2 More Years

Medical School/Residency years start in July and end in June. It's already a week into July, but we are at the halfway point in residency and the three-fourths point in the journey to Spencer becoming an anesthesiology. We've been married for seven years now (!) and while there have been a lot of up and downs throughout those seven, especially where medical school is concerned, it's been worth the journey so far. May these next two years pass quickly enough to not seem like they are dragging but slowly enough to enjoy the ride. Here's to just 2 more years of residency!

What Counts as Fast Food?

It's about a week into the challenge and so far I've managed to avoid all the fast food traps like Wendy's, McDonald's, In-N-Out, and Taco Bell (ew). However, we have done our fair share of eating out recently so that's made me reconsider what could fall under the label of "fast-food." For the most part, I've tried to make better choices. For instance, when Spencer took me Olive Garden for lunch last Monday I ordered a lower calorie entire and saved most of it for dinner. When we went to Disneyland with my brother-in-law and his girlfriend I had the lobster Cobb and skipped most of the dressing. However, I've also had a burger at Buffalo Wild Wings and part of burrito at our favorite sit-down Mexican place. The amount of eating out this past weekend was unusual--we eat out more when we're playing the part of tourists on vacation showing our family around--but it did make me stop to consider just how much junk is out there to eat. The foods that sound most appetizing are laden with fats or processed carbs and while most places have low calorie fare now, a lot of it just doesn't sound good. So, while nothing I technically ate since the challenge started counts as fast food, I still need to work on bettering the food choices I make in general.

Exercise Bust and a New Challenge

The day after I posted that I would be doing the 30 day exercise challenge I busted. I got majorly sick (it's allergy season and I ran out meds) so instead of running or doing an exercise tape like I'd planned to do, I was curled on the couch in a fetal position clutching my head filled with swollen sinuses. No fun! Also within the last couple weeks I've had to work extra at work, had lots of evening obligations, and just generally have been bad at fitting it into my schedule. It would seem that the only sure-fire way to plan exercise in my day is to get it in before work which would require me to wake at 5AM and that's just not happening right now. At any rate, due to the events above and the fact that I know the next few weeks aren't going to be getting any easier, I've decide to start a new challenge.

The 30 Day Challenge I'm starting today is to not eat fast food for the next 30 days. That means no fries, no burgers, and no deep fried chicken sandwiches. Now, I suppose I can see an instance where we are out with family and really have no other choice, but in those cases I will keep myself to the fare on the menu that's the freshest (i.e. the salads sans dressings, grilled chicken no bun, or fresh fruit). Fast food is so easy to grab on the way home or at lunch so I think this challenge will help me focus on eating healthier and in turn helping Spencer eat healthier, too (since we will be forced to eat more at home or make better choices when we go out). The last day of this challenge will be April 16. Wish me luck!

Oh, and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

No Soda Day 30 and 30 Days of Exercise

It seems I started a post about half way through this challenge but never published it, so here it is now:

"Well, I've reached the half way point and I'm proud to say while I've been tempted to quit several times, I've never actually given in. I find the temptations are strongest in the mornings and when I'm out to eat because that's when I would normally indulge."

It's now day 30. I successfully completed the challenge! I'm proud to say that I remained strong and won't be going back to my daily habit any day soon. I plan on continuing to limit my soda intake because I felt healthier overall while I was abstaining. Now, onto the next challenge.

My next 30 day challenge is to get 30 minutes of exercise a day. Today is actually day 3. I started Monday with dog agility, Tuesday was a 30 minute jog, and tonight I'm doing the Jillian Michaels ripped in 30 tape. I'll try to keep the blog more up to date for this challenge since its going to take more planning and effort to meet this goal. Sundays I will be limiting myself to dog walks though.

Here's to gettin' fit!

Day 10 No Soda

It's day 10 of the "No Soda" challenge and I'm still haven't caved. Sure--I really, really, really want a soda and I would love nothing more than to indulge, but I also want to reach my goal. One big plus from the challenge so far is that I'm less tired overall and I'm eating less fast food. It's just less enticing for me to think about eating fries and a burger without the cold diet soda to wash it all down. 

20 days left! What should I do for my next 30 day challenge?

