Going Through the Motions

Today I woke my ass up early (10:30 am...BAHAHA don't laugh...I work nights!) I went to the gym for some cardio and an arms circuit.

I'm thinking that I'm not as f***** as I thought for this race. Today I did 3.45 km in 30 min which was half walk/run. If I work really hard in the next two weeks I definitely think it is possible to run the 5km in 40 min.

That is my goal, under 40 min.

Perfectly attainable. Not exactly elite athlete. But pretty elite Hailey!

First 5 Km Race

Time to get serious here. I have my first ever race on Sunday October 16th in Incheon.

It is a 5km race...I've never run 5km in my life. Running, I'd say the most I've done is about half that.

Is this maybe a bit stupid? Absolutely.

Do I expect an amazing finishing time? BAH! My goal is to JUST FINISH.

All I want to do is finish. Thats it. For my first race I'm not expecting ANYTHING except completion. 

I just want to say that I did it. I didn't quit in the middle, I didn't stop training... I just did it. My level of fitness is SO much better than it has been ever in my life so I think it is do-able.

The only thing is I'm going to be exercising/training as much as possible in the next two weeks. Tomorrow is going to be 3km on the treadmill. Losen things up and see how I feel. I actually prefer walking outside but for running I love that treadmill. Maybe its because I think people are watching and I won't let myself be a wimp... I don't know...

One condition I need to fix is getting a mental block when I'm out on the trail. I can run much more indoors on the treadmill...but outside...I just have this stupid stupid mental block. WHICH...MUST BE STOPPED!

Source

But if that dude can do THAT. I'm pretty sure I can run 5k in beautiful fall weather.

MAN UP!

The Good, The Bad and The Plateau

The Plateau:

Oh weight-loss journey. You are a slippery slope. I feel like I've been working really hard this week and haven't seen much results on the scale. I expected a quick rebound after last week's misstep, but apparently nothing worth having is easy! Who'dve thunk it? Keep on truckin'...

The Good:

My students now think I'm normal size and not "North American Fat". Yes they are brutal.

The Bad:

One student in my highest level told me his mom thought I was a man.

The Good:

She's never met me, she just thought Hailey is a man's name. FEWF!



FC Seoul, Club FF and Epic Adventures

What an amazing weekend! Saturday and night turned out to be such an excellent time. A bunch of girls and I had bought tickets to see FC Seoul VS. Daejeon for W10,000 (Admission, Free Tallboy of Hite and a Hotdog). It was a deal to attract foreigners and it sure did. We even spotted 3 gingers HAHA Swoooon.

These are our "you're f****** kidding me" faces. We dropped the ball and didn't realize that World Cup Stadium was NOT in Jamsil (....ok so I didn't really check, I just assumed...) so it took us forever to get there.

There may have been some slight train-dancing and awkward stares by some men and a puppy in a bag...

View of the city with World Cup Stadium behind me.

Daejeon's side of the field. Not very hoppin'!

I had to take this for Noor!

I was actually surprised with how small of a turn out it was. I guess I don't have anything to compare it to but I thought it would be packed. Everyone seemed to be having a great time - it was rampant with foreigners and tonnes of families.

The lovely ladies.

My Asian sister Hana is in Kansas studying abroad (we met working on Hayman Island in Australia) and I miss her terribly. I got a text message from her brother Sunny asking what I was doing lastnight. SOOO long story short, he came to Hongdae to party the night away!

We were having a contest about who is prettier. I think its a tie.

As I was doing the walk of shame from my friend Joanne's house this morning, I saw this in Itaewon subway station. I think its adorable. Its a little gate for kids to go on the subway. CUTE!

Since I have gone to diet HELL this week, tomorrow will be filled with working out and then off to work.

 I drank 2x this week and only worked out about 3x.... Bad bad bad. Time to change that scale around!

Stumble Addict

I have been recently devoting my time to a dangerous hobby.

I'll admit it. I'm a stumbler.

First, it was all innocent. I didn't think it was such a big deal. I mean I could quit when I wanted to.

Then it got worse. I just kept clicking. I couldn't stop.

Now, I can't get through a day without taking atleast a few clicks. I mean just to see whats next. It might be a really good one.



Source

Its like showing pictures of a crack pipe to a crack addict.

In all seriousness, if you haven't stumbled yet, you are seriously missing out. (Yes, I do realize I'm behind the times about a bajillion years....and that I'm sure almost everyone has heard about this website before.)

DO IT!

Weekday Wrap Up

Lastnight the team headed out to my favorite BBQ place for some eats and drinks on the "Street of Eating".

