There was good and bad news this week, which really confused me.  I did my BMI measurements and I have a larger body fat percentage than I did before.  I am thinking its because I have done less resistance training but that still doesnt make sense because with the exception of my butt and stomach, everything else would be the same.  And my waist is actually smaller than it was for my wedding.  1/2 and inch but it’s still smaller .

I’m just going ot keep on trecking.  I have a lot more energy and feel great!

I also found a cool, social site (yes i know, another) called www.dailymile.com. It’s a nice way to keep track of your milage and times. Check it out and come find me. My handle is DreaRz

Yes I know… I still have a lot of work to do but compared to where I was a year ago!  I’m happy.  Now the hard thing is changing my diet and routine again, so I can keep getting better. 

Also trying to find a running buddy is hard!  I have so many friends that want to run but they are afraid that they aren’t fit enough.  Here is my comment to everyone, JUST DO IT!  Yes, very Nike of me!

But seriously, if you are always using the fact you are out of shape to not work out, than your never going to get in shape.  I am not an advanced person when it comes to exercise but I am not novice.  I always find it better to workout with someone that is better than me, because I work harder to keep up. 

So thats it for now.  Sorry my blogs have been so short and not really super informative.  Right now I am just trying to get through my own personal journey and get back into the right rhythm.

Loves

Drea

So I sat down with google maps and planned my route. The one thing google maps should tell you, especially if you are routing a walking travel plan is the grade of slope the roads are.

Though, I am going to be running in San Francisco so I really dont know how flat the route will really be. So I guess it will be good exercise.

People tell me it’s not good to run on the street but seriously, how boring is it to run on a tred mill.

Here is something I forgot about getting back in shape. The place where you store the most fat is the last place to loose fat. So looking at myself in the mirror this morning I realized my legs, face and arms were already taking shape but my rear end and tummy were still the same… if not looked worse because everything around them was toning up. It’s almost discouraging because you think you look fatter than you did when you started.
Word to the living healthy peeps, don’t loose your motivation just keep in mind your end goal.

So am I back…. well, I want to be back… so here I am.

I know your New Years is supposed to start January 1st but mine started February 1st. I ran 1 mile and walked 1 mile in my new Adidas Shoes =-) Thanks mom! and I started bringing my lunch to work. It’s weird to get back into the swing of things after being off of it for a while but I think it’s a good lesson and I think it’s something we can all relate to.

So this is what 3 months of absolutely nothing good does to someone. I only gained 3 pounds back but my clothes, body and energy just feels different. My legs and arms look the same (though I still am annoyed by pictures of my arms) but my stomach is just blah. Sometimes, depending on the shirt, I feel like it looks like I am 4 months pregnant. (NO I AM NOT PREGNANT)

What this means is that I lost muscle tone and gained fat… or just swelled the fat cells I already have. This is not a good thing. I could feel it when I went running today. 1 Mile felt like forever and my stomach and sholder wanted to give after the first couple blocks. I was so disappointed in myself that I couldn’t complete the mile back home.

My diet has been way off to. Part of that is because… well I have been lazy. The other part is that produce prices have been out of control. No wonder weight is out of control in the US. It’s cheaper to eat at McD’s for a week straight than it is to buy enough fruits and vegetables for yourself for 1 day. There is something seriously wrong with that.

Luckily however, I live in a warm part of the country, which means we still have Food Markets. It took me a while to find out where the inside markets were during the winter time but I finally found a site. I will post it in the good things to know section…. or whatever it’s called… it’s been 6 months.

Anywho, sorry for the rambling, I just wanted to get these things off my chest so from this point forward you know what this blog is going to be about….. oh yeah… what is it going to be about!

My goals in 2010!
1. Run the San Francisco Marathon July 25th. (I was going to run the LA Marathon but my friends are getting married that weekend.) This means I should be in shape to do a marathon by my birthday (July 30th). 25 weeks to do so and my goal is to run a few miles a day and then each week pick one day to run my goal. So for example this is week one. I know I can run 1 mile easily so Friday I am going to run 2. Then next week friday I will run 3. Etc. Etc. My running will be M,W,F and then T,Th,Sat will be my resistance training with lite jogging.

2. Find a healthy meal plan for my husband on a $50 budget per week. You heard me $50. It’s a goal and it’s going to take some practice. Besides, if I can accomplish this, wouldn’t you like to know how to do it? I can tell you one thing already, MARKETS.

3. GREEN GREEN GREEN By the end of this year, I want to be 75% Green. Lets see how this works. I heard that there is a little meter online where you can put your info in and it will tell you how green you are and what your carbon foot print is. Once I find it, I will share it with you!

