Summertime 2011

So... while I haven't updated since February, I have been doing pretty well keep up with some of the goals I set. My soda consumption has greatly decreased. Though I'm still addicted to my soy lattes. I have been trying to stay on my physical activity levels. Since Spring Break, I have been keeping an above average routine. I have lost over 15 pounds since then.

I've reached some good personal records recently. Today, I ran 6.37 miles in 64:09. I have never ran that long. And I'm keeping it at a 10:00 average pace which is really great. Today and yesterday were both routes that had some major hills, but we trooped through them.

I'm excited for this summer. It's the first summer where I will not be moving and not changing jobs. A little consistency will be good for my life. I hope to lose about 15 more pounds by the end of the summer. Run a 5K in under 25:00. Go camping. See the Royals play twice. Read 5 books for fun. Finish a screenplay. Live within my means (stay on top of my budget). Finally, unpack ALL my boxes. Practice Spanish. Cook more! I'm excited for the summer. It's going to be great.

2011

Okay. So I'm back in the serious game.

No more than 12 ounces of soda per week
Regular exercise
More fruits and vegetables

It's going to be great.

Today I weighed in at 192... ugh. Back to 165 for me :) then 145

Renewed passion

Okay... maybe not a passion. But it's 10-2010 and it's about time I make some of my goals.

New goal is to improve my running game. Today was the 5th time in the last 2 weeks. Last week, I started going once every three days, and after consulting with my hall government President (who runs cross country on scholarship), I decided to start going every other day.

I have already seen a great improvement. First day, I did 2 miles consecutively and took a break before finishing the route. Did 3 miles total running-ish. Then next time I did 3.4 miles consecutively in 42 minutes.

Now I did it in 37 minutes and 6 seconds. That's quite an improvement.

Also, today has been 31 days Taco Bell free and 21 days soda free!!!! That doesn't include beer or alcohol or fizzy waters :) At first I was overcompensating with soy lattes-- iced or hot--but I've cut back... probably only because I am running out of meal points... tis sad.

I haven't actually lifted or worked out other than jogging for a long time. I pay for a gym membership, so you think I should use it.

But I have been sleeping too much. But I guess once I get into a good routine, I can add it into the mix.



On another note, I am beginning to figure out what my next step is. I want to get my PhD in Psychology but my undergraduate studies were in pre-medicine, biochemistry, Spanish, and political science. My first Master's was in College Student Personnel Administration.

Got to start taking classes to get prepped for Psych PhD. But Where should I go?

I've been trying to figure out how to decide. My interest is in men's identity development. So is that social psych or developmental? I have yet to find a research lab that specifically looks at men's identity development.

Who knows... the search is fun. I need to take the GRE sometime within the calendar year. So we'll see how that goes.

Oh gosh

Sunday I pushed myself to jog 4 miles in 40 minutes. This is the furthest I have ever jogged in a row.

Today... I jogged 3 miles... now I'm very sore. I definitely needed a rest day. But it's recoverable. I'll be good after resting.

Hello

So this was the first week of my new routine... it's a little different than what I had posted before. Instead of working out in the mornings on Mondays and Fridays, I'm still working out in the afternoons.

Today, I achieved a personal goal of running/jogging 4 miles in 40 minutes.

I weighed in a few days ago at 166. I haven't had that weigh in since... so we'll see if I have some consistency in my weigh in.

Post 2 of a new century

So I have been doing well, I believe, over the past few weeks in terms of being fit. I mean, granted, there are moments where I choose to eat something that isn't necessarily good for me. But I am at a point in my life where I am not governed by those foods and am able to work through a decision-making process as to whether I can afford to eat the food.

The last two days I weighed in at 168 which is a good consistent weight. I hope to be starting another downward trend. Again, the goal is 145 and being stronger too.

It's hard to gauge at this point how my workout should be balanced--strength training or cardiovascular.

