Hello! I'm back for a sec/Weigh In

Hello Everyone~!

I've been away from the internets for a while and I haven't been able to update this blog. I also hadn't been able to be near a scale for about two weeks and I can tell you right now not knowing what your weight is was both a curse and a gift all rolled in to one.
It was a curse because I had no idea whether I was gaining or losing. I kept looking at my profile in the mirror and paying close attention to how tight or loosely clothes were fitting me to kind of measure how I was doing

It was a gift because it forced me to eat well or at least be conscious of what I ate BECAUSE I didn't know what my weight was AND it made me pay attention to other things besides weight like: how my clothes were fitting, how un-tired or un-winded I felt whenever I climbed hills every morning, or noticing the changes in the pictures I was taking and marveling at how noticeable the changes in my face and middle were to what I pictured earlier.

In the end, when I finally got home last night and when I finally stepped on to the house scale I was both happily surprised and yet not too surprised to find out that I had lost weight again.

So here brings us to the Weigh In part of things:

Current Weight: 230 lbs (I might even be in the 220's since the home scale is less reliable than the gym scale.. I'll be going to the gym tomorrow morning so I'll update again to see the difference)

Work Out Achievement(s): Like I've mentioned before I haven't had access to a scale or a gym in a lil while but I have been working my butt off (almost literally) in the field, walking miles every day.. and I even managed to go on a 2 hr leisure walk last Tuesday (which I'll post pictures of, it was soo beautiful) during a short work day.

I can also feel an internal change. I feel... calmer, happier, and simply healthier since I've started. It's partly because I'm finally doing the work that I love to do, partly that I'm getting to see the scenery and travel I've always wanted but I'm sure that a good part of it is because I'm programming myself to eating better, being more active and getting more energy because of it. Even though my face is completely tanned and sunburnt my skin even feels better. It's really amazing.

Goal(s): I'm going to be working in the field again in Nevada this summer. With people I don't know yet and in a terrain I'm not familiar with. I'm also planning on visiting atleast 3 or 4 Regional/National Parks (including Yosemite, Tahoe, Sequoia and the Grand Canyon) this year and summer and I need to start going out on regular hikes and light backpacking to condition myself for the kind of trips I want to take there and in the future. This is really important for me both for my personal escapades but also for my job. I need to be in shape to be in the field. I need to have strong arms and be able to carry large amounts of materials, and hike up hill, and swim in rivers and etc if I want to stay in this career path. I want these new Nevada people to get to know me as the "funny California girl" not "the fat chick from L.A."
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There's my Weigh In. Throughout these last couple of weeks I've been thinking of different themed posts to do for this blog but since I didn't have time or wifi to do it they've all kind of moved to the back burner and as I get time to post I'll update; however, I realized that I still hadn't posted an official profile picture.. you know the one where people stand in front of the camera and then stand to the side to show off what they looked like. So I thought I'd finally do it. Better late than never:


This is me today, May 18, 2010 at 230 lbs. I asked my lil sister to take this picture of me and she made me laugh.. can you tell? lol

Here's the side view:

One thing I'm in constant battle with is my posture. I tend to slouch and just standing straight makes such a HUGE difference. I can't remember if I remembered to stand up straight in this picture but I don't think my posture is too bad right there.

I can see the difference in myself. And knowing that I've lost weight and that *I* can see the difference, it makes more comfortable in showing it by not hiding under my jackets or simply by telling myself to stop making excuses about my weight to my coworkers. One of the people that I was working with last week also has a weight problem and I noticed how many times he would mention it and would defend himself when we got ready to hike; "I used to be much thinner than this.. I can do it it's just going to take me a little while.. Oh man I'm definitely going to lose weight after all this. Wooo! That was a work out." All this I've been guilty of saying before.. when no one asked. Even though no one was really judging me. I felt so self conscious that I kept trying to defend myself even though the only person attacking me was myself.

I also noticed how saying things like that didn't actually help him make a better image for himself. In the contrary it just brought more and more attention to his weight when, if he hadn't said anything in the first place, I wouldn't have cared or noticed as much.

I'm going to try my hardest to stop making excuses for my weight during work. I am who I am and I don't have to defend myself to anyone over my physical skills. I'm going to simply do what I do best and I'll let my actions decide their judgements. Let them watch me as I keep up with the group easily. Carry a 50 lb bag over my shoulder like nobody's business and climb boulders like a mountain goat. THEN they can judge me.

I'll leave you guys with this last picture. My lil sister told me to "strike a pose Nina!"

Well I did.



Have a great week everyone! I'll post again tomorrow since it'll be the only time I have access for another week or so I think~

love
-w0rld