’s also ok to slow to a walk at times. If a trail is very rough, walk it. If you encounter a steep hill, you might want to walk. Many accomplished trail runners walk up hills and run down them.

Be sure to take water or your sports drink with you. You can’t count on finding water on the trail and you may end up being out there longer than you expected. It’s better to be prepared. I usually throw an energy bar into my bag as well, just to be on the safe side.

Speaking of safety, be sure to let someone know where you plan on running and when you expect to be back. Carry a phone with you as well. If you run alone, it’s best to stay aware of your surroundings. This is probably not the best time to wear headphones. Besides, you’re out in nature so enjoy the sounds of nature.

There are plenty of trail races but even if you’re sticking to road running and races, switching things up and running on trails as part of your training can really help you improve your speed. Running on trails uses more muscles and can be easier on your joints so it’s a great workout.

Trails also always seem to include a hill regardless of how flat the terrain is. I ran a trail race in Carolina Beach in North Carolina and the area was flat but somehow there managed to be a hill on the trail. I was muttering my complaints about that but I made it up without problem.

If you’re going to run trails, you might consider buying a pair of trail shoes. They tend to have less of a heel and more tread. I have a pair of Brooks trail shoes and use them for both running and walking on trails.

You may discover that you prefer trail running to road running. It’s certainly more scenic, usually much quieter, and presents a challenge. If you look around, you’ll probably find some trail running groups or races. I don’t know if this is accurate but trail runners seem to run longer distances than road runners.

Yikes! A turtle on the trail!

Even if you stick with road running, trail running is a good way to get in hill training and to shake things up a bit. Go out and enjoy nature!

Blue Heron

Race Recap of the Good Hops 5K Beer Run 2018

June 21, 2018 / Jill McCauslin / 1 Comment

Ready for a race recap of the Good Hops 5K Beer Run 2018? It was a fun but very hot race held on the Saturday of Father’s Day weekend.

I went on vacation last week. I spent several days at Kure Beach in North Carolina with my son and his girlfriend. It was great: lots of sun, swimming, eating, and drinking beer at breweries. Kure Beach is on the North Carolina coast, about 15 miles south of Wilmington and next to Carolina Beach. It’s a great little beach town with a nice beach and restaurants and shops nearby.

We went to Good Hops Brewery in Carolina Beach to sample the local beer and while we were there, we saw a sign for a 5K to be run in a couple days. The sign said the race was both dog and stroller friendly. Somehow, we discussed the idea of my doing the race and maybe taking Stella, my son’s girlfriend’s dog, who had come to the beach with us.

I signed up for the Good Hops 5K Beer Run while sitting there in the brewery.

The next day I took Stella out for a trial run. I decided that she could become a great running dog but needs to be trained to run with someone. So, I decided not to take her on the race. As it turned out, I’m very glad she didn’t go.

The race had awards for the fastest dog. The dog who won, a lovely German Shepard, was so hot by the end of the race that they took him to the vet’s office immediately afterwards. The dog was ok, just hot and tired, but I wouldn’t have wanted to be responsible for overheating Stella.

Race Recap of the Good Hops 5K Beer Run 2018

The race was a trail race through the Carolina Beach State Park. It was a trail run with much of the trail being sand or packed sand. The trail wasn’t too tough, but it was narrow in places and did have roots and rocks on it. I saw at least one woman fall on the trail. She tripped over a root and went down hard. Several of us stopped to help her up and make sure she was ok. She brushed herself off, said she was fine, and continued the race.

There were 200 participants in the race with a great mix of people. There were a few dogs and some strollers. We met at the brewery and when it was time to start the race, we crossed the road to the state park and lined up there. The race was conducted completely in the park and when we crossed the finish line, we then crossed the road back to the brewery.

The race organizers kept asking for the faster runners to move towards the front. I thought I was far enough back, but I didn’t realize how the race would start. When we crossed the start line, the trail was narrow and had brush along side, so it wasn’t easy to pass people. I felt like I was being swept along and ended up running much too quickly for the first part of the race. I could see on my Fitbit that I was running way faster than I normally run and tried to slow down but it took a while for me to drop back to my normal speed. When the trail opened up a bit, it was easier for some to pass and the rest of us to drop back.

The trail was pretty though I was sort of hoping to see some water along the course. I was from out of town, of course, so really had no idea what to expect. No water, just trees and the sandy path.

It was hot. Really hot, in the high 80s. I didn’t have a cooling towel with me and I wore my compression calf sleeves, making me way overdressed. I carried water with me and I added some electrolyte water to it but still ended up being too hot.

