Wednesday, April 25, 2007

it's all about the shoes, baby

i feel rather tall today. & skinny. ok, relatively skinny. & i give credit to my shoes.

most days i wear my doc marten boots. have i mentioned i /heart my new boots? if i haven't, here's the declaration. & while they are hella cute, they're flat & don't give my short self much of a boost. today though, we had to dress up, more than usual, at work because we had some "big wigs" coming through today. so no cute boots :(

instead i wore a pair of my mudd dress shoes. a little bit of a heel. black. kinda funky & definitely cute in their own right.

my legs are still killing me from my second to the last riley workout yesterday. & my pecs are twinging from the upper body miss jenn & i did monday. & my abs are screaming at me too about the ab workout i did. but at least i feel tall.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

it's like a bad 80's movie

i was going to name this blog "say goodbye to hollywood" but that wasn't quite right. & then i thought about just "say goodbye" but i think i did that one. so instead, i'll pull on the collective memories of 80's movie complete with perms, leg warmers, teased hair, t-top trans-ams, inspirational song tracks, & a montage. yeah, gotta have a montage.

last week jenn & i got some semi devastating news: riley got a new job. i mean, ok yeah for him, if he really thinks he needs to work full time & get benefits. but it means he'll be moving to another Y. & at first it appeared that perhaps he'd be able to continue to train jenn & myself, but alas, he only has a couple of weeks that he's allowed to do that, & then, if we want to continue to train with him we'll need to make the trek up 169 from minnetonka to coon rapids during rush hour traffic. yeah. right. about that. not gonna happen.

while i /heart riley as a trainer, i just don't have the dedecation to him to travel that highway to hell. for anyone who doesn't live in minnesota & is not familiar with 169 i'll explain. 169 is basically hell on earth in general, but especially from the hours of 3pm to 7pm monday through friday. which leaves me trainer-less.

*tear*

i'm now a gym orphan. well, ok, jenn & i are now gym orphans. we just started to get our balance in this whole weight training thing & our options are: a) find a new trainer or b) try to go it alone. both are unequivocally scary for their own reasons. after about three months with riley i feel like we finally found our stride. he knows us, he gets our jokes. ok, he doesn't ALWAYS get our jokes, but about 96% of the time he's right there with us & he isn't even uncomfortable when i make fat girl jokes.

like today when he was stretching out jenn & i's lower legs he said "you girls have some loose hammies"

& i said "mmm...ham, i'm hungry."

& jenn shot in with "never doubt a fat girl to bring ham into the equation."

so i'm not super excited about the thought of having to break in a new trainer. i mean, it's taken us the majority of the past three months to properly break in riley. so that leaves option b, going this alone. & while jenn & i have both had success in the past with losing weight on our own, but then again, neither of us is a size 0 skeleton wannabe. i'm still too fat to be a plus size model. at least according to twiggy & tyra.

there are definite bonuses to going it alone, the first being we'd each be saving $70 bucks a week, which means i could use that to put in my savings, or pay extra on bills, that would be an extra $280 a month i'd have to do something else with! & let's face it, i'm still kinda a broke ass hoe cause i'm working two jobs & going to school & still trying to live that big dream, so 280 is a whole lotta scratch for me. in a way i can't believe i've been shelling that out & not even cringing, must be because we pay each week.

i am still pretty worried though that i'm going to *twump* fall flat on my face & fail. again. my friend dev suggested that jenn & i make a pact that if one of us punks out on gym time then they owe the other one 20 bucks, which i think is a great idea. i'm not sure yet how miss jenn feels & if we'll be doing that or not. but it's an idea. i have all kinds of "incentives" set up for myself, but it's still hard to keep motivated day after day when i'm not losing a freaking thing.

i have been in the 250's since february, bouncing all over the freaking 250's, but not able to break through down into the 240's. can i get a mother fucker? mother fucker.

maybe with jenn as my co-trainer i can break through. i hope. i really really hope. cause this blows monkey balls. seriously.

weigh in

so, i forgot to post my weigh in last week, but i did indeed weigh in, last week i was at 251.8, this week i'm at 250.8, so, yea me, down another pound! still kind of far from my birthday goal *sad panda* but i still have 7 weeks & i'd need to lose at least 22lbs to be safely at my goal for my birthday. yeah, that breaks down to more than three pounds a week. *GULP* yeah, i really don't see that happening.

to be honest, not even sure how i COULD manage that in a healthy way at this point, because "they" say that you should only lose two pounds a week. but i'll keep trying. besides, evidently all the weight lifting is supposed to be adding muscle, which weighs more than fat, but will eventually help me burn more fat faster. maybe if i start actually weight training 4-6 days a week? it's a thought. that & lots of cardio, baby. & then eating healthy & laying off the crap food. we'll see how that works.

