The Healthier-Me (Non-Resolution) Epiphany streak continues!
I’ve officially shed 9.5 lbs.
The way I see it, the more public I am about the Healthier-Me (Non-Resolution) Epiphany [HMNRE] then the more accountable I will want to be.
I just want to reiterate that the HMNRE is not about body image. And it is absolutely NOT a resolution! Rather it is solely about health and personal comfort. I want to feel comfortable in my skin. And the less of me that is present in my skin, the more comfortable I am. I have always been “curvaceous” which is more or less code for not being a tooth pick/stick bug but rather having, ehm, lady lumps. Again, I do not want my arms to be rivaled by the Q-Tips in my bathroom. I just want the leaner version of my already awesome self (narcissistic much?).
So I just thought I’d share a slice of my success, which I hope continues. It isn’t always easy–especially when I am pheening for some Double Chocolate Cake Ice Cream. But I manage to get through even the most intense calls from the fridge/freezer! Why is that carrots never scream my name from the fridge?
Side Bar: If you are with me on the healthier-me road, you might want to check out the FREE website that I’ve been using to propel me from my fat jeans back into my high school jeans… www.sparkpeople.com. And I am not even kidding, it is literally free. Remember, I am a poor-just-out-of-college-grad so free is the only price I am willing to pay for most things. If you have an email, access to a computer (which you obviously do if you are reading this), and a desire to lighten your load then I would totally recommend it. In fact, I am slightly obsessed with this page and have convinced several people to join already.
It’s been one week and one day since I last declared my non-resolution revolution. If you missed out you can read it here.
Anyways, the good news is Mission Improve My Fitness Regime/Eating Habits has been a success so far. And the best part? I haven’t had to change that much.
I’ve increased my cardio so I am now working out 5-6 days a week as opposed to my previous 4-5 day cardio sessions. I’ve also (re)laced up my Brooks and have been working on rediscovering my love for running–I’m back on the road again. I mean I did run a half marathon in September… what better way to stay in shape than to run? Duh.
Paired with the whole running thing, I have been swimming once or twice a week (which conveniently counts toward the 5-6 days of cardio). I swam in high school and with a little shove from Corey, I decided to mix up my gym workouts with a couple thousand yards in the pool every now and again. (You can call me Flounder because Corey has been eating my bubbles during the pool workouts.)
But everyone knows being healthy requires more than just exercise. Positive eating habits are an absolute must on the road to a healthier me. Thankfully for me, I am a fairly healthy eater to begin with. My biggest issue, though, is portion control. Having been an athlete my entire life, I’d never had to consider what a real portion of pasta was. However, I am now in athletic retirement, which means sizing up what I am spooning into my Dorito shoot is absolutely necessary. This past week I simply measured every single piece of food I placed in my mouth. I tracked everything I ate.
I’ve lost 7 pounds already.
Seven pounds.
And I am not killing myself here, people. I added one-two days of cardio per week, which boils down to a couple hundred extra calories. But the biggest thing for me has been measuring my food. Serving sizes have really expanded as far as the American eye is concerned and in return we are facing an obesity epidemic as a country. I have quickly realized that even though I didn’t think I was over eating, I was. Busting out the measuring cups was the best thing I could have done! I am back on the road to a healthier me!
I am ready to get off the couch and back into the classroom.
So when my OH license came in the mail at the end of last week I was ecstatic. That means I can apply for my PA license, finally.
I’ve been waiting for the mailman every day since mid-December hoping that one of those days he’d deliver the sheet of paper that says I am qualified to educate. And of course it came on Friday, the one day I wasn’t stalking the mailman. I wonder if it was a coincidence or if he’d been holding out on me? I did small victory dance nonetheless.
I mailed out my PA packet today; hopefully I followed the 234820758429 sets of directions accordingly (I think I have the packet memorised).
Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about. Yes, I assigned you homework yesterday and I said I’d check… so lets see who came prepared…
Secondly and Unrelatedly (word?)…
I’ve spent a lot of time in retail and there are certainly different kinds of shopping styles. You’ve all been to the mall. You’ve witnessed these shopping tactics… Some are comical, some are just down right ridiculous, and some are worth adopting for personal use. The confrontational, price adjustment person to the coupon crazed–they are all shoppers looking for their product. But as a cashier sometimes it is difficult to maintain an even keel. It is hard to remain pleasant as streams of shoppers come through your register’s line…
I have recently come to the conclusion that most everyone can fall into a shopping profile. I have observed plenty… Here’s how I see it…
***Disclaimer: These are my personal opinions. They are based on absolutely nothing else.
The Crazy Coupon Lady
This is the woman in line with 37 different coupons. She knows the in’s and out’s of every single coupon–sometimes better than the employees. She will gladly provide the cashier with her phone number and email at the end of each transaction in an effort to maintain her high status couponing reputation. In fact, she will do just about anything to redeem a coupon. Like, drive in a snow storm to get her FREE 1 oz tester shampoo knowing that the coupon clearly states “supplies are limited” and she’ll be damned if she misses out on a free item. This shopper is ruthless and will get cranky if one of her bargains are not attained– again, she’s read all of the coupons and understands them completely. If you’re smart, you won’t interrupt her while she is arranging all 77 of her products on the counter and matching them with the appropriate coupon. It is best to let her think out loud and never comment unless you are directly asked to. She knows exactly how much she’s spent and saved. The crazy coupon lady is always pleasant to the employees and never rushes the cashier. She is happy to be shopping and it shows. Unless you mess up her coupons… then she will be mad at you.
image from clipartof.com
The Paranoid Purchaser
This shopper is convinced that everyone is out to scam him or her. There are no deals, everything is a rip off. Everyday. All the time. This shopper will absolutely not provide the cashier with his/her phone number or email at the end of the transaction because they think they will get prank phone calls or something.
Me: Sir, you’ve actually qualified for a free product today because of what you’ve already paid for.
Paranoid Purchaser: What? What kind of show are you running here? Nothing is free. How much extra will it be? What do I have to do?Donate Blood? Give you my social security number? No. I don’t want a free product. What a scam.
The I’m-Too-Rich-For-Coupons Shopper
Too rich for coupons. Too rich for sale products. Too rich to even bother to say hello. This shopper slaps their top-dollar product on the counter and doesn’t care if the total is $10.50 or $1050. They’ll run their card and sign without flinching. It doesn’t matter to them if what they are buying can actually be purchased on sale; they want to get the top dollar item. Let it be.
image from tgrundy.blogspot.com
The Spuratic Grab and Go Shopper/Tornado
Whatever you do DO NOT get in the path of a Spuratic Grab and Go shopper. This woman gets in line with 3 products but keeps running back into the store and adding things to her purchase that have been forgotten or just came to the forefront of her mind. She will leave the store with at least 10 products. And she doesn’t care if people are in line behind her. She will run a route through the store more swiftly than an NFL tight end to get that one last thing she forgot. From what I’ve gathered, this is the most inefficient shopping style but more effective in terms of burning calories. If you are more interested in burning calories you shouldn’t be doing it with your debit card in hand. Just saying.
The Painfully Undecided Shopper
This shopper is in NO hurry. They are at the cash wrap but they still don’t know what to buy. I’ve known them for 42 seconds and now all of a sudden WE are making joint purchasing decisions. It is usually best to speak up in these situations. Ask the undecided shopper key questions to help them decide what they want. Point them in the right direction accordingly.
Captain Cranky Pants
Of course everyone is warranted a bad day. But Captain Cranky Pants Shopper is in a bad mood and wants to take it out on anyone being paid mini wage because that minimum wage employee? Yah, they are going to grin and bare it. Captain Cranky Pants loves to tell bark at the cashier about how their favorite product is no longer being sold. Obviously the cashier has a whole lot of control in that department (not). Yet Captain Cranky Pants will persist… he/she will carry on until the transaction is over. And even then they will probably complain. Just smile and apologize.
image from michaelandgina.com
Need For Speed Shopper
Similar to the Spuratic Grab and Go/Tornado shopper but much more methodical. This shopper knows EXACTLY what he/she is purchasing. No add ons. No questions. Exact change in hand. Just as quickly as they come into the store they want to leave. I love this type of shopper.