Day 4 of No Soda

Day 1 was by far the easiest day. The only temptation came at the end of the day when I decided to do some last minute Costco shopping. I was coming home from dog class and had Percy with me, but just needed to grab a couple of things so we could eat for the week. I was in and out in under 10 minutes, and on my way out I grabbed a hot dog combo. Those darn things come with a fountain drink so I simply grabbed a regular Coke (ew) for Spencer and then wolfed the hot dog down much to the disappointment of Percy. It was tempting to just grab a diet soda like I normally do, but I wanted to remain committed to this challenge. I had posted it here AND told my coworkers. I couldn't just quit one day in, could I?

Day 2 was the hardest. I woke up completely drained after a less than restful night of sleep. I was tossing and turning and the dog was whining to get out of his kennel for most of the night. Needless to say, I was extremely tired. On top of that, I had physical therapy around lunch time and my habit has been to swing through a drive through on my way back to work. This time, however, I decided to skip the fast food and the accompanying diet cola and ate at home instead. I was tired all day and had a hard time focusing and staying on task, but my body felt better. I was less swollen/bloated and more comfortable in my clothes. I hadn't realized all the caffeine and fake sugar was making me feel that way, but if it really is then it's worth avoiding the temporary pleasure of a nice cold diet soda.

Yesterday was Day 3. I'm was tired again that morning, but only because Percy woke me around 4AM to use the facilities. That's pretty good considering I put him in his kennel around 9PM the night before. Spencer was up for work about an hour later and then I had to get up as well. I was craving McDonald's breakfast but I made sure to leave late enough to make that stop impossible if I was going to make it to work on time.

Today is Day 4 and besides the McDonald's craving again this morning, I really didn't think about it. So far this challenge has been pretty doable. It's hard, but not so hard that I don't think I can't complete it.

4 days down--26 to go!

30 Days

I have a friend who does "30 Days Without" challenges just about every month. For instance, one month is was "30 days without sugar" and another was "30 days without bread." She's using it as motivation to lose weight, but I think it also helps her work on being more disciplined on an area of nutrition where it's harder to be "good." I suppose this makes sense. After all, they say you  need something like 21-30 days to form a habit. Being the food-lover that I am, I never jumped on the bandwagon, but since I started working full time I've developed a habit of having at least one can if not more of diet cola per day to help keep me alert. There's tons of chemicals in diet soda that are bad for your body, teeth, etc. and I'd like to break the habit. And so, with my friend's example in mind, I'm embarking on an attempt of "30 Days with NO soda." I'll post at least a weekly update to let you know how it's going and if I slip (or I guess you could say sip, haha) up.

Here's to day #1.

A Year [2012] In Review

This past year I slacked a lot in the blog department. We were busy having fun, but it was mostly the same so I didn't really feel I had a lot to blog about. In no particular order we did the following:

• I started training Percy in agility and obedience. This consumed most of the first half of the year.
• We made numerous trips to Disneyland and the beach.
• I had a girls day at Glen Ivy and then another at Wrightwood.
• We traveled to Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam with Spencer's mom and brother.
• Spencer finished up his intern year and started the anesthesia part of his training. He also got his medical license.
• We took a cruise down the coast of Alaska and finished it up by visiting Canada for a little under a couple of hours.
• We visited family in Utah and Portland, OR for the holidays.
• I got a new job.
• We had numerous house guests including friends, family, and several hopeful LLU residents.

We also spent time working on our new home. We are slowly getting it organized and just starting to decorate. Maybe it will be done by 2014, but maybe not. In observing my parent's and Spencer's parents more closely, it appears that a home is never "done," but rather a continuous work in progress.

In looking back a my goals for 2012 I can say I can close to meeting most of them but fell short on a few. I tripled the number of books I read and almost doubled the number of knitting projects I completed. I keep the house reasonably clean and I tried to be a little nicer and more forgiving. I'm not sure if I actually succeeded in that, but I tried to be more cognizant of it so I'm counting it. 

 

In looking forward to 2013 I'm hoping to accomplish many of the same goals from last year and few new ones as well. They say that setting really broad goals ensures that won't reach them, so I have tried to make them as specific as possible. This year I'd like to:

• Paint my kitchen, living room, guest room, and master bedroom
• Finish the backyard (this will mostly be Spencer's project)
• Read even more books--4 per month would put me up to 48 next year
• Finish all my pending knitting projects and also make a few more--20 seems like a good goal
• Lose the weight I gained last year and then some
• Train for and run a half marathon by June or July