Thursday, 18 August, 2011

Updates for Thursday, 18 August, 2011

I am over on my calories today and under on exercise. I got home from work and all I could do was take a nap. I'm really worn out, not going to sleep early enough (my own fault), and have had a really, really rough couple of days at work. I feel fried, burnt out. I hope I feel better by tomorrow.

This weekend is Horsetail Falls with some friends. I'm excited! Can't wait to spend the day with the trees and nature and good company.

I bought chocolate milk today. Runner's World mag keeps telling me one serving is a good way to replenish and restore after a run. Rock on, I get chocolate!

I'm considering putting a bike rack on my car. There may be one available via the in-laws, but we'll have to see if my car supports it. I want to take it on the American River bike trail that I sometimes encounter on community outings at work. I just want to ride.

It's been a long day. I'm ready for bed. This week is kicking my ass. That's all for updates today, folks. I'm out of here.

Sunday Comes Afterwaaaaards

Yesterday was free calorie day, according to Mom and Chris. I was not allowed to count up all the ingredients in the crepes and pizza that we had and mom insisted I have a Pepperidge Farms Milano cookie. We went on a long bike ride on my new hybrid, 21-speed Marin, and I tried to keep my portions small, so I'm hoping that not much damage was done, but sometimes you just have to live and my mom coming to hang out would have been dampened by my obsessing over food and diet. So I gave in.

Today I'm going to start running again. I was fitted at Fleet Feet and they suggested some motion control shoes by Mizuno. They weren't as cushioned as the other ones they had me try on, but they felt a lot more stable. I'm going to keep doing the two-minute run, three-minute walk because I still have shin splints, which,according to Fleet Feet, is more of a results of being out of shape than the condition of my shoes. I have to keep working and the pain will go away as I get stronger. However, I can't help but remember the girl on my softball team last year that had permanent damage and scarring from shin splints. Of course, I don't know the full story and don't have all the facts of that case, so I'm just going to stay alert to what my body is telling me.

Everyone is still asleep, but it's time for breakfast so I'm going to wake these sleepyheads up! Time to get moving!

August 11, 2011. Mom's Bday, Seven Pounds, Biking, and Work-out Friends.

I took it pretty easy yesterday, walking on an outing at work and then swimming with Chris. My scale at one point this morning said I was under 164, but I'm not recording it because again, the drop seems to large since my last weigh-in and after I got out of the shower, it was 164.3 which is .1 lb less than yesterday, which makes more sense. I'm just saying I've lost seven pounds, because it's close enough. I really, really need a new scale.

This weekend I'm getting running shoes, and my mom wants to get me a new bike, too! Even though it's her birthday. I've been using Chris's 21-speed Diamond Back and the gears are horrible. I can't shift to go up hills because it doesn't stay in gear or it sits there and clicks. It's all messed up. It probably just needs a new derailleur, but I want something faster, too. It just won't keep up with Chris, even in gear 21, and at that point, I'm practically standing on the thing to get it going. It's also too big; I have to have the seat so high that I am uncomfortably far from the ground when I stop or else I have to ride it with my knees in my chest. There's no happy medium.

What I don't want is a girl's bike. I don't want the curvy little wimp bikes I see all over the place. I want one with speed. I don't think I could live with one of those cruisers these college students are riding around on these days. My bikes going to have to be fast if I'm going to be happy. Unfortunately, no matter what style I get, it is looking like it's going to be over 300 dollars for a new bike. On the bright side, it should last a long time.

Tonight, my stomach isn't feeling too well, so we cut our ride short and I don't know if I'll be going to the apt. gym or not. I look some medicine and am staying hydrated, but I might just call it a night. I burned over 200 calories riding through the arboretum with Chris. We found a whole new section of it we had never explored before-didn't even know it was there (how long have we been hanging out there? Years? And we never knew). Hopefully, tomorrow, we'll get to explore some more.

