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Sunday, December 30, 2007

4 miles Down....8 more to go

4 miles down! I managed to run 4 miles on the treadmill today. It’s wasn’t so bad, but I doubt I could have ran further. Okay maybe a little further but I didn’t want too. I ran that in 37:47 which is about 9:26 minute mile. The come back is going well. I figure I will be running 5 miles in a few weeks. Although I had my work Holiday party last night I kept the drinks to a minimum. For appetizers I had one coconut shrimp and a piece of this Artichoke thingy (small piece because it was cooked in mayo and something else). No bread or butter, however I did have a Chocolate log which was very very good. The dinner was fairly healthy, chicken and broccoli with a few small red potatoes. It was also very tasty.

When I came home from the gym, which I worked out my legs a about 6 leg machines and worked my abs and ran 4 miles, Josh was cooking a pizza. I figured if I had two slices that would be 400 calories. Then I opened the oven and it didn’t look that good so I decided that a chicken burger would be much tastier. So I had me a chicken burger on a whole wheat bun with pickles, grilled onions, fat free cheese, lettuce, ketchup and mustard. On the side I had grilled onions and zucchini. I managed to have about the same amount of calories but a lot more food and a lot better.

I am pretty sure if I keep on track I will be at my 117 goal on January 1st 2008. I am getting ready to prepare for my year follow up blog. It’s been a truly difficult year but a truly great year. I look forward to recapping and hopefully I can find some great pictures to show my progress, but it’s going to be hard because I lost a lot of them when the computer crashed.

New Year's Resolutions


Today is the last day of dogsitting. I think I'm actually going to miss having all three dogs around. Titus is going to be extremely happy to have the apartment (and his toys) to himself. He has just finally gotten used to having the other dogs come and cuddle with him, although he is still not all that happy with it. He still goes off to another room after a couple of minutes. Yesterday we took them all to the dog park and tired them out. I'm hoping to get Titus really, really tired tomorrow so he doesn't freak out during the fireworks. He usually gets really excited and barks and shakes. He jumps up on your lap in between sounds. I'm thinking a really long walk and maybe having him swim for a little while before we head over to Hawaii Kai to watch the fireworks show. Luckily that house is far enough away from most fireworks that it's not too bad for him. But, Hawaii does fireworks like I've never seen before. Everybody has their own fireworks and do their own shows from their houses. It's not like New York where all you can have is your little sparkler. We've already been hearing little private fireworks going off, which, every single time upsets the dogs. We're probably going to have to deal with it for a couple of days after New Years while everyone uses up all of the fireworks they bought. It's crazy like a war zone. Not as bad as the first year we were here though. They banned people being able to buy the really high flying fireworks after that year. But, you can still buy all kinds of crazy fireworks. Long story short, people set off fireworks all over the damn place and it freaks my dog out.

Okay New Year's Resolutions.
I met my pre-new year resolution of running 8 miles. I did not learn how to play tennis, but you can only do so much in a few weeks.

My first New Year's goal is to run 10 miles before February 1st. I think I can do it. I just need to be better prepared for the longer runs. Vaseline for the bra chafing. Water bottles set up so I'm not so dehydrated. And a gel energy pack. My new shoes are very nice for running distance.

My second New Year's goal is to lose those pesky last 5 pounds. Maybe 10 by the end of the year to get down to my true weight. But for now 5 pounds. Of course, I also have to lose the 2 I gained over the holidays. I think I can lose 5 by.... the Aloha Run, on February 18.
To meet that goal I have to lose about 1 pound a week until then. It also gives me a little time to screw up if I have a bad week. So my short-term goal is to get back to my pre-holiday weight of 135 by Jan 7. That shouldn't be too hard.
After that, I can lose the next pound, be 134 by Jan. 14. I'll check in with my goals soon.

Saturday, December 29, 2007

I woke up this morning and went for a run. I had made the New Year goal of running 8 miles before Jan 1. I tried to wake Ananda up, but she was still sleeping. I decided to run 8 miles. It was hard and I made the mistake of running down Kalaheo first and I did the loop second. The problem with that is on mile 7 you get to the hills. Then you're already exhausted. I ended up having to walk for about 30 seconds because my heart started racing going up the first hill. I just slowed my speed down on the hills and I was able to run the rest of the way. I ran it in 1:20 and 21 seconds. Not horrible. A 10 minute mile pace. What I'm hoping is that the next time I run it, I can do it in less than a 10 minute mile pace. Bye the time the Aloha run comes I want to be able to beat my last year's time by a few minutes. I think if I look back I'll find my time written down, but I remember it being around a 10 minute mile. My other goal for the Aloha Run is to look a little better crossing the finish line. They take pictures of everyone crossing the line, and I have pictures from last year and the year before. Maybe I'll actually wear a running outfit this year. I generally wear a men's Ashirt undershirt when I run.
This week we've been watching Li`i and Riley. It's been nuts. It's fun to have more than one dog though. Titus is finally getting used to having friends. He's seemed so sad all week because the other two are getting all of his attention. They also keep stealing his toys from him. He figured out early that Li`i can't get up onto the bed, so he usually takes his toys there. Riley doesn't really care, so she won't chase him onto the bed either. He's going to be so happy when he has the house to himself again. He's become much more cuddly though, because if he wants attention he has to come curl up next to us. And he has finally been able to sleep next to another dog. He's a very individualistic dog, and usually can't relax when there's other animals around. He has gotten used to the other dogs coming up onto the couch and basically laying right on top of him. It used to bother him alot, but now he just opens his eyes for a second and falls back asleep.
I am loving watching how dogs interact with each other. I have definitely decided however, that three dogs is way too many. And it's okay now that they all want to cuddle with you when it's pretty cold outside (cold for Hawaii anyway), but in a few months I wouldn't want three dogs curled up next to me on the couch.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

My Goals


I made it back to the gym today and did a 3 mile run on the tread in 26:30, which is way better then my 29 but before I stopped working out I was in the 22 range so I have a long way to go to get back to that. I was running fast too or at least I thought I was! I also worked my legs and my abs. My goal is to have abs like that chick in the picture (top left). Yeah I don't know who she is and she may even have a personal trainer but I want to work towards it.


The sad part is I was doing so well with my abs and then just stopped going to the gym because it got cold and I got lazy. Unfortunately I won't bring in the New Year in the best shape I have been this year but I am trying for my goal weight which I spent more my time at when I was at the gym lifting and doing cardio all the time, which is 117. I have about 2.5 pounds to lose before Jan 1 which I think is doable. I been doing cardio every day. If I don't go to the gym I jump on my elliptical machine for a 45 minute workout. I have lots of free time because I am working part time and school is out. I am hoping to keep it up once school is back in session. I have about a 2 hour break in between school and work but it isn't enough time to workout, eat lunch and shower and get ready. So I will have to do all my workouts at night after work around 7ish or do them on the weekend and Thursday. Thursday is my day off of school and work. So that will be my day to clean and do laundry too. I also have Sunday off of school and work.


I am going to set a schedule and stick to it. My goals for 2008 are the following:


1) Get killer Abs (like the girl in the picture).

2) Run a half marathon.


Hopefully training for the half marathon will help with the killer abs.

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

My 5am Christmas Run

I woke up this morning at 4am and couldn't fall back to sleep. I kept thinking about my family all together opening presents. I probably could have called them, since it was already 9am NY time, but I didn't want to be loud. So I waited until 5, took Li`i for a walk and then went for a run. It was really dark out, so I didn't run down the path at the beach, I just ran the sidewalk down to the canal bridge and back to the house. It felt good to get out and run. I didn't get to run yesterday because I started cleaning and didn't want to interrupt that rare behavior.
Christmas was great today, I got a lot of great gifts. Nate and I are going to be certified to scuba dive! Nate's parents are buying Nate a package and he's paying for me to go as well. I can't wait. They do a full class including ocean dives. Then we're certified for life.
For breakfast this morning I made Nate the breakfast he wanted- special bacon from R. Fields, sausage and homemade home fries. I can't wait until all of the fatty food is gone from the house. I can handle the candy a little better. I may give away the cookies that are sitting on the counter. I had to throw away the rest of the chex mix that Dane made. I couldn't stop eating once I started and twice I ate so much of it I felt sick. I might pour the egg nog down the drain. I don't like it all that much. Nate doesn't like it at all. And it has 220 calories per serving! I usually only have a small taste of it, but that's a hell of a lot of calories.
I'm also excited to give Ananda her gift. I won't write what it is on the off chance that she reads the blog before I give it to her tomorrow, but it should hopefully help me reach my New Year's goals stated previously on this blog.

