Fat Nerd Fit

A little over a month ago, I started a food journal. I would jot down what I was eating on a given day to get a handle on what I was doing to myself. I started out just eating normally and got a base line. I didn’t want to make the food journal a chore or something I over-thought, so I literally would just make note of the food, not worrying about serving amounts or calories. I didn’t want to turn it into a science project or algebra problem. It’d be as simple as: Wednesday: Waffles with syrup Black coffee Pasta with spinach and mushrooms Apple Pizza Lots of water It was something I could do once a day, or even be able to keep up with every other day and still get an accurate account of what I was eating. I’d put in there eating habits I was proud of “didn’t eat the brownies in the break room” and “convinced myself not to buy candy from the vending machine”. I also, about once a week, used it as an actual journal writing about what was going on at work, at home, jus...

This week has been insanely frustrating and hectic. WEDNESDAY It started out perfect with a nice kickboxing class. It was practically a private lesson there was just me and one other person in the class. It was like my first lesson with lots of personal attention. It was a great workout and I felt awesome afterwards. Then, I got in my car and it wouldn’t start. It wasn’t even trying to turn over. I just got the battery and the battery cables replaced and I was hoping it was the starter. When I got it to start I drove it straight to the mechanic. We were a little freaked out about the millions of things that could be wrong and the thousands of dollars it could cost so we cancelled our planned trip to Costco and just hung out at home and watched Iron Fist season 2 (which is so much better than season 1, by the way). Meanwhile, our yard is insanely overgrown, and I’ve been messaging our lawn service without getting responses. At this point in our lawn saga, we’ve hired a la...

Last night was class number two at ilovekickboxing.com. I went last Friday for my first class and holy heck did it kick my butt. I loved almost every second of class number one (the cardio warm up is a killer), but when I woke up Saturday morning I WAS SORE!! My legs were all kinds of stiff and no amount of pain reliever was going to make a difference. At work that night my manager noticed I was walking stiffly and came by to make sure I was okay. Wednesday was my first pain/stiffness/soreness free day after my Friday class. I super wanted to go back to class Wednesday night, but my sis-in-law (who lives across the country) was in town for a one night only appearance on her way somewhere else. Not going to lie, there was a huge part of me that wanted to go to kickboxing. Which I know makes that huge part of me a terrible person. But, my siblings-in-law are all awesome and I went to dinner with them and got to spend time with someone I only see once or twice a year. I’m glad I d...

I adored kickboxing class, even if I'm still sore and a bit stiff from it. But, the hoped inspiration and boost of starting something new is working. All week for my lunches I've been taking fresh, raw veggies with hummus and fruit to work. I've been staying away from the café and vending machine. No Starbucks. No cream in the coffee. It feels good to have things closer on track. I’m still not at 100%. I had pizza one night for dinner. But, I’m moving forward at a good pace. I’ve got class planned again for Friday, and depending on a couple factors, I may hit one up on Wednesday, too. I think Wednesday and Friday could be regular class days for me with my current work schedule. But we have possible out of town family member dropping in Wednesday this week. I had a job interview last week for a promotion, that is also at a closer location, last week and it felt pretty good. I don’t want to start counting eggs, so I’m trying to keep things in prospective. I am...

Last night was my first kickboxing class at my local ilovekickboxing.com studio. My legs hurt today in all the best ways. I adored class and you better believe I signed up for a one-year membership before I left the studio. The one downside is the price of membership and how the company tends to keep it under wraps for the most part. When I sighed up for their internet special (5 Classes for $19.99 plus a pair of boxing gloves) I started scouting their website to check membership pricing. They are up front about the “After your first class we’ll show you how to save $100 on membership!”- so you know after class it’s time for the hard sell, but it’s not advertised on their website what you’re saving $100 on. I did some digging and googling and found the structure of membership. Being armed with that info when I went in and having time to discuss the membership costs with my husband beforehand, I was comfortable with the hard sell approach and there was no sticker shock. Here’...