I think I have my Spring 2010 workout routine down:

Monday - Workout in the morning (5:30am) - Do some lifting, minor cardio, and abs
Tuesday - Workout in the afternoon (around 3 to 5 pm) - Lots of cardio, maybe abs
Wednesday - Intentional Day Off
Thursday - Workout in the afternoon (around 3 to 5 pm) - Lots of cardio, maybe abs
Friday - Workout in the morning (5:30am) - Do some lifting, minor cardio, and abs
Weekends - if I am in town and able, I try to workout at least once on the weekend

This is a good workout. My goal is to increase heartrate, increase duration of cardio, and increase calorie burn. I want to continue cutting the fat while maintaining the healthy constitution of my body.

My other goal is to build strength slowly and steadily. I have definitely shown great improvement in this area.

This past weekend I went to Chicago with a friend. It was a lot of fun. Though I got strangely sick on Saturday. I'm not sure what happened; hopefully it is not a recurrence of a chronic childhood illness. We ate at a great vegetarian restaurant. Amazing. It was a great time to get away from town. I have had a lot on my mind in terms of my future and what I should do.

Hopefully my weigh ins will continue to be stable this week and next.

Update!

It's a new year with some more good goals for the Great Fat Off.

I've been working diligently to lose weight and be healthy. I am 170.6 pounds right now which means I have lost 38 pounds since I've started this challenge.

The one thing I realized over break is that I am very weak in terms of upper body strength. So I have been working on improving in that area.

Also, I finally found my body fat percentage -- 25.9%.

My BMI is 29.6

Goals -- Get to 145 pounds and decrease body fat percentage to less than 15%. We'll see how this goes.

Update

Weigh in today -- 177.4!!!

I have surpassed the 30 pound mark.

Today is the third time that I have jogged a mile straight. It feels great. Last night I walked three miles. It also felt great.

This morning my breakfast includes -- organic cereal, rice milk, and cinnamon apple sauce. Yum!

Slow progress

185.6

But I have not been eating healthily or having a strong activity routine. Yesterday I purchased a yoga video and I am going to stay on top of it!

Next on the to do list -- buy a gym membership.

Then I will be back in business.

Weigh In

Howdy!

So my new lifestyle of not eating meat has been going well. It'll be seven weeks on Monday!

Today I weighed in at 186.4! So that will be 21.6 pounds lost since the beginning. I love it.

I can't wait to get back into an exercise routine at Central.

Weigh In

Hot DAMN! Today is this week's official weigh in. I was not able to exercise Wednesday through Saturday. I was going to on Sunday but, of course, something came up. But today, I am going to go work out!!!! I have to.

My diet is going well. Today is day 21 of not eating meat. It has been an interesting journey. Well, actually, let's be honest. It has been really easy. Many have asked me why I chose this lifestyle. Well, there are several reasons. I will not lie and say I was not inspired by one of the students I worked with this summer. I have never thought about being a vegetarian as a lifestyle until I one of the students in my family group was a vegetarian. That is what got me to thinking about adopting the lifestyle. After thinking about it for a while, I realized that morally I wanted to do it. I hate to cook raw meat and try to avoid it at all costs. Not because I can't do it, but because it makes me nauseous. Why should I cause others to cook something for me to consume that I wouldn't even cook myself? I have a philosophy of "I will ask you to do something that I would be willing to do". This does not fall within that philosophy. Additionally, one of my best friends is a vegetarian. This last fall was her one year anniversary. My sister has been a vegetarian forever. Lastly, the dietary aspect was attractive. They always say that meat has many empty calories. I attribute my weight loss somewhat to this diet change. I am definitely happy that I decided to do this. It's officially a habit. Today is day 21 and it takes 14 days in a row to make something a habit (not scientifically proven).

Regardless--today I weighed in at 190.0. This brings me to 18 pounds lost.

Weigh In

Okay so today is official weigh-in day! At least for this week.

I have been keeping up a good routine of diet and exercise. Because of my recent lifestyle change, I have definitely eaten healthier and lost more weight. I just need to make sure I am consuming enough essential amino acids and vitamins. My summer job is so stressful but it is very worth it. I interact mostly with the high school graduates especially as that is a part of my position. They will be leaving on Friday. They kid around about me and Elyse being emotional. I say I won't be emotional... but who am I kidding?

The other students I have really enjoyed working with. They all have their problems but it is good to see them work through the problems. Some are not capable of working through it but at least they are in a new environment which can help them understand more about the problems.

