Day 43 ~ Weigh in, Starbucks, Muscle and Spirulina

Just over six weeks now and I have some wonderful news!  Check out this week's weigh in results!

Weight:  11st 12.8lbs/ 166.8lbs                                 (-1)
Waist inches: 34 inches                                              (-1)
Hip inches: 41 inches                                                 (-1) 
Arm Width: 14.5 inches                                             (+0.5)
Thigh Width:  25 inches                                             (nil)
BMI:  31.5kg/m2                                                      (-0.2)

What great results for such an easy week.  I have lost another pound making me 166.8lbs!  I am that much closer (four pounds away) from the slimmest I've ever been as a young adult and I am ecstatic!  Hopefully I can reach that within a month or so.  The reason I am over the moon isn't only for the fact that I am skinnier, but I didn't have to even really try with the food side of things and I am seriously enjoying what I eat.  I guess a plant-based vegan diet really does help to shed pounds.  Also, I feel that my exercising is really helping and as long as I play my cards right this week, I'm sure I could lose more.  I wasn't expecting to lose any weight because I felt like I had over eaten but quite clearly I did SOMETHING right this week. 
Having lost an inch on both my waist and hips, I am feeling a lot slimmer.  Today I wore a dress I don't usually wear because it used to make me look extra big.  Today, I fitted well into it and it made me look good for once.  Hallelujah!  I'm not even bothered about my supposed gain on my arms because my BMI is going down and that only means one thing - I am further away from being obese.  All I have to do is hit 29 and I am no longer classed as obese but overweight - isn't that fantastic?!

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Today I went out with a friend to Starbucks and I have to say, even with best intentions I managed to make some dodgy choices.  I was in the queue and looking from sandwich to sandwich, cake to cake, only to find that there is literally nothing vegan about any of Starbuck's food (besides their fruit salad), at least not at the store I was about to eat at.  I ended up choosing a mozzarella pasta salad (which was TINY) and a Naked fruit smoothie.  So I already broke number one vegan rule (er, don't eat dairy, love) but I wasn't going to make a fuss.   To top it off,  I found that in Naked smoothies, they add in corn syrup!  I could taste it and it was rather unpleasant. I have to say if I'm going to have a smoothie I will either make it or buy Innocent from now on. 
I hope this doesn't mean I have to eat fruit every time I end up at Starbucks - suggestions anyone?

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Another happy thing that happened today was that I noticed I am building forearm muscle!  How odd!  It must be the combination of my resistance training and running, yes running!  You see when I run I make sure to keep my arms a driving back and forth (as opposed to swinging from side to side) and this seems to build up muscle because I know they ache even after a run.  So when my Brother-in-law said that his friend has amazing arms from just running, he may have been telling the truth.  No wonder why my arms seem to be getting slimmer - results!

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The last thing I want to comment on is the monstrosity of Spirulina.   A lot of you know I've been searching for the perfect protein supplement for my work out and it's been particularly tough for me to find a quality vegan protein supplement.  I wanted to go as natural as possible so when I heard that spirulina could be the answer, I jumped into the research.

Not only is Spirulina packed with beta carotene (get lost, Cancer!) but it's got tonnes of other essential goodies (iron, minerals, vitamin B-12) and it offers 60% vegetable protein.  It's pretty much an anti-aging blue green algae that everyone needs to get to know.  With winter coming up, Spirulina can also help strengthen your immune system so you become stronger and more resistance to illnesses.  As well as all this, there have been studies that show it lowers cholesterol and for some it suppresses appetite so you can lose weight taking this magical green powder.  Also, expect to become even more regular with your bowel movements as it aids digestion and  now you can feel safer in our environment as Spirulina also cleanses and protects you from free radicals. 

Back to why I'm taking it, it is because I'm looking for something to enhance my running performance and recovery.  Apparently athletes have been using this stuff for a long time pre-work out or  before a competition as it gives them a massive burst of energy.  It also helps to create and mend muscle mass which is exactly what I was looking for. 

I picked up my Spirulina from Holland and Barretts for £11.99 and while that seems expensive, it's much cheaper than protein powders and it's natural and overall super.  I mixed it in with a banana and strawberry smoothie.  You know what?  It tastes ABSOLUTELY disgusting. It smells and tastes like eggy-mouldy fish and honestly it's not as yummy as it seems.  However I found a really large squeeze of a lime really helped so  I managed to drink the whole of my smoothie.  I have been looking into other recipes that mask the taste and some of it include things like tomato, chilli, ginger or celery.  I will have to update you on how well it treats my body and what kind of smoothie concoctions I make.  I also hear a raw Spirulina salad is worth trying - I'm not one to knock things before I try but that really does sound awful.

I'm off for a run tomorrow so I shall report back.  Happy October everyone!

Running Shoes

The last time I bought a pair of trainers (or sneakers) I came back home with a black and pink K-Swiss pair and it's been worn only a handful of times.  The kitten heels and boots had taken over.

Now that I've become a semi serious runner, my Sister bought me an early Christmas present!  New running shoes!  Below are the Asics Gel Nimbus 11 (she has 12) and they are really fabulous.  When I run I feel like I'm on air!  Just as well really because all that running in old, bad trainers was starting to hurt my knee.

 

I highly recommend the Asics brand, also to check out your foot shape and your running style before investing in a pair.  Yay for running!

Day 30 - Cabbage Soup and Running hardcore

Cabbage Soup

I made the most amazing soup today; remember that gigantic cabbage I bought from the market for £1?  Well it turned into a really good wholesome soup.

