GCT: Wow, it's June Already!

Hi!

...and I thought I was bad about updating in April.  I missed all of May!  Crazy how fast time is flying now.  (Only 4 months until my 25th birthday O.O)

Important New Stuff!  My workout partner and I have decided to try out clean eating for 100 days.  We started this past Monday (June 2nd) and will be performing this "experiment" until September 10th (or longer, depending on the results!)

Here are the "rules" I've made for myself during this experiment:

100 Days of Clean Eating

·                                            

                        Eat

o   Vegan Clean Eating

o   Unprocessed/minimally processed foods

o   No added sugars, no sweets

o   No fast food/ eating out

o   No cheat days

o   No juice/soda/etc—drinking water only (at least 1 jug a day)

o   Eat at least 5 servings of fruit/veggies per day

o   Increase protein intake

o   Log all foods accurately

·                                           Sleep

o   Get at least 8 hours of sleep every night

o   Go to bed before 11 pm

o   Get up at 6-7 am

·                                            Exercise

o   Workout at least 1 hour, 4-5 days a week

o   30 min cardio, 30 min strength training

·                                            Pictures

o   Take progress pictures at least once a month

I'm excited to see the results!

And now it's... goal check time!

1. Improve my relationship and walk with God
• Accidentally deleted my reading plan and with it, all of my progress.  :(  After wrestling with wanting to throw in the towel, I decided to just start the reading plan from the beginning.  Which, for someone who hates having her time wasted by repeating things, that was a toughie.  Perhaps there is a lesson and blessing in me starting over.
2. Lose 50-100 lbs healthily
• I'm down a total of ~27 lbs, ~2 lbs since my last post.  Not as much as I would hope, mostly because I was going off diet a lot.  With this clean eating initiative, I think the "hunkering down" I've been longing for will finally occur.  And, hopefully, the lbs will start to melt away like butter!  
• In addition to the clean eating, my workout partner and I have also started back going to gym an hour a day, 4 days a week.  Yay, exercise!
• On the first day of the experiment, we weighed in and got our initial weight/bmi/fat% etc.  The readout said that I'd lost 5 lbs since the end of the 1st competition we were in and like 4% body fat.  Woot!
• I ran my first 5k in ~45 minutes!  Granted there were a lot of things I would have changed, like arriving on time (oops!) and running a lot more before and during the race, but I finished(!!) and that's what matters.  I did run the first 1.5 miles straight (at a 12:30 mile pace!), which is the most I've run without stopping in a LONNNGGG time.  So, first 5k in the bag, not quite ready for the second but I will definitely be doing more of them in the future!

Summer's coming!  (Yea, it's not summer yet, in case the high 80's temperatures had fooled you into thinking it was...lol)

K

GCW: Where Did April Go?!?

Hi!

Apparently I'm getting worse at updating this blog.  It's been a month since my last post and man has it been a full one.  (And a fast one!  Where has the time gone??)

Goal check time!

1. Improve my relationship and walk with God
• Still slacking, unfortunately.  I feel like I have prayer ADD every time I pray.
• Verse of the Week:  "But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed."  -- Isaiah 53:5
• I'm on day 194 of my reading plan and behind like a turtle.
2. Lose 50-100 lbs healthily
• I'm down a total of ~25 lbs but have been going off diet a lot more since all of the weight loss competitions are over.  I need to refocus and hunker back down. 
• 5K is happening next week and I am nowhere near where I should be, training wise.  I think I'm going to try run/walk 4 miles everyday, right up until race day.  It's going to be insane but I'm in this race to finish not to hit a certain time at this point.

I know it's not much, but that's all for now!  Good luck to everyone who has finals this week!

K

GCF: March Madness Edition!

Hi!

I have no excuse for waiting this long to post anything this month and I feel bad about it!  That's why I call this the "March Madness Edition"...it's madness that I have updated my blog in a month and a half!

Goal check time!

