feeling fine in 09

a new year has began, and so begins a new plan, with new goals and aspirations, for a healthy lifestyle and personal achievements, etc., and blah blah blah. let's get right to it. here are my resolutions and a plan of action for '09.

1) i am going to ease up on myself. accept myself the way i am, no matter if my pants are too tight. life isn't about tight pants. if you are constantly thinking about your tight pants, you won't be able to enjoy life for what it is - a beautiful gift. of course, i am going to try my damn hardest to keep the pants fitting, but i may not weigh myself every friday anymore. i haven't put too much thought into this, but maybe once a month would be better for me at this point, just to make sure i'm on track. i just don't need the ups and downs that come with a small weight gain or loss. i'm not trying to lose a large or even a moderate amount of weight, so weighing in all the time seems unnecessary. i should probably add that i'm sure i gained a couple of pounds over the holidays, but my clothes (including my pants) still fit. i will survey the damage later this week after a few chocolate detox days.

2) my second goal is to enjoy exercise more, and not feel like it's a chore. i always love that post-workout feeling. i'm going to try and incorporate more activities that involve fitness and fun. i don't know what yet. my brain is still a little fuzzy from all the wine i consumed over the holidays. i'm going to set a cardio goal of 4 x 40 minutes or a total of 160 minutes per week. i hope my math is correct. that is very reasonable and a nice minimum goal. i'm sure some weeks i will do more. in terms of strength training i think i'm going to lay off the weights and focus more on yoga and pilates moves. i have tons of pilates dvds that i never use. why not start now? my goal will be to do two pilates/yoga videos per week. some are only 10 minutes, and some are longer (50 minutes).

3) my third goal is to get a damn job. in my field. i have started to consider applying for jobs not in my field, except wouldn't all my training be a waste? i have a university degree and a postgraduate degree from college. there is nothing wrong with being an office assistant, but could i be happy doing something like that if i'm not being challenged? the answer is no. i love my career and need to stick with it.

4) my fourth goal involves personal hobbies. for christmas my awesome boyfriend got me a yamaha keyboard including ABBA and the four seasons songbooks, so my new hobby is learning to play piano. i can play a bit already. in university i lived with a pianist, and bought myself an intro piano book, and practiced all the time. it's really a lot of fun. i would also like to continue sewing, reading, and start writing a bit more.

i think that's about it... for now. if i think of anything else i'll add to the list... don't want to overwhelm myself ;) and now... i have a date with my google reader.

EDIT: i just thought of my 5th goal. i am going to learn how to make my own sushi! YEEHA!

happy new year!

happy new year everybody! regular posting will resume on monday, january 5th, 2009. my regular eating has been pretty good, my chocolate consumption has gone way up, and my exercise has been on par. i'm going swimming right now :) and then shopping (to return things!)


i'm sure i have a backlog of a million posts to read in my google reader - i've missed you guys!

ps. i hope everyone is posting their resolutions... with a plan! i'm thinking about mine BIG TIME.

new year, new goals

yesterday's weigh-in must have been a fluke, since today i am back to my normal weight. huzzah! of course, i did drink tons of water yesterday and stayed on plan all day, and did not eat one piece of chocolate or one cookie or even one little potato chip or maltese ball. yes, i have maltese balls. they are in the fridge. however, i did not eat any. no sir ee.

for dinner i made this delicious salad. it consisted of baby spinach, cooked green beans, some almonds i threw in, some raisins i threw in, some baby tomatoes, a grilled chicken breast (sliced) and organic raspberry dressing. this dressing is new and comes in a glass bottle. my bf had an accident over the holidays when it "jumped" out of the fridge and shattered all over the whole kitchen. and then last night, it almost happened to me but i made the save at the last second. i think it is cursed so watch out if you are buying these new dressings.

i also went down to the condo gym and ran on the treadmill. it was so easy i couldn't believe it. i walked for 5 minutes, ran for 32 minutes, then walked for about 6 more minutes for a total distance of 4 miles. i also did some sit-ups and upper body strength training. and some lunges with weights. this move is killing me. i hold 5 pound dumb bells in each hand, then do the walking lunges, 10 at a time, 3 sets. every time i do this i can barely move the next day, so i know these muscles need to be worked.

at first i wasn't going to make any new year's resolutions. this is because every year my resolution is to lose weight and become more physically fit. and now, i don't need to lose weight and i am physically fit. so there you have it. then i thought, there are tons of other ways i can better myself that don't include diet and exercise, and so here are my resolutions.

this year, in 2008, i will:

1) learn photoshop. (better than i already do, which is pretty much not very well.)

2) learn how to sew, or be craftier with clothes. this includes using a sewing machine, or silkscreening fabrics.

3) work harder at work. strive to be the best i can be.

4) not take anyone in my life for granted. show unconditional love to people (and pets) who deserve it, for example my mom, my boyfriend, my sister, my cat.)

5) ween myself off artificial sweeteners. (i just cut back from two to one in my coffee and tea...)

6) live in the NOW and not for the future.

7) become more thrifty or try to save more money.

and then of course there should be a few to do with health:

8) continue my fab workout habits and increase the length of my runs.

9) not stress about occasional overindulges. it happens!

and finally...

10) ride my bicycle to work everyday that it is not too cold or raining. (that is like resolution #7 and #8 in one haha.)

i will also continue to write in this blog and find motivation in reading all of yours. i look forward to it every day :o)

back to life, back to reality

let's start the new year off with a list:

1) well, the holidays are OVER and i'm back at work. boo hoo hoo. i am really out of it today. i couldn't sleep last night until 2am and i had to wake up at quarter to eight. also it's very cold today - harsh reality! i also tripped on my purse, which i keep beside my desk on the floor, and fell like a big WHAMMO onto the ground. it's also the first day of not a good time of the month.

2) my weigh in last friday was good. i was up a bit over 2 pounds, but still within my maintaining range so i wasn't too worried. weird because i felt a lot heavier. probably just the crappy food i was eating. i weighed in again this morning and was up 2 MORE pounds so i'm going to drop the maintenance points for a few days and get back to where i am most comfortable.

3) i got some photos from the photo shoot but am not allowed to post them until the cd is released, so who knows when that will be!

4) i had a new year's party and it went pretty well. i ate a cookie that i probably shouldn't have, but didn't do any drinking as a result so thankfully had no hangover yesterday. edit: the cookie was special, which is why i shouldn't have eaten it. cookies in general, especially on ny, should be eaten!

5) not sure if i'm feeling the biggest loser, couples edition. that crabby dad was too crabby for me.

6) i think i'm going to follow some of your leads and do the sticker-calendar-exercise thing. it will be motivating to see how many times a month i can go.

since i'm counting points, here is today's menu:

breakfast:
reduced sugar oatmeal (2)
frozen berries (0)
2/19

snack:
fruit-to-go squiggle (1)
3/19

lunch:
pc blue menu whole wheat penne with vegetables (6)
9/19

snack:
all bran bar (2)
11/19

dinner:
green beans (0)
cheese (2)
whole wheat toast (4)
tomato soup (2)
19/19