13 May 2010
P90 Cadio/Abs
Last night we did our first night of P90 Cardio/Abs. It wasn't that bad, but I learned that I'm really bad at yoga. Does the instructor really think I can do planks and pushups after yesterday's strength training? Oh, and the yoga dog must be Episcopalian.
12 May 2010
P90
About a week ago my husband, frustrated with my poor self-esteem, ordered the Power 90 workout series. The package arrived yesterday and we started our 90 day journey to fitness! We took "before" pictures, but I want to wait until I have some comparison photos before I post them. The first day was a strength training workout. I think I had an easier time than my husband, but only because I was using free weights while he was struggling with a resistance band. It will get easier as we get familiar with the routines. I am surprised that my chest and arms are a little sore this morning, but it makes me happy. I am really proud of myself this morning and am a little nervous about what the cardio/abs video may hold for this evening. I think we are going to wait until next week to use the accompanying meal plan. I looked at it last night and am honestly not that excited about it. Hopefully we'll still see results even if we don't follow the meal plan!
Have you used the P90 system? What are your favorite workouts?
Have you used the P90 system? What are your favorite workouts?
04 May 2010
Confirmation
Today I participated in a Graduate Student Boot Camp hosted by my university's library. It was an intensive, productive, information-filled day. Sessions covered Graduate School requirements for theses and dissertations, methods for searching article databases, RefWorks, writing center resources, plagiarism and copyright, and career center resources.
They also provided snacks and lunch...and I had a revelation. I looked at the ingredients list of the granola bar they provided and new it provided high fructose corn syrup and other sugars, but I ate it anyways. Who knows what the catered lunch (BBQ, vegetarian baked beans, hummus) really contained. I should have skipped the meat and ate vegetarian, but I didn't. I also drank sweet tea and ate two cookies. The kicker was later that afternoon I was dying of thirst, and instead of making the effort to find a water fountain to refill my own water bottle, I was lazy and took one of the bottled waters (OMG!!) that was provided. I hate the taste of bottled water; I always have. And because it left a funny taste in my mouth, I ate two more cookies, which only made me thirsty again. But I stopped the cycle there.
I'm not writing all of this because I want pity for my poor eating choices today. The point is that this food made me fell "off", which just reinforced that I've been making good choices by eliminating high fructose corn syrup (and corn syrup), all-purpose flour, and other things I can't remember right now. My body is adapting to real food!
This is a major step for me, and I refuse to beat myself up and apologize for my eating today. Tomorrow is a new day and I will do better :)
They also provided snacks and lunch...and I had a revelation. I looked at the ingredients list of the granola bar they provided and new it provided high fructose corn syrup and other sugars, but I ate it anyways. Who knows what the catered lunch (BBQ, vegetarian baked beans, hummus) really contained. I should have skipped the meat and ate vegetarian, but I didn't. I also drank sweet tea and ate two cookies. The kicker was later that afternoon I was dying of thirst, and instead of making the effort to find a water fountain to refill my own water bottle, I was lazy and took one of the bottled waters (OMG!!) that was provided. I hate the taste of bottled water; I always have. And because it left a funny taste in my mouth, I ate two more cookies, which only made me thirsty again. But I stopped the cycle there.
I'm not writing all of this because I want pity for my poor eating choices today. The point is that this food made me fell "off", which just reinforced that I've been making good choices by eliminating high fructose corn syrup (and corn syrup), all-purpose flour, and other things I can't remember right now. My body is adapting to real food!
This is a major step for me, and I refuse to beat myself up and apologize for my eating today. Tomorrow is a new day and I will do better :)
03 May 2010
Weekly Meal Plan
Last night we had a few friends over to celebrate me completing all the course requirements for my PhD. We made hamburgers and baked french fries from scratch, which turned out extremely well. Check out what we'll be eating for dinner the rest of the week:
Monday: My mom's recipe for lentil soup
Tuesday: Chicken Marsala and spaghetti
Wednesday: Out to eat for Cinco de Mayo!
Thursday: Greek Cod with corn-on-the-cob and rice
Friday: Frozen pizza
Saturday and Sunday we'll be on my first backpacking trip, but we haven't decided what we're going to eat yet. My husband wants to do prepared meal packs you buy at sporting goods stores, but I'm convinced there's a healthier, cheaper, better way. We'll see who wins.
We will also be making strawberry ice cream with my new Kitchen Aid ice cream maker attachment. We had planned to have that ready last night for our guests, but didn't read the recipe all the way through before we started (you'd think I'd have learned that lesson by now), and it wouldn't have been done until about 3am. So we had grain-free brownies instead. Check back for my review later this week!
I'm doing my best to remain gradually make better eating choices. So, what's a healthy meal choice at a Mexican restaurant? I was thinking fajitas, but I don't really like peppers and onions in that quantity. Any other thoughts?
What do your dinner plans look like this week?
