The winner is...

Congratulations to the winner of the month of classes at Naturally Gifted Fitness!!! The winner is Rodriguez Rainey.  Please contact me via email at rabanks.lsw@gmail.com for details about how to claim your prize. Thank you to all who entered and all those who told me they tried but had a difficult time commenting on their phone. I appreciate you! Stay tuned later this week to win a free entry to the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon event of your choice!!

Week three of training: Vegetarians don't eat meat

           Week three of training went well for me. I was sick last week and decided to totally skip week two of training. According to the training plan I am following, I was supposed to run 18 miles this week. I ran 17.7 miles. I started Monday with a 3 mile run. I did 1.5 hours of yoga on Tuesday. I ran 3 miles on Wednesday, 4 miles on Thursday and 3 miles on Friday. I had planned to volunteer with We Run This City on Saturday at the St. Malachi Race. I assumed I was going to run the 5 mile so I planned for my long run on Saturday. When I got to the race, I found that myself and my buddy, Rebecca were only running 2 miles. I was short a mile after this run.  I finished my week off with a Sunday long run of 5 miles. The run was rough. I did not feel like running at all, but I finished it. I also walked to my car after work 3 of 5 evenings, which is about a mile and a half trek in the cold.
            My littlest Joe is a Girl Scout and we always sell a ton of cookies. I made sure that we did not have an excess of cookies this year to tempt ourselves with. I did order myself a couple of boxes of Samoas and I ate them this week. They are so addictive and I could not stop!!!! I also ate 2 cupcakes on Saturday from BabyCakes in Willoughby. The biggest Joe and I went there on a date and had a terrific time.
I have had a lot of questions about the changes I've made to my diet. People keep saying “So, you’re trying to be a vegetarian?” and I have to explain that I AM eating meat, but only seafood. I am not at all trying to be a vegetarian. If we have to put a label on it, I would call it a pescatarian diet. I have been experimenting with more food options this week. This Sunday, I made a stir fry with Swai fish. It seemed to me like a weird idea but it was pretty tasty. I used diced zucchini, spinach, green onions, garlic, eggs and rice. The Joes really liked it and that pretty much equals success in book.
          I am not scale obsessed but I am trying to get my weight down to a number that I am pleased with. This week I am officially down to 141 pounds. I have officially lost 8.7 pounds since Feb 1. I am pretty pleased with this. I am looking forward to the challenge of week 4!

Week two of training: Nonexistent

My co-workers have been sick at work for about the last month. I was relieved that despite their sniffles and snorts and coughs, I had remained well. All of that changed on Monday. I got home from work and errands and went straight to bed. I assumed that I would be better the next day but I felt increasingly worse. I was going to bed at about 7pm daily. I did not run 1 mile this week at all. I thought that I was starting to feel better towards the end of the week but I worked at my part time job on Thursday and then again on Saturday and the littlest Joe was in a play at her school on Friday and Saturday night. My lack of rest did not help me at all. Additionally, I hate a hamburger this week. It was soooo good but my stomach said to me "ummm what are you doing?" and I proceeded to bloat a  bit. I was able to get some of my push-ups in. This was an exciting success. Another success was my fitness gear haul. I ran to Wal-Mart to buy a new vacuum cleaner late Friday night. I am not a big Wal-Mart fan. I have an ongoing love affair with all things Target. Luckily, it was too late to visit my fave. I ran into Wal-Mart and grabbed my vacuum.  On my way out, I saw long sleeve running shirts on clearance for $5. I also got a pair of running tights for $12 and a running shirt with a zipper from the boys department for $3.  I am resting today and looking forward to a healthy week of training next week. Hope every one else's training is going well!

My $3 find!

