So, I am not updating as much as I'd like. I keep using school as an excuse (I am in finals week), but I do however find time to keep packing my lunches, wash the dishes, and be on Facebook. I am currently sitting at a coffee shop near my apartment attempting to finish some work for final projects, and I have just been motivation and energy depleted these past few weeks. The zest I once had for impressing my professors and doing well in all my classes has slowly been dissipating. Perhaps I am just a little burned out and after a week away from schools and then having new professors for this summer quarter will be sufficient to wake me up again and get me going. Here's hoping. I am not a person to get stressed about schoolwork (or really anything in life; calmness is my mantra), but I do experience a lot of anxiety when things are not going the way I planned. Me feeling like a slug was not something I planned. :) I pride myself on having a reason to laugh no matter what the stress levels are like around me, but lately that hasn't been enough to get me through these grueling group projects and tedious papers. Ah well, I guess I thought, somewhere back in my mind, that writing about it would help eradicate it. It didn't quite work, but I will turn to my good friend, Charlotte for a little advice and Wilbur for a little song and dance.
Jun 7, 2011
May 31, 2011
1
I don't wanna endure the pressure of generating a creative blog title every time I post (much like the pressure to be funny/intriguing in the world of Facebook statuses and why I never joined Twitter), so they'll simply be numbered. Anyway, not much to know about me. I am a grad student--that consumes most of my life. I have missed/resented the idea of having a blog for some years, and now seems like good timing. It's no secret that I struggle with my weight; there was a time in high school that I lost about 10 lbs and again in college where I lost about 5 lbs (over 4 years that is), but after college, I became very sedentary. I worked two part time jobs and those were the ONLY times I moved my body. Since starting grad school, I have spent considerably even more time sitting and studying or sleeping when I can. This is not really conducive to a healthy lifestyle.
The wake up call for me came when I ran up three flights of stairs in my building and was completely winded about six months ago. I was never an athletic girl, but I used to enjoy walking everywhere. That is not the case anymore; I've become progressively lazier. My second sister is getting married this summer and my other sister married six years ago. I remember feeling self-conscious walking down the aisle then and I didn't want to face the same demons come this summer. Again, though I didn't take myself seriously and half-heartedly ate more healthily and worked out sporadically, I did want to lose some weight. My goal was just 10 lbs. over the span of six months before August.
In an effort to finally curtail this potentially dangerous lifestyle, one month ago, I decided to be more realistic about this and start with small changes. I clearly didn't have the time or dedication to undergo drastic lifestyle changes. So, as a trial period, I cut out all meat and seafood from my diet. I did indulge in the occasional piece of fish on two occasions and I had one slice of pepperoni, but aside from those slip-ups, I consumed no meat or seafood. What needs to be noted is that I have attempted this before to no avail; I always made up for missing food categories with bread and cheese. And going to such an extreme usually left me going nuts on chicken nuggets. I figured with this trial period of one month, it was less daunting and I could at least just see if I could do it, realistically.
Abstinence is not my style; I can try to force myself to comply with it over and over again, but I'm 23 now, and not getting any younger, so it's about time I realized my shortcomings and adapted to them. Thus, the trial period. At first, things didn't really seem that different. My diet wasn't all that different than it had been before, except now I didn't turn down cupcakes and candy. Even so, I didn't feel too guilty about them. I learned the art of moderation. Admittedly, it was easier to abstain from meat because I make a lot of my own meals today, but even going out just required a little bit of planning and always having a snack on hand to avoid binging on french fries in the absence of a vegetarian option.
So now it is the end of the month, and I weighed myself for the first time in a month the other day. To my surprise, I lost 2 lbs! That is not very much at all, but I usually yo-yo in this five pound range, and for the first time in a long time, my weight was consistently within a 2 lb range. A small victory, but very telling still. I felt empowered by this, and have now decided to extend my trial period through June as well as start training for a half marathon for next May's Flying Pig 2012. I want to start training after this school quarter and a fun trip to NYC, so July 1 is the day I start. That gives me approximately 9 months to get in shape and achieve this goal. I realized that after my sister's wedding, I will not have an external goal to obtain. Will power is also not a strong suit that I have, so I needed to attach weight loss to a tangible goal. I don't care how fast I am, I just want to be able to finish one without wanting to pass out.
Currently, I hate running. Mostly because I am bad at it and don't purchase really effective sports bras and running shoes. After NYC, I am going to buy both; the splurge is worth it I think. So, today I ate skyline and chicken pot pie, as well as a cupcake. My celebration is over. Tomorrow is a new day and I have a delicious menu prepared.
Here I come, weight loss and some degree of athletic ability!
The wake up call for me came when I ran up three flights of stairs in my building and was completely winded about six months ago. I was never an athletic girl, but I used to enjoy walking everywhere. That is not the case anymore; I've become progressively lazier. My second sister is getting married this summer and my other sister married six years ago. I remember feeling self-conscious walking down the aisle then and I didn't want to face the same demons come this summer. Again, though I didn't take myself seriously and half-heartedly ate more healthily and worked out sporadically, I did want to lose some weight. My goal was just 10 lbs. over the span of six months before August.
In an effort to finally curtail this potentially dangerous lifestyle, one month ago, I decided to be more realistic about this and start with small changes. I clearly didn't have the time or dedication to undergo drastic lifestyle changes. So, as a trial period, I cut out all meat and seafood from my diet. I did indulge in the occasional piece of fish on two occasions and I had one slice of pepperoni, but aside from those slip-ups, I consumed no meat or seafood. What needs to be noted is that I have attempted this before to no avail; I always made up for missing food categories with bread and cheese. And going to such an extreme usually left me going nuts on chicken nuggets. I figured with this trial period of one month, it was less daunting and I could at least just see if I could do it, realistically.
Abstinence is not my style; I can try to force myself to comply with it over and over again, but I'm 23 now, and not getting any younger, so it's about time I realized my shortcomings and adapted to them. Thus, the trial period. At first, things didn't really seem that different. My diet wasn't all that different than it had been before, except now I didn't turn down cupcakes and candy. Even so, I didn't feel too guilty about them. I learned the art of moderation. Admittedly, it was easier to abstain from meat because I make a lot of my own meals today, but even going out just required a little bit of planning and always having a snack on hand to avoid binging on french fries in the absence of a vegetarian option.
So now it is the end of the month, and I weighed myself for the first time in a month the other day. To my surprise, I lost 2 lbs! That is not very much at all, but I usually yo-yo in this five pound range, and for the first time in a long time, my weight was consistently within a 2 lb range. A small victory, but very telling still. I felt empowered by this, and have now decided to extend my trial period through June as well as start training for a half marathon for next May's Flying Pig 2012. I want to start training after this school quarter and a fun trip to NYC, so July 1 is the day I start. That gives me approximately 9 months to get in shape and achieve this goal. I realized that after my sister's wedding, I will not have an external goal to obtain. Will power is also not a strong suit that I have, so I needed to attach weight loss to a tangible goal. I don't care how fast I am, I just want to be able to finish one without wanting to pass out.
Currently, I hate running. Mostly because I am bad at it and don't purchase really effective sports bras and running shoes. After NYC, I am going to buy both; the splurge is worth it I think. So, today I ate skyline and chicken pot pie, as well as a cupcake. My celebration is over. Tomorrow is a new day and I have a delicious menu prepared.
Here I come, weight loss and some degree of athletic ability!
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