Monday: My mom's recipe for lentil soup
Tuesday: Chicken Marsala and spaghetti
Wednesday: Out to eat for Cinco de Mayo!
Thursday: Greek Cod with corn-on-the-cob and rice
Friday: Frozen pizza
Saturday and Sunday we'll be on my first backpacking trip, but we haven't decided what we're going to eat yet. My husband wants to do prepared meal packs you buy at sporting goods stores, but I'm convinced there's a healthier, cheaper, better way. We'll see who wins.
We will also be making strawberry ice cream with my new Kitchen Aid ice cream maker attachment. We had planned to have that ready last night for our guests, but didn't read the recipe all the way through before we started (you'd think I'd have learned that lesson by now), and it wouldn't have been done until about 3am. So we had grain-free brownies instead. Check back for my review later this week!
I'm doing my best to remain gradually make better eating choices. So, what's a healthy meal choice at a Mexican restaurant? I was thinking fajitas, but I don't really like peppers and onions in that quantity. Any other thoughts?
What do your dinner plans look like this week?
02 May 2010
I'm Back!
I'm sorry for seemingly falling off the face of the earth. I was struggling through my last week of classes and then final exams, but on Wednesday, I turned in my last final ever! I even did a little happy dance after I pressed the send button. I've now completed all of the classes for my Ph.D. degree, so it's just research and seminars from here on out. My goal is to graduate by the end of 2011. That's ambitious, but I'm hoping I can do it. I'm ready to live a real life!
I'm already really enjoying all the "extra" time I have. I diligently went to the gym on Thursday and Saturday, and hope to be able to continue going to the gym three times a week and doing yoga, pilates, or another workout video at home at least twice a week. I feel like I've finally managed to catch up and climb back onto the healthy lifestyle bandwagon!
I've also been reading a lot of new blogs lately regarding real food and gluten-free diets. I plan on taking baby steps to encorporate some of the ideas I've read about into my life, even though I want to jump in head-first and do it all at once! I know that I will crash and burn and feel like a failure if I do that though, so I'm going to try and restrain myself.
I'm already really enjoying all the "extra" time I have. I diligently went to the gym on Thursday and Saturday, and hope to be able to continue going to the gym three times a week and doing yoga, pilates, or another workout video at home at least twice a week. I feel like I've finally managed to catch up and climb back onto the healthy lifestyle bandwagon!
I've also been reading a lot of new blogs lately regarding real food and gluten-free diets. I plan on taking baby steps to encorporate some of the ideas I've read about into my life, even though I want to jump in head-first and do it all at once! I know that I will crash and burn and feel like a failure if I do that though, so I'm going to try and restrain myself.
10 April 2010
Struggles
The last couple of weeks have not been good for me. I have many things to be thankful for in life, so many blessings, and yet I've been...sad. Sad is the only word I can think of to describe how I feel. I wouldn't say that I feel depressed, but does depression have a distinct feeling? I don't know.
My healthy living habits have gone down the tubes. My husband and I ate vegetarian meals for all of Holy Week, which was great. I used to be a (flexible) vegetarian before we got married, and I felt very empowered returning to those eating habits. But then Easter came. Against my better judgement, we bought three small bags of candy because I had a coupon. The very next day we received two medium-sized boxes filled with candy and other Easter goodies form my mother-in-law. While that was a very nice gesture (and I certainly don't want to come across as ungrateful), I made my husband take 90% of it to work. I have sucky self-control. I also decided to make a carrot cake from scratch as part of Easter dinner. Next year maybe I'll remember to make cupcakes instead to help with portion control and so that it's easier for my husband to take the "left-overs" to work.
After that, it has been downhill. I'm totally stressed out with going to school full time as a Ph.D. candidate, working part time, being overinvolved in church, and trying to keep up with my wifely duties, spiritual life, and general adult responsibilities. As a result, I can't stop eating, I've had not time to go to the gym, I've gained weight, my skin looks like I"m going through puberty, and I feel fat.
But I'm not going to give up. I'm going to re-establish my healthy living habits one at a time until I'm back on track. I have a pretty good chance at having an abstract accepted for a conference this December in Hawaii (how sweet is that?!!!). I want to be back to my pre-wedding size by then, which means losing approximately 20 pounds. If I can do it by our second wedding anniversary in July, even better. Besides, I pledged to lose 19 pounds for the Pound for Pound Challenge.
To end on a happy note, I made it through Sam's Club at 4:30pm without eating any samples. Also, I've been medically cleared to start running again, so I've entered a give-away at Shut Up and Run! for some new running gear. If I don't win, I might get some cheap new running clothes at Target for some motivation.
Question of the day: What's your favorite workout gear?
