Some Stuff

Well hello there. I am now 6.5 lbs thinner. Not quite as much as I'd like to have lost by this time, but it's better than zero lbs lost! Hopefully it will continue to come off for at least 5.5 lbs more. I'm back in school so that will either be easier or harder. Easier because now I have less time to even think about eating, let alone eat. Harder because now my eating schedule is going out of whack and it will be much harder for me to actually make it to the gym 5 days a week. Unless I go on my way home from school. Which is when I am starving. And then I'll be eating dinner at like 8 pm, which is pretty late for me, since I eat my lunch at noon. Sigh. We'll see how it goes. If I have super good control, I can go home after school, eat dinner, and then go to the gym at around 8 or 9. It's just so hard to go to the gym once I've made it home! Ok, ok. Calm down. It's my last year of school. So long as I can maintain and not gain the weight back, I can lose more weight later.

School should be interesting. I'm taking my (hopefully) last class ever this semester: Galaxies and Cosmology. It won't be easy. I'm also doing some research on photonic crystals which should be enlightening and useful for transitioning into industry. But since I'm an Astro person, I need to first learn Solid State Physics, which I never took in my undergrad. So there's a little bit of reading on my plate.

My first day was Tuesday and I managed to get parking at BART at 1:00, yay! So I started a new book and made my way into Daly City. Grabbed the shuttle and headed for campus. Took a little over an hour, in all, from the time I left work in Oakland to arrival on campus. Met with my pal Polin in our research lab to get the tour and a feel for what she's been working on over the summer. Basically, she is trying to reproduce Dr. Man's (my research advisor) thesis with our equipment, which differs from Princeton's (obviously). They are looking for band gaps in 3D photonic crystals made of some sort of plastic that has a higher index of refraction than air. Once we can replicate her thesis, we will try to enhance the band gaps (which are areas which do not transmit photons/light/information) by coating the crystal with some sort of metal and check for band gaps again. That's about the extent of my understanding. I need to read A LOT before I really understand. Altho, I do believe she (DR. Man) is working on this to apply it to another project which is finding more efficient ways to convert solar power to thermal energy (or something...).

Anyways, after that I went and spoke with Dr. Man, since I'm out all next week and wanted to make sure I am reading what she wants etc. Then I had class at 330. The projector was broken, so we basically only discussed the syllabus. I can't believe how messed up this semester is due to all these budget issues. Kids need so many units to get financial aid and they will sign up for anything to get it. Since a lot of classes were cut (a lot is really an understatement) this semester, a lot of kids are out of luck. We had a class full of kids trying to take an upper division Astrophysics class, prolly because it sounded interesting. But you really need a lot of prerequisites in order to qualify or be able to follow the material. So after about 5 minutes of describing the syllabus, 50% of the people walked out. I think it was when the teacher said "Differential Equations" that about 7 people left. I hope they can find a better suited class! I genuinely feel bad for them! I am stuck in the same boat, really. I have 6 units of electives yet, but those are all the classes they are cutting first! Which is why I'm taking an undergrad astro class and doing research. I'm pretty much out of other options...

Class got out early, so I got back to Fruitvale BART around 530 and lo and behold, what's on my windshield? A parking ticket. For the parking that I paid for. Grrr. Of course I didn't keep the gd receipt that the machine spits out - no one does! There's a pile of about 100 sitting in there! Well, I will now. I wrote a letter to appeal the ticket and am sending them my BART ticket after I use up another $4.10 today to get to Daly City (since I still have over $5 on it, I am not sending it until I use it once more). I paid the parking on my BART ticket, so maybe they can track it that way. Altho it's all computerized, so they should be able to see that I paid. It's one of those remember-your-stall-number and pay inside the station ideas. So the BART cop had to look up somewhere to see that I "hadn't" paid. They put on the ticket: "first observed: 1245". Well I didn't even leave work until 1, so I'm thinking maybe they didn't check again before issuing the ticket at 1:47. I prolly paid around 1:10 or 1:15, so I'm hoping I just got somehow stuck in a black hole of parking fees. We'll see. IT totally ruined my day, tho. I was so excited to be able to take BART again - and it turned out to be a $50 freakin BART ride! Poop! Today I am definitely taking and keeping my receipt!

