Starfruit Does C-bus

Setback

2010-05-04T18:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I've had a small setback over the past couple weeks. I've gained 2.7 lbs. Boo... I was 10 lbs. down. Ten is such a nice round number and in the double digits. I like that. But then I had to get off track and overeat and gain some weight back. I should probably think about what triggered the binge over the past couple weeks. I suspect it's stress. The past couple of weeks have stressful for a number of reasons that I won't get into. I am a stress eater. I need to get over it. I want to lose major weight before July 31 and only about 12 weeks in which to do it. I also have 3 showers and 1 more birthday to get through this month. Including this past weekend, I have 1 event per weekend this month. Craziness. Must get back on track.

Okay, I totally didn't see that coming. I was watching The Biggest Loser and I was bummed because Sam got voted off. Not shocking. What was shocking was that he and Stephanie started a relationship while on the show and he moved to L.A. to be with her. I definitely didn't pick up on that during the show. Like I said, totally didn't see that coming. I'm completely jealous though :-)

True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment. ~William Penn

2010-04-20T18:45:00.000-07:00

That's my excuse for not posting anything substantive recently. I was nourishing and refreshing my spirit....NOT. I just haven't had anything to say. Weight loss is going alright. I survived the advent of the Girl Scout cookies. I can't really complain since I've lost 10 lbs. On the other hand, it could be going better. I could have lost more weight over the past 14 weeks. My average weekly loss is 0.6lbs. I wish it were closer to 1.5 lbs. per week. So that's my goal for the next 14 weeks before the wedding - 1.5 lbs. per week for a total of 21 lbs. That would mean a total of 31 lbs. lost by July 31 or 75% of my original goal of 40 lbs. lost. It's good to have goals.

However, one goal that I've had to shelf is conquering the half marathon. I have completely stopped training for the Capital City Half, which is in 2 weeks. I'm still having issues with my foot. It hurts when I get up in the morning; it hurts after I run; it hurts after I stand on it too long; it hurts after I wear heels. Stupid foot. I hate it. I guess it's time to find a new form of cardio exercise. I keep thinking about swimming, but I keep finding excuses for not going. I imagine my weight loss would be going better if I were doing some cardio in addition to weights.

On a completely different topic, I rented office space last month. I'm officially a real lawyer with a real office with real office furniture. Yay! It's exciting and terrifying all at the same time. Hopefully, I can continue to pay for the office and my bills. Fingers crossed.

Oh, Girl Scout Cookies...

2010-03-03T16:57:00.000-08:00

I love you so. Definitely, not WW friendly. I got my GS cookies this morning. It was all I could do not to rip into my box of Tagalongs before I even got out of the gym. (I bought my cookies from my trainer's daughter.) I managed to make it until lunch time before I broke open the Tagalongs. Then, I got into the Thin Mints this afternoon. I need to hide the other 2 boxes from myself. It's a good thing GS cookies only happen once a year.

Hello, 2010

2010-02-13T21:18:00.000-08:00

It's been a very, very long time since I've done anything with this blog - about 8 months. And I can't guarantee that I'm going to return to blogging faithfully. I've done so in the past (pledged to blog) and haven't followed through, so I make no promises. If you look to the right, I have updated the information.

Yes, it's true. I have to wear and look good in that clover green dress on the right. Everyone keep their fingers crossed! To that end, I've gotten back on the WW wagon after an unsuccessful 8 months away in 2009. But shhhh...don't tell my mother. She hates WW with the passion of a thousand fiery suns. There's no reasoning with her. I'm doing WW online to keep it hush hush.

As you can see, so far, so good. I'm down 4.4 lbs. in the 3 weeks since I started. I've got my goal in mind. Ideally, I would like to be down a total of 50 lbs. by 7/31/10 (the wedding). That would mean a loss of 46 lbs. from today and an average of 2 lbs./week. Unlikely. Right now, my average is 1.5 lbs./week. If I can sustain that average loss, it would mean I'd be down a total of 40 lbs. by the wedding. So that's going to be my goal - 40 lbs. down by the end of July. Go me.

I'm training for another 1/2 marathon - the Capital City Half on 5/1/10. It's not going well. I haven't run in a week. Things aren't hopeless by any means, but I really need to get on track this week if I want to have any hope of finishing better than my last half. I did the Columbus Half Marathon this past fall. It was ugly and that's putting it nicely. Mentally, I just wasn't in the game. My legs decided they were only running 10 miles and they didn't want to run any of the last 3.1 miles. That meant I finished only 1 second faster than my very first half when I had the gimpy, sprained left foot. Very embarassing. I'm determined to conquer the half marathon. Any by conquer, I mean run/walk the entire 13.1 miles and finish in under 3 hours. Not wimp out at 8 miles or 10 miles like I have in the past 2 halfs I've done.

Though my half didn't turn out as I'd hoped, I was proud of myself last year with my running. From April to November, I did a race per month. I did 5Ks, 4 milers and a 10 miler. I think this year I'm going to start racing in March with the St. Patty's 4 Miler on 3/13/10. It keeps me motivated.

Ok, I've blathered on enough for now. I'll try to be back soon.

Strawberry Picking

2009-06-18T15:17:00.001-07:00

My mom and I went strawberry picking yesterday for the first time since we left Maryland, so the first time in 13 years. It was very exciting. I love going strawberry picking. We went to Jacquemin Farms in Plain City.

It was a lot of work though. As you can see (and no, your eyes aren't deceiving you), the strawberries were very tiny. They were baby berries. Apparently, the lack of rain here in the Cbus area has contributed to the small size of local strawberries. I wasn't sure if I believed the people at the strawberry patch yesterday when they told me this. I thought maybe they were just being defensive about their strawberries. However, it was proven true today when I saw very small strawberries by another local farmer at the Powell Farmers Market.

My mama made fresh jam and mini strawberry pies (see below) with some of our freshly picked strawberries. Shockingly, we picked 11 lbs. of strawberries despite the small size. In any case, yay for fresh strawberries!

*Note: It was very lowering this morning to discover that I was sore from picking strawberries for about 1.5 hours. It felt like I had jogged a gajillion miles and not stretched afterwards. Just when I thought I was starting to get into shape...

FFC: Week 6 Results

2009-06-18T15:06:00.000-07:00

FFC Week 3

2009-05-26T12:58:00.001-07:00

Here are the official Week 3 results for the FFC. I have totally fallen behind in the standings...curses!

Things have been kind of hectic lately, which is the reason for the lack of posts beyond the FFC results. My baby brother graduates from high school this coming Saturday (I can't believe it!) and we had his graduation party yesterday. So things were crazy the past couple weeks between trying to get everything ready for the party, my mom's birthday, and mother's day. I promise more in-depth posts soon!

I completed my second race of the year this past Sunday - the Habitat for Humanity Home Run 5K. I think I'm cursed when it comes to races taking place in Dublin. It was unseasonably and ridiculously hot and humid during the race just like it was for the Dublin Irish 4 Miler last year. I still did ok, though my time was about a minute slower than my time from the Fisher 5K a month ago.

Not too mention, I only got lapped by 2 people (the course was 2, 1.5 mile loops) - the top 2 male finishers. I managed to get my fat arse across halfway mark/finish line about 30 seconds before the top female finisher crossed the line. I guess I'll take comfort in the fact that I wasn't the last "runner" to cross the finish line. There were still a couple stragglers after me and the walkers. Hopefully, I'll have better luck in my next 5K in June.

FFC Week 2

2009-05-18T14:10:00.001-07:00

Here are the results for Week 2 of the Fabulously Fit Challenge. Kumquat is leading the charge! You may also notice some changes from last week. Jackfruit is no longer - she didn't like her name, so she is now Jujube. We also have a challenge newcomer. Welcome Java Apple!

Fabulously Fit Challenge (FFC) Week 1 Results

2009-05-11T09:04:00.000-07:00

Here is my fantastic, fun and colorful chart of the Week 1 results from the FFC. May the best tropical fruit win!

Potpourri

2009-05-05T10:18:00.000-07:00

This post is going to contain a slight mishmash of topics since I haven't posted in a month. First up, a review of BLC. As I suspected, I don't really like the website. I don't know if I'm just not using it properly or to its fullest capabilities, but I don't find it particularly useful. I would get just as much benefit from keeping track of my food log and exercise log in a notebook, I think. I will probably be cancelling my subscription at the end of the 3 months. I like the BL program, just not the website.

The fitness challenge has been restarted - yay! It has been dubbed (by me) the Fabulously Fit Challenge (because I like alliteration and I like to be fabulous) and Week 1 started on Sun. 5/3 with the usual suspects taking part. It's the same rules as before: (1) must exercise at least 20 mins. for it to count; (2) can only count 1 exercise session per day; (3) the losers split the cost of a cookbook of the winner's choice. It's still up in the air as to whether it will be a 13 week challenge ending Aug. 3 or a 19 week challenge ending Sept. 5. So far, I have one vote for each option.

I'm off to a rocky start in the challenge because I've had a hellish cold. But I'm starting to feel better, so I may be able to salvage this week. Maybe I'll keep track of the weekly results on this blog if there are no objections from the participants. That could be fun if I can create a colorful chart or something showing the results. Hmmm...something to think about.

In other fitness news, I completed my first race of the year. I did the Fisher 5K a little over two weeks ago. I suprised myself and did pretty well considering I hadn't jogged the two weeks prior to the race because of my nagging big toe injury. I averaged a 13:41 min./mile, which I know does not seem particularly speedy, but is about 30 seconds faster per mile than my average times to date. Go me!

I have also figured out most of my race schedule for summer/fall. I'm trying to do 1 race a month, at least for the next couple months. Here's what I have planned:

5/24/09 - Home Run 5K for Habitat for Humanity, Dublin
6/14/09 - Race 4 Ellie 5K, Powell
7/30/09 - Dublin Irish 4-Miler, Dublin
8/8/09 - Beerathlon 5K, Bethel Rd. (NEW)
10/18/09 - Nationwide Better Health 1/2 Marathon, Columbus

I don't think I'm going to do any races in September and will just focus on training for the 1/2 in Oct. I didn't see any that I was interested in and that fit into my training schedule. We'll see how it goes. Let me know if you would like to join me in doing any of these races. Misery loves company. I mean, it's always more fun to have a buddy.

So Long WW, It's Been a Good Ride...

2009-04-07T19:15:00.000-07:00

That’s right, everyone, I have officially quit WW after 7.5 years. I weighed in for the last time on March 5. It was a hard decision to quit because I’ve been doing WW for so long. But it was time. It wasn’t working for me anymore. It’s a great program and it helped me lose a lot of weight. I’m burned out though and I need to try something different.

So I’m following the Biggest Loser program (hereinafter “BL”). I know, I know, I’m obsessed with the Biggest Loser. I thought I would give it a shot, since it’s clearly successful. I signed up for a 3 month subscription to the Biggest Loser Club. We’ll see how it goes.

The jury is still out as to whether I like the BLC website. It’s kind of cumbersome, but it gets easier the more you use it. I think you can successfully follow the program without using the BLC website. It may be just as easy to keep track of everything in a notebook. However, it is nice that it gives me daily targets for calories, protein, fat, fiber, etc. Otherwise, I don’t know how easy it would be for me to figure out how many calories I should be eating. Here’s to the next three months.

In other news, I've started my own law practice. Don't get me wrong, I'm still looking for a full-time job. However, in the meantime, I'm all set up to take on clients. In fact, I have 3 clients, including 1 non-family member :-).

Nothing New

2009-03-05T19:21:00.000-08:00

I lost 0.8 lbs. this week, but I'm pretty sure it is a fluke. I normally weigh in wearing pants or jeans, but today I was wearing work out gear. So I had a faux loss. I suspect I really maintained or gained a little bit. I guess I'll find out next week. So far this year I am averaging a 0.49 lbs. loss per week. Not what I was hoping for, but I'll take it.

On a more exciting note, I also started keeping track of my measurements when I started training for the 1/2 marathon in May (that I'm most likely not doing). I measured myself for the first time since I began training and I'm shrinking! Somewhat. I've lost 0.75 inches from my hips, 2.75 inches from my waist and 0.25 inches from both my arms. Results are inconclusive as to my thighs. I would think they should be shrinking, but they think otherwise. My pants are fitting better too, which is a major relief :-)

I think that's all for now.

Cardio Challenge

2009-02-27T12:23:00.000-08:00

Yay! I'm in 3d place now. I'm working my way up the ranks.

What I learned at WW

2009-02-26T17:04:00.000-08:00

The women who man the scales at my meeting can't count even with a calculator. I've been a little disappointed with my weight loss since the beginning of the year. Not too mention it seemed a little off, but I couldn't figure out why. It seemed like my weight loss in '09 should be a littler larger. And then I took a look at my little booklet and realized that the WW ladies can't subtract.

Silly, silly me has just been adding up my losses as listed in my book and not really paying attention to my actual weight. I mean, they USE A CALCULATOR. But alas, one week they had listed my loss as 2.4 lbs. when in actuality, it was a 3.4 lb. loss. So adding my minute 0.4 lb. loss from this week to my corrected previous weight loss, I am down a total of 4.6 lbs. so far in 2009. Yay! Here's to another 75 lbs. so I can reach goal!

Also, I worked out 5 times this week. Yes, I'm patting myself on the back right now. Watch yourself, JT ;-).

