My First 5K!

Today I ran my first 5K, thanks to my friend Amanda at Diary of a Mad Fat Woman! Thanks for being such an excellent motivator, Amanda!

I feel AMAZING! I finished in 41:57, which was faster than my 45 minute goal! Since I've only done the entire 3.1 miles ONCE before that (and on a treadmill!) and it took over 45, I thought that it was a good goal. I was so unbelievably happy with it, especially since I didn't even push myself as hard as I could have because I was worried about pacing myself. I'm going to do as many 5Ks as I can this summer. I am seriously so excited!

This Weekend

*Losing another pound!

*Successfully fitting a burger restaurant outing into my diet (and keeping it vegan!)

*Going shopping and only coming home with an exercise ball to sit on at work and an armband for my iPhone for the 5k. :)

*Actually looking forward to going to the gym to run!

*Running for 8 minutes straight! I can't remember the last time I did this... I think it may have been NEVER. Even when I played sports, drills always stopped and started again. Now I can run 3/4 of a mile!

*Realizing that my gym clothes are getting waaaay baggy! They were kind of big on me to start because I just wanted to be comfortable and not even have to SEE my body. Now they look kind of huge, even though I've only lost 5 pounds since we started running. I forgot how much of a difference the last 20 pounds I gained made! At least that will make losing the next 15 a huge thing!


Good stuff. :)

Goal Setting

I'm down three pounds in the past five days! I'm so happy that I'm finally getting started with tracking again on spark. (For those of you who don't know, sparkpeople.com is an awesome site for tracking calories. There's an app too! Let me know if you want to join and be friends on there!) It's even easier than it was before, because eating real food has made my formerly ravenous cravings almost nonexistent. Now my first goal is to lose 10 more pounds by the end of the month, because I'd like to be at 225 for my first 5k on April 29th. Finishing that is my second goal!

Speaking of the 5k, I'm so thankful to have friends who are into fitness and doing things like this now. It will be so fun to have a whole group of us doing the race! (Even though we won't all be running together.) My friend Amanda set up a Facebook event for it and everything to try to motivate everyone to do it. If she hadn't, I probably would be skipping it until I felt more prepared in May, but now I feel like I'll be missing out if I don't... so thanks for that, Amanda! You're a great motivator!

Before and After

One of my facebook friends whom I haven't seen since high school posted a before and during/after photo of her impressive weight loss yesterday, with a comment that went something like "I am still hesitant to post this..." My immediate reaction was "What?! WHY? You should be damn proud of yourself!" Then I realized that she meant because she didn't want to share her "before" photos, even though that person was long gone.

I understand this. You don't want to admit that you ever let yourself go like that. You want to forget how you felt when no clothes fit and everything exhausted you. I understand because I've been there and back, and I'm there again RIGHT NOW. I have some "before" photos, and I don't have the courage to share them just yet. Outside of Spark, I haven't shared my actual weight, either. This is stupid, because when I'm watching one of those weight loss shows and the women are like "OMG DON'T TELL THE WORLD I WEIGH 400 POUNDS!" I always think, "Lady, we can SEE that you weigh 400 pounds! Who are you kidding?" So I'm going to start with putting a ticker here. As you can see, I've lost some weight, but I still have a long way to go before I hit my goal!

Changes

Okay, so I haven't been blogging as much lately because I have been eating a lot of packaged foods and have been kind of embarrassed to admit it. However, the more I think about it, the more I realize that packaged doesn't always mean horribly processed. The burritos I eat for lunch every day are pretty much the same nutritionally as if I'd make them myself and then freeze them for later. The thing is, I tried that and I don't always have the time to spend a whole weekend day cooking for the work week. It's just plain easier to pick up the frozen burritos at the store (variety depends on which store I'm shopping at- some have many more than others!) and I'm not going to be embarrassed about not being able to home cook every meal of the day while working full time, remodeling my house, and going to the gym! (And starting grad school in the fall!) I think a lot of people are in this same boat, so I'm going to blog more about what I'm actually doing.

We do still cook dinner all but one day a week, though, and I need to get on the ball with posting those more often, even if they're not that interesting. I know that seasoned vegans won't be impressed, but that's not who this blog is aimed at- it's for those of you who want to eat fewer animal products but think it's impossible for whatever reason (money, accessibility, willpower, etc.) I want to set a good example, because I know that Dustin and I were prime examples of lazy, unhealthy Americans, and if we can change for the better, then anyone can!

