Weigh Check In

Happy Monday everyone,

I hope this holiday weekend was a joyous one regardless of whether you celebrate Easter or not.

Let's start!

Current Weight: UNKNOWN (No weigh ins for April)

Work Out Achievement(s): Once I finished swimming I decided to start jogging again. I hadn't really been jogging regularly for months but I thought it would be a good idea to get in the habit since jogging is one of the easiest and cheapest ways of getting some cardio in. So I went for it.

I started the 2 mile jog I'd been doing before and every day went a little further. Since I only had a week left in the desert I wanted to see if I could reach a 5k. A 5k = 3.3 miles or so, so I needed to jog/run around that.

I decided to track how much 3 miles was by driving the route I usually jog and tracking the mileage (clever huh. lol) and figured how much I had to do.

Every day I jogged a little further, Daft Punk taking me there the whole way. (I found that the Tron: Legacy soundtrack is a pretty awesome and focused music to get me going) On the third day I did it!

I jogged 5k in ~50 minutes. Now that's pretty slow but I didn't care. I was there for the distance not the time. I was thrilled.

On my last day I decided to go 'the extra mile' and jogged the furthest yet. I ended up doing about 3.6 miles in 48 minutes, and the first mile in 11 minutes. That's the fastest I'd ever jogged a mile and a nice improvement on my time for the whole lot.

I've also been continuing the pilates video and I've been happily noticing that I'm able to keep the poses just a little longer, and a little better every day. Things that were hard for me before are becoming more possible.

For example in the beginning after attempting something crazy on my back I'd then hear something like this:
(imagine a bubbly womans voice) "Now rock up for the flat back~"
me: rock up? are you nuts. Ugh (I don't make it up the whole way). Hell!

Now it's more like this:

(On my back doing something) me: Oh god it burns but I can make the last two sets!
bubbly voice: "Now rock up.."
(I rock up before she even finishes and say it with her)
BV and me in unison: "..for the flat back!"

Then I realized that I rocked up without thinking twice and I'm starting to sound like her.

Good show. LOL. I'd call that progress!

Goal(s): I'm home for a week before I start my new job for the summer and I have to really watch my food intake. I also have to continue jogging. I can do this!

I leave you with a pic of me on top of the hill on my last "little hike" in the desert before I left



We can do this!

<3
-w0rld

I was swimming a mile every night.

So I'm out of the desert. I said goodbye to the "middle-of-nowhere" yesterday and at some point last week I FINALLY went out and measured the pool to see how long it was so that I could FINALLY know exactly what distance I had been swimming all these months.

The pool was 18 meters long. Most pools are 25 meters long so I was right when I felt this pool to be a little short.

However since my "laps" consisted in back-and-forths, I was actually swimming 36 meters/lap in my definition.

So (taking out a calculator to make sure I'm doing this right) in my calculations swimming 50 'back-and-forth' laps = 1800 meters.

1 mile= 1609 meters. I was swimming 1800 meters a night. I was swimming over a mile every night.

Wow. Who knew?

And once I knew that I calculated how much 100 laps were:

100 'back-and-forth' laps= 2.23 miles


I admit I was flabbergasted. I had to run the numbers a few times to make sure I hadn't made a mistake. I mean I knew that in a regular 25 meter pool a mile was around 32 laps but it somehow didn't dawn on me that I was swimming that much.

I just hoped I would be getting close to one mile.

A-mazing. I just think it's funny that I didn't find out how much I'd been swimming until I stopped swimming. LOL.

The thing is the entire time I was swimming I kept telling myself that I wanted to condition myself enough so that I could swim a mile at Swim-a-Mile and be like all the people I so highly admired and respected for swimming "for so long! That must be soo hard!" I was swimming hoping to get close to what those people could do. It delights me and fascinates me to find out that not only had I already reached the one mile mark, but I had surpassed it easily and with good timing.

I can't help but be amazed that I had unknowingly accomplished something I had thought sooo faaaar aaaway.(pauses to think) I can now cross it out of my Bucket List!!