*pondering* then again, i still have birthday boots to fit my fat ass calves into. & remarkably, both the pairs of high boots are pretty dang close to fitting me, i just need to hit the weights more & get those calves toned. as opposed to getting those calves tanned....that'd be if they were leather, moo. :) yeah, it was a cheesy joke.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

checking in: goals 2007

so, it's almost a third of the way through 2007. let's see how i'm doing on my goals that i set out in january:

fitness
~work out an average of 4 days/week for 60+min/day
~be able to do 10 real push ups~run for five minutes without dying
~by year's end be able to do firm videos without dying
~increase flexibility (for use in "fun" category)

well....i have not been doing the work out thing, at all, i've been averaging two days a week simply because i've been doing training with riley. ok, maybe three days on occasion, so i need to bump that up. i am getting stronger, but still no where near doing a single real push up, & i can run for about 45 seconds before i beg to die & slow down to a walk. as for the flexible, i've done pilates maybe twice this year...but my squats are getting deeper when i'm training my legs, so i may be increasing my flexibility a wee bit.

summary on fitness: meh, ok, needs improvement

finance
~pay off at least two of my credit cards
~put money into my savings with every check


i don't have any of my credit cards paid off, but i am getting pretty close on one & making extra payments on others, so i'll re-evaulate this at the end of june when i'm half through the year, but i'm pretty hopeful i can get two paid off by years end. i think i've missed one, possibly two times, of transferring money into my savings. but otherwise doing pretty well.

summary on finance: doing pretty dang good

future
~finish my novel
~finish revising my poetry book
~submit to at least 5 publications this year


hrm, future, yeah, about that. i haven't really worked on my novel. i've written one new poem & haven't touched my poetry manuscript since 2006.

summary on future: failing miserably, thus far

fun
~get my 3rd tattoo
~party like it's 1999 for my 30th
~enjoy the last of my 20's & the start of my 30's
~end the year with ZERO regrets

as for fun, well, i haven't been sitting around moping or anything. i got my nose pierced. i have my appointment for my birthday tattoo. i'm getting my ears pierced again before i go to cali. & just in general trying not to sweat the small things.

summary on fun: meh, doing alright, i guess

focus
~work up to meditating 5 times a week by years end

haven't really meditated at all. but i've pulled out my "hippie" books & have done some reading & made friends with some like minded people. i've also recently learned about focusing my chi, so on the path. well, ok, i can SEE the path.

summary on focus: needs work

Friday, April 13, 2007

a totally random & slightly repetative, survey

First Name: beckah
Middle Name: lee
Birthday: june 15th
Eyes: brown
Hair: reddish/brown
Fav color: PINK!
Day/Night: night baby
Fave Food: trail mix
FRIENDS AND LIFE
do you ever wish you had another name? yup
Do you like anyone? yup
Which one of your friends acts the most like you?jenn-jenn
Who's the loudest?josh
Who have you known the longest of your friends?tina
Who's the shyest: not a clue
Are you close to any family members? yup
When you cried the most: waiting for my dad's surgery
What's the best feeling in the world: being confident
Worst Feeling: being scared
FINISH EACH SENTENCE:
Let's walk on the: beach in the surf
Let's run through: the waves
Let's look at the: stars
What a nice: tattoo
Where did all the: tequila go?
Why can't you: just shut up?
Silly, little: boy
Tell me: all your secrets
HAVE YOU:
Ran away from home: not yet
Pictured your crush naked: hell yeah
Skipped school: yeah
Broken someone's heart: not deliberately, but yeah.
Been in love: maybe
Cried when someone died: of course
Wanted someone you knew you couldn't have: duh, yeah
Done something embarrassing: most every day
Done a drug: my lawyer advised me not to answer
Cried in school: unfortunately
RANDOM
Your Good Luck Charm: can't say, i'll have to kill you
Person You Hate Most: don't hate, but i do loathe a couple people
Best Thing That Has Happened: burning man
Ice Cream: yes please
WHO Makes you laugh the most: jenn-jenn
Makes you smile: my family
Has A Crush On You:
Do You Have A Crush On Someone: yup
HAVE YOU EVER
Fallen for your best friend?: nope
Made out with JUST a friend?: yeah, & hope to again ; )
Kissed two people in the same day?: yup
Had sex with two different people in the same day?: once again, my lawyer advised me not to answer
Been rejected: .hasn't everyone?
Been in love?: didn't i answer this already?
Been used?: yeah, but i learned from it.
Done something you regret?: yeah, but i repress it.
Cheated on someone?: nope.
Been called a tease: daily.
WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON...
You touched?:palmer
You talked to on the phone?: some random member from cali...who rocked
You hugged?: my dad
You instant messaged?: jenn-jenn
You kissed?: i don't know
You yelled at?: not a clue
Who text messaged you?: jenn-jenn
Who broke your heart?: i honestly don't know
Who told you they loved you?: my dad

