vegetarian

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Why are Kenyan runners so fast……

EDIT:First off I guess I should include a disclaimer. The podcast is a bit graphic and talks about FGM and male circumcision. And it does not really answer the question as to why kenyans are fast runners

So first off I am a podcast runner. Which just means I would rather run to a podcast than to music. it just lets me zone out and not even remember that I am running. My top three faves are

  1. Radiolab
  2. Wait Wait don’t tell me
  3. Car Talk. YESSS I listen to click and clack the tappet brothers. Before you raise an eyebrow, I just want to remind you they have won a Peabody.

Anyways the whole point being Radiolab is something I listen to every time there is a new podcast. It comes out WNYC.

Last night I listened to this podcast trying to figure out why Kenyan runners have dominated long distant running. And Its not just all Kenyans, because as a Kenyan myself, I SUCK!!!! It is specific to the Kalenjin tribe who live in the Rift Valley. Well we know its not climate because I actually live in the same town as all the runners who win marathons and as I mentioned earlier I SUCK!!!

Anyways they come down to the fact that some cultural practices that reward the ability to withstand pain.  There is a point at which when your body just gives up and it is those people who can push past that whose pain threshold is higher than most than can run 4 minute miles for 26 miles.

The statistics are staggering and it’s a really interesting podcast and I would encourage all to listen. Especially those who love to run.

Here is a link to the podcast. Or you can get it on iTunes.

http://www.radiolab.org/story/runners/

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Taking it one day at a time

 

It’s not the end of the world. So today I didn’t work out or I didn’t eat well, tomorrow is still another day to make it work.

My new goal is for my weight to go down. To become healthy and most importantly to ran longer and faster.

If I have done something good for my body then it has been a good day.

 

My goal for this week is to track every single morsel that enters my mouth. I used to be very good at this. I think at one point I have a run of over 200 days logging into my fitnesspal. And those were the days when I was most successful.

So, one goal this week. No need to make it more complicated than it has to be.

 

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It’s the first of the month ergo challenge time

My goal is to defeat the demon that keeps me from finishing this 30 day challenges. I am going to really try and keep myself accountable and finish it this time. i think I should motivate myself with a little reward after. if you have any suggestions, please let me know.

I got this from the 30-Day challenge website. they have challenges for everything. check it out http://30dayfitnesschallenges.com/classes/30-day-abs-challenge/

I also started my Run everyday November challlenge. Im still recovering from my Half marathon so I just walked 4.5 miles this morning.

since its the first of the month I also weighed in at a saddening 181.0 lbs. This just makes me want to cry since i was doing so well last year. My goal is to get to 175  by the end of the month. I think giving myself small goals is the way to go. this was I am  not putting too much pressure on myself. Still haven’t decided wether i will be weighing in weekly or at the end of the month.

Today i have a meeting with my gym instructor. we are going to come up with a full body strength workout session that I can do 3 times a week. I also have my friday kickboxing classes that are MURDER.  So there is my fitness plan for the month. Now if I can only get my eating in check i think this month might just be killer. especially since it’s my birthday month.  which is 3 days away… :O getting older.

 

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Meal plan:Vegetarian low carb wk1

I did my food prep yesterday, all the while watching the first season of breaking bad and taking a nap. It rained all day yesterday as a result I never left my house. It felt great not having anything to do

I had already made my menu and as a result only had a few things to prep.

Here is what my menu looks like. I simplified it by dividing it into breakfast foods; lunch and dinner are stacked together and finally snacks. This way I can alternate them through out the week without getting bored of anything particular. Since its raining a lot and a bit chilly here, I will be making a weekly soup that I can have for either lunch or dinner depending on what mood I am in.

 

Breakfast

Fried egg

Avocado and salsa

Lowcarb protein pancakes

Egg taco with TVP filling

 

Lunch and Dinner

Avocado and salsa

Salad (Lettuce, cucumber, carrots)

Stir-fry Veggies (broccoli, sugar snap peas, French beans, carrots and onion)

Split pea soup

 

Snacks

Nuts

Yoghurt cups

Chopped fruit and veggies

 

Here is what a sample day will look like.

Today for breakfast I had

  • ¼ avocado with about 2Tbs of homemade salsa
  • 2 LC protein pancakes recipe here
  • 1 mug of coffee
  • 1 fried egg

Total calories 496; net carbs 10; protein 36g

Snack

  • I Cup yoghurt
  • I carrot cut into strips

Calories 140 calories; net carbs 17g; protein 5g

Lunch

  • Stir-fry (broccoli, sugar snap peas, French beans, carrots and onion)
  • Side salad (lettuce, avocado, homemade salsa)

Total calories 164; net carbs 12; protein;5g (to top up on the protein, add tofu or TVP)

Dinner

  • Split pea soup

 

Breakfast and lunch

snack of egg and TVP taco and split pea soup for dinner

 

 

This is pretty much the template I will be using for the entire week. Next week I will change it up. I want to be more adventurous and think up new things tat I can change into low carb. I want to make this sustainable by only keeping the foods in my menu at my house.

