Week 15



15 weeks in and feeling good!

15 weeks down! I had to double-check that. 15 weeks sounds like an eternity. But, it really does fly by. I think the first few weeks dragged the most, but once I hit my stride... it has just seemed to flow.

A friend of mine at work told me that when she lost a lot of weight a few years ago, she used to go to bed wishing she could just wake up thin. Then, one day... she did! After all this time, I'm starting to see how that can happen. For the past 15 weeks I could have NOT been on this diet. I could have not been making changes, and still be in the same old rut. I see the value of progress, however fast or slow it is. And one day soon, I am going to wake up at my goal weight.

The other thing that's been nice has been that I've had something else to focus on for a while. Doing the C25K, and starting the gym with another coworker has given me a great distraction. Instead of watching the numbers, I've been feeling my fitness grow and been focusing on recovering from those exercise sessions. I've also been super conscious of eating good things to help me exercise - keeping the higher carb stuff for pre-exercise and the higher protein stuff for after. It really does feel like I'm eating for fuel now. When planning my meals, I honestly think about how the food will help me, not about how it will taste or how I will enjoy it.

This week I lost 700g! I was so relieved because I'd weighed myself a few times during the week (naughty!) and hadn't been seeing much progress at all. I had kind of been expecting a smaller loss this week since every time I've stepped up the exercise my losses have slowed. Especially when there is resistance training involved. I'm totally ok with it. And I don't think 700g is a small loss at all. I think it's quite a big one - just not 1kg+ like it's been pretty consistently for me.

There is no way I'm giving up this exercise because it makes me feel too good. It's doing wonders for my mood and energy levels. As long as the losses keep coming, whatever their size, I'll be happy. It will actually be interesting to see how the losses continue (smaller, greater or similar etc.)

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This weekend I got organised with my food. Boyfriend and I did a big shop and got everything planned for our lunches and dinners. I made some cauliflower pizza bases and topped them with low sodium tomato paste, zucchini, baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, capsicum, mushroom and some of the Kraft Live Free cheese. I made two small bases and divided them into 4 servings at 240 cal each. Then I have that with a small side salad for a meal. Yum!

I got given a dozen free eggs at work last week, so I made up some little frittata/muffin cup things with spinach, grated zucchini and home made oven-dried tomatoes. Yum! They're all individually packed in the freezer ready to go as a mini protein snack for my big exercise days. Or I can have a couple with salad for a meal.

I also made some yoghurt this weekend! They had the Easiyo yoghurt makers on sale for $12 at my local supermarket, and I am sick of paying up to $2 for a single serve of low sugar greek yoghurt, so I decided to go for it. The Easiyo packet mixes aren't that economical, but I'd read that you can make your own yoghurt from scratch with just UHT milk, milk powder and a few spoons of a good commercial yoghurt. My first effort turned out SUPER runny, which I have read is pretty common when you only use Skim Milk. So, I just strained it through a tea towel for a bit (like Greek Yoghurt) and it's now super thick and delicious. It's nice on its own, but a tsp of Stevia and some blueberries makes it divine!!

I'm going to try using Almond Milk next, as that has a higher fat content and may make for a thicker yoghurt. But, because it's lower carb, the total calories should still be lower. I think?! It's a bit hard to know with making your own yoghurt. Regardless - it's fun, way cheaper, and pretty satisfying to know you made it yourself.

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In running news, I have completed 3 weeks of the C25K! I have been wondering for a while how that would translate to just non-stop running. So on Saturday night when I was feeling snacky and hovering around the kitchen I decided to go out for a test run! I programmed a 2km fun run into my running app and set off. It felt great, then good, then tough, tougher and ouccchhh! But, I made it. I didn't stop. I ran 2km in 15min, which isn't bad for a newbie! I was so proud of myself and told almost everyone, haha!

 

I was glad I had clocked up a 15min run on the weekend because it helped me feel more confident for Week 4 of the C25K. A few people have mentioned that it might get a little difficult and I may need to repeat weeks. And when I saw what the Week 4 runs were, I understood. Seriously, I think they should re-think Week 3 and 4 (at least in my program) because Week 3 wasn't much of a step up from Week 2 and now Week 4 is a huge increase! It's this:

 

- 5 min walking warm up (as usual)

- 3 min running, 90 sec brisk walking

- 5 min running, 3 min brisk walking

- 3 min running, 90 sec brisk walking

- 5 min running

- 5 min walking cool down

 

So... suddenly it goes from 9mins total running time (Week 3) to 16 mins total running time. Bit of a jump, you think? That's almost twice as long! And week 2 was only 9mins total running time too, so it's a little odd. But anyway, we did it. I really really struggled in the last 5min running interval, but I was just detemined to finish it, regardless of the time. And I did finish, and also didn't die - which I was pretty sure was going to happen at the time!

 

You can see I really faded out towards the end!

 

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Oh... and P.S.~ The concert on Friday night was AWESOME! I've never been to a better gig. SO glad we got there early. What a way to spend Valentine's Day! Under the stars watching one of my favourite bands? Perfect!

 

WIL: 700g! (Also, must check on those cms!)

WIG: Fitness (yay). Self-esteem and pride from doing things I couldn't do before (running 2km!). Home made yoghurt - nom!