Today I was chatting with girl friend on IM. This past weekend was her beach birthday party and she asked if I had seen the photos that her friend posted on Facebook. I had not yet seen them and went on to take a look. As I scrolled the pictures of various people, I came upon one of myself and was mortified by how much weight I've put on in recent months. Now I've never been a skinny girl and it's okay that I won't ever be. I am happy with myself, but health-wise I want to keep my weight down. I do not want the to come a day where I'm one of those glutenous people we see on television who need to have the wall of their house cut out in order to get them out! I guess I didn't quite realize how much I'd let go of my workout routine and healthy eating habits, so this is the wake-up call I needed.
In the past, I have had some luck with keeping a food and exercise diary. Since I now have an iPhone, I figured there has to be some sort of app I could download to help me with this and not have to carry around a book everywhere I go. Sure enough, there's lots of apps! I chose one called Lose It. This seems a lot like a Weight Watchers type program where you set a goal and then record what you eat and your exercise and it calculates your progress. To start, I had to enter my personal information like age, height and of course, weight. For this I stepped into the clinic at work since I hadn't weighed myself in quite some time. This was the humbling moment. I have gone 6lbs over the weight I promised myself would always be my peak weight. I'm disappointed in myself for allowing this. I know it doesn't sound like that much, but I broke a promise to myself and that's the part that stings.
One of my biggest challenges is eating healthy. Sure grabbing some fresh fruit or veggies is easy, but I truly hate to cook. I don't enjoy it in the least. I've done a little cooking since Brian and I started dating, but its out of necessity, not pleasure. The other thing is the grocery store. It already seems that I'm there so frequently, but to eat healthy means at least a weekly trip, if not more. Fresh greens and veggies just do not keep. These sound like excuses, I know, but it's my reality and my struggle. If anyone has suggestions that have worked for them, I'm open!
I have been decent about exercise lately. I bike a few times a week, between 5-10 miles at a time. Also, I've been attending yoga classes at least once a week, which I'm enjoying very much. My knees cause me a little trouble so running is out for me. I can do walks, but to be totally honest, I don't feel that safe walking alone out here. A few people have told me situations where they've been approached or followed in broad daylight. I'd love to avoid the cost and annoyance of joining a gym, but perhaps it's my only option. If I had room in my apartment, I'd spring for an elliptical machine. Has anyone tried those compact ones? I wonder about their stability and just how good of a work-out one can get.
Mostly I am writing this to hold myself accountable for this lifestyle change. Just like when I quit smoking, I need people to check in and see how I'm doing. So feel free to email me, text me, or call me to ask if I'm sticking with it!
Until next time.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
By Request of Two Special Birds
Two little birdies have hinted that I've been a bad, bad blogger since my last post was nearly 4 months ago. So away we go!
To go all the way back to my birthday in March, Brian and I enjoyed a little camping trip near Ventura, CA. The weather was a little cool at night, but warmed up so nicely during the day. There was a disc golf course right within the park, so we spent one day playing a long round. It was definitely a peaceful, enjoyable 31st.
April brought a visit from my lovely friend Shawna to LA. She and I had a great time just enjoying one another's company, biking around and seeing some sights. It felt so amazing to have one of my girls out here with me. Rejuvenating, in fact. The weather didn't quite cooperate as we had some of the windiest conditions at the beach that I've seen since I lived here. Whole sections of the bike trail were covered with mounds of sand and the waves were huge. Kind of cool because the beach was so empty. One day we went down to Playa Del Rey and there was literally not a soul on the sand.
In early June, I finished my first class at West Los Angeles College. It feels good to have that ball rolling. Going forward I'm going to take three classes this fall, but it will only be two at a time. There is a program for working adults where the courses are given in half the time for the same credit. It's just a more intense class schedule to achieve the same knowledge in less time. I think I'll be able to handle this since I wasn't really challenged in my last course at all. People always ask what I'm going to school for and I still don't know for sure. Nursing school is one of my primary contenders right now. I've long considered this career path, but never quite had the gumption to go forward with it. Now that I'm back in the medical field, my interest in nursing has piqued once again so I'm looking into it. For the 2010-2011 school year, the classes I plan to take will work whether I choose nursing, an associate degree or bachelor degree. Therefore, I just need to focus on the year at hand and not get too ahead of myself.
Also in June, I visited Minnesota for a really quick trip. I really did not get to see everyone I wanted to, nor spend enough time with those I did see. To be honest, it was almost more frustrating that way than just staying in LA and missing everyone from afar. The whole 4 days are an absolute blur. I'm hopeful that future trips will be a little more lengthy so I can really get quality time with my loved ones back there.