1. Improve my relationship and walk with God
• Still not much improvement here, honestly.  I've been slacking. :(  But the Lord did bless me last week with visits from friends/having people over for Sabbath lunch!  Normally that kind of stuff wears me to the bone, as I am an introvert, but it actually gave me some energy and gave my heart some much needed cheering up.  It was really nice to have an apartment full of people for once!
• Verse of the Week:  "but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."
• I'm on day 180 of my reading plan and even more behind than usual.
2. Lose 50-100 lbs healthily
• The results are in for the weight loss competition at work and my team did pretty well.  While we didn't win, we did place in the top ten.  As far as my personal results go, I lost 19.6 lbs during the competition, 15.2 lbs of which were fat!  And, while I still have a long way to go, losing 20ish lbs in 3 months is really encouraging.  Granted, I still have my days where I wanna give up, I just keep telling myself that I can do it and that I've already made some great progress.
• Side note:  I need to stop going off diet so much!  I know it's good to not be too restrictive and allow yourself a treat every once in awhile, but I totally ate like 10 cookies last weekend, and they weren't small ones either.  It's a daily struggle to conquer the binge eating habit but I'm getting better about not over eating and realizing when I'm full/have had enough.
• My workout partner and I are keeping up with our workouts, even though the competition is over.  Working out 4 times a week for 6 weeks really helped us to form the habit.  We've gotten to the point where not going to workout doesn't feel right, ya know?  Our workout routine has changed at little bit, as we're gearing up for/training for a 5k that is at the end of April, but we're still trying to make it to the gym, and do some strength training, at least twice a week.
• Weight Loss Tip of the Week:  As promised, below I have included a total body workout that my partner and I actually did this week!  Note:  We walked 11 flights of stairs beforehand, took 5-10 sec of rest between each set, cut down a few of the exercises to just 2 sets, and finished this workout in just over an hour.  Disclaimer: try at your own risk, as I don't claim to be a professional fitness trainer or anything.

• Wednesday	Total Body 2
  1-5 min	Stretching
  15 min	Abs
  3 sets of:	20*	Reverse Chops
  	15*	Standing Side Crunches
  	15*	Overhead Presses
  	6	Two Point Planks (InOut)
  	15	Inner Thigh Splits
  	15	Plank Party (Jump/El)
  	10	Pike Tucks
  	10	Clamps
  15 min	Legs
  3 sets of:	15*	Weighted Donkey Kicks
  	10	Plie Hip Lifts
  	15	Jumping Jacks
  	20*	Arabesque
  	25	Calf Raises
  	15/10	Walking/Station Lunges
  	15	Plie Jump Squats
  	10*	Hamstring Kick
  15 min	Arms
  3 sets of:	10	Bent Rows
  	10	Deadlifts
  	15	Hammer Curls
  	15	Wrap It Outs
  	15	W Curls
  	15	Tricep Kickouts
  	10	Push-ups (Norm/Dia/Str)
  	10	Skull Crushers

• Water intake is still doing pretty well, even though I've broken another cup (and it was like my favorite one, it had a swirly straw!).  Thus, I have just been drinking straight from my jug until I get a new one.

Welp, that's all for now.  Have a great weekend! :)

K

GCF: Happy Founder's Day!

Hi!

Ok, I have a good(ish) excuse for being late this time.  I am going to go ahead and blame the "Southern Snowpocalypse" for my delayed post.  As I was in "survival mode", not only did I not post on Monday, but I also consumed some cheese (gasp!!).  I didn't feel like cooking, and my Greek food had cheese on it.  In retrospect, I could have asked for them not to put the cheese on there, but it was a good "tester" for my stomach.  Today, I pretty much confirmed my stomach's all out hatred of dairy substances by rejecting the Greek salad I had that was topped with some feta cheese.  Oh well, now that "snow day rules" no longer apply, I guess that that's the last bit of cheese I'm gonna eat for quite some time.  (And I won't lie, I didn't even really miss it...which surprised me.)

Anyway, some of you may be wondering why I said "Happy Founder's Day!" instead of anything related to Valentine's day.  Well, since I'm not celebrating Super Chocolate Sales Day Eve ;) this year, I decided to wish my brothers a Happy Founder's Day instead.  My fraternity was founded on Feb 14th almost 100 years ago!  I love (and miss!) my brotherhood.

Welp, let's check some goals!

1. Improve my relationship and walk with God
• Still not much improvement here, honestly.  I've been slacking. :(
• I've been struggling with "jumping God's gun", so to speak, lately in a certain area of my life.  Tempted to take matters into my own hands, ya know?  Well, this verse sort of encouraged me to continue to be patient.
• "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.  God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."  -- 1 Corinthians 10:13, ESV
• I'm on day 163 of my reading plan, aka still behind.
2. Lose 50-100 lbs healthily
• So, I'm definitely loving my new scale.  Granted, there is still a ~4 lb difference between my new and old scales, I like the "upgrade" of having this new scale.  Overall, from the initial weigh-in from the first weight loss competition we entered, I've lost ~10 lbs!  (Yay!)  While I was hoping to lose more than that by now, 10 lbs ain't too shabby.  As the competition also measure body fat, I'm hoping that I've lost some fat and/or turned that fat weight into muscles.  
• I was keeping up with the workouts until Snowmaggedon put a grinding halt on going to the gym.  But I don't plan to let this slight setback hold me down.  Come Monday, I plan to get right back into the swing of things.
• Weight Loss Tip of the Week:  Check out FitSugar!  They have some awesome workout tips and routines to work just about anything that you're trying to exercise.  I really like a lot of their routines and have incorporated several of the moves I've seen into my weekly workouts.
• Water intake is still doing pretty well, though I did get a bit dehydrated during the snow party.  (Mostly because it threw off my routine and I didn't have my massive water jug everywhere I went.)

