5-A-Day Holiday Challenge

I know most of you healthy runners out there don't have any problem with fueling your bodies properly.  But I haven't always been an athlete, and I suppose old habits die hard.  My preference has always been carbs (like bread, bagels, potatoes), cheese, and chocolate.  I hate to admit it, but there are days when nary a fruit or vegetable passes through my lips.

It's not that I don't like them.  I like salads, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, green beans, zucchini, carrots, apples, bananas, watermelon, grapes...okay so maybe my list is not that long, but I do like some fruits and vegetables.

But I think that my days of counting calories/points led me to save every last calorie/point for the stuff I love to eat.  I learned a mentality of, "as long as I eat XXX calories, I'm good, and it doesn't matter where the calories come from."  

And I lost weight living that way.  But that was before I was a runner, an athlete.  My weight has plateaued, and honestly, I have a suspicion that I would be a better runner if I ate more quality calories.

So I've been thinking about how I can kick-start myself into eating more fruits and vegetables on a regular basis.  I was also thinking about the holidays coming up, and how the goodies available from Halloween to New Year's are sure to sabotage someone who is already not a regular healthy eater.

So my goal, from Halloween to New Year's Day (and hopefully creating a habit that will take me beyond this), is to have a 5-a-Day Streak.  Do you remember those commercials encouraging people to eat 5 servings of fruits/veggies a day?  Well, that will be my goal.  

So if you need a little healthy eating motivation to get you through the next two months of holiday treats, please join me!  If you're already a member of the 5 (or more) a day club, and you have any advice for this terrible eater, I'd love to hear it.

Happy Halloween!

Have a great day!