16 | August | 2013 | Daily Moves and Grooves

That sounds bizarre.

Ben and I spent our late morning and afternoon hiking on Camp Smith Trail to a peak called Anthony’s Nose, and it was awesome!

We started on the trail at around 10:30 and first signed the little “guest book” (is that what they’re called on hiking trails?), which was hidden inside a sketchy wooden box. And then the adventure began!

The route was pretty steep and strenuous at some parts, which makes the hike more fun..for the first half. The trail on one side of the river is actually used by the military personnel who are part of the National Guard for training and rifle changes, but we did not witness any of that today. We did go up some heart-pumpin’ ascents:

Steeper than it appears. You can see us in action in my Instagram video!

Not gonna lie, my legs are still pretty sore today, and this hike was rough on my hamstrings and backside. They might rebel tomorrow. Must foam roll more!

I’m also convinced that I look like an idiot when I’m hiking for the following reasons:

I nearly face-planted about 10 times.
I constantly and violently swatted away the fleas and bugs that inevitably wanted to hike up MY nose.
I yelled “Ohmygosh! A butterfly.” (Out of fear)

Good thing there weren’t too many people on the trail! And good thing my brother is a champ for dealing with me. We actually took turns carrying the backpack, which was probably nice for him considering he carried the backpack alone on our very first hike up an even more intense mountain. What a trooper.

When we reached this point…

The top of the green mountain in the right picture was our destination.

…the hiking description we brought along said, “At 2.7 miles, another rock outcropping with a view offers an excuse to stop before tackling the remaining unrelenting assault up Anthony’s Nose.”…….Alllllrighty then!

It wasn’t as bad as we anticipated, and we reached the summit before we knew it.

Huzzah!

There was a short trail that took us to the outlook, where we enjoyed lunch and gorgeous views. Not to mention the weather was perfect!

One of my favorite parts though?

Peanut butter and peach jam sandwiches! Hiking food at its finest 😀

Then it was time for the descent, which Ben calls the quad burner. Thankfully it went by quickly. It’s kinda funny actually, because we kept asking ourselves as we stomped down the mountain, “How did we climb this before? I do NOT remember it being this steep.” It gives us the illusion that we were invincible for climbing up that mountain, when in reality, we were just super tired walking down the mountain, and anything uphill at that point seemed insane.

We ended up covering 6.2 miles roundtrip, and figured out that we took the longest route possible. We thought we would be finished with the hike by 1:00, but it was longer than we thought, and we ended at 2:30. Well, I guess if we’re gonna hike, we better GO HARD OR GO HOME. 😉

I’ve had a bunch of snacks including this new-to-me flavor of Chobani:

Key Lime!

Quite satisfying. But I guess hiking makes you ravenous, because I am more than ready for dinner already! I’ll leave you with one of my favorite pictures 🙂

Have a good Friday evening!

So tell me: Have you gone on a tough hike before? What are your favorite hiking snacks? Are you terrified of all bugs?

Good morning!

Ben and I are going on a hike soon, and I’m so looking forward to it! We went hiking a couple times last year and I loved it. Not only is it great exercise, but the fresh air, beautiful views, and quality time with my brother have made it one of my favorite activities. We haven’t gone in a while, and I’ve been begging Ben to go on another hike with me. Today is the day! Praise God for the beautiful weather here.

Just pray that we don’t get ticks or come across rabid raccoons. Apparently those are hazards at the place we’re hiking.

Eating Late at Night

I enjoyed a banana with pepita sunseed butter and some yogurt for late night snack at around 11.

My uncle from Canada, who is a nutritionist and dedicated athlete, was talking to me about the benefits of eating a nutritious snack before going to sleep. I used to buy into the myth that eating too soon before bedtime would result in energy just chillin’ out in my body, not being used up. Basically, the reason many people don’t eat 2-3 hours before bed is that all this unused energy will turn into fat. Sadly, I have purposely ignored my hunger at night, thinking I wasn’t doing anything that needed that much energy anyway and could just sleep through it. As I exercised more, however, I quickly realized that going to bed hungry was just not a good idea (and frankly not very comfortable) because my body needed the nutrients for muscle recovery and growth…and sometimes just because it needed FOOD. Even if I don’t exercise, I am now no longer afraid of eating before bed if I’m hungry.

Another reason I used to not eat before bed was because I was afraid I’d be too full for breakfast, my favorite meal of the day! Crazy, right? My uncle assured me that breakfast is 6-8 hours away, which is quite long enough for my body to become hungry again. And he’s right, I’m still usually hungry for breakfast. Yes, sometimes I have a little less of an appetite, but once I start eating breakfast, I usually have no problem polishing it off.

I did a little research on this particular myth and found some recurring points.

From FitDay and Real Simple:

“Our bodies need fuel constantly, not just when we are awake.” (FitDay)
Your body will only store excess calories as fat. Eating at night does not in itself contribute to weight gain.
Nighttime snacking becomes a problem when the foods eaten are unhealthy and/or when too much food is eaten

My uncle also told me that after a day of training, muscle builds while sleeping. And if you’re interested in bulking up, here are some muscle-building pre-sleep meal ideas.

Some of my favorite “midnight snacks”:

Yogurt with banana slices and/or peanut butter
Small protein shake (I will probably post a recipe later!)
Bowl of not-super-sugary cereal
Fruit with a handful of nuts

I try to include a little carbs, proteins, and fats in each snack, just as I try to do with all my meals! I don’t have a snack every single night, but I try to if I work out or if I’m just hungry.

**Please remember: I am not a professional by any means. My uncle is though. Nevertheless, this is simply my own experience and what I found through some internet research. As always, do what works for you and whatever your doctor may order.

Hope that was some helpful information!

Breakfast

Well, even after my very late snack, I was still ready for some overnight oats! I’ll post my recipe and how exactly I assemble my overnight oats soon.