CREATE YOUR OWN! - or - GET PAID TO TAKE SURVEYS!

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

if the 40's are the new 20's. . .

. . .then, may i ask, what the hell are the 30's? are they the new teen years? should i be having my rebellious stage right now? complete with black make-up, black clothes, a pessimistic world view & tragic bad poetry? wait, um, yeah, i already did that when i really was 15. that is one phase i really don't want to relive. at all.

so seriously, what are the 30's? i'm having a bit of an existential crisis here. it seems like my friends are polarizing. they're either married/engaged/deeply steeped in coupledom or single & partying & doing the whole puke n rally phase of their lives. not that either of those is a bad thing, perse, but i'm not sure where i fit in anymore.

don't get me wrong, i love all my friends dearly, a couple i & i'm so happy for her, i couldn't be more excited if it was me that was about three months shy of motherhood, but in the quiet times i think too much about what all of it means. i love her, & her hubby frank, both dearly. but in the last three-ish years since she's gotten married we spend less time together. she has committments to her family, & his, & there's some days that i feel like there's no room left for me. & in my selfish moments, which, i've already established, is most of 2007, i wonder what my friendship with tina is going to be like post baby.

once again, i love her dearly, i'm closer to her than nearly any other person on planet earth, there's just one exception. i love her like a sister, her little boy will be my nephew. but i'm not at that same life place that she's at right now. i'm still single with no change to that in the near future (& i'm UBER happy about that!) & no clue when i'll have kids. just seems a little bit like that small fissue in our lives is turning more into a crevice. not that i want that to happen at all. she's family to me, but it feels like something i can't help.

but, at the same time, i seem to be re-entering my early twenties. which is an exciting thing for me because my first time through wasn't so grand. i basically wasted my twenties on bad relationships. or, relationships that were bad for me. i learned a lot from each one, but sometimes the most vaulable thing any of us have is our time, & i gave too much of it away to people who just weren't worthy of it. yeah, it's egotistical. but it's dead on accurate & true.

& my friends on the other end of the spectrum? there's nothing wrong with them either. i'm glad that i still know people who are single, people that i have a major life status in common with. & yet.

& yet.

i still have trouble reconciling the entire thing. fifteen years ago, hell, even ten or twelve years ago, i thought i would be at such a different place as i stood on the edge of my thirties. i thought i'd be a published writer. i really thought i'd be living my dream. instead, i'm not. i'm working two jobs, still, going to school, still, & dreaming, still.

i am realizing now, that i was not nearly selfish enough in the past, well, lifetime. & i think i'm starting to come to the conclusion that if i really do have to pick between a relationship/family life or leading the bohemiun writer's dream that i've had since i could dream, that i'll take the latter.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

1st weigh in, post competition

yeah, so back up again this week, 1.4 lbs from last week. i seem to be bouncing around the low 250's & it's getting quite annoying. i am happy that i'm at 254.4 instead of in the 270's, or higher, but still, it's getting frustrating. & to be honest, it's getting hard for me to keep hopeful & keep up my motivation when working really hard & watching every single freakin little thing that goes into my mouth doesn't seem to help a damn bit.

&, despite the fact that i pay a hella lot of money to go to training with riley, it's not even enough lately to keep me going into the gym & putting in all that effort when the results i'm seeing are minimal to non existent. boo.