We’ll see how this goes. i’ll talk to everyone soon!

Question of the Day: What has helped you get back into a healthier pattern?

I hope that you have been enjoying your summer.  I know I have!  The past few months have been super crazy and that is why I have not been able to get back to this blog.  But now that things have calmed down, I am going to start it up again.

First… so what’s been going on?

I got married to my wonderful Husband, Ricky, on June 20th.  I was 3 pound above my target weight but I was happy either way.  I felt great and my wedding dress actually ended up being a little loose on me.  I also finished my classes at Woodbury but unfortunately they cancelled one class this summer so I am taking an extensive course right now.  So in 5 weeks, I will officially be done.  I plan to take the rest of the school year off to relax and then start my Masters program in the Fall of 2010.  During this hiatus, I have a little idea that I will talk about in posts to come.  Oh and did I also mentioned… I got a new job the DAY of my last post!!!  I love it!  Again, I will fill in the blanks later.

How has it been living healthier and easier since the wedding is over?

HARD!!!  It’s so important to have a goal in mind to keep yourself on track.  The first week after the wedding, I told everyone I wanted to eat a chocolate cake covered in bacon deep fried in everything bad for me. .. Well I didn’t have that but I let my eating regime go for a while… definitely more than a week.  But since the past year has helped my metabolism, it took about a month and half to start making a difference in my body.  The bad thing is that because I wasn’t seeing a difference I was getting ubber lazy.  I have only gained 4 pounds in the past few months but my clothes definitely don’t fit the same.

The past few weeks I have been disappointed in myself but then the other day I woke up and said… well just get off your ass and do something about it.  So I decided my next challenge would be to run a marathon.  I was going to do the LA marathon in March but my friend is getting married that weekend.  So instead I decided I want to do the SF Marathon next summer.  It gives me a full 10 months to train!  Still debating if I should do a 5K first just to see how I handle it.  But I need to do some research and find out when one happens close to me.

It’s only been 2 weeks since I started that and its been difficult for me to get back to where I was.  YES I AM HUMAN!  My friend reminded me about my blog, that I have been meaning to come back to, but I just didn’t want to come on here and be a hipocrite.  Then she said, “SO DONT!  Tell them what your going through!” 

Thinking about this the past few days, I realized that I really have this blog and the supporters to thank for my successes.  This blog really helped me keep track of my progress and kept me in check because… well i didn’t want to write something that wasn’t true and be a hypocrite.  So thank you ladies and gents!!!  thank you for being my support system!

So whats the plan stan??…

Well I am going to start writing again.  I don’t think I can keep up with everyday, but I promise to write something once or twice a week.  I am still plannin on sharing recipes and exercise tips.  Obviously I will be talking about training for a marathon and also the good and bad about getting back into an eating/exercise regime. 

I will also be talking about eco-friendliness!!!  This is something that I hold very dear to my heart and should be a concern of everyone in the world.  I have something planned and I will slowly reveal it as the blog goes on.  I have a big project in mind that is going to take atleast a year but with the new job and everything else, it’s going to be tough.

Well enough of this babble!!!  Sorry I am not going back to check spelling and grammar so please excuse the errors.  Check back soon to see the progress!!!

LIVE IT UP!!

Drea

Being that my wedding is only 20 days away… this inspiration sunday is my wedding.  Looking back at the pictures from last night, I really have lost a lot of weight and am very proud of myself.  I am not where I would like to be ideally but there is a definite difference between 155 pounds and 130 pounds. 

It’s not just my wedding that is inspiring me to live healthier its Ricky and my future together.  I want to be fit and healthy so I can live lnger and be able to play with out kids…. no we are not having kids any time soon (ask us when we have a 3 in our age).

“Mr. Governor, and you, my Fellow Citizens.  I am glad to be in Arizona today.  From Arizona many gallant men came into the regiment which I had the honor to command.  Arizona sent men who won glory on fought fields, and men to whom came a glorious and an honorable death fighting fighting for the flag of their country.  As long as I live it will be to me an inspiration to have served with Bucky O’Neill.  I have met so many comrades whom I prize, for whom I feel respect and admiration and affection, that I shall not particularize among them except to say that there is none for whom I feel all of respect and admiration and affection more than for you Governor.

“I have never been in Arizona before.  It is one of the regions from which I expect most development through the wise action of the National Congress in passing the irrigation act.  The first and biggest experiment now in view under that act is the one that we are trying in Arizona.  I look forward to the effects of irrigation partly as applied by and through the government, still more as applied by individuals, and especially by associations of individuals, profiting by the example of the government and possibly by help from it – I look forward to the effects of irrigation as being of greater consequence to all this region of country in the next fifty years than any other material movement whatsoever.

