therunnerwithin

Overcoming unhealthy temptations or cravings is not necessarily always easy! I am thankful that growing up my mom always made sure I have my serving of fruit with breakfast, carrot sticks in my lunch and if I was really good I could have a small piece of candy after dinner. I was raised on water and juice and to this day only have a soda maybe five times a year, if that, and when I do, it’s generally Sprite.

As I got older I began to eat out a lot more with my friends. During my college years, every Wednesday was trivia night at our local Applebees. Trivia started at 10pm, which coincidentally, is what the half priced appetizers started. When my team won a round, we earned a free dessert shooter. I was young and could eat whatever and whenever I wanted to. A couple years later when I got serious about my running I learned I needed the right foods to fuel me through prior, during and post-run. Today, I make sure that I have protein with every meal, I have my daily dose of fruit and veggies, which has expanded over the years as I was a picky eater, and I drink plenty of water! I also make sure that I try to eat around the same time every day so I am on a schedule. This helps me to avoid getting hungry when I am out running errands and I make a poor decisions for some fast food because I was “hangry.”

When it comes to snacking, I try to limit my supply of “unhealthy” foods in my house and in my office at work. Though I do not deprive my body from divulging into those scrumptious sweets, I try to find healthier alternative with base ingredients as natural as they can get. Some things I like to snack on are the KIND bars. Every flavor I have tried, I like! However, there are two kinds I like to have on hand, the Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew and Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate. I am able to purchase the 18-bar variety pack from my local Sam’s Club. Since KIND bars are made with ingredients you can see and pronounce I don’t feel like I am putting chemicals in my body. Sure these two flavors have chocolate in them but studies show a piece of chocolate a day can be good for a healthier heart, improved brain function, a source of antioxidants, etc.

If I am ever craving something sweet after dinner I go for one of these, the Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew is my favorite for dessert.

Another snack I like to munch on during the day are these rice rollers by Bamboo Lane. These are all natural and lightly sweetened. You can think of these as a rice cake in the form of a roller with a little sweetness added.

My current most unhealthy temptation is an iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts. While research shows that drinking a cup of joe a day can reap many positive health benefits, what you put in your coffee can make or break that fact. When I first started drinking the iced coffee I just ordered them as they came standard with the cream and sugar. It was not until one morning I was cleaning my car and came across a receipt and I came to find out there was 4 creams and 4 sugars in my refill cup – eek! From that day on I began cutting back slowly to the point where I am at one-to-two servings, depending on if I have a flavor syrup added as well.

I don’t stop at Dunkin Donuts everyday let alone make a cup at home as it is not good for my wallet and I do not want to become addicted to the caffeine. Instead, I generally make a stop once a week, generally on a Thursday or Friday as long as I have been good all week in getting up at 5am to get my run or workout done.

What is your biggest unhealthy temptation or craving?

A special thanks to Jill Conyers at jillconyers.com and Jessica Joy at thefitswitch.org for hosting today’s The Fit Dish Link Up.