Let's go for 10K!

I started running in last June, but the first couple of months I wouldn't call proper running, as I was just getting used to it. So by the time I actually started enjoying it, the summer was over, and so were all the running events. I made a resolution, that this year I am going to keep an eye on all running events in my area, as I wanted to sign up for races. I have never been into sport events in my life. I was always the chubby one, who struggled in school at PE lessons, and hated everything that was mandatory. I loved swimming, but never did it professionally, I just did it because it helped my asthma as a child. 

The only race I have ever been to and I actually ended up being second, was when I was 15, and we went on a rowing camp with school. I was so happy when I came second in cajaking, but they didn't have any medals, and it just made me depressed. I won a fricking chocolate bar. Seriously. 

So this January, I signed up for Race for Life, which is organised by Cancer Research UK. And I went for the 10K distance. I have never ran 10 km ever in my life, the longest I did was I think just under 9 last autumn. But the event is in June, and I am dedicated, and I am going to do it. And everyone is getting a medal, which is funny that motivates me, but like I said I have never won anything, and I want medals. I want a lot. So I will keep my eyes peeled for other events as well, as it is such a great motivator to look forward for something like this. 

The weather started getting not that wet, so I am out in the park again, and I enjoy it very much. :)

The first run of January, 2016

The last time I was out, I almost made it to 6 km, so I am pretty sure by June comes, 10 will be no bother for me. 

And an other great thing, my running number arrived a couple of weeks ago, and I am number 72, which means I was quite early for signing up, which makes me proud! And I got temporary tattoos as well for the day, I am going to be the lamest but proudest runner out there! :D 

Of course my main reason for entering was to participate in a running event, but I can't post this without mentioning the cause. Cancer is a bitch and should GTFO. If any of you want to donate to Cancer Research UK, here is a safe way to do so, I set up a fundraising page: just click HERE. Thank you. ♥

Friends

Friendship is such an interesting thing. As a kid, you are friends with your neighbour, then the kids from school, and you feel like it is such a deep and strong connection between you (sometimes it really is), that it will never fade. But after moving, or changing school, or just graduating, you realize, that you were friends with certain people, because they were close to you, and you spent most of your days with them at classes, or at the playground. This doesn't necessary mean, that it was nothing important. But it is true, that if you want to meet up with someone, you are going to reach out for them, and when you notice, that you haven't spoken to someone since leaving school, there is a reason behind it. 

Interestingly enough, most of my friends, who I met in real life (school, university, work, whatever) are in this category. I think I have like a couple of friends, who I met in real life, work or through a friend, who I love and I care for, but the majority of my friendships come from the internet. 

Funny how they say, that being online, not going outside, not going out will make you lonely, you won't build your social skills, you won't have anyone to speak to. I think everyone who reads this can relate (we are on the internet after all! :D) to me, I experienced the opposite. I have lovely friends, whom I met thanks to the internet, and would have never met them otherwise. Some of you may know, I used to be a crazy hardcore World of Warcraft player, and and I still keep in touch with most of our guildies, hey, we even moved in with one of them for a couple of months! :) Two of them became great friends of ours, and we speak every day, luckily we are closer to them here. 

But not just WoW, the internet in general has been a great place for me to find people who I love. I was like 15 when I started being active on a forum of a Hungarian teen magazine, and I met so many people there, it is crazy. It was such a long time ago, that my oldest friends are from there, and I don't even consider them "internet" anymore, because I just forget that this is how it started. Most of them I met eventually of course, but there are still friends, who I love and care for, who I know from there and we are yet to see each other in real life. 

And there are so many other ways to meet someone, reading blogs, instagram, everything basically. I felt quite poorly the past couple of days, the flu got me, and I got the cutest get well card and gift from a friend, who is kind of a mix of real life and internet friend, as she is my sister's friend, but I know her from "here", the internet. Anyway, it is just so lovely, that someone, who you never shared a room with, is thinking about you, and cares for you. 

And so I am at least a bit on topic, it is so much easier to go through a big change like mine with the internet. There are so many people helping me with comments, likes, and just general support. Having friends and people who care for you is the greatest thing. Thank you, love you. Yes, you. :) 

Sticky sesame chicken

Yesterday's tea was the best we cooked in a while. It was easy to make, healthy, but still absolutely delicious. I found the recipe in a recent purchase in TK Maxx. As always I modified the portions and that, but here we go. :) 

Ingredients

500g chicken or turkey breasts

3 tablespoons of sesame seeds

2 pita breads

Marinade:

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 tablespoons of mustard

the juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons of clear honey

1 clove of garlic 

salt and pepper to taste

Salad:

fresh salad

2 carrots

half a cucumber

Sauce:

200g hummus

3 tablespoons of yogurt

Method

Mix 1 tablespoon of the oil, the honey, the mustard, the juice of the lemon and the crushed garlic together. Add salt and pepper, then put the diced chicken breast it. Cover it with cling film, then set it aside for 10 minutes. 

