Sports Beans Review

I had heard of people talking about "beans".   "What do you use to sustain energy while you run?" "Typically Gu, blocks, or beans" I never really thought much of it until I needed to switch things up due to my stomach becoming upset from my old method of doing things.

If I would have known that these "beans" were jelly beans, hot damn! I would have tried them a long time ago! Who doesn't love jelly beans?! Well, no, that's a bad thing to ask, because I know a lot of people who hate jelly beans; however, I am not one of them!

I decided to try Jelly Belly's brand of Sports Beans before an 8 mile run a few weeks back and wanted to report my personal findings. Please know that this is just my personal experience.

The packaging promises quick energy for sports performance through Carbs, E

lecetrolytes, and Vitamins B & C. Sounds good to me off the bat, and they looked like jelly beans. But surely they wouldn't taste like them, right?

Wrong!

These little gems tasted like they popped right out of an Easter basket. That is the only downside to them. They are SO good! I fear that if there was a pack with multiple servings inside that I would eat the entire pack, and then have TOO much energy. Luckly, they come in single serving packs so that won't happen.

As far as the energy factor goes, I was surprised. Anything I have ever tried that said "Quick Energy!" on the label really meant "You're going to know what it feels like to be on Speed!"  This was not the case with these beans. There was no energy surge, no jitters, no feeling like my heart was going to beat out of its chest. it was just sort of a feeling that you could do what you needed to do. I wouldn't say that they gave me the energy to go above and beyond, but they gave me enough to get through the run - which that day was a blessing because it was a 10 hour work day and I was exhausted to begin with.

The price is very reasonable. I want to say I paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $2 per pack. They also fit very nicely in my little running pouch, which is helpful because I get so irritated if that thing is weighed down and then starts to bounce around.

I'm also Hypoglycemic and during my runs my sugar has been known to drop and for anyone who is Hypoglycemic, you know how that feels. It's like a body crash from out of left field. Heavy eyes, tired, jittery but sort of nauseated at the same time...so what I like about these beans is I can keep them in my running pouch and if I feel that happen I can munch on a few to get my levels up and feel better.

All in all, if you are looking for a light boost of energy that is extremely tastey and easily transportable I'd say the beans are for you. If you are looking for that feeling of being able to workout forever, and go full steam ahead, I would try something else.

Hope you enjoyed! Check back often for regular review of supplements, gear, etc.

Sharing a gift with YOU!

Woohoo! It is an exciting day!

I am officially opening my 2013 health & fitness challenge groups today! Many of you are probably asking, "What the heck is a challenge group?" Well, I am here to tell you!

A challenge group is a small group of individuals who are dedicated to a common cause. In my case, the cause is health and fitness. My start came from a challenge group, and not only did I get great results during that time that I was in the group, but the results carried me on to new and exciting aspects of health and fitness.

A little about myself: I loved fast food. Loved it. I hated the way that I looked, though. I wasn't fat, but I was....puffy? Like, not fat but not toned, either. I would dabble around with workouts here and there. I got the gym memberships and would go and be a gym rat (see no results bc I didn't really have much knowledge at that time..just figured elipitcal and some weights here and there), did a ton of home fitness programs including Denise Austin, TaeBo, Carmen Electra...you name it, I probably have the DVD...but nothing ever really STUCK. I would always find myself hopping to the new trend, the new pill, the new WHATEVER and here I still sat...puffy and miserable.

My friend had asked me to join this accountability group and I figured, what the hell. It's January 2012..yet again, I'll try something new. This was a change! I got to be held accountable from my home office (no driving to meetings or embarrassing weigh ins), the accountability portion took me MAYBE 5 minutes out of my day, and these women were all so motivating and encouraging! There was no one watching me run in the mirror at the gym trying to be inconspicuous. There was no guy checking me out when all I wanted to do was work out. There were no time limits on machines, or now $39.95 each month for a gym membership that I stopped using. There was no driving to the gym after work, or on a Saturday morning. And there was no snarkiness from the members of the group.

This.Was. Awesome!

I was able to workout from home through a program that my coach recommended to me after I talked to her about my likes and dislikes..and what was great about that was that I actually enjoyed doing what I was doing. I wanted to pop in that day's DVD each and every day. And that kept me going. That mixed with the positivity from the group kept me going for ONCE in my life!!

Then I decided to do the same. I became a coach, and have been running fitness challenges throughout 2012 and gotten my challengers AMAZING results, and I take the challenge right along with you so it's not just you doing that workout that day..I'm doing the same one in my home!

So if you are READY to stop dabbling around and getting nowhere, if you are puffy, if you are unhappy with your appearance, if you are just looking for something that WORKS and somewhere where you can find all of the missing pieces to your puzzle, if you are looking for something that takes your time constraints into consideration...then please e-mail me (nik4213@gmail.com). I know, I know...you don't know me, it's weird emailing someone you don't know..but I swear to you I'm the most easy-going person you will ever talk to, haha, and I truly want to give everyone the chance that I got this time last year. My life has changed DRAMATICALLY and it all started from just making a choice to try a challenge group. 

I hope to hear from you! And if not, have the happiest of holidays, whichever one you might celebrate, and nothing but the best for you in 2013!

Let's Pound Some Pavement!

Well, it's that time again. Time to start training for the Half coming up in May. Now, I know some reading this might think that sounds funny, or that a Half is a bunch of "weak sauce", but I have never been a runner. I enjoyed sprints but only at 100m, anything else I considered "distance" and just wasn't into it.

The beginning of my running journey started with the Couch to 5K (C25K) running program. It got me going gradually and switched up the workouts enough so that I never got too bored or too winded. Once I graduated that program I was able to finally tackle a 4 mile run, a goal of mine since about the 8th grade. I have tried this running thing, I swear, every year since I was about 14 years old and failed - until last year.

Last year I dedicated myself to the idea of running. Damn it, I WAS going to become a runner if it killed me (and some days I thought it had). I signed up for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon, paid my $85 and said, "Well..that's it! You're running 13.1 regardless, because you sure as hell didn't just blow $85 for nothing!" So I started my training in November utilizing this training workout: Hal Higdon's Half Marathon Training Program

Sometimes it was hard to keep up with, but I told myself I had to keep going. Closer to the half I upped my "distance" and veered away from the training schedule. One week I did 6 miles...the next week my distance run was 8, then I had three 10 mile weeks, and then went right to 12 1/2. After the 12 1/2 mile run without ANY stopping, I realized this was happening.

The day of the race came and I was excited and confident that I would finish. People joked about getting "picked up" because they wouldn't make the maximum time frame, but I knew I was going to cross that finish line. Not only was I going to cross it, but I was going to do it with a smile.

I took in everything that day. All the sites, sounds, feelings, etc. Around mile 11 my knee started to REALLY bother me to the point where there were some tears shed, but at that point there's no stopping!! I trucked on and crossed the finish line, arms in the air, smiling, at 2:37:36.  When my medal was placed around my neck and I had my picture taken, I knew I had officially become a runner.


....about 10 minutes later when I collapsed near an ambulance I also knew that running COULD kill a person haha. But all I needed was some sugar, and then I was good to go :)

That day taught me that I could do anything I put my mind to. That was a goal I had for over a decade and consistently gave up on, but that time I dedicated myself to achievement and just went for it, and I did it.

I have already signed up for the Half again this year which falls on May 5th, I believe. It's time to start training. This year I want to focus on some speed work, and more diversity into my workouts. If I did it once, I know I can do it again...and hopefully in less time!