I needed to share my excitement. Thank you for all your support. I couldn't have done it without you.

Happy Easter!

-w0rld

Call to All Facebook Users (this means you)

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to take a quick step back from my regular scheduled weight loss musings to talk about a cause I hold dearly.

In this link you'll see that Ryan Reynolds is giving out a facebook challenge where he'll donate $100,000 to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research if 100,000 people "like" the M.J. Fox foundations webpage.

Now I'm a strong supporter of this Foundation mainly for my love for Michael J Fox and learning all about Parkinsons and his personal struggles reading his book Always Looking Up,

which has also helped me keep optimistic in my own journey (though it can't compare to dealing with a serious illness like Parkinsons disease).

So I please ask you to
-------------------> CLICK <---------------------------

on the MJFox Foundation page and just click "like" on the page. That's it.

It's that simple and let's do our part to help out a cause.

Thank you, and Happy Earth Day!

-Elina

Emotional, emotional, emotional

Something is going on. I'm not sure if it's just hormonal or has to do with outside stimulus but I've been very emotional these last few days.

It's probably the reason why my Weigh In this Monday was so short. I couldn't put what I was really thinking feeling in that post because it would have overflowed and probably wouldn't have much to do with weight loss anyway.

But it's still here days later. Little things really. Crying over movies. Getting shocked up when I think of family. Noticing the flowers on the road. Realizing this is my last week in the desert.

Oh, btw this is my last week in the desert aka the middle-of-nowhere.

I think it mainly had to do with a late reaction to last weekend, (being the one year anniversary of my grandfathers death and my family going over to a small family reunion on Sunday to commemorate it.)

But I'm also starting to re-read a book that brings back memories of the first few years I started getting symptoms of PCOS and how traumatic (I'm not kidding it was absolutely horrible seeing all these bodily changes, that aren't supposed to happen, happening without any explanation. And doctor after doctor, after doctor giving me different diagnoses and medication but never actually explaining to me what it was that was going on. This stuff can really weigh a lot on an already-sensitive-about-herself overweight teenager) and getting sad, angry and well emotional about it as I read telling myself:

"If only I'd had this book years ago. If only I'd known what the hell was going on with me earlier it wouldn't have gotten as bad as it did. If only.. if only"

I've been trying to stay clear of the kitchen when I notice I'm getting these feelings. But I shouldn't worry, these emotions actually make me want to rampage the kitchen and throw away every piece of food in there.. healthy or not.

This isn't to say I'm going through a meltdown. I'm not. I'm very aware and conscious of what I'm doing. I'm exercising and eating right. I know why I'm doing it. I Want to do it. I feel great. I'm actually in a good mood. Just pensive I suppose. Overall I'm doing fine.

I guess I'm just being "a girl" whatever that means. And I guess I just needed to acknowledge it and write it down. So here it is.

Happy Wednesday.

-w0rld

Quick Weigh Check In

Happy Monday Everyone,

It's time to Check In.

Current Weight: Unknown (Continuing the "No Weigh Ins for April")

Work Out Achievement(s): As I posted before I finished my 100 Laps last Thursday. I've also been continuing the pilates video. I'm trying to get my flexibility up so I can do more of those moves more easily.

I have a couple of weeks before I start my new job and I want to have a new, solid routine down before I get there to make sure I don't get lazy this summer.

Goal(s): Now that I've finished swimming I'm going to up the pilates and start jogging regularly. I'm thinking that jogging is one of the most effective work out without any need of equipment or gym memberships.

Once I get a chance to see a trainer for some weight training advise I should (hopefully) be set.

Have a great week everyone!

-w0rld

100 Laps DONE!

Last night I went swimming. I've been swimming laps, adding 5 laps each day since April 1st. In the last couple of days I added 10 laps a day.

Last night was the night I had to do 100 laps.

This was right after I finished:



What did that note say?

That translates to 100 laps in 101 minutes.