A Shocking Loss

2009-02-20T08:50:00.000-08:00

I lost a pound this week. I'm kind of shocked. I was doing so well journaling. I was on a 13 day streak until this past Sun. when it all fell apart. The only two things I really ate from Mon. through yesterday was toast with butter and iced cookies. And I didn't write them down. I also didn't exercise as much as I should have. So the loss was surprising. I'm back on track with journaling today...yay! I'm going to break my 13 day streak.

Also, I'm getting back on track with exercising. I need to step it up for 2 reasons. The first one being that I still want to do the 1/2 marathon in May. I might switch that to the 5K depending on how the next couple of weeks go. I realize it's a 10 mile difference, but I don't know if I can realistically be ready for the 1/2. I don't want to injure myself. Not too mention, B said she would do the 1/2 marathon in Oct. with me and for once I don't have a wedding that weekend. The T-S extravaganza is the weekend before. The second reason I have to step it up is I am in 4th place in the Cardio Challenge right now by the skin of my teeth. JT is hot on my heels and I know she's been going to the gym. But I'm going to kick her arse ;-). That's right, I said it. The gauntlet has been thrown.

Irritating...

2009-02-12T17:31:00.001-08:00

I'm irritated that I only lost -0.4 lbs. this week. I never should've gotten on the scale at the gym. Then I wouldn't have expected a bigger loss at WW tonight. Here's what happened. Last week I got on the scale at the gym after I had worked out on Wed. I had really only been on track since Mon. At WW the next night, I was 3.2 lbs. lighter than I had been when I got on the scale at the gym.

Yesterday, I got on the scale at the gym and, lo and behold, I was down 4.2 lbs. from what that scale had said the previous Wed. So I was all excited. I thought I was going to have great loss tonight at WW. I couldn't wait to the meeting to WI. I was actually on time instead of strolling in about 5 mins. late. But then I got on the scale at the meeting, I was only down 0.4 lbs. from the week before. Which leads me to believe that the scale at the gym is on crack. I'm not getting on it anymore. I never should've gotten on it in the first place.

I'm also irritated by the little loss because, as of yesterday, I had religiously journaled for 10 straight days. And I didn't cheat at all. I wrote down every single thing I had shoveled in my fat little face. Even the day I ate 45 points. Also, I didn't use all of my bonus points. I only used about 2/3 of them. And I went to the gym 4 times in the past 7 days. I feel like I should've lost more weight this week. It's irritating!

Not to mention, my irritation at the small loss is overshadowing the fact that I have been journaling and exercising regularly for almost two weeks. Which is fantastic. I can't remember the last time I journaled for 10 days in a row (today is the 11th). I suspect it was sometime in the early part of 2007, when I was actually losing weight. I also can't remember the last time I worked out 4 times in seven days. Again, it was probably sometime in the beginning of 2007 when I was training for the Indy Mini. I'm going to try to get over my irritation.

I do have to say, that although I accurately journaled for the past 10 days, maybe I didn't make the best choices. I was a little light on the fruits and vegetables. I work on that for the next week and see if that makes a difference.

Glad to See Her Go

2009-02-06T12:20:00.000-08:00

Yay for no more Joelle on The Biggest Loser!! However, I am sorry that Carla had to leave with her. It would have been nice if they could have just voted off Joelle. That seems to be the general consensus. Joelle had more excuses for not working hard or losing weight than there are grains of sand on the beach. I'm really glad that I don't have to put up with Joelle for the rest of the season like I had to with the Villianess Vicky. Okay, enough being mean.

I'm up 0.6 lbs. this week, but I'm not too worried about it. I probably would have been up more than that had I weighed in last week. I hadn't been paying too much attention to what I was eating plus I had a cold. But I got back on track for the last half of this past week - I journaled everyday and started going to the gym. I plan to continue both of these things this week.

Book Review: The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl

2009-02-06T11:50:00.000-08:00

This is a fabulous book. I absolutely loved it. I would highly suggest anyone who is in the middle of a weight loss journey or has completed their weight loss journey read this book. It's a true story about an Australian girl (Shauna Reid) who weighed 351 lbs. and proceeded to lose half her body weight (literally) over the course of five years and two continents. And she blogged about it the entire time. She survived the journey by creating her blogging alter ego - Dietgirl, who is a superhero. That little synopsis definitely doesn't do the book justice. The book is extremely funny and inspirational. And it makes me want to move to Edinburgh, Scotland. Anyway, read the book!

By the way, Shauna Reid is still blogging at http://www.dietgirl.org/ .

The Steelers are the Champions of the World!

2009-02-02T07:48:00.000-08:00

I'm ecstatic that the Steelers won the Superbowl last night. Yay for the first team to have 6 Superbowl wins! Yay for James Harrison's interception and 100 yd. return for a touchdown! Who knew a big linebacker could run so far? Yay for Santonio Holmes being the MVP! He finally earned his salary for the year and is a Buckeye alum we can be proud of. Okay, I'm done with yay-ing.

I didn't post last week because I didn't WI. It was very snowy and icy last Thurs. and I didn't want to take my life into my hands. Anyone who lives in Central Ohio knows what I'm talking about. For some reason, they don't know how to properly plow the roads here. If you combine that with the fact that people who live here don't know how to drive in the snow, it's a dangerous situation. I like being alive, so I didn't venture out of the house.

I did have a loss on the scales the week before. I am down -2.4 for the year so far. Hopefully, I've maintained that loss for the past couple of weeks given the Superbowl gorging last night and the cold I had. We'll see on Thurs.

Other new things: (1) I'm reading a great new book - The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl. I highly recommend it as it's amusing and inspirational. (2) I started a new challenge with the usual suspects, but there's a twist. It's not a weight loss challenge. It's a cardio challenge. Whoever logs the most cardio minutes over the next few weeks is the winner. So far, I'm probably losing as a result of the aforementioned cold.

Okay, that's all for now. More to come later this week.

Oh, the horror...

2009-01-16T08:05:00.001-08:00

So I had my first WI of the new year last night and it was horrific. I keep chanting to myself that it's just a number, but it's not working. It's a horrible number, horrible. I have gained 26 lbs. since May 2007. What the f*ck was I thinking and doing? Apparently, I wasn't thinking and only mindlessly eating for the past year and a half. Boo on me. I must get back on track this year.

On a different but related note, I have a food review. I have recently discovered Jimmy Dean D-Lights. I think they've been around for a while, but this is the first time I've had them. So far I've only tried the turkey sausage, egg white and cheese on a whole grain muffin option. It was very tasty and filling for breakfast and only 5 points. It definitely hit the spot, especially since I have been craving a sausage, egg and cheese biscuit from McDonalds. My only criticism is that they are expensive. I paid $6.29 (or maybe $6.99) for a box of 4 at Giant Eagle and that is an "extended reduced price." The normal price is $7.99, which definitely more than I want to pay. I love the convenience though. I'm too lazy to make my own version for breakfast in the morning. I'm going to have to work on how I can make my own convenient version of the sandwich. A version where I don't have to cook the sausage or egg, only reheat it.

Now on to my diatribe about The Biggest Loser. I don't think I like the new format - splitting up the teams and sending home half of the contestants after the first week. I'm glad that they have a chance to come back in 30 days. I'm also upset that Jerry got sent home this week. I liked Jerry. On the other hand, I do not like Joella and I wanted her to go home. She comes off as lazy and doesn't have the heart to be there or so it seems thus far. I love that Bob blew up at her during the last chance workout. I predict that Joella is going to be this season's Vicky (or Heba) and everyone is going to hate her. Hopefully, unlike Vicky, she won't last until the end of this season.

New Year. New Resolutions.

2009-01-06T21:11:00.000-08:00

For the third year in a row, I’m kicking off my first post of the year with my New Year resolutions. Here’s a recap of last year’s resolutions:

2008 Resolutions

1. Reaffirm my commitment to lose weight and continue losing weight. Status: ABYSMAL. Code for Not Completed. For the second year in a row, I entered a year heavier than I began it. Unacceptable. But I’m going to move on. In the words of my first WW leader, it’s time to “turn over a new leaf.” (There’s an accompanying hand gesture, by the way. Ask me to show it to you.)

2. Train for and complete 2 half marathons. Status: Replaced with train for and complete 2 races this year. Completed. I did the Dub Crawl 4 Miler in August and the New Albany Walking Classic 10K in Sept. I didn’t really train for the races, so maybe this one is half completed.

3. Get out of debt. Status: Still on track. I don’t have exact numbers, but I’ve decreased my consumer debt by about 35%. This doesn’t include my education loans. I’ve decreased my private education loans by about 15%. (I’m not going to bother calculating my federal loans. I’ve probably only paid off about $5 of the principal. Yay, for consolidating at a low rate.) Overall, I’m pretty proud of myself.

4. Move out of my brother's house. Status: Completed. I moved in with my parents, two younger siblings and their two dogs. How lame am I? At least I got custody of Nanook.

And here are this year's resolutions:

2009 Resolutions

1. Get Employed. That’s right, folks. Once again, I am unemployed. I got laid off in October due to lack of work (official party line). The actual reason is that my boss didn’t like to deal with the business end of the law firm and got in a little over her head. I was the casualty. I wonder if God is trying to tell me that I shouldn’t be a lawyer. Is it really supposed to be this difficult to find a permanent job?

2. Train for and complete 5 races. Five is an arbitrary number. It was the first number to pop into my head. One of my races will be the Capital City Half Marathon on May 2 in Columbus. I’ve already started training and I’m hoping that others will do the race with me…please! As for the other races, we’ll see. I’m not going to focus on the distance of the races, just the number. I’m hoping it will keep me motivated throughout the year.

3. Get out of debt. I want to stay on track with retiring my debt, so I’m making it a resolution. It worked in 2008. I do want to note that I have completely moved to a cash-based system. It was harsh and painful, but I didn’t add to my debt in 2008, so it was worth it.

4. Reaffirm my commitment to lose weight and start losing weight. Another year with the same resolution. *Sigh* I need to lose 75 lbs. to hit my goal. That’s approximately 1.5 lbs. per week. Completely realistic. I need to dig deep for the motivation this year. Wish me luck. Next year, I want to be like Valerie Bertinelli in the Jenny Craig commercial and tearfully announce on my blog that I don’t have to worry about my weight in 2010.

5. Blog more religiously. I was horrible about blogging this year. I feel like every other post began with “after a 3 mos. hiatus, I’m back and I promise to blog every week.” I’m going to aim for at least 2-3 times per month. I feel like that isn’t unreasonable. I’m very impressed by the bloggers who are able to post multiple times per week.

Okay, 5 resolutions is plenty, especially when they are virtually the same as last year. I’ll keep everyone posted on the status of my resolutions throughout the year. I’m sure you're on the edge of your seat.

Busyness, Laziness and all that jazz...

2008-09-08T17:36:00.000-07:00

Monday is kind of like the weekend, right? Or maybe not. Nonetheless, here is the post I promised over the weekend. I can't believe it's been a month since I last posted. How the time flies. Life has been busy and I have been lazy all at the same time. Shocking, I know. Plus, I don't foresee an end to the busyness for a while. Well, here's what has been going on for the last month and will be going on in the upcoming month(s):

1. Work has been pretty crazy. It's seems like there has been one deadline after another since April. It's calmed down a bit, but it's about to gear up again. We have a big trial coming up in November. Plus, there has been discussion of a merger with some other attorneys so we will definitely be moving office space. Which sucks. I hate moving.

2. The Show Me the Money Challenge. So I'm doing a new challenge with J and B and there's money involved. And I'm losing horribly. We totally jacked the idea from Kmbuckeye and MG. This time the winner isn't the person who loses the most weight. The person who has to put the least amount of money in the pot is the winner. We have to put $5 in the pot if we gain weight over the week; $2 if we don't exercise at 3 times per week; and we each have $1 items. Mine are 1) $1 if I drink more than 1 soda pop per day; 2) $1 if I eat candy more than 1 time per week; 3) $1 if I order french fries in a restaurant more than 2 times per month. It's 12 week challenge (I think) ending on Oct. 30. Aside from owing a lot money, the weight loss portion is going pretty well. In 3 weeks, I have lost 6.7 lbs. so I can't complain. Hopefully, the losses will continue.

3. The next few weeks are going to be pretty crazy. On my plate, I have the OSU-Troy football game, an engagement party to plan/attend, the New Albany 10K, a CAACO alumni event to plan/attend, AH's bachelorette party in Boston, and AH's wedding in Syracuse. Not too mention work. Work will be getting busy.

I think that's about it for now. I will make an effort to get back on track with blogging weekly. Also, I have book club on Thurs. Hopefully, I'll get the book read by then so I can post a book review.

Coming Soon...

2008-09-05T08:33:00.001-07:00

A posting, I swear. This weekend. It's on my "To Do" list.

Dub Crawl 4-Miler

2008-08-04T07:44:00.000-07:00

So I did the Dub Crawl 4-Miler last Thursday night with JT instead of going to WW. It didn't really go as planned. I hardly jogged any of it. I walked probably 3/4 of the race. I started out fine, too fast, but fine, and then I hit the hill. Between mile marker 1 and 2, it was uphill. And after that, there were rolling hills the rest of the way (or it seemed like that anyway). I was not prepared for hills.

