Musings on eating & moving

Hard to think of something that fires our engines more than stories of folks who’ve dialed in their eating and moving, seen great things happen in their lives as a result, and provided some inspiration for others along the way.

None better in that category than the one we want to share today… the tale of Bike Like a Girl, an awesome group of cyclists setting out to become just the second 8-woman team to conquer the 3,020 mile (yes, thousand) Race Across America from Oceanside, CA to Annapolis, MD.

Meet Nicole D., manager at a large association in Washington DC by day, aspiring competitive rower by night and on weekends. It’s a pretty cool balance of work and play she’s got going…but one that took some shuffling of the life deck to bring about.

Seven years into her career she realized that she was on her way to getting fully indoctrinated by DC’s work culture, looking up and finding only work, wondering where all the years were going. So she flipped the script, trying out a totally new activity and getting fitter/healthier than ever in the process.

Like many of the busy folks we come across here in the DMV, Chris Upham’s life is a juggle of lots of important stuff – building a career, raising a family (2 boys), trying to stay healthy, carving snippets of time out for fun. Somehow amidst all that action, he’s managed to get in the best shape he can remember, lose 30 pounds and find renewed oomph for job, family and fun too.

Pre-changes Chris

Before the birth of his first son, Daniel, Chris’ family life was pretty strained and his career was still feeling the aftershock of the 2008 financial crash. 30+ lbs heavier than his happy weight, he was out of shape, episodic with his fitness and struggling to eat well with any consistency. All in all he was carrying around more than he wanted to on a number of fronts.

Karen Hughes approached her 50^th birthday with more than your typical dose of health worry, and with good reason.

“My father passed away of a heart attack at the age of 51. So when I turned 50, I was kind of freaking out.”

1 year later, after taking a series of small but determined steps, she had engineered a major turnaround and was on her way to feeling better than ever. Here’s what she did:

It's resolution season 2015 (the year btw that Marty McFly visited in Back to the Future II, no hoverboards yet alas) and self-improvement suggestions abound... Top 10 lists, elaborate how-tos, tricky new gadgets and other would-be flux capacitors promising to get us to wellness faster.

Michael J. Fox admiration aside, we lean a little more down-to-earth this time of year. Give us some real examples from real people and we like the odds for sparking sustained change. Throw in the catalytic power of a well-run nutrition challenge and we're downright bullish that good stuff's going to happen.

Here's another installment in our Power Profile series where we ask folks with something to say on nutrition and fitness to share a bit about their experience.

This time it's yours truly, me Robert, gabbing a little on my food/fitness journey...in all its pound-losing, fitness-gaining, career-changing glory. Plus a cereal replacement for a little variety in your breakfast giddyup.

In celebration of summer's arrival and with it the advent of online nutritional info for every PS meal, here's another installment of our Power Profile series where folks from the local food/intentional fitness community share their experiences, tips and takes.

The May addition features Megan Brown, co-Founder of Mind the Mat Pilates & Yoga, as well as Doctor of Physical Therapy, Pilates/Massage Therapy/Yoga pro and intentional eater. Megan shares tips and tricks from her own successful eating well journey, including the role of nutritional info, food logging to get a handle on where you are and, yes, managing indulgences like chocolate and ice cream. Take a look. Thanks Megan!

Here's a back-to-good-habits, summer's over installment of our Power Profile series where folks from the local food/functional fitness community share their experiences, tips and takes.

The September addition features Devin Maier, Managing Director at Balance Gym. Heaps of helpful info in here including ideas on breakfast, interesting takes on the variety of results you can see from better eating and a plug for a more balanced view of carbs for active folks. Thanks Devin!

Time for another installment in our Power Profile series where folks from the local food/functional fitness community share their experiences, tips and takes.

The February addition features Erika Moburg-Jones, Director of Operations and Head Trainer at Patriot CrossFit. Loads of good info in here including ideas on where to start, a nod to the almighty pork shoulder (great cook at home item) and a perspective on eating Paleo for two during pregnancy. Thanks Erika!

There's so much goodness to be had from other folks' experience. So on these pages we're going to start sharing perspectives and tips from folks across the healthy eating and moving spectrum. Got a story you'd like to share or know someone we should chat with? Let us know.

CrossFit Coach Sarah Mills leads us off, sharing her nutrition story and some of her best tips. Check out the video or scroll down for the transcript. Paleo brownie? Nice.