Tuesday, April 03, 2007

the end: week twelve

so, the competition has officially ended, & i hate to saying it blog readers: but i did not win. yeah, i know, i'm a very sad panda :( but don't worry, i'm not having a three some tonight with ben & jerry, i'll be hitting the gym with miss jenn for our second workout of the day.

i am disappointed in myself that i wasn't able to win this thing. i know that i really COULD HAVE if i would have taken it seriously hard core from the beginning. but, as it is, a good lesson was learned for me, & i still lost 17.4 lbs since the start of the whole thing in january, & that in itself is a big win for me. so go me, almost twenty pounds lost. i should be able to make my goal of 229 by the big 30!

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

yes, yes i really did need another hole in my head

2007 has, thus far, been pretty grand for me. even though i haven't accomplished as much as i would have liked at 25% of the way through the year, i feel like i've done a lot.

i'm finally me again. for those of you who have stuck by me through the last several months while i've been less than cheery, i appreciate it. sometimes, when you're in a situation that isn't good for you it's hard to see a time when things will be good again. luckily, i'm finally on the other side of that time, & i can see a time when things will be good again.

things are good right now.

i'm happy again. not deliriously so, but happy enough that it's noticeable to other people. i smile more, i'm more social at work, & i'm finally losing weight again. that's what stress does, packs on the pounds & keeps them there.

now, this wasn't on my list of 101 things, but it's something i have thought about doing for quite some time: this past sunday, i got my nose pierced. i will be posting a pic of it, i took several at home last night, but i didn't load them onto my imac from my camera yet.

i'm still getting used to having a facial piercing. i stare at myself in the mirror & i think i look wicked cute with the tiny pink titanium ball in my right nostril, but it's taking a lot of getting used to also.

because i got uber sick when i got my tongue pierced back in 2004, i asked jenn to come with me just in case i needed a nauseous driver to get me home. so i went to st. sabrina's here in the twin cities. & while i was handing over my license & getting my paper work to fill out, jenn goes up to the counter & decides, what the hell, she's in a body mod shop, she'll get pierced too. not her nose, her helix (upper ear/cartilage).

for the record, i did not in any way coerce miss jenn to pierce herself, she did that all on her own. so we signed our waivers, picked out jewelry (the afore mentioned pink titanium stud for moi, & a 16 gauge hoop for miss jenn). &we waited. & waited. & waited. i had no idea how many people would just randomly decide to pierce themselves on a drizzly sunday afternoon, otherwise i most certainly would have made an appointment.

jamie, our piercer, was very nice & definitely uber cute, in that pierced tattooed way that makes me swoon. he did miss jenn's ear first. & i'll be honest, i was going to watch, but at the last minute stared at her flip-flop clad feet because, well, i really didn't want to get sick before it was my turn to be poked.

even though i currently have a stud in my nose, i'm thinking i'll want a hoop some day, so i had it pierced so that either one will look good. now, ready for the dirty little secret of nose piercings? the after care, kinda, sucks, a bit. twice a day i get to mix up sea salt & warm distilled water, & sit with my nose in the glass for five minutes, wipe it with a qtip, & dip again for another five minutes. i swear, by the end of the three month healing time i'm going to have a permanent crescent on my face from pressing my nose into a glass of sea salt water. but, as long as it keep the infection away & helps the piercing to heal all cute & nice, then it's worth it, right?

jenn gets to lay with her head in a bowl of water. so *shrugs* six of one, half a dozen of the other, right?

all of this does bring up the question of motivation for body modification. i was asked why i felt i needed another hole in my head. & my response was that maybe i was just born missing this hole in my head & i'm not complete without it. i will admit there are some people who pierce or tattoo themselves to: fit in, be cool, piss of their parent/spouse/the world. but for me, in this life, it's all about evolution baby. it's about making myself into the person i am inside. & to be honest, i'm getting quite sick of being told i'm someone i'm not. so yes, i did need another hole in my head, it was missing. & yes, i need more tattoos. & yes, i'll keep on with the piercing & the tattoos until

until.

until?

until i'm done.

how's your snuffleupagus tendon doing?

*face palm*

so, week before last i was dead dog sick. & then, monday, my talented self managed to injure my left leg. i was running downstairs at home to get my wallet to make a phone payment & my left foot hit the riser & a sharp crippling pain hit my calf & suffice to say, i was limping for the rest of the day.

monday at work i spent the day icing my leg, keeping it elevating, & wondering how the hell i was going to manage to get through the last week of the competition in order to actually lose weight & possibly win this thing. because, on monday, i was barely walking. & by barely walking, i mean i was full on limping, dragging my left leg behind me, & doing a lot of whining. the icing & the advil helped, & by tuesday morning i wasn't so sure i needed to go to urgent care. but then after going to the bathroom & walking on it a bit, i figured, the $15 copay at urgent care was worth it to see what was happening with my leg.

