Good thing I'm moving soon!

In 2 weeks I will be moving. I am so happy for that fact and one reason is my neighbor can no longer sabotage my diet. Alright I admit I do that myself :)
However on a regular basis my friend brings me treats, yummy treats.

One particular evening I told myself nothing but water and veggies for snacking after dinner, no treats. Then 10 minutes later my friend knocks on the door with these......

I devoured 2 within minutes. DOH!  There goes eating veggies as a night snack. 

OH SHUT UP ALREADY!

I'm going to start off saying, when I am excited or into something I talk WAY too much about it. I constantly have to remind my self that not everyone cares about my kids and the current cute or disgusting thing they just did.I am worse when it comes to health and fitness. I get so into the latest tips I read about or current workout project it is all talk about. I have come a LONG way, but I have to admit a few years back I was ANNOYING! Talking helped me stay focused on my personal fitness but I'm sure I bugged people to the point they wanted to jab a sharp object into their eye just to do something different than listen to me go on and ON.

I started this blog, not because I'm a fantastic writer, or I really have a lot to say. I started it to avoid annoying people with my constant chatter. I never realized I was the annoying one until I wasn't hardcore into fitness for a time and I met some people that were like I was, chatty.

I am still more than willing to have a fitness conversation with those that are willing, but I'm trying to avoid forcing it on people. Not forcing it on people also means not mentioning to someone that they are going to consume another 500 calories of empty calories just taking in more fat and sugar. I really was never THAT bad, but talking about what I wasn't going to eat and why might have made other people feel bad about what they were eating. I fully believe people know generally what they are eating. Probably not the exact calorie count or how much protein, sugar or fat, but they have a decent idea if it is "good for health" or not. I don't think me making a suggestion is really go to win them over the healthy life style, maybe just make them annoyed. That brings us back to the too much talking :)

Now that is not to say if someone is killing themselves with food you should not speak up. I totally think people have the right to politely say something. People confront others if a drinking or drug habit has obviously become life threatening, why not obesity? Now that is a topic for an entire different blog post.

So continue I shall with my blog in attempts to keep up my motivation in my fitness and weight loss attempts and to avoid my friends from stabbing themselves out of boredom! 
 

Happy Fitness

There is always next time.

September 5th I was suppose to run a half marathon. "Suppose to" being the key words. The first week in August I threw in the towel because of heat. I don't regret quitting. There was about an hour and a half to two hour time frame that it was alright to go outside with the kids and I didn't want to spend that time running. So instead of training for my half marathon I spent my evenings taking the kids to the beach.  :)

Rock Star Status

A week before the half marathon it started to get a little cooler, and by cooler I mean it probably got under 100 degrees at some point. So I decided to give a 2 mile run a go to see how I felt. It was glorious being out on a run again. I started thinking "maybe" I could pull off finishing the half marathon just for kicks and giggles. The next day my race packet came in the mail and I more than anything wanted to run it. In Korea you get the shirt before you run the race.

7 YERARS together.  Gotta luv Konglish!

I decided to do a 5 mile run to see how I felt and if I should attempt the half after not running for a month. My normal running shorts were in the wash so I had to grab whatever I had available. Bad idea! I never wear the shorts because of the strange material, they are more along the lines of swim shorts. I got two miles out and my legs started burning from the shorts rubbing against my leg. OUCH! By the time I got back home I had full on chaffing marks from the shorts. No half marathon for me! Probably a blessing in disguise because if I had tried to run the half I probably could have seriously hurt myself or passed out. I don't do well with heat.  I have run a couple short runs since then and I plan to do a few more before I leave the heat of Korea and head back to frigid MN.

In the end I'm glad I signed up for the half it got me motivated to run longer distances than if I was running for weight loss alone.

There are many more half marathons out there for me attempt. Maybe even some full marathons down the road.

Good for Health? I'd rather be FAT!

There are some things I just won't eat in the attempts of being healthy.

I have been slowly making changes is my families diets (as much as I can with what is provided in Korea). We thought we would change it up and try and skip normal greasy hamburgers and give Turkey burgers a go. 

BAD IDEA! For one they were super expensive (thanks for that Korea) and two I could barely choke them down. I always hear people refer to things like eating cardboard, but have never fully encountered that until I tried these.