 

 

 

 

The recipe is slightly tricky because I didn't actually note it down but I will give you a good outline so you can make your own.  This recipe is very filling, low calorie and wonderfully nutritious.  Even the non soup eaters at home gobbled it up.

For stock:

1. Boil (or pressure cook) prawn shells (or chicken or vegetables), onions, 3 bay leaves, black pepper and garlic together. 
2. For pressure cooker, cook for 45 minutes.  For normal boiling, boil an hour and a half.  Otherwise, boil less and you will get a milder flavour.  Or use a stock cube!

Ingredients needed:

1. A 'good' amount of Cabbage
2. 200g of Lean Smoked Bacon
3. Spinkling of Mozzarella
4. 10g of Butter
5. Tea spoon of minced garlic

Rough Method Outline:

1. Gently saute chopped cabbage with garlic until cabbage has softened slightly.  Drop in 10g or so of butter and stir.
2. Add in stock and allow stock to heat up
3. Pressure cook for ten minutes (or boil for 20 minutes)
4. Blitz the soup with a processor (I used a hand blender)
5. Drop in some mozzarella cheese and stir.
6. Bring soup back up to boil and drop in sliced bacon and shredded cabbage.  Stir.
7. Allow cabbage and bacon to cook and then season to taste. I did not add any salt because the stock was so flavoursome (again, stock has no salt!).

So I hope that was remotely useful and perhaps gave some inspiration.

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Running hardcore

Tonight was a very special night for me because for the first time, since running, I've worked my body so hard I feel absolutely shattered.  Before I used to run I would be tired and sweaty but nothing quite like tonight. 

My Sister and I decided to go running in the park at around 9.30pm and we were accompanied by my brother in law who was roller blading around. We couldn't run around the park because a lot of it was too dark and a bit scary so there was one stretch that was close to the entrance and very brightly lit.  We decided to run from one end to the other on and on and on.  It was exhausting because we would run non stop to the end and I didn't work out how long that distance was but it's long enough for me to start losing my breath by the 4/5's of each stretch.  I was training my body to  use the oxygen intake efficiently and I found that each time I ran it became easier.  Don't get me wrong, it wasn't easy for me.  I'm incredibly unfit but I am fitter than I was three weeks ago.  What a liberating training session and we are going again tomorrow.  RAWR!

I'm also seeking out a good reputable whey protein so I can start feeding my body the correct amount of protein for these intense work outs.  I am looking for one that builds lean muscle mass and this is important for fat burning so I can lose weight effectively.  I'm interested in the PhD nutrition Diet Whey and really excited about possibly purchasing it.  I feel like a frickin' athlete in the making.

I need to rest... I might dream about running now.

Good night!

Day 13 - Farmers Market Experience, the Pressure cooker and WORKING OUT!

This morning I woke up at 8am ESPECIALLY to make my way to my first farmers market experience in Wimbledon.  I was so excited despite being incredibly tired and hormonally emotional.  Perhaps its because of that that I felt so in love with all the stuff when I got there.  For the past few days I've not been eating 100% on plan so I was excited to get back on track.  Here are some pictures of the produce I picked up!

It was a lot of fun and I felt particularly good knowing that the food I was eating was organic.  Unfortunately, this world is twisted and organic food is more expensive than 'regular' food so I can't keep doing this.  I guess organic is still classed as a luxury!

I also worked out how to use my pressure cooker so I'm particularly pleased.  This will help so much this winter because I make a lot of soups and stews so this will speed things up.  I made an oxtail soup today!

The most thrilling thing that happened today was that I worked out!  While I was falling asleep in my chair I just suddenly decided to do a ten minute work out to wake myself up.  Would you believe than 10 minutes turned into 50?!  CRAZY STUFF! 

I've been working out to some Youtube videos I found because well, to be quite frank, it's free to do it at home.  This was the first video I did and quite like.

I liked this but I didn't find that it raised my heart beat enough.  It did warm me up and it kicked started me into wanting to keep moving.  So I recommend this for a quick ten minute work out to maybe wake yourself up. 

I started searching for more and you wouldn't believe what I came across!  I came across a 'Jordan' aka Katie Price work out with her trainer 'Richard' called 'The Jordan Workout'.  Actually, it's so far from Jordan's work out it's unreal.  I think this was before she was Katie Price and I have to say the video can be off putting for a few reasons.  First of all, she looks like she's not putting much effort into it.  Her trainer is amazing but I have no idea why she is there.   As always her boobs are distracting and I think they distract the trainer too!  The video is also pink!
Despite all that, i found it to be a great work out.  It starts off slow and each set he does gets more intensive but there is always gradual progression.  It's very straight forward yet effective and the music is great as well.   If you can ignore the small things, it's a good video to follow and it definitely worked me out.

This first video was a great warm up.  I thought it lame at first but you will be pleasantly surprised at how steady and well put together it is.

Part 2 gets intense and I loved it.  Again, it's slightly annoying with her boobs but never mind.

By this time I was passing out!  But I kept going! 

The resistance work out was much harder for me because well...I'm weak!  But it was so good it made my body feel like jelly afterwards.  I couldn't do much of the other resistance training because I don't have much space or a mat so I cooled down and finished off. 

I shall post the other two videos anyway.

So it was on day 13 that I really did a proper work out and I feel good.   I found my moods were elevated afterwards and suddenly my body felt less tense.  I think I might do it again tomorrow...

That's it for day 13, what a success!  I did well with the water and ate within calories.  Tomorrow is day 14 which means weigh in soon.  I'm so nervous but I'm really hoping for some inch changes now!

Helen