Monday, December 24, 2007

Day 1





I went to the gym today. Ran 3 miles on the tread and it took me 29:20! And then I came home and showered, ate lunch and napped for a very long time. I am going to go to the gym everyday except for Christmas because they are closed until the New Year. No need to wait until the new year to get started.

Now that all the food is done and over with I can get back to eating normally and healthy. I need to drop these 5 pounds that I picked up this season and work towards some killer abs. Plus I miss lifting weights a lot. I was starting to see lots of results after two months and then I just stopped, but now I am back. I love going to the gym. When school starts up again I will have to find or make time to go. The weekends are pretty clear and Thursdays so that is 3 days.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Positive Thoughts

So I was the only one who showed up for the run today. It was a good opportunity to experiment with the mental techniques of using positive self-talk and affirmations. I had read an article not too long ago about coming up with phrases to say to yourself during your run such as "just put one foot in front of the other," or "you can do it," or "keep going," etc. It talked about some of the mental techniques that we can use. Tonight, I used a phrase that I've used that I stole from Josh. Myia will know what I'm talking about- "good for her." Basically Josh was looking at "bigger" girls who were running and commenting on the fact that at least they were getting out there and exercising. For some reason that one has stuck with me. I also at certain points during the run repeated that I am strong and fast. Sounds cheesy writing it down, but during the run it made me feel strong and fast. I would recommend these two techniques for sure. When I felt like running slower I told myself that I could slow down later, but I was going to run fast for now. It worked pretty well. Anyway, I ran 4 miles in 37:17. Not extremely fast, but for me it was the first time since paddling that I actually ran the whole 4 miles instead of jogging part of the way. This weekend I'm going to run 6. Hopefully I can actually run the 6, not jog part of the way.
My goal continues to be not gaining any weight. This has turned out to be quite a struggle after Dr. Rezentes gave us cookies for Christmas. I immediately ate 5 of them. I think it's because I don't buy cookies for myself and I just went totally overboard when I gave myself permission to eat one. I'll just keep eating them until they're gone and I will continue to not buy any for myself. I think Christmas will be a challenge, I know there is a lot of candy and cookies going around the office, but after the holidays I'll be back to normal.

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Workout

Still maintaining my weight through the holidays. Went for a run with Ananda this morning. Neither of us were very awake when we got there, so we started out to the Kalapawai Market and did four miles. It felt good right at the end. Trying to eat better at home, loading the plate with veggies. That way there's just less room for the carbs I want to throw on there. Whatever doesn't fit goes in the fridge for another day.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

New Shoes

Nate and I went to the mall and he got me my Christmas present. Running shoes! Thank god, mine were falling apart. They actually had a sale and I had an old Food Locker card with $25 dollars on it, so I got two pairs of running sneakers for $95 bucks. Not bad. Last night I wore the Ryka TRI Trainer Lady sneaks (picture on the left). They felt pretty good. They are very light, not too much support on the bottom, but good shorter distance running sneaks. I did 4 miles in 39:31. Not very fast, but it felt really good at the end of the run. It helps to run a long distance and then to drop down to your usual distance. Your regular run will feel so much shorter. I have a goal to do 8 miles before the New Year. We have 3 weekends left for me to do it. This weekend I'll run a little farther than 6, maybe close to 7. Then the week after I'll shoot for 8. In between doing 4 mile runs seems like it's working pretty good. I wish it didn't get dark so early though. I could really use a medium run day. I may have to switch over to running at the gym one day a week. Especially if I ever want to run farther than 8 miles. I can't just do 4 miles in between.
I'm going to have to start planting water bottles again as well. And maybe getting the gel packs for longer runs. That really helped last year. I can't wait for the Great Aloha Run! I already signed up and am waiting on my "in training" t-shirt.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Yoga

Saturday morning Ananda, Debby and I met at 7am and ran the 6 mile course. It is so much cooler at that time of the morning. You still sweat your ass off, but not as much as when you run after 8, when the sun is already up. It was great to be done by 8am. We spotted Jeanie, Dan and Joanna getting ready to go out on the one man. We chatted for a while and then Ananda and I actually got ourselves over to the Y and did a yoga class. It felt good to stretch after running. It was a good class, Kevin's is a lot of stretching, not too much workout. I was really, really sore though on Sunday. One of my back muscles was cramped up from yoga and then sitting at the sewing machine all day. It felt really good to get in that much of a workout.
I actually ate better this weekend as well. That is good because I think I work out enough, but if I start to eat as poorly as I have been, I'm gonna gain back a lot of weight. So this weekend my one badly done meal was the pancakes on Sunday morning. Other than that I ate my regular eggs on Saturday morning, had smaller lunches and did not fill my plate with carbs. Nate and I shared pretzel bites from the Pretzelmaker, but because I ate some of those I didn't put any carbs with my dinner, I just had some steak and brussel sprouts. I feel really good today. It makes your body feel so much better when you're eating right.
Nate bought me new sneakers for Christmas so hopefully my body will also feel a little better after running.
This week:
Run tonight
Tuesday- 4:00pm class at the Y
Wednesday- run
Thursday- 8am Turbo Kick class
Friday- off
Saturday- run at 7am
Sunday- off

Sunday, December 9, 2007

I'm Back...for real this time


I’m back….kind of….sort of. I didn’t go to the gym but I did do the next best thing. After being out of the cardio scene for over I month this morning I decided I was getting on my elliptical machine. I burned a CD because it was too cold to go to my car and get my mp3 player. I did 30 minutes and nearly died….kind of….sort of. Okay I didn’t nearly die but it was really hard and afterwards my legs were a little wobbly. It felt really good though. I do love cardio and can’t imagine why I been such a slacker other then the fact that the weather is awful. My elliptical is right here and I can just crawl out of bed and get on the thing.

Once Josh gets back he is going to put the weight bench up and set up the garage for working out but I think we are just going to get him a gym membership so we can go to the gym together. I already have one. Right now we don’t have that much money but we aren’t buying Christmas or anniversary so we might do that. That is actually how we started hanging out a lot in the Marine Corps. We used to be gym buddies and go running on Sunday mornings when everyone else was smart enough to be sleeping.

Although I managed to avoid working out and cardio for over a month, I have maintained by weight at 117-119. Every now and then I go over 120 but once I start paying attention to my eating habits it quickly goes back down. I do however get an okay amount of exercise in by walking to classes daily and my job in not a sit down job. So I am getting more then the normal amount of every day activity.

Slacking off can seriously effect your mood and energy level. Since I been a little depressed I been lazy and being lazy just added to the fuel. I love working out and being active and seeing results after a lot of hard work and although I thought it was stupid and hated it the entire way I am really glad we did the Swamp Romp. It makes you realize how out of shape you really are.

Next step is running on the tread again until the weather clears up, which won't be until late March, but I don't mind the treadmill. It forces me to run faster or fall off.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Keeping off the Pounds

I'm still working on keeping off those pesky pounds for the holidays. I gained two pounds then lost them, then gained them back. Unfortunately I didn't go running yesterday, I just was too lazy. Today I tried to make up for it by going to one of the classes at the Y. I don't know that the pie I ate for dessert helped though. I tried to eat a lot of peas at dinner to fill me up, but the pie was too strong. The good news is that I'm starting to see some muscle definition and wasn't embarrassed by the mirror at the gym. After the class I did a quick ten minute run. I set the treadmill for the hill climbing course and it kicked my ass. I had to keep slowing it down. I resisted turning the incline down though. Tomorrow is another day at work, I've been bringing my Nalgene bottle and it makes a huge difference. Water is surprisingly better than coffee to wake you up. When I'm hydrated I don't get to that drowsy, sick, tired stage. I just get antsy to go home from work.
Anyway, I'm still just working on not gaining weight for the holidays and staying sane at work.
Goals:
Saturday- run at 7:00am. 6 miles
Monday- run at 5:30pm- 3 miles
Tuesday- Turbo Kick at 8:00am
Wednesday- run at 5:30pm- 3 miles
Keep drinking water!