So it is and so it has been written:


I don't care how fantastic an athlete you are because for me this is one of the greatest achievements I've ever accomplished.


and you better believe it feels GREAT!

love
-w0rld

Update: I can feel my muscles

Quick update.

Last night I completed 80 laps of my "100 lap-a-thon" (Does that sound better? I don't know..) and when I started my arms were a little tight, a little sore.

Of course by the time I was in the 50's the feeling was gone and I just went on with the motions until I got to 80 laps. Then I went back and did pilates. That's right. After that long swim I still stuck my legs in the air and pumped my arms and made my abs burn. LOL

Due to a change in my schedule I will be upgrading and today I'll be doing 90 (instead of 85) and tomorrow I'll attempt 100 laps.

Now, I have to admit right now my eating has only gotten slightly better. I'm not overeating as much as I was back in March but I'm still heading to the kitchen A LOT more than I should. Add to that the fact that I can't check the scale to see if this regime is working I'm kind of freaking out.

But then I take a second to relax and I start to pay attention to how I feel. I feel strong. I feel alive and springy. It's not just being able to feel my muscles in my arms when I move or the rock hard-ness of my legs through the (shrinking) layer of flab. I could feel the endorphines from my workouts working through my body leaving me feeling--in a nutshell-- good.

I feel good.

I look at my profile in the mirror and, though I might be fooling myself, my middle doesn't look as big as it did last week. Maybe it's just my posture. Because I feel good and strong I'm standing good and strong?

"Shoulders back! Boobs Out! It's showtime!" as Debbie Reynold used to say.

So I guess what I'm saying is that although this plan of mine might not move the number on the scale (though I'm crossing my fingers that it will) I can't ever regret going back to getting active. This feeling is too good to pass up.

Happy Wednesday, the belly button of the week!
<3
-w0rld

No Weigh Ins for April!

Happy Monday!
Yes you read that title correctly. And there's a lot to cover so let's get to it!

Current Weight: UNKNOWN!

I decided NOT to weigh myself this morning or any other Monday for the rest of April.

You see when I came up with my plan (of swimming 5 extra laps every night until I reached 100 laps and working on my pilates video) I also decided that I would not weigh myself through out all of it. Until May 1st.

Why? Because I've noticed that the number on the scale was dictating my mood and my motivation again. I wanted to remind myself that this isn't just about a number. It's about my health. So I forced myself to take away the scale as proof of progress and instead use other things.

Go back to noticing my energy level. Notice my clothes and how they fit. Notice my body and it's urges.

I'll still be checking in every Monday. But that's what it'll be "Check Ins" not Weigh Ins" at least for the rest of April.

Work Out Achievement(s):So I started my "Swim-to-the-Extreme" (I'm trying to come up with a cool name for it so I'm throwing things around here) plan on April 1st after getting up from a moping stupor in late March. Last night I finished 70 laps. I was getting pretty tired at the end which was nerve wrecking since I usually don't feel tired until 20 minutes after I'm finished.


One thing I've noticed is that I have to start earlier in order to get through my laps before it gets too late and the pool closes. LOL

It's an interesting schedule I have now because it's back to odd lapses of time and inconvenience.

Here's my current schedule:

6:30a.m. Get up and get ready for work/Breakfast
7:00 a.m. Head out to the field
9:00a.m Be back from the field and make second breakfast/In put data collected to the comp.
10a.m.-5:30pm Time to get random work done/ Lunch and two snacks in there
5:30pm Head back out to the field to prepare traps for the next morning
6:45pm Back from Field/ prepare to go swimming
7:00pm Swim my laps for the evening
8:30+pm Return from swimming/Take a shower/Pilates
9:00pm Dinner/ check emails/Sleep

Now as you can see I have an odd schedule where I have a ton of time to kill throughout the day since I have to wait for sunset and sunrise to do field work. Because the days are longer I don't reach the pool until 7pm or so (I don't swim in the day time. I usually do this at the end of the day because I'm usually so drained after swimming I wouldn't get any work done afterwards anyway). This kind of sucks because that means I don't eat dinner until pretty late and I'd rather not have a large meal so close to bed time.

