Saturday, January 23, 2010

Progress Report - Starting Week 10

Today started week 10 in my 14 week challenge. My goal was to get back in great shape before school started and to hopefully get down to 132 so that I could get really well-fitted nursing uniforms.

Looks like the whole vegetarian thing is working out for me in more ways than one - I'm down to 139 so not far off! I am actually almost exactly the same measurements as I was at my very healthiest back in Korea. (Actually my legs are even smaller now.) But because I have built so much muscle through running and yoga, it will take a little more effort to get down to 132 this time around.

The exciting part of losing this weight for me has been that I did not diet or deprive myself. I just changed my whole lifestyle and priorities. I'm eating what is right for my body and that has made all the difference in the world. No more struggling, no more cravings...The changes I have made for myself are lifelong. I am setting goals for myself that I never dreamed possible before (like my desire to run a half marathon in 2010).

While there are those who still make fun of me for going all "healthy" and stuff; I will gladly accept the joking for the reward that I get from feeling great about my accomplishments. (Travis still laughs at me when I drink my "green smooties" in the morning, but I just go about my business and slip into my clothes feeling great that I can wear them so comfortably now!!)

So, the exciting thing for me today was that I tried on my very tiniest pair of hiking pants and they fit!!! They actually fit really nicely too, not tight at all.....These pants were smaller on me even back in Korea and I got them as a light-weight hiking pants there. I have NO idea why I ever kept them, and when I was unpaking stuff here in NZ I could not for the life of me figure out why in the world I even brought them. (At the time I couldn't get them even up past my hips!) We only brought over a suitcase of clothes and a duffle bag so I was frustrated with myself for taking up the space to bring a pair of pants that I couldn't even wear!! Then, this morning I remembered them and thought I would give it a go - What do you know!? Progress is finally taking place and all of my hard work is paying off.

My runs this week have been really nice - some good paces going on and I even got a good six miler in this week too - I have been averaging around 25km (15 miles) a week, so that's exciting progress on that front as well. - I'm looking forward to our next 7K this coming Tuesday and hope it will be a great one.

Tonight for dinner I made home-made pizzas which were fabulous. I made the tomato base from scratch and then topped mine with all sorts of yummy vege and cheese and then Travis got to have his with sausage which made him really happy. I did get the crust from the store because I didn't want to do the whole dough thing today; but overall it was all really healthy. (The breads here don't have preservatives and stuff like in the states, so it was still rather healthy.)

My goal for the next few weeks is to make a lot of freezer food before school starts. I got a ton of fruits that were pretty cheap today and froze them which will be so wonderful for my morning smoothies. Friday I had made a huge pot of soup with different lentils and barley to freeeze, then Saturday morning I had gotten up before work and made a mung bean casserole and I froze most of it, then today I made a lentil soup and froze all of it. (unfortunately the recipe called for spinach and somehow the combo of spinach and lentils really reaked. I mean, it smelled really bad! Bummer..hope it tastes better than it smells...it did look pretty- Travis was VERY happy that this was a freezer food for me later and not our dinner! ha....)

I am taking a first aid class on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, so it will be a busy week for me.

That's the latest progress report, I will post my next one at the conclusion to my 14 week challenge. After that I begin training for my 10K and 13K races....More to come!

6 comments:

dannielo said...

If you'd like a tool for setting your goals, you can use this web application:

http://www.Gtdagenda.com

You can use it to manage your goals, projects and tasks, set next actions and contexts, use

checklists, schedules and a calendar.
A Vision Wall (inspiring images attached to yor goals) is available too.
Works also on mobile.

Teniah Ashlyn said...

Cool, I'll check it out..thanks.

Anonymous said...

It's so easy to stay slim and not feel deprived as a vegetarian! All of the healthy vegetarian food (meaning not the chips, fries, or heavy on the cheese and dairy) is so full of fiber and low in fat. I'm glad you're feeling great! I'm not sure if I could ever go back to eating a lot of meat because I just wouldn't have the same quality of life. Homemade pizzas sound delish!

madeline said...

So cool about your hiking pants! I always love little realizations like that! I can't wait to hear how you like John's soup! He was very excited to hear that someone in NZ was giving it a shot!

Teniah Ashlyn said...

Hey, guys, thanks for the comments...Madeline, I made John's soup tonight and it was fantastic. I commented on the page where you put the recipe with my adjustments...Unfortunately I couldn't follow the recipe exact because we don't have a lot of the ingredients here in NZ - bummer...I miss Mexican food, so this was great! Funny comment, though - I never buy chips EVER, so it was a treat to have them and Travis had eaten almost all of them by the time I got to make the soup so I was lacking on the tortillas! ha....I froze most of it so when I warm it up next time around I'll have to add some extra chips! =) So funny....Travis was a huge fan; so tell John that we will think of him when we make it! =) So cool to meet all of you guys - Jenna, Grace, You etc....lovin' it...

Teniah Ashlyn said...

Grace, I totally agree with you...once you start eating healthy it's so hard to ever go back. (that's a good thing, though, because it's about making a life-change!) It amazes me once you get over the "hump" you really don't have the cravings anymore...Love it!