Any hoo, a friend of a friend recommended a trainer that she absolutely loves. I have worked with trainers in the past and have had so/so experiences. Some I either became friends with and my sessions were super casual and then there were others that just weren’t into as I would like. Well, I have decided to give my friends trainer a shot and will start working out with her next week. I am really looking forward to it as summer is right around the corner and I have some weight loss goals that I am trying to achieve.

My question for all of you who have worked with a personal trainer, how do you get the best out of your personal trainer relationship? 

 Well post race, I have slacked a bit on committing to myself and my overall health/weight loss goals. So, too help get me back on track, I am calling this week my “recommitting to me” week.  As I find myself  slowly falling into old patterns such as not working out because I’m too tired or not cooking as often as I should or not sticking to my weekly meal plans 100%, I realize it’s time for me to reassess and get back on track.

 To jumpstart my recommitment to me, my goals for this week include:  

 -          Workout on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday

-          Stick to my meal plan

-          Eat a salad at least 2-3 times a week for lunch

 So far today, I have fulfilled sticking to my meal plan. My day thus far included:

 BREAKFAST

-          Smoothie (mixed berries, kale, banana and 1c milk)

 MID-MORNING SNACK

-          1 hardboiled egg and egg white

-          1 Cascadian Farm bar

 LUNCH

-          Mixed greens salad with grilled shrimp and veggies

-          Chai tea latte

 DINNER (post workout)

- Leftover chicken loaf with veggies and sweet potatos

Next, I am meeting with my running group right after work and can cross off exercise on the list as well.

 These are small steps that will ultimately lead to success for as long as I don’t lose sight of my goal.  We all have bad days and weeks, but to me the key is being able to recognize those bad moments and doing something to rectify it.

 How are you recommitting to yourself or sticking to your health/fitness goals? How is your Monday going?

I have been training with some friends for about 7.5 weeks and when the day finally came I woke up with mild anxiety. All of a sudden I felt like my sneakers weren’t feeling the same and that my feet were going to hurt, I even had a dream that I missed the race. I also woke up late and was scrambling to get ready. My husband dropped me off to meet my friend Dee that I was running with. As we made our way to Central Park we were both freaking out, it was cloudy out so we were praying that it didn’t rain, we both had to use the bathroom and we were just plain old nervous.  Once we started walking to our corral we slowly went from nervous to being excited.  Seeing a sea of women of all ages and races get ready for this race was beyond inspiring. I just started to feel like “wow,” I’m not alone in this race. It’s a community.

Once the race started, I couldn’t contain my excitement. I just started to feel like, OMG, this is really happening now. Prior to race day, Dee and I had a plan that on race day, we would walk for about 10 minutes to warm-up then we would start running. Well, once the race started I got so excited and caught up in the emotions that I just started running. Thankfully Dee reminded me to slow down so that I didn’t overly exert myself too early in the race. Thank god I listened to her because by the time we got to mile 8 I was so ready to be done with this race. The good thing is that since this was our first half-marathon we didn’t have a time goal. Our only goals were to finish the race and not get injured.

Well three hours later, we crossed the finish line and finished our first half-marathon. It was amazing to be cheered on by family and friends who met us at the finish line.  I would definitely do another half-marathon but want to make sure I give myself enough time to train. I rushed this training which isn’t the best idea for anyone, particularly a newbie runner.

What was your first race experience like?

 So, race day is officially 8 days away. I can’t believe it. I could definitely use another 2-3 weeks of training but oh well. I am definitely starting to panic a bit. The other day I was running with my friend and my knees started hurting and I freaked out because the race is so close and I just started to think OMG I’m not going to be able to run, why was this happening, etc.. (complete drama queen moment). Thankfully as the days went by my knees stopped hurting as much, thanks to good old fashion stretching and Ultra Strength BENGAY^® Cream(it stinks but it works). One of the many things that I have learned about running is how much more of a mental game it is vs. physical. Because I was feeling slight knee pain on that day that’s all I could focus on during my run and it completely affected my run that day.

Well, as I prepare for race day, I keep thinking about all the things that I need to do, AGHHHH!. Buy new running pants, socks, and shirt, update my playlist, decide whether or not I want to run with a belt with small bottles of water, decide on a rainy day outfit (you never know, I want to be prepared for all weather options) and so much more.  I’m beyond excited about the more/fitness women’s half-marathon. I have been training with an amazing group of friends and I just can’t wait for this day to come. No matter how long it takes me to finish, I am just so happy that I’m doing it.

How do you prepare for race day? How early do you go to bed the night before? Do you run with the small water packs around your waste? I’m thinking of doing that but not sure..

Source: Google Image Search

Since when did the general public look like this after given birth. What general public is she referring to? Clearly, not the world we’re living in.  I had a baby a year ago and I have finally reached my pre-baby weight this year. Now, of course I know that everyone’s body is different after given birth, but for her to say her body represents the “general public” is just sickening to me. It sends such a bad message to woman who think once they have a baby they will all of a sudden shrink right back to their pre-baby weight. I am so over celebrities displaying this type of image because it’s not realistic. The average woman in America and the UK is about a size 12, Victoria is a size 4. (No offense to all you size 4′s out there, just trying to make a point)..

Having a baby is a beautiful thing, but I always tell people your body goes through some major changes and depending on who you are it may take longer for you to lose your baby weight. But with proper diet and exercise you can get there.

So, tell me am I over reacting? Are you tired of celebrities portraying losing weight after having a baby as this super easy thing?