So I have to adjust something. Get in the pool slightly sooner (though it still has to be around sunset so no earlier than 6:30pm) and/or eat dinner before I go swimming. Which is do-able.
----------------

On another note I went to Vegas this weekend to run errands and buy a few supplies I needed for next job. If I haven't been clear before-- this summer I'm going to be working in the Eastern Sierra Mountains about 2 hours south of Yosemite National Park. Near Mammoth Lakes, which is a huge snow resort area for those cool peeps who enjoy things like skiing and snow boarding.

absolutely beautiful isn't it?

This means that I had to go out and find snow pants. Now if you've been following this blog you might remember me mentioning earlier that I am not used to snow, don't know how to live or work in it and therefore am a bit nervous and not to happy to be around it.

So I never thought I'd ever need snow pants and boy was it an adventure to find them. I drove all around Vegas looking for them. Think about it. A girl who doesn't even know what these things look like driving around LAS VEGAS in APRIL looking for snowpants.

LOL

Not only that but having to try them on when I did find them. I saw more dressing rooms that day than I had in months.

But I found a pair that fit and didn't kill my wallet. A Men's size XL. Not bad. Not bad.

I was actually pretty surprised at how many pairs of pants DID fit. Sometime while I was going all over the place I muttered something I still remember,

"Now I understand why skinny girls like shopping."

I mean think about it, a lot of girls I've met LOVE to shop. I've always loathed it. I never understood what the big deal was. Clothes that will never fit, look ridiculous on, can't afford, all with big dressing room mirrors showing you what you have and don't want to think about. It's enough to make you sick.

But not this weekend. In the middle of all my comings and goings (and it hailed at some point and I might have gotten lost in another) I actually found myself having fun.

Fun. Can you believe it? I didn't.

One day I'll go on a shopping spree and buy what I want and have it look good on me. You'll see. But for now I have snowpants and leather gloves.

Pics later this week.

Have a great week everyone!

-w0rld

In N Out lettuce wrap burger

In case you don't know In N Out is a burger joint originally found only in California but now also found in certain areas in Nevada. Best burgers ever. However they're pretty fatty so when the no-carb diets started rolling around they created a burger wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun.

Today I tried it for the first time:


It's supposed to cut down on calories from the bun.


Results? It was good but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn't eating it outside with chilly wind and my hair falling on my face.

Would I do it again? Maybe. You can't go wrong with a Double Double.

:)

-w0rld

w0rld's FAT VLOG!

Ok this took me FOREVER to load (I won't get in to that) but I thought it would be fun to actually try out a video blog post to keep things fun!

Enjoy and please let me know what you think. If I should do this more often or not?

It's 5 minutes long.



Have a great weekend everyone!

<3
-w0rld

Late Weigh In

Hello Everyone. Sorry it's late. Here it is:

Current Weight: 209.8 lbs (yup that's what it said yesterday morning)

Work Out Achievement(s): So I was hoping I wouldn't gain anymore but I'm not surprised at this number I'm just glad it wasn't 210 ( I know, it's incredibly close but it's not 210 and that's what I'm going to keep telling myself). I've come up with a plan.

I've decided, since this is my last month working out in the desert and my last month having access to the pool, that I'm going to go out with a BANG.

I decided that I'm going to swim my laps, and keep adding 5 laps every day. See how far I get. I started April 1st after my post that day with 25 laps. Then 30, then 35. Yesterday was 40. Today will be 45 etc.

I want to get to 100 laps. I know it's a bit extreme. I know that I need to vary up my work outs and etc but doing this has a lot more to do with helping me psychologically than physically right now.

I want to PROVE I can do it. I'll also be doing my pilates video three times a week and work on my core. From there, when I finally get some good solid wifi time to research better weight training routines for myself (and maybe get a chance to talk to a trainer who can work specifically with me) I'll come up with a good regimen for this summer.

