Still sick

Not gonna lie. Still sick. Like really sick. I haven't been sticking to the exercise rules because It's honestly been hard to get up and walk sometimes. I have gotten 10,000 steps in everyday though.

I have stuck to the food rules though. At least mostly. As best I can when all I want to do is sleep and cough. Also I've lost my voice, so typing has become my only form of communication.

Basically I'm just posting this to let people know that once I'm no longer dying I will post a real blog. Until then...

Weekday Illness

As of yesterday morning I have been sick. An uncomfortable form of sick. The kind of sick where all you want to do is curl up in ball and watch bad T.V. all day. Unfortunately my life does not allow for this. Yesterday I had to TA a lab as I do every wednesday and today I have class all day. Not to mention I have to work tomorrow and give a review session for the lab midterm which is next week. If I wasn't sick this would all be pretty average, but since I am sick it all feels like one giant drag. 

I've had pneumonia 3-4 times in my life, once when I was little and a few times in high school. Once you get pneumonia you have a strong chance of getting it again so I'm trying to be really careful to not make myself any worse. Unfortunately for this blog and my rules this means that my exercise rules have fallen to the sides a little. I've woken up at 8 for the past two days, and kind of just milled about in my room rather than exercising. While I might feel bad about this normally, I don't feel bad because I'm pretty sure I might have passed out if I had exercised. 

I did have a salad for lunch today and yesterday though, so yay for salads. I did have a Korean burrito from whole foods last night, so I could have been healthier there but I was and and just wanted food that wouldn't make me sick. I have been living off water and emergen-C for the last two days for the most part though because I haven't been particularly hungry due to the sickness. I have gotten my 10,000 steps in, so at least there is that. I might do a post on my fitbit sometime soon but we will have to see, I'm not sure how much I have to say about it. 

Does anyone have sickness advice? I'm taking Advil cold and flu, and I can't take regular cold medicine because it makes me sick. I'm trying to stay hydrated and warm. Anything else? Anyone? Maybe? 

Either way, I should be better soon and Spring Break is two weeks away so there is lots to look forward to. I just have to make it though the sickness period. 

(P.S. I'm also an archaeology major) 

I Hate Exercise

I'm not going to lie to you guys (all 1 of my readers as far as I know). I hate exercising. It's not so much the physical act of exercising that I hate, more so it's all the work before and after that I hate. I hate having to change clothes specifically to exercise. Making sure I have my keys, phone, ID, headphones and water before I go to the gym or for a run or something is tedious. Then, after you've exercised and that whole deal you are gross and sticky and have to walk back home and take a shower, get dressed again and go about your day.

That being said, and by said I mean complained about, exercise is vitally important for staying healthy. If I had more time and money I would look for other forms of exercise that I enjoy more, like hiking or yoga, but at the moment I'm limited to the gym and walking. No matter what though, even if it's just taking a walk everyday, everyone can and should get up and exercise at least 3-4 times a week.

It is only Tuesday but so far this week I have stuck to my rules. I woke up at 7(7:30 on Monday), I did 3 sets of 20 crunches, 20 pushups, 20 leg lifts, 20 squats, and 20 lunges before taking my shower for work. I was rather sore for the first hour of work but I got through it. I also got my 10,000 steps in. Today I got up, and I went to the gym, I used the treadmill for 25 minutes, running for 20 minutes (which is actually the longest I've ever run without stopping) and then used a few of the machines. Not bad I think.

I haven't had any soda or artificial sweeteners, but man do I miss diet coke. I've pretty much stuck to the fruit and water thing, I'm not counting the water so much though, I'm just using my 1L water bottle all day. I haven't snacked at all, although I did have some beanitos chips with my burger last night. I've done well on the drinking as well. I did cave and buy myself a 'treat' this morning but it was a veggie smoothie from whole foods for breakfast so I don't feel bad.

This week is looking pretty good though. Today for lunch one of my classes is having a lunch based on african food so that should be interesting (I made ginger beer). I'll take some pictures and post them here (I lied. I took no pictures). My boyfriend has promised to make dinner tonight and Thursday because I have a class that runs till 9 and I should be taking my last bartending class on Saturday (yes I'm in a bartending class, more on this in another post).

I have nothing to leave you all with today sadly, no recipe and no rules. But I will tell you to get up and go exercise! (Unless you already did, in which case, props to you.)