I’m trying to be more real with myself. I’ve been keeping a food journal with little notes like “said no to bunt cake!” and “walked past the donuts!” and one “Husband’s birthday celebration.” This last week was rough. There was a lot going on in not a lot of time. I was working, dog sitting (which takes up my lunch break), and babysitting, and it was my husband’s birthday- and then, you know, trying to run a house. I made some poor decisions. There was a trip to CiCis. There was a frozen pizza for dinner. But, even with how full my calendar was, I made fewer poor decisions than I have in just a normal week. Even with the pizza and junk food, I ate this week- I still made more good decisions than I did in a normal week. I’m okay with that. And, the good food choices that I have been making are making it easier to keep going. We had two birthday dinners for my husband (one friends, one family) and I only had one cupcake and declined the cake at the second dinner. I bought a ...

I’ve not only stagnated- I’ve gone backwards. I got on the scale and have not only regained the weight I’ve lost this year… I’ve added six pounds. Like I said last time, this isn’t a real surprise. It’s not out of left field. I’ve grown complacent and just stopped trying. I think I need to shake things up to get myself going again. Over the last two weeks, I’ve just paid attention to what I’ve been eating. I’ve cut down on “I’ll just grab dinner on the way home” days. And I’ve cut out the trips to the vending machine at work. I’ve made better choices at Starbucks. After getting on the scale this morning, I can report that I’ve lost two pounds. Two pounds of making the obviously better for you eating choices. I’m happy with that. To keep up my momentum and work to my strengths, I’ve started a food diary/journal. It’s hand written and just for me because right now I think I’m putting too much pressure on myself to show a “perfect” and “motivational” picture of me to the p...

Weight is a weird thing. Sure, scientifically, it’s all about gravity and mass and blah blah balh. It’s just a number. It’s not a measurement of your worth. Yadda. Yadda. Yadda. I know. But fat. Appearance. Confidence. So much is tied into that arbitrary number on the scale. The circumference of your waste. Psychology. I’m getting lost in the mire of all of it and it’s all tied to that number. As I struggle with the importance of the number and what it means to me I’m finding twists and turns I’m finding questions and concerns and confusion. Lots of confusion. Lots of… not sure what I’m finding. Me? Maybe? I’m okay with what I’m finding. And I wouldn’t say I’m UN-comfortable with it. But I’m not sure what’s going on. I’ve never read the self-help books or joined the group therapy, or one-on-one therapy, or done much more than surface based “lose weight.” I’m finding that it’s so much more than getting to the gym, eating carrots, skipping creamer in the cof...

Last week was my birthday. Now 34, nothing has changed. I’m still me. I’ve never put much weight into the age (I mean, once you get past 21 what’s to look forward to?) but the date is what I focus on. My birthday is almost exactly the halfway point of the year, June 30. It’s a good time to evaluate where I am on my goals for the year and refocus. I’ve totally lost my perspective recently, spooking myself out of success and resting on my laurels. I let myself talk myself into “deserving” splurges. I grab something “easy” on the way home from work for dinner. And Starbucks is directly on my way to work so that’s been a daily stop… Originally, I was trying to get refocused in June. Take the baby steps to get back on track. Of course, I fell into the “okay, this is the last time” trap every time I was tired and wanted pizza. I did manage to only eat the lunches that I packed for myself at work…. No popping out for fast food and a soda. That’s one baby step I managed. When ...

I feel like this is a confession. I, allegedly, started this blog to share a journey to physical fitness and overall health. So far, that’s been a total fair. In 2018. I have a goal of losing 50 pounds. So far, I’ve lost 1. In six months, ONE POUND. That’s no even really losing, that’s maintaining. A while ago I’d be sitting here waxing poetic about how maintaining, is still a victory because it’s not a gain. I’d be making excuses to try to stay positive. I’d do what I could to stay up beat about all this. Part of me still wants to. I haven’t failed I just haven’t succeeded, either. Stay positive. Be positive. No negative. Don’t be a downer…. I can’t keep doing that. At least not right now. The last few months I’ve been putting myself on the backburner. With house-hunting, -buying- and -moving I’ve allowed myself to say, “now’s not a good time” and “we’re too busy” and “other things are more important.” I know I’m not alone in constantly putting everything else...

