Posts Tagged Thanksgiving
Week of Thanks…
Posted by Matt Hoover in General on November 22nd, 2010
For the next few days I am going to write about things I am thankful for. Some may be short and others long, but during this holiday season I feel this is an important exercise in gratitude.
Tonight I am going to start with my recent Ironman finish. Doing an Ironman requires a ton of sacrafice not only on the athlete’s part but their support system as well.
For starters, I want to thank my wife. Missing the cut-off last year was as tough on her as it was on me. I went through a pretty major depression when the race was over last year and we both thought it would be better if I put on trying to become an Ironman for a while (years). When the idea started circling around in my brain that I would give it another shot this year Suzy was a little hesitant.
We talked it over and she gave me her support. We missed out on a lot of weekends together as my training increased but though it all she remained steadfast in her support. Her support, along with my boys, was a driving force between my will to finish this year.
My coach this year was a good friend of mine named Joe Lotus. Joe and I have been friends since our freshman year at Iowa. He has watched me go through my ups and downs in life and his friendship has been unwavering. This whole Ironman journey was pretty much his idea and I am thankful that he pushed me. Joe helped me come up with a great training plan and race day strategy that was definitely right for me. Although I know at times he may have thought I might have been in over my head, he never let on. He helped me to stay positive and believe that I could reach my goal of becoming an Ironman.
My triathlon team Raise the Bar is filled with great people and great coaches. Patty Swedberg helped me learn how to swim and gave me great advice throughout the past two years. Most importantly, her and the Raise the Bar family were shining examples of what it means to be a triathlete.
About a month before my race in Florida my bicycle broke. I had serious problems trying to get it replaced and with less than a couple weeks before I was suppose to leave for Florida I was still without a bike capable of making the 112 mile trek. That’s when one of the most amazing things happened. I have developed a great relationship with my local bike shop Speedy Reedy. They are great people who have the best customer service in the world. There are shops much closer to me than they are but I will always drive further for great service and Speedy Reedy is worth the drive. Just when I was about to pull the plug on my Ironman dreams, I mentioned the problem I was having getting my frame replaced. Brooke, one of the owners offered to let me use one of their brand new bikes. I came in, got fit and had a reliable, not to mention good looking, bike to ride in Florida. I definitely could not have done this race if it hadn’t been for the generosity of Brooke, Reed, and the rest of the staff at Speedy Reedy in Seattle.
I have had some amazing support from my local gym Vision Quest Sport and Fitness. From the owners Brad Swartz and Chip Schwerzel to my trainer Ali Crosbie, I couldn’t have asked for a better place to help me get ready to become an Ironman. Again, their encouragement was invaluable.
The Biggest Loser was a huge part of me being able to do this race. They helped me beyond what words can describe. I am amazed on daily basis by how much my life has changed as a direct result of being on the show.
This year I was lucky enough to be sponsored by three great companies. Xterra wetsuits provided me with a state of the art wetsuit that helped me conquer the swim, even in the most unenjoyable weather. Great company with a great product.
K-Swiss has been with us from the beginning. I love their apparell, but their shoes were perfect for a bigger triathlete like myself. They have been a huge blessing with all of the gear and support they offered.
My nutrition last year was a huge reason why I missed the cut-off in Kona. I just didn’t have anything left. This year, I was lucky to meet Scott at Dotfit Supplements. I felt so prepared going into the race and had a great day thanks to my Dotfit nutrition. Last year I vomited over 20 times and struggled through multiple bouts of cramps. This year I didn’t get sick and didn’t have any cramps. I had sustained energy throughout the day and it was because of the program that Dotfit helped me design. Check them out at Dotfit.com.
If this sounds like a giant advertisement, that’s fine with me. I literally could not have done Ironman Florida without all of the help from the people above and more that I have probably forgotten. But to everyone, I just want to say thank you.
I also want to thank all of my Internet friends. Your words of encouragement leading up to the race and the letters of congratulations were so appreciated. Although I may not always respond, your kind words mean a lot to me. Thank you to you all as well.
I am so thankful for all of you and it is because of you that I am able to call myself an IRONMAN!
