This or That: Health & Fitness Edition

Your Trainer Paige posted this fun survey on Friday and I really wanted to do it too :) So here is  "This or That: Health & Fitness Edition"!

1.      Run/workout in the heat and humidity or freezing temps and snow?

I pretty much refuse to run in either one so my treadmill gets a lot of action! 

2.       Have washboard abs or flat abs? I would definitely settle for flat abs; wishing for washboard abs is pushing it :P

3.      Dr. Oz or The Doctors? I don’t really watch either one, but if I had to choose I’d go with The Doctors, if only because Dr. Travis Stork is so hot.

(source)

4.      Cardio or strength? I love cardio but I always have to talk myself into doing strength.

5.      Cravings: Protein or carbs? Carbs all the way! 

6.      Jillian Michaels or Bob Harper? I’ve never seen The Biggest Loser (I know!!) so I don’t really know anything about Bob Harper.  I have done Jillian’s workouts though and I love them.  

7.      Frozen Yogurt or Ice Cream? Ooh, can I have both?! I’ll go with ice cream. My favorite flavor is mint chocolate chip.

(source)

8.      To train: Upper body or Lower body? I prefer upper body since I see a difference there sooner than I do with my lower body.

9.      Protein powder or food with protein? I’ve tried protein powders but I’d much rather get my protein from food. 

10.  Lunges or squats? Squats. I actually don’t mind doing those too much but I hate lunges!

11.  Sweet or salty? I definitely have a sweet tooth! I can pass up chips and stuff like that no problem but baked goods and chocolate are a different story.

12.  Workout attire: cute or comfy? Comfy, whether at home or at the gym. I love the Champion line from Target and I always stock up with I’m in the U.S. I just can’t bring myself to buy any of the more expensive brands of workout clothes. 

13.  Body Pump or Heavy lifting? Body Pump, since I have a really hard time staying motivated on my own when it comes to strength.

14.  Yoga or Pilates? I’ve actually never done Pilates so I’ll go with Yoga, although I don’t do that nearly often enough either. 

15.  Nike or Adidas? Nike! They make the shoes that have kept me injury free :)

(source)

16.  Running on the treadmill or outdoors? I love nothing more than running outside in the Fall.  But I almost exclusively run on the treadmill in the Summer and Winter.

17.  Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s? We don’t have either one here in Ottawa, but I’ve been to both in NYC.  I’d probably choose Whole Foods, although I see a lot of cool TJ’s products on other blogs.

18.  Summer or Winter Olympics? In all honesty I don’t get overly excited about either one. However, I am watching swimming these days so I can drool over Ryan Lochte. 

(source)

19.  Exercises classes or Exercise videos? For strength I prefer classes because I push myself harder. I’d rather do an exercise video at home for cardio though.

20.  Steamed veggies or roasted veggies? Steamed, mostly because it’s so easy to cook them that way. 

Your turn! Answer any question you'd like :) 

Sweat Pink, Fitblogger & Twitter

First of all, I want to thank you guys for the encouraging comments on my last post.  I'm happy to report that I did all the runs on my schedule for this week, and even added a mile here and there cause I was so excited that I loved running again :)  That being said, I'm probably going to make my Tuesday runs optional from now on; if I feel like doing it I will, if not I'll cross-train.  I think I was getting bored running 4 days a week, especially since many of those have been on the treadmill because it's been so hot. I find running longer distances 3 times a week much more appealing so that is probably what I'll do.

You may have noticed a few new buttons on my blog.  I got some great news this week!

I'm officially a Sweat Pink Ambassador :D

I am thrilled to be joining this amazing community I have heard so much about through other bloggers. These are some of my favorite quotes from the  Fit Approach mission statement:

"We believe that kicking ass is best done in pretty shoes."

"We're convinced that we run faster in pink shoelaces."

"We’re all about the rush of endorphins and the thrill of the challenge." 

I'm really looking forward to getting to know my fellow Sweat Pink Ambassadors :)

I've also joined the Fitblogger community!  Fitblogger was founded by Rita Barry  as a place for healthy living bloggers to meet, support each other, and share information.  

Both  Fit Approach and Fitblogger offer a great support system and I am honored to be a part of their teams.

