Posts Tagged ‘My Life’

6
Jan

What’s this about butter?

   Posted by: Dawn    in Diet & Health, My Life, Updates

So I was supposed to start this massive new diet on Monday to prepare for my brother’s wedding.  Monday ended up being my “last day of decadence” and I planned to start Tuesday.  yesterday was almost successful (I guess?  Maybe?) but I could not resist the call of Girl Scout peanut Butter Cookies…. Vile Temptresses!  So I’ve had to rewind and do some thinking and evaluating,  and thus, I’ve come to a number of realizations:

  1. I hate dieting.
  2. I know nothing about dieting.
  3. I have a difficult time telling the difference between bullshit claims and real “science.”
  4. The only times I ever lost weight before were by accident, and it was a mix of severe stress, anxiety, and workaholism.  Oh, or having a hospital worthy illness.  I’m not particularly interested in reviving any of the above.
  5. I did accidentally lose 20 lbs in undergrad by eating only soup… but that was far from intentional, and I’m not sure it would work again.
  6. I am WAY LESS ACTIVE than I used to be.  Running between colleges to teach, sleeping 2-3 hours a night, and being a college athlete kept me pretty fit.  The last serious activity I had was YinzTeam softball, and I broke a bone.  Absurd.
  7. I know I have to start exercising, but actually doing it is the problem.  I find it boring.  Like REALLY boring.  Can’t I just play a video game and have it shave off pounds?  Ahh… welcome back Wii Steve! (Maybe the Jillian Michaels Wii work out too? Anyone try this?)
  8. I need advice from people who actually dieted and had success.
  9. I do not want to give up butter.  I don’t think I can do it.  Sugar, I can cut way back on.  Butter? … Not a chance.  You can tell me to eliminate all butter from my diet, and I will nod and say “Ok” and within 48 hours (if that) I’ll be eating butter because I can’t resist. 
  10. I’ve been hesitant to discuss this for a lot of reasons:  embarrassment, fear of family and friends judging me, admitting it openly means it’s really necessary, and just general “Oh wow, did you see Dawn gained some weight?” apprehensions.  Well, tough.  I need to buck up and do it, and if I’m going to do it, I need support from family and friends.  It’s SO much easier for me to rationalize not exercising, and not eating healthier if I’m the only one I would be accountable to.  I have a blog and connections to tons of friends, readers, and utter strangers…. why not use them for support & accountability?

So forgive me for volunteering you for this job, but how often do you have someone asking you to crack the whip?  Yeah, yeah, I know I should only care about my health, and being accountable to myself “because that’s what really matters,” but let’s face it folks… That’s just not me.  Yes, I want to wear my cute little bikinis again, but I’m a hermit at heart.   My cholesterol is still high (I’m assuming) and my waist line now puts me at a high risk for heart disease.  Considering my family history, I can’t afford to put this off any longer.  Not if I want to live a long, happy life with kids and a retirement on a beach somewhere. So I need some help, otherwise I’ll end up  burrowing in to a library and 20 years from now you’ll need to get me out with a  crane. 

What diet strategies have worked for you?  What has NOT worked?  What would you recommend for me?  I need to lose at least 20 pounds (max 30) in 9 months and lower my cholesterol.  I’m aiming to start Monday January 14th, full throttle.  I’m edging my way toward dieting, like slowly getting in to a cold pool.  I figure that i have 9 months, and if one thing doesn’t seem to be working, I have time for another strategy.  And, you know, if it doesn’t work, I can always get liposuction in October.  (I kid, I kid!  …. maybe)

The forum is yours folks, and all answers are welcome. 

 

**Day 1 completely cigarette free.**

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The Other Half (close)

The Other Half (close)

 

 

Thanks to @DJLunchbox I was introduced to the glories of Nerduo.com today and I absolutely must have this shirt for my growing collection of comics and game inspired apparel.  It’s a dangerous addiction to start because once you buy your first Flash Baby-T, you just can’t put down the Mary Marvel Baby-T, and the next thing you know you’re wearing a black hoodie with the Wonder Woman emblem on it while rearranging the superhero symbols from the DC Universe between your Shakespeare-Quote magnets on the refrigerator while trying to remember what you did with your original Nintendo and your Super Mario Brothers game while counting down to the next season of Lost and Big Bang Theory

 

…. *blink*…..

 

I’m blaming the Chantix…

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I.  Soooo…

I’m que solo this week while Jack is stationed in a Shining-like resort in the Middle-of-Nowhere, West Kentucky-ginia, and I think I forgot how to live by myself.  It’s funny how you can live with a fierce independence for years and years and years and then suddenly everything is turned on its ear and changes completely in ways you never saw coming.  After a few months, you totally forget how to interact in the world like you did in the first place.  I’ve never experienced this before, but… I hear it’s called… “happiness”… and being … “comfortable”…

That’s all well and good, but the fact remains that I don’t like my world jostled at all, and I will still likely resort to eating Spaghetti-O’s for dinner (which, by the way, are a hell of a lot healthier than I ever expected them to be.  Trust me, I’ve been overly label conscious for the past few weeks.  Like… Label CRAZY).  They aren’t the ideal dinner, but they are a million times better than the alternatives of Fatburger and Five Guys that my little hunger monster keeps screaming for every time I get into a vehicle.

