Day 36.5: I Suck At Cheating

Well, folks, guess I've converted to the light side. :-) I lost my good VeganDHA blend today, which will cost a small fortune to replace if I get that same brand. Fortunately, I have a number of things that can fill the void, since I've been actively supplementing since 2008, but still, it's annoying when you can't find your stuff. :-D

I sat through the review session before Wednesday's exam, getting vaguely annoyed with the fact that people kept on asking if something was going to be on the exam or not, like percentages of naturally-occurring isotopes and their specific atomic weights. If you were to memorize all those percentages for the 60-70 elements we have to learn for the test in an Introductory Chem class, please, teach me all your mad memorization skills, lol. :-D Anyhoo, I left feeling somewhat stressed out even though my questions were answered quite thoroughly.

It's easy when you're in the vicinity of half a dozen or so unhealthy restaurants, to want to partake. I mean, there are two within less than a mile of the college. But, for some reason the urge to partake just wasn't that overpowering. Sure, I was a bit peckish especially after my professor started using food in the chemical equations (those are actually fun problems but they make you hungry!), and a little stressed from all the business from earlier in the day, but honestly I didn't really want it that badly and went home to chill with some water and a few toasted almonds.

I have been corrupted. :-D

Normally, with unlimited funds and lack of willpower, I would have gotten the biggest thing of chicken nuggets on the menu at Chik-Fil-A and chowed down like there was no tomorrow. I would have not felt any buyer's remorse or anything, I would have been happy for the time being. I used to eat two meals a day from McD's at my heavier size (if you could call it a meal) and think nothing of it. Now, it just feels completely weird to me to even consider fast food or any food out in general. Even on my birthday Bryan and I will probably use the fundages Mom and Dad are giving us to eat out and go bowling instead or mini-golfing or something like that. :-) The weather is supposed to be nice so we may make some light dishes and go out to Castlewood for a picnic. Either way, my mom and dad's way of celebrating and our way is like night and day.

But, even though I suck at cheating, I like the person I am. I don't feel gross and crawl around the house all day, living from meal to meal. I don't get upset about not having money as much because it isn't really a huge necessity. You have no idea how bad your eating habits have gotten until you see your monthly bank statement and it's almost 100 percent restaurants! It has freed up a significant chunk of change. So has quitting soda, I paid $14 for my Tervis cup and I've been using it for a month just filling up wherever I needed to get water. :-) I found a soul jumbled up there in all those malfunctioning organs and fat folds, and I kinda like her. :-D

Anyhoo, I gotta get back to studying and doing some arm and ab/squat workouts! I hope everyone has a fantastic day and stays cool, cause it's a hot one. Be blessed!

Day 30: New Records and a Month of Blogging! :)

I decided to go for another run this morning, because I'm awesome that way. I didn't really want to go running around my neighborhood, since it's basically lots of houses and big dogs. Not very exciting to run in. :-) So I packed up my car and headed over to City Hall Park in St Peters. There is a backstory behind why I love this park. My fiancé and I had our first date at India Palace and then we came to City Hall Park before going to see a movie. We were sitting around and I asked him to be my boyfriend, being the blunt person that I can be at times. He said yes, and you know how the story has ended thus far. Anyhoo, we go to City Hall Park every half-year and year anniversaries and geek out about how much we love each other. So, what better place to go than City Hall Park to go run?

Getting my run on! Sorry about the pile of clothes. ;-)

 

 

It was an absolutely beautiful day for running. Sunny, cool, and low humidity. I got my run on and completed the C25K app for the day. Here are my stats according to Accutrainer:

 

Mileage: 2.04 miles

Steps: 3,870

Calories Burnt: 202.2

Total Time: 26:34

 

It's about average time for what I run, but much better mileage! I think I was getting up to 4.0-5.0 mph or more, which relieves me to know I actually do run faster than I walk. :-) I broke two records today: mileage and Calories. I have never burnt above 133 calories on the dreadmill nor have I gone above 1.50 miles. This is the first time I have broken the 1-mile and the 100s-calories barriers and I couldn't be happier about it. And the scenery was so beautiful, (small) waterfalls, creeks, bridges, animals (I saw several squirrels and a rabbit), and a pond. I really enjoyed running here and I think it may be a place for me to run for the next few days. I plan on getting my mileage up a bit and then going to Creve Coeur Park, which is a 4-mile trail around a lake. It is one of the prettiest (and longest!) trails I've ever been on, and I can't wait to take it on.

 



Nice and sweaty after a 2-mile run/walk. :-)

 

My fiancé and I have designed a team shirt for our run in the Lemon Drop 5k and Hot Chocolate 5k in December. We are Team Fire and we have two shirts, one in navy and one in pink. I can't wait to order mine later on this week, when and if my paycheck ever shows up.