“In the Grand Canyon, Arizona has a natural wonder which, so far as I know, is in kind absolutely unparalleled throughout the rest of the world.  I want to ask you to do one thing in connection with it in your own interest and in the interest of the country – to keep this great wonder of nature as it now is.  I was delighted to learn of the wisdom of the Santa Fe railroad people in deciding not to build their hotel on the bring of the canyon.  I hope you will not have a building of any kind, not a summer cottage, a hotel, or anything else, to mar the wonderfal grandeur, the sublimity, the great loneliness and beauty of the canyon.  Leave it as it is.  You can not improve on it.  The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it.  What you can do is to keep it for your children, your children’s children, and for all who come after you, as one of the great sights which every American if he can travel at all should see.  We have gotten past the stage, my fellow-citizens, when we are to be pardoned if we treat any part of our contry as something to be skinned for two or three years for the use of the present generation, whether it is the forest, the water, the scenery.  Whatever it is, handle it so that your children’s children will bet the benefit of it.  If you deal with irrigation, apply it under circumstances that will make it of benefit, not to the speculator who hopes to get profit out of it for two or three years, but handle it so that it will be of use to the home maker, to the man who comes to live here, and to have his children stay after him.  Kep the forests in the same way.  Preserve the forests by use; preserve them for the ranchman and the stockman, for the people of the Territory, for the people of the region round about.  Preserve them for that use, but use them so that they will not be squandered, that they will not be wasted, so that they will be of benefit to the Arizona of 1953 as well as the Arizona of 1903.

“To the Indians here I want to say a word of welcome.  In my regiment I had a good many Indians.  They were good enough to fight and to die, and they are good enough to have me treat them exactly as squarely as any white man.  There are many proglems in connection with them.  We must save them from corruption and from brutality: and I regret to say that at times we must save them from unregulated Eastern philanthropy.  All I ask is a square deal for every man.  Give him a fair chance.  Do not let him wrong any one, and do not let him be wronged.

“I believe in you.  I am glad to see you.  I wish you well with all my heart, and I know that your future will justify all the hopes we have.”

I have decided to add this book to my suggested reading.  Its very long and some of it is a little preachy, or depressing, or just loooong.  But all together it is a very great collection and as I am going through it farther and farther, I am starting to see the history of what was going on and how views changed and evolved.  Enjoy!

LIVE IT UP!

Drea

Well Two weeks ago I started talking about making the correct diet for yourself.  We did all the math and figured out what our BF% was and our BMI.  Then we used that information to find out how much of Fats, Carbs, Protein, a person like you should have. 

This time around we are going to talk about Fats!  A common misconception is that fats are bad and you shouldn’t have them.  That is not true… we don’t need as many fats as most people eat.  Your body needs fats to give your body energy and to support cell growth.  They have that ever so important job of being a protector, they keep your organs safe and your body warm.  They are essential for producing important hormones and well as absorbing some nutrients.  All Fats have 9 calories in it per gram.  Thats a lot!  Thats why a little fat in your diet is good for you but too much or not at all is bad!

There are three types of fats.  Monounsaturated, Polyunsaturated, and Saturated.  Mono and Poly are the good fats, its quite easy to remember this because they are unsaturated… so you can be like me and just remember that I dont want overdue my heart with fats!  Also, we have created a fourth type, Transfats.  Really quick let me explain something about Transfats… these are the worst!  They are worse than all Saturated Fats put together because your body cannot obsorb them, they just store themselves everywhere.  They also have no nutritional value and can throw your hormones off.  It’s man made and are found in many manufactured food.  Any natural foods (truly natural) will not have transfats.  I call it the super killing man made fat!  But be careful!!! Just because something says its free of transfats does not mean its healthy to eat!!!

Monounsaturated Fats GOOD!  helps lower total and bad LDL cholesterol.  These include:

• Olive Oil
• Canola Oils
• Peanuts and other nuts
• Peanut Butter
• Avacado

Polyunsaturated Fats GOOD! so known as Omega 3 fatty Acids.  These include

• Canola Oil again
• Cold water fish
• flaxseed
• Walnuts & Almonds

Saturated Fats BAD!!! are what you want to avoid.  Saturated fats have the reverse effect on your cholesterol.  If your trying to lower your cholesterol, avoid these at all costs.  These include

• Butter
• High Fat Red meat
• Full Fat Dairy Products
• Trans fats

POP QUIZ:  Which fats do you think are in Icecream?  Which fats do you think are in Pinkberry yogurt?

LIVE IT UP!

Drea