They sat in out freezer for a good month after the first attempt and the second time around we tried to cover it in BBQ sauce and cheese. Now I HATE BBQ sauce so it is saying something if I am willing to drench something in it. Even with all that goo going on the Turkey burger was still HORRIBLE. 

I was able to take one bite and after much choking and gagging I gave up and had a ton of fruit for dinner instead. I can't wait to get back to the states and be able to purchase ground turkey burger and make some patties myself and avoid the cardboard madness.

Now in reality the only reason I continue eating (or pretending to and making my hubby eat them) is I hate wasting food/money. It isn't for the healthier option like in the beginning.

I currently live in Korea whose favorite slogan is "Good for Health". They eat some of the strangest things and it is either "Good for Health or "Good for stamina", when talking to the guys.

Thanks, I think I will pass.

The main food Korea is known for is their Kimchi!

My sister going for her first try of Kimchi while she visited in 08.

 I enjoy a little bit of Kimchi (fresh kimchi) here and there but Koreans need it at EVERY meal. How someone can eat Kimchi before noon is beyond me. While I believe Kimchi is "Good for health" the over kill in how often they eat it makes it very quickly "Bad for Health". Many Koreans have throat and stomach cancer probably from their Kimchi. 

Kimchi. Kimchi. Kimchi

Another product Korea is known for is....SOJU! Often compared to rubbing alcohol.

Not as "Good for Health" as kimchi but consumed as much, if not more. Even on the job. Who cares if you are building a house, why not pound back a few bottles of Soju?!    

It is rare to see any obese Koreans, so maybe they have something going on with their "Good for Health" foods. I still don't think I could do it. I enjoy most Korean food but only once in a while. No kimchi at breakfast for me!

One "Good for Health" thing I will take away from Korea is the seaweed! I love it, and my son loves it. After birth with both children the only thing the hospital serves is seaweed soup; breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

Tofu seaweed soup with a side of rice and fish for breakfast.

 I couldn't get enough of the stuff. It is suppose to help restore the iron in the woman's body after birth. Technically I was suppose to eat it for three meals a day for a month, at least according to the Koreans. I think I would have eaten it everyday if someone brought it to me. I tried making it once and It didn't go so well. If I ever give birth in the states I'm going to have to find a little Korean lady to make me my soup :)

Debbie Downer Thoughts

I don't know how some moms do it! Consistently workout, clean, cook, spend time with the kiddos and still have some sanity!

I feel like it is one thing after the next. I was sick, so that consisted of me laying around for days reading the twilight books and doing NOTHING else.

Luckily I was sick in a way that when I smelled food I wanted to hurl so I didn't gorge myself with food while I laid around sick and doing nothing.

Then like clock work I got better and my youngest got sick :( and was very unhappy.

So sad!

I just want to hug and kiss him when he makes this face.

 He was a mess and only wanted to be cuddled and held 24 hours of the day for many many days! So I hunkered down watched more episodes of

Gilmore Girls than anyone should in one day and held my sad, sleeping little boy.Sadly along with the constant holding of my child I never made proper meals so I snacked almost all day long and felt disgusting. Great way to top off lack of exercise is junk food. 

My baby got better and the heat of the season kicked in! With all the humidity. DOH!

I'm a Minnesotan, we don't do heat! We have been locking ourselves indoors with the AC pumping and when it cools down (to maybe 90 degrees) we get outside and take the kids to the beach or something fun after being cooped up all day. So seeing as it is impossible (for me) to wake up at 5 a.m. to run my only time available to run is when we take the kids out. I hate running in the heat. It is the worst thing ever. I feel like I am going to pass out the entire time. I try to drink a lot of water (I truly hate drinking water, if only coffee gave the same hydrating benefits) but once I'm running I always find out quickly it wasn't enough.

I keep telling my hubby I don't want to run the half marathon anymore, it isn't worth it! He keeps telling me I need to run it and I will be fine.  :(  The marathon doesn't start until 9:30 in the morning. Good because I hate running too early, bad because it will probably already be 100 degrees out by that time.

I don't plan on giving up running, I just want a break from it until the heat goes away and unfortunately now is the time I really need to be running for the half marathon. Maybe if I get a good run in that I enjoy it will encourage me a little, but recently with all this heat every run is HORRIBLE!

I need to do a 10 mile run coming up. So maybe that will be my deciding point if I want to continue attempting to get ready for the half marathon or if I want to have a running shoe burning party :)