Week Four

Okay, so technically I should be starting my fourth week on my Body For Life program. However, since we decided to start WWOOFing (Willing Workers On Organic Farms) - see my other blog for info on that - it has really thrown a wrench into my workout program because I am no longer able to go to the gym and lift weights......

So, in the mean time I am going back to running two days on, one day off. Gradually I want to increase my distance to 5 miles, but right now I am averaging between 3-4 a day. I have been really faithful to running and have been embracing the challenge of running in the rural country side.

The other big change has been my yoga. I have been really faithful to doing my yoga on a regular basis now. I am doing shorter sessions for now (around 30 min. on most days and then 60 min. on the days that I do "power" yoga) I decided that if I didn't have to do 90 min. then it would be a lot easier to stick with it EVERY day. Some days I even do it twice a day. This has been really big for helping me not be so sore when I'm doing harder outdoor labor. (I admit that I am NOT used to outdoor labor! haha.) Last week there was this one day that I weeded for four hours and my body was so incredibly sore and I just ached all over. I was so tired, but I did some yoga that night and was totally shocked when I woke up the next morning and was barely even sore!!! Yoga is amazing......

My diet has been challenging since we aren't really living in a situation where you can control your food......Basically instead of being able to eat small amounts all through the day, I only get to eat three meals so they are a little larger than I would normally eat. Still very healthy though, as all the places we have stayed so far eat very organic and healthy - lots of veggies!!! YES - Last week the host made dessert each night though so that sucked because it was so good and so hard to stick to my plan!!! (I allowed my self to cheat, but only to cheat SMALL.) Luckily we only had dinner there three nights. - She was a great cook though!!

Not planning to weigh myself until I get back to Napier, so we will see how that works out......Just trying to be faithful to myself and not be too hard on myself either. I won't be posting every week since I really won't have a way to tell if I'm making progress. Just updating on Daily Mile.

Week Two

It's been another great week on Body for Life and I am feeling so healthy and strong. I love eating healthy like this without all the processed foods and sugars, it just makes me feel lighter.

I ran really well this week and felt like I am finally past the "struggling" phase of my running. I am dedicated to keeping it strong and being faithful to my running so as not to have to go through the starting point again!! I am hoping that my health will hold out this time and allow me to keep with it.

Being back and in the gym is amazing and I totally love it. My only concern is that if I cannot stay in the gym I won't be able to stick to such a strict lifting program. Right now I'm doing a lot of weight lifting and I want to stay faithful to that, so my hope is that things will continue in this way...we will see.

This week I only lost one pound, but that's good considering that I'm probably putting weight on from lifting. I feel stronger and leaner, but the scale doesn't show that much difference.

It's really all about staying faithful to a healthy lifestyle and right now I'm meeting that goal so I'm happy.

Healthy Enchiladas

So, last night I made these amazing enchiladas for dinner and it turned out so well that I thought I would share the recipe since it's such a healthy version.....WARNING - it's very spicy. If you want to cut down the heat I highly recommend starting off with just 1Tbsp chilli powder and then adjust it accordingly. Of course, Travis loved it spicy.....Plus, there was enough sauce to freeze and use next time!!

Sauce:

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp Flour (I used wholemeal flour)

2 Tbsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1 Cup tomato sauce

2 Cups water

1/4 tsp garlic powder - or minced garlic

Heat oil, stir in flour and chili powder. Cook 1 min. Add remaining ingredients and boil for 10 min. Pour 1/4 of sauce in bottom of pan.

Inside:

1 lb beef (I only used half and froze the other half)

1 small onion

6 whole wheat tortillas

2 cups shredded cheese (You actually need less than one)

1 can sliced olives 1/2 red pepper

1 can black beans

spinach

oregano

1 chopped tomato

Brown the beef with some ground oregano and then set aside. Mix the black beans with oregano, chopped tomato, red pepper and onion as a mixture. Set aside. Coat the tortillas in the remaining sauce and fill with either beef or bean mixture and cheese. (for mine I did just the black bean mixture with spinach....for the guys I did the meat mixture and then also added some of the bean mixture to theirs.) Cover with remaining sauce and olives and cheese. (I didn't use very much cheese, just enough to decorate.)

Preheat oven to 175c and cook until bubbly. Serve with brown rice on the side and some freshly chopped parsley or cilantro.

Anyway, this was a wonderful meal and just thought it would be worth sharing since it's so good for you!! Enjoy!

Week One

So, my first official week of following a strict exercise program - Body for Life - is finished! (I say that assuming that you know I have been working out for a year so far, this is just a NEW program that I am one week into! And while I mentioned the start of a 12 week program two weeks ago, I didn't actually get to stick with that because we spent a week hiking and stuff....So, I started it over this week and I am now calling THIS week my official start!)

I had a really wonderful week of running/lifting/yoga/and other cardio activities. It was wonderful being back at the gym and I am totally loving that! I don't think I can ever move to a place without a gym again. I just love all the variety of equipment and chances to change things up....besides all that, I LOVE the sauna!!! I also found these really cool logs that you can download from Body for Life and I have faithfully been writing in them all week. One is for keeping track of all of your work outs and what you lift and what intensity you ran at or whatever. The other one is a food log where you journal everything that you eat/drink and then you can get a better feel for how balanced your diet is.

I am now down to 156 which is pretty much back to square one - HOWEVER, my muscle content has grown tremendously over the past year and I think that accounts for a lot of it because my actual measurements are not far off from where I need to be. My goal is still to get down to 132, but it's a long time in coming and I'm okay with that. I am really happy with where I'm at in my life right now and I know that I am being faithful to myself and to my health by setting these goals.

It feels so good to have goals and to be faithful to my plan. I have still done really well with no sweets and chocolate. Lately we have been on a kick of making apple crisp at night, but it's just baked apples with oatmeal and nuts and spices - I don't add any sugar or butter or anything, so it's pretty healthy but gives the flavor of something sweet. I feel great and know that this is definitely a better way of life for me.

Feeling Faithful

So, this has been a great week for me. I'm feeling so faithful to my program and to the possibility of eventual success! I was reading the GI Diet book this week and ironically discovered that I was already completely following this diet without even knowing it (since I have focused on a vegetarian diet.) I am still using the guidelines from the book and allowing myself to continue to eat a healthy diet and exercise accordingly.

My real successes over the past week or so have been my dedication to no sugar and chocolate. I have totally kicked my chocolate habit and also done without any sugar. I feel so much better already and think that it will really make a difference in the long run. I was so tempted by ice cream and some of the very best chocolate that were offered to me this week, but I politely declined!!! (Not like me at all.)

I am determined to get back into good shape........We hiked three days this week so that was really good and really hard + I ran three days this week.

Just staying focused and trying to make progress one day at a time......