Day 18: I Wish I Was a Toys R Us Kid

Back in the day, when I was a major tomboy, I played really hard. At recess, I played hard. At PE, I played really hard. Even at church youth group events, I played really freaking hard.

Clearly this is the reason why I could eat a ridiculous amount of food (like a whole pizza) and not become obese (I had a little pudge in elementary school, but never have I ever been "fat.")

These days, I eat ridiculously healthy and monitor everything that goes into my mouth. I workout whenever I actually have the time and energy. And I cannot for the life of me figure out why I can't get back into my size 2 jeans (mind you, I have a small frame).

Last night at dodge ball, it all came together.

It's the first game of the season, and the Sha-BOOMS!!! are together again after a kinda rough football season, and just as rough of a kickball season. But we play for fun and play by the rules, unlike some of the ruthless teams that will do anything to win.

It's the first match of the game, and the first string of players (4 girls, 6 guys) are all dodge ball veterans. Thus, I'm standing on the sidelines w/ the other ladies and gents that aren't playing, and cheering on my team. Holy freaking cow, I have never seen balls fly faster and harder in my life (no sexual puns intended...get your mind out of the gutter). Suddenly, without a half-second to blink or move, a ball comes flying at my face. My face burns, my contact has been knocked out of my left eye and is sitting on my cheek, and I can't believe my nose isn't bleeding.

Blah blah blah, I get the contact back in, make my eyes stop watering, let my vision become adjusted, and then hop into the second match.

For the entire game, my strategy is to block/dodge the balls and hand balls to the guys who are more capable of throwing. Anytime I throw a ball with my weak little arm, I may as well be handing it to someone on the other team. They catch it, I'm out. So I give up on the throwing thing and just play defense.

Cut to...

The second to last match. There are maybe three or four of us left. I'm using a ball to block the balls that are flying my way. Next thing I know, BAM...right in my face AGAIN!!! My contacts are still in, but tears are streaming out of my right eye. So when I can finally see past the tears, I notice my vision isn't so great. But, I push on and eventually throw the ball (which is caught, I'm out...of course).

I go home with a headache, and dizzily crawl into bed before I get too nauseated and throw up. But hey, I slept like a baby!

Somewhere during the mild concussion i suffered, it all made sense. Back in middle school, I never would have gotten hit in the face...because I would have dominated and taken out every bastard on the other team first. I played hard, and I mean hard...like a dude. I wasn't scared to throw a ball, because my balls didn't get caught. And because I was strong, agile, and fast. Now, I'm like a little girl in middle school...a wimp.

So, why can't I lose weight as quickly as I used to? Why can't I lose weight even though I eat vegetables and rice and soy like it's my job? Because I don't play. I don't play, I don't dance, and I don't run like I used to...like I did when my knees didn't suck, and when I had all the time in the world.

I sit. In an office. For about 8 hours a day. And then I run errands, go grocery shopping, go to meetings, and sometimes I find the time/energy to go to the gym.

Real life sucks. I want to be a kid again.

Day 15: It's Hard to be Vegan,,,

...when I keep going out for sushi.

Day 14: I Forgot My Conservative Side at Home...

In response to a message that someone wrote to me from the heart, with concerns about my last blog, I feel it is necessary to write another blog. About my last blog. Does that make sense?

Basically, someone very close to me was concerned that me blogging about sex is too much information to share with the world, and that it could keep me from future employment opportunities.

I absolutely understand his concerns, and I am very thankful that he genuinely worries for me and wants the best for me. But is our country still so conservative that sex can't be a topic of conversation? I have not and will not go into the details of my love life in this blog, just as I will not go into details about my personal life in general--aside from my journey towards a healthier lifestyle.

But I am a grown adult in a monogamous relationship, and just as was noted in the CNN article I posted, sex is a healthy, natural act. Along with that comment, I also believe that one must practice this act responsibly and according to one's own beliefs/convictions.

I like my blogs to be entertaining. I like anything I write to be entertaining, because that's what makes people want to continue reading. And I will use curse words because my blog is not G rated. But I will not apologize for expressing myself. If you go back to my first blog, you'll read my disclaimer about how many people I am fully aware that I may offend. If you're offended, then don't read my blog! Or better yet, leave me comments. I enjoy debates every now and then.

On that note, there is no mention of any illegal or immoral activity in this blog (unless your personal morals are against sex and cursing), nor will there be in the future. So, while I know I might be out of the running for Miss America or President of the United States...I dare ANY future employer to evaluate my work ethics and professional capabilities based on this blog.

In the meantime, I shall write. Because it makes me happy...and happiness is key to living a healthier lifestyle!

Day 13: I'm So Excited, and I Just Can't Hide It!

Just the other day I realized that all of my blogs have been about food. My goal was to write about my journey to a healthier lifestyle...which of course involves my dietary intake. However, it also includes a slew of other things like EXERCISE!!! (And mental health, sleep, etc.)

