Christmas! You Messed Up My Diet!

It's now after Christmas Day and I am officially off the vegetarian diet. It went pretty well I must say, I really did have cravings of a juicy rare steak and some fried chicken but I was able to handle myself and not cave in. The bad thing though coming out of being a vegetarian on Christmas Eve is that family gets together and we all eat. Feeling completed liberated with food, I thought I would have a moment of eating meats and my favorite dishes only my mother can make.

Could be all of the salt and water I'm holding in but I went on the scale today and have gained 5lbs. Oh my god! I totally relapse with food. I managed to keep control over food the past 2 weeks but it only takes 2 days to kick you off balance again. You can workout as much as you want but diet is everything for success. Definitely need to cut my portions these few weeks and work my ass off in Insanity and the treadmill.

Temporary Vegetarian

So I think it's time to do another quick goal. Starting today I will be vegetarian up through Christmas Eve. I know it's not a long time (2 weeks) but I really do love to eat meat so I'm sure I can't go that long without it. Obviously, I'm not doing this for political reasons since this is only temporary. As much as I'm all about trying to get fit, I may or may not lose weight during this diet but that is not the case I'm doing it. I think I'm doing it mainly for myself, I am totally building willpower and to have that control over yourself is kind of an accomplishment.

I have finished the whole 63 Insanity program so really for me to complete that with no skip days at all makes me feel like I can just about do anything. Also to set small goals for yourself is what I think everyone should do. You always feel that self achievement when you finish, even though some may not think of that way; it's your personal goal and you and only you did it for yourself.

New Camera, More Fun

So, I just came back recently from a trip to China for my best friend's wedding. (Side note: Please check out my travel blog about the trip. http://otistravels.wordpress.com.) I brought with me my camera which is a Canon S100. I love the camera, I thought it took great pictures and pretty easy to use. For some reason the 2nd day of the trip my camera failed on me and gave me some lens error so unfortunately had to use my iPhone to take remaining. Well when I got back I bought a new camera, a Canon G16. I only had a couple days playing with it but I went out with my cousins and had a mock photo shoot around Des Moines. Here are some pictures...

Random Angry Dieting Thoughts

There are a lot of thoughts that comes through my mind. Currently since I'm in my whole healthy kick of dieting and exercising. Here are a few of them.

• Annoying when people are giving diet tips that are obviously not taking their own advice. I didn't ask for any help and I'm continuously losing weight and you are not... 

• When you think you found a workout partner but they end up actually come out very unmotivated and actually hurting your own progress.

• I feel almost paranoid that people are out there hoping you fail and get fat again so they don't feel obligated to lose the weight too.

• People come out looking at you thinking you're some inspiration and asking you for help but then you find out later that night they're eating a bucket of fried chicken and on their 10th cocktail.

• I hate having to buy new clothes because all your current clothes are too big for you but you're not at the goal you want to be so you're going to have to buy more later again. I'm poor!

• A little embarrassing when you're going through your Instagram feed someone looks over to see a real muscle-ly dude on your screen. Don't get it twisted, I follow some health people and sometimes they take douchey pictures.

• People would always try to push bad food your way and thinking that just a little wouldn't hurt. I know it really doesn't but don't play with my will power it's really not that strong. If I said NO to you the first time I most likely won't say it again the second time. 

• Oh, how did I do it? Diet and exercise. Who knew that it actually works right? 

List of 35 Before 35

I’ve started a list for myself of “35 Before 35” which is basically that, a list of 35 that I want to accomplish before turning 35. My list isn’t completed with 35 goals so I’m not going to post it to this entry but I really do think it’s a list that everyone around my age should do. We’re no longer young but not too old so this is the time of no excuses that if we want to do something, it’s NOW. So far most of my goals have been set on my health and travel. Definitely want to make traveling a high priority. I just want to see the world, experience culture, and eat everything in sight. I really want you to think of a list for your own. It definitely is self motivating and crossing out goals would just make it more self gratifying. Stay positive, that’s the only advice. Things may be a little farfetched but not everything on your list needs to be big goals. Also If you haven’t already please follow my other blog otistravels. I do plan on traveling quite a lot in the near future and it’s a blog strictly dedicated to that. I am trying to work on that blog much more than my personal blog here so if there are any suggestions to make it better let me know. ---------------------------------- http://otistravels.wordpress.com/

Workout Mode is Still Going Strong

Goodness, it's been so long that I've made an entry on here! I really don't know what to talk about. I've at my new position at work for a couple months now and I'm already kind of getting bored of it. I didn't realize there was so much data entry involved. I've still been on the whole workout thing with Insanity, which by the way I have completed all of 63 days of it.

So now work has this whole "Get Fit" thingy so of course I want to be part of that. I didn't even give myself a break from Insanity program at all. After my final fit test I've done on the last Sunday I just went ahead the next day did week one of Insanity again and still going at it. I'm going through the calendar again but skipping the Fit Test days and doing cardio abs after each pure cardio routine. I just feel like I should step up my game and I don't need to check my status of how I do on the fit test anymore... Well maybe I will think about it on my 3rd run. Also I'm going to skip one week of the first month so I can do a complete month 2 just in time before China. I'm really dedicated with trying to be a better person physically but I still can't diet all that well.