& it's a good thing that i did. i felt like kind of an idiot when i was explaining everything to the nurse. & she looked at me kinda like i was an idiot. &, interestingly enough, i think she was looking at me like i was drug seeking. on my file they have me down as having a script for vicodin, which i do, & was filled once, no refills, back in october, from when i found out about my back problems. & admittedly, i limped in there, told her my ankle had been bugging me all weekend, which it had, & then monday morning i was rushing down my stairs, which i was, & i put my left leg down & felt a snap & then shooting pain, (which i did, on all three).

luckily for me, it wasn't the nurse who was diagnosing me, it was a nice older gentleman, dr. d we'll call him, who also happened to have diagnosed me with bronchitis back in march of 2006. he asked me about it, felt up my calf, caused some shooting pain, wincing, & a few involuntary tears, had me walk on my tip toes & told me that i had: plantaris tendon rupture. nice, eh?

basically, the plantaris tendon is a little used muscle on the back of the leg that runs from the ankle up to the knee, about the size of a pencil. it doesn't really DO anything, but when you injure it, the stupid little guy hurts like a mofo. the only upside, is that it shouldn't take too long to heal. i was given some heavy duty anti-inflammatory meds, told to alternate ice & heat as tolerated, elevate when needed, & try to baby it a bit. but, dr. d also told me i could still work out, as much upper body as i want (yippee!) & that i could walk, just to take it a bit easy & make sure i'm not doing anything to cause it pain.

so i'm still in the running for the money, wa-hoo! the only bad thing is since i can't hit the gym as hard core as i WANTED to, i need to be perfect about my food. no indulgence's at all. which kind of sucks, but also a good thing. since i only have about two & a half months left till my birthday, i got my kickass boots in the mail on monday, &, as expected, the high boots are not *quite* fitting my calves yet. boo.

even with being on the injured list i hit the Y yesterday for personal training with riley. who gave me lots of grief since jenn & i only made it in for our training sessions once last week & once the week before. *GULP* he didn't even give me much slack being on the injured list! although, i'll give him credit that he didn't make me do the jumps. & that he did ask me a couple of times how my leg was doing. & jenn even asked me how my "plant, er, uh, snuffleupagus tendon" was doing.

after today just four more days to lose as much weight as possible to try to win this thing. & you know what gang, i do want to win it. BUT, if i can just get into the 240's i would be ecstatic. so that would be ok with me too. maybe it's possible. lots of self discipline. pushing myself as i can. yeah, i'm beating myself up a bit because in the past eleven weeks i've "cheated" more than i should've, & the only one that hurts is me. i've also not worked as hard as i can. i let myself use the excuse of being: sick, tired, pms-ing, & anything else that i thought i could get away with.

on the upside, i've been getting lots of compliments at work on looking like i've lost weight. i'm not feeling as tired as at the start of the year. & i really do feel like i'm getting stronger. which are all really awesome improvements in my health.

Monday, March 26, 2007

week eleven update

so, week eleven of the competition, just one week to go, & i'm back to where i was before i got sick. jesus bobby. basically a whole two weeks wasted! 'cause i was feeling like crap, not able to work out as much, & my eating was so far from where it should have been, as well as my water intake, it's not even remotely funny.

i SO could be in first place right now if it wouldn't've been for that damn illness. blech. so now at 253.8, which, actually, is .8 above where i was two weeks ago, but a lot closer to where i wanted to be. i really really really REALLY wanted to make it to the 240's by the end of this competition. maybe, with a lot of hard work & discipline over the next week i can get down 4lbs & make it there.

ticker me:

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

momma needs a new pair of boots! & other tales

i have taken a blog vacation. not necessicarily willingly, as per my last blog, i've been sick. & not just the sniffles & a little tummy ache, but the full blown i'm-so-sick-i'm-bargaining-with-god-to-heal-me-or-put-me-out-of-my-freakin-misery-sick. i don't get sick like that often, thankfully, but this one was a doozie. i'm actually still pretty weak. it was not a pretty sight at weight lifting yesterday morning. i was very uncoordinated & barely able to pick up anything, at times not even my own feet! & the cardio has been rough too. i'm ready to die & throw in the towel after a minute & a half.

