Tag Archives: healthy

Gaining Strength with My Daughter + Immune Support from Ester-C

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias and its Advertiser. All thoughts and opinions are mine and mine alone and should not be construed as medical advice. #24HourEsterC #CollectiveBias

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Half-way through my college career, I decided to run a marathon. I hardly trained, and the race hurt….a lot, but I pushed and made it across the finish line. Walking up or down stairs the following 2 weeks brought painful tears to my eyes, but I was hooked and wanted to do another, only better. I know, crazy, right?

Armed with a training and nutrition plan, I learned how important both aspects were to attaining any goal. Training, to prepare the body for the stressors of an endurance event, and nutrition for peak performance, recovery, and especially proper immune support.

Fast-forward to current day; I’ve completed over 10 marathons (including Boston), an ultra-marathon, and too many 5k’s and 10k’s to count. I’m extremely proud of these accomplishments as anyone should be, but I found endurance came at the expense of strength after failing miserably at trying to jump in the air. I certainly lost weight and changed my body composition, but my body lacked muscle and I decided it was time to train for strength.

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Strength training and distance running are on opposite ends of the spectrum, but the need for good nutrition and a supported immune system remain key factors. I get all day immune support from Ester-C to keep me “Going” as a dad (see what I did there?) living a healthy lifestyle!

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Although good nutrition may help support your immune system, I’m not taking any chances of being sidelined from training again. Now I get 24 hour immune support from Ester-C which enables me to consistently train as well as manage my key role as a stay-at-home dad and loving husband.

When I first became an at-home dad, a big fear of mine (besides nap time) was not having a consistent strength training routine since raising a baby was uncharted territory. That was over a year ago, and thankfully, with a little creativity and determination, that fear is a thing of the past.

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When I go into our garage gym complete with a power squat rack, bench, several kettlebells, and Olympic barbell set, Avery comes too. She even has her own toy kettlebell to use when “working out” with Mommy and Daddy. She still needs a little practice on her swings, but she’s already a natural at squatting!

Along with cooking nutritious meals and lots of playtime, working out with Avery is part of the daily routine to keep fit, get stronger, and support our immune system. Thanks to a supported immune system and my motivation providing us to stick to our routine, both Avery and her Daddy (that’s me!) are getting stronger physically and strengthening our daddy-daughter bond.

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It’s obvious I’m mindful about what goes into our bodies seeing as to how I cook all of our meals and rarely go out to eat, so why do I make Ester-C my go-to Vitamin C supplement? Among the many benefits 24 Hour Ester-C has to offer, here’s several that make it a no-brainer in our house.

  • Ester-C is a special form of Vitamin C designed to stay in your white blood cells for up to 24-hours, providing you with around-the-clock immune system support.*
  • It is carefully manufactured to contain the same compounds your body produces when it metabolizes vitamin C.
  • Its unique, water-based manufacturing process combines Vitamin C with Calcium using no chemical solvents. The manufacturing process also neutralizes pH, making it non-acidic and gentle on the stomach
  • Comes in 1000mg or 500mg Vegetarian Coated Tablets that are Non-GMO and Free of Sugar, Soy, Gluten, Wheat, and Artificial Flavors & Colors.

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Ester-C is easily found at your local Wal-Mart in the Vitamin and Supplement aisle and it’s currently on rollback! I take the 500mg tablets to split my doses since I prefer to take one in the morning and another at night. Keep up to date on the latest immune supporting products and great info on the Ester-C Facebook page and on Twitter too!

Why not let Ester-C help support your health so you can help support what matters most, our children?

Have you dealt with setbacks in training before?

Share how you’re currently training for a certain goal, how are you working to reach it?

Disclosure

How to Hide in the Kitchen + WIAW #3

Welcome to my third post of What I Ate Wednesday, and to the mid-week / Hump Day mark! The weekend will be here before we know it, right….RIGHT?!

I certainly hope so, because we still haven’t watched The Hunger Games: Mocking Jay Part 1 after I posted this on Instagram…

Yeah, never happened. Going Mom took advantage of Avery accepting sleep and fell asleep with her in the nursery. Just watching a movie is hard when you have a little one, huh? But it’s hard to argue with that, it’s not like we’ll always be able to enjoy those moments with our little ones.

