shake it up!

Six+ miles yesterday morning, 7:30am at the beach.  First official "long run" since the half.  After a couple "encouraging" short runs, and especially since feeling better, six was a little harder than I felt like it should have been!  But there are lessons I seem to continue to learn:

•  Pace yourself from the start, no matter how good you feel.  You'll need the energy for later.

•  Don't compare your mileage on any given day to longer runs you may have done in the past.  You can't take even a shorter one for granted; you still have to work for every mile.

Needless to say I was struggling a bit at the end, but I'm so glad I went out.  It was an awesome way to begin a Saturday morning, followed by spending an hour and a half with a friend at a coffee shop, then a hot shower... all before lunchtime! :)

There is also something new this week that I want to record, and hopefully it ties into running because, for the purposes of this blog, I want to see how it affects me regarding weight and energy levels as I continue to train...

I was recently introduced to (and recently purchased) the Vi-Shape shake mix by Visalus Sciences.  The shakes are a meal substitute, and I plan to drink one for breakfast and one for lunch, with snacks in between, followed by a normal, healthful dinner.  In fact, today was my very first day on the 90-Day Challenge!!!  The shakes are PACKED with nutrients, and if nothing else you can drink them for a more balanced, nutritional diet.  Substituting them for meals obviously adds a weight-loss aspect to the other benefits of the shakes, and that's kind of where I fall in all of this: hoping to lose around 10+ pounds while working out and putting really healthful things into my body.  I'm excited to see how it goes!

The shakes, by the way, are unbelievably delicious—which certainly doesn't hurt the cause. :)  They call it "the shake mix that tastes like a cake mix" (so true!), and anything you add to it makes them even better.  Here are a couple recipes I'm starting out with:

Peanut Butter Shake
8 oz. almond milk
2 scoops shake mix
1 tbsp peanut butter
5 ice cubes

Key Lime Pie
8 oz. almond milk
2 scoops shake mix
1 tbsp frozen limeade
Wheat Germ (still need to figure out the amount on this because I'm substituting it for the crushed-up graham cracker that the original recipe calls for)

I drank my first shake this morning, and it was REALLY good.  I'll admit, I was worried before I started all this that I wouldn't feel satisfied after "just a shake" until my next meal or snack, but I was actually pleasantly surprised.  I'll record more about how it goes as the week progresses, but for now I'm really happy with my purchase.

What's more is that after looking further into it, my husband, Trey, has decided to become a consultant for Visalus!  He has always enjoyed anything health & fitness-related, and since he never went the route of personal trainer or physical therapist, this will be a way for him to use something he is passionate about as a way to help others.  It's really exciting for me to see him step into this role that I know he will excel in—not only because of his interest and knowledge, but because of his heart for people.  Like me, Trey is also going to drink the shakes, but as snacks between meals, for all the protein.  (He is also going to try out all of the other products as well.)  As you can see, we are really investing in this as a family, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing the benefits it brings to our health goals, finances, and overall nutrition.

So here is my official "before" picture... It's probably a little deceiving since I decided NOT to wear a bathing suit for it, and it was taken "on the fly" as I was heading out the door.  (Hopefully in my "after" picture I will be having a MUCH better hair day... can you say FLAT?!?!  Haha.)  So here I am on the day before starting the 90-Day Challenge:  5'6", 15.5% body fat, and X lbs (maybe I'll post that number after I actually reach my goal, lol).  But I'm most interested to see how keeping weight off and having so many more nutrients in my diet will affect my running!  (Click here to read an interesting article.)

Before

If any of you are interested in trying this journey with me, let me know, and I'd be happy to give you more details or let you talk to my husband... You can order straight through him if you decide to try it!  You can really do as much or as little as you want, depending on your individual personal goals.  I didn't get any of the "kits" myself, just the shake mix (a la carte).  That's where I'm starting.  Once I run out of the GU gels (for running) that I already have in my pantry, I will probably try Visalus' Go and Pro, which are for performance/endurance.  (I'll definitely record how those compare if anyone is interested.)  My current plan is to continue with the shakes for the full 90 days.

Well, tomorrow is a "rest day" as far as running goes, due to sushi night with the girls... :)  This week's plan is three short runs during the week and then bumping up to 7 miles this weekend.  (As long as I'm still up in the air about the Diva Half Marathon in May, let the training continue!)  Hope everyone has an awesome week.  Happy Palm Sunday, and God bless!!!