Peel the carrots then cut them into a shape you like. Cut the cucumber into dices, then mix them in with the salad. Mix the yogurt into the hummus, add salt and pepper to taste. 

Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan, then add the chicken. Reserve the marinade, as you are going to need it later. Once the chicken is getting brown, add the sesame seeds, then stir fry for an other 3-4 minutes, until the seeds are turning brown. Now pour the marinade into the pan, and cook until it becomes sticky (an other 4-5 minutes). 

Toast your pita breads, then stuff everything in your face. :D This amount will satisfy 2 very hungry, or 3 moderately hungry humanoids. 

Healthy banana pancakes

Every time people ask me about my diet, their main question is: what about my snacks? To be honest, I was never really a big fan of crisps, so I don't miss having my hands in a bag 24/7. I do like my sweet treats and cakes tho, so that was the main thing for me, to focus on food that I can still fit in my diet, but will satisfy my cravings for something sweet. This is an other great recipe, originally you only needed 2 ingredients, but I pimped in up a bit.

Ingredients

1 ripe banana

2 eggs

1 tablespoon of oats

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

a pinch of baking powder

desiccated coconut

a drop of maple syrup

Method

I didn't bother mashing the banana with a fork and then beating the eggs in, I just popped every ingredient (except the coconut and the maple syrup) in a smoothie blender, then that was it. Frying these pancakes is a bit tricky, as they tend to break and bend, but on a lightly oiled pan you will manage. And even if it breaks it will still be tasty. 

From this amount you can stuff yourself totally full, so it is more like for 2 to be honest. Without the syrup you can tell they are not real pancakes but fake banana ones (which I didn't mind at all), but a little bit of maple syrup did wonders, no one will ever tell the difference. Brilliant for breakfast, lunch, whatever. :)

Lemony date energy balls

A couple of weeks ago I came across this post, and decided to recreate the recipe. Now I am not a big health guru (yet, haha), so I didn't have chia seeds at home, and decided not to bother for the first time, so I just went with the plain ingredients.

Ingredients

15 dates

1 lemon (zest + juice)

2 tablespoons of desiccated coconut

1/3 cup (50 g) almonds 

Method

Get rid of the stones of the dates, then put them in a food processor, along with the zest of the lemon, the almonds, and the coconut. I don't have a processor yet, so I used a hand blender, but it was a proper nightmare, so I am definitely going to but a cheap food processor. It took forever to blend everything, especially that the dates become very sticky. I used up all of the juice of the lemon, it gave the mash a better consistency. When everything is blended, form little balls with wet hands, then store them in an airtight container. They will last for a week in the fridge, but trust me, they won't. You will eat them before they would have the chance to go off. 

They are basically home made naked bars, just juicier, better, and cheaper. Brilliant snack. 

Update with a photo III + news

New year, same me, because I am fabulous. :D Jokes aside, I decided, that this year I am going to spend more time on writing my blog. So here is the first post of 2016, yay! Let's start with an other photo. 

19th of January on the right :)

This January I joined the under 90 club, and just signed up for my first running race ever, and went for 10k! :) 

Since we have one new year's resolution with the Mr, which is to cook more, I decided to share a couple of recipes. We were stuck on the same 10ish for a long time, which became boring of course, so we started ordering and eating out a lot, which is obviously not too great for our accounts, so this is this year's resolution, cook more, spend less. Also we recently discovered, that the Mr is lactose intolerant, so it is more of a challenge to cook than it was before, but we are great, and going to make it work. 

Also I am lazy, so even though we have a pretty good camera, I am still going to use instagram pictures for the food posts, as I am not too great with composing food photography, and most of the time they look gross on a proper picture, even when they are not. 

I promise there is going to be an other post soon, take care! :)

Update with a photo II.

It has almost been 2 months, since I last posted a picture about my progress. Funny enough, my weight hasn't changed much since then ( I lost 18.4 kg since I started, it is only like 3 kilos since the last picture), but now you can really see, how muscles weigh more than fat, because the pictures speak for themselves. 

23rd of July on the right

30th of September

13th of November 

I wear size 16 jeans now, the jumper I am wearing on the last photo is a size Medium from H&M, and I just bought a dress, which was a size 12. This one surprised me, as I am pretty sure it is not sized properly, but now I can shop anywhere I want, as everyone has size 16. :)) 

I still have a long road to go, but I am halfway down, which makes me really happy and proud. Also yoga makes me happy and confident, so please everyone try it out, it is brilliant, really!