Actually, I wasn't prepared at all for the race. I had been jogging semi-regularly (at least 2x per week) for the month of July and doing between 3 and 4 miles each time I jogged, so I thought I would be fine for the race. I wasn't expecting to break any speed records or anything, but I thought I would at least be able to jog/walk the entire 4 miles. But no. I ended up jog/walking the first 2 miles and walking the last 2 miles. I still managed to finish in just over an hour - 1:02 - which wasn't too bad. I had hoped to finish in just under an hour. But, whatever, it works for me. At least I was out doing something instead of sitting around on my ass.

I have realized, after doing this race and walking it, that I will definitely need to train for the New Albany Walking Classic 10K if I hope to finish in a reasonable time. Sustaining a 15 min./mile pace walking was an effort for the Dub Crawl. I don't know that I could've kept on going for another 2.2 miles required for a 10K. I need to keep that in mind.

Book Review: Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann

2008-08-01T06:47:00.000-07:00

I think I hated it. Well, I didn't really hate it. I was extremely dissatisfied with the ending. I like happy endings and the book definitely did not have a happy ending. I was mad at one of the main characters for giving up on her life in the end. She got screwed over by people who were supposed to care for her and just took it. I wanted her to kick them to curb and return to feisty girl who left her hometown to move to NYC because she wanted more than a husband, kids and house with a white picket fence and didn't want to settle. But in the end, that's what she did. She gave up and settled. It really irritated me (clearly).

In any case, it was a good read despite my dissatisfaction with the ending, if that makes sense. I would recommend the book to anyone who hasn't read it. I got absorbed in it and had a hard time putting it down. I needed to know how the book ended.

For those who have never heard of this book, it's about three women who move to NYC and get involved in show business in the late '40s. The book follows their rises and falls throughout their lives as they become friends and rivals and move from Broadway to Hollywood. Dolls = pills, green, yellow and red. Apparently, it was a very popular book back in the day when our moms were in high school and was made into a movie (which doesn't really follow the book from what I hear). I had never heard of it.

If anyone is wondering why I decided to post a book review, it's because I've joined a book club. So far, it's been a lot of fun. Most of the people in the book club are girls I went to law school with, but then there are also several girls who are friends of the girls I went to law school with. It's a good group. We meet about every 4-6 weeks at a different person's house. The hostess gets to choose the book and I think it has to be fiction.

Valley of the Dolls was my second book club. Our next book is Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. I don't know much about the book yet, except that the book/movie "The Hours" was inspired by it. If you look to the right, I'm keeping a list of the books that I'm reading for book club. If you click on the pictures, it will take you to a synopsis of the book. Middlesex was my first book, but I haven't finished yet which is why it's still on the list.

Boston & HGTV

2008-07-23T10:15:00.000-07:00

So I was waiting for my flight back to C-bus from Boston on Sun. when I saw someone I thought I recognized out of the corner of my eye. At first, I couldn't place the girl and then I was like, OMG, I think that's one of the hosts from HGTV's Designed to Sell. So kept trying to stare at her surrepticiously to see if it really was her because I didn't want to be rude. And I didn't want to just ask her because, again, I didn't want to be rude. But it turns out I was definitely right...one of the flight attendants on my flight recognized her and asked. She was sitting a couple of rows behind me. In any case, as I am an HGTV fanatic and I love the show "Designed to Sell", that was the highlight of my otherwise crummy trip back to C-bus.* By the way, her name is Taniya Nayak.

*For clarification, my weekend in Boston was fantastic. I was very excited to see and spend time with new mama BD and baby A. It was the trip home that kind of sucked. My flight was delayed out of Boston and I wasn't able to get on the earlier flight to DC. So I missed the last flight of the night to C-bus out of DC and had to stay overnight in a hotel.

In other famous people news, while I was trying to figure whether or not Taniya Nayak was actually on my flight, I was talking to a girl who was on her way home from Martha's Vineyard. While we were discussing whether it was Taniya or not, she said it would be really weird if this was the second famous (or semi-famous, depending on your view) person she saw on her trip home. Apparently, when she settling into her seat in coach on her flight in from Martha's Vineyard, she glanced at the person sitting next to her and it was Mitt Romney. They had a nice discussion about the books they were reading.

-1/2 lb.

2008-07-18T07:50:00.000-07:00

I'll take it. While I was happy to see a loss, I had hoped/expected for something more than 1/2 lb. because I was journaling and working out on schedule for the past week. But, I'll take it. It's better than seeing my weight increase as it has been for the past year. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for next week.

Another Week with 0 lbs. Lost

2008-07-11T06:23:00.000-07:00

I think my title says it all. However, it's misleading because I probably did actually lose weight this week. Here's the explanation - I haven't weighed in for 2 weeks. I was in Atlanta two weeks ago and then last week my meeting was closed due to the July 4th holiday. I did get on my own scale which showed a very scary number that was higher than the scary number I saw last night at WI. So I did lose weight. I just don't know how much.

My personal scale is very difficult to read and somewhat unreliable. I always have to add 4 lbs. to the number I think the scale is showing to get somewhere in the neighborhood of my actual weight when I get on the scale at WW. The +4 weight from my scale from last weekend was about 3.5-4 lbs. higher than the scary number I saw last night. So it's highly likely that I lost weight this week.

However, the WW scale is the official weight measurer (in my mind) and so my scary number from last night is my official weight. And since the scary number on the scale at WW last night wasn't smaller than the last time I got on the scale at WW about 3 weeks ago, I lost 0 lbs. this week.

Hopefully, next week I will see a loss on the scale. I have been working out regularly this week - jogged on Tues. and Thurs. and Pilates on Mon. and Fri. And I plan on being just as diligent this coming week with my working out efforts. Plus, I have been journaling 5 days out of 7. This coming week I am aiming for a perfect 7 for journaling. I'm working very hard to keep motivated and stay on track. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Thievery

2008-06-27T10:38:00.001-07:00

I'm totally stealing the scale from my hotel room. I love it. It's completely broken and I love it. Everytime I get on the scale, it says I weigh 130 lbs. I don't know that I've ever seen that number on the scale (except in passing as the numbers whirled by to my actual weight).

The first time it happened I thought maybe it was showing kilograms or some other alternate calculation of weight, so I got off and checked and it definitely said lbs. So then I thought I just misread it, but no, it really is just broken and it's just broken. And I want to take it home.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

2008-06-25T06:08:00.000-07:00

Actually, this post is going to involve planes and motorcycle. I am currently on my way to Atlanta for a conference. And there was a small "to-do" on my flight. A girl fainted in the middle of the aisle on her way back from the bathroom. Luckily, we were going into our final descent, so she didn't have long to wait to get off the plane. But the EMTs were called and met the plane on the tarmack and we had to wait for them to get her off the plane before we could get off. It was kind of cool to see the firetruck racing across the tarmack to meet our plane. The girl seemed fine and was able to walk off the plane. This is the first time I have ever been on a plane where the EMTs had to meet the flight and I've been on lots of planes over the past 27 years.

Now for odd observation no. 2. I saw the most ridiculous thing last night as I was driving on the freeway. This motorcycle came racing up behind me and passed me. I was somewhat annoyed because he was tailgating me and I don't like motorcycles near me. I'm afraid I'm going to run them over. In any case, this guy on the motorcycle looked like the stereotypical big, bad, tattooed, biker dude complete with a massive Harley. And then I glanced at his feet after he passed me...he was wearing bright orange Crocs (with black socks, I might add). WTF? Who wears Crocs to ride a motorcycle? He looked ridiculous.

In other news, weight loss efforts still aren't on track, but I'm working my way there. I won't WI this week because I'll be in Atlanta. I'm a little concerned about this conference. A lot of the food is provided as part of the conference, which is good, because this is going to be an expensive trip even with the scholarship I got to attend. But it's also bad because it means I own't really have a say in what I get to eat.

I did bring my running sneakers and workout clothes though. My hotel is right across from the Olympics Centennial Park, so my plan is to jog/walk at least a couple of times. I definitely need to get my ass in gear because I signed up to do the Dub Crawl 4-Miler on July 31 with JT. I'm not really concerned about the distance, but the amount of time it will take me to go the distance. The finish line will be all packed up by the time I get there. Oh well, I get a free tech tee, a free ticket to the Dublin Irish Festival and a $20 gas card for signing up and doing the race. I'm game. I would also like to note that upon completing this race and the one in Sept., I will have met yet another one of New Years resolutions (revised). Yay for me.

Argh...

2008-06-13T13:18:00.000-07:00

How did it get to be the middle of June already and I haven't posted anything since I stated I was going to blog once per week? Argh... Maybe it's because I don't really have anything newsworthy to report.

I skipped WW this week in order to clean the house so it wouldn't be disgusting upon my mother's return from her vacation. I did go last week and hopefully the number I saw on the scale will give me motivation to get my ass in gear. I haven't seen that number since my 2L year of law school - so since about 2004. Wow, that's a really long time ago. That's just great...I've managed to lose and re-gain the same 20 lbs. in the 4 past years. Aren't I a winner? Grrrr... Ok, enough self-hatred. It's time to move on and focus on the positive. Maybe if I tell myself that enough, I'll begin to believe it again.

That's it for now. Hopefully, I'll be more cheerful in my next post.

I'm Back...Again

2008-05-29T07:17:00.000-07:00

After a long 3 month absence, I'm back in business. It's ridiculous how many times I stop and start this blog. I'll be suprised if I have any readers left. Actually, I'm suprised I have any readers at all. It's not as if this is an especially exciting blog, but it is occassionally therapeutic.

In honor of my return and the passing of over 1/3 of this year, I'm going to give a status update on my New Year's resolutions:

1. Reaffirm my commitment to lose weight and continue losing weight. Status: ABYSMAL. I've pretty much been lazy and yoyo dieting for the past 5 months. This must change in the next 7 months. My goal is to average a loss of 5 lbs. per month for the rest of the year. May the force be with me. And I'm also going to make every effort to update my blog at least once per week.

2. Train for and complete 2 half marathons. Status: Fallen by the wayside. I didn't do the Indy Mini this year as I had planned. See the previous paragraphy regarding being lazy. This resolution has been changed to train for and complete 2 races this year. Distance doesn't matter. So far, I'm signed up for a 10K (walking) in Sept. and I'm going to sign up to do a 10-Miler with Kmbuckeye in Aug. I've already started training for the 10-Miler. I'll keep you updated.

3. Get out of debt. Status: On track. Finally, a resolution I have been actively working on. I've have taken some big steps towards getting out of debt. And it all started with saving money to pay taxes for 2007 because I was an independent contractor. I saved about $4000 more than I needed because I was petrified that I would come up short at tax time. This has allowed me to pay down on my debt and actually have the beginnings of a savings/emergency fund. Go me.

4. Move out of my brother's house. Status: Completed. Though not exactly in the manner I intended. I moved in with my parents, two younger siblings and two dogs. I was also lucky enough to take my princess, Nanook, with me, so now there are three dogs. It all came about around tax time, when I was figuring out how much extra money I would have to help out with Resolution No. 3. I did the math and realized if I moved in with the 'rents that I would be able to cut my debt by almost half by the end of the year. That was enough to convince me. So far, so good. No blood has been shed.

I guess completing 1 resolution and actively working on 1 resolution is not too shabby when the year isn't even half over yet. At least I still have 7 months to continue working on the other 2. We'll see how it goes. Wish me luck.

Top 10 List (about being pregnant)

2008-02-24T18:26:00.000-08:00

This list was just too funny not to post. I realize that many of you may not get all the references, as it's about my best friends from high school, but it's funny nonetheless. By the way, some names have been changed to protect the identities of the innocent ;-).

here goes ladies, my [MG's] top ten list about pregnancy crap I have learned from my friends and just some shit I have made up. Enjoy!

10. It is not appropriate to ask who the father is (we're not on maury povich here, so there will be no DNA tests)

9. There are no names left for the baby because Aunt Starfruit has reserved them all for her 14 children.

8. Dr. Gross will not in fact be delivering the baby, we all may be friends but I have no desire to see snatches

7. Babies do have cravings, Vodka is not one of them

6. Your boobs get bigger (if only i had known this sooner)

5.Aunt AH should only babysit under supervised conditions (picture AH changing a poopy diaper, ah hilarious)

4. Peeing your pants when you get drunk equals funny, peeing a little when you sneeze not so fun apparently

3. Pregnancy sex????? apparently it helps to get the baby out at the end (aaahhhh daddy you're poking me)

2. Aunt MG cannot use the baby to get free drinks at the bar, it's not a fucking puppy after all. Plus the new parents will get a breathalyzer to check me before I'm allowed to hold it

1. Squirting milk out your boobs when you orgasm, BW better get some goggles! (this was thanks to the crazy chick in key west for those of you that were on that trip)

Thanks, MG, for the laugh. Oh and by the way, I lost 1 lb. this week. I just realized I forgot to post this past week.

Crazy Ex?

2008-02-15T14:22:00.001-08:00

I think my older brother's ex may be a wee bit stalkerish. Of course, this is probably a case of pot calling the kettle black given the amount of internet stalking that I do myself. But, whatever.

The reason I believe she a bit stalkerish is because she has looked at my MySpace page approximately 16 times, with 8 of them being after they broke up. The most recent one was 2 days ago. They broke up around Christmas. First, we aren't friends on MySpace because I wasn't a huge fan of her (that's probably a party foul, admitting it in such a public forum - oh well) and I don't think she was a big fan of me either. Second, many of you know that I haven't updated my MySpace page in ages. Third, I don't correspond with my brother on MySpace. We live together; if I have something to tell him, I say it in person. Basically, there's no reason for her to be looking at my MySpace page.