The Fourth of July was sure interesting this year! Brian and I went down to Rancho Palos Verdes to our friends' new house there. For those who are unfamiliar, this is an area south of LA up on a huge hill overlooking the Pacific. Giant cliffs run along the entire area and the views are absolutely amazing. The day started with all of us preparing what we needed for a day down at resort beach near their house. We carried down coolers, a little grill, food, chairs and lots of other stuff. Remember the big cliffs I just mentioned? Well, we had to walk down a switchback type path to get down there. We all no more than sat down in our beach chairs and cracked open our first beer, than to see a paramedic rushing down the hill. More paramedics followed, along with resort staff and police officers. Our friends went to ask a woman nearby if she knew what was going on. She, in fact, was the one who called 911. When she was walking around the rocks next to the beach where we were, she discovered a woman's body down in the water! The emergency team quickly discovered the woman was no longer alive and they told us we had to evacuate the area so they could remove the body! Of course, it is horrible to hear of such a thing, but we were all concerned with our pounds of heavy supplies we JUST brought down the hill. Fortunately, the resort staff came to help us out and even got us a golf cart to take our coolers and heavy items up for us. We really know nothing about the woman, but heard it is a common spot for bodies to be found. Ew. We took our celebration up to the house and camped out there for the day and night.
July itself has been racing by with a million different events from bbq's to birthday parties. The first weekend in August, Brian and I are going to Toronto for a mini-vacation. He has a conference there, so I'm flying in when he's done and we're going to hang out for the weekend. We plan to visit the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, which I'm really looking forward to. This will be our first vacation together that doesn't include visiting family or attending some one's wedding. I'll do my best to update my blog when we get back from vacation with some photos!
Until next time!
To go all the way back to my birthday in March, Brian and I enjoyed a little camping trip near Ventura, CA. The weather was a little cool at night, but warmed up so nicely during the day. There was a disc golf course right within the park, so we spent one day playing a long round. It was definitely a peaceful, enjoyable 31st.
April brought a visit from my lovely friend Shawna to LA. She and I had a great time just enjoying one another's company, biking around and seeing some sights. It felt so amazing to have one of my girls out here with me. Rejuvenating, in fact. The weather didn't quite cooperate as we had some of the windiest conditions at the beach that I've seen since I lived here. Whole sections of the bike trail were covered with mounds of sand and the waves were huge. Kind of cool because the beach was so empty. One day we went down to Playa Del Rey and there was literally not a soul on the sand.
In early June, I finished my first class at West Los Angeles College. It feels good to have that ball rolling. Going forward I'm going to take three classes this fall, but it will only be two at a time. There is a program for working adults where the courses are given in half the time for the same credit. It's just a more intense class schedule to achieve the same knowledge in less time. I think I'll be able to handle this since I wasn't really challenged in my last course at all. People always ask what I'm going to school for and I still don't know for sure. Nursing school is one of my primary contenders right now. I've long considered this career path, but never quite had the gumption to go forward with it. Now that I'm back in the medical field, my interest in nursing has piqued once again so I'm looking into it. For the 2010-2011 school year, the classes I plan to take will work whether I choose nursing, an associate degree or bachelor degree. Therefore, I just need to focus on the year at hand and not get too ahead of myself.
Also in June, I visited Minnesota for a really quick trip. I really did not get to see everyone I wanted to, nor spend enough time with those I did see. To be honest, it was almost more frustrating that way than just staying in LA and missing everyone from afar. The whole 4 days are an absolute blur. I'm hopeful that future trips will be a little more lengthy so I can really get quality time with my loved ones back there.
The Fourth of July was sure interesting this year! Brian and I went down to Rancho Palos Verdes to our friends' new house there. For those who are unfamiliar, this is an area south of LA up on a huge hill overlooking the Pacific. Giant cliffs run along the entire area and the views are absolutely amazing. The day started with all of us preparing what we needed for a day down at resort beach near their house. We carried down coolers, a little grill, food, chairs and lots of other stuff. Remember the big cliffs I just mentioned? Well, we had to walk down a switchback type path to get down there. We all no more than sat down in our beach chairs and cracked open our first beer, than to see a paramedic rushing down the hill. More paramedics followed, along with resort staff and police officers. Our friends went to ask a woman nearby if she knew what was going on. She, in fact, was the one who called 911. When she was walking around the rocks next to the beach where we were, she discovered a woman's body down in the water! The emergency team quickly discovered the woman was no longer alive and they told us we had to evacuate the area so they could remove the body! Of course, it is horrible to hear of such a thing, but we were all concerned with our pounds of heavy supplies we JUST brought down the hill. Fortunately, the resort staff came to help us out and even got us a golf cart to take our coolers and heavy items up for us. We really know nothing about the woman, but heard it is a common spot for bodies to be found. Ew. We took our celebration up to the house and camped out there for the day and night.
July itself has been racing by with a million different events from bbq's to birthday parties. The first weekend in August, Brian and I are going to Toronto for a mini-vacation. He has a conference there, so I'm flying in when he's done and we're going to hang out for the weekend. We plan to visit the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, which I'm really looking forward to. This will be our first vacation together that doesn't include visiting family or attending some one's wedding. I'll do my best to update my blog when we get back from vacation with some photos!
Until next time!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)