By the time I finished the race, I was in bad shape, overheated, and miserable. It took a long time for me to cool down and get back to a normal temperature. I know that I got overheated last year at the Akron Marathon when I ran the half marathon but this seemed worse. I actually scared myself because I was so hot.

I’m holding the free beer in this photo but I didn’t drink it. I gave it to my son and stuck to water and my electrolytes.

Awards

The award categories were:

1st Place Male/Female
1st Place Masters Male/Female over 50
1st Place Father/Kid Combo – (This was Father’s Day weekend, of course.)
1st Place Stroller
1st Place Dog
1st Place Costume

I only saw a couple strollers and only one or two dogs. I gather one person ran in a costume but I didn’t see him. Needless to say, I didn’t win anything.

My results were good. I completed the 5K in 36 minutes and 32 seconds, smack in the middle of the pack as the 101^st person to cross the finish line out of 200 participants. Given how I’ve been running this year, that’s a good number for me. I just wish I had done it at a more consistent pace and didn’t get so hot.

I was so glad that I didn’t bring Stella. She’s a big black dog and it would have been horrible for her to run in the heat.

We got a nice T-shirt. Adult runners go a free beer and a plastic beer glass with a race logo on it. After the race there was a party going on. There were food vendors and music playing. It was an enjoyable time.

It was fun to be able to decide to run a race without a lot of thought, but I got so hot that I was a bit sorry that I ran it. I really needed to be better prepared for running in the heat.

Dealing with stress

June 14, 2018 / Jill McCauslin / 4 Comments

Today I signed papers to put my house up for sale and so, yes, I’m dealing with stress. It’s a bittersweet moment. At one point, my husband, myself, my son, two dogs and two cats lived in this house. Now, it’s just me and I’ve been keeping this house going for what seems a long time. Being widowed adds a whole level of housework and chores to the schedule. So, it’s time to sell and move into something smaller that is easier to maintain. I know that I will be so relieved not to have the upkeep of this house. But still, this was my family home.

You know, it’s not really the house that is giving me pause. It’s going through the drawers, cabinets, and closets that is making me feel sad. Today I found a piece of paper on which I’d written a note to my son. I obviously was on my way to work and he was on summer vacation and old enough to be home alone but not old enough to be driving. It made me smile to remember those days. Then I realized that on the other side of the paper were notes and measurements that my husband had written for some project and just seeing his handwriting made me want to cry. There’s a lot of emotions in those things you’ve stuck in the back of a drawer.

Dealing with Stress

I’ve been dealing with a lot of anxiety because of all of this. and am trying to ease it in a variety of ways. I went for a massage this week, which was incredibly relaxing. I picked up an easy to read novel and periodically sit down and read a few pages. I talked to family and friends this week. Chris offered to help me with some work for our Becoming Elli podcast and instead of insisting I could do it, I accepted. Sometimes help from a friend is the greatest gift.

I worked out several times this week which helped tremendously. Because I’ve been so busy in the house, it’s been easy to skip my runs and workouts but because I had sessions scheduled with my trainer and friends, I got to the gym despite myself. And that’s one of the things I talked about in ways to motivate yourself to workout. Make appointments and commitments. It really does make you get yourself to the gym or the park or wherever you’re meeting someone. And moving your body and working out does improve your mood.

This isn’t my normal informative blog post so thank you for letting me share some of my personal life with you. I think this is the value of community that we keep talking about. We all go through different phases of life and those periods can bring benefits even though there can be a lot of stress.

Feel free to share some of the ways that you deal with stress.

Do I Need a Rest Day?

June 7, 2018 / Jill McCauslin / 1 Comment

Do I need a rest day? And if I do, what exactly is a rest day?

We keep hearing all this information about how many days a week we should be exercising and how many hours per day but then the expert mentions, “oh, and don’t forget your rest day.”

I know that we all need some rest time but I think there are different kinds of rest days:

The Easy Rest Day

The easy day is when you take a break from your workout routine

If you’ve listened to the Becoming Elli podcast, you’ll have heard the different trainers we’ve talked to give us advice on doing aerobic exercise 3 or 4 times a week and strength work 2 or 3 times a week. Everyone always says, “and you need a rest day.”

