Reason behind the song of the day: I ran outside today, and it was INCREDIBLY hot and humid. Later, today, I took a "Broadway Blast" class at Bella Forza Fitness in Hyde Park, Cincinnati (Class Descriptions) with my Groupon, and one of the songs used was "Under the Sea." It summed up today, perfectly.
Sooo....it's been so very long. This started out as an ill attempt at documenting my journey through weight loss and reclaiming my health and body. However, grad school got in the way and I wasn't really excited about this until I started to make some progress, finally. Throughout the last year, I've become a runner and I worked out sporadically; it truly only became a regular thing in the last month, though. Let me cut to the chase; I've started following Dr. Fuhrman's book, Eat to Live at the recommendation of my older sister, who saw it on Dr. Oz. I did not read the book cover to cover, and I do not follow it 100%, but the premises are very easy to apply to my current lifestyle, and it's easy to understand.
I have tried Weight Watchers, low carb, sheer self-discipline and will power, monetary rewards, etc., etc., but the battle has always defeated me. I now feel as if I am making some headway, and the biggest change to come from incorporating Dr.. Fuhrman's advice is how much better I feel about myself. My energy is up, I don't need as much sleep, and I just feel a little brighter. I just started this 3 weeks ago, and I'm not aiming to lose more than 3 lbs. a week as his book is designed to help make happen, but I am averaging more than 1 lb. a week. I also pair his book with Myfitnesspal.com so that I can track my net calories per day.
I feel like I could write about every detail of how I've changed my diet/lifestyle, but here's the gist:
-I drink more water
-I exercise 3-4 times a week for 30 minutes at a time
-I eat at least 4 fresh fruits a day
-I eat soy based and plant based protein, mostly
-I stay away from additional sugar, fried foods, oil, excessive salt, eggs, white flour, red meat, and poultry most of the time (I haven't been able to dispel cheese and the occasional seafood, chocolate, or bread from my diet...but I have still made progress!)
-I journal about what I've done well, each week
Today, I worked out twice and didn't have any cravings at all. This is so different than how I was just about 4 or 5 weeks ago. Food does not rule my life. I enjoy planning meals and cutting my fruits and veggies ahead of time, but I'm not being too obsessive. I can't wait to see where else this transformation takes me.
Oh, and side note, I have watched all of "Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition" Ssn. 2, and each and every show is so inspiring. I feel as if these people can lose half of their weight, I can lose 50 lbs, which is what was recommended to me by my PCP. I don't have Chris Powell to keep me going, but I have their stories to remind me that I CAN keep going. And like them, I decided to visually document my weight loss, by taking a picture in my bra and shorts in 5 lb. intervals. This, coming from a girl who used to be afraid to look in the mirror fully clothed. It truly astonishes me how much I have changed.
Jul 27, 2012
Jun 7, 2011
2
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.
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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