Week one of training:Done

I

I did a DietBet challenge for the month of February with a goal of losing 4% of my body weight. That 4% equated to 6 pounds for me. My starting weight was 149.2. I decided that I should alter my diet to see some changes. I cut out all meats except for seafood and I cut back on sugar substantially. I did not eat cookies, candies, cakes, or add sugar to food or drinks (tea or shakes/smoothies). I did use honey in lots of things and agave in my yams. I have been hitting the gym pretty regularly and I walk 1.5 miles in the cold daily to get to my car from my job. I also started my 12 week half marathon training plan during the last week of February. I ran 3 miles on Sunday, 3 miles on Tuesday, 3 miles on Wednesday, and 4 miles on Sunday. My goal is to run the half in about 2 hours and 36 minutes. I ran on the treadmill at about my goal pace. I ran on 5.3 which is about 11:17 per mile. I did an hour and a half of yoga on the last Tuesday of the month. Throughout the month, I made it to the gym early in the morning once a week. I made it to the gym at about 5:45 am 3 days during the last week of February. This was a major accomplishment for me. I have a wonderful love affair with my bed, but I got up and out early. I checked my weight on Friday and it registered 143.6. I needed to be at 143.2 to win. Essentially, I lost. But…I feel great. I lost 5.6 pounds and I made a lot of healthier decisions. I plan to continue limiting my sugar intake and I may have a burger sometime in the distant future. Ohhhh a burger *drools*…

My noodle-y arms

On Tuesday, I did yoga with the women's group at the clinic where I work. It was a great end to a good workout day. I had started my day with a 3 mile run as a part of my half training plan. I was already feeling victorious and this 2nd workout would just catapult me to the status of workout queen for the day *in my mind, of course*. I liked the class and the instructor. It was a beginner level class. I was able to keep up and this excited me. The only problem I had was my noodle-y arms. They were aching for 2 days after yoga. It was not a bad, twist a muscle kind of ache. It was a woo, what are you doing to these unused muscles kind of hurt. When I was talking to my co-worker about this, she responded that she didn't think that I worked out my arms. Of course I workout my arms!!! But not as much as my legs. So, what can I do to change that? What new challenge can I participate in? I have decided to do 1,240 pushups in March. That is 40 pushups a day for a month. I am challenging myself to do full body pushups. They don't have to be all at one time, but I need to do 40 a day. I gave birth to two human beings. I think I can do a couple pushups throughout the day!!!

Win a Month of Classes at Naturally Gifted Fitness

     I can’t run every day. My body would be quite dissatisfied with me. Because of this, I am constantly looking for alternative and additional workouts. Last spring, my friend Ronda (who is a boot camp queen) invited me to go with her to a class at Naturally Gifted Fitness in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. I was reluctant to go. I have been diagnosed with Severe Lack of Rhythm and I tend to shy away from activities that require doing anything "on beat".  Ronda is very persuasive and Naturally Gifted had a sign-up deal. I could no longer resist.  Naturally Gifted Fitness has a variety of classes and boasts 13 certified group instructors. Check them out online here... I have taken 3 of the many classes there. The first class I attended was Cardio Kickboxing. I didn’t do well with that class. The instructor was great! She was energetic and supportive. My lack of rhythm made me feel a little awkward. I just didn't feel like I was getting it. It was a tough workout though and I felt accomplished when I finished it. I also tried Cardio Yoga. I loved this class and the instructor. The class is the perfect mix of yoga and heart racing cardio. If you can’t imagine it, you’d have to try it for yourself. These classes are offered on Saturdays and Sundays. I work those days at my part-time job and sometimes the Joes have activities that conflict. This was just not a class I could commit to.  The third class I have tried and loved is the Ripped 2.0 class. I have gone several times with my buddies Ronda and Rebecca. Their website calls this class "a challenge” and a challenge it most certainly is! The classes are taught by very energetic twins Phil and Philly. Each class is an hour of intense cardio and includes squats, jacks, burpees, high knees, arm circles and more.  Walking in, I was faced with a packed room. I wondered to myself if I was one of the "old ladies" there. At that moment, I just decided that I planned to hang with the class and get in a good workout. This made the class more fun to me.  I was able to hang with the class and it was an EXCELLENT work out! Finishing the class is an awesome rush. It leaves me wringing wet with sweat and all my muscles achy. In one of the classes, I think I did more squats than I had ever done before in my life. My thighs ached for a couple days and I looooved it. There are many women in these classes but I definitely see that men could benefit from these classes as well. This class is an excellent cross-training opportunity. If you are training for the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon events and the cold has driven you inside consider taking a class or two at a gym local to you. If you are looking for great classes with excellent instructors and high energy, Naturally Gifted Fitness is for you. If you’re unsure about these classes, consider a trial. You have a chance to win a month's worth of classes for FREE. To enter, comment below why you want to win or follow me on twitter and tweet me why you should win!! You can also follow me and comment on the picture posted on Instagram of the class. Remember that if you comment on the blog, you cannot comment anonymously. I need to know who you are!  You also need to include your email address so that I can contact you! Contest ends on March 11th at midnight! Good luck!!