II.  Wait, why does that matter? 

Oh, that’s right… My arteries are clogging with pounds of butter, blocks of cheese, and grease I have consumed over the years.  For the first time in, oh, EVER I had blood work done to check my gauges.  Turns out even though I have been known to eat enough sugar to down a small elephant in one sitting, my triglycerides are great, my “good” cholesterol is just fab, and my “bad” cholesterol is… Well, it’s something to be desired (and I’m not talking about the Pittsburgh based Internet series here, folks).  Actually, it’s 240. 

That means our eating habits have recently gone a major overhaul.  Kind of.  It’s much harder than I thought it would be, and some days I can’t help it and I find myself cheating.  Today, for example, I had a gigantic bowl of apples & cinnamon oatmeal for lunch (good to help lower my cholesterol, and now my daily lunch of choice).  An hour later I was dragged to the kitchen area where there were tacos, chips, salsa, and guacamole.  I haven’t had a taco in… I can’t even tell you how long!  So I had one.  With cheese.  And whatever kind of ground beef it was.  And sour cream.  I realized I didn’t have a clue what was in anything I was eating, and so I piled some freshly made delicious salsa & chips on to the plate and headed back to my desk. 

You guys… I ate it all.  I can’t help it… My will power is weakened…

 

III.  Speaking of Super powers….

I’ve been on Chantix for a month now, and I still haven’t quit completely.  My instinct is to consider that a failure, but according to my doctor, I made incredible progress, and “Keep it up!”  I went from smoking a hell of a lot to only smoking roughly 3 cigarettes a day.  Sometimes I don’t even do that.  The emotional Pitfall (check out the ride at Kennywood, or the good ‘ole Demon Drop from Cedar Point back in the day) was insane, and I owe Jack, my family, my co-workers, and my friends a big one for putting up with that hysteria.  It’s calmer now, and I’m aiming to be finished smoking entirely by the end of the week.  I just can’t actually plan it.  I have to trick myself into it just kinda … happening.  If I try and put deadlines on my willpower, I’m guaranteed to fail.  I have a remarkable superpower that not many folks know about: 

I can rationalize absolutely anything. 

I can justify buying any book or film that captures my interest… even if I already own three copies.  Especially if I already own three copies… I don’t have this edition of the Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe and Super-friends!  This copy has rub on tattoos!

I can rationalize buying anything Shakespeare or Renaissance Period related.  Anything.  I don’t have that replica of Anne Boelyn’s ceremonial headpiece….

I can excuse away eating pretty damn near anything.  Cake?  I really shouldn’t, but I’m sure it’ll be okay since I plan on working out sometime later this week… err.. month… whatever.  Just give me the cake…

I can rationalize having one more cigarette.  I’ve been smoking for half my life, one more won’t matter.   Or the personal favorite of my subconscious:  Well that really wasn’t ceremonial or momentous or meaningful in any way… I’ll just have to have another one and make sure to make it count next time.

 

But I’m making progress on the health front.  I exercised yesterday for the first time in forever.  I did it on my own with Carmen Electra making me want to punch the TV every time I glanced up at her and she was in yet another cute workout outfit.  And usually in heels.  SO THAT’S WHAT I’M DOING WRONG…

IV.  The Stars Never Lie… Much.

Aries (March 21- April 19) Horoscope for week of August 6, 2009

I expect that you will soon stumble upon a key secret to your next masterpiece. And I’ll be surprised if you don’t discover a healing agent that will be effective in correcting an old mistake. In fact, Aries, I prophesy that in the coming week, you will have a sense that you’re doing the smart thing at least 90 percent of the time. Sorry: I’m afraid to say that I have no sad, bad, or mad news to deliver. If you’re the type of person who thrives on cynicism, your immediate future may be pretty boring. If you’re on the fence about whether life is a gorgeous feast or a chaotic mess, your ability to deal with outbreaks of goodness will be supremely tested.

Hey, I like order and rules and boundaries and explanations.  I also like Astrology.  The good kind.  Not the kind you get out of your daily paper.  I find star charts fascinating and in my experience with my own and those of family and friends, eerily accurate when done thoroughly.  Nevertheless, I enjoy bouncing around to find interesting Astrology sites, and this one at FreeWillAstrology.com just so happened to catch my eye today.  I haven’t tested the accuracy yet, but we’ll see.  I can’t say I mind the snarkiness, either.

V.  BTW… z0mg…

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31
Jul

Reality

   Posted by: Dawn    in My Life, Quickies, Thoughts

 

Pearls Before Swine (July 29, 2009)

Pearls Before Swine (July 29, 2009)

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