Post script to my goals post // the garden // food log

I didn't mention any of this in my goals post but... it all probably should have been included. Whoops!

1. If you look to the right of my blog, under my About Me and under my Blog Archive, you'll find my dailymile exercise widget, which will be updated with my latest workout. For example, if you glanced at it today, you'd see that I ran 2.7 miles this morning on the treadmill. It also show the length of my workout and other details. Pretty neat, right? So you'll not only be able to read my food log for the day but if you glance at my widget, you'll also be able to see my workout for the day.

2. I plan to take my measurements once a week on Fridays. I think I am also going to weigh myself on Fridays but I don't plan on posting my weight.

3. As part of my plan, I am trying to drink at least 64 oz. of water daily.

In other news, my garden is really taking off! My cucumber plant and cabbage plant are huge!

Look! My cucumber has flowers!

I simply cannot wait to eat vegetables from my own garden! So excited! Right now my husband and I buy all our vegetables from the local farmer's market -- which I think is awesome, don't get my wrong, I LOVE the farmer's market -- but it will be great to decrease the amount we spend on groceries because we're able to supplement with produce from our own garden. Because we eat a lot of veggies! We tend to eat frozen or fresh vegetables, I've cut out canned vegetables due to the amount of sodium and preservatives in the last few years. Same for fruit, excepting applesauce. And I am actually really happy to report that for the last few weeks ALL of the produce we've eaten has been fresh. Yum!

Soon those little buds will be peppers!

Like this little guy! My first pepper!

Food Log
Breakfast
2 slices wheat toast w/ peanut butter
1 small banana

Snack
low-fat string cheese

Lunch
Veggie burger
Leftover sauted brussel sprouts, zucchini, green pepper and broccoli from Saturday's dinner
stir-fried cabbage with a dab of margerine

Snack
low-fat string cheese
tootsie-pop

Dinner
slow cooked pork loin
steamed artichoke stuffed with garlic w/ butter and parmesan cheese on the side for dipping
whole wheat couscous made with fat-free chicken stock and herbs

Dessert
mini strawberry cobbler (made in a small ramekin)

The cobbler was really easy to make. Sliced strawberries tossed with a little bit of sugar and corn starch, bake until berries start to soften and then toss the topping on (flour, brown sugar, oats, mix in butter/margarine until crumbly) and bake until the topping is done and crisps up a little. To make it a little bit healther I used half whole wheat flour. Okay, so it may have been more of a crisp than a cobbler because I used oats but either way - delicious!

Berries all ready to go in the oven.

Bon appetit!

Food log

Breakfast/lunch (home)
2 eggs and 1 egg white (fried)
2 slices wheat toast w/ margarine
small bowl of strawberries and blackberries

My eggs and toast. Lots of pepper!


Our berries. So good!

Snack (home)
Cucumber spears
low-fat string cheese

Dinner (@ the in-law's)
1 turkey burger with bun, lettuce, ketchup and cheese
2 handfuls plain chips
lettuce with light three cheese ranch dressing

Dessert (home
1 slice blueberry crumb pie from the Amish pie stand at the farmer's market

Planning to succeed

I've put a lot of thought into how I plan to meet my fitness and health goals this weekend and I am hoping I have come up with a plan that will work for me.

First I am going to reorganize my goals, put like with like, because that just makes more sense. Oh, and I added a goal.

My Goals
1. Run a mile in 12 min. or less. (Current best is 13 min.)
2. Run 2 miles without stopping.
3. Take part in a 5K.
4. Do a set of 35 push-ups. (Current best - 20)
5. Do a set of 35 burpees. (Current best - 18)
6. Whittle my waist - get my waist measurement under 26 inches and my belly measurement under 31 inches.
7. Get my body fat percentage under 25%.
8. Become more flexible - be able to do side and middle splits.

My Plan
You'll probably notice that my plan is very open and not concrete. I like that because it allows me to adjust and make changes along the way. I need to not be too restricted, it just doesn't work for me personally.

I purposefully did not make any weight-related goals. This is about fitness and overall health for me right now. As I am not overweight, I don't think that I need to make any weight-related goals. I have also consciously decided to not have calorie counting be part of my plan. But I do plan to eat mindfully and log my food. This simply means that I plan on making a list of what I have eaten each day. Not an overly complicated or extremely detailed list, just a simple list to show that I am paying attention to what I put in my mouth and to keep myself accountable. For example, yesterday's list would read:
Breakfast (out)
1 pizza pretzel log from the Amish stand at the farmer's market
1 donut from the dutch bakery at the farmer's market

Snack (home)
2 beef sticks (think Slim Jim but... not mass produced) from Amish store

Dinner (home)
3 potato and cheddar pierogies
broccoli, brussel sprouts, carrot, green pepper and zucchini sauted in a little margarine
a little grated sharp cheese from a local creamery

Look! I have photos!

Veggies in the pan, just starting to brown up a little. Love it!

All plated up - yum!

Dessert (home)
1 piece blueberry crumb pie from Amish bakery stand at the farmer's market.

Pretty simple, right? In addition to that I am going to work on watching my portions, choosing lots of veggies and fruits, lean meats and whole grains. I also need to slow down and really paying attention to what I am eating. That's being mindful to me, slowing down and really seeing, tasting and enjoying what you're eating and trying to make healthy choices.

I also plan to exercise at least 5 days a week. I plan to do a lot of workouts that combine cardio and strength training. I would like to burn over 1500 calories a week.

Now onto my plan in relation to my goals...

Obviously my first three goals have to do with running. Running is very hard for me but I very much want to become a better runner and increase my running stamina and endurance. Currently I have been following the Couch 2 5K training program, though I am a little stuck at week 5. I have also mixed some interval training in with C25K. My plan is to look into some other training programs for new runners, find some additional workouts to try, in the hopes of improving myself as a runner. I will also try to complete the C25K program and will definitely continue with the interval training. (I am finding that I have a preference for the interval training right now.)

If any of you runners out there have some recommendations, I am all ears! Currently I primarily run on the treadmill. I'd like to do some more road running but my husband doesn't want me to run by myself (he doesn't think it's safe) but he doesn't want to run with me and I don't have anyone else to run with, so... treadmill. I also think I need to get new running shoes. How often should one buy new shoes?

Goals 3 and 4 are fitness goals and the only way I am going to achieve them is by getting stronger, which will allow me to build up how many repetitions I can do in a set. So obviously I need to work on getting in more strength training. I am going to try to do a workout that includes strength training at least 3 times a week. I did a 'goal test' today to see how many repetitions I could do for both push-ups and burpees and I managed a set of 20 push-ups and a set of 18 burpees. Of course, I did the burpees after the push-ups so my arms were tired. I perhaps could have done more if I hadn't done push-ups first. I had originally set each of these goals as a set of 25 but I wanted to challenge myself more after doing my 'test' this morning, so I changed that goal to 35.

Goals 6 and 7 will simply rely on me following my eating and exercise plan.

Goal 8 might be a little tricky but I am going to really work at it. I am already pretty flexible and I always stretch well after a workout. To try and increase my flexibility to the point of being able to do a split, I am also going to start stretching in the evening each day. Hopefully this will help me meet this goal.

So there it is. What do you think?