What an incredible journey this is. I'm getting advice from people who have already changed their lives or who have always incorporated being active as part of who they are. I even was asked by someone at work if they could get together with me after work a couple of times a week to do something active and fun (but not exercise, because exercise sucks) and so we're looking into some of the trails in Sacramento. I'm excited! I love doing this stuff with other people because then it doesn't feel like work, it feels like fun!

So here's to another incredible week. I will post again soon.

A Wonderfully Active Weekend

This weekend I went on a hike with Chris and my friend Yazzy around Jenkinson Lake at Sly Park. The trail is nine miles, but we were hungry and Chris was in flip-flops, so after an hour and some swimming, we decided to hike back. We got about two hours total of hiking, which put me so far in the deficit, I was able to have some glorious macaroni salad at 300 calories for less than a cup. I still exercised restraint and kept away from the dip for the chips. Yazzy and her mom cooked Kosher beef hot dogs and chicken hot dogs, which were really good. I think I prefer the chicken, which were only 90 calories each, almost half that of regular franks.

Before our hike, we had had a breakfast of fruit, gluten and dairy-free pastries from Azna Gluten Free bakery in Cameron Park, and some plain yogurt with a bit of honey. I even found a couple of the pastries listed on My Fitness Pal. I was glad someone had taken the time to put it up.

Dinner with the MIL was a little harder. We went to one of the local Mexican Restaurants in Placerville and I ordered a two-item combo, saving half of my black beans and the second item for lunch today.

Today was also productive. I did cardio at the apartment gym and then came home and did work on the ball for forty minutes and did some hand weights. Fitpal doesn't record calories for strength training because so many factors go into how many calories are burned that the creators didn't feel comfortable giving numbers that couldn't be very accurate. Afterward, I went on a bike ride with Chris and did over 30 minutes.

I've calculated that I need to lose six pounds a month. I was 166 at the beginning of August and so I need to be 160 by the end of the month to stay on track. I need to get a new scale, as well, as the one that I have doesn't always give me the same number if I step on it twice in the same morning within minutes. I had a feeling something was wrong with it when Chris was using it and he got upset that he was going up and down two-five pounds every day, which just isn't realistic. I tried Yazzy's scale yesterday and it gave me 164. I think I'm going to go and buy one just like it. :) I need an accurate scale.

This week I have my lunches already planned and a few dinners, as well. I hope to be (if I go by my scale) under 165 by next sunday. Today I got 165.4 and 166.2 on the scale, just stepping on it twice in a row, so we'll see if I will even be able to tell if anything has changed at the end of the week if the scale really isn't working. Here's to a good week!

Blog Entry: 19 July, 2011

I really like this Fitness Pal app on the iPhone. It's a really great app. Fat Secret was a great web tool, but Fit Pal is so portable, and not only has a bigger database of various Calorie values, but also has a built-in barcode scanner.

With Fat Secret, I would log my Calories and try to stay under 1500 and exercise to create a deficit, which is fine, but very stringent and hard to follow. With Fit Pal, I can earn more Calories if I exercise. If I don't reach my allotted 1200 Calories (Fat Secret told me to stay under 1500, Fit Pal told me to stay under 1200), it tells me that not eating enough is bad for me and warns me that my body can go into starvation mode.

If I exercise after I have hit my food goal, it doesn't give me that error and if I still have a net loss, I am still good for the day, even if I go above 1200. For example, today's Calorie count was 1370 Calories consumed, 533 Calories burned with various exercise for a net count of 817. Am I explaining this well?

I found out that healthy-looking cereal does not equal healthy cereal. A 1 cup serving of a cheap brand of cinnamon swirls is half the Calories of a 2/3 cup serving of the Trader Joe's brand of maple-flavored nut clusters. I also found out that original Special K is in a bigger box, but has less cereal in it than the honey oat one, with just 30 less Calories than the latter. I didn't eat much cereal last time I did the Calorie counting diet, so I am learning a lot.

