Vegan-ish

I have been a happy, healthy vegetarian for almost two years. Actually, I've basically been a vegetarian all my life. I never remember enjoying meat. The only way I'd eat eggs was by smothering them in ketchup. Manwich night almost always got me sent to bed hungry and the words meat and loaf put together would send me screaming from the kitchen. This is not to say my vegetarian diet has always been successful. In H.S. my idea of vegetarian eating consisted of cereal and bagels. Neither of which are actually vegetables.

During my pregnancy with my oldest daughter I craved meat, eating big macs and any other form or carcass I could get my grubby little paws on. This was without a doubt responsible for the 70lbs I gained. Yes, 70 lbs! On my 5'1 frame...it wasn't pretty. Unless you're into the dump truck look. Thankfully youth was on my side and those lbs melted away with lightning speed. With both of my boys I ate meat but without the same tenacity as my first pregnancy. To this day she is the biggest carnivore out of all three kids.

As a more responsible and slightly more intelligent adult I decided to give vegetarianism another try actually including vegetables this time. I still kept dairy in my diet but kept everything low-fat or part-skim. This past summer full of moving, relocating and overall stress I slipped off my healthy living pedestal. My favorite treat became...get ready for it...egg and cheese biscuits from Mc. Donalds. GASP, I know. FL shanny would of sooner starved to death than allow one of those to pass her lips!

I am happy to announce that I have kicked the E&C biscuit habit and am back on track! March 1st I decided to go Vegan. By March 20th I decided to modify my new title as vegan-ish. I gave it my best shot. Truly I did, but let's face it tofutti does NOT taste like cream cheese. Quinoa IS a healthy and filling grain but for the love of God it smells like old gym socks! I love to bake vegan and have learned a lot of great tips to substitute the bad fats with more flavorful alternatives that result in moist and delicious muffins, cakes and cookies. But let's keep it real about tofu- the shizz is gross! You can drain it, strain it, press, slice and marinade it. Anyway you cut it, it just doesn't taste good. Don't even get me started on the "vegan" cheese. I'll opt for no cheese before I choke anymore of that crap down. Even my dog ( whom I've seen eat unmentionables) sniffed, and kept on going. In conclusion, while I will still absolutely not eat any form of carcass, will drink almond milk (because I like it), and eat lot's of healthy grains( not stinky quinoa) I can no longer categorize myself as a vegan. Vegan-ish is good enough for me.

Avocado is my favorite! Just had to include this beautiful photo ;)

shanny aka wheezy

This month has been very busy with my sons both starting baseball, which of course are at the same time at two different locations. My daughter started training for a May 5k and the hubby's work schedule is more confusing than the new health care bill.

The weather here has been hit or miss but on two occasions ash and I have been able to head to the park for a little bike/run. Since moving here she has not ran much so I wanted to get her a few good rides on her bike to get her ready to start her training program. In FL she was part of a great little running group at the Y. Even though I know I'm not as fun as coach Kathryn and the girls I've really enjoyed the one-on-one time with my girl. The last two times I ran while she biked along side. Both times she often asked if I was o.k. and even told me I didn't sound too good. The park is pretty flat and I didn't feel fatigued but felt like I was breathing harder than I should be. Matt and the boys were there too having Devlin spring training. On the ride home they kept telling me I didn't look or sound very good. Gotta love the fam! They keep it real.

At my initial visit with our new family physician she diagnosed me with exercise induced asthma and told me that my lungs sounded "pretty good". She also told me not to be surprised if my new cardiologist orders a stress test. Great, 30 yrs old and falling apart. All of this just tells me I need to train harder!

I am happy to report that my first run with the new puffer shaved a minute off my mile! woohoo It's amazing how actually being able to breathe improves your running ;)

I've been successful in making my 10miles a week goal but have been slacking with the weights. Before I increase my mileage goal I need to get strong again. It's amazing how quickly you can lose your strength, thank god for muscle memory!

This week I did three quality strength work-outs. The most challenging being a cable cross series. I did my entire body working largest to smallest muscles. The narrow and wide reverse fly's were killers. 30min on the cable cross had me sweating worse than an hr of spin!

march

The beginning of March marked the start of my new and improved work-out regimen. I set a goal for 10-15 miles per week, I admit I was 3 shy of that goal this first week. Instead of dwelling on that or punishing myself by adding 3 to next week I'm going to keep with the same goals and not beat myself up over it. In the past I've been very rigid and down right guilt ridden from work-outs missed. Often, to the point of masochism. I'm just "training for life" right now and not a race so the only real pressure is to feel good...and I do! Since hitting the gym/pavement 5 days this week I've slept better, ate better and bitched less!

Mon- 3mi run
Tues- 2mi run, 2mi on the elliptical
Wed- off
Thurs- 30min of weighted squats, bosu deadlifts, bosu push ups
1hr "all-terrain" spin class
Fri- 2mi hilly, windy run
Sat- taught 1hr yogalates
Sun- off

February Flop

Despite my lack of posting I did in fact exercise during the month of February. However, it was nothing to really blog about. With the back to back snow storms keeping me trapped inside like a caged animal it was difficult to do anything consistently. I did ride my bike a few times on the trainer followed by kettle bell work outs. One or two trips to the treadmill but that's about it.

Last week I got back into the groove. Monday I treated myself to a THAS work-out and cardio. I do 3x10 of everything on each leg...single leg squats, bosu deadlifts and step-ups on the tallest bench I could fine. I do them in a circuit style sequence, a total of 3 rounds. I then wobbled over to the pull up machine and did pull ups, chin ups and dips until I couldn't do anymore. For cardio I did 40 mins on the new elliptical. I've never been a fan of ellipticals but these bad boys are awesome! I make myself go at a 10min mi pace and increase the resistance every 5 min. Thursday I decided to give spin at the gym another chance and I'm glad I did. The instructor was awesome and so was her music! It was an "endurance" ride and despite my sore ankle I rode hard and it felt good! It's hard to get "into" a ride staring at the wall in my basement. Saturday I had a few young girls show up for yoga and I decided to teach a yogalates class. They seemed to really enjoy it and my abs were feeling it Sunday morning.

This week I'll be back to running. I've been nursing a very sore ankle and wrist after gracefully stumbling down my steps.

My goals for March are to get some type of work-out in 5 days a week and to run between 10-15
miles a week.