Yes I am counting calories using MyFitnessPal but there will be days where I would just say, "eff it, it's a special occasion" and would eat more than my allotted calories. It's definitely not all the calories, I would most of the time be under calorie but what I'm eating is just not good for your body. I consume a lot of sodium and bad fatty foods. I really cannot stop myself from going back to it, which I know if you're good at portion control you can still be okay but I'm not so great with that either. I have lost a little over 20lbs now and of course I do want to lose more so that's why I have continued the Insanity routine. Just thinking about skipping a day I would feel so damn lazy so I always force myself to do it. Even on my Sunday "Rest Days" I feel really lazy so there will be weekends that I would jump on the treadmill for a few minutes to get some kind of workout in. I really want to lose the weight I've gained in the past few years, going through what I've been through and actually paying attention to the scale have made me realize how bad I let myself go. I really want to continue this journey, hopefully I can be at a point where I'm comfortable to take off my shirt in public. I still feel very far away from that...

Life's Good

I've been pretty good lately. I've been able to save some money, I definitely can do better but I do what I can. I have been dieting and I've been pretty okay with it. I do have days where I slip and eat something I shouldn't but I'm pretty much in line with it and I have lost some weight. I have purchased the Insanity program and currently on week 3 and haven't skipped out on a day. The biggest thing is that I recently got a promotion. I haven't really done any of the work as of yet but it's a pretty nice pay increase and that's pretty much all we look for right?

I hope everything just stays this way and keeps going the way they are. 

Insanity Workout

Before I say anything else, I want to say I'm not promoting this or anything. I've seen a lot of people out there become spokes person for Beachbody and it's workout videos and I just want to clear the air and say that I'm not one of those people.

You know you've seen those informercials late a night for Insanity with Shaun T and he would explain it's a difficult workout that changes your body that would normally take 1 year to just only 60 days. It's pretty intense workout that's based heavily on cardio and I was very intrigued. I went ahead and went to the beachbody website and made my own purchase of Insanity. I will be starting this on Monday July 8, 2013 and what I did was watch the very last day's video. It really is fucking intense and I am a little scared of what I am getting myself into. I know I shouldn't expect to be doing what they're all doing on day 1 but it does make me nervous a little. After watching the whole hour long session of that workout, I think I should really look at it to what I should strive to work for. To really make myself into a better person physically. I really hope I can keep dieting throughout this 60 days and keep up with most of the workout.

I am not overly obese (in my opinion) but in the informercials and stuff I see for it, the people are not really big. Maybe a little bulge here and there but they're in a condition they can do a little bit more work and burn that off. I do have more than the people on TV but maybe that's because it is TV and they need better looking people to sell their products. I was a little hesitant about it but after doing some research and reading up on some message boards there are people like me or even bigger who have started this workout and are struggling but are keeping at it. I am serious about losing weight and striving for a better body so I will continue on this journey for a better self.

Day One in a few days! Wish me all luck!

Bad Few Days

For some reason, I'm a little annoyed. Nothing really specifically bothered me today or this weekend but some reason I am upset. If I was a female I would easily blame this on PMS or something but I'm not. It's just one of those couple days where every little thing that I would typically just brush off is just picking it's way into me. I should be excited, new things are coming my way. Heading to China in the end of the year, Europe the next and attempting to live a more healthier lifestyle. 

I'm sure it's just a few bad days and I'll get over it but it's really annoying when you feel you can't let things go. 

I'm FAT - Jawbone UP and Myfitnesspal

I am fat. I am sick of it and so I decided to change it. I am currently dieting and working out and trying to be more active. Of course being the techie person that I am, I'm using some Apps that will help me along the way. Currently I am using myfitnesspal and also the Jawbone Up. I've had the Jawbone up before but with the fail product they released before I wasn't able to take advantage of it before. I do now have the updated product and it seems to be working pretty well for me.

If you're not familiar with the Jawbone UP. It's pretty much a fancy pedometer that also monitors your sleep and food intake which all syncs with your mobile device. The app i'm using is myfitnesspal and it's a pretty handy tool. It's basically a calorie counter but in order for it to work for you, you need to constantly input your data of everything you consume so it can tell you what and how much you should eat. What's great about these 2 things are that both apps talks to each other so all the workout and calories burned on Jawbone up reflects of how many calorie intake I can have that day on myfitnesspal. I've only been using these products for about almost a month and currently I've lost 6 lbs. Of course I would love to lose weight faster but I just have to keep it consistent. 

I know losing weight is hard to do but you have to keep at it. 

Just a quick snap on my webcam of the Jawbone Up

Europe 2014

So it looks like it's really happening, I'm planning a trip next year August to Europe. I can't stress how excited I am about this trip. I've been researching and saving up and now that I have finally found people to go with, it brings joy.

I know I've been a pretty bad blogger but I think future entries will definitely be about Europe since it will definitely be on the brain.