but i'm diligently taking my vitamin C, drinking my water & doing everything i can to get myself back in my fighting form: squishy.

have i mentioned that i LOATHE being sick? i mean, i know that no one, except hypochondriacs, really likes being sick. but i just am so upset at this whole illness thing. just when i was doing well with my workouts & my eating i get slammed with a virus & knocked down flat on the floor. ack! & it's something completely & totally out of my control. there's nothing i can really do to speed things up other than, rest, drink water, & wait. seriously, how passive is that?

the only real upbeat news that i have is that i ordered some boots on monday from the doc marten website. they sent me a 25% off coupon in my email & i decided i was for damn sure going to take advantage of it. *grins* so i bought my birthday boots, some funky pink leather boots, & some everyday kickin it boots. so, i'm currently stalking them via the internet on the ups tracking site. & i'm hoping that they get to my doorstep & in my hot little hands & on my feet early!

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

week 10 & i'm a sad panda : (

ok, i mean, not super duper sad, but definitely a little bit pouty. my weight went up, by almost 6 pounds this past week. which seems absolutely impossible to me. i got sick last week. i woke up tuesday morning violently ill & i've been working on getting healthy since then. i didn't even eat anything on tuesday! & barely ate on wednesday & thursday. & i know i wasn't eating super healthy food & drinking my normal deluge of water, but seriously, how do i gain that much weight in one week?! i didn't even indulge in alcoholic beverages to celebrate st. paddy's!

so here's the ticker showing my weight now at 258.8, again. so, just have to work hard & push myself to the breaking point. two weeks left of the competition, i can definitely still win, i'm not that much behind the leader. & then again, there's also the fact that there are only 85 days left before i turn 30! & i'll need to be healthy with lots of energy to chase around after tina & frank's baby boy (who is due to make his grand debut this summer!)

Monday, March 12, 2007

week 9 weigh in update

today's weigh in was VERY kind to me, down four pounds from last week! WOOT. i'll be honest, i don't know how that happens, why it happens, but i'll take it with a huge smile on my face. i now know, for really sure, that this is the lowest weight that i've been in a year, probably lower than all of 2006. & that is a great feeling.

i'm also getting lots of compliments from my coworkers, not like i'm in this for the recognition, cause it is a wee bit embarrassing at times to get noticed for not being SUCH a fat person. if that makes any sense.

as for the competition, i'm still in second place, but the gap between first & second is VERY close right now, so i'm working hard to try to surpass rochelle & take the gold. even if i don't, i'm still so happy with myself. just knowing how much i've accomplished makes me feel all warm & fuzzy inside. it also makes me even more motivated to keep going into the gym to work out harder so that i can shift this into overdrive for the last three weeks of the competition. i'm hoping to be very secure into the 240's by the time the competition ends on april 2.

besides, i still have those fm boots to buy for my birthday & i want them to look smokin hot by june the 15th!

Friday, March 09, 2007

nuff with the procrastinating! or so i thought. . .

i really thought that today was DO OR DIE day for me when it comes to the major life altering decision of the GB. i had it in my head that i had to know for 100% sure, none of that ept (99.999% sure) crap, that i really wanted to, or not wanted to, do the surgery. & further more that if i was indeed going ahead with the surgery i had to pick which surgery before i showed up at HCMC today. &, oddly enough, or maybe not so oddly, i didn't have to be to that for really sure point.

which is grand. cause i wasn't. & i'm still not.

even though, i really thought that i was.

if any of that makes a lick of sense to anyone else besides me.

let me 'splain. no, too much, let me sum up (name that movie!): i had definitely planned on going into HCMC & saying to the doctor that "thanks, but no thanks, no slicey-dicey for this chick!" but then, the closer that i got to the point where i was going to go in & do that very brave thing of walking away completely from surgery, i started to panic. i started to think that maybe i can't really do this on my own. & if i say no at this point, what was the point of those appointments with christine last fall? what was the point of getting the mental health assessment done & meeting with the psychiatrist? what was the point of ANY of that if i'm abandoning all of that right now?

maybe it's because i'm not ready to totally say no the the surgery option. it's kind of comforting to know that if i fail on my own that i have that as a back-up, waiting for me. & like i've said over & over, i really don't want to have to go that route, but there is a pretty big part of me that is not ready to completely remove that option from my life right now.

