My last blog was almost two weeks ago! How ever shall I highlight the events that took place? Busy, busy, busy, I've been!

ASL 2 class is going well. I have a final coming up next Tuesday. I feel pretty confident sometimes and other times I sit up in bed while I'm trying to go to sleep and start signing in the dark to make sure I really know what I'm doing.

Last Friday Chris and I went to the Linguistics Dept. welcome dinner and I met a lot of his professors. I also met a researcher from Center for Mind and Brain who does a lot of work with ASL. He told me he knew my professor and so I told my professor last class that I had met him. I had a whole conversation with my teacher in ASL about it and felt like a million bucks afterward. I hadn't been able to really have an impromptu conversation in ASL with any Deaf people yet. I remember the first time I spoke to someone whose native language was French, all in French. It's a good feeling.

There was also Marzipan torte there from Konditorei on 5th Street. It's the same bakery Chris and I went to on the day after we got back from our honeymoon while we waited for my flat tire to be fixed. I fell in love. It will forever be my birthday cake from now on. I had just one slice, but I didn't want to eat anything else ever again because I wanted to remember that taste. I am looking forward to February 25th.

I went back to Cross Fit. It was a lot better the next few times. I have five classes under my belt and I feel stronger each time and I'm a lot less sore the next day than I was that first week.

I went and saw my little sister Michelle, and her boyfriend Graham in Daly City last weekend. I played with her bunny, Waffle, who looooves pets and lets people hold him all day long. He's so soft and cute! I want a Holland Lop!!!

We had a great time! Sushi Saturday night and our own Star Trek original series marathon the next day, followed by The Wrath of Khan (because no one but me likes the V-ger movie), and IHOP and In and Out Burger. So, free calorie Saturday was more like Free Calorie Weekend, but it was okay because I'm still down to 150 as of today. Right on target.

I've also said before that I'm not going to let my goal to lose weight and be healthy get in the way of enjoying life and special occasions. I am able to curb the amount I eat without having to count every calorie, so I don't just completely go off the wagon, but I'm not torturing myself either. It's important to have that balance.

Steve Jobs passed away yesterday, which was very sad. I'm sure you all have heard it all over the news by now. I think that it's amazing that so many people heard the news on iDevices and that it was headlined everywhere, taking up whole pages in some newspapers. It could very well have been a little blip on the radar in the last section of the newspaper about the inventor of the Apple II if Apple hadn't taken him back in the '90's. His was the greatest comeback I've ever seen and his innovation will inspire generations. Rest in Peace, Steve.

I think I'll end this blog entry on that note. Have a good evening everyone.





-This blog entry was made on a Mac.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

I've been running two miles since last week. I ran friday night, monday night and tuesday, thursday and friday morning. I dropped to 154.8 this week after being stuck at 157 last week. I upped my water intake as well; I had been slacking a bit and started taking a refillable water bottle to work again. I still have free calorie saturdays, which is nice because I don't want to have to worry about calories tonight at my friend's bachelorette party. It's going to be an awesome party, even if I'm missing the Capitol Air Show for the first time. Chris will take pictures for me.

So, in summary, I'm eating healthy and exercising and it's still working. Down seventeen pounds now. Have a good weekend, everyone.

Falling In Love

I think I'm falling in love. I don't know how Chris is going to take it. I think I love running. And I hope running loves me back.

I look in the mirror and I can see the difference that 14 pounds makes. I put on shirts I haven't worn in awhile and I don't have to pull them off right away and find something fluffier to wear. I start running and I don't want to stop. I can do over 15 minutes without stopping. Granted, I slow down and speed up, but that comes later, just like running past two minutes would come later when I was very first starting.

I went on two runs today because I wasn't really satisfied with just doing the mile I did at the track. I decided to go around my block. Halfway through, I was remembering July, in the beginning, when I was cheering myself on just to get through two minutes. I remembered the otter pops on my legs when the shin splints got too much to bear. I remembered thinking that a 5k next spring might be a reasonable goal. Now I'm considering an autumn run. In the back of my mind, I dare hope that someday I'll do a half marathon. Someday.