My healthy living habits have gone down the tubes. My husband and I ate vegetarian meals for all of Holy Week, which was great. I used to be a (flexible) vegetarian before we got married, and I felt very empowered returning to those eating habits. But then Easter came. Against my better judgement, we bought three small bags of candy because I had a coupon. The very next day we received two medium-sized boxes filled with candy and other Easter goodies form my mother-in-law. While that was a very nice gesture (and I certainly don't want to come across as ungrateful), I made my husband take 90% of it to work. I have sucky self-control. I also decided to make a carrot cake from scratch as part of Easter dinner. Next year maybe I'll remember to make cupcakes instead to help with portion control and so that it's easier for my husband to take the "left-overs" to work.
After that, it has been downhill. I'm totally stressed out with going to school full time as a Ph.D. candidate, working part time, being overinvolved in church, and trying to keep up with my wifely duties, spiritual life, and general adult responsibilities. As a result, I can't stop eating, I've had not time to go to the gym, I've gained weight, my skin looks like I"m going through puberty, and I feel fat.
But I'm not going to give up. I'm going to re-establish my healthy living habits one at a time until I'm back on track. I have a pretty good chance at having an abstract accepted for a conference this December in Hawaii (how sweet is that?!!!). I want to be back to my pre-wedding size by then, which means losing approximately 20 pounds. If I can do it by our second wedding anniversary in July, even better. Besides, I pledged to lose 19 pounds for the Pound for Pound Challenge.
To end on a happy note, I made it through Sam's Club at 4:30pm without eating any samples. Also, I've been medically cleared to start running again, so I've entered a give-away at Shut Up and Run! for some new running gear. If I don't win, I might get some cheap new running clothes at Target for some motivation.
Question of the day: What's your favorite workout gear?
08 April 2010
Polymers
Can you imagine your life without polymers? They are all around us: clothing made from synthetic fibers, styrofoam cups, Fiberglas boats, plastic bags, polymer-based paints, silicone heart valves, Teflon-coated cookware, and much, much more! Did you know that these materials didn't even exist until after World War II? Before then, the construction and manufacturing industry relied on steel, glass, wood, stone, brick, and concrete and the raw materials for clothing and other fabrics were cotton, wool, and jute (burlap).
While polymers have revolutionized several industries, particulary the biomedical field, they are also are the basis of all the plastic in our lives.
I was a Chemistry major in undergrad and in my polymer chemistry class, we learned about the history of polymer chemistry, polymer synthesis and reactions, thermodynamics and kinetics of polymerization, polymer characterization and testing, and polymer uses. On the last day of class, we even made marshmallow guns out of PVC piping and had a marshmallow war.
Unfortunately, the lack of biodegradability and other environmental harm caused by this branch of chemistry was never discussed. The minimial exposure I got was because one of my undergraduate research projects was supposed to be on the leaching of bisphenol-A (BPA) from plastic baby bottles. I say "supposed to be" because I never got to do the project. The instrument I needed (a gas-chromatography mass spectrometer if you care) broke when I needed it and couldn't be repaired in a timely manner, so I had to change projects. That was a couple of years before the media picked up the whole issue.
I'm still researching how the plastics industry, among other things, impacts this wonderful earth we live on. For more information on the environmental impacts of plastic, Beth Terry at Fake Plastic Fish has a wealth of infomation and suggestions for "living life with less plastic". Also, check out the Spring Cleaning Carnival: Get the Plastics Out at Kitchen Stewardship.
There are also several great give-aways you can sign up for this week:
Stainless Steel Airtight Containers by Life Without Plastic at Kitchen Stewardship
Stainless Steel 11oz Infant Bottle by Pura at Fake Plastic Fish
While polymers have revolutionized several industries, particulary the biomedical field, they are also are the basis of all the plastic in our lives.
I was a Chemistry major in undergrad and in my polymer chemistry class, we learned about the history of polymer chemistry, polymer synthesis and reactions, thermodynamics and kinetics of polymerization, polymer characterization and testing, and polymer uses. On the last day of class, we even made marshmallow guns out of PVC piping and had a marshmallow war.
Unfortunately, the lack of biodegradability and other environmental harm caused by this branch of chemistry was never discussed. The minimial exposure I got was because one of my undergraduate research projects was supposed to be on the leaching of bisphenol-A (BPA) from plastic baby bottles. I say "supposed to be" because I never got to do the project. The instrument I needed (a gas-chromatography mass spectrometer if you care) broke when I needed it and couldn't be repaired in a timely manner, so I had to change projects. That was a couple of years before the media picked up the whole issue.
I'm still researching how the plastics industry, among other things, impacts this wonderful earth we live on. For more information on the environmental impacts of plastic, Beth Terry at Fake Plastic Fish has a wealth of infomation and suggestions for "living life with less plastic". Also, check out the Spring Cleaning Carnival: Get the Plastics Out at Kitchen Stewardship.
There are also several great give-aways you can sign up for this week:
Stainless Steel Airtight Containers by Life Without Plastic at Kitchen Stewardship
Stainless Steel 11oz Infant Bottle by Pura at Fake Plastic Fish
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