The only food prep I had to do was make the pancakes, the salsa and the soup. I chopped up the veggies and potion controlled them.

protein pancake. recipe on low cab recipes tag

homemade pico de gallo / salsa

 

 

Total calories for the day

800 and dinner still left

Net carbs: 39g + dinner

Protein: 46g I need to work on getting in more protein

 

 

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Reward system and home gyms

 

I think at some point in time I have written down reward systems for my weight loss or millage on my Nike+ but I have never really seen it through. As I struggle to add regular home workouts into my daily routine, I have realized that I need to invest in some at home workout equipment.  A treadmill is out because I prefer to run outside but I would like to have an extensive workout DVD collection that I can pop in at anytime to spice things up. Right now I only have the 30DS and Insanity.

I also want to add some equipment e.g. dumbbells, kettle balls and exercise balls. So I have decided that I will reward myself these as a reach various weight loss milestones. I decided on a 5lb interval to move things along faster.

This would be my ideal Source Skinnymom

Here is what I have written down so far

Current weight 176.0

  • Ist goal: 170= New yoga mat + yoga workout DVD
  • 2nd goal: 165= Exercise ball + DVD
  • 3rd goal: 160= Kettle ball (2) + kettle ball DVD workout
  • 4th goal: 155= Dumbbell set
  • 5th goal: 150 =
  • 6th goal: 145=
  • 7th goal: 140
  • Reevaluate goals

I have no time limit on these goals. However I do have about 7 months to get to my goal weight. Which means a loss of about 35lbs at a rate of 5lbs per month. Nothing is set in stone so we shall make plans as time goes by.

 

 

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Cinderella duties

Today was a good day. First weigh-in and I am at 176.0 That is down 3.8 pounds from my first beginning of the month weigh-in. that is  a HUGE drop and I am pretty sure I wont be seeing numbers like that very often. I think its because my body was jump started after being off plan for so long. Going Low carb and getting back to my minimum 3 miles a day seems to be working. I wish I could say the same for the 30DS.

Today was a day full of chores. I did my laundry, cleaned the house and went into to town to run some errands. I got in 4 miles of walking today and I felt rusty. I need to pump up my millage and start back on those long runs. I also went grocery shopping and got enough food for the week. I made a menu before hand and so knew exactly what to get. No carbs in my house (except the good kind fruits and veggies). I did however had some potato chips. a lady at the store was handing out free tiny sample sizes and i indulged especially after the long day with nothing to eat. It was only 4/5 tiny chips in it.

I also got some sweet smelling candles at the store. I haven’t done this in a while and though it might perk up my mood, scented candles have that effect on me.

I also fund out that a mall is opening up within a five minute walk from my house and it has my favorite coffee house in it.(their carrot cake is to die for- Lord give me strength).

The plan for tomorrow is food prep and uploading pics and my menu plan. I hope I don’t get sidetracked, I just got season 1 and 2 of breaking bad in the mail.

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Plans, plans and More plans……..

SOrry for the absence. AGAIN. I had made a pledge to blog daily in may but i failed on the first day. To make a long story short, I had been moving apartments, just got my internet set up and finally settling in. As a result, I have neglected everything. Running, exercise or any remote type on being on track.
my internet is still choppy but I shall attempt to try posting on a regular basis. I have made plans, plans and more plans………

I can’t seem to cure myself of making grand plans at the beginning of the week, month or year. The only problem is that so far, I haven’t seen any of them through.
So today begins a new month and yet more plans. So by following the same old script, the plan includes a food plan( mostly the low carb or more correctly reduced carb plan). The second is a pledge to try an go to the gym( I got my gym membership back because I have no self discipline to do workouts at home (the result being an almost 10lb gain over the past 6 months I have been without a gym membership.) and finally my ever ending quest to finish 30 consecutive days of the 30 day shred. This month i has no excuse to finish as I have no plans of any out of town plans or disruptions to my schedule.
The food plan is done and the workouts scheduled. Will this be the month I stick to plan?…..

Before I forget I weighed in at 179.8 yesterday. So that is my start point for may. I am back to my weekly weigh-ins. Not weighing in proved to be disastrous for me.

That’s it for now. I Plan on doing some major grocery shopping this weekend, have a major food prep and plan a whole weeks menu. Look out for that soon and lots of pics too.