More to come, as time permits.

Dieting Woes

Well, I've lost a total of 2.5 lbs so far. That was 2 weeks ago. No change last week, which I'm not mad about, cuz at least it didn't come right back! I'm going to take my doctor's advice starting this week and reduce my calorie intake to 1200 kcal/day, only 30% of which may be fat calories. I am also going to boost up my cardio from 3-4 days/week to 5 days a week. I have 3 weeks to Burning Man, and I WILL LOOK GOOD!

Diet Update: Week 4-5

Well, I am still at it. The results are not doing anything to help that, but I'm still trying. Waiting for those pants to fit me again. I am up to 151 lbs as of last Friday, but I'm going to go ahead and pretend I gained that weight in muscle only, and that means the fat will just start pouring off of me any day now. Looks like we left off on last Tuesday:

1 Coffee (black) + hot chocolate 122
25 Blueberries 20
1 Special K + light soy milk 150
1 1/2 lb prime rib/au jus/horseradish 638
1 cup Baked Potato Soup w/bread 350
20 String beans w/bacon 50
5 shots jager 515
1 pc toast with apricot pumpk butter 110
Subtotal 1955
35 min Gym: Cardio -287
Total 1668


Wednesday:
1 Coffee (black) + hot chocolate 122
1 cup cantaloupe, cubed 54
1 skirt steak & rice 495
1 taste tofu w/veggies 43
1 Grilled Cheese 320
1 enchirito 360
1 taco 170
Subtotal 1564
90 min Soccer -675
Total 889

Thursday:
1 Coffee (black) + hot chocolate 122
0.5 Bowl Cereal 75
1 Slim Fast 180
1 Srv Rice a Roni 250
1 Bochworst w/onions and zucchini 373
1 Srvg smothered kale & mushrooms 170
1 Slice toast w/mortadella 177
Subtotal 1347
48 min Gym: Cardio + resistance -471
Total 876

Friday:
1 Coffee (black) + hot chocolate 122
1 Bowl Cereal 150
2 sl. Gourmet Veggie Pizza 460
2 sl. Cheese Pizza 460
2 Cheese Enchiladas 464
1 Guacamole 140
1 Rice and beans 390
1 Corona Light 109
Subtotal 2295
90 min Gentle Yoga -263
Total 2033

And now this week (Week 5, so far):

Monday:
2 Green Tea, plain 0
1 Special K 150
1 cup, Wonton Soup 200
1 Carrots & hummus 95
1 bread/3 sl mort/avocado 401
1 srv stroganoff 609
20 Fruit Snacks 150
Subtotal 1605
48 min Gym: Cardio -489
40 min Walk with Simone -172
Total 944

Diet Update: Week 3-4

Well, when I weighed in last Friday, I was 149.5. Sigh. I kinda knew that the initial 5 lbs was too good to be true. But I'm not too discouraged yet. It's a lifestyle change, too, really. Hopefully by summer end (ie, Burning Man), I will be back to "normal," whatever that is. I just want to be able to wear my damn pants again! Here is where we left off:

Thursday:
1 Soy Chai w/ light soy 100
1 Special K 180
1 Slim Fast 180
1 Carrots/hummus 95
6 Sashimi pieces 218
4 Pcs Sushi 440
1 Seaweed Salad 140
1 Miso Soup 80
4 Drinks 465
Subtotal 1898
43 min Gym: Cardio -385
Total 1513

Friday:
1 Grande soy white mocha 390
1 Bacon Artisan Sammie 380
1 Carrots/hummus 95
1 Grilled Cheese 485
1 Venti Rasp Black Tea Lemonade 220
1 Wheat Linguine w/Alfredo 391
Subtotal 1961
n/a Gentle Yoga 0
Total 1961

Notice the n/a for the yoga. Somehow Jessa and I talked ourselves out of that. Fridays are hard yoga days, especially since it starts at 6 and we'd rather be chillaxin by then! Hopefully we'll do it this week. I need it!