Let’s Have a Plan for Thanksgiving Day
Posted by Matt Hoover in General on November 25th, 2009
It’s heeere…. A day that strikes fear in many trying to stick to a nutrition plan. Thanksgiving. I want to share what my day is going to be like tomorrow and why I am not worried about whether or not I will be able to “make it through” one of the most notorious days for over eating.
As I said yesterday, Thanksgiving use to be a day for me to consume mass amounts of delicious foods and get rip roaring drunk while watching a crappy team (Detroit Lions) lose another Thanksgiving day game. Things have changed a lot for me, at least some things. I don’t eat enough food to induce a food coma and I don’t get rip roaring drunk, but the Lions are still a crappy team.
Here is what my day is going to be like tomorrow. If you choose to implement some of these things you can save yourself the emotional distress of having blown right past your alloted calorie count for the day.
I am lucky in that my gym is open in the morning. Many gyms are open until around noon. I will get up and head to the gym where I will partake in a spin class. After class I will sit in the sauna and do some stretching. I love the sauna because I get a good sweat and it really helps my tight old muscles relax.
When I get home I’ll help Suzy clean up the house and then I’m off to cut and split some wood. Chopping wood is an amazing core workout. Not only will I get a workout, but I’ll save money on heating costs by using our wood stove.
We will eat around 2 pm. On the menu at the Hoover house, Turkey (not deep fried), mashed potatoes using red potatoes and prepared with skim milk and chicken broth, a green salad, fresh green beans that are steamed, sweet potatoes without all the candy on top (gasp), and a couple deserts. Suzy’s low cal pumpkin pie pudding and mini pecan pies (the size of a Reece’s peanut butter cup) with fat free cool whip.
We always start our meals off with the salad. It helps us fill up on good stuff and curbs the urge to over eat on everything else. Here is where it gets tricky and where many of us fall apart. After we are done eating we will put all of the food away so it’s not setting out to tempt us the rest of the day. Maybe the most important thing that we do is package up any left over desert and send it home with whoever wants it.
As we are cleaning we chat with family and enjoy their company. When everything is put away we sit around for a while and then we go for a walk. We have found that we can talk just as well and maybe even more while out for a walk than we can sitting in front of the tv.
Yes, we do eat left overs. Since we know how everything was prepared we can confidently enjoy leftovers for the next 3 days just like everyone else.
That is my plan for tomorrow. In order to be successful with your nutrion you need to have one too. Maybe this is the year that you start new healthy traditions. Maybe this is the year that your family sees you as a role model and decides they want to get healthy themselves. Maybe this is the year that you don’t just survive the hloidays but thrive!
Enjoy the day and remeber that it isn’t necessarily about food and overindulgence but a time to give thanks and enjoy the company of those that mean the most to you.
Can a Healthy Thanksgiving Still Taste Good?
Posted by Matt Hoover in General on November 25th, 2009
So here we are, a couple days from Turkey Day. Every year we are bombarded with ideas of how to make the holidays healthier. Every year many of us say to ourselves, maybe next year I’ll give it a try.
Last year Suzy and I decided that we would begin hosting Thanksgiving at our house. The reason was two-fold. First, we had just had our second child and it would be easier to stay at home. Secondly, we would be able to prepare the food and have some control over what was served.
I grew up on buffet style holidays. Everyone brought a dish and I ate until I could eat no more. The spread of food at my Grandma’s house would put a Vegas buffet to shame and all of my aunts can cook some delicious food. Unfortunately, I wanted to make sure I got a good amount of everything which meant eating to excess.
Suzy and I decided that we wanted to focus more on the meaning of the day rather than focusing on food. When we decided to start having dinner at our house we talked about how we can have a healthy meal without having our guests feel like they are being deprived or punished because we are working on ourselves.
The interesting thing about Thanksgiving is that many of the common staples of the meal are pretty healthy. Somewhere along the way we decided that those staples needed some added ingredients to make them taste better.
Let’s take turkey for example. Turkey is a healthy lean meat but for some reason the good old fashion way of baking it or roasting it for hours just wasn’t that appealing anymore. What did we do about that? Deep fried turkey! Mashed potatoes aren’t that bad in the big scheme of things when prepared sensibly but now people “add some flavor” by adding extra butter, cream, even sour cream. We take yams or sweet potatoes and cover them in a layer of marshmallows and butter and brown sugar, but hey they’re still healthy because there are yams under there. Right?
