Most Talented Dog Ever

It's Wednesday afternoon and I should be getting ready to go to the gym, but I'm updating y'all on my eats and workouts instead because I am feeling lethargic. I want say it might have something to do with this heat wave, but lets face it - I'm am not outside all but maybe 10-15 minutes a day right now. I didn't get up the past few days in time to get my morning run in, so I went to my gym in the evening to run on the treadmill as it has been too freakin' hot and humid to function outdoors.

Monday

I was up in enough time to run for about thirty minutes so I munched on a bit of banana and honey, but then my body had a different idea so I stayed put and just got ready for work instead. I made a smoothie with water, cranberries, blackberries, spinach, and some PlantFusion protein powder. I haven't had this combo in a while and it was delicious.

I guess I should mention at this point that I have changed from my 4 eats (3 meals and 1 snack) every 4 hours to 5 eats (3 meals and 2 snacks) every 3 hours. I did this because I was feeling really hungry after 3 hours and I hadn't been able to lose any weight for a few weeks. I thought maybe it was because I had increased in my running time/mileage and was still eating around 1200 - 1300 calories. My goal is now more around 1350-1500. So not a big difference but we'll see if that helps.

Anywhoo -- I had a mid-morning snack of a rice cake covered in Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter.

Lunches for this week consist of a Morning Star Spicy Black Bean Veggie Burger, mozzarella cheese, pineapple slice, and some sweet potato rounds. This has become one of my new favorite lunches. It is very easy to make, delicious, and filling. I will try to change it up next week, but I give you no promises!

My afternoon snack was a White Chocolate Macadamia Luna Bar. I hadn't tried this flavor before and it was really good. I tend not to go for the Luna bars because it does contain processed food but they were on sale for $1/bar so I couldn't pass up on the savings.

I then took off to work out. I first hit up the Fitness Studio to do some toning and then headed off to MaxFitness to get my run in. I ran for 35 minutes and approximately 3.5 miles.

When I got home, it was time for dinner. I cooked up some Salmon and topped it off with Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ Sauce and blueberry-nectarine salsa.

Now time for intermission.... Jumpy the Border Collie:

...and now back to your regularly scheduled post.

Tuesday

I heard my first alarm go off and snoozed it and then never woke up again until I had 45 minutes until I had to leave to make it to work. I showered up and made a smoothie with mango, strawberries, protein powder, and some spinach.

My morning snack was a rice cake covered in Justin's Vanilla Almond Butter that I picked up at my local Fresh Market. I hadn't tried this flavor yet so I was going out on a limb to buy a whole jar but it just sounded so good... and Holy-Yum! I was right! I love this stuff!

Later in the afternoon I had a pear with a hard-boiled egg. Simple yet satisfying.

I got home, changed, and then hit up a spin class at Max Fitness. After that I hit up the treadmill but was having some discomfort in my calf muscle. I tried to go as long as I could, but could only make it to the 2 mile mark before I decided I would rather be safe then sorry.

I cooked up some ground chicken tostadas when I got home and it hit the spot. Have I ever mentioned how I love food that is so simple yet so delicious?! Well, I do. This meal is easy to make. Just brown up some ground chicken (or turkey, or even a lean ground beef), toast your corn tortillas, and serve it up with some lettuce, tomatoes, and black beans. Add some salsa for some added spice and wallah! You could even add in some other flavors if you wanted like corn, onions, and/or avocados!

Question: What kinds of things do you do to get past a plateau  Do you change what you eat or your workout schedule? Fill me in! I would love some ideas! 

Busy Bee

Yay! The weekend has arrived! Wow, this week has flown by and as you know I've been M.I.A. Sorry! I finished up training on Tuesday afternoon and I am back to working a real schedule and as you know I've been doing more cardio, trying to burn off as many calories as possible so I can win the weight loss competition.

I'm just going to do a quick summary of what I have had to eat these past few days along with what I've been doing to burn off those calories!

Breakfast

Tuesday: PlantFusion protein powder, banana, celery, romaine lettuce, water and mint smoothie.
Wednesday: Smoothie of strawberries, orange, spinach, coconut water, mint and protein powder.
Thursday: Pineapple, mango, cucumber, water, and mint with a scoop of PlantFusion protein powder.
Friday: Strawberry, mango, spinach, mint, water, and PlantFusion protein powder smoothie.