granted, i'm having a decent amount of success lately on my own. although, i want to note that while it's without surgical intervention, it's definitely NOT all on my own. i have jenn & riley & all of my other friends cheering me on & supporting me as i try to do this. but i still have a long way to go. i still have to lose at least one hundred pounds to be anywhere near what my weight should be for my height. & that's a lot of weight. it's a lot of time. & it's very scary & intimidating. then again, surgery is a pretty scary thing too.

so where does this leave me? i did tell dr. lederer that i wasn't ready to make a decision right now. he told me that i definitely didn't have to make my decision today. phew! that was a big relief for me! he said that he could put a note on my file & if i decide to go ahead with surgery that my file is still there with all of my info & he can go ahead with the referral & get the notification all set up for my insurance. in the mean time he told me that i can definitely see the dietitian again if that's something i'm interested in. & that i can also visit dr. hartley & he can help me if i want to continue on my own.

all in all i left hcmc feeling a lot better than when i got there. & one thing that was nice is that after talking with dr. lederer for a while he said that he had really enjoyed meeting me & that i was a very insightful person. which is definitely nice to hear. so, still going ahead with trying to do this whole thing on my own. i'll be meeting with dr. hartley on april 20th, yeah, 4-20. which is five, almost six weeks away. the time is kind of a bummer in that it's not sooner, but i'll still keep working as hard as i can on my own & hopefully when they weigh me in on the 20th of april i'll have some numbers that i'm happy with. maybe the hospital will even show me in the 250's! anything is possible.

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

what happened to my tuesday/thursday girls?

today riley totally called me out on my lack of exercise outside of the training sessions. granted, week before last i was sick, so i did have a pass then, but i wasn't sick last week, i was just kind of being lazy. i did go in for personal training on tuesday, & then again on thursday when jenn was out of town (& that one cost significantly more expensive!) but besides that i didn't go at all. no extra cardio. nothing at all. well...i did shovel snow for about 2-3 hours with the white out that we received at the end of last week, but yeah, doesn't really count.

so i'm down a total of 13.4 lbs from january 8th, which isn't too shabby, that's an average of 1.625 lbs a week. which is a pretty decent rate, if i can keep that up by the time my birthday rolls around i can have lost another 20-ish pounds, which i would definitely love. but, deep down, ok, not even really THAT deep, i know that if i just watch what i'm eating more closely & if i get in five days of cardio a week & five days of weight training that i can lose much more than that. sometimes it's really hard to find the motivation.

as lame as it is, often it's much more appealing to go home, watch the most recent episode of gilmore girls curled up under my covers, & that really is what i feel like doing tonight. just cocooning myself until tomorrow morning when i have to get up & go into work again. at this moment i'm thinking that i should go to the Y, even though i REALLY don't want to, then again, i did get an hour workout in this morning, weight training, but that doesn't help me toward the end of trying to get in those cardio sessions.

what did happen to riley's tuesday/thursday girls? is it just that with time your interest has peaks & valleys? is it the snow which makes everything so oppressive & makes you want to go home as quick as possible & get cuddled up into cozy blankets? is it because it's tuesday & i'm tired? because, despite my steady results, i still have a feeling that all of this really is way too much too handle? how about we just chalk it up to a couple of bad weeks, quit the whining, & start focusing on the long term goals again.

yeah, that sounds pretty dang decent.

Monday, March 05, 2007

another loss in week 8

eek! another 1.2 pounds down this week, nice little loss. less than what i want to be averaging prior to my 30th birthday blow out in cali, but not a gain, still a loss, & i know that i have to have these little ups & downs. but i'm still amazed at how well i've been doing lately.

& the odd thing is, in a way, it's hard for me to even imagine carrying around that extra 66lbs that i used to lug on a daily basis. this morning before work i carried downstairs a 40lb set of adjustable dumbbells that i bought at target last week. & i had to have both hands on the handle & move slowly because i was afraid that i was going to drop them & break my toes. but i used to walk around carrying that much weight on my body & not even notice it. amazing, isn't it? & very very sad, at the exact same time.

by now i'm not even super obsessed about winning the competition at work. i still want to win because i would use the money to buy a new ipod. but i'm more concerned about losing weight, permanently, building muscle, losing fat, & in general just becoming stronger. i'm also trying to look at my body as a machine. & in order for any machine to run well, you need good fuel, good maintenance, if you don't have that then of course it won't run well.