Vegas February 2013

It's been a month and some I keep forgetting to post this I went to Vegas the last week of February and this is my trip. I really didn't get the greatest footage while I was there but this is what I put together.

Got Nothing

I have nothing to write about. Will thing of something soon, my life has been pretty boring so nothing at this moment.

Winter Blues

Not much have been on my mind lately. I’ve been on auto-pilot since I’ve been back from my trip in Vegas. I’ve been meaning to put together a video but it’s not happening anytime soon. I just don’t feel like doing the work of editing right now. I’ve been just going to work, eat, nap, watch tv, sleep and the same thing again. The weather here in Iowa has been horrible It’s the end of March and we’re still getting high of 30 and we’re still getting snow. When it’s not snowing it’s real cloudy and gloomy so we hardly ever see the sun. It’s fucking depressing and I am very tired of it and I’m so ready to see green grass and sun again. The forecast is saying by the end of this week it will ready mid 50s so that is looking a little better than what we’ve been experiencing. I just really hope it’s the end of winter. I’m so fucking sick of warming up and removing snow off my car in the morning. I hate winter.

Alicia Keys "Brand New Me"

I have Alicia Key's song "Brand New Me" on repeat. I've always been such a fan since I've heard her first single "Fallin'" and she never seems to disappoint when she comes out with a new album. Below is the video for her latest single on VEVO.

Sharing to the Public

I don’t know what it is but I really have a problem with throwing out this blog into the public world. I mean this blog is shared publicly and is on my Bios and Profiles on all of my social networking sites but I can’t get myself to tell people to go read my blog. Stop by my blog. Check out what I wrote about (insert topic). I guess I feel like I can get too personal in my entries and I do have issues with people getting too close or knowing too much about me. I really don’t mind sharing to strangers who happen to fall into my site but to people I actually know in real life is kind of weird to me, and to know they would be reading and knowing more about me than what I put out to them in real life.


Maybe it’s a part of me also that I’m not confident about my writing and would hate to be criticized for something I’m usually proud of. Any tips or suggestions?

Glasses

So during the Holiday break I went to get my eyes checked and of course I came out with needing glasses. I was for sure I needed them because I would always have difficult time seeing especially small text or far distance. It finally took me probably a week and half ago to actually go and buy me a pair of frames and lenses. It feels nice to watch TV from my bed without squinting to see what I'm watching. Why did I take so long when I had insurance for quite a long time? I suck at life sometimes.

Master Cleansing

So I haven't let everyone around me know, but I have started the Master Cleanse. I'm not sure if you know what that is but basically it's a fast. You drink a lemon mixture with maple syrup and cayenne pepper for 10 days also going through a sea salt water flush in the mornings.

I'm doing it mostly to clean out my system, being how horrible I eat I wanted to start over on everything. Also losing some weight is just another perk of it as well. I am overweight and love food so this will be difficult for me but I'm determined to get through this. I do need to work on more self control as I have issues with spending money and eating so this will prove to me that I do actually have some will power.

Currently it's near the end of day 2 and I am okay. I'm not starving hungry right now but believe me, I can eat. A juicy steak, fried chicken, mashed potatoes... oh my god I'm just thinking about it now, maybe I'll make an other mixture in a little bit. Oh and by the way Instagram is not a place to go if you're fasting. People posting all of their meals just makes it more difficult.

Posted with Blogsy

Project: Vegas 2013

So fun thing that’s coming up that I’m excited for is Las Vegas and this time I will not be going with my gambling addict uncle. I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a big gambler but I am a food lover and I’m planning to eat a lot during this trip and eating things that I just can’t get here in Des Moines. Most of the time when I travel I would yelp the whole location and see what’s up and what I people suggest. I’m really happy that I would have more freedom on this trip and hang out with my cousins! I’ll be heading there the end of February for a few days so hopefully that’s enough time to get the most out of it. I’ve been there several times so it’s not like there’s much that’s new there. Hopefully I can get completed drunk and do Vegas like it should. Anyone got suggestions or tips this time around? Any input is good!

2013 This is the Year to Save to the Extreme

Now that it's a new year, I gotta really get on that saving thing that I've been talking a lot about but not really following up with. If I'm planning on going to Europe in 2014 I really got to get it together and really work harder to get this. The thing though is that I really don't have anyone to go with. I've been discussing this with several people and it doesn't seem like anyone is willing to make this commitment with me or they're already way deep in debt to even consider a big trip like this. I am thinking around the time of Spring 2014 and I'm too scared to take this trip by myself. If I get lost, or overwhelmed with the language barrier I would at least want to do have someone else with me in the same boat. I've been eyeing Contiki Trips that people actually go with these tours by themselves, as much fun as that seems and to have people from the US to possibly go, it's more than I would like to spend on this hopefully traveling on a shoestring that I was originally wanted to do. I want to get lost in town and experience what locals do what I read in books and blogs about surviving out there with very little money. I want to do this real bad. I hope to save up a lot of money at least and try to pull money together with someone to take on this adventure with me.