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GKOSTOVA04's Recent Blog Entries
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Sunday, October 07, 2012
Yesterday I ran my first 5k . I figured since I run about 6.5km 2-3 times a week, why not run a 5k. Somehow, I figured that there was that Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure (for breast cancer) just yesterday near where I live.
First, I get to do a  and, second, it is for a good cause  .
None of my friends or colleagues are too fit, so I went by myself and, although it seems that most people were there with someone, I still had some fun.
Well, there were quite a few benefits:
1) I got an idea of what participating in a marathon is like;
2) I supported a good cause:
a) I ran for my grandma, who is a breast cancer survivor;
b) my participation fee is contributing to finding a cure;
c) I showed that I care;
3) I gained some valuable knowledge about how to lower your risk of getting breast cancer and that, even if you get it, there are ways to know early enough, so it is more likely to be cured.
4) I got some information (from different health promoting organizations in the area) about healthy products, treatments, etc. With that, there were many small gadgets that may (or may not) be useful at some point, but I would never buy them if I saw them in a store. (Well one of them is a whistle with a light and the other one is a flexible water bottle, see image below).
I thought this so-called bottle is more curious than practical. Well, it doesn't seem the easiest thing to drink water from, but you can fold it and easily store it in your bag once it is empty. As I said, I would probably never buy something like that, but now I am willing to give it a try. I figured it is called Vapur (I guess that's the company that's selling it) and it must fit about half a liter of water.
5) Last but not least, I found out how I compare to others (participating), which got me motivated to improve my performance -- I want to try to do better, not just try to finish and be happy, and I want to try to do a 10k (which I am not sure I can do at this point or that I will be able to do it any time soon).
If you ever though you might do something some day, well, go do it! If you don't you'll never know if it was worth it or not.
I didn't do that great in the race, but it was definitely worth it! And I am willing to train hard and try another one in a while!
Tuesday, October 02, 2012
I thought it is a nice idea to join challenges, but only one at a time, so I can focus on accomplishing its goals. I think this works well for me so far. I completed the "Tame Your Sweet Tooth Challenge" and now I just joined the "Official Healthy Cooking Challenge". I already shared my goals on their message boards, but I wanted to post them here as well, just so I get to see them every once in a while.
Here are my goals:
1) Since I usually cook for myself, I will try to cook 2 different meals (I usually make 4 serving) every week and eat them, taking turns so I don't get completely bored.
2) I want to start using new healthy products -- I recently started eating oatmeal, but I want to try cooking tofu (for example) and other foods that I haven't bought or cooked before. Next one on my list is shrimp -- I grilled shrimp once, but I want to try different varieties.
3) I want to try making some new meals and using new spices as well.
4) I like eating and making desserts (for me and my boyfriend), so a big challenge for me is to find recipes that are healthy and tasty at the same time!
5) I sometimes find out that I am short on calories for the day and I know that I will get hungry sooner or later. My goal is to find a good snack for, say 200 calories. (If I need 100, I don't mind eating a candy bar, 100 cal equivalent, as this helps me avoid cravings. On the other hand, if I eat a whole chocolate bar, I tend to crave more and more... probably due to the high sugar intake).
I think these are quite reasonable and don't require too much effort on my side -- that's a good thing since I should be spending more time on my dissertation, rather than thinking / planning my meals.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Over the past few days I have been really eager to eat everything that I found nearby. It is true that I have been munching on nuts and dried fruit, but after all, quantity matters too. After 2 days of eating close to double of the calories that I should have eaten, I realized what the problem was.
I found out that I have been trying to finish things that were leftover from weeks (well, still not expired). Some of the food that I have been eating, I don't even like -- I bought it for guests, who ate only a very small portion of it. In fact, I realize that I had been trying to finish my food for the day still at lunchtime... and of course, I would end up out of calories and hungry for dinner.
My big discovery was that I need to eat tasty food, so that I am still looking forward to my meals and, at the same time, I can truly enjoy them as well. This way I would have a sense of satisfaction after my meal and relax until the next one comes. Small quantities, but high quality (or just great taste)!
In fact, I tried this today and it worked quite well... and I had no cravings for chocolate or extra sweets. On top of that, I was able to eat only when I was hungry and I didn't think about food all day long...
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
I must admit, everything was going quite well until today. I even took my measures in the morning and I was happy. And out of a sudden, I ended up in a quite unfortunate situation -- buffet lunch with too many deserts and that uncontrollable desire (that comes about once a month) to eat all I can.
Ok, I started well with a lot of salad, chicken breast and vegetables, but continued with way too cheesy ravioli and way too sweet cakes.
To top that, I took some bread and more sweets for later (or rather tomorrow) and guess what happened... I ate it all.
I was a bit disappointed today as I realized that I might have wasted a lot of valuable time on something that won't do any good... I stayed at school late, hoping to get some work done and, instead of that, I got home late when I was already tired and I didn't do my workout for the day.
I know that these things happen once in a while, so I don't feel like it's the end of the world. I just wish I had controlled my appetite this time as I have been doing great for so long!
Tomorrow will be a better day and I will start it with a workout! Decided! 
Saturday, August 25, 2012
I have been doing well lately, getting back into shape, working out every day, watching my calories. Today my workout ended up more tiring then the usual and, of course, I burned some extra calories.
I have been staying away from sweets, although I get cravings every once in a while. I replaced sugary sweets with dried fruit and mostly fresh fruit.
I have also been trying to stay away from alcohol -- too many calories in it! However I had some wine over the past two days.
Anyways, I did my first barbecue for the year today and I was quite happy. Although I ate a bit too much, it was all lean meat and delicious vegetables.
I am quite happy -- tired from my workout and satisfied with the food I had. On top of that I have some leftover barbecued meat to eat during the week!
Happy weekend!
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