update

Wow, lots to catch up on!

It's been a busy week to say the least.  Being that I work for my church, we had a LOT of preparation to do for Easter weekend.  I say Easter "weekend" because we actually held 11 identical services over the course of three days (Friday-Sunday) across our two campuses!  Three of the services were streamed live over the Internet, and there were over 9,300 people in attendance.  This is not to boast even a tiny bit about the numbers; that is never the point.  We are just extremely grateful to have been able to accommodate that many people coming to church for Easter—to not have to turn anyone away, and to have hopefully created a welcoming environment to which they will want to return!!  (You can check it out here.)  Happy belated Easter, everyone! :)

So what's all this have to do with running?  Well, for the sake of blogging, all that just to say it's been quite the busy week, leaving little time for writing a post!

But I am excited to report back after my first full week doing the Body by Vi Challenge.  (See previous post "shake it up!" for reference.)  I began on April 1st, so Easter Sunday marked Week One for me.  I'm kicking myself for not taking my measurements, but as far as weight loss goes…

I lost 6 pounds in one week on the shakes!

I maybe lost something close to that while training for my half marathon… over the course of three months, that is!  It just goes to show you that exercise PLUS diet is the true way to go.  You can't be crazy about your workout routine without reducing calories and still expect the most results.  Best of all is what I know I'm putting into my body.  These shakes are not some kind of gross processed foods.  There is real, natural nutrition in each one that contain WAY more vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients than I would getting otherwise—even with a well-balanced meal I cook for myself.  (Not saying that "normal" meals are bad in any way, but you can get so much more with MUCH less calories and carbs doing the shakes!) 

Let me back up to the beginning of last week to describe how this all went down…

The first few days were awesome.  I was very pleasantly surprised by how "not hungry" I was drinking shakes as meal replacements for breakfast and dinner.  (Just to recap: I do a shake for breakfast and one for lunch, with snacks in between and a normal dinner.)  I went about my day after each shake and found myself "satisfied."  I say this because I did not feel "full"… nor did I particularly want to!  I think, if nothing else, doing this Challenge will help me realize when I am content and satiated.  Not that I gorge myself beyond the point of being full as it is—just that getting to the point of full is not really the point.  To be satiated with appropriate portion sizes is what you want.

I was able to squeeze in three days of running during the second half of last week, and I will be honest enough to say that the game changed a bit at that point… I was noticeably more hungry between meals.  Not starving by ANY means, but definitely not feeling completely satisfied.  Here are my observations:

• For someone coming off training for a half marathon, with my metabolism hiked up and my body being used to getting the kind of fuel required for that much exercise, cutting back calories is certainly going to be a difference you can feel.  (I do believe, however, that for anyone NOT already on a strenuous exercise routine, switching to the shakes will NOT be a hard transition.)

• To accommodate for my current lifestyle, without compromising my goals with the shakes, I decided that on days that I run in the afternoon after work, I will simply do a shake for breakfast and one for dinner (instead of lunch).  I am still doing two meal replacements, but having a "normal" lunch will give me more of the fuel I will need to run in the afternoon.  (PLUS, I realized that this way I am sleeping for the majority of the time between my two back-to-back shakes! ;) )  Flexibility is key.  You have to recognize both your own, personal goal(s) + your own, individual lifestyle, then find a way to make this work for you.

One other thing I found to be very helpful in my last couple days last week was the ViSalus product "Vi Trim."  That and the shakes are the two products I am using right now, and the Vi Trim has been just the added support I need to last me through to the next meal or snack (should I need it).

Speaking of snacks, I have found one that I love, made by Glucerna.  It's their snack bar in "Double Chocolate Crisp."  The Glucerna products are great for diabetics in that they include slowly digestible carbohydrates designed to minimize blood-sugar spikes.  (I sound like a Glucerna rep, lol!)  I'm sure the ViSalus snacks are great, too, I just haven't tried them yet. :)

Mmm...

Speaking of diabetes, my blood sugars have been probably one of the most significant effects I've seen from my first week+ on the shakes.  The whole time I was training for the half marathon, I had very little problems with blood sugars.  Yes, I was going low more often in the beginning, but once I adjusted my daily basal pattern (by decreasing the amount of units of insulin delivered through my insulin pump per hour), it was truly smooth sailing from there.  With the shakes, the reduction of carbs in my diet has surprisingly had a much greater affect on my blood sugars than even all that strenuous exercise.  I have been going low much more frequently and have had to adjust my basal pattern even more.  Once I get the right basal pattern figured out for me while doing the shakes, I do not expect it to continue being a problem.  In fact, the MOST frustrating part about all of that so far is how it affects my running.  There have been at least a couple days so far this week that I have NOT been able to go run when I had a window of time to do it because of my blood sugar running low.  (One example being this morning.  These morning lows waking me up 30 minutes before my alarm is set to go off are getting old!  But... it's definitely a good thing they wake me up.)  My observation: I think the first couple weeks of any change in exercise or diet is always going to be a transition period that requires monitoring and, for lack of a better phrase, a little "trial and error."  It bothers me a tad to have not run at all since this past Saturday (for maintaining my endurance AND my weight loss), but once I get my blood sugars back up and back on track, I am excited to proceed!

In general, I do not expect to lose as much this week as I did last week—and perhaps I shouldn't.  Once I reach my goal weight (which I am well on my way toward soon at this rate), I will likely drop down to just one shake as a meal replacement per week.  And even while I am still on two shakes per day as meal replacements, as long as I am still running so much I may even have a small snack bar with my shakes each day.  It will still be less calories than I used to get but more than just two shakes for meal replacements.  Here's what I know: Your body NEEDS calories for fuel—especially if you're expecting it to perform physically.  The trick is finding the balance between too much and too little.  When I reach my goal weight, I will likely continue the shakes at just one per day in order to maintain my weight and most especially to maintain the increased overall better nutrition in my diet.  (Not that it was terrible before by any means, but why not get so much more?)

As far as running goes, I had a couple good short runs last week and a GREAT "long" run on Saturday morning.  Thanks to the community and accountability of my runner friends, I got up and went out to the beach at 7am on Saturday with temps in the 30s (where did THAT come from?!?!).  We did a great 6+ miles, and it went so much better than last weekend due to pacing myself better.  My friend and I averaged a 10:20 minute/mile, and I felt sooo good afterward.

Here's to healthful living and feeling great! :)

This Thursday night, Trey and I are having our first Shake Tasting (also known as a Challenge Party).  We are stoked!!!  Since he has become an individual ViSalus distributor, he now has his own website and goals to hit, etc.  However, both of us are just exited to help others get on these products and get on their way toward a healthier lifestyle.  We're excited to have people over to our home, to taste some shakes and just to help them learn more.  I told Trey I am his number-one saleswoman, not to mention his marketing advisor and now his example of a personal testimony… lol!  (I am a much better salesperson when I don't have the title of "salesperson"… It truly is all about helping people!)

So that, in a nutshell, is my recap of the last week+.  I am excited to see my results after this second week, all while keeping realistic expectations.  I want to be able to run and have flexibility in my lifestyle, but also remain challenged and disciplined in the things I know I need to do in order to stay healthy and fit.  As with some of the very best things in life, you aren't going to get them the quick and easy way or by taking any short-cuts.  And oftentimes that is exactly why we appreciate them so much…