I don't want to start doing something, hurt myself and then regret it. This is MY life, MY body, and MY time. I want to do it right.

Goal(s): So since I had to admit to myself that my eating habits we're going south again (and not in a good way) I decided it's time to "research" again. This usually means go to the public library's 'Self-Help' section and find new books to read about "healthy foods" and "eating right" etc. I always make sure they don't emphasize 'dieting' because I promised myself two winters ago when I started this blog that I will never DIET again.

I want to learn how to change my eating habits FOR LIFE. Not just for a while.

I also promised myself that if I was going to open the fridge I better go in there for water or plan what I was going to COOK. Because I know that my infamous habit of "just grabbing something" is what has lead to my downfall.

I am going to Cancun this August, partly to vaca with my family but also to celebrate my birthday. (LEO's unite! Woop-woop!) I have to remind myself that I had planned to reach my goal weight by my 25th birthday. That's in 4 months. I better get cracking.

I'm thinking about posting a huge note on the fridge door that says something like "Remember: Cancun in August Elina!" Something like that. LOL

Happy Tuesday everyone. I feel so much better now that I have a 'plan'. Now will it work? We'll see but for now, I'm back on the trail.

<3
-w0rld

Ok, that's enough moping.

Hello Everyone!

Happy Sunday!

I have good news, sort of. I woke up this morning (at the late hour of 8 a.m. I know! LATE! LOL) and I suddenly felt.. light. I woke up with a much clearer head, newfound energy and a bit of a confidence boost.

I had a random dream last night about me proposing "relations" to a stranger in front of a lake (something I'd doubt I'd actually do in real life, and yes, this may be TMI ... but what's up with the lake backdrop?)


It kind of felt a little Dawson's Creek-y. Minus Katie Holmes. I HATE Katie Holmes.

and it kind of gave me a clue:

"Ok, if you're willing to go up to a random person (let's forget for a sec that it was just a dream) then I think that's clue enough that you're better. No more 'feel sorry for myself.' No more 'let's just eat grilled cheese sandwiches and read Nicholas Sparks instead of swimming.' No more MOPING!"


I realize now that a lot of the stress I was feeling could be eradicated as long as I got OFF my Ass and actually did some work. Contact some people. Send some emails, and read some scientific papers. Not only will I feel like I'm doing something to better my situation, it could also keep me busy and away from the fridge.

After being able to talk to a friend of mine (who I realized I hadn't talked to for months.. wow) I felt better.

I feel better.

Time to get back on track. Back in the wagon. Back on top. Whatever you want to call it.

Losing weight and getting healthy no longer feels far away. It's right here. Right now.

I'm awesome and I WILL get there.

You will too.

Now, let's start.

love
-w0rld

April Showers bring ...

I actually don't know what April Showers bring because it hasn't rained very much yet. But there are flowers starting up and believe me people come from all over to see desert flowers when they're really blooming..


one of the many flowers you see in the Mojave Desert in spring.

But enough Bio-geek talk. I'm really here to talk about my April Weigh In.

I have updated the side panel ---->

and when I weighed myself this morning it said: 207.8 lbs

Sigh*. Yes that's what it said. Now I KNOW I should stop feeling sorry for myself (or whatever it is I'm feeling) since it isn't THAT big of a weight gain, but I can't help feeling a little bit of failure dawning on me, especially since I'm the kind of person that makes specific plans like, " I should lose this amount of weight by this time, and I should be able to fit in to these jeans by summer." (<--whoa is that a run-on sentence or what?!) Everyone has their goals right? Well I was REALLY not expecting to still be in the 200's by 2011, let alone in APRIL!

But c'est la vie. And I will have to deal. I've been noticing my food intake and yes it hasn't been the greatest, especially in March.

It's time to get serious. And my next major post (after Mondays Weigh In) will probably be about "getting serious". I'll also start taking my own pictures of this years flowers, just for fun!

We'll see.

But until then. It's April. And yes, I completely forgot it was April Fools Day today.

So no fooling. Just me.

love
-w0rld