Have a good weekend! :)

K

GCM! Whoa, it's February?!

Hi!

Yes, yes, I know.  I've been absolutely failing at this blogging thing.  I mean, c'mon... 2 weeks, no posts?  Not acceptable.  I'm sorry, y'all.  Just been really busy (and lazy)  when it comes to updating this.  But here I am.  I'll do better, I promise!

Anyway, it's February!  As of (last) Saturday, I've been vegan for one whole month and I'm not dead(!) lol.  It's been way easier than I thought it would be and it really helps with my diet.  The foods I used to binge on (i.e., cheese, sweets, etc) I prevent myself from eating now because I'm vegan.  The one item i have had an issue with lately, as far as binges go, has been chips. (Chips are definitely a weakness of mine.  Just soooo crunchy!)  I found this yummy delicious brand at Sam's Club that were sweet chili pita chips.  I DEVOURED them.  As irritated as I was with myself for eating them so fast, it taught me a valuable lesson.  I can't keep chips, or anything that I might binge on, in the house.  And honestly, I can be very "outta sight, outta mind" sometimes, so not having them in sight really does help.  

On another note, I really am proud of myself for not eating much at the Superbowl party I went to yesterday.  It helped that a good bit of it wasn't vegan, but I usually eat sooooo much at these things.  Not yesterday!  (And there were chips EVERYWHERE!) Progress! :)

On to the goal checking portion of this program!

1. Improve my relationship and walk with God
• Can't say I've improved much in this area since my last post, which is quite a shame.  But I'm a work in progress, yea?  The verse of the day yesterday was so inspiring to me that I just have to share it with you!  It speaks to the constant battle/struggle we face:  being in the world but not of it... and not loving it either!
• "Do not love the world or the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world--the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life--is not from the Father but is from the world."  -- 1 John 2:15-16, ESV
• I'm on day 159 of my reading plan, aka behind again.
2. Lose 50-100 lbs healthily
• So...I bought a new scale, because I had a sneaky suspicion that my old scale was lying to me.  (I mean, it was telling me 4 lb differences from what any others were say.)  My new scale, sadly, says I haven't really lost that much since last post.  (But it says I'm down 4.8 since my initial weigh-in on my old scale...so maybe I'm down 8?!?)
• Anyway, my workout partner and myself have been hitting the gym pretty hard lately.  We worked out for an hour, or more(!), everyday M-Th of last week, which was really nice.  We've been trying out a workout routine I've compiled from various sources.  We try to get in at least 30 minutes of cardio and 30+ minutes of strength exercises per workout.  I'll have to post the workouts here at some point!  (Note:  I don't claim to be a personal trainer or anything of the sort.  If you try these workouts, you're trying them at your own risk.  But, as my partner would tell ya, they make ya sweat!)
• Also, My team is doing two weight loss challenges now. Hopefully we win some prizes from either (or both!) but the ultimate prize is healthier individuals.  (Though I really do like winning stuff...)
• Weight Loss Tip of the Week:  Challenge yourself to try new exercises!  Sometimes we get in an exercise rut and, when we get bored with exercising, we give up on it.  So mix it up!  Keep it new and interesting, but also manageable.  (Because if it's "too hard", we tend to give up then as well.)  There are tons of resources on the internet that can introduce you to new exercises and how to properly do them.
• Water intake is doing pretty well.  I now have a 101.4 oz (3 L) jug that I lug around with me every day.  Some days, like today(!), I finish the entire thing (plus whatever is my water cup in the morning, ~16 oz) before hitting the gym in the evening!
3. Eliminate my debt
1. Nothing to see here! ;)

Have a good first week of February! :)

K

GCM: Monday, the 13th *dun dun dun*

Hi!

Week 1 of tracking everything I've eaten went very well.  It actually wasn't terribly hard to get back into the swing of things.  I will say, however, old habits of being tempted to "lie" to myself and not record certain calories also returned.  But, as one of my good friends would say, "If you bite it, you write it!".  (A mantra from WW.)  So if I bite it, I'm writing, er, typing it into MyFitnessPal.  Also, I haven't cheated on my vegan diet yet, and it's been almost 2 weeks!  And, I won't lie, it's been so much easier than I thought it would be...minus not being able to eat the things I bake.