We all had an awesome time and it was nice to be able to socialize with everyone outside of work. You bet there was lots of beer, soju and chunga (sp?) consumed... And maybe even A LOT A BIT of Noraebonging.

My Korean boyfriends who asked me to speak to an English friend on the phone. They proceeded to buy me a beer for all my hardwork. Pimps.

I love my kids. We talk a lot about farting in class, as you do when you teach grades 2/3...

"I had a dinosaur friend. His name was fartman... Suddenly my friend made a big fart. The smell was very amazing. So I fainted because of the fart smell."

Richard, you are a champion! His writing is actually very good considering he's in my lowest level.

After work today I went and stocked up on some essentials. I'm going to make lentil soup this weekend so I went hunting for boullion cubes as my last ones were expired. I managed to rangle up some good finds!

Fruit and veg. I've been really lacking in these lately as I didn't do a big grocery shop this week.

 I've been eating bananas I bought at the variety store... eeeek.

Those wrapped up items made my heart sing when I found them. Sweet, juicy, figs!

Until I got home and opened up the container to see that the styrofoam was cleverly hiding the fact that they were completely rancid. I'm actually pretty pissy about it right now.

 Its like having delicious cupcake. You spot the perfect one, pick it out, carry it home, open the container, mouth watering...and then drop it on the floor!

 

Lotte is a HUGE company over here and I went shopping at "Lotte Super", basically the Food Basics of the Lotte corporation. Lotte Department Store is the "Marilus".

This picture makes this fig look great...but you can't see the moldy part on the back!

I'm feeling a bit pissy today actually. I had a great day at work but I think this week is a NO-BUDGE on the scale. I can't expect to have results every week, but I've been on such a great streak that I expected it to happen every week.

I've been really good on the exercise front, but my eating has been lacking. Too much processed foods. I mean I just told you I've been buying fruit to eat from the variety store in the lobby of my building... HAHA I've been right on mark with my points but I'm not eating enough fruit, veg and drinking enough water.

The good news is that the old Hailey would have seen this as a HUGE setback and probably just quit or went and ate some cake. BUT the Hailey you all know and looove today (HAHA) is certainly NOT going to let that happen.

Two-A-Days

I'm just a two-a-day kind of girl now.

Wake up for 9:30-11 am soccer. No biggie.

Work from 2:30-9:30 pm. No biggie.

A received a message from my legs, "We liked you better when you were fat."

So...I told them to take a hike...and we did :D

Going out for a 10 km walk from 10:15-12pm after said activities. WHO ARE YOU?



Vegan Bake Sales, Starbucks and Strongbow

Today the lovely Mipa and others hosted a Vegan Bake Sale in Itaewon to benefit the United Nations World Food Programme.

Helping others? Delicious treats? Count me in!

I headed out "early" and got there by 12 pm, I picked up a few delicious things to try. 

I may have already eaten the cinnamon bun and chocolate chip cookie....blissful!

 I had some time to kill while waiting for a few girlfriends to have lunch so I headed to Starbucks.

I did some quality coffee drinking, reading and people watching.

Poor cookie, it never stood a chance!

I met up with the girls around 1:30pm and proceeded to get daydrunk.

I mean...had a few casuals and a hearty meal.

Ok, I didn't get drunk perse. More like festive. I had a couple of Strongbows...a few shots....alittle bit of dancing to The Proclaimers.

Then I went home at 6pm, and put myself to bed. That is what I call a successful day!



Operation Bye Bye Bat Wings

Its time I finally told you.

I have a VERY. LEGITIMATE. FEAR.

I am afraid...of....BAT WINGS!!!

Ok so those are DEFINITELY not mine, but I still live in fear that it could be.

This very scientific picture I found on the internet agrees with me too. Humans should not have skin flabby wings.

Anyways to combat this fear from becoming a reality, I worked an arms circuit today (don't I sound so knowledgable and exercisy)!

...OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW thats all I can say.

In closing, there will be no bat wings, EVER. I'm pretty sure I've scared them off.

FEWF!

I just "google imaged" the words "relief" and this beauty came up. I'm pretty sure she was scared of batwings too!

Girl looks like she kept those arms in check!

Pudding Blues

Pretty lucky when the one moment of sadness in your day is realizing that you are down to your last package of Fat Free Jello pudding....

Oh the horror!

Find that in Asia? Doubtful!



Get Out of My House!

You and I, we've had our fun. I mean sure we've had some great times but you make my butt look saggy..

And that was how it began.

I decided to clean out my closet of the clothes that just. don't. fit.

Ponchos BE GONE!

Before picture. Yes, those are polka-dot fleece pajamas. Yes, I absolutely wear them in the winter.

I could make ice cubes in the middle of my apartment in the winter.