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Long-distance Run

This evening is our Marimed Holiday Party at Boardrider's. It is close enough that we can roll home when the party is over. We plan to do some pre-holiday party partying at our apartment first. Since I knew I probably wouldn't be eating all that well today, I went for a run this morning. I had a feeling that it would be just me, since I forgot to email the starting spot for the run until after 7pm last night. I sent out a text at 6:50am, but 10 minutes isn't very much time to decide you want to get out of your comfortable bed and run.
So, I got down to the parking lot and decided that I was going to run 6 miles. I ran out to Dune Road first, down N. Kalaheo, and back, then grabbed a drink of water from the water fountain before heading out to do Lanikai Loop. I tried to pay attention to how my body was feeling at certain points of the run instead of just running as fast as I could. I still did a 10 minute mile, which was consistent for my long-distances last year. I'm hoping to improve on that, but this was my first long run of running season.
Right around mile 4 I started to get really tired. I guess that's expected since that was the former long distance mileage. Hopefully 6 miles will start to feel good soon and I can move it up to 8. I figure I'll have to run the 6 mile run 2 to 3 more times before attempting a longer run. We have 10 weeks until the Great Aloha Run, so that's about 9 weekends that I can wake up early and do a long distance run. Next weekend will be better planned. Maybe I'll even make it to Yoga after.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Pre-Thanksgiving Weight

Okay, thank goodness, I am back down to my pre-Thanksgiving weight. I gained two pounds and stopped myself from continuing to balloon. I am thanking Myia for writing a blog about just maintaining weight for the holidays. I was still setting goals for myself that were a little unrealistic considering the amount of food I had planned on making and eating for the holidays. I ran on Monday, I did a little under three and a half miles in 31 minutes. It was about a 9:16 per mile, so that's really good for me. Hopefully I can continue to add on miles and stay at or go faster than that. If I do then I will beat my Aloha Run time from last year. I figure as long as I'm improving I'm doing okay. I would love to be able to run the race really fast, but realistically I was just happy that I didn't have to walk at all last year.
Today, thanks to Ananda, I ran again. I was sitting on the couch hoping that nobody wanted to run, that maybe Ananda had forgotten it was Wednesday. I told Nate that maybe I would just work out tomorrow. Luckily Ananda called at 5:30 and wanted to run, so I met her at Buzz's. We ran 4 miles, but we chatted the whole time. It was actually really nice. It was a change from running the loop as fast as I can and being really tired and dead afterwards. We decided that I've been training the wrong way, so my time wasn't getting any better, and I probably wasn't even burning as many calories doing the fast run as we did today. We ran a pretty good time for chatting the whole way, and the great part is I felt like I could run farther if it wasn't so dark out. I think there needs to be a schedule of short, fast runs, longer, slower runs, and interval runs. Maybe some walk/run intervals. Either way I want to be ready for the Aloha Run and hopefully the Swamp Romp if I can figure out when it is. It's so much more fun when you're training for something! And I just signed up for the Aloha Run early, which means that they send an "In-training T-shirt" and a planner.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Thanksgiving Weight

I read Myia's blog about maintaining weight. It's true, you shouldn't work too hard to actually lose weight, because it's hard enough just to stay at your true weight. I gained a pound since Thursday, but I've already told Nate that I'm going to be working extra hard this week. That means I'll be around the house a little less. Monday I'm going to go to the Bootcamp class and then running after, either at the gym or at Lanikai. Today I went for a run, around Enchanted Lakes loop. I walked to Hamakua from my place and then started running from there. I finished at the same spot. Then I stopped at Safeway before I walked home. It took me 36:31 to run my course. That includes me stopping to check my text message from Ananda. I am committed to not gaining any weight back this holiday season. I bought two mini-casseroles from Macy's so I can make different recipes for me and Nate. Happy Holidays!

Friday, November 16, 2007

Alcohol- The Devil on my Diet's Shoulder

I have discovered that I can eat pretty darn healthy without too much of a problem. I enjoy the taste of healthy food, I like to cook, and if there's not too much junk food in the house I don't eat too much junk. However, I have a huge weakness- wine. I love to have a glass of wine with dinner. Unfortunately, once I have one glass of wine, I want to have a second glass. With a little bit of wine, I lose all of my willpower to not overeat. It's pretty much automatic. Not only do I lose my sense of fullness, but I also get a hankering for chips, cookies, and chocolate. It's a terrible thing. I think I would have lost the last 10 pounds a long time ago if it weren't for wine.
Anyway, it's not that I drink wine every night. I do have a glass a few times a week. Unfortunately that's too much if I want to stay healthy and not gain back all the weight I lost. So I've been trying to replace a tasty glass of wine with other calorie free drinks. There's tea, which is a good substitute most of the time. It's actually been a great replacement for both Nate and myself. There's diet pepsi, but that has caffeine so it's really not something you should drink too much of late at night. There's the obvious glass of water, but for some reason it's just not as delicious. So, other suggestions? I'm not really into the calorie free juices. I think there's more to a glass of wine than the taste, it's all about the bottle, the glasses that you use when you drink it, it's more of an atmosphere thing than the taste.
This week:
Yesterday I went to a "Total Body Conditioning" class at the Y. I'm going to try to go to that class again next Thursday, it was really good.
Saturday morning- paddling at 8am and then Yoga if possible.
Monday- running
Wednesday- running
And No Wine. All Week.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

To The Gym I Must Go


Well, it’s been a while and I have been having some bad weeks. At first it was easy because I didn’t see a weight gain and I was eating like crap and still maintaining. Well after a few weeks it finally caught up with me and after a few days of healthiness I am back on track. But that is what makes it hard, knowing that it will come back off so easily. However since I haven’t been to the gym I am pretty sure I am losing muscle and it’s only been 3 weeks. So I need to get my butt to the gym. I stocked my house with healthy foods so I am not tempted to stop and get pizza and cheese fries anymore. I did that two times!!
It’s hard because it’s solely my motivation. I no longer have friends calling me to run or go hiking or do anything active. The weather doesn’t really permit it and the one person I would work out with is still in Hawaii. So it’s basically me fighting with myself to do something active, which is really hard sometimes. Eating healthy when I have food is easy and at first going to the gym was too. I know once I get my butt back into the gym I will go all the time. I need to figure out a schedule now that I have my work schedule and school schedule and stick to it. Of course I put off homework until the very last minute which doesn’t allow me to go to the gym some days because I am stuck making up work I could have done days and days ago!
Anyhow, I guess if it was easy every one would do it. I watched The Biggest Loser tonight instead of doing homework and another person lost 100 pounds. 100 pounds, if that isn’t amazing and proof that all these are possible I don’t know what is.
A healthy food choice is key to maintaining weight but being active is what makes it all worth it. When I can run faster then I ever have or lift more weights or walk to my class in no time at all because I am fit, it makes you know that not eating doughnuts or Burger King isn’t really a sacrifice.
I just wanted to make a goal to get my A$$ to the gym this weekend. I work tomorrow and I have an excel project and Thursday I am picking my mom up from the nursing home and taking her home and then I work Friday so Saturday and Sunday is my time for the gym and I have no reason not to make both days. So someone needs to hold me to it.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Props to Ananda and I

So after stating that I would take back control... I feel like I have. Today I ate well all day. I did have a beer, but I calculated my carb intake and decided it was okay. Ananda and I ran at 5:30. We both showed up even though it is a holiday. We did intervals today. 1 minute slow, then the second minute faster, faster and faster for four minutes. Then back to the beginning. 1 minute intervals for four minutes. We ended up doing a pretty good pace and time. We did the first 3 miles in intervals and then ran the last mile (to Kalapawai). I ended up finishing the 4 miles in 37:08. Not too bad. I really felt like I did a workout. The fourth minute on the intervals was a fast pace and it kicked my ass. I think I probably should have run slower for the fast part so I could finish stronger, but it felt good to mix it up. And the run felt like it went much faster, since I had to concentrate on every minute that went by.
Unfortunately, Nate and I had planned on barbecueing tonight and I ended up eating too much. However, I will not let that be an excuse to continue eating terribly. Tomorrow's breakfast- two eggs and some of the spinach salad in the fridge. Lunch will be a ham wrap with mustard. I bought a ton of those hundred calorie packs so I'll throw one of those in there. I've also taken to bringing tea bags in to work so I can make myself some decaf tea halfway through the day instead of indulging in unnecessary caffeine (more coffee!). So, not a great dinner choice, but all in all I felt like I was in charge of what went into my body. That is what I was missing the past couple of days. I've been eating mindlessly. I will pay attention to what I eat and exercise. 30 pushups tomorrow throughout the day!