Lunch

Cauliflower, broccoli, ground chicken, Fountain of Heath Roasted Garlic Hummus and Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb seasoning. I have also made this with rice in it but left it out for a low-carb option.

Snacks

Tuesday: NutThins, cheese, with roasted garlic hummus.
Wednesday: Apple and cheese.
Thursday: Rice cake covered in Justin's Honey Peanut Butter with a banana.
Friday: Apple with Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter.

Dinner

Tuesday: Veggie burger with a Thousand Island and red onion dressing, topped with mozzarella cheese and pineapple, served on a bed of spinach. Delicious!
Wednesday: Egg white omelet topped with red onions, mushrooms, bell pepper, and cheddar cheese.
Thursday: Cumin rubbed chicken breast served with a cucumber relish (cucumber, tomato, onion, garlic, lemon peel, and lemon juice), topped with a greek honey yogurt dressing served on a bed of spinach. Yum!
Friday: Honey BBQ salmon served with a blueberry-nectarine salsa (blueberries, nectarine, and oven roasted pecans). Holy Yum!! This was soooo good!

Activities
Tuesday: I had intended to go to spin class but on my way home I stopped by a friends house to see if she wanted to join me and we ended up talking right through it. Oh well, time with her is more important.

Wednesday:  I completed my run in the morning with an average pace of 10:41. After work I dashed off to spin class. I was, once again, the only person in the class. But that's ok with me. The instructor is super nice and she actually remembered my name, which really surprised me.

Thursday: Another morning run? Sure, why not?! I've been good about getting up and getting it done. But I have noticed that when I work out in the morning, I feel more hungry throughout the day. My run on Thursday had an average pace of 10:30.

My GPS got funky and all of a sudden decided that I could run like Dash from the Incredibles:

Friday: Rest Day!! I did go for a little walk with the pup to warm up my muscles so I could do some stretching but that was it.

Article
Although I have been doing my runs in the morning, they seem harder and I'm more willing to give in to walking. I was wondering what the difference was and like magic I ran across an article from Runners World. Here are a few of the tips they suggested that I'm going to have to try:

Give your blood sugar levels a little pick-me-up prior to running by eating half a banana, 6-8 ounces of juice or a toast and jam 15-20 minutes prior to your run.  Your body will tell you what it can handle and what it prefers.  It may mean waking up a few minutes earlier, but it will pay off because your mind will wake up and you will have plenty of energy to get you through your run. 

Walk for at least 5 minutes to properly warm your body up before you run.  It takes a little longer to warm up in the morning so start with an easy walking pace and gradually increase it to a brisk walking pace.  Walking for five minutes will make all the difference in allowing your body to more efficiently prepare for the transition to running. 

After the five minute walking warm up, run easy for 5-10 minutes.  Your body will reward you with a strong performance if you gradually bring it up to speed.  Like warming up a car in the winter, your body needs time to wake up, warm up and run!  You won't believe the difference!  If that doesn't help, alternate running for a minute or two and power walking for a minute before you hit your running tempo.  Run-walking works wonders in transitioning to running, especially in the morning.

It may mean waking up earlier (ugh!) but if it will improve my performance I'm game.

Question: Do you run in the morning? What are some things you do before you hit the pavement? Share with me in the comments below!

Past Days Highlights, Halfway Goal, and Attitudes

So, I just got in from a run disaster. I went out for my 4 mile run today. It was almost like any other day. I had my tunes on and Roxie with me. The difference was someone else wanted to go with me. Let's just say that this is the second time this person has attempted to go with me and each time I was left frustrated. The last time, I finished my run. This time, I was so annoyed that I couldn't get back into the running mindset. So I walked home. I am disappointed in myself for allowing that and not pushing through but it happened. So, I will attempt to do my 4 miles either tonight or tomorrow.

Let's get on with a few highlights from the past few days...

On Wednesday, Cosmo wanted to share my breakfast made with PlantFusion protein powder, water, celery, cucumber, cilantro, banana and lemon.

I snacked on some strawberries filled with a banana and greek yogurt filling. The filling wasn't very thick so I prepared this on Tuesday night and placed it in the freezer. They were really good!