I also want to blog more about my workouts. So maybe this will become more of a vegan, weight loss and fitness blog. After all, there has been a LOT more to going vegan than I imagined there would be, and it has honestly changed my entire life!

It has officially been 3 months, and I don't see myself ever going back to eating the way I did before. THAT is progress. :)

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins!

These made an awesome breakfast! Now that I know how a basic vegan muffin works, I am planning to adapt it to make other flavors, like blueberry bran (Dustin's request,) and pumpkin! I love that vegan muffins seem to be more dense than regular ones. (The recipe was slightly adapted from Vegan Brunch- I swapped some of the all-purpose flour out for some whole wheat flour.)

Oh, and from now on, I will be able to provide the nutrition facts for all of the recipes I make! Check out the "nutrition grade" at the bottom! I couldn't be more excited about this!

Sesame Tofu with Garlic String Beans and Brown Rice

This is my new favorite post-run dinner! I'd normally be against using a "bottled sauce," but this one is made with good ingredients and is SO GOOD.

Thanks to Robin for requesting that this be posted!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup (dry) brown rice

1 block of extra firm tofu
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1/4 cup (4 Tbsp.) Soy Vey Veri Veri Terkiyaki sauce (I got mine at Right by Nature in the Strip District)

1 lb. string beans
1 Tbsp. Earth Balance
1.5 tsp. minced garlic
Garlic salt to taste

Serves 2 decent eaters

First, put the brown rice on to cook, because it takes a long ass time (you know what I mean if you're a former white rice eater!) I use a rice cooker, and I'll admit to not knowing how (or wanting) to make real rice in a pot. Seriously, get a rice cooker if you don't have one. They're magical.

For the sesame teriyaki tofu, start with a block of extra firm tofu. Whole Foods' 365 brand is my favorite. First, drain the liquid, then use paper towels to press it. Be firm, but don't press too hard or it will crumble! Then slice it in half lengthwise to create two wide rectangles and press again (the inside is still very wet!) You want to get as much water out as possible, because we are frying this, and water and oil DO NOT MIX! I didn't get mine pressed well enough while focusing on taking photos for this, and I ended up spattering hot canola oil all over my foot. It's blistering now. So just suck it up and press the water out! You can layer paper towels then stack some heavy books or something on it if you have the time.


Next, cut the rectangles into strips. I find it easiest to make one cut down the center, then one to the left and one to the right, creating four strips. It makes it easier to eyeball them for evenness. Then turn the strips and make three more cuts. You should end up with 32 cubes total (Or "close enough to cubes" if you're like me. Whatever.)


Next, toss the cubes in a bowl with some corn starch. For the easiest and most uniform coating, measure 1 Tbsp. of cornstarch into the bowl, add the cubes, then add another Tbsp. of cornstarch on top.


While the cornstarch is absorbing the rest of the tofu's liquid, move on to chopping the ends off of the string beans. I don't know if this step is necessary, but it makes them look pretty! I weigh a pound for the two of us, which looks like a lot, but I promise they cook down a lot!


Next, add the Earth Balance and garlic to a pan.


After it melts, add the string beans and stir to coat them. I use a small one because I think stacking the beans helps to steam them without burning the outside. Just be sure to stir them around a lot!


Heat the oil in a large pan/skillet/wok/whatever until it's very hot. I use a low-tech method called "eyeballing the viscosity," which just means I lift the pan, swirl the oil around, and see if it looks like it has gotten very thin. Oil is much thicker when it's not hot. If you have access, I'd recommend using a deep fryer for this. After my accident yesterday, I'm definitely planning on getting one! When the oil is hot, add the tofu. Please be careful! The tofu has hidden water inside and will most likely crackle and spatter oil. Cook it until it looks something like the photo below. And don't worry, tofu and string beans are both tough to burn. Depending on how you like your beans, you may need to cook them a little longer. I like mine still "snappy."


When the tofu is done frying, you can dump it onto a plate covered in paper towels if there is still grease left. Remove the pan from the heat and add 1/4 cup of Veri Veri Teriyaki. Interesting fact: In Eminem's Slim Shady video, there is a bottle of this stuff in his fridge!




Plate up and serve!


Per serving:
Calories - 681
Carbs - 68
Fat - 33
Protein - 28