My heating is seriously THAT good at almost heats the square metre by my front door.

Does trying on clothes count as cardio? Seriously...things got pretty sweaty up in my house.

Oh right, I'm SO glad I kept those pants with mud stains on them from last winter. That was a really good idea.

It doesn't look like much but I managed to get rid of about 20ish (a real number!) pieces of clothing. Not too shabby!

This is the after. It sort of looks like I just pushed everything to one side but I managed to free up lots of hangers for NEW CLOTHES.

I'm forcing myself to sludge it out with my old stuff until I reach my goal, then I'm going to REALLY treat myself.

I have BIG plans....more to come on that later.

The Faucet

In class today we were discussing how we can save our environment and be better citizens of the earth.

This little GEM happened..

What should we turn off to conserve water?

The fukket.

I'm sorry...one more time?!

The fukket.

Oooooooooooh you mean the faucet.

(Insert me trying to remember that I'm 25 years old and a small child saying fukket is pretty fukking funny but I'm mature...riggggght)

I love my job.

Chuseok Weekend

I had a four day weekend this past weekend, and was full of relaxation, good friends and .. uhhh more relaxation!

I was feeling a bit sick the past two days so I just pumped the Vitamin C and slept like a bear. Honestly, I don't think I've ever slept that much in my life. It was heavenly.

Here is the BRIEF bit of the weekend I spent amongst humanity.

 A little bit of impromptu hosting. We were supposed to go camping but the weather was a bit unpredictable...and we were lazy. We decided to have some drinks at mine, then get some dinner...then a night of debauchery....ITAEWON!

 I left just as some guy was getting iced after being punched in the mouth and the manager found one of the men's toilets broken. AS IN broken toilet bowl.

The innocence before the night out, having some W6,000 E-Mart wine on my rooftop. I can honestly say we have one of the best views in the city.

Some great new girlfriends. God knows you can never have enough of those!

Going to my favorite galbi/samgypsal place on the "Street of Eating". W67,000 for all of us to have meat, soup and rice...and be absolutely stuffed. What a deal!

After spending the ENTIRE DAY locked up in my room on Monday, I decided to hit the bookstore to make being a recluse atleast somewhat productive. I picked up these BEAUTIES.

A little bit of romance, a lot of history and A LOT of Scotland... pretty much JUST. MY. TYPE.

I'm on "Dragonfly in Amber" now, about 100 pages in...I'm in trouble as I can hardly put it down...

Now when I come home we can have book club Camille! xx

I also decided to stock up my library on books I've been meaning to read. Both of these are being made into movies, and I'd like to read them before I get the imprint of the cinema in my head, rather than making my own version first.

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Diet is going well still. I had a BIG case of the midnight munchies tonight so made myself a bowl of steamed vegetables with "Can't Believer Its Not Butter" and some dried seaweed to keep myself occupied.

I have been pretty non-existent when it comes to exercise since last Thursday but am jump-starting tomorrow morning with a session at the gym. I figured it was ok to give myself some time off and relax.

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NOOR, YOU CAN DO IT! You're as much my inspiration as I am yours. Love you friend! xx



CELEBRATIONS!!!!

Today is a victorious day.

Today is cause for celebration.

Due to my hard work and diligence...and occasional slip-ups, I have reached one of my goals.

As of this morning I weigh 150 lbs. I have never in my adulthood weighed this much. I have never in my teens weighed this much. I have never weighed this much since I was 11 or 12.



Soooo pardon my French but....

FUCK YES!!!!!!!

All those nights of NOT going out and hitting the Yangjae-chan track are paying off.

 Lastnight, instead of going out drinking until 5 am, I went for a long 10 km walk.

HOWEVER, the most important part now is to remember that I'm not finished. I have 10 lbs left to go until I'm at a really good weight for my height. I'm 5'7, so 140 is perfectly realistic. AND even after that, to remember that I'm not finished there either, it will be a constant struggle to maintain my goal weight BUT....

 I. AM. WORTH. IT.

Weighting Games

Well it is absolutely no shock that I'm trying to lose weight. It isn't easy, ever. I've done this before quite a lot and always seem to go back to the same comfortable weight after a week.

This time is different. Why?

A) I am focusing on HEALTH. Not just skinny.

B) I am not just surviving off Fibre One bars and rapini.

C) Exercise is a HUGE part of this journey. I just want to be strong and fit.

What am I doing?

Weight Watchers!...cue Jennifer Hudson/Jenny McCarthy... AND exercise.



Why does this work for me?

It is mathematical. You must eat a certain amount of fruits and vegetables in a day, and all the other stuff has points associated with it.

