12 miles, Jillian and spin.

Yep, that about sums up my exercise for today:  I ran 12 miles this morning with Holly in a great (for me) pace @ 9:41 - came home and did Jillian's 30 Day Shred DVD plus another 15 minutes of leg strength training exercises using ankle weights - and ended my day with an evening spin class.  My legs are feeling fatigued and ready to be propped up on some pillows or something! :)

I am also happy to report that things are going very well with my "clean" eating.  It's been 4 days so far of NO PROCESSED SUGAR and no white flour or processed foods.  The no sugar thing is the biggest deal for me because I have a huge sweet tooth.  But honestly, I have found that by making the substitutions suggested on a couple of clean eating blogs/websites, I haven't felt deprived or like I'm missing anything.  In fact, quite the opposite.  I have felt really good.  I like feeling in control of my health.  Some of the substitutions/changes I have made include switching my usual light vanilla soy milk for unsweetened almond milk, which has half the calories and no added sugars.  I also switched from a brand name low fat peanut butter (with added sugars and preservatives), to an organic all-natural peanut butter where the only ingredient is peanuts - that's a novel idea. ;)  I have been using honey or all natural molasses to sweeten things, where needed.  I have NOT eaten any cold cereal, but when I feel the need for a quick carb-boost, I go for a bowl of oatmeal with raw almonds and blueberries or bananas.  I've also stopped using all of the condiments that I used to use regularly, if they have added sugar, like the Kraft Fat-free Ranch dressing, ketchup and bbq sauce.

So now my food choices include lots of fruit and vegetables, fresh and frozen (without added sugars, of course), fresh juice, lean meats like chicken breast and fish, whole grains like quinoa and barley, and beans and lentils, eggs, 100% whole wheat bread with all-fruit spread and lots of water and green herbal tea.

Oh, and on another note, as of today I have surpassed 1000 miles run so far for 2012, and as I promised earlier, I will be doing a fun giveaway very soon to celebrate, so stay tuned...!! :)