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Long Time, No Blog

It is so easy to fall off the wagon. Once paddling ended I think I had a few good weeks of really eating well and running. I'm still running, but my eating is getting a little out of control. I decided today that I am going to get my control back. It's so easy to sit back and be passive and talk about how I'm going to eat better. I need to remember to get back to the basics. I need to remember to buy vegetables. I need to plan ahead so I'm not stuck with the choice between Burger King, McDonalds or Subway for lunch. Not that you can't find a good meal choice at any one of those places, but once you're in line and you're smelling the french fries, and you see that picture of the milkshake.... It's much better to stay completely away. My biggest challenge has been the weekends. During the work week I pack my lunch and am stuck with the healthier choices that I have stuck in my lunch bag. (At least I have still been packing lunch.) Breakfast for me has gotten to be such a habit, I have 2 eggs and add some salad to it if we have leftovers on most almost every work day. During the weekend sometimes I'll cook hash browns or have a huge bagel, or pancakes or sometimes we go out to eat. (I can't eat healthy when I go out to eat, I haven't been able to really get a handle on that.) Then after breakfast if nothing has been planned I eat all sorts of nasty stuff. Jack in the Box, Pizza, Calzones, french fries, last weekend was a bloomin' onion, chips, and cookies. I know it could be worse. My weight did go over 135 briefly one day. I immediately got back in action and went to a class at the gym before running that evening. But, it's getting harder and harder for me because I've been letting myself slip.
So. Today I am taking back the control. I announced out loud earlier today that I will be eating better today. It made it easier to turn down the nachos later this afternoon. Then when we stopped at Foodland for charcoal we got salad items. We have also actually planned out the next couple of meals until payday. I got a huge back of baby carrots and just need to remember that they are there in times of need.
Tomorrow I will be running with the ladies around the loop. I might also do the boot camp class again. I really enjoyed that last week. Today I did 2 sets of 10 pushups so far. I will have to work in some cardio.
It's so easy to just let all the hard work go, stop planning, get lazy. But I am not going to let it happen. I need to work on getting healthy again. I think I will probably always go through phases of being healthy and then slipping. I just need to get good at getting back on the wagon. Here's to reclaiming my control!

Saturday, November 3, 2007

This Week

This week I missed running on Wednesday because I had to go to work until late. I decided to run on Thursday night. It ended up pouring halfway through my run, so it wasn't the best run I've ever done. Friday night I was at Queens Hospital until really late, waiting for someone to do an assessment. Saturday morning I woke up to do Yoga and I'm really glad that I woke up to do it. It was a good workout, and much needed after having only run in the past couple of weeks. I'm hoping that we're going paddling tomorrow morning, I'm just waiting on what time we would be going.

Thursday's Lanikai Loop time: 26:25. I'm hoping to lose 4 pounds before Thanksgiving. That's my goal. That means 1 pound every week for the next 4 weeks.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

I ran a few times this week. I meant to go to a class on Thursday morning, but I didn't get motivated enough to go. I missed Wednesday's run with the girls, but ran Keolu Loop on my own on Thursday evening. On Friday Nate and I stayed in Waikiki at the Sharaton Kaiulani Hotel (thankyou Myia!). We ate dinner at the Pikake Terrace, it was an All you can eat Steak and Shrimp meal. So we ate so much that after dinner I thought I might puke or explode. We took complete advantage of the All You Can Eat aspect. During dinner there was a mediocre music and hula dancing show. It was pretty cute. In the morning we ate at the Pikake Terrace again, we had a coupon for the buffet breakfast (again, thankyou Myia). We again, ate until we thought we might puke and then laid out by the pool. It's funny taking a "vacation" in Waikiki, laying by the pool with the sound of traffic in the background when you have a perfectly good ocean beach a mile from your house. But it felt good to read and then doze off. After the nap we jumped into the pool which was too cold to actually want to stay and swim. We walked around Waikiki briefly and headed home.
This morning I was going to meet Ananda for a run (I had a feeling she was going to sleep in). I ended up running out to her house and then running the loop twice and ending at Aoloa St. I tried running with a bladder, the bag Myia gave me is really good. It was pretty heavy though and I definitely sweat a lot. I think it slowed me down a little. At the same time it was nice having water readily available. I may look into buying a pack made specifically for running that only has a pocket for the bladder and is made of lighter material. It was nice running a longer distance, I haven't done it in a while. After the first three miles I actually started to feel pretty good. The last half mile was killer though. I really wanted to stop. I need to start my runs earlier in the morning. By 9:30 it was already pretty damn hot and the sun was out full blast.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Back in Action

This weekend Ananda and I both rolled out of bed at 7:45 in the morning and met to run. The original plan was running Keolu Loop from her house and then to the YMCA where we would enjoy some relaxing yoga. We decided just to run the loop and then we drove over to the Y and did the yoga class. Kevin wasn't there, but the lady who usually covers for him (gets her left and right confused) was much better than usual. She was very upbeat and the class felt almost easy. After the class I felt how hard I had really worked. Particularly in my arms. They were so sore. It felt good to do some kind of cross training. Yesterday evening we met to do Lanikai Loop and let me tell you, give Ananda some techno music and she turns into a world-class sprinter. I gave her my mp3 player and we started running and all of a sudden Ananda was up in front of me. I kept checking my pace, like, am I running slow or is Ananda just kicking it in. I kept right behind her and just checked my pace every once in a while. Ananda ran the loop in 24:44 and I followed right behind with 24:47. This is only surprising because Ananda, who kicked my ass in the half-marathon after not running for weeks, usually has a much slower pace. Anyway, that's the fastest I've ever run the loop. It felt really good. Well, that is, after we started walking for a little while. We jogged to the Kalapawai Market after and then we did some pullups and pushups. Today I'm not sore at all.
Since I finally joined the gym I'm going to go to some kind of class this week, I'm thinking the 8:00am boot camp.
I've been drinking more water during the day and I can definitely feel the difference. I also am steady at 133. Have been for a while. I can't wait to do some kind of kick-ass cardio class and see how that affects the scale.

Friday, October 19, 2007

Life is getting in the way

Went for a few runs since the last post, Ananda and I ran last Saturday morning at 8:30. We only did the loop, but it felt really hard. I think it was humid and neither of us was very stretched out or hydrated. Then we visited with Joanna for a while. We ran again on Monday, we did the loop and then we all ran to the Kalapawai Market, although I don't think anyone felt that great, then we did some pullups and pushups. Wednesday we parked over by the end of the beach towards Kalapawai market and ran out for 15 minutes and Ananda and I followed Denby on a circuit route back to our start point. A little over 3 miles. It seemed like a lot longer since I've never run that path before. Saturday morning we plan on running Keolu Loop and then possibly doing Yoga afterwards. I am looking forward to yoga. It's been a while.