 

Speaking of which, I have an interview with Lululemon tomorrow. I am geeked out because I absolutely love their clothes and just the company culture. It is very laid-back and more my style. For my group interview, I am supposed to teach the group how to do something that relates to me. Since I love to strength train and work out in general, I am going to teach them how to do an abbreviated form of the workout that I'm doing to strengthen my arms. I can't wait to do that, it will be so much fun. I don't know what I'm more geeked out about, getting an interview there or teaching people how to work out. :-D I will let you know how it goes. :-)

 

Speaking of the Arm Challenge, here are my stats for today:

 

10 push-ups

10 dips

20 bicep curls

20-second punches

 

The workouts are definitely getting more challenging, especially doing push-ups. I am no longer doing girl push-ups but full on push-ups, so adding more is definitely challenging! Nevertheless, I'm doing pretty good at it and keeping it up. Tomorrow will be a rest day on the arm challenge (except for when I do it at Lululemon tomorrow) so I will not be posting stats. :-)

 

I hope everyone has a good day! My day looks to hold... well, not very much really, just keeping busy around the house. It's always a bit limiting when you don't have much gas in the tank, lol. Be blessed all!

Day 29: Neighborhood Watch

I conquered a huge fear today and went running around my neighborhood. I have not ran or walked around my neighborhood since I was 17, when someone called me Pillsbury Doughgirl and said they were going to kick my @$$ if I went running through again (mind, this was my neighborhood in Memphis, not here in St Charles). Needless to say, never really been super keen on running even though I switched neighborhoods several times. Nevertheless, I started up and began running.

My accountability photo #1

 



I have been taking these photos for several days now, mostly just to show that I wasn't lying or anything, and apparently these pics and the sweat pics have caught on. But I love the accountability of them, and I love showing off the improvement in my body!

 

The weather wasn't too bad, maybe mildly humid but not like it was yesterday where the humidity was so thick you could bottle it and sell it. I ran for about 20 minutes, more like around 19:20 with around 6-7 minutes of running. I have been doing the C25K along with my friend from high school who is also doing it, just because I have used it in the past and liked it. Running outside was definitely different, but not too bad. Even running up the hill was sort of okay, but I was only able to do it for about a minute, which was what the app required of me. (And I made it up the hill too!) I ran around a cul-de-sac which is maybe a half mile around and then ran back to my neighborhood. I then realized that I had run back to my house and basically would have ended up halfway down the street when I got done, so I ran around the block a few times and called it. I wish I wouldn't have though cause I didn't realize I only had six minutes left on the main workout! Silly me. But tomorrow I am definitely finishing the workout! It's about a 20-minute workout plus a 5-minute cooldown on each side, for a total of 30 minutes.

 

Red faced and sweaty again. Gotta get some more done tomorrow!

 

 

I also did day two of the arm challenge, which consisted of:

 

8 push ups

8 dips

15 bicep curls

15 seconds of weighted punches

 

I have to say that it was a bit more difficult after a long run, but it was still fun! Can't wait to do some more this evening!

 

I hope everyone has an awesome day! Be blessed all.

Day 28: Good Morning Good Morning To You

First off, I hate it that McDonald's is using this song now. Singin' in the Rain is a classic and has nothing whatsoever to do with fast food. :-) I remember the first time I saw that commercial line I was SO mad.

Anyhoo, all that business aside, it is a beautiful quiet morning and my fiancé is still asleep downstairs. I have a guest bedroom that he stays in when he and I are going to be doing something on Saturday and Sunday. The reason we do that is simply because we can't sleep in the same bed when it's a Queen-sized bed because usually I am all over the bed and putting my foot up his side and waking him up. Or so he tells me. Ironically, we went to Chicago about a year ago and stayed at this really fancy hotel in Schaumberg (thanks Dad and Hotwire!) and we were able to share a king-sized bed without even bothering each other. So I guess we just need a bigger bed. :-D

I also have some good news: my fiancé is going to be the first Sunday transformation on the Girl on Fire Facebook page and blog! For those of you who don't know, my fiancé has lost around 25 lbs and has kept it off for 2 years! I'm so proud of him and I have gotten his permission to share his story and take a similar after photo of him at the apple picking today. (A similar picture taken 2 years ago was what inspired him to lose weight.) I'm so geeked out and proud of my crazy fiancé! If you have a transformation story you would like to share please let me know. :-) I will be writing the piece up so if you're not really a writer, no worries, the English major is here to help! If you like to write, by all means send me something good! :)

I am going to get in my run today as well, and since the gym opens at 10 I will get to go on my own and then go apple picking! I am aiming for 30 minutes run/walk (or about 32 since it generally increases in 5 minute intervals). I think once I hit about 40-45 minutes run/walk I will start increasing the intensity a bit, because 40-45 minutes is about what I want to run the 5K in. :-) (Less would be good, too!) I'll get back to you later this afternoon with Transformation Sunday (like Reformation Sunday, only fewer casseroles) and a new blog post!

I am also doing a challenge suggested by one of the people I follow on Facebook called Race Addict. They have posted a 30-Day Arm Challenge to get rid of the bat wings! I have been nervous about my arms not being toned after I lose weight so I am more than happy to sign up to get rid of them. If anyone else is interested in the challenge, here is a pic, which will link to my site for a larger view:

 

I apologize for it being so small! For some reason it's not cooperating with me. Day One of the Arm Challenge is:

 

5 Push Ups

5 Dips

10 Bicep Curls

10 seconds of Punches

 

And I will post each day what I'm doing so you can follow along with me! :-)

 

I hope everyone has a fantastic day! It's breakfast time for me, lol. :-) Be blessed!