I noticed that when I don't know how far I'm going or how much time I'm spending, I tend to run faster. I scared myself on the track today, thinking I should pace myself lest I wear myself out before the mile, but this evening I pushed myself a little harder and came home faster than I expected. I can do this.

Tomorrow is class. I bike to ASL and I've been going over the overpasses lately instead of around or through the tunnels. It burns my lungs and my thighs, but I get through it. I'm even considering maybe doing a vegetarian diet again. It's just so refreshing. Meat is so heavy...

It's later than I should be up (one thing I haven't been able to change to a healthier habit is getting enough sleep), so I'm going to end this blog entry now. I feel good, I feel healthy, I feel beautiful. That's new for me. Goodnight everyone.

Evening Ride

I rode the Green Belt this evening, which is a network of trails through North Davis that goes through different parks and barely touches any streets. Chris and I have explored it before, and I've gone on my own, but it's still new enough that I can get joyfully lost and then find my way back.

The sun was going down when I reached the dirt path that runs along the corn and sunflower fields that we usually get to from F Street. The sky was golden in the west with rays reaching for the last bit of blue on the other side. Flaxen fields of cut wheat met me near the end of the dirt path after I passed the weeping sunflowers. I got back on the Green Belt and headed back toward Anderson. I'm going to miss moments like this when winter comes.

I'm going to have to start thinking about a plan of action for the winter, whether it's running through the rain or getting back into the apt. gym room. I'm going to do some consulting over the next few weeks and see what other people have done during those dark days. I don't want to lose momentum because of the cold. It's so easy for me to use that as a cop-out.

Today was a good ride through the Green Belt and a good run on the American River Bike Trail. Tomorrow I start my ASL class, which I plan on biking to, of course. I feel really bad because I haven't practiced all summer! Hopefully, the little bit I use at my job will keep me sharp enough to not look like a total failure. We'll see. Now that the day is over, it's nigh time for bed. I'm pretty worn out and it's only Monday. Goodnight, world.

161.6

I made it to my first milestone, 10 lbs. I wore my polar bear shirt today, which I had said was going to be a reward for losing this much. It's still a little snug in the arms, but hey, I'm on my way.

Good day today. My car almost didn't start out ofmthe parking lot from work, but Chris knows what it is, so it will be fixed next week. Although it's frustrating, it's okay and I'll deal with it. I got home and we went on a bike ride. I wasn't finished, so I did some running/walking intervals. Shinsplints aren't hurting nearly as much and putting a string of Otter Pops on them after my run seems to help. Otter Pops are prefect for icing. I'll never buy an ice pack again.

Tomorrow is Horsetail Falls! I'm so excited! It's going to be an awesome hike. I will update tomorrow night, probably with pictures nave a great weekend, everyone!

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.

The stairmaster was easier today. In just a couple of weeks, I went from barely getting through fifteen minutes to doing the entire thirty without stopping. That last two minutes were the longest, but it was worth it when I stepped off the machine, victorious. There's almost no greater feeling.

I also did some work on the resistance machines. Lat Pulldowns and the like. I was forced to stay away from the treadmill due to my shin splints, but I did some more crunches on my fitness ball, as well as some other work. I'm really thinking about Yoga lately, and despite my own lack of confidence after having only taken one class two years ago, I think I should start doing some at home. I could use the stretches. Simple stretching isn't really doing it for me.

I may take tomorrow off to give my body a day to rest. I'm down almost seven pounds since I started. It's incredible, it hasn't even been a month yet. All I want to do is more. As soon as I'm done working out, I want to go back. It's like a high, but I have to be careful because overdoing can cause injury and throw a wrench in the whole thing. Pushing myself too hard could have contributed to my shin splints, after all.

Mom's coming up to visit this weekend, so that will be fun. I am getting new running shoes and I might have to see how much money I have for some more work-out pants. It might be time for a trip to Ross. It's going to be a good week.