This weekend has been full of Achievement Unlocked level adulting. We officially have possession of the house and have spent the last two days working away at getting it ready to move in. Turns out, I’m a do-it-yourself type of person. This weekend I learned, on the fly, how to: 1) Patch holes in drywall 2) Change the locks and handles on a door 3) Paint an entire house interior 4) Re-grout a shower We are still in progress on the painting, but danged if I didn’t just waltz into Home Depot ready to get shit done. The satisfaction of looking at something and saying “I did that” really fueled me all weekend. Getting your hands dirty and fixing up your own house is very rewarding. Sure, I could have called a locksmith to rekey the house for $75…. Or for $83 I could not only rekey the doors but change out those horrible doorknobs no appointment needed! (Time was a bit of a factor the previous owners left the final key “under the trash can” and we never found it.) Turns out, ...

I have been extremely blessed with first-world problems in the last few weeks. I am not about to try to say that things are “hard” or that I’m having any sort of actual problems, but I will admit that I am overwhelmed. After years of struggling at jobs I hated, struggling to pay the bills, having no clear path forward, and no real idea how to get to where I wanted to go…. In the course of two weeks, all that has cleared up and I am overwhelmed with gratitude and bewilderment. I love the job I have. I work at a bookstore, running the graphic novels/manga/RPG sections. I call myself a professional nerd and booklover. I love the people at my store. I enjoy the customers. Recently the company gave raises across the board which really helps with getting all the bills paid. Almost right after I was given two bumps in responsibility giving me a clear path of possible promotion in the company and the support to feel like I can get there. I’m at a loss for what to do with a job I love...

This week has been a week of finally slowing down and reassessing what needs to be done. For the last two months, we have been none stop house hunting or getting-stuff-together-to-buy-the-house-we-hunted. I have sagged off on a lot of things. Mostly exercise. I’ve been giving up my days off to house stuff so my hours at home on work days have been dedicated to the stuff I’d usually do on my days off. I can’t just not to do the laundry, or the dishes, or the grocery shopping. I’ve put off sweeping, mopping, cleaning the shower and toilet, giving the dog baths, vacuuming, dying my hair and taking care of the junk mail. And exercising. There has been no exercising. And I haven’t been the best at making the healthier food choices. I know they say, “if it’s important you’ll make time for it,” but sometimes it’s not important enough to make time for. With our schedules, my husband and I only have one day a week off together. We make it work, but in time like this where we’re ...

It is firmly established in my head-cannon that Harry Potter exists in the universe of Stargate. I love the idea that Jennifer Keller packed up her copies as her allowable personal items when she gated to Atlantis. Her books, along with several other Airmen and Marines’ copies got lent around the base spreading the famous Earth story across the Pegasus Galaxy. Of course, back in the dear old Milky Way the SGC, the Alpha site, and probably a few field packs have worn, beat-up copies traveling with devoted fans. And who doesn’t love the idea of retired Gen. O’Neill secretly loving the books but refusing to admit it because he spent so many years making fun of his beloved nerds of SG-1. What child of the newly freed Jaffa wouldn’t feel a connection to the story of children who grew up with the looming threat, and eventual war with, an evil ruler their parents helped overthrow a generation before? Or maybe I’m hung up on the idea of my favorite TV characters loving my favorite book...

I’ve hit a new milestone in my working out: I’m not eating enough. My usual regime used to be protein shake in the morning, protein bar for lunch, then a dinner. Now that I’ve added weights to my workouts I’m starving by the time I get home for dinner and am making bad food choices. February is the first month I gained weight when I weighted in at the end of the month. I blame bad food choices and lax commitment. I’m keeping up with my workouts but am adding more fuel to my lunches. For this week my food regime will be: protein shake for breakfast, lunch of roasted broccoli and brussels sprouts, with mashed sweet potatoes, and a banana, and dinner will be bean tacos, or a salad, or a sandwich on whole grain bread. I’m not letting this backslide stop me or slow me down. These things happen and the only way to move forward is to move forward. I’ve got my meal prep done. I’ve got my workout schedule in my planner. I’ve got determination and drive. Let’s do this!

