Thankful

Hello all, I apologize for my lengthy absence, but the last few weeks have been crazy. The holiday spirit has hit me hard, and as Thanksgiving came and went it really did give me the opportunity to think of what I am thankful for. As much as I joke and kid about being out of shape, I am thankful to have my health. And I know there are folks out there who are going through a very tough time this year, so I am thankful that I have a job and food on my table every night. I am thankful for having friends and family to support and love me no matter what, and only hope that I can impact others lives as much as some of them have impacted mine. I just wanted to reflect on those thoughts, because as Christmas rapidly approaches I know it will become all too apparent how many people are in need and don't have the luxuries and comforts that I do, and I have to keep in my mind and heart how grateful I am for everyone and thing in my life. That being said a little update on my progress, I have been very bad lately and have not gone to the gym in over a week. I did a lot of dancing this week and even worked out with a little exercise video at home, but feel it hasn't been enough. To top it all off I of course over-ate during the holiday so will be going strong again starting this week. Oh and I did have string beans with Thanksgiving dinner, they weren't too bad. See I am expanding my horizons already!! Until next time...

Peace

What's your favorite position?

Don't be dirty. I am talking about Spinning, yes that all too well know gym class involving stationary bicycles, loud motivational music, and an instuctor screaming over everything. And yes, there are different positions: One is your standard sitting and pedaling, Two is standing up while pedaling, and Three is what I like to call the "tuck and go" butt off the seat, lean forward, elbows in and pedal hard! Why am I talking about spinning? I tried it of course! Bad idea.

On my last trip to the gym I wasn't feeling great so was planning just a short run to get my blood flowing. After about two miles I was ready to go when out of the corner of my eye I saw a gathering of people lingering outside one of the group exercise rooms. That's when it happened. That's when my curiousty got the best of me and beat out my good sense. I just had to see what was going on, so I walked over, went inside and got on a bike like everyone else.

The events that followed are too hysterical to go into great detail, let's just say if you saw me in there trying to keep up with the people who apparently take that class twice a week you would have been laughing. Luckily I could mimic what they were doing without really knowing if I was doing it right. Nonetheless, I held my own and made it through the entire class. I was so proud because I didn't give up (because it definitely crossed my mind). Will I ever do it again, I can't say, but what I can say is that my rear end was sore for days afterwards. So is the pain and recovery worth the workout? I think so, I could really feel the burn.

So what's my favorite position? I'd say two and three. Really anything but one, where I actually have to sit on those terribly painful and uncomfortable seats!! Great weekend, back to the gym tomorrow.

Cornmeal...not the food

Hello again, I want to thank everyone for their encouraging comments. Some were posted to me privately, and others in person but it made me feel like I can really do this. One thing someone mentioned was how could I not like corn? Well let me elaborate on my hatred for vegetables. Here is a list of the vegetables I like/will force myself to eat. Corn, potatoes, mushrooms, carrots(uncooked only), peas(on rare occasions), and peppers(only recently, and only cooked). I also like lettuce, but iceburg, not the green back-yard weedy looking stuff. I'll eat cucumbers and I really like beans(legumes as I call them, which I don't consider to be vegetables). "That's not bad, what is she talking about not liking vegetables?", is what you must be saying to yourself. But if you take a look at the list, not many of these items hold very much dietary value. It's a lot of starch, sugar, and water. What I need is the leafy greens, and what I got is none of that. So therein lies my problem.

It's a work in progress people, I know there's no easy solution. Hopefully throughout this process I can learn and grow, and try to incorporate more into my diet, for now I gotta stick to what I know. And thanks to Craig I will be drinking V-8 fusions to start. Thanks Craig!! Also just a side note, any suggestions are welcomed; recipes, ideas, workouts. I'll take all the help I can get!

Now for a brief update, I did not go to the gym yesterday, I went to a concert instead, a great bluegrass band called Cornmeal(if you don't know what bluegreass is check the link). I did however dance my butt of at said concert, and that was quite the workout in itself, so the day wasn't a total bust. I didn't go today either because I worked late. I know, I know it's only day 3 and already I'm slipping, and to make matters worse I had pizza for dinner. Please don't chastise me, tomorrow I'm going to head back to the gym and go hard, may even make a playlist so I don't have to skip around for the good songs. Well that's really it for now. I'll keep you posted (literally, haha)!

Oh one last thing...I am watching Top Chef with my roomie right now and they are making all vegetarian dishes and I keep thinking I wouldn't eat one thing on those plates.
One day maybe....

Peace

http://www.myspace.com/cornmealinthekitchen
the second song is a good example

Day One

Just for a little more background, I'm not terribly overweight but I am definitely not living the healthy life. I eat a lot of junk food, don't drink a lot of water, and as you know, don't really like vegetables. Nonetheless I'm going to turn that around and start to lose some weight and do it my way. My best friends over the next several months will be diet and exercise. Let's get right to it.



Today was my first day back to the gym, (that's located where I work), started out with a nice 3 mile run on the elliptical machine. Did anyone ever notice that running on the elliptical doesn't feel like as much work as it tells you your doing? I always think that, and today it definitely didn't feel like 3 miles went by. I spent that time listening to my music skipping around trying to find songs that made me pedal faster and work harder. I also was wathching all the people behind me in the windows that I was facing, it's great to people watch, especially when they don't know you are doing it. When I was done my 3, I decided to move over to the treadmill to cool down. Right after I got on one of my supervisors from work walked in and got on the treadmill next to me. He asked me what I was doing (what did he think I was doing standing on the treadmill) but I just told him loving life and put my headphones back on. When he started running I felt like I couldn't just do my cool down, now, I felt like I had to keep going and decided to try and race him. Well, that was a bad idea, apparently he's like a crazy runner and does it all the time. I kept up with him for just about a mile before i got cramps in my sides, pain in my shins and thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest! Needless to say my workout was over.

Tuna for dinner tonight, not too bad for you.

Peace

Why am I doing this?

After many visits to my doctor I always leave with the same advice...eat more vegetables. Just one problem, I don't like vegetables. They have been the bane of my existence since I was a child. I've tried them over and over, but can never seem to find a taste for them. But, before I ramble on let me answer my own question, why am I doing this? I decided to start this blog because as it turns out vegetables are a key part to being healthy and giving your body what it needs. I am doing this to motivate myself to live a healthier lifestyle. I know, it's not the most original idea. But even if no one ever reads this, I believe by having to report my activities and track my progress, I am forced to be accountable to more than just myself. So to all my millions of would be readers...here goes nothing!