There I was, all week working hard at running, biking, being active. There was the scale, mocking me, hovering between 167 and 168. I didn't have the energy yesterday to keep it up. I was staying up too late on work nights finishing books I had put off so I could get ready for when I get Song of Ice and Fire, so I crashed and took a nap. I had done at least a half hour of exercise all week and had begun my beginners' running regimen on Sunday and I didn't see any change between Tuesday and Thursday.

Stuck there, my doubts began to creep in, telling me that I had overshot my goal. Despite the Calorie counts and the exercise, I had reached my plateau and lost some water weight and would be stuck there for the rest of my life. The calculations were all wrong and I was losing momentum. Then, this morning I stepped on the scale nervously. Finally, I had lost .4 lbs. I can probably reach 167 even by Monday. That would make my progress five pounds in two weeks. That's over a pound over my goal. I finally heard myself say, louder than ever, "You can do this."

I did a half hour of my run/walk training, fifteen minutes on stairs (Oh my GOD, that machine is hard), and twenty minutes of stationary bike. I also rode my bike downtown twice today and walked on my outing at work. I was sweating, burning, and loving it. I imagined what I would look like in the same workout clothes in January. I looked myself right in the eyes in the mirror at the gym room and challenged myself to keep going until the picture in my mind matched the picture in the mirror. I know I can do this. The time is now.

Day 9

I've been under my Calories every day. I am becoming more and more inspired by the large group of fitness gurus on Pinterest (how many of them are actually heeding their own advice or slogans is still up for debate), and have created a board of my own for inspirational work-out quotes. Today, I had a mini peanut butter cup. It was 55 Calories and it was worth it. I burned 183 doing my intervals on the treadmill.

I still have plenty of Calories left for dinner. I've finally found a balance. I was coming home from work after having breakfast and lunch and having to settle for a tiny dinner because I had used up so many of my allotted Calories. I've cut the bread from my sandwich (I always eat them dry anyway) and have forgone snack crackers and instead bring a fruit, a veggie and a low-fat yogurt.

It's said that when people make public statements, they tend to stick by those statements more because retraction in front of a large group of people is hard for humans to do. So I'm saying on the web right now that I will be 135 pounds by January. I'm going to take "before" pictures tonight and put them up. Ugh. Yes, put them on the internet. I haven't decided if I'm going to put them up on here or wait until I have the "after" pictures, but they are for sure going on facebook.

Speaking of facebook, if you are a friend of mine or Chris's, or a friend of our friends, you can go see our Europe Trip documentary that Chris made out of the footage we took when we went "Over There!" (Please excuse the geeky WWI reference, I just can't help myself). It's on Chris's page in three parts so you don't have to watch them all at once (in fact, you probably don't even have to watch them in order). The trip was two weeks and the total film was forty or so minutes, so it's not everything, but we got some really good stuff in. Anyone planning on going to Europe might be interested in my "Advice for Future Travelers" pieces. Enjoy!

I Am Not A Runner

But I want what runners have. I want endurance and I want pride. Biking is awesome, but I don't have the money or equipment to take it to the level that it takes to get really fit on a bike. Running just requires shoes. Swimming and biking are my faves, but I can't do them in the winter due to my ears being extremely sensitive to cold from being prone to childhood ear infections so many years ago. There's a tread at the gym at my apartments. I can even time my intervals easily until I get to a point where I can run continuously.

Beginning is the hardest part and today was day one. Two minute sprint and three minute walk for thirty minutes. I burned 170 Calories. This is the second day in a row I've had over half my calories left before dinner time and that's rare. I feel good. I feel accomplished. The last two minute run interval I was screaming at myself in my head, "Do it for you." It was beautiful, one of those magical moments that people talk about.

Tomorrow I have another date with myself. Give my body the food it deserves and release it from the years of disinterest and laziness, procrastination and excuses. This is the beginning.