This rest day isn’t a lie on the couch and binge on your favorite Netflix series. Instead, it’s a good day to still do something but it shouldn’t be strenuous. We all need that off day. Instead of running or using the elliptical, just go for a pleasant walk. Or maybe try a restorative yoga class. If you haven’t tried restorative yoga, trust me, it’s relaxing. A regular yoga class would work too. Just take it easy but still keep moving.

I always try to get my 10,000 steps and I stick to that even if I’m resting. You may decide to do it differently but it’s just a decision I made.

Post-race Rest Day

The days following a race or high-level activity often leave you feeling sore and tired. When you’ve done something more strenuous than usual, such as running a race or doing something like the fitness challenge that I did a few weeks ago, you may need a more serious rest day. In fact, you may need more than one rest day.

Again, if you’ve really strained your muscles, lying around isn’t going to help. I know after I ran the Cleveland Half Marathon, every time I sat for an extended period of time, my muscles tightened and I then hobbled around, looking like a penguin. You’re better off to go for an easy walk and keep moving but don’t really push yourself.

This is also a good time to stretch and be gentle with your body. You could even go for a massage or find a hot tub to soak in.

Pay attention to your body and don’t push it. Let your muscles heal.

Rest Day When Sick

The times when you’re not feeling well often lead to a rest day. This is sometimes the most difficult for me. If you’re not feeling well, you probably need to take it easy. Let your energies go to healing yourself. The problem with resting when you’re ill is that often times we’re ill for multiple days. You feel like you’re losing ground when you don’t work out for all of that time.

If possible, do an easy walk or move around a bit. Be patient with yourself because even though you may feel like you’re falling behind on your training schedule, it’s important to take care of your health.

If you’re not feeling well mentally or emotionally, you have to judge if a rest day is in your best interest. Sometimes I feel down and then don’t want to do anything but doing something often improves my mood. If you just don’t have the energy to go to your HIIT class or run the 5 miles you were supposed to do, try something less strenuous. Again, go for a walk or take a yoga class.

Strolling for Health

I noticed that for every instance of resting that I mentioned, I suggested going for a walk. Perhaps instead of calling it a rest day, we should call it, Easy Walk Day or Strolling for Health.

It’s important to give your body a chance to recover from all of the training you do. It’s also important that you move those muscles a bit so you don’t tighten up and walk like a penguin.

The Peanut Butter Wars: Natural Peanut Butter or Not

May 28, 2018 / Jill McCauslin / 4 Comments

This isn’t exactly a recipe but I thought I’d write about peanut butter. Chris and I recently discussed peanut butter and I was shocked to learn that she eats Jif peanut butter. I don’t know why but I thought nobody bought regular peanut butter anymore. I said I only eat natural peanut butter and that my favorite is Smuckers Natural Peanut Butter. Of course, there are lots of different brands of peanut butter and I’ve just selected the ones that we discussed. Your peanut butter might be a bit different.

Ingredients

Here’s a photo of the ingredients in Jif:

Yes, it says:

Made from roasted peanuts and sugar, contains 2% or less of: molasses, fully hydrogenated vegetable oils (rapeseed and soybean), mono and diglycerides, salt.

I also see that this label reveals that the J.M. Smucker Company now owns Jif as well as their natural brand.

Here’s a photo of the ingredients in Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter:

It says:

Ingredients: Peanuts, contains 1% or less of salt.

You can buy an unsalted version but I usually don’t.

Here’s the rest of the label:

Nutrition Facts

Let’s compare the nutrition facts of these two peanut butters:

So, not all that different except that the sugars are increased due to the sugar being added to Jif. For some reason, the protein changes slightly too.

That Darn Oil or Mixing Natural Peanut Butter

So why doesn’t everyone buy natural peanut butter? Because of the darn oil that separates from the peanut butter. You buy a jar of peanut butter and to use it, you first have to mix in that oil.

I used to do this with a spoon and I’d end up with the peanut butter all over my hands. It was a mess.

Then I would flip the jar over while it sat in the pantry waiting to be opened. Every so often, I would put the jar upside down and then later put it right side up again. That did actually help with the oil somewhat.

One day I was pondering some of the mysteries of life and wondered why nobody had ever invented a tool to mix the oil into the peanut butter. I had an ah-ha moment and decided to try something. It worked and now I mix my peanut butter this way all the time.

I take my hand mixer and insert one beater. I then hold the peanut butter jar firmly (the firmly part is important), insert the beater and turn the mixer onto low. It works great. The peanut butter is mixed without spilling all over the counter, jar, and my hand. This isn’t hard and it works great.