This week I started Jillian Michael’s Body Revolution DVD set—ish. I say “ish” because the DVD set I bought is missing a disk. I got it at the bookstore I work at, so I go a super awesome discount. The Body Revolution is a 12-week DVD set that comes with a workout schedule and meal guide. Because I’m still doing the AdvoCare One80 I’m not following the meal guide, but I am following the workout schedule. The disk I am missing is for Phase One so I’m only missing something for week one and week two but soon I’ll be whole hog. Phase One Week One is three DVDs (one of which I am missing)- two weights oriented and one cardio. The schedule gives you Sunday off and you do each of the DVD workouts twice for the week for six total workouts. I managed four workouts this week- two weight DVDs, one cardio DVD, and one walk outside instead of the cardio DVD. The first day I did Phase 1 workout 1 using 5 lb. weights. And damn did 5lbs feel like a ton after 30 minutes of working my shou...

I'm still going strong on my AdvoCare One80. I've entered "Phase 2" and am starting to get a little bored with it. See, phase two stops the fiber (which I loved) and moves into meal replacement shakes. It's not that the shakes taste bad, or aren't filling, or anything like that. It's just that I get bored with the same thing over and over. When I signed up for the One80 I did the pre-order option where you didn't get to pick flavors. The Spark (which I love) flavors they sent in phase one was Fruit Punch (tastes like Hawaiian Punch) and Mango Strawberry (tastes like a mild strawberry lemonade IMHO). I am cool with both of those flavors and since you only drink them once a day it's a nice break from my usual water. -Side note: with drinking one serving of Spark every morning I've let go of coffee. I didn't go into this wanting to break my coffee habit, it just sort of happened.- It's the shakes I'm bored with. With the pr...

Aright, 2018 is officially here and we're all knee deep in our resolutions. To help me get a jump start on my healthy journey I have decided to take the AdvoCare One80 Challenge . (I should take a quick second to say that I am not an AdvoCare distributor, employee, or affiliated in any way other than participating in the challenge.) It's an 80-day program with the end goal of helping you make healthy lifestyle changes that you can maintain. Right now, I am just over half way through the 11 days cleanse. The purpose of this step is to help prepare your body to more effectively absorb nutrition. I've done this part before about a year ago. I loved it then and I'm really liking it now. Their website can put it much more eloquently than I can. But in my terms, in TMI terms, it makes you poop. Regularly. The good news is, it's not a stimulant that makes you cramp. It's a fiber powder that you put in your drink in the morning. I like to use it with my Sp...

The new year is fast approaching and I, like most of the world, am looking for what is to come and looking back one what has been accomplished. When I look back at 2017 all in all I am happy with what was accomplished. -- I went from a job that I really liked that didn't pay the bills to a job that I love that does pay the bills. WIN -- I've lost 22.4 pounds while just half assing my efforts. WIN -- I've helped my husband get off his pre-diabetes medication and lose over 40 pounds. WIN -- I won NaNoWriMo 2017 and wrote over 50,000 words in November. WIN -- I am truly happy with where I see my future going. WIN I did not lose the 50 pounds I wanted to. I did not finish my novel. I did not make my 1000 purposeful miles. I did not get close to any of these goals that I shared on December 31, 2016. But I feel like I did achieve goal number 1 on that list. Goal number 1 was Happiness. I feel like I did that. I am happy. I feel at ease. I feel content. I feel a...

So, um, yeah, November has come and gone. Hope you had a good Thanksgiving! Things have been busy in my neck of the woods. I’m still adjusting to working full time again after nearly a year of part time employment, of course, the holidays have arrived, and last month was also NaNoWriMo! National Novel Writing Month is an international annual challenge to write 50,000 original words (the average length of a novel) in the month of November. I did the challenge last year and failed miserably, not even making it half way to my goal. This year, however, at 9:00 pm on November 30 (the deadline is midnight) I submitted 50,075 words written in November! I was super stoked to be able to meet the challenge! I was that crazy person in the breakroom at work with my laptop, I tippy-tapped away on the keys while at home watching TV with the hubby, and on one particularly productive day off I wrote over 7,000 words while doing laundry and meal prep. I ended up with two short stories and th...