After my run that night, I decided to make a little watermelon drink to sip on while I was cooking. It's just coconut water, lime, lemon, and watermelon. It was good, but not as pretty as Pintrest made it look. 

I guess Wednesday night turned out to be a "try this pin" kind of night because I also made these grain free cookies I found on Pintrest that was pinned from Texanerin.com.

Thursday I hit my halfway weight loss goal! In just under four months I have lost 25 pounds and 16 inches off of my body! I am super excited about this. Here are a few before and after pictures (I apologize about the closet, but this is the only full length mirror in the house):

Thursday also came with a splurge dinner. Not to celebrate my weight loss but to see my recently engaged sister that was in town from SC. I had dinner with her, her fiance and his family at Chappell's Coral Grill. I had a house salad, almond crusted walleye that was served with a jalapeno tarter sauce, and then a turtle cheese cake that my sister helped me eat. (Sorry, no pictures!) It was all very delicious and it was great getting to spend a little time with her.

Friday was just a "blah" day. I had quite the week in training and my brain felt like it was in overdrive with all the information we were given. So when I got home, I just wanted to veg out. I think I was passing out on the couch around 9:30/10 o'clock. Yes, I am like an old lady.

It's now Saturday and as y'all read, it isn't exactly starting out the best. So I'm off to clean up, maybe run some errands (aka shopping), and then say good-bye to a good friend before he is deployed to Afghanistan. 

Question of the Day: Have you ever had a bad running day? Did you push through it or did you give up?

Comments? Questions? Thoughts? Helpful Tips? Talk to me in the comments below! I would love to hear from you!

Running to BPM

Tuesday's breakfast was a smoothie made almond milk, PlantFusion protein powder, basil, celery, orange, blueberries, and ginger. For some reason, this smoothie was really cold. It was still delicious, it just took a little longer to drink trying to avoid getting a brain freeze!

I had the turkey mixture for lunch, and had an afternoon snack of an apple with some Justin's Honey Peanut Butter.

When I got home from work, the tempature was around 80 and was perfect for a run. So I quickly changed and grabbed Roxie for a run.

I was really trying to focus on my stride during this run and I think it worked out pretty well. I was pretty pleased with the run as my pace was faster per mile. After my run, I did some stretches, rolled out my shins and calves, and rested on the floor with my Roxie for a bit while I read an article on Shape Magazine's website with a top 10 list of 80's workout songs according to RunHundred.com. Who doesn't love the 80's? If you don't, I would make an appointment to see your doctor... Just kidding! Ok, not really.

Anyway, the article contained the top 10 and also listed their Beats Per Minute (BPM). Haven't heard about BPM? I talked a little bit about it in a post from over a year ago. Well, now that I am offically back into running - yes, it took me over a year to get back to it - I started thinking about my running music and how it can affect my running pace. The question is, what BPM is best for my pace?

I looked online and found a couple of different a sites that talked about it. eHow has a relativly short post on how to figure it out, and SelfGrowth has a longer post but gives a chart that shows steps per minute (or BPM) with the MPH for walking, running, and cycling. At this point it seems that I should be choosing songs with a 150 BPM.

If you read my previous blog post, you would know that I have had downloaded the trial version of beaTunes that would do the BPM for my music libaray; however, my computer crashed and I no longer have it. I might conisder downloading it again and paying the price unless I can find another similar website to use. You could also use RunHundred.com or jog.fm to find songs that match your deisred BPM.

What I am I really interested in is a site and/or program that would allow me to edit songs for a playlist. For example, when I'm doing my run/walk days it would be nice to be able to have the playlist set up to change songs for each run/walk time so I know when to change. I haven't looked into it yet, but will when I have some more time.

My tummy grumbled and I knew it was time to cook up some dinner. I made some spicy-ranch chicken and bell pepper, served on a bed of lettuce topped with salsa and cheese. I typically serve it with a gluten-free tortilla but I needed to cut back some calories so I did lettuce instead. It was just as delicious as before!

Question: Do you run with BPM or make edited playlists? What sites and/or programs do you use? Let me know in the comments below!