Work has been pretty hectic. I can handle the actual amount of work, but I've been getting really frustrated with how things are run there again. Some days I love my job and other days I am so exhausted and just completely done with it. I know, Myia's going to comment and say, put your resume in at other places. I don't know why I can't bring myself to do that. I am very comfortable at this job. I know that. I am a little scared about leaving here and going somewhere else where there is even more work and the same type of environment. It's Hawaii, so there's always going to be a level of unethicality, and a crossing of boundaries and cliques. I guess it's probably like that everywhere.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Lanikai (Again)

Today we ran the loop again and I decided to time everyone. I ran it in 25:30. The other times were 27:43, 29:40, and 32:00. That way we all have a time to beat. I'm looking up a run for Saturday morning so we can mix it up. That website, mapmyrun.com is awesome. It has a whole bunch of runs that people have mapped out already and you can add in the one you've been doing. I did do pushups with Ananda and Karen after the run, so that's one of the two times I need to do pushups this week. I have been drinking an okay amount of water, but I still need to step it up. I realized at 5:20pm, right before we ran that I had only had a small glass of water. If I'm gonna be running that's not enough. I've been trying to drink decaf tea at work instead of diet coke or coffee. That will help a little.
Watched the Biggest Loser tonight, interesting show, they do a lot of cool stuff and lose a ton of weight. I wish they didn't vote each other off to win the game though. It seems like they should do something else, I don't know how, but after all the work they do to get voted off because you're the biggest threat (you're doing so well) seems counterproductive. Anyway, pretty cool show. I definitely liked seeing the "today" shots. Neat to see that they keep working after the show.
I was going to start putting less carbs on my plate starting with last night's dinner, but that didn't work out so well. Yesterday I had rice and today I had pasta. It was delicious, but it is bringing me down. Only because I can't handle my portion sizes, I end up eating way too much carbs.
Off to bed, will try to do something active tomorrow. (Oh yeah, I took Titus for a short hike yesterday and I think I'll do that again soon, it was fun)

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Running

So we've been running for a few weeks now. It's feeling pretty good. I have to get new running sneakers soon. There has been a bunch of girls showing up to run on Mondays and Wednesdays. Karen, Helen, Denby, Jessica, and Ananda showed up yesterday too! It's really cool. I want to start upping the distance to 4 miles. I think after the running the loop a few times I'm feeling in shape enough to run the distance. I did not do 20 pushups last week, OOPS! I forgot I made that my goal. I did continue to drink more water. Stopping at the pullup bar has been good to focus me on doing more than just running and then going home and eating. We have been doing pullups and a few pushups and situps. My long-term goal for the end of this year is to get some nice abs, arms and legs. I lost a lot of weight this last year and now it's time to get some muscle. It's hard to make a goal that you can really say, yeah, my abs are nicer. I guess I want to be able to see my ab muscles by December 31.
Long-term goal- more muscles (that you can see) by December 31
Short-term goal for this week- Focus on smaller portion sizes for dinner.
Continue to hydrate and do pushups 2 times this week. (I'll say Wednesday and Saturday.)
I can't wait to hear Ananda's blog about her trip about healthy living where they fed her pastries for breakfast. She said she'd blog about it. I also want to hear this new diet that she's doing with her co-workers. It sounds hard, but if she sticks to it, I think she's gonna feel really strong and healthy. So, if Ananda doesn't blog soon let's all get on her!

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Check In

Ran the loop tonight with Denby in 26:10. Afterwards we did some pull ups and push ups. I was able to do 10 freaking pushups. Goal for next week Wednesday is 20 pushups. Pullups I was able to do 5, but only 3 with my hands facing out. Next week Wednesday I want to be able to do 5 with hands facing out.
I have been drinking a lot of tea and water. The only problem with being really hydrated is having to pee ALL THE TIME.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Quick Run Check-in

Ran the loop today, it felt pretty good. Ran the loop itself in 25:42 which is a record for me. Then I continued on to the Kalapawai Market and back for 4 miles. I did it in 37:22.

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Running Times

Quick post for today. Wanted to report in that I have not, I repeat, have not met my goal of drinking one bottle of water every day. How pathetic is that? I am renewing this goal for the upcoming week. I will drink water every day.

Denby and I ran the Lanikai loop yesterday. I clocked us at 26:43. That's pretty good for my second run around the loop in a while. We started and finished at the boat ramp. I'm going to continue to clock us so I can see if we're making progress.

Hopefully I'll have a chance to take a picture of Titus today in his new life jacket. Yesterday Nate and I took Titus down to Hawaii Kai during low tide. We bought him a life jacket that has handles on the top, so you can actually pick him up out of the water. We put it on him and had him swim, and he actually did really well! He didn't struggle like he usually does, the vest held him up so he could paddle. He usually panics, and has hated swimming for that reason. Plus, I don't think he's very buoyant. Anyway, I have to take a picture of him in his swim gear, it's really cute and really, really funny.

I took a picture of Titus in his jacket!

Here Nate is showing how you can pick him up with the handles.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Na Wahine O Ke Kai

Okay, finally, here is my blog about paddling the Molokai Channel. Throughout the paddling season (including regatta) I heard over and over again that this is the race that all of your training is going for, that this is the race that it's all about. Last year I couldn't handle the time commitment that long distance paddling calls for. This year I decided just to suck it up, because I may never have the time or the ability again.
Most girls flew out to Molokai on Friday. I had to work on Friday, so I scheduled my flight for Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, I missed a lot of the cruising around on Molokai, checking out the beach and relaxing. More fortunately, I missed out on the cleaning of the house shutters (saved us a hundred bucks on our total lodging cost). Apparently there were 60 shutters which may have never been cleaned before. It took the girls over 3 hours, and although they say they bonded over the task, I was happy just to help with dinner later in the evening. I am not sad to have missed this event.

I arrived in Molokai after a terrifying flight on a propeller plane. I was sitting right behind the pilot, who didn't seem to be paying much attention. This worried me and made the turbulence seem a little more significant. However, I landed safe and sound on the island of Molokai. The airport is tiny, hopefully I will have a picture to show later. We then headed out to the grocery is store in bumping Kaunakakai. (Note the sarcasm, it was deserted.) Again, I took pictures of the goats at the store fronts, I hope to add those later. We then headed out to the house.

I had the opportunity to help everyone make the pasta dinner, we all had some part in putting together the meal. Ku`ulei made some incredible meatballs and Denby fried up some zucchini and eggplant for the vegetarians. She also made an incredible salad. We ate dinner and convened for the team meeting. Dan and Derek gave us a pep talk about conditions and told us how we were going to win (well, not really). We set a goal of beating 6 hours.

After dinner we all did our best to clean our systems by drinking coffee, taking fiber and hydrating. We
chatted for a while about crock-pot recipes and then I headed to bed. By bed I mean a padded seat that went around the windows. I would have slept with Denby on the mattress on the floor, but she wouldn't let me cuddle with her. I'm still not sure why. Note the scary puppet that's hanging from the ceiling in the picture. That is just one of the weird, "eclectic" pieces of the owner's collection of "art." I slept pretty well except for the fact that my arms would fall asleep if I turned on my side and also that I woke up to pee ever two hours. That's okay, because we had to get up at 5:00am. The alarm went off and I grabbed some coffee and went outside to look at the stars that were incredibly clear.

For the next hour we all made breakfast and did our best to "drop the kids at the pool," or "take the browns to the superbowl" if you know what I mean. Some of us were more succesful than others. Then we were off
to the race.

We got to the site, and of course we had a panic moment when we thought we had left Ku`ulei's med bag back at the house, which would mean she couldn't do the race. That got resolved and we headed to the porta-potties. Hydrating has it's drawbacks. We listened to the prayer, and hopped into the canoe.

The race start was pretty incredible, there were 86 teams in the race and we all started at 7:30am.
There were boats everywhere. We had a quick run-in with another boat, we thought we might have broke the Ama, but we were good and we took off when we realized that everyone else was taking off. I never saw the flag.

