Circuit Training

I decided to switch things up a bit at the gym this morning. Since I woke up early and got there right as they opened (5 am!!), I had some extra time to work out. Wednesday is usually a lift day, but I was really in the mood to run. So, I decided to do a circuit. For those of you who aren't familiar with circuit training, it's interval training in which strength exercises are combined with aerobic exercises. Therefore you get the benefit of both a cardiovascular workout and a strength training workout. I did the following circuit 3 times with no breaks in between and man, this really kept my heart rate up! I'm thinking this might be my new Wednesday workout.

Run 1 mile -- chest -- walking lunges -- shoulders -- leg extension -- back -- leg curls -- biceps -- abduction/adduction --triceps -- calves

I ran the first mile at 8:30, mile 2 at 8:15 and mile 3 at 8:00. After the 3 circuits, I did a lot of stretching and abs. I feel great right now, such a good workout!!

Oh, and I'm trying to pay more attention to what I eat, when. I typically don't eat before my morning workouts because it's just too early. But on days when I run, I feel a little sluggish. So I've been testing the waters with some food prior to the gym. Today I had 1/2 a banana before I went and the other half as soon as I got home. Followed by breakfast after I showered.

For those of you who get up early to work out, do you eat before hand? Any suggestions for something quick and easily digestible??

So Long Splenda

I really try to eat as natural as possible and have been in denial about my Splenda consumption for a while now. I honestly do think Splenda is a great invention and I love it, but I think I need to break the habit. On a typical day, I use a packet in my oatmeal, 2 in my coffee, 1 in my yogurt (I eat fat free plain Dannon). Some days I have a lot more. I know there are some side effects from consuming too much artificial sweetener, so I decided to cut it out completely for a week and see if I notice any difference in how I feel. This morning I used honey in my oatmeal and drank my coffee black. Not quite as enjoyable but I think I just need to get used to it.

On Sunday I grabbed one of my PureFit bars to eat while we were on the go all day. I took the Almond Crunch bar and I was NOT disappointed. Not only was it really good, but it totally filled me up! It had 230 calories, 6 g fat, 3 g fiber and 18 g protein. These bars do not contain dairy, wheat or gluten and will not melt. I honestly struggled to save a bite to get a picture of until I got home.

I also jumped on the green smoothie band wagon that's sweeping the blog world and made one from romaine lettuce, blueberries, wheatgerm and water. While it wasn't bad, I think I need to play around more with the flavors and add some variety of fruits. Surprisingly, Andy really liked it and ended up finishing it. I never thought he'd drink it! I'll definitely be making another one very soon.

I wasn't in the mood to workout yesterday after a hard day of work at the house, but I went to the gym anyway. I decided to do a variety workout since I wasn't really in the mood for one particular thing. I ran 2 miles, rode the bike for 15 minutes, then did the elliptical for 10 minutes followed by another mile on the treadmill. It really made the workout more enjoyable breaking it up like this, especially since I wasn't in the mood to be there. Since my back is pretty sore from working, I decided to take today as a rest day. Haven't had one in a while so I figured now was a good time.

Lots of Goodies

The weather has been great here lately! We actually hit 72 yesterday and it almost felt hot out!! I got in a nice 14 miler yesterday with a good hill workout. I'm heading to the house now to do some work outside since it's going to be nice out again and am hoping to get another run in this afternoon. Since I've run every day for the past few days, I'll take tomorrow off from running and save my squat Sunday for then.

Check out all these goodies I received to sample. I'm going to be a busy girl, and eating a lot apparently. I'll post reviews and more info about them as I get through some of the stuff. Oh, and the YouBar I sampled the other day, that was just half of the bar, I ate half before I took the picture. So it's not that small, Natalie!!

First up, Motley Fuel (a local Philly company). "Motley Fuel is an energy bar made from local and organic ingredients that can be tailored to your taste and is fresh made in small batches."

Next, a variety of Clif products. I've never tried any of the Luna products so I'm really excited to test out the nutrition products geared towards women.

And finally, PureFit nutrition bars. PureFit "was named 'Nutrition Bar of the Year' by Bike Magazine." They don't contain dairy, wheat, gluten, artificial sweeteners, hydrogenated oils, trans fats or hidden carbohydrates.

Oh, and I've read about a bunch of you trying the Green Smoothie Challenge. I'm going to make one today, can't wait to try it!