Swimming laps, bike riding and frisbee today. I don't count the walking, wheelchair pushing and general up and down at work, either, so I think I'm doing pretty well in the exercise area. We do have a whole top layer of wedding cake in our freezer right now that is calling my name-but no! I will not give in to it's carrot cake, butter cream goodness! I will survive! Chris, on the other hand, has some Calories left and is now eating it. Right. Next. To. Me....

Davis Bike Loop

Today I ventured out to tackle the twelve-mile Davis Bike Loop that was established to follow bike and pedestrian-friendly trails and bike lanes around the circumference of Davis. I left at 3:50 and got back at 5:30 as for much of the ride I was facing a headwind and I'm not exactly in tip-top shape to be going very fast. I still feel I got one helluva workout, though.

The trail is beautiful, going through much of the Davis Greenbelt and almost completely avoiding the city streets. I took the trail clockwise to try to avoid left turns which turned out not to matter much because I wasn't on any roads for longer than ten minutes at a time. I felt very accomplished after the ride and went home to pull out my crock pot roast I had been cooking since the morning. Chris and I had dinner and he loved it!

Afterward, I did a bit of yoga to stretch my used muscles and called it a day. I burned a ton of calories and kept my intake under 1500 which is great, because I have to somehow lose a ton of weight by June. :p

Another weekend gone. Back to work tomorrow morning, bright and early.

Autumn in Davis

Yesterday was the bike ride of the century. Chris has class until after seven on Mondays, so I went solo on my adventure. I rode downtown, through the Arboretum, down Olive, and back up G street. I didn't stay on one path because I was shooting for at least a half-hour of constant cardio. I got forty minutes in before I stopped at The Artery downtown to look at some of the work they have there. I was quite impressed with the diversity of art they have there. I'll be revisiting.

I got myself a meal at Davis Noodle City. This place gives you two meals for the price of one, really. I fed Chris and I for eight bucks. I had to learn the best way to carry leftovers home on a bike with no rack, however, and it didn't look as good at home as it did when I put it in it's box. Chris didn't mind much and enjoyed it.

Today began sunny but the rain soon dripped in and so I didn't ride. I met Chris downtown after work where he was doing homework and enjoying Peet's coffee. I was driving toward downtown when all of a sudden I turned onto F street and the leaves of the trees lining the roads were lit up in their fall colors and hovering over the road. It was beautiful. It took my breath away for a second. This town is gorgeous in the fall.

After dinner at Oshio Cafe, we went home and are now just kickin' back like any ol' engaged couple. I have to make my sandwich for tomorrow and maybe hide it in the fridge because another Creature got in last night and eated the one Chris said he made for me. Darn Creature.

Night Ride

If there's nothing to do in Davis, one can always ride bikes. The trails and bike lanes are laid out all over town. If I were to guess, I'd bet there were as many bike shops as churches. There are overpasses and tunnels built specifically for bikes. If you're ever at the Co-op and you look at the bike rack in front, there is a sticker stuck to it that says, "My other bike is a bike." Living here means owning a bike. I'm pretty sure that's a rule.

Chris and I often ride to the University and ride around because there are almost no cars on the roads that allow and there are plenty of side streets that are bike-and-pedestrian-only. While we were riding tonight, Chris described his first experience with ScanTron. As a T.A., he is responsible to feed the undergrad tests into the machine and make sure everything goes right. I swelled with pride.

Riding through the streets of Davis and chatting always reminds me of Calvin and Hobbes. Calvin would tell Hobbes his own take on the ills of the world or some problem that was bothering him while they dragged a sled up a snowy hill and road down it. They would even talk while airborne. I imagine Chris and I are like Calvin and Hobbes. While going through the roundabouts and up and down the hills, I always get the mental image of those two comic strip characters pondering the philosophical implications of elementary school.  Chris and I discuss everything from Socialism to ScanTrons while we ride around, the world whizzing past us. The only thing I haven't decided yet is whether I am his Calvin or I am his Hobbes.