This Weeks Training Plan + Soft GF Cookies

So my original training plan is turning out to be more of a guide at this point. The first three weeks I was only doing the run/walk plan two times during the week and then my "long" run on the weekend. I had also made some small adjustments to the times as I was feeling that my body was recovering faster during the walking time allowed and I felt ready to run sooner.

I am, once again, making some adjustments to the plan for this week. I am also going to plan a cross training day.

Week 4

Run/Walk Plan: Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday

• 2 minute warm up
• 2 minute run x 1 minute walk. Repeat 8 times.
• 2 minute cool down

Wednesday - Spin Class

Saturday - 4 miles

I started Monday out with a green smoothie for breakfast. I combined Naked coconut water, spinach, basil, pineapple, and PlantFusion protein powder in the blender until smooth.

This weeks lunch is just a mixture of ground chicken, rice, peas, and corn seasoned with some good ol' Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb. Simple and satisfying.

For my afternoon snack, I had a handful of Nut Thins and a 100 calorie package of Wholly Guacamole. I was excited to see that Kroger had it back in stock. No more brown guac! Yay!!

When I got home I found a FedEx package on my front door step that contained my Zoot Compression socks! I'm a little bit of a match-y freak so I had to get the ones that matched my shoes.

The socks are left and right foot specific and sadly the box only contained right feet. If I had two right feet, I don't think I'd be running. So they e-mailed me a FedEx return label and will be shipping me a complete pair of socks. The exchange was easy-peasy. Now I just have to wait... again. I hate waiting.

I felt a little hungry before I headed out for a run so I grabbed a fruit strip to munch on while I was getting ready.

Running in 86 degree weather is not fun. I actually prefer to run during the winter. It might be freezing for the first five minutes but after that you're nice a toasty. When you start out toasty you go to burning after a mile. Overall it was a decent run. Not my best, but decent.

I cooked up some tostadas made with corn tortillas, black beans, ground turkey, tomatoes, salsa and lettuce for dinner. This is one of my favorite meals. You could add some avocado and cheese too. I leave them off because of the calories.

After dinner I wanted something sweet and thought I would try out these Gluten-Free Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies. Tina from Carrots 'n' Cake wrote this recipe.

These little cookies are amazing! They are soft and delicious; however, each cookie is about 200 calories a piece. Yikes! I only ate one. I really wanted another but I didn't have an extra 200 calories in my calorie budget, so I passed on seconds.

Question: Do you make training plans? Do you follow it without change or do you make changes as you go along? Fill me in by leaving a comment below!



Cat or Dog?

No, this post isn't about which one I should keep and which I should get rid of! I love them both too much to ever get rid of their adorable faces! I mean, seriously? Have you seen them? No!? Well, let me show you..

Roxie

Cosmo

I was catching up on some of the blogs I follow and came across this post by Carrots 'n' Cake where she referred to herself as a "cat runner." I have never heard of this term before, so I linked back to the blog where she first talked about it to see what she meant. I also found this post on RunnersWorld.com that references the same thing and also addresses some other issues.

Runners are like cats and dogs, says Adam Krajchir, founder and director of Race with Purpose and head coach for New York Road Runners' Team for Kids. Cat runners just want to be left alone to do their thing. Dog runners want to be social. You may be cat or dog on any given day, but it's never fun being a cat stuck in a dog world, especially if you're trapped on the treadmill.

I think I fall somewhere in between the two.

I am a cat runner: When I'm running, I don't necessarily want to talk to you. I want to listen to my music, breath, and get into a groove.

I am a dog runner: I don't like doing things by myself.

I have always been the type of person that would only do something if someone else was doing it too. If I were running, I would make plans to run with someone and then pace at their pace. If I were going to the gym, I would call someone and make plans to go to the gym. If they backed out, I did too. This was the case until I finally reached a point where I decided I couldn't and wasn't going to allow someone to dictate my health. Because lets be honest, that's what I was doing. I needed to lose weight and the truth was they weren't going to lose a pound for me. Only I could do that. 

So now that I'm wearing my "big girl pants," I go to the gym by myself and run by myself. I still make plans to  do these things with my friends but I no longer solely rely on them to get my butt to do it.

Now... lets move on to Thursdays run and grub!

Breakfast

If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm a smoothie girl in the morning. It's easy to make and then head out the door. I like to sleep so I don't leave a lot of time to cook something and sit down to eat it.