This week:
Monday:
1 Coffee (black) + hot chocolate 122
25 Blueberries 20
1 Mortadella Sammie 800
10 Pcs Sashimi 400
1 Seaweed Salad 140
1 Glass OJ 110
Subtotal 1592
48 min Gym: Cardio + resistance (legs) -436
Total 1156

Tuesday (today/unfinished):
1 Coffee (black) + hot chocolate 122
25 Blueberries 20
1 Special K + light soy milk 150
Subtotal 292

I'm not giving up hope! C'mon sexy Burning Man body-I wanna get nekked!

Diet Update: Week 3

Ok, well I know I kinda stopped reporting things. I have yet to weigh myself again cuz I have this teeny weeny feeling that those 5 lbs didn't stay off as I would have liked. But I am not all the way discouraged yet! I have been *trying* to stick with it! This week is looking a lot better than last. So I'll just put up my thus far results for this week:

Monday:
1 Special K 180
1 Soy Chai (w/light soy) 140
1 Slim Fast 180
1 Srvg Cheesy Garlic Orzo 252
1 Srvg Chicken w/mushroom sauce 225
2 Miller Lights 130
Subtotal 1107
30 min Gym: Cardio -277
Total 830

Tuesday:
1 Special K 180
1 Soy Chai (w/light soy) 160
1 Slim Fast 180
1 Srvg carrots/hummus 95
1 Salad w/avo,chic,cuc 335
0.5 Srv Orzo 113
1 Grilled Cheese on wheat 485
Subtotal 1548
43 min Gym: Cardio + resistance (arms) -400
Total 1148

Wednesday:
1 Soy Chai w/ light soy 160
1 Special K 180
1 Srv carrots/hummus 95
1 Taco Bell Taco 170
1 Taco Bell Burrito 370
1 Lucca's Deli Sammie 807
Subtotal 1782
2 hr Soccer -922
Total 860

So today will be much the same. Special K breakfast, Slim Fast lunch (I know, I skipped it yesterday and got some Taco Bell, but I went from 3 Taco Bell items down to 2 and one can only have Slim Fasts for lunch so many times! Besides, I think the 2 hrs of soccer deserved some more calories beforehand anyways), I think sushi for dinner. Tho, I will be getting mostly sashimi this time since rice = calories and fish = not so many calories! I will be hitting the gym again, providing my legs don't feel like jello by then from the soccer-ing yesterday... maybe no resistance today, however. We'll see how I feel by then. Tomorrow is yoga! So I feel pretty decent about this week. I may actually check in with the ol' scale tomorrow to see whether I am actually making any progress, or if those 5 initial lbs were, in fact, only because I was sick that week. Cross your fingers! I *need* to fit into that damned bridesmaid dress by July 11th!!!!!

Diet Results: Week 1

Ok, so I lost 5 lbs in the first week! Granted, I was pretty sick those last few days and thus wasn't really all that hungry, so it was a little easier than normal. Plus, I had parties all weekend, so I probably gained most of that back. Sigh. I'm not giving up. Especially since I re-tried on my bridesmaid dress over the weekend and I'm pretty sure it won't zip up in my current state (tho it was close and possible force-able haha). I think 5 more lbs will do it. I have until July 11th. So, I'm not all better from this damn cold yet... but I'll be hitting the gym up today regardless. That's what's really going to help me lose this weight (and keep it off)! I can't be doing this Slim Fast business forever! It's just to help me with these first few lbs in the first few weeks. So keep your fingers crossed for me - I can do it!

Current weight as of 5/29/09: 145.5 lbs

Diet: Day Two

Well, no gym for me yesterday. This cold is kicking my ass. I haven't been this congested in a really, really long time. I finally called the doctor this morning. It sounds like I'm not the only one with this problem, and they are doing phone appointments. I just hope that they can prescribe me a GD decongestant that actually works. DayQuil, NyQuil, and Sudafed can kiss my butt. Here's the results of yesterday. Upon looking it over, I maybe want to eat more calories? I might be malnutritioning myself at this point, so how will I ever get rid of this cold?

