January 21

Well, this is the first Sunday after I first started my diet.  Yay!  I'm still going strong.  I've been going to the gym everyday for about an hour and eating fruits, vegetables, and as much meat as I can get my hands on.  I do my best to split up the fruits and veggies with meat. Anyways, I have been eating considerably much more meat than I usually do.  I have steaks and bacon; I also have been drinking a bulk building shake every morning.  I avoid breads though I have had a couple sandwiches.  I eat about every two hours so I'm NEVER hungry.  It's great.  I don't eat late at night, but even when I wake up in the morning I'm not as hungry as I used to be.
As far as I can tell I may have some more tone in my legs, and may have also lost about 2 pounds but that may just be my normal fluctuations.  My weight does usually fluctuate between 2 and 4 pounds each day... depending on the time of day.    So here's a comprehensive chart on the difference in the past six days:

Then                                             Now
Hungry all the time                    Never hungry
Tired, angry                                Happy, feeling energized
Lots of aches and pains           Mostly sore muscles (which I like)
Always thinking of food            Hardly ever think about food
Dizzy when I move quickly       No dizziness
130 lbs                                         128 - 130 lbs
Unable to focus                         More focus and drive to finish (homework)
Less able to sleep                      Great sleep!


I've been working out my cardio more so now when I run up stairs my heart rate doesn't get super high and I feel great!  I will keep trying to build muscle by eating protein and bulk-building shakes.  After I do this my body should be able to burn off all the fat by it's self because the muscle will require energy to maintain.  ;)  I'm excited for the results in 4 months! I will post again next Sunday.

Hot

January 16th, 2012
Here's the deal. I need to get healthy and hot... I can BARELY run a mile without feeling like I'm going to pass out and honestly.. I'm kinda chubby (DEFINITELY NOT FAT! Just... cute. ew).  I HATE feeling like that, so I've decided to start a fitness blog along with my other blogging and really get in shape.  I hope I can provide some sort of motivation for the rest of those busy people out there who just don't think they have time or they can't do it.  Listen people: if i can do this... SO CAN YOU!   I promise!  I've done quite a bit of research on the topic of getting heathy... My brother is a sort of workout guru and my mom has bought more diet books than I care to count. I've gone through ALOT of the gimmick diets and honestly... here I sit just as chubby and unhealthy as before... so.  I'm going to do something about it. TODAY.

Here's the plan: COMBINE THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS.  I will be mixing what I personally know about myself, Jackie Warner's plans, Jillian Micheal, and Suzanne Somers.  Plus a few workout tips from the one and only Arnold Schwarzenegger.

- Workout (with my brother's help)
- Eat right (fruits, veggies, meat)
    -  5-6 meals a day (small but filling)
- Use the right supplements
    -  Protein, before and after workout mixes, etc.
-  Motivation
   - Smile, pictures, and track progress
I will be taking a picture of myself every week on Sunday for the next 4 months.

This is just the beginning...  This is going to be life changing but as a way to measure progress I'm putting an end date at June 1st 2012.

Working-out includes: 1 hour morning everyday (alternating groups of muscles and a bit of cardio), elliptical 2 hours a week (20 or more minutes at a time) and yoga on Tuesday's.  I may also be doing martial arts at night and I love to dance so of course I dance all over the place...

Eating right: This mean's picking the right foods. Bread is a killer... THERE'S SO MANY other ways to get carbs! Eat protein and fats with vegetables, eat fruits by themselves, and eat every 3 or so hours. Have regular protein shakes... And aviod sugar at ALL cost.  You and I both know that you ALWAYS regret it when you eat sugar... ALWAYS. Even if you think you won't... you always do. Sugar is a drug... it even comes in a powder.

Supplements: whey protein, pre and post workout supplements, multi-vitamin, and MSM (my knees and other joints often hurt for inexplicable reasons)

Motivation: As I said before I will be taking a picture of myself every Sunday and posting my progress for 4 months!  I will also be putting up quotes and pictures of the kind of person I want to be.  I will also smile and encourage myself everday.

We all know the hardest part of doing what we want in life is JUST DOING IT.  It requires us to push past our own fears and anxieties and dig down deep.  It's easy to day dream, it's harder to actually live what we dream, and that's what makes it worthwhile.

Here's my quote of the month: "Don't give up your birthright for a pot of porridge" - Now I need to explain a little. In the bible a man gives up his birthright for a simple pot of porridge.  We all have the right to be healthy and happy... don't give it up for another doughnut and don't let yourself down... push through the whole workout. Even if it hurts.