I could go on and on. Instead, I want to share what we do at our house. For starters, Suzy roasts the turkey and uses several herbs such as sage, rosemary, and time. She puts carrots, celery, and onions on the bottom of the pan and puts the bird on top of it. After she adds some water, a little salt and some pepper, she has made a nice little broth to baste the bird in. I can say from tasting it, the turkey tastes great and she doesn’t even rub it down with butter or stuff it under the skin which seems to be a poular method these days. TURKEY TIP: Try using natural ingredients to enhance the flavor of your turkey!
For mashed potatoes Suzy uses red potatoes and adds skim milk. Instead of butter she adds some chicken stock instead of butter. Once again, as a veteran mashed potato eater, I have no complaints with her healthier version.
Alright alright, yes we do still have some desert! Believe it or not, we have actually found a way to have healthier options at desert as well. My favorite holiday desert is pecan pie. Not just pecan pie, but pecan pie with good old fasioned real whipped cream and not just a tablespoon. I want so much whipped cream you can’t even tell there is pie underneath!
Unfortunately, I can’t do that in good conscience anymore but I still want my pecan pie. Suzy came up with a great idea. She bought those little tiny cupcake tins and made bite size pecan pies. So to get my pecan pie fix I got my little “mini pie” with a little bit of fat free cool whip. Having the little portion allowed me to have a taste and Suzy only prepared enough for us all to have ONE. I was able to stay in control.
Possibly my favorite desert is something that Suzy started making to take to get togethers around the holidays so that we could have something to eat without worrying about calorie counts. I call it pumpkin pie pudding. It consists of 2 pkgs of fat free/sugar free pudding prepared as directed on the box. Add half a can of prepared pumpkin, add cinnamon and pumpkin pie seasoning to taste. Put in the fridge until it sets and then add one container of fat free cool whip and mix right before serving. This is a delicious creamy dessert that can take the place of some of the heavier more calorie filled dishes that we often like to have at Thanksgiving.
These are a couple of the things that we do at our home. Tomorrow I am going to give you some ideas on how to keep active over the next couple of days. See you then!
Here come the Holidays!
Posted by Matt Hoover in General on November 23rd, 2009
I can’t beleive it’s Thanksgiving already. Thanksgiving seems to be the kick-off for the holidays. For many the word holidays conjures up the thoughts of multiple parties, time with friends and family, or a time to be a little lax on their exercise. After all, New Years will be here soon and you can set the same resolution you have the last however many years, to get healthier and fitter.
Here is the thing. For many the holidays are really only 2 days, Thanksgiving and Christmas, yet many of us turn December into a month long celebration. We take the holiDAYs and turn it into holiWEEKs. And by the end of the month many have packed on an the pounds. Stats show that average gain in the month of December is 3-7 pounds.
Why do some people pack on the pounds while others go through the holidays unscathed? It really is pretty simple. It comes down to planning and common sense. Fit people tend to grasp the idea that the holidays are a time to spend with your family and celebrate your beliefs, not take a whole month off from working out and over-indulging.
Think about how many parties that you will attend over the next month, not even including Thanksgiving and Christmas. My guess is that most of us will attend at least two many of us anywhere from 4-6. Attending that many get togethers leads to ample opportunities to over do it.
I am not saying don’t leave the house this festive season, I am saying use your head. Plan Ahead! My gym is open on Thanksgiving morning. Guess where I will be before I sit down to enjoy some turkey? The gym!
By getting a workout in I feel more in control at the table. I know that this is simply another meal and that the real joy of the day comes from spending it with people you care about. Last year Suzy and I began hosting Thanksgiving at our house. We had a blast but more importantly, we knew how everything was prepared and made dishes that we could enjoy and that others would enjoy as well. No one complained about having a meal prepared in a healthier way and it tasted great despite missing pounds of butter.
Tomorrow I will have Suzy join me and we are going to share some ideas about how you can make Thanksgiving enjoyable while still making progress toward your healthy lifestyle. The rest of this month I will be writing about not just surviving the holidays but thriving during this month and how we are going to all get a jumpstart on those who are waiting for the new year to begin their changes.
This is an exciting time of the year for many reasons, lets get excited about being fit too!