And it's not like she can pretend it's someone else - she's looking at my page from her place of employment. It's a pretty unique place of employment, so I can't imagine that someone else from there is looking at my page.

Oh, and for clarification, this is my brother's most recent ex - not KM, who I think is great.

Big Loser

2008-02-15T07:39:00.000-08:00

Yay! I lost a total of 3.8 lbs. this week. I have no idea how that happened. Maybe the not drinking soda/pop (depending on where you're from) during the week and the not eating dessert after dinner is paying off! Whatever it is, I'll take it. Now I just hope it's not one of those weeks where I have a huge loss and then next week I stay the same or gain a little bit. I hate that. Not too mention, I admit, I had no shame last night at WW as I took off all the jewelry I don't normally wear for WI and my velvet blazer to ensure that I had a loss. In any case, I hope to keep up the good work and I'm excited that I no longer have a + in the "Weight Lost in '08" section of my blog.

I'm also very very very excited by the fact that I finally have internet at the office! It's only been three weeks since we moved in here. Do you know how hard it is to conduct business with no internet? It's practically impossible these days. I was going through withdrawal. I'm a compulsive e-mail checker. Although, I have become addicted to Mahjong Titans. It's my new favorite game.

Half marathon training is going enh. I didn't do all my days this week, but I hope to improve this coming week. I need to get on the ball, so I don't hurt myself again. That's it for now.

No Clever (or even semi-clever) Title This Week

2008-02-10T11:11:00.001-08:00

No, your eyes do not deceive you - I am up 0.4 lbs. on the year. Whoops. I pretty much ate like there was no tomorrow last week. I am not sure why, but I imagine if I took a minute to think about it, it would help tremendously with my weight loss effort. I'll have to put it on my "to do" list.

As for the 1/2 marathon training, it's going pretty well. I ended up doing 4 miles last week for my long run. It went better than I expected. I averaged 13:42 min./mile, which may not seem great for most people. However, if you factor in that I haven't run since last May (7 months) and that I've gained a significant amount of weight, it's not too shabby. It's more than a minute faster per mile than I averaged when I first started running this time last year. I need to shave off 42 seconds/mile in order to meet my goal of finishing the Indy Mini in under 3 hours. I feel like that is an awful lot of time. Yikes.

I also ran 4 miles this week for my long run. I was supposed to do 5 miles this week according to my schedule. But, I decided to do only 4 miles again since it was only my second long run and I didn't want to overdo it early on. Also, it was extremely windy yesterday (gusts up to 20-30 mph) and I was running outside, so I doubt I would have made it another mile even if I wanted to.

This week I'm going to focus on staying OP. I've also decided to give a couple things up for Lent, even though I'm not Catholic and I don't have to give anything up for Lent: (1) no dessert after dinner and (2) no soda/pop during the week. As a side note, I'm not completely giving up sweets. I'm just not going to be eating them after dinner.

Fully Operational

2008-02-02T11:41:00.000-08:00

I am happy to report that I no longer feel the need to cut off my left foot. It is once again fully operational. I was able to jog both Tues. and Thurs. this week and I'm about to head out for my long jog. I'm supposed to do 4 miles today, but I might take it easy and only do 3 miles. We'll see how the foot feels at 3 miles.

In weight loss news, I lost exactly 0 lbs. this week. At least I didn't gain weight, I guess. Hopefully, I'll have a loss this coming week, if I can get myself under control. For some reason, I'm ravenous all the time and all I want is crap, i.e. Chipotle, which I did eat last night. Not good. I'm trying to pull myself together.

That's all for now. Sorry, I was late in posting, but I don't have internet at work right now. I changed office space and AT&T is stupid. They were supposed to hook up our DSL this past Mon., but because they are big, fat, stupid liars, we still don't have internet and we may not get it for at least another week. It makes life very difficult.

Web Searches that Have Led to My Blog

2008-01-24T08:02:00.000-08:00

For a little bit of fun, here are a list of the searches that have led people to my blog. I've also listed their location. Enjoy!

Web Searches:
1. Hamilton, Ontario, Canada: When does Bus 1 go?
2. Staten Island, NY: "cranberry apple" drink "sugar free" "walmart"
3. Miami, FL: star fruit bad
4. Portland, OR: where’s waldo yourself
5. Adrian, MI: who on foodnetwork went to g&r in waldo ohio
6. Huntingtown, MD: january starfruit
7. Perrysburg, OH: nothing important [My personal favorite ;-)]
8. Springfield, VA: starfruit in the bible
9. Arlington Heights, IL: 2008 Indy Mini

Random International Visitors:
1. Jakarta, Indonesia
2. Athens, Greece
3. Barquisimeto, Venezuela
4. Bangkok, Thailand
5. Germany
6. Hamilton, Ontario

WI Update

2008-01-24T07:58:00.000-08:00

I'm down 1.5 lbs. this week. Yay for me. Ideally, 14 weeks from now, I would like to be 21 lbs. lighter. We'll see how it goes. Oh, by the way, 14 weeks from now is important because it's the Indy Mini and KK's wedding.

By the way, has anyone ever tried pool running? Have any tips?

Stupid Foot

2008-01-23T08:26:00.001-08:00

I hate my left foot - it's stupid. I want to cut it off and get a new one. The reason being that I sprained my foot again last night. (Some may recall that I sprained this same foot 2 weeks before the Indy Mini last year and I wasn't sure that I was going to be able to do the race.) The worst part is it happened on the treadmill. Who's sprains their foot on a treadmill? Ridiculous. I didn't stumble, I didn't trip, I didn't fall off, nothing. Apparently, my dainty feet aren't strong enough for my giant elephant body to jog. Curses... The sprain isn't as bad as last time. I'm doing everything the dr. told me to do last time - Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevate - and I'm hoping it will get better today, I mean, in the next couple of days. I'm going to the gym tonight to test it out, but I won't be jogging. Today is my cross-training and weight lifting day. I don't think that either of those activities will overly tax my foot, since I'm sitting all day at work. So we'll see.

In other news, I forgot to post last week because I've gotten out of the habit. I lost 0.1 lbs. at WW. Miniscule, but I'll take it. Hopefully, I'll have a bigger loss this week. I'm going to WI a day early (today) because I'm hanging out with my lil sis tomorrow evening while our parents go to lil bro's wrestling match. I'll try to remember to update tomorrow.

Other good things that have happened in the past week: (1) my dad got a new job (finally, I might add. I won't have to represent my mom in court for murder ;-) ); (2) I got a raise (every little bit helps); and (3) I'm moving office space this weekend (we'll finally give the appearance of being a proper law firm).

That's all, folks.

The Rededication of Starfruit

2008-01-10T08:27:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year…10 days late! I hope everyone is enjoying a prosperous new year thus far. This post signifies my official return to blogging after a very long 3 month absence. I’m back and better than ever. Just like last year, I am going to devote my first post in 2008 to my New Year’s resolutions. And again, I am going to try not to get crazy :-).

Last year’s resolutions:
1. Reaffirm my commitment to losing weight and continue to lose weight. I was completely on track with this goal until summer hit. In May, I was at my lowest weight since my sophomore year of college and I was 1.7 lbs. away from the ever elusive 50 lbs. star. And yes, it is the same star I have been talking about since I started this blog in August 2006. Unfortunately, the last 6 months of 2007 were not great months for me on weight loss front and for the first time since I started WW in 2001, I left a year heavier than I began it. That is an extremely difficult truth for me to face, but face it I will, and here’s to better luck in 2008.
2. Train for and complete the Indy Mini Marathon on May 5, 2007. Been there, done that, have the t-shirt (literally). Finishing the Indy Mini is one of my proudest moments. Who knew I could jog/walk 13.1 miles, especially with a sprained foot? I certainly didn’t. I’m signed up to do the Indy Mini again this year on May 3, 2008. Training begins this coming week!
3. Get employed full-time. Another resolution successfully completed! For anyone who doesn’t know, I finally found full-time employment as a lawyer in July 2007. Yay for me! Now, if only I could get a raise.

Two out of three isn’t too bad, I guess. I’ve definitely had worse years.

Resolutions for 2008:
1. Reaffirm my commitment to losing weight and continue to lose weight. Sound familiar? I figured. I will end 2008 lighter than I began it. That is non-negotiable for me. I have a plan of attack: (1) I will attend WW every week and stay for the meeting; (2) I will follow WW program (not the Starfruit hybrid of the WW program); (3) I will begin exercising again; and (4) I will make myself accountable by blogging at least once per week. Who knows? Maybe I will hit my goal by December 31, 2008. Only 75 lbs. to go. I would need to average a loss of 1.5 lbs. per week. Not unheard of.

2. Train for and complete 2 half marathons in 2008. As I mentioned, I am already signed up to do the Indy Mini in May. But I also want to do at least one other 1/2 marathon this year. Now I just need to pick one.

3. Get out of debt. I should probably clarify – I want to get out of consumer debt. I would love to completely eradicate my law school loans, but it’s completely unlikely that I’m going to be able to pay off $100K in school loans this year unless I win the lottery. Since I don’t play the lottery, it’s even more unlikely. In any case, after living on credit cards for 2 years after law school while virtually unemployed, I’m enslaved to Bank of America and Citibank. I’m too embarrassed to say how much though some people know. However, I am determined to get out of debt, or at least take big steps in that direction, this year. So far, I’m working on moving to a cash-based system. It’s been a little rough. There never seems to be enough cash :-).

4. Move out of my brother’s house. I am extremely grateful to my brother for letting me live with him for the past 1.25 years rent free at first and now at an extremely reasonable rate. With that being said, I desperately want to move out for a couple of reasons: (1) I’m tired of cramming all of my belongings into 1 room just like I was in college; (2) I miss all of my furniture, pictures and knickknacks (It will be like Christmas when I move into my own place again); (3) I miss having my own space that I can do anything with; and (4) I want a shorter commute to work – 60 miles roundtrip is getting old. The real trick will be convincing my brother to let me take my pretty princess (the dog) with me as she technically belongs to my brother. She loves me more though.

Alright, four resolutions are more than enough to work on right now, especially since two of them involve multiple steps. And so 2008 begins…bring it on.

P.S. I’m turning 28 on the 28th in 2008. For some reason, I think this is extremely important :-).

Almost Run Over at Starbucks

2007-10-08T05:32:00.001-07:00

I almost got run over in the parking lot at Starbucks this morning. No joke, I know I tend to exaggerate on occasion, but this time I'm serious. If I had not jumped (literally) out of the way, this guy would have backed over me! Clearly, he should have taken some time in Starbucks to drink some of his coffee to wake up. I will have to take more care in the Starbucks parking lot in the morning - crazy people who don't look behind them when they start to back up their vehicle go there. It's a dangerous place.

Stunning Results

2007-10-05T07:17:00.000-07:00

I lost 4.6 lbs. this week. I have no idea how it happened. For the past week, I have been doing much better at following the program, but I didn't think I was overly successful. Since last Friday, I've had homemade mac-n-cheese, lots of beer, bratwurst, german potato salad, pizza, grilled cheese, french fries, reeses cups, and pad thai. Not exactly the best choices when one is trying to make a lifestyle change and lose weight. In fact, listing all that stuff out, how did I think I was doing better at staying OP? Maybe I just did a good job at portion control? I have no idea. And it wasn't exercise because I haven't really been exercising. I'm utterly baffled, but I'll take it. Hopefully, it won't bite me in the ass the next couple of weeks. Generally, I'll have a big loss and then either not lose any weight or gain a little weight even though I'm OP. It's frustrating and I pray it doesn't happen the next couple of weeks.

Best Stuff Ever...

2007-09-21T07:02:00.000-07:00

I have just discovered the best drink ever - Sugar Free Cranberry Apple drink mix. It's from Walmart. It's the Sam's Choice brand, I think. It is fantastic. I'm so tired of the boring old Crystal Light flavors, plus I absolutely love cranberry juice and have missed being able to drink it. There are other things I would rather spend my points on...like chocolate and ice cream. So I'm very excited about this new drink mix. Actually, I don't know if it's new, but I've never seen it before. My brother started buying it. I wonder if they make a Cranberry Grape version because that would be even better. I will have to look.

No Self Control

2007-09-19T09:02:00.000-07:00

I don't know what my problem is, but I have absolutely no self control. One minute I'm determined to get back on track and I'm doing better and the next I'm shoving a Brazenhead burger in my mouth for lunch. And let's not forget the Snickers bar I had for dessert last night (the neighbors brought over an enormous bag of full-sized candy bars and 2 lb. bag of peanut M&Ms) or the breakfast of champions I had this morning - Pop Tarts and a diet Pepsi. I guess at least I jogged 3.25 miles yesterday, but I doubt it's going to make a difference given how much crap I've eaten in the past 6 days. I must find a way to get back on track.

The Next CR

2007-09-17T07:20:00.000-07:00

The 2nd Annual Law School Girls Reunion was a blast. I ate so much that I'm still not hungry two days later. I don't know how that's going to play out on the scale on Thurs., but oh well, girls will be girls. I'll just work extra hard the next 4 days to be OP and exercise and hope that I maintain. At least we did go hiking on Sat. instead of sitting around eating the entire day. We hiked for about 3 hours at Hocking Hills State Park. I think it was about 5-6 miles. So I worked off some of the calories I took in...maybe. All in all a good weekend. I'm looking forward to next year's trip already.