1 Coffee (black) + hot chocolate 122
7 Strawberries (large) 42
1 Slim Fast 180
1 Burrito 500
Total 844

Diet: Day One

Ok, so last Friday I finally weighed myself and was sad to discover that it's time for me to lose about 15 lbs. Sigh. Last semester really pulled me off track-I was eating badly, drinking way too much, not exercising at all really... it took its toll. Hopefully I'm not too late and it will come back off fairly quickly!
5/22/09 weigh in: 150.5 lbs
I decided to not weigh myself again until Friday, so we'll see how well I can keep up with this diet! Here was yesterday's results:

1 Grande Soy Vanilla White Mocha 410
1 Banana 105
1 Slim Fast 180
1.5 Mu Shu Chicken 348
2 Potstickers 160
1 Hot & Sour Soup 150
Subtotal 1353
30 min Gym: Cardio + resistance -300
Total Calories 1053

Not too bad of a start... I'd have gymmed it up longer, but I have a cold and can barely breathe through my right nostril. Kinda makes it difficult to do cardio. I still forced myself to go anyways!

To be continued...

My Mind Is Set On Overdrive

I am not a good blogger.

Winter Wonderland

My body hurts today. In the best possible way, actually. It hurts because I FINALLY made it to the snow for a ski adventure! Weee! So yeah, it hurts. But it hurts because I worked the shit out of some muscles that haven't been worked in 2 years. Gotta love those ski muscles that I always forget exist. I don't really mind because they can't possibly hurt this much the next time we go. It's the first time back muscle blues.

Tahoe was beautiful, as usual. I wish there had been more snow and less melting going on, it being January and all... but we had a gorgeous day on the mountain with sun-shiny weather and fully groomed runs. I was a happy camper! It was all hard-packed snow, which works better for me (as the single skier) anyways. Not too icy. Not too cold. Not too many people (since we went on Friday). Just right for a first time back.

Ben and I rode up with Ryan in his truck. Luckily, it hasn't snowed in awhile, so chains were not necessary. We left Thursday at around 3 and made it up to JT's cabin in Myers a few hours later. I had to sit in the back seat of his Colorado and let me tell you, it was not the most comfortable of spots! I do not recommend riding there on road trips if at all possible! The seat is just tiny, my butt kept slipping off... and the back rest part is straight up and down-perfect posture only! It could definitely have been worse, but I was wishing for front seat rights the whole way (I figured Ben would have been umpteen times more uncomfortable if he had sat back there, so I sucked it up).

The cabin/house was awesome. So perfect for the winter. I'm jealous that JT is there until March. Of course, I hope there's more snow soon so that it's actually worthwhile for him to be up there that long! Thursday night we made some tacos and played some cards in front of the furnace. Went to bed semi-earliesh, so that we would wake up semi-earliesh and get to Kirkwood. I needed to rent my gear (which I had a half-off coupon for, woot), so we planned on getting there around 8:30. I think it was actually pretty close to that time. Since it was a weekday, the lines were essentially non-existent and we geared up in pretty good time.

Again, the slopes were pretty nice, all things considered. We stuck to the intermediate level runs, which were almost too much for me. I don't know when I became a little scared-y cat on skis, but I felt a bit overwhelmed. By the end of the day, I did feel like I was getting my feet back... but by then, I was also starting to hurt. Ski boots make it so you are in constant squat position. Ouch!

After getting cleaned up and eating some more tacos, we hit up the casinos. I actually left $25 richer than I got there. That almost never happens. We played a little roulette and some Hold 'Em (you against dealer only). At the end of the night, Ryan put $20 on red for roulette and doubled up. Then proceeded to do it twice more.... so he made out all right too. Even Ben made back 170%! And that's sweet cuz all those drinks were actually free! And boy, did I have too many.

The next day we drove back. JT was coming back for Bobby's surprise party too, so he brought back Ben and I gotted to sit in the front. Phew and thank you! My legs are so sore, I can't imagine how another 4 hrs in that back seat would have treated me.

So there was my small vacation before school starts back up. I still have until the 27th, although I need to start the hw before that (don't ask-I know, it sucks). I'm hoping for some more snow fall soon so we can maybe check out Heavenly and Sierra...I'd like to maybe take another snowboarding lesson if I feel like I got enough skiing in (and don't mind being on the bunny slopes for a whole day). But, we'll see.