So...I'm going to focus this blog on my physical activity in the past week. Which, let me just say...my new Nikes are coming in the mail TOMORROW!!! SOOO excited!

A personal trainer once told me that I should be getting 3 hours of cardio and at least 1.5 hours of strength training in a week (I think it was something like that). I never realized how hard it would be to find that kind of time, because in high school and college I had either the time or the energy to bust ass at the gym. Twice a day.

Instead...this was my week:

Monday: Went to the gym around 9pm and did an hour of eliptical while watching Family Guy (awesome).
Tuesday: Planned to work out after a meeting for the Virginia Production Alliance, but ended up catching up w/ my friend Meredith until about 11:30pm. Only drank two beers, but definitely no energy for a late, late night workout.
Wednesday: Too cold to go to the gym, and roomies were hanging out downstairs. Good excuse to not work out. And I was tired...excuses excuses.
Thursday: Had to make up for a lazy Tuesday and Wednesday, so woke up at 6:30 to do an intense 30-minute Jillian Michaels routine. Then started getting tired Thursday night, but my amazing boyfriend motivated me to get my ass up and workout...so I did another intense 30-minute Jillian Michaels routine and finished with Yoga. And felt fucking AWESOME! (Thanks, babe).
Friday: Two birthday parties to go to...from 5:30pm until 2am.
Saturday: Worked out with my boyfriend...
Sunday: I can't motivate my bf to stop smoking and start running if I'm not going to go to the gym and run with him! Except I can't run until my new shoes get in, so I did 30 minutes (over 4 miles) on the eliptical. And then came home and did 10 minutes of Jillian Michaels, chased the dog around the couch for at least 10 minutes, and worked out my arms/abs for another 10 minutes.

So lets see what that comes out to: a little over 2 hours of cardio and about 1 hour of strength? Holy shit, working out hard core is a bitch when you work a 9-5 and have a life!!!

I have a brand new appreciation for full-time-job-working, raising-a-family women who can't lose weight. Staying in shape is hard, but keep working on it and stay motivated! Chase your kids or your dogs around the house/yard and have lots and lots of (protected) sex!

I leave you with this statement found in a CNN article:

A study of healthy German adults revealed that men and women who had sex more frequently tended to be slimmer than folks who didn't have as much sex. Sex burns 50 to 60 calories per encounter, Whipple says, so sex three times a week for a month would burn about 700 calories -- or the equivalent of jogging about seven miles.
(http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/01/07/sex.health.benefits/index.html)

Day 9: In a Fat Free World.

It's been a hot minute since I've gotten to post a blog, and my god I have plenty to say! I'll save my rant on Anthem (fucking anthem...) and how the government controls our fucking lives for another post, because I only have 40 minutes or less to type this, and lord knows how long that might take me.

But for now, I'll keep this post light with some observations I've noticed in my diet the past few days since having gone vegan(ish).

You see, in a non-vegan world, you can find just about anything "reduced fat" or "fat free." And I've grown soooo accustomed to that. Mind you, "fat free" does not mean "healthy" since it contains more random chemicals and sugars than one's body should probably consume. However, if you're gonna buy Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese (which is fantastic by the way), you're kind of stuck with the original, full fat version. At least, from what I've found.

But, upon tracking my food intake (and fat intake), I noticed another reason the amount of fat I consume has gone up. Prepared foods. Ellwood Thompson and Whole Foods make some kick ass prepared foods, and several of them come "vegan friendly." Favorites include Homestyle Tempeh Salad (Vegan Mock Chicken Salad) and Tokyo Buckwheat Soba--which I ate for lunch today.

Now, pre-vegan days, I almost never...never ever bought prepared foods. I typically prefer to cook or prepare my own foods, or eat simple no-work-required snacks. However, I don't really know a lot of vegan dishes to make (since my cooking almost always involves seafood), and I'm still learning what I should/shouldn't eat.

So I'm wondering, is my increased fat intake a result of switching to all-natural, no-chemical-added products? Or is it simply a result of eating prepared foods that use more oils than I'm used to?

I'm sure it's a combination of both. But now the question is, what do I do about it? Obviously, I need to start cooking more rice to keep in the fridge so that I can make quick meals. (I'm not sure why I said "obviously," you have no reason to find that statement obvious.) And I need to eat more veggies and fruits and work harder to balance what I put into my body. (Okay, that statement was the obvious one...) And I need to research the sh*t out of soy since that's almost EVERYWHERE in vegan foods, and I'm starting to worry about all of the studies that have been done. (Blog idea!)

But the good part is, it's day 9 and I'm still feeling really good. Chocolate temptations have decreased--for now, my energy is up (except for that whole morning thing...life should begin after noon), and my digestion is wonderful. So I'll keep going on this path, since my body is clearly responding positively!

Post Script: I have no idea whether or not it's related to the foods I'm eating, but my appetite has decreased severely. I'm hardly ever hungry anymore, and I'm wondering if it's because my body is actually satisfied with the foods I'm eating or if this is something that's not so good. I'm going to need to monitor that...