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I bring up the topic of shin splints v. a stress fracture because yet again I’m feeling that all too familiar lower leg pain. What’s concerning is that the pain seems to be very localized, meaning it’s not my entire shin that hurts but one specific spot on my shin bone which is an indicator of an actual stress fracture. You’ll experience a shooting, aching pain in the front of your lower leg(s) when running, but the pain goes away when you lower your intensity, stop running, or after your run is over. To further explain the difference between shin splints and stress fractures and to address 3 signs of a stress fracture watch the video below: The only real way to know if you’re suffering from shin splints or an actual stress fracture is to go to the doctors office and have an x-ray done to see if there are in fact cracks in your shin bone.

Now, I understand 4 grams of sugar may seem like nothing but what really is 4 grams of sugar? Basically, if you consume 5-6 candies on Halloween night, the night after and after and after til all that candy is gone you’re EASILY consuming 1/4 cup of sugar (if not more) on a nightly basis. I’m not saying don’t eat candy on Halloween because let’s be honest I’m sitting here writing this blog post eating candy corn leftover from shooting pictures this morning * dip of your choice (I like hummus or Bitchin’ Sauce) * arrange veggies to resemble a candy corn on a triangle shaped plate/platter or be super ghetto like me and cut a piece of cardboard into a triangle and cover it with foil to create your own perfect candy corn shaped serving tray LOL!

Know that while you sleep your body technically goes into a fasted state so even if you can’t commit to 16 hours without food maybe try waiting an hour or two before eating breakfast or skipping your late night snack a couple times per week and see how it goes before jumping all in for a 16 or 24 hour fast. BUT there are also many other potential health benefits associated with intermittent fasting: * Weight loss: Simply eating fewer meals will decrease your calorie intake making it easier to lose weight but fasting may also change your hormone levels to make weight loss and fat reduction easier. Studies have shown that fasting can help lower insulin levels (making body fat more accessible to burn), increase growth hormone levels (helps with fat loss and muscle building) and increases the release of the fat burning hormone norepinephrine. I’ve found by eating like this I don’t worry about food between meals, feel energized, sleep great and don’t currently see a need to change anything.

Instead try to adopt the mindset of “eating to run, not running to eat” and refuel your body with healthy complex carbs like sweet potatoes, whole wheat toast with avocado, quinoa, apples…etc. The more you fuel your body with healthy nutritious foods the better it will perform running, you’ll recover faster and if weight loss/toning up is your goal staying away from sugary junk will absolutely help you drop some pounds. And if/when “runger” does occur here’s some healthy, filling snacks that I love munching on: Despite my intense “runger” last week I had an awesome week of training. For this coming week I have a couple easy runs, a long run and a speed workout where I will be running 3 miles at my goal half pace + 10-20 seconds.