By the way, I hope your first day in your new section is going well, the Next CR. ;-)

FIF Week 3

2007-09-14T07:50:00.000-07:00

This week wasn't the greatest. I lost 0.5 lbs. this week, which is fine, but what really bothers me is that my week was unsuccessful on the exercising front. I did so well for 2 weeks waking up early to either go to the gym or do pilates with my mom. This week...bleck. I only exercised once - Mon. The other days I overslept. It was ridiculous. I could not get up for the life of me. And it wasn't because I was staying up too late. Most nights I was in bed by 10-10:30pm. I don't know what my problem is/was. Next week must be different!

Aside from that, everything is going pretty well. I'm very excited about going to Hocking Hills this weekend for the 2nd Annual Law School Girls Reunion. It's going to be a blast. I am sad that not everyone can make it this year. JM, we'll miss you! Also, Broccoflower, I demand (because I'm the boss of you ;-) ) that you attend next year's Hocking Hills trip. With the advent of SkyBus, there are no excuses. Just putting that out there.

Fabulous in Fall Week 2

2007-09-07T06:50:00.001-07:00

I'm down 2 lbs. this week. Hurray! Working out is paying off. I've been doing pretty good at getting up in the morning. I have only missed 2 scheduled workouts in the past 2 weeks. I'm already noticing a difference which is nice.

It's also nice that I have been making better food choices in the past week. Well, except for eating my weight in tortilla chips and salsa at Abuelos on Wed. night, so maybe I would have been down more had I not done that. On the other hand, I did not order my customary burrito; I got 1 steak and 1 chicken with veggies skewers. It was very tasty and Core program friendly.

In any case, I intend to keep up the good work this week as I'm finally moving in the right direction again. I need to fit back into the clothes I bought for Vegas in time for St. Thomas, plus I've gotten some really cute, new work clothes that I want to wear, but I need to lose a few more pounds for them to look nice. Curses for being in-between sizes again! Ok, I'm out.

Challenge Week 1 Synopsis

2007-08-31T06:31:00.000-07:00

The week didn't go very well. I made good choices during the day, but fell back on bad habits at dinner time. Mostly because I was eating dinner at my parents' house. It's not always an easy thing for me to make the best choices there. No loss this week.

On the upside, exercising in the morning went very well. I was up and exercising by 6am everyday this week. It was not as difficult as I thought it would be. On to the next week - hopefully it will be better for the food choice and weight loss endeavors.

Day 2

2007-08-28T05:44:00.000-07:00

Today is Day 2 of my new routine of getting up early to exercise. So far, so good. I realize that it's early in the game, but it hasn't been as difficult getting up these past two days at 5am as it was over the winter when I started training for the Indy Mini. Hopefully, it will continue to be easy.

On Mon., Wed. and Fri., I go over to my parents' house and my mom and I do pilates. It's very interesting to say the least. The dogs don't know what to make of the two of us pilate-ing on the floor and will randomly jump on us. We're going to have to work on that. On Wed., I'm also going to go to the gym after work for weight training. (Well, I'm going to try anyway.) On Tues. and Thurs., I go to the gym in the morning to jog. I'm not so excited about using the treadmill again, but unfortunately, there isn't any place to jog outside by my house where I won't get run over by a gravel truck. Not the way I want to die - if I get hit by a car, it had better be a luxury sedan, i.e. BMW, Jag, Mercedes, etc. That way my parents will be more likely to get some settlement money to pay off my massive credit card debt. But enough about that...

Nothing else to report really. I haven't been doing too well food choice wise for the Challenge, but I'm working on it. I'll be back in fighting form for next week.

Fabulous in Fall

2007-08-24T07:44:00.000-07:00

That's the name I came up with for the new challenge. I like symmetrical names apparently - Fabulous in Fall, Viva Las Vegas, Hot for the Holidays (a challenge name I came up with after FiF). So far, my first full day of the Challenge is going well. Hopefully, my self-control will last through happy hour with J this evening and on through the weekend. I need to start going to WW on Mon. maybe. Right now, I go on on Thurs. evenings, so I have M-Th. to redeem myself if I have a bad weekend. But maybe that thought process is what has been holding me back. I'll have to think about this.

Nothing else exciting is going on. Well, that's not true. I'm very excited to go to Boston in Nov. to see my best friends from high school. I haven't seen them since right before my parents moved to Columbus last summer. So that means I haven't seen them in way too long. So yay for that!

My car battery died of old age on Wed. evening. Of course, there was no one left in the office at 6:15pm and no one who works downtown and might have still been there was answering their phones, so my dad had to drive down to jump my car. I am now the proud owner of a 72 mos. Interstate battery, which may outlive my car since it has 119,000 miles on it. On the other hand, my car is a Honda Accord and they do tend to last a long time. My grandpa is still driving his 1991 Accord that goes to South Dakota every year from Pittsburgh and has been to Alaska twice. So I guess we'll see.

The Dawning of a New Challenge

2007-08-17T09:37:00.000-07:00

Next week will be the inaugural week of a new Challenge. And not a moment too soon. As of last night, I was up 11 lbs. from Memorial Day. That's huge, and not in a good way.

So begins the Challenge. I will be joined by the usual suspects - you know who you are :-). It will last a total of 11 weeks, so until Thurs., Nov. 1. The Challenge is still unnamed, so if anyone has any suggestions for something catchy, let me know. Let the games begin.

Bad Starfruit

2007-08-12T08:51:00.000-07:00

It has been extremely long time since I've posted anything. I've thought about it and then decided that I didn't have time. It makes me feel especially bad since I always harass Kmbuckeye and B about not blogging when they have been absent for a while. But I'm back.

Things have been pretty crazy for me lately. I think I have finally found a real job. Hopefully, it will continue to work out. I need to rustle up some clients though, so if you need help defending against ethics charges or legal malpractice or criminal allegations or if you have employment issues, I'm your girl.

On the family front, things have also been very crazy. For those who don't know, my uncle has been in the hospital since the end of June, which means my mom has been at the hospital everyday. And since she's pretty much the dictator, I mean director, of our family, things are in disarray to say the least. Not too mention, my little sister also has to have surgery sometime in the next couple of weeks and will be bedridden for 2 weeks. Things are hectic.

Finally, it turns out I am not going to be able to do the Columbus 1/2 Marathon with Kmbuckeye like I had planned. Instead, I have to go to St. Thomas from Oct. 18-23. I know, tough life, right? One of my good friends from Cornell is getting married and there's going to be a mini-Cornell reunion for the wedding. Since I haven't seen anyone pretty much since graduation, I definitely couldn't pass up the opportunity. Now let's keep our fingers crossed that there isn't going to be a hurricane.

I think that's it for now. I promise that I going to get back on track with blogging. Maybe it will help me get on track and stay on track with WW and going to the gym too. I can only hope.

Getting There...

2007-07-23T09:19:00.001-07:00

I'm slowly getting back on track. I feel like everything has been spiraling out of control lately, but hopefully that has stopped. I jogged for the first time in a while on Saturday. I just picked up with my training schedule. It felt good. It was a 4 mile jog and while I was slow, I didn't have any problems completing it, which made me very, very happy. Also, just the fact that I was out doing something made me feel better. I've been feeling very gross and disgusting lately.

I'm also tackling getting back on track with WW. Some days are better than others. I just can't seem to get everything together at once. I'll start out really well in the beginning of the day, but by the end, it's all over. I need to get back to cooking for myself and not eating dinner at my parents' house so much. Or if I do eat over there, making healthy substitutions - like brown rice, instead of my mother's very tasty baked rice that I know for a fact has an entire stick of butter in it. I maintained last week, which was shocking. I hope that doesn't translate into a gain this week. We'll see.

P.S. - I read the entire new Harry Potter book on Sat. (although I didn't let myself go pick up my reserved copy until I completed my training jog - how's that for motivation?). It was fantastic. I won't comment on the content, in case people haven't read and/or finished it yet. But everyone needs to read it if they've kept up with the series. Or read the entire series. You're seriously missing out if you don't.

I Need Some Motivation...

2007-07-17T06:12:00.000-07:00

Weight loss and 1/2 marathon training efforts were abominal last week...as in nonexistent. Mostly due to working insane hours trying to get my appellate brief done; hopefully, this week will be better. I really need to get back on track. There has been no excuse for my laziness/eating. I wore a shirt yesterday that I had gotten for Vegas - it looked great then, it makes me look preggers now. Not a particularly good look for me at the moment. I need some:

M ake short-term goals
O ut with the negative thoughts
T hink of why you want it
I magine how you will feel
V isualize the future you
A cknowledge your successes
T reat yourself with respect
I nvestigate new ideas and foods
O bserve your healthy lifestyle
N ever give up and never give in

-Author unknown

Back to Law School...

2007-07-11T18:34:00.000-07:00

I am officially in appellate brief hell. I feel like I'm back in App. Ad. I hated App. Ad. Not to mention, true to form, the brief is due tomorrow at 5pm - no more extensions allowed - and I'm only about half way done. I work best under pressure. Some of my best work has occurred between 1am - 4am. Hopefully, the client, and more importantly, the appellate court thinks so. On the upside, I will get to argue the case in court most likely. On second thought, I don't know if that is an upside or not. Again, hellish flashbacks to App. Ad.

Back on the Wagon

2007-07-06T11:57:00.000-07:00

It's officially time for me to get back on the wagon - for WW and 1/2 Marathon training. I have gained a heartstopping 9 lbs. since the Indy Mini Marathon in the beginning of May. That is completely unacceptable and I feel gross. Not too mention I haven't really worked out since the 1/2 Marathon, so since the beginning of May. Again, this is unacceptable.

Today is my first day completely back on WW. So far, so good. Hopefully, I'll make it through dinner tonight because my brother's girlfriend is making Dirt Cake. I absolutely adore Dirt Cake, plus it's TOM so anything chocolate I want to eat. It will be a struggle.

This week is also my first week of 1/2 marathon training for my next race. I'm doing the Columbus 1/2 Marathon on Oct. 21, 2007, with Kmbuckeye. Actually, not really "with" ~ she will leave me in the dust. But I will definitely see her at the finish line :-).

Goals for the Next Couple of Months:
1. Lose the weight I have gained by being lazy and off program, so lose 9lbs.
2. Complete ALL the training days on my schedule. I didn't really do all the training I was supposed to do for my first 1/2 marathon, i.e. the cross-training.
3. Keep myself accountable on my blog again. I've gotten away from doing this, but no more.

YAY for new computer!

2007-07-01T18:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I purchased a new computer today. Technically, my dad purchased it and put it on my tab which is growing larger by the second. I owe him at least a semester of college for my little brother. But I have 2 years before my brother goes to college, so I have a little time.

Back to the computer. I'm very excited about it. I got another Toshiba laptop because I loved my old laptop and it lasted me almost 6 years with no problems that I didn't cause myself (i.e. flipping it off a tray table and breaking the power pin). So far, so good. I'm not too sure how I feel about the Vista OS and Office 2007. They are both very different from previous versions, so we'll. My new computer also has a fingerprint reader for security and a built in webcam (neither of which I will probably use, but they're cool). Alright, back to playing with the computer.

Horrid Woman at the Liberty Twp./Powell YMCA

2007-06-25T07:04:00.000-07:00

Ew...I have just lost a lot of respect for the YMCA. My mom and I just went down to the Liberty Twp./Powell YMCA, so my mom could sign up as a program member. (I've been a YMCA member for almost 4 years.) We wanted to do the pilates classes that they offer. When we got to the front desk to sign up, my mom double-checked to make sure that the program membership covered those classes and the woman said that it did not because it was a free class. That didn't make sense, but that was fine.

It was the conversation that took place next that really pissed me off. I mentioned that maybe they might want to clarify on their website that the free fitness classes aren't included in the program membership because right now all it states is "program members may participate in classes only." (In my mind, that would include pilates - a class offered by the Y.) The front desk woman replied "We don't control that. It's not our problem." (As if it's my problem their website isn't clear.) Her entire demeanor was dismissive and rude. She barely even glanced my way when she made her statement, as if addressing a member's concern wasn't worth her time. I've never been so poorly treated by an employee of the YMCA. I don't know that I'll ever go back to that particular YMCA.

I wish now that I would have paid more attention to her name, because I'm definitely going to be letting someone at the YMCA know of my displeasure at the discourteous treatment. Let's face it, she didn't have to do much to not piss me off. She could have said: (1) "I didn't realize that. We don't control the content of the website, but I'll make a note of your concern and let someone know." or (2) "We don't control the content of the website, but let me get the name of the person who does and you can let him/her know of your concern/suggestion" or (3) "We don't control the content of the website, but there is a feedback form on the website where you make suggestions or voice concerns." It would have maybe an extra 30 seconds of her time. She is a wretched woman.

The Biggest Loser

2007-06-20T17:48:00.000-07:00

I'm becoming addicted to the reruns of The Biggest Loser. I'm currently watching the one where they picked competitors from the 50 states. Although, I do have to ask: Did anyone who watched that season notice that all the girls in the final 8 were from cold, northern states, i.e. Idaho, North Dakota, Alaska, and most of the guys were from the south, i.e. Arkansas, Missouri, Florida? What are they trying to say? That girls up north really pack on the pounds to stay warm? Although that thinking falls in line with some comments made by some Georgia frat boys on spring break one year, referring to my group as the "fat" girls from up north. All of us were from New York, except for one who was from Massachusetts. Anyway, it hit a sore spot (if you couldn't tell).