Getting warmer

As I suspected, I have not had time to exercise according to my rules so far this week. This, as is evidenced by my first post, was expected and exercising will begin bright and early tomorrow at 7am before I go to work. From that point forward I will be doing my best to stick to my exercising rules as best I can. I have managed to walk at least 10,000 steps every day this week (thank you fitbit) so at least there is that.

In terms of food I stuck to all my rules aside from Friday where my teacher handed out chocolates so hell no was I going to say no to that. I don't know if anything in particular has changed from this first week of attempted lifestyle changes but at least it is a beginning. A beginning is better than not starting at all.

Other good things that have happened recently are that I was given a blender so there will be many more smoothies in my life which will be good once summer comes around. Living in DC means that the weather has been all over the place and for the first time in months it was warm enough to actual make a smoothie. Because this is a health/food blog and I figure people don't just want to read what I'm doing I'll finish this post off with a recipe.

Long Story Short

Getting warmer in DC. Got a blender. Stuck to my food rules. And I have a relaxing week ahead.
Also. Beat Bioshock Infinite. Aw yeah.

PB&J Smoothie
1 cup mixed frozen berries
1 tablespoon of peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
1 tablespoon of chia/flax seed blend (I use this kind)
1 cup of vanilla almond mix (no sugar added)

Put them all in a blender and blend until smooth, more almond mix and/or water may be needed. It's a nice midday 'snack'.

New Blog, New Rules

So this is the beginning of this blog. Not the beginning of my weight loss journey but I don’t think I could have blogged while I did that. I’m starting this for two reasons. Firstly, to hold myself accountable to the world (i.e. the internet) to stick to the new rules I’m going to set for myself and to keep up with the lifestyle that got me to where I am now. Secondly, I think everyone can benefit from sharing what they know about getting healthy and balancing their lives so why not share what I have to say with everyone out there who cares to read. 

Starting off I’ve always been heavy. Starting from age 10-12 I was always overweight but it didn’t really get bad until mid-high school. At my highest weight I was anywhere between 240-250, I can't’ remember exactly.  

When I started trying to lose weight I was about 200 pounds and that was in April of 2011 (I was 18, I am currently 21) and I weighed about 220 pounds. I am now about 155, or somewhere around there depending on the day. I’m not sure if I want to lose more weight, but I know for a fact that I want to get healthier. I’m 155, which is within the normal BMI range, but I’m more fat than muscle and I would like that to change. 

To be completely honest with the blogging community, last summer (May 2013) I underwent abdominoplasty to remove the excess skin from my abdomen from my weight loss. I’m sure I will post about this in another blog but for now I wanted to make sure it was out there so people knew.

Also, I love food. Cooking. Eating. Reading about food. Watching cooking shows. I love it all and that doesn't make this journey any easier but this blog will not only be about weight loss but also about food. Beyond food it will probably also serve as somewhat of a journal of my everyday life and general well being as well being is a big part of losing weight and getting healthy. I'm also a giant nerd, so, I'm sure that will make it in here somewhere as well. I might post progress pic's of some kind, but we will see.

As I mentioned earlier, I have some new rules that I'm going to try to stick to, starting as soon as possible, although I'm not sure I can actually start following the gym ones until next monday. Mostly because I am a full time college student with a job and a boyfriend and a social life, so, yeah. 

RULES (more of guidelines than actual rules)

Food Rules

1. No soda or other sugary beverages.
1. No artificial sweeteners.
2. Drink at least 2L of water a day. 
3. Eat at least 1 piece of fruit a day. 
4. No snacking because I'm bored or someone else is eating. 
5. Try and pick the healthier option at restaurants once in a while. 
6. Drinking is reserved for Fridays-Sundays. 
1. Unless I'm out at a resturant, in which all bets are off. 
2. Or have some kind of social event that is preplanned. 
7. No buying food 'treats' in exchange for a tough day or doing something good. 

Exercise rules 

1. I will start waking up at 7 Monday - Friday
2. Monday I will do some crunches/pushups/planks before I shower for work. 
3. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday I will go to the gym before class. 
4. Wednesday I will try and go for a run/go to the gym, but this is more optional. 
5. Saturday and Sunday I will walk at least 10,000 steps and try to take more walks. 

In anycase, here we go.