Wednesday, June 23, 2010

last Friday and other things!

So here I am, Im already getting lazy about this blog!
This past Saturday I weighed in and was down another 1.2 which is putting me at 8.8 down so its pretty good. I may have put expectations too high when I was hoping to get to the 10 pound mark.
I went and bought Women's Health's big book of exercise and am now doing their six week workout and its kicking my butt.

However, Im a bit worried about my weigh in this Friday because...

This week was my birthday AND I got engaged. So I was partying 3 days in a row!

Im really excited, but I can't write anymore, details later!

Friday, June 11, 2010

dieting Friday

So I have decided that Fridays were going to be used for blogging about my dieting adventure. This way, I have a way to write it all out, and I am forced to get on here at least once a week.

In high school I did weightwatchers and was very successful. When I got to college that went down the drain because, well, all healthy eating goes down the drain when you are forced to eat campus food or the cheapest stuff off campus. So here I am, after my 5th year of college, getting back on to weightwatchers.
Certain things have changed since I did this diet in high school. 1) Even though that was only 6 years ago, I have found that my metabolism has changed drastically and I am not able to get away with my estimated portions or using my points to eat what I want as long as I was in the point range without eating "healthy" anymore. 2) While I am in a healthy loving relationship (which as many of us know only good relationships will pack on the love pounds) just as I was in high school I am now dating a guy who cannot stay above 116 pounds and therefore has no concept of what a diet is (although is very helpful and supportive of me) 3) I don't have my mom to cook all my meals for me. I know we live in the same house, but she is not making my lunches or dinners anymore, most of that is left for me and Aaron to do. 4) My schedule is not even CLOSE to being the same as the structured schedule I had when I was in high school. Everyday is a bit different and that screws up alot of things.

Now, I have never been one to tell people about my dieting. I am generally a private person and am sometimes embarrassed about my dieting totally. This time, Im trying something new. (Thats what this period in my life is for right?!)

I am a workout freak. I workout 4-7 times a week and prefer to stay in the gym and switch up my routine. I am up for trying out anything and am excited to try something new. So if we look at the equation for weight gain, it would show that what I eat is my problem, not my exercise so for me, the logical turn was to weight watchers to get my eating under control.

I have always liked weight watchers. It is like a game to me , see if you can get your target "points" for the day. So far so good, I am eating my points (or close to it) everyday and as of last Saturday was down 6.2 in 2 weeks. What is exciting is normally you lose alot of water weight at first because you are changing your soda intake or you are drinking more water which for me was already true so those 6.2 are actual pounds!

It hasn't been an easy week though. I have spent the majority of the week working on temptations for icecream or cake. We celebrated a birthday this week and I managed to eat just a small piece even though it was one of my favorite types of cake and I would rather have just dived in and eaten the whole thing (look mom, no hands!). Working on temptations is going to be a big challenge over the next few weeks, but it's a sign of maturity that I can handle now better than when I was 17.

I am going to get on here and try to post week results and challenges every Friday or Saturday depending. I hope that you stick around and check it out. Feel free to ask me any questions about weight watchers because trust me, its a totally different program when you are only 23 years old than the standard program that most 40 somethings that go through it do.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

So what are you going to do?

Ever since high school when small talk runs out at family or friend events the topic always turns to the future. "What college are you going to apply to?" "What colleges did you get into?" "What are you going to major in?" It gets even worse when the person you are talking to can relate with where you are going or what you are going into because then the questions get more detailed. "What dorm are you moving into?" "What is your summer reading project?" No one actually likes answering these questions unless you are that full of yourself and like to brag about how awesome you are.
The question gets worse at the end of undergrad.

"So what are you going to do after you graduate?"

In all honesty I feel like flicking them off and telling them " I don't f*cking know" but instead I put on my happy face and start with the well I think.....

The truth is, I really do not know. I could go to grad school, but I don't know if that is what I want to do at this point in my life. I would prefer to get my life started and get a job that could pay a decent amount so I afford my wedding and a house. I do have an undergraduate degree and while I was always under the assumption that it would not get me anywhere, I have found some options that may leave me in a pretty position. The other downside to going to grad school is it would be another 20000 (at least) in loans that I would rather not accumulate at this time. I would rather have the student loans I have now and add a house loan instead.

The only problem with this scenario is that I would not be going into what I exactly want to go into and what I know I would enjoy the most. If I took option 1 it would put me most likely in pharmaceutical sales which I am pretty sure I have the talent for, but my heart does lie in working with kids.

Another thing for me to consider is my family money situation. In the last year my mom has REALLY struggled with her finances and has been barely able to pull off what she had. In April, Social Security finally payed on some back payments that they owed her and now that is what we are living on for the time being, but that money has a lifespan as well and unfortunately its end is sooner rather than later.

I cant help thinking that that money my mom received was a gift from God saying "I can help you for now until you are done with school then you have to start supporting more." It makes sense, if I were to get a job and start paying more around here it would be good. Mom has even thrown out the option of selling this house to Aaron and I for a reasonable price.

That brings me to another point that I want to make clear. I want you all to understand that Aaron is doing his best to help out around here as well. He now pays our cell phone bill and helps with groceries when we need them. Its not alot, but what can you really expect when he is working 38 hours a week and still only making 7.40 an hour. It will help when he becomes a manager in July which will push his income up to 9.25 an hour, but at some point he needs to build a savings for a car and for emergencies.

It kind of becomes apparent where my heart and mind are at this point in my life. Maybe I need to get a job so that I can support myself and start my future. Maybe the satisfaction of having what I want is better than the happiness I would have getting to do what I know I am best at.