I thought I would write a little bit about my first ever 10K for you, my dear readers! Now, one thing you need to know is…I am NOT a runner. My whole life I have HATED running…despised it even, but I was looking for something to challenge me. Now, on occasion I would go out for a run but would maybe go 1-2 miles and it would make me sore for DAYS after, so I would never do it again. When my sister and BFF told me they were running this 10K (6.2 miles) again this year I did not want to be left out! So, I asked another one of my best friends, Casey, if she wanted to join us too! (Casey does triathalons and ran the Atlanta Half last year, so she was not a race newbie)…bring on the 10K!

*excuse my earwarmer, it looked much cooler in my mind…and I had already changed my shoes…

So, late August/early September rolls around and we registered…which also means I had to train.…

For some reason people are under the impression that I work out hours and hours a day…not true! I think people believe this because I actually talk about my workouts and typically post a status or tweet about how great I feel when I am done. So, how much DO I actually work out?

1 – 1.5 hours a day, 5 or 6 days a week. The CDC recommends this amount of exercise per week for advanced health benefits in adults. My weekly routines usually look like this…(and this is an ideal week…often on the weight training days only 1 or the other happens due to my poor time management)

Monday – 60-75 minute jog or other cardio activity, 30-45 minutes weight training

Tuesday – Turbo Kick! (60 minutes of intense cardio conditioning)

Wednesday – 30-45 minutes of weight training, sometimes throw yoga or pilates in the mix for some recovery

Thursday – Turbo Fire HIIT  or 60-75 minute jog

Friday – 30-45 minutes of HIIT  and 30-45 minutes of weight training

Saturday – teach another turbo class or 60 minutes of other cardio

So, are you looking at this schedule thinking “this girl is nuts?!” If so, that’s ok, I would have thought the same thing when I was 50 lbs heavier and not working out…EVER!…

Although we entered into these 21 days on the Daniel Fast as a spiritual journey (of which it has been and I will post on that later) it has been a HUGE physical journey as well. Tonight at midnight is the end of our 21 days, and although I thought it was going to be a hard, grueling journey, it was not nearly as hard as I expected! So, here are some of the benefits of “eating clean” for 3 weeks and the changes I saw in my body.

-I have a history of breakouts, and after the first 4-5 days, my skin has drastically cleared. I had a dermatologist appointment on the first day of the fast and asked her about my skin and she said it’s totally hormonal and nothing she could do. Although I totally do believe that our hormones affect our skin, especially in our mid twenties, I also think what we eat directly affects our skin!…

So, I am in Week 5 of P90X and yowza…today was TOUGH!! I am absolutely loving this workout! I have been working out for a few years now and did 2 rounds of an AMAZING program, ChaLEAN Extreme. Well, I decided to change it up a bit and give P90X a go. I am telling you, if you are looking for an AMAZING workout that WILL change your body (IF YOU DO IT!), then I highly recommend p90x. It’s no joke. Although Tony Horton can get SERIOUSLY annoying sometimes, he knows how to give you a good workout, and the great news is you can mute him except for the cues, GENIUS idea there, Beachbody!

When I am done I will post my progress pics (day 1, 30, 60 and 90), so make sure you stay tuned! I can’t wait to see the end result!

oh, by the way! If you want to check out p90x for yourself you can get it from me: www.beachbodycoach.com/coachleahc…

People kept asking me if I was going to starve on this fast. My answer, nope! I am actually eating the same (if not more) calories than usual. A sure fire way to fail on this fast is to be unprepared! Success is totally possible with a sheet of paper and a pen…plan your snacks and meals! Here are some ideas that I have enjoyed for snacks:

Matzah or Unsweetened Rice Cakes with Natural PB: Spread some PB on pretty much anything and you have a great snack! I like this as a little snack in the morning before lunch to hold me over a bit longer until lunch time! Just make sure your peanut butter is free of sugar and any ingredients you can’t pronounce. You can also make your own PB by throwing about 1/2 cup of peanuts and 1/2 tsp of oil (your preference) into the food processor!…

Here are some great breakfast finds for anyone curious about the Daniel Fast!

Idea 1:

Brown Rice Crispie Cereal, unsweetened Rice Milk, banana or strawberries (you MUST check the labels on the cereal and milk to be sure it fits! I found a great Brown Rice cereal at whole foods and the ONLY ingredient is puffed brown rice)

Idea 2:

Same as above but shredded mini wheats, obviously not frosted

Idea 3:

Oatmeal prepared with rice milk or water and a dash of salt. Throw in some strawberries, raisins or natural PB at the end to add some umph!

Idea 4:

Ezekial 4:9 Cereal with rice milk and raisins: you gotta check the labels on this cereal, and it is not the tastiest cereal but once I added Rice Milk and raisins it was actually pretty good! This cereal is super high in fiber and will definitely keep you full a lot longer than typical cereals!…