Where's Waldo?

2007-06-08T06:42:00.000-07:00

It's in Ohio. Right off of Rt. 23 & Rt. 98. And you are correct if you are thinking it's in the middle of no where. Why do I know where Waldo is? Because the G&R Bar in Waldo has the BEST fried baloney sandwiches in the world. I was there on Wed. for a "staff meeting/going away party for Starfruit", which is kind of funny because I wasn't at work on Wed. when the judge decided to have this staff meeting/going away party that evening. So I had to make a special trip to the middle of nowhere. In any case, it really was a great sandwich and they have great pie too. Apparently, the G&R was featured on the Food Network for its fried baloney sandwiches. Anyway, it was worth the drive. If you ever find yourself in Waldo, you should stop in.

Nothing Important

2007-06-05T08:06:00.000-07:00

Vegas was awesome! I had a blast with everybody. I won a total of $175 with an investment of only $39. I won $140 playing roulette. Yay for my dad, who told me to bet $20 for him on Black 22. I found a table at the Sahara with $1 chips/$4 min. bet and on my second spin, it hit Black 22 and I won $140. I got to keep $70 for my efforts :-). Then I won $35 on the Wheel of Fortune slot machine. I was happy.

Other than that, nothing exciting/important to report. I've been extremely lazy lately and haven't exercised. I need to get back on the wagon. I also need to find a new job. This is the last week I'm working for the judge. I'm thinking about running away and joining the circus. I think I would make a good clown. Or maybe I'll become a Carnie; I've always wanted to work a food cart at various local county fairs. Anway, just a thought.

Viva Las Vegas

2007-05-22T07:22:00.000-07:00

I'm going to Vegas this coming weekend and I'm very excited. First, I have never been to Vegas. Second, the group I'm going with is awesome and we always have a lot of fun. Third, I can't wait to get out of the hellhole that is Ohio for a little bit. (I like to blame Ohio, being the black hole of the Earth, for everything going wrong in my life.) I haven't been on a real vacation since right after taking the Bar when I went to Ocean City with B.D. and M.G.. So in 2 years. I can't wait...only 3 more days.

In other news, I did Race for the Cure this past weekend. It was fun. I didn't realize that the race in Columbus is the 10th largest Race for the Cure. There were more people there than at the Indy Mini Marathon. Very impressive. Somehow B, J and I missed the start for the runners (probably because I had to make a bathroom stop on the way to start line), so we walked. Apparently, I walk very quickly, which doesn't surprise me because I don't really enjoy walking for the sake of walking. So I wanted the 3.1 miles over and done with quickly. Anyway, that's all for now. I'm out like a fat kid in dodgeball.

Indy Mini Marathon - May 3, 2008

2007-05-14T07:25:00.000-07:00

Anyone want to do the Indy Mini Marathon next year? (Besides Kmbuckeye & B, that is.) I signed up today to do the race again next year. Apparently, the spots are going like hotcakes - all 35,000. The race does sell-out; it sold out by Nov. 27, 2006, for this year's race. Anyway, if you're interested, let me know!

Nothing New Really

2007-05-11T08:06:00.000-07:00

Not a lot going on right now. Just counting down the days until I leave for Vegas (for the 30th birthday of someone who will remain nameless). Weight loss is going okay. I've lost 6.4 lbs. over the past 7 weeks. Too bad it's weight that I've gained and lost several times now. I really need to get on the ball and break out of this cycle.

I also need to get back into running...like tomorrow. I've taken the week off since the 1/2 Marathon last weekend. I think I'm going to do another 1/2 Marathon in the fall. Specifically, the Columbus 1/2 Marathon on Oct. 21. So I need to keep up with my running, although I won't need to really start training for the race until the middle of July. If anyone wants to do the 1/2 Marathon with me, let me know! I'm also going to try to do 1 race per month for the foreseeable future. On May 19th, I'm doing Race for the Cure [5K] and potentially, on June 1st, I will be doing B's Race for the Kids (?) [5K] in Dayton.

Finally, I think hell has frozen over because I have purchased a pair of cropped/capri khakis from the Gap and I wear and like them. Some people may know or have noticed that I haven't worn shorts in public since high school (so, in at least 9 years) due to short, fat legs and that I have continually refused to wear capris since they have come back into style over the past few years. Mostly, it was because when they first came out, I never was able to find a pair that looked nice on me, and I didn't think such a pair existed. But apparently, they do. Now I need to address the problem of glow-in-the-dark white legs because they haven't seen the light of day in quite a few years.

3:17:04 & 24696th Place

2007-05-06T18:31:00.000-07:00

That's right, folks, I was able to do my very first 1/2 Marathon this past Sat. I jogged/walked 13.1 miles. WooHOO! It turns out my foot was only sprained and my doctor gave me the go-ahead to do the race a day and a half beforehand. I just had to wrap my foot for the race and then ice and ibuprofen afterwards.

The race went pretty well considering I didn't train at all the 2 weeks prior to it and only half-heartedly the 2 weeks prior to my injury. I finished in 3 hours, 17 minutes and 4 seconds and I was the 24,696th person to cross the finish line. And while I acknowledge it is a large number, I wasn't at the complete end of the pack. A total of 29,213 people finished the race.

I averaged a 15:03 min. mile, which is extremely slow, I know, but it worked for me. Plus, I was never in any danger of being picked up by the Sag Wagon. I had hoped to average about a 13 min. mile. Maybe next time. I walked a lot more than I wanted to, but it was probably a good thing because around 11.5 miles, my foot really started hurting. The pain would hit randomly, but it was so intense, I would limp for a few steps before I could get back in stride. I was worried that I had reinjured it. Luckily, I didn't. It doesn't hurt to walk on it now; it's just swollen. Surprisingly, I'm not very sore either. I'm very thankful.

The actual race was very cool. Downtown Indianapolis was virtually shut down. There were pit areas with water or gatorade about every 1/2 mile or so. Also, along the entire route there were bands every few blocks which was also cool. It was like having an iPod the entire race. All in all, it was a fantastic experience. I would recommend the race to anyone.

Suckiest Week EVER (well, this year)

2007-04-27T06:57:00.000-07:00

This has officially been the suckiest week of the year. First, I left my driver's side car window down Tues. night, which wouldn't normally be a problem, but it rained/stormed all night. My car was soaked when I ran out to the car (in the rain) to go to work (already 45 mins. late). It's been raining pretty much since then, so my car seat is still wet because I can't leave the windows down to let air in and the sun hasn't been out. Stupid Starfruit.

Second, all my 1/2 Marathon aspirations have been cruelly crushed a little over a week before the race. My left foot has been hurting since my training jog this past Sun. It got worse over the week, so I went to the doctor yesterday. Apparently, I have either a stress fracture or a sprained/ruptured ligature in my left foot. The doctor can't tell from x-ray, so I go in for an MRI on Tues. Either way, it doesn't look like I am going to be able to do my 1/2 Marathon next Sat. or even jog for a while. I'm really, really upset and disappointed. I might ignore the doctor and go anyway and try to walk the 1/2 Marathon. I know it's not realistic because the more I walk on my foot, the more painful it gets...but right now, the thought of attempting to do the 1/2 Marathon is the only thing that makes me feel any better. I want my t-shirt from the race; it will be the most expensive t-shirt I have.

The only good thing that has happened this week is that I lost 3.7 lbs. No clue how that happened. Maybe the pain in my foot prevented me from walking to the frig./cupboard to get food as often. Or it could have been the homework from my WW leader - no eating after 7pm for the week. I think that will be a rule I continue.

I'm Having Second Thoughts

2007-04-23T05:56:00.000-07:00

About this whole 1/2 Marathon thing. First, I got my race booklet in the mail a couple of weeks ago and it has completely freaked me out. There are 26 starting corrals with approximately 1500 people per corral. That's like 35,000 people. Plus, there are these rules and an emergency weather flag system. It's kind of scary.

Second, I have really slacked in my training over the past three weeks and it shows. I barely made it through my 8 mile jog yesterday and I had to walk the last 2 miles or so of it. In my defense, it was pretty breezy and due to the direction of the wind and trail I was on, I jogging into the wind coming and going. But in reality, that is no defense. The 8 mile jog should have been a piece of cake yesterday and it wasn't. This distresses me. Not too mention the thought of having to do another 5.1 miles on top of that. I wouldn't have made it yesterday. I hope I can pull it together in the next 2 weeks.

On a good note, I did lose 1.5 lbs. last week. So that made me happy. Hopefully, I can keep it up this week.

Backslide

2007-04-13T06:21:00.000-07:00

I gained 3 lbs. this week which doesn't surprise me since I started eating last Friday and haven't stopped. I did so well last week not eating crap, not going out to lunch everyday and sticking with my training schedule. This week...not so much.

Not too mention that I'm supposed to do my 13-14 mile training this weekend and it's supposed to rain and snow on Sat. and Sun. I don't want to run in the rain and snow. If it's raining and snowing in 3 weeks in Indy, I'm going to be pissed. Sorry, I'm being so whiny.

Anyway, I'm off like a prom dress.

2007-04-08T10:42:00.000-07:00

HAPPY EASTER EGG! (as my little sister likes to say) I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Down 4.2

2007-04-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

Yay! I'm down 4.2 lbs. this week. It's the 4.2 lbs. I gained over the previous 2 weeks from eating out for lunch at fast food restaurants pretty much everyday. It's a blessing, but also a curse, because I wasn't a 100% on program this week and I had a huge loss. With Easter this weekend, I have to be extra careful, so that I don't make so many splurges that it equals a gain. Ok, that's all. Except, welcome back, Kmbuckeye :-) !

Wow...

2007-04-04T12:53:00.000-07:00

It's been a couple weeks since I've posted. I had no idea. Well, this is what's going on with me. I finally did my 11-12 mile training jog. Actually, that makes it sound longer than it was - I completed 11.02 miles. Not a short distance, but not exactly close to 12 miles either.

I learned a couple things too. First, I'm not part mountain goat. Second, you should do research before deciding to try out a new outdoor trail. Since it's been nice, I've been jogging outside. I decided to try out Highbanks Metro Park for my jog this past weekend. Silly me, I thought it would be relatively flat given that it's in the middle of Ohio. I was wrong; hence I discovered I'm not part mountain goat. I made it about 4 miles before deciding that I wasn't going to jog up/down hills for another 7 miles. So, I went back to my parents' house and jogged the final 7.02 miles there. I'll probably go back to Highbanks in the future to jog, but not when I have an extremely long distance to go.

This coming weekend I have a short training jog - 7 miles. I've been doing pretty well on my during-the-week jogs too. I'm averaging about a 12.50 min. mile which is down from 13.26 min. mile. And I'm also jogging over 4 miles during each jog. Last night I hit 4.46 miles in 60 mins. and that includes a 5 min. warm-up and 5 min. cooldown. I felt good after the jog too - not overly winded or tired. I probably could have jogged further had I needed too. So I'm happy.

Weight loss efforts are going enh... I'm doing better this week than I have in the past month, but I haven't been 100% on program. I'm working on it though. Hopefully, my efforts will show on the scale. If not, I will just focus on my non-scale victories with my 1/2 Marathon training. If I hadn't been training for the 1/2 Marathon, I would totally be a blimp after my eating habits of the past month. Just tatoo Goodyear on my bum.

Dirty, Little Secret

2007-03-19T17:07:00.000-07:00

My dirty, little secret is that I punked out on my 11-12 mile training jog this weekend. I didn't do it on Sat. because I had plans for St. Patty's Day. And I had every intention of doing it on Sun., but I didn't. I got up, put on my jogging gear, got all my stuff together and went over to my parents' house for breakfast and to throw in some laundry. Yea, I ended up staying there all day and falling asleep on the couch for 3 hours. Real nice.... I'm a lazy bum. It was a really good day to jog too. A little on the chilly side, but sunny, and not a whole lot of wind. Oh well. Better luck this week.

11-12 Miles... Yikes

2007-03-16T07:53:00.000-07:00

Well, this weekend is my 11-12 mile training jog. I'm really nervous about it. Last weekend I completed my 10 mile training, but it wasn't pretty...at all. First, although I finished, I had to walk the last 1.5 miles because I just couldn't jog anymore. Second, after I finished the jog, I was sick for about an hour and puked. Not good. Not good at all. I hope that doesn't happen this time around. It wasn't an enjoyable experience. Part of it can be explained, I think, by the fact that it was the first time I had attempted a training jog outside. I wasn't very good at pacing myself. Sometimes I would be jogging at a 13 min./mile pace and other times at an 11 min./mile pace. I wasn't consistent. Other than that, I can't explain why I felt so bad afterwards.

The upside of my jog last weekend was I got to use my brand new Garmin Forerunner for the first time and it was fantastic. I love it, love it, love it. I don't know why I've waited so long to use it. Oh wait, I know why, because it's been winter and it's been gross and I haven't wanted to jog outside.