Thursday's smoothie contained Naked coconut water, blueberries, orange, spinach, parsley, and PlantFusion protein powder.

Lunch

I had another bowl of soup.. I'm so boring when it comes to lunches but it's cheap! I think I'll make something different for next week, but don't hold me to it.

Snack

I had some Nut-Thins, hummus, and a couple slices of cheese for my snack.

Activity

Another day. Another run. After the storms that came through on Wednesday, I wasn't sure if the Rivergreenway would be open or not. It tends to flood when we have heavy rain. But I was in luck! It was open and it was a cool 78 degrees. 

I met up with Erika again but sadly had to leave her pretty early on. She warned me going out that she wasn't feeling the greatest so I told her that she could turn around early and I would catch back up. Well, being the mama bear that she is, she was worried when I had turn some corners and she couldn't see me anymore. So she kept runnin' until she saw me. 

At some point on the way back I had to stop. My hamstrings and calves were getting tight and I needed to loosen them up so I could pick the pace back up. So I stopped in a grassy, shaded area to stretch out.

I got to the end of the trail and waited for Erika to finish. Please note the sign on the left. I was not kidding about the flooding.

Even though we were at the same trail doing the same amount of time, I ended up doing about 3.2 miles on this run. The last run was 2.8. I think I ran a little faster on this run going out so I had a longer way to go back. But I'm ok with that!

Dinner

For dinner I combined some ground turkey, red pepper, corn, and black beans and added some medium salsa for some spice.

Dessert
For dessert I grabbed a "healthy" brownie. I think fresh is always best and I love warm brownies so I popped it in the microwave for 15-20 seconds.

Question: Are you a dog or a cat? Tell me why in the comments below. I'd love to hear from you! :)

Spinning Class and Spinning Clouds

Today is a great day, isn't it?! Here are two reasons why:

1.  I woke up in my bed, not in a field.

My area had some heavy storms last night full of funnel clouds, heavy winds, hail, rain, and all the potential for a tornado. Luckily, my area only experienced (to my knowledge) a thunderstorm.

2. A pair of "skinnier" pants fit! Yay!!

I put on a pair of pants this morning that I haven't been able to wear properly, let alone comfortably, for years. Even though they're the same size as the other pants that I've been able to wear, the cut is very different. So regardless of what the tag says, I know I'm smaller because they didn't fit 5 months ago! I'll take it!

Moving on...

Breakfast

Yesterday kicked off with a yummy cucumber green smoothie. I put in a scoop of Vanilla Bean PlantFusion protein powder, cucumber, celery, parsley, ginger, and banana with some Naked coconut water into my Ninja blender until it was well blended. It was very light and the cucumber was very prominent and delicious!

Lunch

Here's a shocker: chicken vegetable soup!

Snack

I got out of training (for a recent promotion) early and ate my snack when I got home. I had a medium sized apple with a packet of Justin's Honey Peanut Butter. Apparently I was so excited about eating my snack that I didn't bother to snap a picture.

Activity

According to my training plan, today I was supposed to do a treadmill run. Although my shins weren't as sore as they have been in the past (I'm going to thank KT Tape and my medical compression socks for that), I decided to go to a 6pm spin class at the MaxFitness on the NE side of town. I normally go to the NW location but I didn't want to wait until 7:30. After all, the storm was coming and I wanted to be home.

Apparently, other people were really concerned about the storm because I turned out to be the only person to show up. So I received a one-on-one class. Which could have been awkward, but wasn't because the spin instructor was very interactive.

Dinner

For dinner I made a quick and easy omelet using egg whites, tomatoes, mushrooms, and onions. I topped it off with a couple of tablespoons of salsa.

Shortly after dinner the storm started to roll in and then the tornado sirens started to go off. I kept a close eye on the storm for a while, looking for rotation, but I never saw anything. The watch expired around 9:15 and they stated that the rotation seemed to clear and reduced it to thunderstorm warning only -- accompanied by a flash flood warning of course!

On my way to work, I did see that one of the surrounding rivers had risen a considerable amount and heard on the radio that several streets were closed. I really hope that all the people affected by the floods a couple of weeks ago didn't get another dose of it last night.

Question: Do you keep or have you kept any of your "skinny" clothes to use as a goal?