The race itself was pretty incredible, you watch Molok
ai go, and hope that you're going to see Oahu a whole lot clearer soon. In the beginning there's such a rush of energy. Then it's just maintenance. I think we did changes every 35 minutes or so. I got back into the canoe with every change, which was cool, because I was changing in and out all the time. My changes towards the end were not very pretty, but I don't think anyone was all that graceful after 6 hours. We took a lot of pictures and rode some waves. Christie steered almost the whole thing, Shauna jumped in for 3 or for changes so Christie could pee. It got more exciting again when Diamond Head came closer and closer. We chased down several canoes during the race and that gave us some motivation to keep going hard. Waikiki seemed like it was close forever. At the very end, I was sitting in seat 5, Dan had the idea that he was going to leave the last crew in for an extended period of time to finish the race. Unfortunately I hurt my shoulder, and I'm not sure if that's the whole reason the boat slowed down, but we weren't going at our max. He did a change, and I sat out the end of the race. I'm pretty sure we won it, I wasn't there to see the finish though. I rode the escort boat in and we unpacked our goods. We were burnt, tired and ready for a beer. Of which there was plenty at the landing site.

Ananda's boyfriend Chris brought us Peanut Butter Cups and Beer, and I was very happy. We watched the announcement of the winners while we chowed down on an uninteresting buffet meal. Australia came in second, and Team Bradley won the whole thing. They missed the record by two seconds.

Overall, I think it was an incredible experience, and how cool to be able to say that I paddled from one island to another. We got great shirts out of the deal and everybody got a medal (We're all winners!). As of now, I don't think I can do it again next year. It takes so much time commitment. I was so excited to go for a run today because it was the first time I could do anything other than paddle in what seems like forever. Plus, apparently we had fantastic conditions, great surf, good wind, great tides... and it still took us six and a half hours. It makes me wonder what it would have been like in bad conditions. Anyway, I told my friends that I would write it down that I said I wouldn't do long-distance next year. Hopefully when the time to make the decision comes next year, I'll remember to look back at the blog.
In the picture from left to right: Coach Derek, Sheila, Debby, Me, Denby, Ananda, Leyla, Shauna, and Cassie. Missing: Christie (I believe she's off chatting with other paddlers, hopefully also having a drink) and Ku`ulei (also socializing and hopefully enjoying a delicious brew).

Saturday, September 22, 2007

A Ramble On Dieting

I've always felt that people tend to grasp onto fad diets, hoping that they'll magically lose weight. They'll read the book, which makes the diet make total sense, and stick to the principles of the diet for one or two weeks. They'll lose a whole bunch of weight or not lose any weight at all, and then they'll go back to eating the way they ate before. Even when I was really young I knew this didn't make any sense at all, and yet so many hours of women's time are wasted discussing how they're present diet is working. I always wondered why they didn't realize that you had to change the way you eat, ALL THE TIME, not just for a few weeks. And hello, why didn't people realize that fatty, greasy foods, and candy make you fat when you eat too much? And did they really not know that if you're really overweight than you are probably eating way too much of whatever it is you're eating, even if it seems healthy? And that you have to actually move your butt from the couch to lose weight? It all boils down to the fact that as Americans we have gotten altogether too lazy. We look for the quick fix. Why do the diets of the French, or the Italians, or the Chinese work better? Not because they eat more cheese or drink tea. They live a healthier lifestyle! They're not too lazy to make their lunch and dinner, or to walk down the street when they need to get something. They don't rely on the mass media to tell them what they should be eating (did we need lawsuits to tell us that McDonald's is making us fat?) they rely on what their bodies tell them and they eat what is available. They don't eat the way they do for two weeks to slim down, they eat and LIVE fairly healthy all the time. You can be vegetarian, vegan, low-carb, high carb, low-fat, and still be fat (or just unhealthy) if you don't have a healthy lifestyle to go with your diet.


I really like Myia's new blog about living healthy. I think what has helped Myia and I over the last year and a half is that we didn't just exercise, we started eating better at the same time. We started drinking more water. We started looking at not just what we were eating, but how much. Myia actually wrote down how many calories she was taking in, and anyone can see that that definitely worked for her. I just made myself look at packages and think about how many calories were in a meal before eating it. The most important thing we did though, was making the commitment to a lifestyle change. When we started we knew we weren't trying it out for a few weeks, we had to change for good.

What's the point of all of my rambling? I think it's obvious, something that we all know deep in the recesses of our minds that losing weight can't be done with a magic pill or diet. We need to stop looking at the quick fixes and get up off of our butts. Cook your own dinner. Pack a lunch. At least look to see what is really in your food before you shove it down your throat. Pay attention to how much your eating. Find a way of eating that makes you feel good, and stick to it. AND EXERCISE. There is always the excuse that we don't have enough time. But that is only an excuse. We find plenty of time in our days to email and surf the internet and watch tv. There is time for exercise.

Things that make us fat (because we eat so much of them):
Fast Food
Soda (Drinking our Calories!)
Big Portions
Lack of Exercise

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Final Week of Paddling

I haven't taken any interesting pictures of my recent activity so I thought I would throw on a current picture of my little baby, Titus.

This week is the last week of distance season for paddling. Sunday is the race from Molokai to home. This is the race we have been training for all season. This morning I went to practice, felt a little stuffed up in the beginning. We paddled all the way to Smith's Point (Lanikai), and then straight out for about 15 minutes. Then we rode some waves in. After that we headed out towards Bird Island and down to the Pinky's canal. I was already feeling really burnt out and sore, and starting to feel really sick. On the way back to Kailua Canal, I felt the most tired I have felt paddling all season. I really hope it's because I'm sick, not because I am that out of shape, or that burnt out on paddling. I ended up leaving practice early because I could not picture myself getting back into the boat, which was heading back to Smith's Point one final time. That's about another hour of paddling. I made the decision to leave early. I had coffee with Joanna afterwards and we talked with Myia on conference call for a while. That was nice. It helped put some of my feelings about paddling into perspective. I'm sure I'll be ready to be back in action come Monday. I think it's a combination of body sore from being sick and from paddling so hard on Thursday night.
We also talked (on conference call with Myia) about setting goals for after paddling. I think one of the things that I have relaxed on is eating healthy. With paddling the weight was coming off so easy that I started to eat poorly again. Not as poorly as before, I don't think I'll ever go back to that. I still make lunch for Me and Nate every day for work, and our dinners are reasonably healthy. My breakfasts continue to be eggs with whatever frozen vegetables we have in the freezer. Dinners have just begun to creep up in serving size, especially with the starches. And then dessert has become a regular thing again. For a while we weren't eating very much dessert. After Nate and Bobby went to Sam's Club, we have a huge amount of skinny cow ice cream sandwiches and a whole box full of peanut butter cups.

My goals for this week:
Paddling on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Not just paddling, but enthusiastic, hard paddling. Getting to practice on time and getting excited about getting in the boat. I can do that one more week.
Sunday- Molokai
Eating: drink at least one bottle of water each day (I've relaxed on this as well)

That's it. I'm gonna keep it simple this week.