I am running the half-marathon with two of my good friends. One of them is fellow blogger Plus Size Model in the City and another fellow blogger WinstonTheMorkie. For all three of us this is our first half-marathon. I have to say running with friends has been the best thing ever. Having the support system is awesome. Our workout schedule includes running on Thursday evenings, long run on Sundays and then solo running during the week. We each also have different cardio exercises that we do during our non-running days. For me it’s Zumba.

In addition to training for the half-marathon, I have also enrolled in two Zumba classes on Mondays and Wednesdays. Today at work someone called me a workout fanatic. I was like “who me?”, who would have thought the day would come where I would embrace exercise as much as I do now.

Anyhoo, the main purpose of this post is to share with your some tips and things that have helped me along the way as I train for this half-marathon.

1. Buy and get fitted by a professional for the right pair of sneakers. I under estimated how important the right shoe is for   running. The first pair that I brought was so bad that when I went on my first run, I could barely  finish or even walk walk afterwards because my knee and the sole of my foot was absolutely killing me.
2. Train and run with friends. You learn from each other, you exchange tips and advice. You celebrate each others small victories.
3. If you are a big breasted girl (like me), get fitted for a well supported sports bra. My brand of choice is Enell.
4. Purchase in a product like NikePlus so you can track your mileage, calories burned, distance, etc. There are of course tons of things in the market like a Garmin, but in my opinion before you spend a lot of money on something, make sure running is something you plan on sticking with.
5. Go at your own pace. Someone gave me the best advice and said that as a newbie running and a first time half-marathon runner, your goal should be to avoid injury and not measure your time.
6. Listen to your body, yes as cliche as it is, it’s the truth. If you feel like your legs are going to give out or something just doesn’t feel right, start walking.
7. Have fun, it’s an amazing accomplishment to complete a run.

Now, I’ll be honest, I have had a couple of not clean eating moments during this time, I mean I’m only human and it’s not that easy to give up 35 years of eating processed food as part of my diet.  However, the good news is that I’m committed to eating clean and working slowly towards keeping it clean 365 days a year.

When I started eating clean, I did a lot of research to really learn all that I needed to know to properly eat clean. I still continuously do research as sometimes I think something is clean and it’s not.  There are so many wonderful resources about clean eating and so many of them have become my go to resources and I wanted to share them with you.

Clean Eating Magazine  Beautiful magazine, great recipes, each issue has a 2-week meal plan and so much more.          One of my favorite magazines.

The Gracious Pantry (Amazing website, I honestly learned everything about clean eating on this site)

Tosca Reno I haven’t read any of her books yet, but she is definitely the queen of clean eating. I am going to order one of her books.

Clean Plates: Manhattan:  My dear friend brought this book for me. It’s a pocket size book that lists clean/healthy restaurants in Manhattan and Brooklyn. (sorry they are only in NY and LA). This is definitely a must in my handbag. Love, love, love this book.

What are some of your go to resources for information on clean eating and healthy living overall?

We’re starting to training this week, as we do not have much time left. The race is on April 15^th, ahhhh!

The best part about this race is that we’re running for charity with an organization called Team Hole in the Wall – an organization that sends children with life threatening diseases to Hole in the Wall camps. A nationwide family own camp that are fully equipped with medical facilities and staffed with doctors, nurses and so much more. Team Hole in the Wall works to ensure that all kids, especially sick children can have a normal camp experience.

I am plan on following a modified version of the fitness magazine 10-week half-marathon training. I am excited and nervous but so looking forward to training and to race day.

I know there are tons of marathon runners in the blog world and beyond, so I am wide open for any marathon tips you have for a newbie like me?

I have a dilemma though, I try to stick to my plan at least 90% of the time, however I do have some moments days where I don’t want to eat what I had initially planned and decide to change. I usually stick with something healthy, but not always. For example, today, I had planned on having left over fish and veggie rice from dinner yesterday, but instead I ended up going to my aunts house and she cooked one of my favorite Haitian dishes, an okra type stew with beef and shrimp and white rice. AGHHHHH, love her but why.. anyhoo, of course once I got home that’s all I could think about and had to have it for dinner after my amazing workout. Not cool, but it was oh so good!

This is/was my menu and exercise plan for the week. What do you think about it? I still have a few items to complete.

MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY
BREAKFAST	BREAKFAST	BREAKFAST	BREAKFAST
Banana	1/2c Oatmeal	2 waffles with PB	Smoothie with fruits
Greek yogurt	FF milk, PB and Agave	1 banana
1 boil egg
SNACK	SNACK	SNACK	SNACK
Cascadian Organic Bar	Pret fruit salad	Almonds	Boil egg
LUNCH	LUNCH	LUNCH	LUNCH
Chicken Cesar Salad no croutons	Salad from chopt with no dressing, no tortilla	Rotisserie chicken	Salad from chopt with no dressing, no tortilla
Small lentil soup		Brocoli and corn
SNACK	SNACK	SNACK	SNACK
Chai tea	Cascadian Bar	?	?
DINNER	DINNER	DINNER	DINNER
1.5c white rice  bad	Turkey sandwich on 2 slice bread and cheese	Noodles and sardines	Veggie rice (leftover)
Okra stew with shrimp and beef	Sweet potato chips		Fish
SNACK	SNACK	SNACK	SNACK
	Chai tea	?	?
EXERCISE	EXERCISE	EXERCISE	EXERCISE
35 min cardio at the gym	Walking	Zumba	?

So, my question to all of you, do you plan your meals for the whole week? If so, do you stick with your plan no matter what?

How was your Sunday? What did you cook? Ready for the week?