Minx's Daily Log of Awesome.

[minx34]

Hello to any one reading!

 

To try my hand at daily logging (which I have never done, really) and to keep myself accountable on things, I wanted to start a log. So here it is! I just moved from California to Maryland for grad school, so things are super different. I'm still getting used to the 3 hour time difference, even though it has been already been a week. I'm also trying to get back into my rebel-ness, which is taking a while. Since I graduated undergrad, I stayed at home for the summer before my big move. I slowly slipped of track.

 

I started off good. I kept my diet pretty reasonable, and tried to teach my parents about the paleo diet. They tried it for a week, but after that I had to lighten up on them because they weren't eating properly. Then with all the 100-115 degree heat outside and my mom wanting me to go with her everywhere, I lost track of working out and eating completely healthy. And I couldn't do my second challenge as a result. Sometimes it is a bit difficult staying on your lifestyle change when you are with family or on outings, because it gets tempting to go back into old, comfortable ways with them. 

 

But now I'm trying to get back into the hang of things! I am in grad school and I'm taking a preliminary course for 2 weeks, which is awesome. And I'm trying to get back into the swing of working out. My goal is to do 30 minutes of cardio in the mornings, and then do free weights on weekday evenings. I haven't quite settled on what routine to do with weights, but I'm currently thinking about it. I also have 4 textbook chapters to read tonight. D'oh! Time to get it done.  

[minx34]

So my class is going well! My group and I are so far getting 9/10 or 10/10 on our quizzes, which is excellent. As far as working out goes, I haven't been able to go to my apartment gym because of the pile of work/lack of sleep, but I think its because I wanted to do workouts in half hour chunks. Today I'm going to try doing squats, push ups, and sit ups between readings just to be active. Hopefully I can squeeze in 15 minutes of cardio on the elliptical today too, but we'll see where that goes!

I'm also pretty proud of the way my eating is slowly getting better, closer to where I was. I'm not back at being paleo yet, but I have cut juice out of my diet. I've also been strong enough to avoid the vending machines in addition to the temptation of eating fast food from the campus. I bring food from home. Right now the only nonpaleo things I eat are rice/riceroni, cereal (breakfast in a time crunch), and small doses of chocolate. Oh, and popcorn! But only on a very occasional basis (mind you, I'm a popcorn addict). Slow progress for the win!

[minx34]

So far, things are getting better as a get used to my new life on the East Coast and this class! I'm starting to make meals on Sundays in order to eat healthy and to avoid eating out. So far its working! I went to a baseball game last Friday, and there was nearly every temptation available there: funnel cake, turkey legs, alcohol, hamburgers, pizza. They even had bacon on a stick. But I was able to fight the temptation nicely! Now I may not be perfect, but I think it was a huge victory to be able to look at that food, admire the smells, and say no. It was empowering, and I want to keep it up

 

I'm also starting to work on my fitness a lot more seriously, and just now I did the Angry Bird workout again. Now that I have adjusted to my class schedule and know my class schedule for the upcoming term, I'm making a routine. I decided to do the Angry Bird workout on MF, and have Wednesday be a free day where I explore free weights a bit. As for Tuesday and Thursday I plan on using the elliptical for cardio as my chiropractor told me, but I also want to do something else. I'm debating between learning some yoga or learning some dance moves on youtube. What do you guys think?

[minx34]

Yesterday was a great day, and so is today so far. Last night I did my Angry Bird workout since I didn't do it Monday, and it was certainly a challenge. I'm still on level one on most things, but I learned that I advanced to level 3 in squats and level 2 and planks (win!). I'm going to aim to get to level two on back exercises tomorrow I also passed my first exam for my class today at 97/100. Win!! XD Now I just have to study my butt of to do well in the second exam tomorrow, the essay exam. And I have to remember to tear myself away from the textbook for a while to do a little bit of exercise. Maybe elliptical, dancing, or a little bit of dancing. I haven't decided yet, but it should be awesome.

 

The only thing about today though was that the TAs for my class through a small class party for us. They had cookies, chocolate, and all sorts of snacks there. I had mostly fruit, but I did indulge in a few cookies and some chocolate. I feel bad about it, but I just have to make sure to steer back on course.