I also want to mention that I have FINALLY joined Twitter!! Actually, I have been on Twitter for a while, but I only ever read other people's tweets. I've decided it is time for me to start tweeting too so please follow me @joggingoncoffee.

Anyone else counting down the hours to the Bachelorette finale?  Who do you hope "wins"? 

Missing Miles

This was not a good week for me in terms of running.

According to my training plan I should have gotten in 24 miles.

July 15 - 21

Cross + Strength

5 miles

3 miles (hills)

Cross + Pump

4 miles

Cross + Pump

12 miles

Instead, I did 6 on Wednesday and 8.25 on Saturday, for a grand total of 14.25 :(

I just did not want to run! I have no real reason; I have a treadmill so the fact that it has been hot and humid is not an issue. I chose to go to the gym to elliptical on Monday, thinking I would make up those miles later in the week.  So Tuesday, I came home and hopped on the treadmill ready to run.  But after about .10 miles I gave up and decided to just walk and make it an active rest day.  Wednesday's 6 miles were not horrible, but still slower than I have been running lately.  Thursday was a gym day and I figured that I could at least get 4 miles in on Friday without it messing up my long run Saturday but once again I gave up within the first 5 minutes and just walked.  At this point I was getting super frustrated so I started out my run on Saturday determined to get it done.  The first 6 miles were actually okay but by 8 I just didn't have any more in me. I struggled through another .25 miles in the hopes of at least getting to 10 but after taking a gazillion walking breaks I just stopped.

I am not impressed with myself, especially considering my next half is only a month away. I don't know, maybe my body needed the break, but my brain is not happy about it! I seriously hope I can get back on track this week!

It wasn't all bad on the workout front though.  I have finally found a core workout I do not hate!

I downloaded this from ITunes Friday and although I've only done Level 1 so far, I really like it. I hardly ever do core work because I find it incredibly boring. However, I would love love love a tighter stomach area, and I know a stronger core will make me a stronger runner, so I figured I would give this a shot. What I love about this workout is that it's not all done of the floor and you move pretty quickly from one move to the next.  The workout is a circuit that is done twice; I was surprised at how laid-back it seemed the first time, but Jillian certainly kicks it up a notch the second time around! I was nice and sweaty by the end and my abs (and shoulders!) were feeling it the next day :)

What do you do when you have a bad running week?

Has anyone else done Jillian's 6 Week 6 Pack?

My Favorite Sources of Protein

I stopped eating meat when I was 13. I've always been a huge animal lover and, growing up in the country, it was pretty hard to ignore the fact that the cute cows in the field were the source of my hamburgers!

One of the first questions people ask when they find out I'm vegetarian is "How do you get your protein?"

For years, I never really gave protein much thought and made the rookie mistake of simply omitting meat from my diet without replacing it so I wasn't getting the nutrition I needed.

Thankfully, that is such an easy thing to fix, especially these days when there are so many great vegetarian options out there. So I thought I'd share some of my favorite protein sources here!

P28 Bread

This is a relatively new find but I fell in love with it instantly!
I cherish every second of sleep, so getting up even few minutes earlier than I absolutely have to is just not going to happen. That means breakfast during the week is always eaten at my desk. A slice of this bread with peanut butter is my go-to Monday through Friday!







Greek Yogurt

I finally tried Greek yogurt for the first time last year and I haven't eaten regular yogurt since. I love Chobani but we don't have it here in Ottawa yet.  Thankfully Oikos is super yummy too!  I bring one of the individual portions to work every day to eat mid-morning, and lately I've been adding a dollop of the vanilla to berries for dessert.

 Simply Bars

 These are perfect for days when you're on the go. I usually carry one in my gym bag, especially on weekends when I know I'll be out running errands or won't be home for hours after my workout. These have a lot more protein in them for the calorie count than most bars, with 16g of protein for 150-160 calories. I haven't tried all the flavors yet, but so far I'm really liking the Lemon Coconut and Peanut Butter Chocolate.


Tofu

I know a lot of people are afraid to even try tofu but there is no reason to be! I love this stuff because it so versatile. Now, I am not a fancy cook, so I love just heating it in a pan until it gets crispy and then adding it to a salad or stir-fry. I've also started making "egg" salad with it, which is perfect for the summer.



How do you get your protein?
Any products I should try?