It is NOT easy, but very accomodating. If I want a glass of wine, I'll have it. Can you believe I've lost 11 lbs by eating cheese and Turtles?... All in moderation is acceptable. I certainly don't feel deprived. I feel empowered. Once I'm done my points for the day...I stop eating.

Wait a minute...haven't you done this before?

YES! I've done Weight Watchers about 6 or 7 times now...

What went wrong, why didn't you finish?

Its true, I've never let myself reach my goal. I've set myself up to fail many times. I never really pushed myself, I just sort of lost the weight and then STOPPED thinking about it. But weight loss isn't just a do it and forget it kind of thing... it is a life long challenge.

It really isn't a failure as I've always maintained around the same 5 lbs for about 5 years now.

I was 183 lbs when I was 18 years old.

I was an atrocious weight when I was 13 years old. I was an obese child.

 It absolutely fucking kills me to say it. There are many things I do NOT look back on with happiness.

 Sure, I can laugh about it now. I went to fat camp, I used to eat cake behind the curtains. But really...for a child to do that is pretty messed up.

I CRINGE when I think of it.

Why is it so important to be healthy for me?

I want to break the cycle. I want to lead and live a healthy life. I want to get married and raise children and I don't want them to EVER have to worry about words like "diabetes" or "obese".

I stood on the scale this morning and it read 150.9lbs. I smiled the biggest smile.

The sad girl that I used to be is now a happy, active and vivacious woman.

25, you're going to be the best year yet.

xx

Review of iHerb's Delivery to Seoul

I am a big fan of Healthy Living Blogs. I would go so far to call it an intense hobby HAHA.

It is really comforting to me as I struggle along this journey of healthy living to find that is doesn't come as easily as I thought to others. I have had a few slip ups along the way but have been fairly dedicated to working out and eating well.

One hurdle I have come over is seeing all these delicious products on the blogs and not being able to try them! Mind you, I do have Costco here but I'm not feeding a family of 5... 

 I love making faux coconut pie and shredded coconut here is VERY expensive (sliced banana, with coconut and yogurt)!

I heard of iHerb through Dave's ESL Cafe and through Mipa's Blog, so I thought I would give it a try.

I was so impressed by what they offer and just how quick the delivery was. My order ended up being about $26 CDN - this included the import tax and shipping!

I got...

- White Chocolate Peanut Butter from Peanut Butter and Co

- 2 Packages of Bare-Naked Fruit - Mangoes

- 1 Package of Bare-Naked Fruit - Green Apples

- Organic Coconut Flakes

- 1 Package of No-Sugar Added Hot Chocolate

It was such a GREAT deal for all this stuff. I was absolutely blown away that it was packed and shipped pretty much the next day after I ordered.

SO if you're living in Seoul, and you're interested in some healthy eats - check it out!

Weekend of Wonder and iHerb Lovin'

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You know its going to be a good weekend when it starts off with a trip to Costco! This time's haul was MAPLE FLAVORED BACON, red grapes, GO Lean Crunch cereal, oatmeal, red wine, ham, Rice Crispie Treats, frozen vegetables and mini cheeses. I had a smile on my face the whole time I was there! It ended up being about W117,000 which is pretty reasonable for all the stuff I got.

The night ended with too much wine at the Intercontinental Hotel's Wine and Buffet...

With some great new friends!

It may have also involved soldiers and planking...

And Kayla workin' that moped!

We held up pretty good. At 2:30am I decided I'd had enough and should probably escort myself home. That was probably a GREAT idea. Nonetheless I woke up at 2:30 pm on Sunday hating my previous night's choices. Oh being 25!

It also made me realize how I'm not quite cut out for partying anymore. I hadn't been OUT in about 5 weeks so I REALLY went at it... bad choice!

I have been living SUCH a healthy lifestyle and drinking SO much is just stupid, idiotic etc... But atleast I'm honest and bursting ANY disillusion that I may be perfect HAHA

I wasn't licking my wounds too badly though as I did have enough gusto for a 10 km walk later lastnight!

Back to normal life today. I woke up and RAN downstairs to see if my http://www.iherb.com/ order had come in.. alas it had!

I had heard a lot about it online and thought I'd try my luck. Well, it was SO fast, and amazing. I will definitely be using them again!

 I ordered Peanut Butter and Co "White Chocolate Dreams" Peanut Butter (DROOOOOOOOOL), Bare Naked fruit - Apples and Mango, Coconut Flakes, and Sugar-Free Hot Chocolate Packets.

It literally took 1 week from start to finish, I ordered last Monday and it arrived today (Monday).

SOOO don't hesitate! Go place an order with them if you're looking for Health Foods from back home!