So that's pretty much it. ;) Wish me luck!

un-Common

      Have you ever heard "If everyone is special, then nobody is special."  It's another way of saying that we are all the same, no matter how hard we try to be different.  I actually like this saying! It reminds me that while I'm trying to be different (find the things that make me special) so is everybody else.  Our society puts so much pressure on "being different from the crowd" that it's hard not to want to be unique.  To me, the things that usually make someone unique is what they want to do with their life (a goal of some sort), which usually produces amazing accomplishments.  These accomplishments are what people look at and say, "Wow! If only I could do that!" 
         Movie stars, famous singers, or even past Presidents of the United States have found what they want to do with their life, and made goals to accomplish it.  Everyone remembers these people because they succeeded in reaching their goal! But the most memorable of these where the ones who reached their goal of becoming something and then pushed even further.  For example; there have been many movies stars, but there is only one Shirley Temple; there have been many presidents, but there is only one Thomas Jefferson.  Where would we be without Einstein or Newton!?
        Another way of thinking of this would be reaching your full potential. If someone wants to become something they have to decide what they want to do (set a goal) and make a clear cut plan to achieve it.  It's my new goal to find what I truly love and STICK TO IT!  It still takes hard work and effort (neither Shirley Temple nor Thomas Jefferson became famous over night [not that I'm looking for fame]) to become what you want and feel accomplished. Just think, if everybody was trying to reach their full potential (nobody was settling with getting the least out of life) our world would be a different place.  If we all tried just even a little harder to be a little better and found what we truly wanted to do in life and STUCK TO IT... our world would be an AMAZING place!!!! So let's make all those aliens jealous.

Healthy

What with all the junk food, processed breads, sugars at every corner, and dairy galore its hard to eat healthy.  I also sit a lot when I watch movies or when I'm on the computer or even just doing homework.  Every time I try a new diet or some plan it fails, horribly.  I believe my problem was that I did not have that great of a "game plan".   So here it is, my new game plan! I'm cutting out A LOT of stuff, so it might sound a little crazy;
I believe that if I exercise everyday (except Sunday's) down at our local gym, don't eat unhealthy/unnatural foods such as bread products (unless labeled whole wheat and has VERY few ingredients), sugars, dairy products (soy milk does not count), junk food (fast food, pizza, candy, etc.), or carbonated drinks, don't watch TV or hang out on computers (unless necessary by school or this blog), and if I don't stay up passed 10 then i will feel healthier, have less acne (before the date on my prescribed topical medications which is 12 weeks) and keratin bumps, feel happier, and be able to think better before the end of my Junior Year (end of May 2011).
That is about 8 things i have to try to do everyday.  If I can change my health lifestyle in a year... I think i could probably do anything. I will also use this website to help be better preform this experiment http://www.healthalternatives2000.com/vitamins-nutrition-chart.html

Smart

Each day I am faced with another thing to challenge my mental capabilities. A test in Math, a quiz in AP World History, or perhaps more fundamental homework for Honors Biology. Mmm... wonderful. Who am i to complain? I signed up (perhaps enlisted is the better word) for these classes. I was born into this country... the good ol' USA and i am truly proud of it but sometimes our governments ideas for education are a little beyond my comprehension and I am the one living it (along with the other millions of children and teens), everyday. I want to know truly the facts, no bias, no messed up charts.. just the plain and simple facts.

Here in Utah we hear a lot about the No Child Left Behind Act passed by former President George W. Bush. The Act requires states to develop assessments in basic skills to be given to ALL students in certain grades, if those states are to receive federal funding for schools. The Act does not assert a national achievement standard; standards are set by each individual state. Many argue that local government had failed students, necessitating federal intervention to remedy issues like teachers teaching outside their areas of expertise, and complacency in the face of continually failing schools. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Child_Left_Behind_Act) To me the NCLB has both good and bad points. Good: everyone is on the same level. Bad: Teachers or Parents often blamed for child's lack of responsibility or smarts. Entire classes held back to accommodate the needs of a child.

We (People of Utah) also have been hearing quite a bit about Chris Buttars' (Utah State Senator) plan to remove the 12th grade. Personally i think it would do more harm then good. It would add more stress on children an teens as they cram more education into less time. Recess and gym (activity levels) have been cut back significantly in a child's and teen's life since the beginning of the 1900's and making children and teens cram more into 11 grades than ever before (and believe me, we are cramming enough into 12) this causes sleep problems (late homework nights) which is clinically linked to weight and mental problems. But... the state does save money which is something we need right now in our current economy.

I both envy and despise (at different times of course) Japan and China's education systems. Children go to school 6 days a week from around 8 am and classes go on into the evenings. They are smart! With all the pressures of having the American Life or American Dream in America it's hard not to just want to go home, sit down with your burger from McDonald's, and watch a good episode of House or American Idol instead of doing homework. But this is America.. either you try or you don't... there is no in-between, be the best or be an amateur.

Dash Poem

How did you live your dash?

I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning...to the end.

He noted that first came her date of birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years. (1934 -1998)

For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth...
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own;
The cars...the house...the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard...
Are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left,
That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
To consider what's true and real,
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,
And more often wear a smile...
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy's being read
With your life's actions to rehash...
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?