& finally, here's my happy little caterpillar & star:

Friday, March 02, 2007

can we say avoidance boys & girls?

today was supposed to be my surgical consult at HCMC. now, originally i was supposed to go in on february 9th, but i couldn't face the decision so i pushed it back two weeks to february 23rd, then the surgeon had to cancel & move it back one week to today, & then, using the blizzard that hit the cities last night as a (somewhat lame) excuse, i cancelled my appointment for today. i'll have to call the clinic & reschedule for *possibly* next week, the 9th of march, or else i may be waiting until march 23rd to finally see the surgeon.

it is very odd, in a way. because at the start of this whole thing way back in october it looked like by this date i would be post-op & eating my post surgery foods while my body recovered from the slicey-dicey. & now, i'm training twice a week with jenn & riley, setting up a home gym, & dodging the lovely gastric bypass folks over at HCMC. & i haven't figured out yet if i'm deliberately ditching the GB folks, or if i'm just delaying making the decision because i'm afraid of making the wrong one.

as of this exact moment i've decided to go ahead & give this whole thing one last go on my own. i've been doing a lot better in the last two months than i had been in the whole last quarter of 2006. & there's a lot behind that. i think part of it is, i'm simply less stressed. i still worry about money & i still have lots of bills to pay, but i'm not freaking out as much as before. i still have to finish my thesis & i'm still not writing enough, but i feel like some of the mental cobwebs are leaving. i'm still FAT, but i'm actually losing weight now: slowly, but still losing. & i'm finally doing the things i need to do for myself to be healthy. i'm taking time to relax & think about what i want. i'm putting myself first. & i'm saying NO, a lot, & not in a mean way, but just no to all the things that will distract me, that i would only do because someone else wanted me to do, & all the things that i know will just sabotage me as i try to make myself over into the person i want to become.

i'm not saying i haven't had my rough moments in 2007, cause they have definitely been there. & i won't even try to say that i haven't had any indulgences, because i've had my fair share of chocolate delights, but i haven't had any alcohol since new year's day, a small kalua & milk when the canadia porn train stopped in flint, michigan. & i've been exercising every week, some weeks only two or three days, but still doing it. & feeling so much better, my body is getting so much stronger.

so then, since i'm doing SO well on my own, why am i afraid of going into HCMC & telling them, thanks, but no thanks? maybe it's because if i really do that, & then i fail on my own, again, i'll feel like the biggest moron on earth crawling back to them again just to start the whole process all over again. i also feel like, once i do that, go in & tell the surgeon i want one last shot on my own, that i'll be really committed to actually succeeding all on my own. & being on my own in the weight loss game is a scary thing for me.

the logical side of me says i'm not alone. i have lots of cheerleaders, my family & friends, & even some of my coworkers at both jobs. & then there's specifically jenn who makes me work out with her & gives me the evil eye if i'm eating chocolate OTHER THAN my twice a day calciums. & riley who is sweet enough to let me pay him to kick my ass from one side of the Y to the other twice a week.

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

built for speed, hands curves well

no, not a car ad, although, i would like to note, it does very much describe my zippy little ion. & my summer blue baby did inspire this blog title, but i'm actually talking about myself.

ok, so right now i'm not necessarily a very fast moving person, but that may, indeed, come with time. but i am good at flitting from topic to topic at lightening speed, handling several things at once, & multitasking like a mofo. so at least my mind is built for speed.

& seeing as how i've lived with curves my whole life, i'm pretty good at handling them. both the physical curves of my body & the curve balls thrown at me by the universe.

i'm in heaven, week seven!

i can't explain it, but somehow, this most recent dip in my weight, seems significant to me. maybe it's because i'm fairly damn sure that the last time i saw the 250's was in 2005. possibly early 2006, but i'm kind of doubting that it was that recent. it seems like i've been stuck bouncing between the 260's & 270's, with an occasionally toe stepping into the 280's for this past year. very demoralizing, i will say. & ok, my bmi is still pretty high, & i'm still a good hundred pounds over my "ideal weight" but i'm making some progress. just another 9-ish pounds & my star will be halfway to my caterpillar's head. but i'm not thinking that far ahead. i finally found something that works, & i need to just keep going, trying, & i'll make it. already i'm feeling like a stronger person. not only physically, but emotionally & spiritually as well.