I made it to the gym twice last week, which is an improvement over not going at all, but I'm hoping to get that up to 5 times per week. (Starting today, because I'm going after work!)
Anyway, it's time to check the progress I have made towards my goals! 

1. Improve my relationship and walk with God
• Still been all over the map, but I made it to church this week.  (And I can remember parts of the sermon!)  Verse of the week is below, and it kinda just reiterated last week's idea for me.
• "You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart."  -- Jeremiah 29:13, ESV
• I'm on day 147 of my reading plan.  (Unlike most weeks, I'm only 1 day, not 5 days!, behind on my reading plan, )
2. Lose 50-100 lbs healthily
• I achieved my goal of losing a few lbs before the weight loss competition begins!  I'm down 3.6 lbs from last week. (Yay!)  The initial weigh-in starts tomorrow and I'm excited for this competition to begin.  My teammates and I have found 2 other weight loss competitions that are running at the same time, and are considering joining those as well.
• Weight Loss Tip of the Week:  Do little things, like walking in place or squats, while waiting for your food to warm up in the microwave!  Sometimes I like to do "counter push-ups" while waiting for something to cook.  (What I call "counter push-ups" is, instead of getting on the ground for a push-up, I'll do the same movement but angled toward the counter top--hands pushing on the counter, feet on the floor.)
• Water intake is still down, as my 64 oz water jug broke last week and I have yet to replace it.
3. Eliminate my debt
• Student loan has been paid off which means... THIS GOAL HAS BEEN COMPLETED!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!! :D  (Thus, I struck through the goal title.)
• So, should I replace this goal with another?  What do you all think?

Have a good week! :)

K

GCM: New Year Edition!

Hi!

Wow, I haven't updated you all in awhile!  I'm sorry about that.  I had a Pre-Christmas Edition in the draft box, got distracted on vacation, and bam! now it's the new year.  Now that I'm back to my "regular schedule", I should be back to updating at least once a week.

So...HAPPY NEW YEAR!!  How is 2014 treating everyone thus far?  I know it's freezing cold in the South (for no good reason... 6 degrees? Really? Ughhhhh!)  Other than the weather being bizarre (as usual), not too much happening around here.  

I did change something, somewhat significant, at the stroke of midnight on Jan 1st though. Anyone want to guess??  Any takers??

Since I'm not super good at pausing for effect (a line of space is enough right??), I'll let you know now.  I am now...a....VEGAN!  *gasp*  

I know I said I would never do it, but honestly, my body has been begging for it for a few months now and I felt New Years was the perfect time to start.  (Also, for the past few months, I kept saying to myself, I would only go vegan if God "convinced" me to be one.  And, for the past few months, my stomach has been rejecting dairy and eggs, so vegan-time!)

So far, so good, vegan-wise, though I'm kinda doing it my own way.  I'm not going full-on raw vegan or anything like that, and I'm not gonna freak out if I accidentally ingest something that contains dairy/eggs, but I'm going to be conscious of what's in what I'm eating (label reading!).  I also might allow chocolate to be on the exempt list, because I'm not the biggest fan of super dark chocolate and finding chocolate without some dairy in it did not occur when I was at Aldi last night.

Anyway, it's time to check the progress I have made towards my goals! 

1. Improve my relationship and walk with God
• Been all over the map lately, probably because I kinda failed at reading my Bible while I was on vacation.  I read the following verse last night, and felt it kinda shed some light on not only why I've been feeling so distant/separated from Him lately, but why it feels like my prayers bounce off the ceiling sometimes:
• "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear you."  -- Isaiah 59:1-2, ESV
• And, while I don't claim to be a theologian or anything of that nature, this verse just made something click in my head, and I felt like some things made sense. 
• I'm on day 140 of my reading plan.
2. Lose 50-100 lbs healthily
• I think I'm at about the same weight I was at last update.  The weight loss challenge that my colleagues and I are participating in begins next week, with the initial weigh-in.  (And I'm going to try to lose a few pounds before then!)
• Weight Loss Tip of the Week:  take the stairs instead of the elevator when possible!  It's not that bad, especially if it's only a few flights, and every little bit counts!
• Water intake was wayyy down during vacation, so I'm trying to get back to where I was/ finally reach that 1 gal/day goal.
3. Eliminate my debt
• I used one of my credit cards, just to keep my credit alive and whatnot, but all my credit cards have been paid off.  I plan to pay off my student loans in the next few days (Merry Christmas to me!).

Happy New Year and I pray that 2014 goes well for each and every one of you! :)

K