On a slightly different note, my weight loss efforts haven't been going so great. I had a 0.6 lb. loss over the past 2 weeks, but it was pure luck. I ate a large, doublecheeseburger extra value meal from McDonald's yesterday for lunch. Not my finest moment. The rest of the past 2 weeks haven't been much better. I don't know why I can't get back on track...it's very frustrating. Hopefully, better luck this week.

9 Down, 4.1 to Go

2007-03-05T06:12:00.000-08:00

I jog/walked 9 miles yesterday. Yay for me! It went pretty well. I was doing great for the first 6.25 miles. I felt great; my legs weren't overtired and my lungs didn't feel like they were going to explode. But then I got a really bad cramp across my ribs, so I had to walk for 7 mins. (about .5 mile) until the cramp went away. After the cramp, I had to slow down a little bit and switch from a 3 min. jog/1 min. walk split to a 3 min. jog/2 min. walk split, but I made it in about 2 hrs., 10 mins. I'm not going to be breaking any records (except for maybe the slowest 26 year old ever), but at least I'm going to finish the race.

I have approximately 8 weeks of training left before my race. My goals for the next 8 weeks are (1) do ALL of my scheduled training (code for stop skipping the cross-training days) and (2) get back on track with my weight loss efforts, so I don't have to carry as much weight 13.1 miles on race day.

I'm Back

2007-03-02T10:48:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I have been MIA lately. It's been a combo of things - busy with my job, computer issues, laziness. But I'm back. Things have been up and down the past couple of weeks. One thing that has definitely been up is my weight...boo. I've gained about 3 lbs. this month despite my 1/2 marathon training. I think the weight gain is, in part, due to my new office mates at work. They have atrocious eating habits, i.e. most of their meals come from the vending machine and consist of chips and/or candy and soda. Due to my lack of conviction and almost non-existent will power, they have led me down this path as well for the past couple of weeks. Lucky for them, they don't have to worry about their weight, but for me, it all ends today.

Training has been going okay. Last week was a bad week. I only made it to the gym once for my workouts and on Sat. I didn't complete my 8-mile training jog. I did 4 miles and then did almost 7 miles on the bike. I copped out; I just didn't feel like jogging anymore and I told myself that it was too busy at the gym to continue for another 4 miles. I had been kicked off my treadmill because people were waiting, but I could've waited about 5 mins. and gotten another one. This week has been much better. I felt good during my shorter jogs and cross-training this week and tomorrow I WILL complete my 9-mile training jog. It might take me forever and a day, but I will do it.

My final observation for this post is: Britney Spears foreshadowed her own demise. Have you ever really listened to the lyrics of her song "Lucky"? I pondered this on the treadmill a couple days ago when the song played on my iPod.

"She's so lucky, she's a star
But she cry, cry, cries in her lonely heart, thinking
If there's nothing missing in my life
Then why do these tears come at night

Lost in an image, in a dream
But there's no one there to wake her up
And the world is spinning, and she keeps on winning
But tell me what happens when it stops?"

Apparently, when it stops you marry K-Fed, pop out 2 kids in short succession, have a mental breakdown and shave your head. This should be a lesson to everyone ;-).

Level 2 - Snow Emergency

2007-02-13T10:35:00.000-08:00

HELP! I'm stranded in my house and I want to eat everything in sight. I'm bored...work is boring when I don't have co-workers to chat with. When I'm bored, I eat to break the monotony. And there is an alarmingly large amount of bad food to eat. My mom made my favorite sugar cookies with frosting for V-day. They are extremely tasty, but I want to eat them all. Boo!

Non-Scale Victory

2007-02-09T06:52:00.000-08:00

I posted 1/2 lb. gain this week, which was a bummer. But on the upside, I had a non-scale victory this week. I tried on a pair of jeans last night that are a size smaller than I currently wear and they fit! Well, they fit much better than they used to. I've been able to get into them and zip them up for a while. But now I look more like a girl wearing a pair of jeans and less like a stuffed sausage in a jean casing. Apparently, the past 4 weeks of 1/2 Marathon training are paying off. I'm not quite ready to debut the jeans yet; maybe after a couple more weeks of training and a couple less lbs.

Pleasure

2007-02-06T17:15:00.000-08:00

I have discovered the BEST treats ever! Keebler 100 cal. pk. Fudge Stripe Mini cookies. They are so tasty. They look and taste like the actual real Fudge Stripe cookies, which I adore. It's official, I'm addicted. And the best part is, 1 package is only 2 points.

In addition, here's the recipe for my breakfast oatmeal. It sounds boring, but I've finally hit on a combination for oatmeal that is Core and not completely repulsive and/or baked.

1/2 c. Quick Cooking or Old Fashioned Oatmeal
4 tsp. Splenda (or 2 pkg.)
1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
1 c. Fat Free Milk
1/4 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract

Mix together in a microwaveable bowl and cook according to directions. Approx. 3-4 mins. in the microwave.

Note: Sometimes I substitute 1/4 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice for the Cinnamon.

Crime & Punishment

2007-02-06T17:06:00.000-08:00

The Crime: Skipping my 5 mile training jog on Sat.

The Punishment: The worst workout EVER this morning. At least, it was the worst workout since my first week of training, which admittedly, wasn't that long ago. I managed to struggle through the workout; but it was painful. I thought I was going to die. My calves felt like they were going to explode, along with my lungs. Like I mentioned, it was a bad workout.

Maintain

2007-02-05T08:03:00.000-08:00

Sorry I'm so late in posting for last week. I've been really busy at work or in the alternative, extremely lazy when I'm not at work or the gym. In any case, I maintained this week, which didn't really surprise me. I didn't have the best week foodwise and it was TOM. Hopefully, I will see a loss this week on the scale.

Now I must confess my dirty little secret - I didn't do my 5-mile training run this weekend. I feel horribly guilty right now, but I definitely didn't feel guilty this past weekend. It all started out that I needed to go over to my parents' house on Sat. to watch my little sister, when I was supposed to be at the gym. I figured that I would just do my run on Sun. But yesterday, I was really lazy, like didn't get out of my bed except to get food and drink or get dressed until like 5pm, when I left to go over to my parents' house (again) to watch part of the Super Bowl. So I'm bad. I need to get back on track with my training and I will, starting tomorrow. Today is an off day.

Woo Hoo!!

2007-01-26T06:12:00.000-08:00

I'm down 4.8 lbs. over the past 2 weeks! That makes me very happy. Too bad I was just re-losing the weight I lost during the Challenge, but I'll take it. I must have a more competitive nature than I thought. I know I'm competitive about a lot of things, but who know I would be competitive about weight loss as well? I did so well staying OP during the Challenge, but then right after Christmas, I lost the drive to stay on track.

Anyhoo, I got up at the crack of dawn this morning (5AM) to go to the gym. Actually, it wasn't even the crack of dawn because the sun hadn't risen yet. It was interesting; I'm not sure how much I like exercising that early in the morning. Plus, now I'm kind of tired and it's only 9:20 or so in the morning and I have a long day of legal research ahead of me. Boo.... On the upside, it wasn't very crowded, so it would probably would be easier to fit in my entire jogging session if I went in the morning instead of at night. It's really crowded right now at the gym in the evening due to New Years Resolutions; I figure by the middle of Feb. it will calm down because I think most people give up on their resolutions by then. In any case, I've completely lost my train of thought, so that's all for now!

1/2 Marathon Training & Weigh-In

2007-01-22T08:45:00.000-08:00

Well, yesterday marked the end of my first official week of training for the 1/2 Marathon in May. It went alright. I didn't do the cross-training days like I was supposed to, mostly because by the time I got home from work and ran errands, it was late and I was tired. That is no excuse though. This week I'm going to do much better, I promise (to myself). I think I might try working out before I go to work instead of after work. Although I don't know how well that is going to work, because I would have to leave my house by 5:30am in order to have enough time to work out, shower and get to work by 9am. And technically, I'm supposed to be at work by 8-8:30am.

On the upside, I was able to jog 3 miles with no problem, so that made me happy. I think I'm going to jog-walk the 1/2 Marathon, not jog the whole way. The training schedule I'm using is for jog-walk. I think the cycle is jog 4 mins., walk 1 min. for the entire distance. We'll see.

As for WI, I didn't go this past week. I was supposed to help out with the concession stand at my little brother's wrestling meet, but instead, I stayed at my parents' house with my little sister while my parents both went to the meet (Mom to work the stand, she's in charge of it; Dad to watch Zach get smacked down, literally). That was my excitement.

9 Healthy Habits of Weight Maintainers

2007-01-18T06:13:00.000-08:00

Note: I got this in an email from my WW Leader and thought it was interesting.

There is a mountain of information available telling you how to lose weight. However there is precious little guidance telling you how to maintain your body weight.

So what are some habits that keep people lean? We all know someone who eats like a horse, but resembles a beanpole - however this is the exception rather than the rule. Most people who maintain their weight do so because they have implemented some positive habits.

1. They have pre-planned sessions of exercise. Incidental exercise is good, but in all honesty - it's not enough. People who maintain their weight have learnt to schedule dedicated times of exercise. Those times are not torture sessions, but times when they look forward to the stress-release and the positive feelings of well-being after the session.

2. They take an interest in nutrition. Most people that look after their bodies know exactly what they are putting into it. They know how to read food labels, and they understand what it means. They know the difference between processed foods and whole foods.

3. They eat mindfully. Eating mindfully means you are fully aware of how much you are eating. Everyone can get distracted, but the maintainer knows which situations make it difficult for them to eat mindfully (buffets, TVs, stress).

4. They go easy on fast food. I've seen people who scarf down cheeseburger after cheeseburger and yet maintain their weight... and then they grow out of their teens and into their late twenties and thirties and discover a bulging waistline. The maintainer knows that fast food consumption has to be carefully managed, and good choices must be made. They know the good choices because of #2.

5. They know how to vary their food intake. Some days you eat more, some less. Sometimes you have big meals, sometimes small. The maintainer knows that if you overeat, then you must balance that out - and that overindulgence is an occasional thing - not a daily habit.

6. They know when they've had enough. A common issue today is that people have lost track of when enough is enough. Whether due to hormonal imbalances, poor food choices, or behavioral issues - we don't seem to know when to stop eating. The weight maintainer has learned to follow cues from their stomach, and to stop eating before they are uncomfortably full. And even when they can't trust their belly - the maintainer knows what an appropriate portion size is.

7. They've learned that good things take time. Someone who maintains their weight knows that a crash diet will never have the long-term affects that they desire. They know that quick-fixes are not the answer; and that many things - including building fitness, losing fat, building muscle, take many months or even years of dedication.

8. They have learned new coping strategies that don't involve food or alcohol.

9. They have learned how to enjoy a healthy, balanced diet as part of a new lifestyle.

Source: diet-blog.com

Up One

2007-01-16T08:08:00.000-08:00

NOTE: I tried to post this on Jan. 12, but for some reason Blogger was being a pain in the arse.

I'm not too upset about my gain this week - I've been eating like a pig. Luckily it wasn't a bigger gain, otherwise I might not fit into the dress I bought for Broccoflower's wedding. I'm very excited about the dress; it was a fantastic deal. I got it off the clearance rack at TJ Maxx for $16.01. Yay! I'm also very excited for the wedding. It's going to be a blast.

I start my 1/2 Marathon training this coming week. It should be interesting. Last week, I finally returned to the gym after taking like an 11 week vacation. I'm suprised I didn't drop a lung on the treadmill. I also got my Garmin GPS Forerunner 301. I can't wait to use it for my first outdoor run. The thing measures my distance and heart rate and it has a "virtual partner" that will tell me whether I'm going too fast/slow for the pace I've set. It also does some other neat crap. I think I'm a little too excited about my nifty gadget.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2007-01-01T18:10:00.000-08:00

I hope 2007 is going well for everyone so far, even if it is only 1 day in. This post is going to be devoted to my New Year's resolutions. I'm trying not to go too crazy, so that I don't set myself up for failure. But, just like everyone else, I feel like I need to set some goals for myself for the upcoming year.

Last year's resolutions were:
1. Return to high school weight by my birthday (but birthday was crossed out at some point and Christmas was inserted) - I'm still 42 lbs. from my HS weight...whooops.
2. Go to gym 5 times per week - Until about 11 weeks ago, I wasn't doing too poorly. Again, whoops.
3. Lower cholestorol - I will be making an appointment in a couple of weeks to see if my meds are working.
4. Get employed - I was semi-successful with this one. I have been employed in 4 different part-time jobs this past year.

Here is my initial list of 2007 Resolutions:
1. Reaffirm my commitment to losing weight AND continue losing weight. I ended 2006 18.3 lbs. lighter than I began it. It's not the most auspicious loss on record, but I hope for at least that amount of success in 2007.

2. Train for AND complete the Indy Mini-Marathon on May 5, 2007. Training begins tomorrow. Hopefully, I won't die on the treadmill :-). I have 123 days to whip myself into shape.

3. Get employed FULL-TIME. I needed to qualify this resolution for the upcoming year. I crave stability and a steady paycheck. I'm very tired of being poor and uncertain as to my employment status.

I'll probably amend or expand the list over the year. But for now, three things is all I can handle at once. Just for fun, I'm also going to include what my top 5 resolutions should be based on my astrological sign (Leo) according to MSN's Astrocenter Team. They are suprisingly appropriate, so I might keep them in mind. However, they also fall under the "Setting myself up for failure" category, which is why none are added to my official list. Without further ado:

Leo:(July 22 - August 22)
1) Serious? Yep. Lately, anyway. So first, resolve to enjoy life again.
2) Aim for romance, romance, and more romance, from June through September.
3) Choose one of those playmates and have a real, live relationship by November.
4) Turn your most-loved hobby into a part-time income, at least.
5) Make it the way you earn your daily bread by the time you hang the mistletoe.