Overly Caffeinated/Under Slept Mom
I have a soft spot for this lady. She looks like she has slept 4 hours in the past 3 days. Her kids are running around like cheetahs and she is just trying to make her purchase without having to pay for broken merchandise. She’s clearly running purely on caffeine and her temper is wearing thin. Don’t ask her a lot of questions. She can’t deal with the whole phone and email question that all cashiers are required to ask because Johnny has just climbed three stories on the glass display case. Bare with her. Sometimes she might snap at you, but again, she hasn’t slept in forever. She often gives you the wrong amount of change because she is interrupted from her counting 984121327 times. If it is less than a dollar, act like it was the right change and pay the difference at the end of your shift for her (unbeknownst to her, of course). Don’t worry, some day when you are the overly caffeinated mommy who hasn’t slept and your son just knocked over an entire display, you’ll be happy to see a patient cashier.
image from ozzzz.com
Takin’ Their Good Ole’ Timer
This person is in no rush. They want to tell the cashier their whole life story. And they do not care if there are 14 anxious-to-check-out people behind them. This shopper will talk about his/her cat, dog, grandkids, cousins, plane ride, vacation, whatever. Listen to them. What’s a few minutes to appreciate what someone else has to say? Even if you don’t know anyone in the story.
I could go on and on and on…. there is the I NEED A MANAGER Demander, or the Give the Cashier a Tip Lady, etc… but this post is consuming my entire Saturday night… Just remember, the person behind the counter is just that–a person. So be nice to the cashier, they like it. Unless of course the cashier was rude to you. Then by all means, do your thang.
For those of you who are with me on the whole healthier eating binge lifestyle, you absolutely must bookmark your web browsers to this website I stumbled upon:
It is a vegan-friendly website and I’ve already made a few of the recipes. (Do NOT be intimidated by the vegan thing!)
Best. Online. Stumble. I’ve. Ever. Made.
I was drooling for some salt n’ vinegar chips the other day. And because deep-fried potatoes with massive amounts of salt and saturated fats don’t appear to fit into my newly redefined healthy eating standards, I thought I’d look for an alternative. A healthy alternative. So I decided to google healthy exchanges for salt n’ vinegar chips.
Thank God for Google, seriously.
This is where I found ohsheglows.com and immediately added it to my favorite bookmarks.
The recipe that brought ohsheglows.com to the attention of my web browser?
Salt and Vinegar Chickpeas.
image from ohsheglows.com
Angela Liddon is the genius behind this recipe as well as everything you can find on ohsheglows.com. Click to it and check it out. The website is full of amazing ideas for food–especially yummy desserts– and they are made with healthy, vegan-friendly ingredients. PLUS there are tons of other pieces of fun information about the web hostess herself, including her healthy-lifestyle story which is one I certainly connected with.
You MUST check out this website. In fact, I am assigning it is as homework… and I will be checking…
First and foremost, I thrive on being a straight-shooter, tell-it-like-it-is kind of girl. So I have to come clean…
Remember when I ranted and raved aimlessly about how I was sonot conforming to society and making a resolution just because it was January 1? If you missed that little ramble session you can quickly get caught up… (click here).
Before I fully commit to this very public confession, though, I want you to know that I am by no means conforming–I’ve simply had an epiphany. Yes, an epiphany and realized that I already have an improvement to make…
Sadly, this said revolution (NOT to be confused with resolution*) has come to me after publicly bashing the band-wagon-New-Years-Resolutioners. How not convenient.
So what’s my revolutionary new improvement?
((sighhh))
I want to drop a few pounds. Exercise more. Eat a lil’ less. How creative, I know.