I had a student that is dealing with so much. It breaks my heart thinking of the pain and confusion the student must be going through. This student went home but hopefully will be back to the program. I haven't really let the realization that the student is gone yet sink into my brain yet.

Anyway, I have been doing pretty well on most of my goals. I have not really been drinking much soda. I have not been drinking (not for lack of wanting... just lack of time and money). I have been working out almost every day. I have not been doing yoga... I need to get on it!!!

Anyway, here is my weigh-in total for today: 191.8 :)

At this rate, I will be 179 in a week or two!

Update

Okay--so I made good on some of my goals. I won't tell you which ones. But just know that I have been working hard on them.

Yesterday, Elyse bought me my yoga pad and a scale. So my official weight as of this morning (Monday, June 22, 2009) is 198.4 lbs. Only 40 more pounds to go... It will happen.

Both Saturday and Sunday I worked out trying to build muscle strength. I am weak but not for too long. This morning I went out to the track with some students and Elyse. We jogged/walked a mile... starting small. I need to push myself harder in the mornings. It's a struggle since it is so early. This morning we will work out again at 10:30 am. Then lunch and a nap for an hour or so. Then being productive until dinner. Tonight's agenda has swimming on it. I don't really know how to swim, so I just stand/sit/float/try-to-float in the shallow end. It's kind of fun?

Alright, it's time to go eat some breakfast.

For serious, I'm back

Okay

It's time to get serious on this shindigg. Currently, I am working back in Maryville for Upward Bound Math & Science. It's been great so far. Elyse and I have been taking some students to the track in the morning. It was so difficult last week for me to get into the swing of the routine. This week, however, is going so well. Today I woke up extra early and with more energy. I jogged a bit this morning. It was raining so I did not jog to much. This morning I went to a fitness area on campus and did some fit activities. Hopefully tonight I will learn/do yoga.

I really need to stick with my plan for becoming more fit, losing weight, and gaining strength and endurance.

New goals:

No smoking
No drinking
Eating regularly
Eating healthily
Less soda
Less snacking
Minimal taco bell :)
More walking
More physical activity

I think I am on a good start to meeting these goals. Walking at Northwest's campus is so natural. Unlike Central's where most people feel compelled to drive from the west side to the east side. So sad :( Also, taking the stairs is always the better choice!

Anyway, I will post with more updates. I need to purchase a scale!

Update

Okay, so I was in Tucson, Arizona since last Wednesday. I would like to say that I tried very hard to choose healthy eating decisions. Many times, I chose to eat salad and fruit with smaller other portions. I still need to get a new scale to be able to measure my progress... once I get back to Missouri!

Wow...

I am so sorry for the failure. I'm not apologize to anyone in particular... Maybe to myself for having failed the last few weeks.

However, Laura and I have been working to gain pedometer points which has helped me stay on track of keeping active.

I have to buy a scale since the scale I had been using will be out of service after a while. I will have to weigh myself on both to make sure the new scale will be accurate. I have to got to start making progress!

I'm back again

So last week... was terrible. I did not exercise Tuesday through Friday.

My weigh in -- 204.

This week I'm back on it. I did a little on the upright bike! I can't afford to not stay on top of this task!

Weigh In

Okay so I weighed in on Saturday... but it did not make me happy.

Last week ended with bad food days. And today continued to be a bad food day.

I need to really buckle down on these food things!

Anyway, I weighed in at 203.75... I gained a pound. oh goodness...

Friday, April 17th!

It's going so well!

Upright Bike - 40 minutes, 12 miles, 200 calories burned
Elliptical - 12 minutes, 1 mile, 155 calories burned

Total calories burned -- 355 calories burned

156,265 - 355 = 155,910!

Tomorrow is weigh-in day!

Thursday

Woke up late again. I need to go to bed earlier! But, don't worry, I did not fail my exercise routine.

Upright Bike - 35 minutes, 11 miles, 170 calories
Treadmill - 12 minutes, 1 mile, 155 calories

Total calories burned today -- 325! 156,590 - 325 = 156,265!

Two days until weigh in!