I’m actually envious since nap time has been a struggle lately and Avery never just gives in anymore. Instead, I get what I can only assume are death threats to our mat when I mention the word “sleep”.

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Scary, huh?

When she’s not threatening the ultimate destruction of our kitchen mat, Avery has figured out how to fit herself into a slim cabinet in the kitchen. It’s one where I keep baking sheets and other things “safe” for kids to grab at, and also the only one we don’t have child-proofed.

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I’m sure most of us have one, or at least had if your kid took over too. Avery has been hanging out at “The Cabinet” (sounds cooler when in quotes, huh?) for months now, but only recently started climbing all the way inside. Here, she’d like to run you through a quick demo.

Oh, hi there. Welcome to my cabinet.

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Now you see me….

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….now you don’t. Oops!!!

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Okay, NOW you don’t.

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Boo! And now I’m back!

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Yep, that’s been going on a lot over here lately. She might prove useful when I’m looking for that hard-to-reach pan some day. Until then, if it keeps her entertained, we’re happy! And it’s quite entertaining to watch! Here she is climbing in..

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Then she tries to keep from being seen.

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Rinse and repeat. Fun times as an at-home parent. I actually mean that too.

And now it’s time for another round of WIAW. Thanks to Jenn, for hosting this fun link-up for foodies everywhere!

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We’ve been starting the day out with a new recipe I made using NuttZo. See the recipe here and let me know if you make it.

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That’s my wonderful work of microwaving in a bowl. Beautiful, huh? Oh yeah, and I always have coffee on hand. Today was the extra free refill of black Pike Place I got at Starbucks. Love the gold card!

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My lunch is a combo of all things I cooked recently or have in the fridge that need to be eaten.

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Here I had steamed beets, cauliflower and broccoli, slow-cooker salsa chicken, sweet potato with black garlic, and homemade sauerkraut. Lots of randomness, but also lots of goodness!

For dinner, I made a sweet potato and spinach frittata with NuttZo and it was deeeee-licious!

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Yes, another one of my fabulous ways to make something in the microwave. I tell ya, it’s a useful kitchen tool and I’d be lost without it. The final product…

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We’ll be having this again for sure. Maybe even extra NuttZo next time.  And, as if it’s hard to believe, after dinner snack time was some of my homemade chocolate bread with, yep, NuttZo!

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Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out other tasty eats from foodies that linked up on Jenn’s WIAW party!

Do your kids have a special hiding place in the kitchen? Somewhere else in the house?

Have you tried NuttZo? Seriously, it’s awesome! If you go to their website and enter code liley15, you can save 15% off your order. 😉

Brilliant blog posts on HonestMum.com

I’m a Soft Star Shoes Ambassador!!

First there’s NuttZo, the most delicious and healthy organic nut/seed butter EVER, and now I’m proud to announce I’m an ambassador for Soft Star Shoes!

Soft Star Shoes is a company based out of Oregon where they passionately make minimal footwear for the entire family. Handcrafted to order, they offer minimalist Running shoes, Moccasins, Sandals, Padraig Slippers, Sheepskin boots, and other Casual Wear.

I just started using their Running Moccasins they sent me to try and will post a review here in the near future.

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Looking forward to logging some miles, HIIT exercises, and weightlifting sessions in these 5oz foot-huggers. The freedom of sprinting practically barefoot is here! But I really can’t wait to get a pair of Kids’ shoes for Avery. They have shoes for babies, toddlers, and youth up to 12 years!

As if handmade in the USA by people (they actually call them elves) actually passionate about what they do isn’t enough, you can go online and design your own shoes for yourself and your little ones. I’m ready to get our whole family “going” minimal in Soft Star Shoes for casual daily use as well as when working out.

I’m no stranger to working out in minimal shoes as that’s all I’ve used for years now, but I’ve never tried anything like Soft Star Shoes….yet. Check out their site and see what you would like for yourself. Have fun with the design-your-own feature to see what you can create for the kiddos. A monogrammed moccasin for your tyke? How could you resist?!

Kids and adults don’t need the excessive padding seen on most running and casual shoes. It’s not natural and only messes with our dynamics. Get yourself and your family closer to the earth and feel the benefits of having “Happy, Healthy Feet”.

More to come on Soft Star Shoes, I promise. For now, enjoy your weekend and check out all they have to offer.