Happy 2007 to everyone ~ "May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night, and a smooth road all the way to your door."

The Challenge

2006-12-22T12:41:00.000-08:00

Apparently, I won the Bringing Sexy Back Challenge by default because I was the only one who sent results in for the final week. In the past 7 weeks, I have lost 7.7 lbs. That's a lot of 7s. Aren't triple 7s lucky? I think there is a slot machine where you win the jackpot when you get three 7s in a row. Yay! I won the jackpot! In any case, I was 2.3lbs. shy of my 10lb. goal for the challenge. Not too bad, if I do say so myself.

Hopefully, I will continue to lose over the next 3-4 weeks, given that Christmas is in a couple days, then New Years and then the BIG game. Go Bucks! Not too mention Broccoflower's bachelorette party and wedding. Wow, I'm going to be pretty busy. That always suprises me.

Well, that's all from me. Oh, except, Becardi and Kmbuckeye, come back to blogging! I miss you! I don't have anything read online anymore! ;-)

Minus One

2006-12-15T13:10:00.000-08:00

Amazingly, even after eating 2 pints of Ben & Jerry's (one ice cream, one sorbet) over the past week, I lost the pound I gained last week. That brings my total back to 5 lbs. for the "Bringing Sexy Back" challenge. I think there is one week left in the challenge, so I don't think I'm going to hit my 10 lb. goal. However, 5lbs. isn't too shabby during the holiday season.

Hopefully, I'll lose a couple of pounds during the upcoming week. I have to be really good this week because I took home the traveling journal from my WW class. Each week a different person takes the journal home and uses it. It's kind of fun to look back through the previous weeks to see what everybody else eats on a regular basis. Although, some people's handwriting isn't so legible. I volunteered this week to get back OP. Although I lost this week, I wasn't really following the WW plan; I was following the Starfruit plan....perhaps that is why it's taking me so long to lose weight. Imagine that :-/

Tip of the Day

2006-12-12T08:24:00.000-08:00

In light of the upcoming holiday season, just a little something I've learned from my new job:

If you ever get pulled over in Ohio after partaking in a little too much alcohol, DO NOT REFUSE to take the breathalyzer (or any other chemical test) when requested to do so, even if you think you are going to blow over the legal limit. You will lose your license for much longer if you refuse than if you have a positive test.

Ok, that's my advice for the day. Enjoy!

Plus One

2006-12-07T18:59:00.000-08:00

No, that's not my response card for Broccoflower's upcoming wedding - it will be just me like usual (not to complain or anything ;-) ). Plus one is actually how much I gained over the past week. Not too shabby if I do say so myself, given that I was not OP at all this past week. For example, I ate ice cream a couple days in a row because my throat hurt so bad. Anywho, better luck next week, I hope.

Oops...

2006-12-07T10:19:00.000-08:00

R.C. 4511.191(H)(4) [dealing with implied consent for alcohol/drug testing when pulled over] prior to amendment:

If the court declares a surplus in the fund [the county indigent alchohol treatment fund], the court may expend the amount of the surplus in the fund for alcohol:

Mistake? I think not. Too bad it was amended.

The Great Flood of '06

2006-12-05T18:14:00.000-08:00

It seems like it's one disaster after another - first, the mice and now, the flood. Isn't there a Bible story about that? Oh wait, that was locusts and some other stuff. In any case, I digress. So sometime between 11P last Thursday night and 8:30A last Friday morning, my parents' basement flooded. Which pretty much sucks, since all our belongings are in the basement because they don't fit in the house. All my mom's living room furniture and decorations, not too mention all the pictures and old school stuff (like art projects, report cards, etc), important files, books, games/toys. A bunch of my stuff was down there too, from my bedroom at home (SYR) and a bunch of stuff from my apt. The list goes on and on.

Apparently, the sump pump stopped working and, given the amount of rain we've had here lately in the Heartland, the water just started pouring in. I got an hysterical phone call from my mother while I was at work around 10A on Friday. So I went home and spent the weekend sloshing through shin deep water, trying to salvage as much of our stuff as I could and throwing out the stuff that couldn't be saved...like about 1/2 of my books, some rugs, a stereo, etc. Well, the situation is almost under control. There's still stuff drying out all over the house. It's a frickin' mess.

And on top of all of this, I got sick. Booo.... It's actually not too bad. I don't feel really sick anymore. Basically, I've just lost my voice, which is a pain in the arse. I get annoyed when I hear myself speak, so I can only imagine how everyone else feels. The judge I work for said I was the perfect woman - I didn't feel bad, so I could still work; but I didn't have a voice, so I couldn't talk. Good thing I knew he was joking ;-)

The weekend wasn't all bad. I had a great time celebrating J's birthday and I hope she did too. And I enjoyed going to the Capital U. Christmas Festival and listening to the various Capital chorus groups perform, despite the frigid nature of auditorium. And I lost 0.8 lbs. last week for an even 5 for the 'Bringing Sexy Back' Challenge. Only 5 more to go to hit my goal. This week should be interesting though. I haven't been OP in days, first due to the flood, then due to the sickness. Hopefully, I'll maintain this week.

MOUSE IN MY BED

2006-11-16T18:35:00.000-08:00

No, your eyes do not deceive you. There was an f-ing mouse in my bed, along with mouse sh*t and piss. I am not happy. I thought we had taken care of the mouse issue...clearly not. All I wanted to do was grab my computer of my bed and take advantage of my new satellite internet (yes, I currently live in the boonies, where the only way to get high-speed internet is by satellite). Anyway, I grab my computer and all of sudden, a small gray creature explodes from out of nowhere and darts across my bed and pillows and disappears. There are currently 7 mousetraps in my bedroom. I don't want to sleep in my bed because a mouse might crawl on me, or in the alternative, I might be asleep and I might be awakened by the snap of a mousetrap. Bleck, bleck, bleck... Maybe I should've moved in with my parents, even though that would have been lame.

As a side note, I'm down 2.2 lbs. this week. Yay. At least one thing has gone right today.

Down 2

2006-11-10T06:50:00.000-08:00

I was suprisingly down 2 lbs. this week. I haven't really been OP, but I guess I haven't been eating like a pig either. This coming week I am going to be OP and make my return to the gym...hopefully.

I'm going to be house/cat-sitting on the other side of C-bus for the next 6 days, so I need to find a YMCA closer to Morse Rd./Easton. I'm not going to drive all the way to Hilliard to use the gym, especially since I'm already driving to/from Morrow Co. everyday. We shall see...

Mental Block

2006-11-03T05:52:00.000-08:00

Apparently, I have a mental block that inhibits my ability to lose the remaining 3.5 lbs. to get my 50 lb. star. I have been within 3.5 lbs. of my 50 lbs. star at least three times in the last three months and each time I hit a wall and gain weight back instead of losing it. This time I am truly embarassed to admit how much weight I have gained over the past two weeks. Who knew you could gain so much in fourteen days? Okay, here it is ~ 7.4 lbs. I keep trying to tell myself it's just a number. That's what my WW leader said last night when she weighed me in. It's not really helping. It might be just a number, but it's an extremely large and ugly number.

So it's a good thing that this week is the kick off week of the Bringing Sexy Back challenge. I'm very excited! It will keep me motivated. I started this blog at the end of the last challenge, which was the last time I continuously lost weight over an extended amount of time. Go figure.

In any case, I suspect that once I begin to stay OP and make my return to the gym (and treadmill #13 - it misses me), that the horrendous amount of weight that I've gained will go away. I haven't been OP or to the gym in 2 weeks. Moving really messes with your schedule. It's a pain in the arse.

No Weigh In

2006-10-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

I didn't weigh in this week because I didn't have time. I've been cleaning and painting my new room at my brother's place and trying to pack my apt. up. It's been more difficult and time consuming than I originally thought. Mostly because I'm having to divide stuff up among three different places - there isn't enough room at my brother's for all my stuff and there is hardly any room at my parent's house to store anything (they haven't totally unpacked yet), so that leaves my grandma's basement. So I've been trying to decide what furniture and stuff I want/need at my brothers (that will fit) and what furniture and stuff needs to go to my grandmother's and the leftover will go to my parents. It's complicated. Basically, I have too much stuff.

It's amazing how much stuff I have accumulated over the past 3 years. Most of it large furniture. When I moved in, I had my bed, dresser, desk, bookcase, futon, 2 living room chairs, 3 side tables, 4 lamps and a kitchen table w/4 chairs. Since moving in, I have acquired another desk, a wing back chair, 6 side tables, 2 dressers, a desk chair, 4 lamps, 1 sewing machine with cabinet, another sewing machine cabinet (without the sewing machine in it), 1 wicker setee, a large tv cabinet and a rocking chair. (Note: This list isn't totals; it's additional furniture that I've either bought or was given). Not too mention all the kitchen stuff and decorations I have acquired. I think that's all. I'm not entirely sure where my roommate's or my dad's stuff fit when they each lived here. All in all, I have a lot of crap.

On a completely different note, I followed up with my doctor about my cholestorol today. I am now the proud owner of a prescription for Zocor. Apparently, that's the medication for people who have a family history of high cholestorol. The whole medication discussion was remarkably awkward because I wasn't expecting to be questioned about my sex life or pregnancy plans in order to get a prescription for cholestorol meds. But Zocor and pregnancy don't mix. Definitely, not an issue currently, but something to keep in mind in the future according to my doctor. Awesome.

I HATE CHOLESTEROL!!!!

2006-10-20T12:47:00.000-07:00

I am 26 years old and I have high cholesterol (225). Your cholesterol level is supposed to be less than 200. This whole situation really pisses me off. Last fall, I had my cholesterol checked as part of my annual physical and it was high at 211, but my doctor wasn't too concerned. He just wanted me to watch my diet and recheck it in 3 months. Well, I didn't get rechecked in 3 months; I got it rechecked last week. AND IT HAS GOTTEN WORSE!!!

But, since I had my cholesterol checked the first time, I have made some major (and good) changes in my diet, mostly because I switched to the Core plan. I only whole grain products; I have oatmeal almost every day for breakfast; I don't eat a lot of eggs; I only use skim milk; and I don't eat many processed foods that have cholesterol in them (only Totino's Lean Pizza Rolls and Trader Joe's Mini Beef Tacos, but they don't have a lot of cholesterol and I don't eat them very often). Also, on average, I exercise 3-4 times per week and I have lost at least 15 lbs. All of these things are supposed to make my cholesterol go DOWN, not up! But no, my cholesterol has gotten worse, particularly my LDLs - the bad kind of cholesterol.

I guess on the upside, my doctor circled my triglyceride level (72) and wrote that my "diet is actually very good!" Your triglyceride level is supposed to be less than 150 mg/dl and mine has gone down 34 mg/dl (it was originally 106). But I still have high cholesterol and it has gotten worse....grrrrr!

Apparently, genetics plays a bigger role in this whole thing than I imagined. High cholesterol does run in the family on my dad's side. Both his dad's and his mom's families have a history of high cholesterol, so I've gotten screwed. I guess this means I'm going to be taking yet another medication. As if four medications a day for my allergies and asthma weren't enough. In the grand scheme of things, taking another medication doesn't really bother me (as long as it's a pill and not a shot or nasal spray, both of which I hate, but must get/take for my allergies); it's the principle of the matter. I have made a lot of lifestyle changes that are supposed to lower my cholesterol, but they didn't and that's not fair!

Okay, that's the end of my diatribe against cholesterol. The lesson is everyone should get their cholesterol checked every once in a while because high cholesterol isn't an old person thing. Sustained high cholesterol can lead to all sorts of bad things - heart disease, heart attacks, diabetes, coronary artery disease and a host of other bad things. It's best to catch it early.

YAY for the gym!

2006-10-19T16:21:00.000-07:00

The gym is the only explanation I can come up with for losing 4.5 lbs. this week. Yay! Well, and I pretty much stayed on program this past week. I've been to the gym 5 times since I weighed in last. I think it's a record. I've made myself up this working out schedule which requires me to exercise 5 times per week. Three days of jogging and two days of crosstraining. So far so good, aside from the incredible soreness of the past couple of days from lifting weights on my crosstraining day. I guess I'm going to have to continue going to the gym a lot if I want to continue losing weight (and if I expect to jog 13.1 miles next May). In any case, I'm only 3.5 lbs. from my 50 lbs. star (again). I'm back on track.

Oh Dear God...

2006-10-18T19:26:00.000-07:00

I can't even explain how incredibly sore I am. It hurts to move - mostly standing up and sitting down, like on/off the futon or in/out of my car. I lifted weights for the first in 5 months on Mon. Those squats always get the best of me. It made it very difficult to jog on the treadmill. I hope it all gets better tomorrow...please.

Wow...

2006-10-15T20:15:00.000-07:00

The Men's and Women's winners for the Columbus Marathon finished in 2 hrs. 18 mins. and 2 hrs. 45 mins., respectively. That is a lot less time than I am planning on taking for the Indy Mini Marathon (3 hrs.; 13 min. mile pace) and they ran twice the distance. I wasn't bred for speed.