Chatty Kathy

First off, since it's Foto Friday over at Nikemom, I decided to post some pictures of why I'm so stressed right now. I spent the morning loading a garage and living room full of trash into a dump truck. Below is our new house! We're scheduled to move in before April 14th...*fingers crossed*

Powder Room

Kitchen

Living Room/Dining Room

I asked my Dad what people do who don't have a Dad with a big truck and he said they pay someone to do this for them. That sucks. I'm glad my Dad has a big truck. ;-)


Next up, I broke into a YouBar today. I needed to grab something since I knew I would be on the go most morning so I took the Breakfast bar along with me. This bar had 150 calories, 1g of fat and 8g of protein. I could really taste the cocoa and cinnamon, which I personally loved. There are also coffee crystals in it, which I thought was a nice touch. Overall, I have to say I really liked it. When I saw the main ingredient was dates I thought it might taste like a Larabar (which I don't really like) but it was much better than those in my opinion! Here's a picture of the bar, which I was eating with my daily carrots.


Today was weigh in day for my biggest loser contestants. Everyone did really well. We had a terrible week of weather here so I know that made it hard for everyone to get out an exercise, but we still had some losers. The biggest loser for the week was Jeanette who lost 2.59% of her total body weight. I'm so proud of these girls!!

Now as for the important stuff...running. I ran 6 miles this morning and felt great despite the glass of wine last night which made me feel terrible this morning. I mean, seriously, one glass? I'm getting old. We ran under 9 min miles, which I'm happy with but I'm finding I can run a lot faster on the treadmill than I can outside. Why is that?? Tomorrow is 14 miles and while Sunday is suppose to be squat Sunday and no running, I think I'm going to have to get a run in since it's going to be so warm out.

Sorry for the long all over the place post. Lots to talk about today!! Hope everyone has a great weekend.

YouBar!!

Check this out...Samples from YouBar!!

(Vanilla Dream/Blended Bliss/Breakfast shake protein powders, Most Awesome Bar, Great Date with Chocolate Bar, Breakfast Bar and Honey Cashew Bar)

For those of you who have never heard of these, they are customizable nutrition bars that let the consumer choose the ingredients. From their paperwork, "You Bar gives consumers the opportunity to choose what goes into their bar and their bodies. By visiting http://www.youbars.com/, consumers can follow the easy step-by-step process to choose each preservative-free, natural ingredient to create their own made-to-order nutrition bar." They also make customized protein shakes.

While I'm dying to break into these bad boys, I'm going to hold off until the weekend. I can't wait to try one of the shakes!!

Carbohydrates

I've always tried to limit the amount of carbs I ate for fear of them making me gain weight. With the marathon training though, I really made it an effort to consume more, especially at dinner when I would usually have none. Since I've been studying, I've been reading a lot about how much we need of each nutrient, and I'm curious to see if I'm getting the carbs I need. The recommended carbohydrate intake in gram weight is 4 to 6 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight (1.8 - 2.7 grams per pound).

So, here's what I've had today:

Oatmeal w/ wheat germ, blueberries, skim milk/water - 40
Skim milk - 12
String cheese - 6
Grapes - 58
Almonds - 3
Salad w/ chicken, walnuts, 1/4 c beans, 2 T avocado - 13.4
WW wrap - 10
Apple - 20
Carrots - 10
Bulgar - 30
Banana - 27
Chicken - 0
1/2 Sweet potato - 24
Green beans - 10
Yogurt - 16
Wheat biscuit - 19
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EQUALS ~ 298 grams carbohydrate

My recommended range is 257 - 386 so it looks like I'm doing ok. With the amount of running, I could probably use some more, but at least I know I'm getting what I need.

Sorry for the boring post but I've been meaning to do this for a while and I thought the info might help my biggest loser contestants.

If anyone has any suggestions of some healthy carbs, feel free to share them!!

Snow Day

Finally, we're getting some substantial snow! Woke up this morning to a few inches with more to come so I decided to work from home. I made it to the gym and it was so nice. There were only 4 of us in there! Got a nice 7 mile run in and now I'm home, showered, back in my pjs and doing some work. I can't decide if hot chocolate or a glass of wine sounds better for this snowy afternoon. I won't have either, but they do sound good.

They posted pictures from the Frostbite 5 miler and I had to share this one. I've mentioned before that I have a hard time buying clothes because I *think* I wear a bigger size than I actually do. Case in point, check out this picture. I refused to by the size small running tights because there is no way I'm a size small. So I opted for the medium, which are forever falling down. I literally pull them up to my boobs and tie them really tight. Well, after seeing this picture, I think I decided it's time to buy a smaller pair. Nice front load I got going on...