The very end of the class
The Burpees finished them off...

How I survived a sugar deficit in February

      I cut sugar and meat from my diet for the month of February. The meat was not as horrible as the sugar. I struggled for the first couple of days without it. I saw plenty different candies and cookies that I wanted to put into my mouth hole. It was soo hard to resist. I had to quickly come up with alternative snacks to stop the cravings. I had heard about banana ice cream before but never had the desire to make it. I made it a few times this moth. It's the simplest snack in the world. I froze two bananas in a freezer bag overnight. At snack time, I took them out, put them in my Ninja and pulsed until they were creamy and smooth, the consistency of soft serve. I added additional ingredients to flavor it after that. My favorite was peanut butter and honey. I have read on other sites that it doesn't taste like banana. I don't think that's true. It was very banana-y to me. I also make sugar free cranberry muffins. They are naturally sweetened. I found a recipe on Instagram and altered it a bit. The recipe for the muffins is: 3 ripe bananas. 3 cups of oats. 1 cup of milk. 1 tsp vanilla, 2 eggs, 1Tbsp Baking powder. I added in honey, cinnamon, craisins and walnuts after the muffin batter was completely mixed. We also make our own granola bars. They are an easy sweet treat. The base for the bars is very similar to the muffins. They are made of: 3ripe bananas. 1/3 cup applesauce. 2 cups oats. 1/4 cup milk. 1tsp vanilla. 1 tsp cinnamon. You can add any kind of additional fruits or nuts or chocolate chips you want. You bake them at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. I have also been making fruit smoothies. I think my favorite was one with Tazo Passion Tea. I used 4 pears, 4 kiwi, 1 apple, 1 banana, about a cup of plain unsweetened yogurt, honey and about 4 ounces of Tazo passion tea. I had made hot tea (with no sugar)earlier in the day. I poured it into a container and allowed it to cool. It was just perfect when it was time to make the smoothies!!I have also been eating a few processed snacks. A couple of my favorites are Nature's Pantry Fig Bars and Turbana Plantain Chips.

     During my sugar hiatus, I discovered that a couple of foods that I love are triggers for my IBS. I love dried apricots. I can eat a bag of them throughout the day at work. If I do eat a bag, there will be dire consequences and my stomach will punish me. When I was eating all kinds of sweets and junk, I could not isolate which foods were causing problems. This was a very disappointing find. The MOST disappointing find was peanuts or peanut butter. I love peanut butter. I usually have about 4 different jars open at one time. I can eat PBJ for anymeal and feel satisfied. I had to work early one Saturday morning and I ate peanuts as a snack before seeing a patient. I started to feel a little sick. It was like my normal everyday sick that I have been feeling for quite some time. I will not gross you out with the specific symptoms but it was an a-ha moment for me. Also a devastating moment for me. How will I live without peanut butter?????