-CLOSED- Giveaway: Win a pair of PRO Compression marathon socks

Win a pair of PRO Compression marathon socks on My Life: A Work in Progress

Compression socks are great to have on hand, whether you’re a runner, golfer, triathlete, or just on your feet a great deal. I wish I’d known about these back when I was pregnant and working full-time as a teacher!

PRO Compression socks work by helping increase blood flow in your feet and legs, which in turn relieves discomfort and shortens recovery time. Read the review HERE.

Want to win a pair of PRO Compression Marathon Socks? The giveaway runs from July 8-14, and is open to US residents. One winner will receive a pair of marathon socks; the pattern/color will depend on product availability. If you agree to the terms and conditions listed directly below, keep scrolling on down to enter.

Terms & Conditions: Sweepstakes open to residents of the US. Must be 18 years or older. Void where prohibited by law. Two entrants allowed per household. Odds of winning depend on total number of eligible entries received. Once winner has been selected and emailed, winner will have 48 hours to respond or new winner will be selected. Winner’s name may be posted on this blog and other social media and Web sites. My Life: A Work in Progress (MLAWP) is not responsible for prize fulfillment. Sweepstakes not associated with Facebook or any other social media platform. Entrance into the sweepstakes indicates acceptance of these terms and conditions.

 The Giveaway:
Note: I was not compensated for this giveaway.
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Review: PRO Compression Marathon Socks #keepittight

My sister-in-law Emily has helped me out with today’s review. I was given the opportunity to review a pair of marathon socks from PRO Compression. Since Emily has been running more than I have lately and training for a half marathon coming up soon, I thought she could really benefit from a pair and sent them her way!

PRO Compression marathon socks review- My Life: A Work in Progress

The socks help increase blood flow in your vascular system, thereby relieving discomfort. Increased blood flow means a shorter recovery time! These socks aren’t just for athletes; if you’re on your feet all day, you could benefit from wearing a pair. I wish I had known about these when I was teaching full time.

PRO Compression marathon socks come in several sizes and colors/patterns. Over the calf, low cut, hot pink, black with red & blue dots…I always love when a functional product looks great too.

From Emily:

I absolutely love my compression socks. At first, I didn’t think wearing them would really do anything, but I have a couple running friends that swear by them. I have to say that I always have to wear them now, or else I’ll pay the price. The days I wear them, I don’t have a problem with my feet the rest of the day, but if I don’t wear them, my feet are very achy after my run. If there’s a day when I’ve been on my feet for a block of several hours, I’ll slip my socks on to help recover. Also, I love the many different designs offered. There were so many to choose from!

Find out more on PROCompression.com. They also sell calf sleeves, arm sleeves, and active wear. If you’re interested in buying a pair, you can get 40 percent off a pair of any PRO Compression socks or sleeves with discount code: COMP40

Want to win a pair? Come back tomorrow to enter a giveaway! 

If you won a free pair, which pattern or color would you choose?

General Disclaimer- Floral

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

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Fitness Friday: Intermittent Fasting

Oh the shame…

The past two or three weeks, I got off track with fitness and nutrition. That isn’t to say I completely stopped working out or running, but I seriously downgraded what I was doing. I also ate too much processed food…and a LOT of it. I totally binged through my toddler’s Easter candy (he helped me; don’t judge!).

Sugar rush selfies!

It’s been a fun month. I’ve had family visiting, or I drove out and was visiting them. I also got together with friends. There’s been lots of fatty foods and fun. But now it’s time to crack down. My jeans are snug again, so without stepping on the scale, I know that I’ve put fat back on around my middle (and everywhere, I guess). Even worse, these last couple of days, I’ve felt tired, sluggish, and bloated. I don’t like feeling this way.

Hubby will be home in just over two months. He’s been working out hard on his own, and I’m feeling a little competitive, hahah. In a healthy way, of course! One silver lining about taking it easy the last few weeks is that my right foot has barely bothered me. I was disappointed to bail on my half marathon this month because of it, but I’m hoping to run the Divas Half Marathon this fall. Several of my friends are interested in running with me, so I’m optimistic that this will be a blast!

Being realistic

I’ve become addicted attached to Instagram. I follow all these amazing fitness women, and it’s easy to look at them and want their bodies. But there are a couple of things I keep reminding myself.

First- we all have different body types and genetics.

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And second- whatever it takes to get me to that goal, that’s probably what it’s going to take to keep me there. So if I have to spend six hours in the gym every day to get the body I want, am I prepared to continue to spend six hours a day to keep it? I need to be realistic about what I can actually maintain.

Intermittent Fasting

Even before I started slacking off on my diet and exercise, I could tell that I’d hit yet another plateau in my fat-loss journey. After doing a bit of research, I know it’s important to incorporate even more High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) in my routine. And I’ve also decided to try intermittent fasting.

Have you heard of intermittent fasting? It’s not really a new concept, although it’s been gaining popularity in the last few years. Everyone fasts. That’s what the word “breakfast” means. You go to bed at night, fast while you’re sleeping, and when you get up, you “break” your “fast” when you eventually eat.

Intermittent Fasting (or IF) is based on studies that indicate while your body is fasting, it’s likely to pull energy from stored fat cells, since there’s no recent meal to burn. Additionally, your body is most sensitive to insulin after a period of fasting. The more sensitive you are, the more efficiently your body consumes food. In a nutshell, IF can help your body better burn fat and build muscle.

There are numerous methods of intermittent fasting. A common way is to eat normally for five or six days a week. On the other days (and they shouldn’t be subsequent to each other), you don’t eat.

Another popular method is a daily 14-16 hour fast. This is the one I’m following. I don’t eat after 8pm, and then my next meal is at 10am or noon the next day. Basically, I skip breakfast. I still eat my full amount of calories, but it’s in a shorter period of time than I used to.

There is, of course, controversy where IF is concerned. You’ve probably been told that the key to weight loss is eating six to eight small meals a day. You may have also heard that breakfast is the “most important meal of the day” and that people who skip breakfast are more likely to be obese.

However, 90 percent of Americans eat breakfast but about 70 percent of adult Americans are overweight or obese. So clearly, eating breakfast is not helping the general U.S. population lose fat. So what’s with all the studies then? This article can shed a little light.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that skipping breakfast is automatically going to make you lose fat. You still have to monitor your overall caloric intake as well as the quality of food that you eat. Some people may have trouble with bingeing after a fast, so that is something to take into account.

It’s also important to point out not many reports have been done to study the effect of IF on women, and the studies that I have read indicate IF works better for men than women.

When it comes down to it, intermittent fasting is not going to be for everyone, but I’m giving it a try. I’ll update you after a month and let you know if I’ve noticed a difference in my body composition.

Do you practice intermittent fasting? What ways do you try stay healthy?

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