Let me be clear, I am by no means resolving to lose weight in 2012. I am deciding to set attainable goals such as more exercise and less-frequent-teenage-boy-like-eating-fests. And it is simply a coincidence that I’ve set these higher standards during the resolution season after just openly posting my feelings on the New Years Resolution.
My point is, you don’t need a new year to start clean. You can start over with anything– your eating habits, your exercise habits, your nose picking habbits… (ok that was gross)–at anytime. It is this whole, ‘I am going to reinvent myself because it’s a new year,’ bit that I am not buying into–not because it is a bad idea. It isn’t a bad idea. But because I think you can make any change whenever you want. You just really have to want to.
See? Very different from a resolution. Obv.
So there it is. My confession. My non-resolution revolution.
The WordPress.com stats helpers prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 8,400 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 3 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
There are 12 definitions of the word resolution according to Webster.
Resolutions are synonymous with new years. Everyone makes promises– to themselves, to each other, to their body– to be better in the upcoming year.
Funny, one number changes in the year and everyone is going to make massive changes to themselves–this is the year! Odd numbers don’t work for some people I guess? Or maybe only multiples of 4 make them motivated?
I’ve decided to go against the grain and not make any promises–to myself or anyone else– this year.
I always pledge to drop a few pounds, eat a little healthier, exercise more, be slow(er) to anger… but in all reality, nothing really changes. I might shed those few pounds and eat a little better but do I really need a new year to motivate me? No. And as for not being so quick to anger? I blame that on genetic malfunctions that I can’t possibly overcome…
I feel like resolutions are just another money-making gimmick.
You want to lose weight? Pay “unnamed company” $30 a week and we will send you prepackaged, frozen food and you’ll drop three pant sizes–4 if you give us a tip.
I mean really? And all of this motivation spurs from the last two digits in calendar year? Come on! If you want to make a blasted change it shouldn’t matter if it is 1912 or 2012, it should be simply because you want to.
So I resolve to improve myself in 2012 on a need-be basis*. If I really need to change the way I am going about something, then I absolutely will change. But I am not going to conform and just make up resolutions because it is the beginning of January and every commercial on TV tells me to.
*AUTHOR’S NOTE:
This is not to say that I don’t have improvements to make (I certainly do); rather I will make them on my own timeline.
It’s become somewhat of a family tradition to go bowling on New Years Eve. Sadly though– depsite this ongoing tradition– I’ve not gotten any better at whipping a 10 pound ball down a greased-up lane in an effort to knock over even just one pin.
My first 7 attempts were in fact gutter balls. That’ll certainly put anyone in a point deficit.
I also have a strange habit of trying to equivocate bowling to softball.
Unfortunately though, my softball skills did not seep into my bowling abilities. So instead of waking up on the first morning of 2012 with bragging rights, I woke up with a sore thumb and a 4th place finish in my lane. Dang.
Regardless of my sub-par bowling abilities, I did have a lot of fun and enjoyed myself.
Plus, I got a New Years kiss from a pretty cute guy…
I can only handle so much negativity before I burst into flames. And because it is “the most wonderful time of the year” and everyone and their cousin has gravitated home for the holidays, everyone AND their cousin has managed to give me their two cents on my ability to get a full-time teaching position.
<someone grab the fire extinguisher>
I have been a college grad for a solid 11 days. My diploma hasn’t even made it to my house in the flippin’ mail yet. So no. No I haven’t gotten a full-time job with benefits with my degree.
And guess what? I don’t want to hear, “Well good luck getting a job,” “You’re going to have to move away,” “Ha! Teaching? You are never going to land a job in this economy.”
I will get a job. And if I have to move then I do but I do not need (nor care) to hear everyone’s opinion on whether they feel I can land a full-time job, especially since they–the opinionated fools spouting out their unsolicited thoughts– haven’t read my resume, nor seen me in a classroom.
So step off with the negativity, people. It doesn’t look good on you.
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One of my teammates, who has since went from softballer to runner, blogged about Operation Jack–a race that supports, brings awareness and raises money for Autism. HOWEVER, some ignorant people in Texas managed to ruin some $500 of the proceeds… read more about that here:
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