My goals for next week:
Run with Denby at least 1x. Hopefully she'll email about the time and place soon so I can put it in my planner.
Limit carbohydrate intake.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

33 Mile Race

This past weekend was the E Lau Hoe race. It started at Hawaii Kai, at 8:30am and it ended at Nanakuli Beach Park. I should put this race on my Google Maps. Okay, I did, click on Google Maps and check out the course. Our starting lineup: Jenney, Ku`ulei, Me, Ananda, Debby, and Christie steering. Christie, again, steered the whole race. She's crazy. We did our first change and I got into the "pimp yacht" like I've been calling it. Joanna's friend's boat was nice. It had nice padded seats and a place to lay out in the sun in the front. You never felt like you were getting tossed around. There was also plenty of room to stretch. Not to mention the fact that it had a bed and a sink inside. We ended up doing a lot of changes, I moved around from seat 3 to seat 2, then I was in seat 4 for a little while. At the end of the race Mele was sitting seat 1, Jenney seat 2, Ananda seat 3, I was seat 4, and Debby was seat 5. We were catching up to one of the crews that was in front of us for a long time. We kept creeping up and creeping up to them. They did a change and we changed Jenney out for Sheila in seat 2. We continued to creep up on them and finally got right up to them. They did another water change and we didn't. The girls in our boat ended up paddling for at least 45 minutes. I don't know how long Mele was in because she was already in before Me, Ananda and Debby got into the boat. Anyway, it was a ton of fun and we ended up beating the boat we chased down. We got to the finish line in 5 hours and 27 minutes. Ananda and I got a ride from her boyfriend Chris. We basically wandered around talking nonsense for a while because we were so tired. We finally made it to the showers and the bathroom and made our way to his car. We stopped for gas and we bought some Peanut Butter Cups since the ones I brought for the race got left behind. That is an excellent post-race meal.
After the race me, Nate, and our neighbors Fish and Debby got together to barbecue. Titus plays with their dog Norm. Ananda and Chris showed up later with a bottle of wine. It was a pretty good day.
This week has been pretty crazy, I'm trying to learn the Ho`ohua therapist position. It's hard to keep all the names, paperwork and information straight.
Yesterday I had paddling practice. I keep promising myself that I'm going to go for a run, but I just lose the energy and motivation for it when I get home. Perhaps I need to bring my stuff with me and just change at the bathroom before the loop. I usually have some energy right at the end of work.
I still weigh 135. I have to buy new clothes. My pants were falling off of me today.
Today I finally had the motivation again to make a delicious dinner. I made- peas, I love peas, I made a whole bunch of them. I also made seashell pasta with Tomato-basil alfredo sauce (not so good for me). I breaded chicken with seasoned Panko Bread Crumbs and only put the bread crumbs on one side, then baked the chicken. It was pretty darn good. I wonder what Nate's gonna put together for dessert.

YOU GUYS ROCK


This blog has inspired me to create a whole new myspace page dedicated to being healthy. Thanks Mary. I am still going to be a part of this blog because I love it. I just wish it would send you an email or something to let you know when someone has made a new post.

Here is the link to my new page: My MySpace URL: myspace.com/livelongerlivehealthy

I am going to put the link to this blogger on that site as well.

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am very thankful for you guys and all the support throughout the last year. Getting healthy, thin and hot together was so much fun. You guys ROCK!

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Life


So Nate and I have officially switched therapist positions this week. I didn't realize how stressed out I have been until Nate took over the tough case I was working on. I just feel like I can breathe better again. We had this big meeting on Thursday with me, Nate, a couple of our supervisors, the Department of Health, and the parents. I basically just got dumped on by them, which was okay because in the long run it is going to help the kid in the program. I could have defended myself so many times, but they just wanted to pull me into an argument, and I wouldn't do it. It did not feel very good while it was happening. I couldn't go to paddling practice afterwards, I just felt sick. But Nate was awesome and is going to be the best therapist with this case. And now I can breathe easier. It's tough because they went through all of my notes and made copies of everything and the Department of Health made copies of all of my notes. I stand by my work, but it is the first time that my work is being evaluated to this degree. I was called incompetent among other things by this family, and it feels good to move on.
So I'm feeling less stressed out, but I missed practice on Thursday. I guess after practice Mike (our coach) let everyone know that because some girls dropped out of the distance season he will only be sending two crews in tomorrow's race. It might mean that we only have enough girls for two crews in the Molokai race. I talked to my pal and coworker Cheryl who would love to race in the Molokai race, and knows another girl from Kaneohe Canoe Club that will come to practice if that means they can do the Molokai channel. So hopefully that third boat will still go in two weeks. The biggest blow to the team is that Kahala is not finishing the season. She's one of our steerswoman and she rocks. I think we have enough other steerswomen to do the race, but we are going to have some steerswomen doing the majority of the 42 mile race by themselves, with a quick switch out for a break in the middle.
Because I haven't done much for exercise in the past couple of days I weighed myself this morning to see how much damage I've been doing. I haven't really been eating well either, although at Mexico Lindo's last night, I did choose a fairly healthy fish wrap. So I weighed myself and over the past couple of days I've lost 4 pounds. The scale said 126 which is like 131. That's just weird. Myia I know you said that the same thing happened, that you took some time off from working out and you lost weight. I wonder why that happens. Maybe my body needed some healing time after doing paddling so often. It's a very repetitive motion and you can get burnt out really fast. I am feeling ready to paddle 33 miles tomorrow.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

The Truth about "Skinny Bitch"

I have finished reading the book “Skinny Bitch” by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin (whoever the hell they are) and here is my complete review.

First, I would like to tell you, that this book is NOT about getting skinny. It is completely misleading in that aspect. The truth of the matter is it is entirely about getting healthy which could lead to being skinny. It’s a cover up! It is designed to appeal to those that just want to get skinny but really its main goal is to make you want to get healthy. In the end the ladies admit this deceit but by then you are already convinced that being healthy is truly important.

So for those that aren’t skinny yet, this may be a good guideline but you will laugh and think they are absolutely insane and probably only be able to pull off half of what they are saying. Half is GREAT and it will make you lose weight. But for those of us that are skinny already, it sucks you in because not only can you be skinny but you can be skinny and healthy at the same time. Skinny does not = healthy and healthy doesn’t always = skinny. But by getting healthy you can in fact become less fat! Lets face it most of America is more concerned with being skinny then healthy which is why this book is a great idea. The cover reads “Skinny Bitch”, you think your going to be a skinny bitch by reading it but in fact you are on your way to being a healthy bitch. Oh, also they do not endorse bitchiness and just used that title to sell books, which worked. Skinny, healthy and smart these ladies are.

Throughout the entire book it talked about “you are what you eat” and then tells you what you are eating this is very gross and makes you think. However, I did eat my beef jerky right after the chapter about animal cruelty and the crap that is in meat.

It talks about giving it up in Chapter 1 (Give it Up) which of course are all the things you don’t want to give up but aren’t good for you and make you feel like shit. It explains the truths about Carbs and low Carb diets which everyone here already knows are BAD, BAD, BAD. “You can eat bread and fruit”! Chapter 3 (Sugar is the Devil) was the hardest chapter for me because not only does it talk about how bad sugar is but also how bad the substitutes are and gives you healthier substitutes such as raw sugar(whatever that is), pure maple syrup, etc.

Then after you are convinced that you can stop eating crap and you can possibly give up sugar because it’s horrible, it goes into the (Dead, Rotting, Decomposing Flesh Diet), which is a long chapter on meat and the meat industry, which most people over look because it’s not in there face. It talks about what’s in it, what it does to you and why you don’t need it EVER.

After they have almost convinced you to stop eating meat they talk about the (Myths and Lies About Protein), (Pooping) and (Have No Faith: Governmental Agencies Don’t Give a Shit about Your Health), (Don’t be a Pussy)….these are all chapters. When they get to boring stuff they for warn you, which is kind of nice of them, after they called you a fat ass throughout the entire book. Have no doubts, this book at times will make you mad especially if you are fat and eat the way they describe and even if your not. They write without sympathy to those overweight and tell you to take control of your life, but they give you ways to do that.

They also give you long lists of what you can and should not eat. They never say can’t because you are your own person and make your own choices. Ultimately they ask you to (Use Your Head) when buying groceries and consuming food. Oh and believe me although there isn’t an entire chapter on exercise they mention it enough for you to pick up on the fact that you don’t get healthy and skinny by being fat and lazy.

Both ladies have ties to the modeling world, one is a former agent for Ford Models, the other is a former model that happens to be pretty darn smart, she has her Masters of Science in Holistic Nutrition and from the way the book reads there was lots of research put into it and gives a great list of recommended reading, websites, cook books and magazines.

This is not a book you read over a month’s time, you sit down and you read and you read and then you realize that you have been reading a long time, or at least it seemed long because I am a slow reader. Its recommended reading if you want to be on the right path to being healthy, which at this point in time I do. I am already skinny and I don’t need to be any skinner but I do need to be healthier. So let’s get skinny and healthy together.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Good Eats





I have been eating some very tasty things this week. Breakfast one banana cut up with four or five strawberries. On avg a banana is about 105 calories and 1 large strawberry is 9. A healthy breakfast. For lunch the other day I have some really good feta and spinach chicken links (70 Calories each) cooked with half a green bellpepper in garlic. Tonight I am having ground turkey seasoned with taco seasoning with green peppers all under 350 Calories and very very tasty.

