Blog Posts by From the editors of Runner's World

These foods will help you stay healthy and fit during colder months.Winter presents a number of fitness obstacles. Shorter, darker days and icy roads can freeze training in its tracks, while a storm of season-specific health problems--including cold fingers and toes, stiff, achy joints, and even seasonal depression--can leave you wanting to skip your workout altogether. Luckily, making certain foods and drinks a regular part of your diet can help you avoid common winter problems, says David Grotto, R.D., author of 101 Optimal Life Foods. So before a winter woe sidelines you, try these consumable prescriptions for staying healthy all season long.

Set--and achieve--a goal for 2012

COLD HANDS AND FEET
FOOD FIX The amino acid arginine helps expand blood vessels and encourages blood flow, Grotto says. Arginine is found in protein-rich foods, including lean meat, poultry, and fish, as well as cashews, almonds, and peanuts, plus cereal grains, such as oats and barley. Tea, wine, cocoa, and chocolate can also help: They're rich in catechins, tannins, and

After a chilly workout, few meals are more satisfying than soup. Warm and comforting, "soup provides a big bang for your buck," says sports nutritionist Lisa Dorfman, R.D. "You can get lots of protein, fiber, and carbs for not a lot of calories." Research shows that eating soup before a meal reduces calorie intake during that meal by 20 percent, making it great for weight loss. These soups are easy to make--and savor. Each recipe yields two to three servings and tastes even better as leftovers.

What to Wear, No Matter the Weather

LENTIL AND BLACK BEAN
This vegan stew is thick and superfilling thanks to the beans and lentils. Both are good sources of protein and fiber-rich carbs. "The body absorbs these nutrients slowly, keeping energy and hunger levels on an even keel," says sports nutritionist Monique Ryan, R.D. One cup of lentils contains almost all of your daily need for folate, a B vitamin that's key for the formation of energy-supplying red blood cells. Chili powder, cumin, and

Are you picking the right workout-friendly foods? Most supermarkets stock more than 30,000 items, yet every time we race up and down the aisles of the grocery store, we toss into our carts the same 10 to 15 foods. Which isn't such a bad thing, as long as you're taking home the right foods--ones that will keep you healthy and fuel your workouts. These 15 foods fit the bill-add them to your must-buy list:

FREE: Healthy Recipes That'll Fuel Your Workout

Almonds These are an excellent source of vitamin E, an antioxidant that many of us fall short on because there are so few good food sources of it. And the form of vitamin E found in the nuts, called gamma-tocopherol (a form not typically found in supplements), may also help protect against cancer.

Eggs One egg fulfills about 10 percent of your daily protein needs. Egg protein is the most complete food protein short of human breast milk, which means the protein in eggs contains all the crucial amino acids your hard-working muscles need to promote recovery.

Sweet potatoes Just a single

Need a gift for your favorite runner? Here's the coolest gear of the year.

More from Runner's World:

FREE GIVEAWAY: Win some of the year's top running gear!

The Best Sports Bras for All Sizes

Workouts That Burn More Calories

Get customized plans to start running faster, longer, and smarter!

--By Meghan G. Loftus, Associate Multimedia Editor of Runner's World

Meghan Loftus is pledging to run a mile a day until the new year!Just because I work at Runner's World doesn't mean I'm any better than anyone else at staying fit through the holiday season. In fact, I might argue that I'm worse.

Once I complete my big fall race--this year, I ended with the Philadelphia Marathon on November 20--I am free from the rigid five-days-a-week training plan I'd been following for the previous four months. Usually, I have a spring race in mind, and training for those doesn't start until January or February.

7 Minutes to a Stronger Body-No Gym Required

I always have good intentions to run (and strength-train) through this plan-free expanse of time.

But then, it's cold and snowy and dark outside. And my schedule fills up with holiday parties and travel plans. And I tell myself, "It's cool. Training for (insert spring race here) starts in just a few weeks. I might as well be lazy while I still can!"

And then, a few weeks later, I begin my spring training a

For most women, a good sports bra is as important as the right shoes. And as with shoes, no one bra is perfect for everyone. To help you figure out which bra works for you, we recruited 25 testers, who ranged in size from 32A to 38DD, to run in the latest models. These 7 are among their favorites.
Read our latest bra guides for more favorites!

More from Runner's World:

Warm Workout Gear for Cooler Temperatures

Fast Workouts to Keep Fit This Holiday Season

Warm, Immune-Boosting Foods For Workout Recovery

Get customized plans to start running faster, longer, and smarter!

For the December issue of Runner's World, we asked our readers: "Why do you run?" Some of them had amazing stories, and some of those amazing stories were chosen to appear in the magazine.

Here are a few of them. Prepare to be motivated and inspired. And then, tell us in the comments: Why do you run?

Pick a Running Goal That Works for You

CHRISTINE ORR
35, Menlo Park, California
Why she runs: To cope as her son struggles with hemophilia

CHRISTINE ORR RAN CROSS-COUNTRY and track in high school and was in it to win it. As a young adult, she laced up to lose weight. But in all that time, running was always a "should," not a "want." That changed in December 2009 when her second son, John, was born with a severe form of hemophilia (a bleeding disorder) that had the family rushing to the ER frequently. It took that diagnosis to discover one of running's true powers: release.

"I started running so I could just go cry without upsetting my kids [James Jr., 5, and John, 2] and husband

Editor's note: The following story originally appeared in Runner's World magazine and on Yahoo! Shine in early 2011-- it illustrates how running (or any form of exercise) plays a role not just in our physical health, but also our emotional well-being. Since the story published, Lisa Hallett, an Afghanistan War widow, ran her first ultra on July 21 by running 26.2 miles to the San Francisco Marathon (in 4:55), and then the race (in 5:00). She ran with Wear Blue, a team that memorializes the service of the U.S. military.

It's her mantra: Run for John, run for me, just one more step. For Lisa Hallett, whether solo in a marathon or with her kids in their mammoth, triple-wide jogging stroller during training, running is how she deals with the pain, the loss, and the memory.

"It's really hard to do day-to-day things-taking my kids to preschool and taking care of the house," says Hallett, a 29-year-old full-time mom. "On most days, if nothing else, I can say I ran. On some days all I can do