Here’s a demo of mixing peanut butter with a mixer:

I forgot to include a shot of the finished product so here it is:

Blended peanut butter

I’ve mixed peanut butter in both glass and plastic jars. Either way, it’s fine. You do have to make sure you hold the jar firmly and start the mixer on slow.

Some time we can discuss the strengths and weaknesses of almond butter vs. peanut butter. All I’ll say right now is that my stirring method works for almond butter too. It probably works for any kind of nut butter.

I know there are lots of other peanut butters out there. Does anyone have a brand to recommend that doesn’t have anything other than peanuts and salt added that doesn’t have to be stirred?

The Benefits of Hiking

May 24, 2018 / Jill McCauslin / 2 Comments

I thought today we could discuss the benefits of hiking. We’ve talked about running, bicycling, swimming, and lifting here at Becoming Elli but it occurs to me that we haven’t discussed one of my favorite forms of exercise….hiking.

Trail

I really enjoy hiking. I used to love to take my dogs for a hike and it was something my son and I used to do frequently. When he was four, we did the local hiking spree and earned our hiking sticks. Hiking with a four-year-old is a challenge because a mile hike is a lot longer for those little legs. I still remember those hikes with great fondness. Even as he got older, we often hiked together.

Nunu on a hike

Now, my son no longer lives at home and my dogs are gone so it’s just me. I don’t hike as often, especially on the more remote trails because it just feels a bit uncomfortable being by myself. If I can get a friend to go with me, I’m so happy.

I’m lucky to live in an area with a lot of great hiking trails. I have the Cuyahoga Valley National Park just down the road, the county has a fantastic series of metro parks with excellent trails, and my local community has some decent hiking trails in the city parks.

Hiking vs. Walking

What’s the difference between hiking and walking? The consensus seems to be that hiking is walking on trails in nature and walking tends to be on a smoother path or the road or sidewalk. Walking through your neighborhood is probably a walk and not a hike. So a hike tends to be more rugged. It certainly doesn’t have as smooth a path as walking. Hikers are obviously walkers but walkers are not necessarily hikers. Interestingly, my Fitbit Surge has both a walking and a hiking activity on it so apparently even Fitbit considers them to be different activities.

The Benefits of Hiking

Hiking provides a decent workout. For me, it provides hills, both up and down, and some rugged paths. You really have to concentrate on your step when the path is rough. Balance and agility become important.

There’s also the benefits of spending time in nature. I see wild flowers, wild life, and beautiful scenery. I find hiking to be pretty close to meditation. My mind seems to benefit from time away from sidewalks and concrete.

If your hike includes hills, you get a great leg workout. Well, hiking on flat ground also gives you a workout but hiking up a steep hill really gives you a good cardio workout and works those glutes, legs, and hips.

What do you need?

The nice thing about hiking is that I haven’t figured out any compelling need to buy a lot of accessories. I did buy hiking boots after a particularly tough winter. They were expensive but I expect them to last a long time. If you’re going to buy hiking boots, make sure they’re waterproof.

If you’re going to be doing a fair amount of hiking, invest in trail shoes. They’re similar to running shoes but have better traction and might also be waterproof. Starting out, your regular gym shoes would be fine but you might notice that you have a greater tendency to slip.

A hiking stick is often a good idea. This can be as simple as finding a good solid stick on your hike and using it to as fancy as buying expensive hiking sticks.

Blue Heron

Finding Hiking Groups

If you are looking for people to hike with, I suggest looking for a local hiking club. I know there are several near me. Check out meetup.com for hiking groups in your area. Read the details carefully because some hiking groups are more into speed than others. I enjoy nature enough that I don’t feel compelled to power walk through the woods so the slower groups are a better fit for me. I think you’ll find that there’s usually a good variety of hikers in these clubs.

Farm Pasture

Safety Precautions

I always take my phone with me when I hike, especially if I’m by myself. Of course, if you get to a remote area, you might lose cell connection but I always figure it’s better to have the phone than not. Don’t forget that your phone probably has GPS on it so you can use that to figure out where you are if you get lost.

So, to avoid getting lost, I’d recommend staying on a trail. Cutting across wild terrain or deciding to climb boulders is a good way to encounter trouble. A fall or a stumble can lead to a sprained ankle or worse.

Probably the most basic precaution is to make sure someone knows where you are going to hike. This is easy to forget but at least texting someone what trail you’re going to hike is a good idea. Again, this is especially true if you are hiking alone.

With just a few precautions, you’ll be fine on your hike and can enjoy the beauty of nature.