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Saturday's Practice

We had a long freaking practice this morning. Half of the team went to Kona to paddle in the ironman Kona race. It's 18 miles. It was too expensive for me to go, plus I didn't have a set crew to paddle with anyway. So the rest of the team paddled out to the Mokes, then we paddled straight out to the middle of the ocean for a half hour. Then we head over to the canal by Pinky's and did some sprints. After that we paddled for 10 minutes straight out and then finally head back to Kailua to put the boats away. I was there from 6-12 today. It was an awesome workout, and I think I was actually paddling correctly so my arms weren't all that sore. My back hurts, but it's not as bad as when your arms turn into noodles. My fingers are all blistered even though I wore gloves the whole time. I weighed myself after practice, that's always the best time, because you lose so much water weight, and I was 130 on my scale, which means I'm actually 135 in real life weight. I'll be very surprised if it goes lower than that. I think this is probably my correct weight. I've still got some padding around my belly and my bum, but I don't think I would want to weigh any less. I can always use more muscle, but that will come with time.

Better Food


I found great chicken sausage: Archer Farms Chicken Sausage (tomato and basil, Spinach and garlic, and spinach, garlic and feta). They are only 70-80 Calories per link (same size as a brut or turkey sausage). Anyhow they are organic so they are a little pricy but they are delicious! I love them. I am not a big meat eater so this is a great alternative.
I have had other basil and tomato chicken sausage, can’t remember what brand but they had 130 calories, which is still good considering Turkey sausage and hot dogs both have 180 each link. Even though I just bought like 25 frozen Lean Cuisine meals I am trying to move away from the stuff that has a really long shelf life. I want to stick more with the stuff that expires within a week or so because it’s healthy for you. I have learned to control my calorie intake now I need to learn how to control only putting good healthy stuff into my mind. Which I am pretty sure isn’t Skinny Cow Ice Cream bars. It’s a work in process because my freezer is filled with those too.

If you guys want a good calorie counter and want to check information before you eat, check out http://www.thecaloriecounter.com/ this link shows all nutritional value not just calories for those people that want to watch carbs and fats.
I started to read the book “Skinny Bitch” which I plan on passing along to everyone once I am finished. It is a little rude and makes you kinda mad but tells it straight, if you want to stop being fat, you need to stop putting bad shit into your body. Something’s, I don’t agree with but most are very true. Not the goal of the book is to become a Skinny Bitch which I think you can become without following it complete. They are very organic and anti chemicals including cold medicine and all sorts of shit which makes them a little crazy but it’s a good read to make you think about what you are actually putting into your body.

The book is fairly inexpensive and you guys can probably pick it up if you don’t want to wait until I mail it around. Let me know you wants to be first to receive it.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Mary's Goals and Long Distance Race

You're right about the goals, I haven't written any down in a while.

Long-term goal- I think I'm okay at this weight, but I would really love to get some muscle that you can see in my abs. I think I'm at a point where you might start to see some muscle if I started lifting. I'm going to start small though-

Goal #1- Run at least one time this week. (It's been a while and I'm getting lazy)

Goal #2- Do push ups 2x this week. We're supposed to be able to do 3 sets of 20 (I think, Joanna correct me if I'm wrong) according to the paddling coach, Dan.

Goal #3- Pullups after practice 1x this week. Again, I've been lazy, but I can at least do it one time this week.

Darn it, now I really have to do these things.

Will report back on these goals later.

This weekend was my first real long-distance race. (With Changes). 24 miles. It was pretty incredible. It started at Kailua Beach and ended in Waikiki. We changed out several times over the course, and overall it took about 4 hours. All I know is that our other Kailua team had a time of 3:19 and they got in way before we did. It was absolutely beautiful on the escort boat, but I was so freaking nervous every time we had to jump out of the boat and change in. I was so nervous that I wasn't going to be able to get into the canoe. It was pretty scary because there were actually waves and it never looked like our steerswoman was going to get near enough to us. Of course every time she would end up heading right past us exactly in the right spot. It was definitely a difficult race, there was not a whole lot of waves and it was hot out. Usually the waves give you something to think about, so you don't have a whole lot of time to think about how much paddling hurts after the first hour. There was a couple of stretches where it was pretty smooth and you just felt like you weren't moving. A lot of the race was a challenge to mentally stick with it. I kept thinking about our trip on the Makani Olu, Myia, when we went around Rabbit Island, and were still going past it, and still going past it.... The land just didn't seem to move very fast. I did what I do when we did our long distance runs and picked out spots on the land that we had to get to and just focused on those spots.

Thank God Derek was the coach in our escort boat, he was great. Mike was with the first string boat. Dan went with Joanna's crew. In our boat was Ananda, me, Mele, Stephanie, Sheila, Leyla, and then three girls I don't know as well- Mehana (different from the Mehana from regatta season), Leona, and Angie. Oh, and then Christie (Derek's wife) was steering. She steered the whole thing, it was really cool. She had a bladder with her with water and some gatorade and a couple of power bars and some gum in the back of the canoe with her. I guess she must have taken a few quick breaks.

Leyla had an underwater camera and she says she's going to put some of the pictures on myspace. When she does I'll steal some and put them on this blog.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Goals

Alright, I need to set some goals and I need to write them down because they always seem real when you write them down.
Goal #1 – Go to the gym at least 3 times a week (Running on Treadmill)
Goal #2 – Work on abs at home during free time
Goal # 3- Eat more vegetables and less frozen foods
Goal # 4 – Find a job

That should be it for now.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Losing Weight Rocks


Month 8 is coming to a close since my new year's resolution and I have more then met my goals. I have lost 22 pounds since Jan 1, '07. I figured if I could do it for half a year then the rest of the year would be easy. Well, let me tell you there isn't anything easy about it, but it does get easier but lets never call it easy.
I learned how to control my weight strictly through calorie counting. The workouts and exercise are very helpful but I realized they aren't necessary to maintain weight but are VERY necessary to remain fit and healthy.
I was unable to exercise in a while and got a little scared that I wouldn't be able to maintain my weight, that didn't happen but I did quickly and easily get lazy and tired without it.
I realized the best ways to stay active are to set goals and find people to set goals with. Working out together is so much better then working out alone. You don't have to do the entire workout with someone but starting together helps.
I have a great group of friends that I started running with a while back and at first we would run at the pace of the slowest person because that was easy. It was great when one of us didn't feel like running because we can all run slowly. Well that was when we were jogging not running. After a while we just started together but each of us found our own pace that improved over time and then we began running. It was much better and felt good at the end and if you didn't finish first you wanted too and you ran faster next time.
I hit up Bally's Total Fitness twice now and look forward to working in so exercise time once I get on schedule.
In the last year or so I seen lots of my friends lose so much weight. It's amazing to see them and how hard they have worked. Mary, Teri and Janet, you guys rock!! Keep it up. Mary I love the new blog were we can post and talk about eating healthy, drinking wine, and being active. It was a great idea.
I weighed in today at 125 pounds and was in Old Navy and bought a small button up shirt, which is amazing that I can buy a button up shirt and be so comfortable. Losing weight in my boobs have definitely put those suckers in the wrong place but have made it easier for me to clothes shop and buy cuter things without feeling like I am busting out of them.
I body is still very soft and not very tone, but I am going to change that by starting to weight lift when I can especially in my legs and abs. They need some extra attention.
Well all I think next years resolution will have to be a good one to top this one. Maybe I will run a marathon. I still need to do another half marathon before I hit that up. Once I can complete a half marathon at a decent time and not feeling like I want to die then I will move up.
For those of you working on being fit, losing weight and eating right, keep up the good work and don't get side tracked. Stay focused and it will be worth it.
Oh yeah that's my new home up on the left there.