Healthy as a Horse

This past weekend, Bracks and I headed to our lovely alma mater, the University of Virginia, for the annual spring Foxfield Races.

It's a huge day for Charlottesville.  Tons of alumni, townspeople, and students attend.   We dress to the nines in our sundresses and seersucker, and then spend the day cavorting around a giant field, catching up with old friends, watching horses sprint madly around the track, and just generally having an amazing time.

Great times with great friends :)

It's a tailgater's paradise - a plethora of good food, lawn games like cornhole and ladder horseshoes everywhere, and, well, booze.  I knew this going in, and I therefore knew that I would have to make some mental and physical moves to ensure that I would have an enjoyable day, but one that would not compromise my efforts to embrace a healthy existence.

I'm happy to report that the day was a roaring success.  Sure, I had some drinks - I don't think it's a secret to anyone at this point that I enjoy a few drinks every now and then - but I didn't lose touch with my efforts to keep things in check and take care of my body.

There was fried chicken galore - but I peeled off the fried parts (it was painful to do so, let me tell you) and just ate the healthy white meat.  I drank my weight in water (I even brought a twelver of seltzer water in cans, as well as a bunch of liter bottles of flavored seltzer).  I avoided the constant stream of potato chips and instead pounced on veggie platters.  I made sure to make like the horses and take lots of laps around the field (I didn't bring my pedometer since rain was forecasted - but I'm certain it was a lot of steps!).

In a situation where it can be easy to succumb to unhealthy decisions, it was very reassuring to realize that it's possible to have an amazing time without betraying one's healthy purpose!

I seem to have a thing about thumbs upping in pictures.

The warm months are upon us (finally!), which means a lot more time spent outside.  And sometimes that also means that alcohol will be present in daytime activities - whether it's sipping a margarita or two by the side of the pool, sampling different wines on a wine tasting excursion, or kicking back a couple brews at a baseball game.  Daytime drinking can be fun and relaxing, but when approached the wrong way, it can be disastrous - or at least one heck of a headache.

Thankfully, there is a happy medium.  I have found that I get the most out of these daytime-drinking types of situations when I (1) make sure my belly is full with good and healthy eats, (2) keep my water-to-alcohol ratio heavily weighted in the H20 direction, and (3) keep my alcohol intake moderate (it always comes back to moderation!).  I hope that these tips will be helpful for you, too!

They ensure a really fun time, without completely compromising a healthy body and mind.

Bracks and me at Foxfield 2012

And what's not to like about that?