Yoga is Over!

Alright, so my last yoga class was Nov. 1. I'm kind of sad - the teacher was very good and I enjoyed going to her class. However, at the same time I'm sort of happy. The class was an hour and a half, and it seemed too long. I kept going low around half way through. By the last few weeks I had a strategy figured out (eat something for supper, don't do ANY insulin until after the class) but it made me go a little too high (up around 13 mmol/L).

Another thing I will miss is that now I no longer have a guaranteed hour and a half of working out per week. The last few weeks I've barely done anything (from midterms and whatnot), but now I'll have to get back into the groove.

Wow, was I excited!

Okay, so with school and whatnot, I haven't been doing a whole lot, working out-wise. So I was quite excited when I jumped on the scale today and found out I had lost a few lbs! Yes, I have been trying to eat alright. But I haven't really used the Self Diet Club in probably a few weeks now, so I really wasn't keeping track of anything. Plus, as I said, I haven't really worked out much over the last few weeks. But I have managed to get 2 lbs closer to my goal weight - plus I am now at a BMI of 26! (An even 26!) So that's really encouraging (I'm trying to get it down to the healthy range). Go me!

Blast Off Belly Fat

Okay, so today I decided to try my 10 Minute Solution Blast Off Belly Fat. I bought this a while ago, but only used it once or twice because I also got the Fitness Ball workout around the same time, and I was using it more.

So today I decided to give this one a whirl. Well, I sure felt it! I think the first few times I tried the Flat Belly Fast segment, and it was pretty good. Today I tried the Belly Fat Blaster and the Ab Ripper. The Belly Fat Blaster was really good - it's a segment for burning calories so you'll eventually be able to see your chiseled abdominals. The Ab Ripper was alright, but I didn't like it as much.

As to the instructor, Suzanne Bowen, I liked her a lot. Not as much as Kimberly Spreen from the Fitness Ball Workout, but still, she was motivating and friendly enough without seeming too friendly.

Also, the segment seemed to pass pretty quickly, so I was rather happy about that. Hopefully I'll have sleek and sexy abs in no time!

The Last 10 Days

Alright, this holds true for a while before the last 10 days (most likely since school started) but I really wasn't working out. I think the only consistent thing was yoga, and we didn't end up going to that last Thursday.

Yes, I have been sort of busy. Thanksgiving happened, and then this past week my brother came home for the weekend. So it was harder to fit a workout in. Plus I felt extremely tired, which just made me not want to workout at all.

So this week, I have decided to try to move my workout back to the afternoons. This seemed to work all summer, and I do have time every afternoon, as long as I'm not working. So now I'm going to come home, have lunch, then workout (and after that have a shower so I'm not all sweaty from my workout).

So today was my first day trying this and it seems to me like it'll work. I'll have to see how I feel after a week or two of trying this though!

Tonight's Yoga Class

Wow, tonight's yoga class sort of sucked. My body really didn't feel like doing anything! I could barely support myself in a few of the poses (we did a couple where first your elbow then your hand supported your body). On top of that, I went quite low (not too surprising, as I've been fighting to bring my glucose level down all day - so of course when it came down, it crashed down!) I'm a bit sore too, after a few of the poses that we did.

My mom thinks that the poses are getting harder as we get further into the class. This would make sense as to why both of us had trouble with them - we're both still new at yoga!

So anyway, I hope next Thursday is fun....the way last week's class was! (We played on the giant exercise balls! So much fun!)

My New Plan for Exercising

Okay, so ever since school started, I haven't been exercising as much. (This week has been particularly bad because Halo 3 came out - I was playing that whenever I had free time). But I think I've come up with a plan for working out that should work alright with my school schedule.

I have class all day both Tuesday and Thursday, and then Wednesday night as well. So as long as I am not working, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday are pretty much the same as during the summer. I'll be able to workout in the afternoon, which is the time I like working out. Sure I'll have school things to worry about, too. But at least I'll be able to workout at a time I like working out, and at which I usually feel like working out.

So, what about Tuesday and Thursday? Well, thanks to the yoga class for the next 5 weeks or so, I do workout on Thursdays. So I have decided to leave Tuesday as a day of rest for exercising for now. Once yoga is over, I'll have to re-evaluate what I am going to do on Tuesdays and Thursdays. But I think this should work for now.

Yoga!

My mom and I have been taking a yoga class these last 3 Thursdays and it's a lot of fun! We took a class last year at the same studio (www.restingfrogyoga.com) but this year we have a different teacher. So far we've really enjoyed the class! It's an all levels class, so even my mom and I, who have only taken one other yoga class, are able to do everything no problem - we're encouraged to try harder things, but it's totally okay if you can't.

My one problem with the class is that it's a bit long at an hour and a half. Personally, I feel an hour would be better, especially for my diabetes (I went low last week near the end of class - I was okay this week because I didn't correct my supper glucose of 9.5 mmol/L and I was okay).

Tone Trouble Zones!

This is the newest dvd that I have added to my collection, and wow am I glad I did! I have used it twice so far; both times I experienced an intense workout! Like the other 10 minute Solution dvds, this one has 5 10 minute segments which you can mix and match as you see fit.

So far, I have only tried the Butt and Theigh Blaster, and the Sleek & Sexy Ab segments. Both times I tried this dvd, I was planning on doing 30 minutes, but instead I ended after doing the ab segment - it's really intense!

Needless to say, I can't wait to try out the other 3 segments....but after I've given my body a bit of a rest!

I Think It's time to Redefine My Exercise Goals for the Next While

So, as I originally stated, my goal was to get down to 160 lbs by June 1st of 2007. That didn't happen, so I have been sort of thinking to make June 2008 the new goal date.

However, I am having a little bit of trouble deciding what to focus on. Yes, I want more defined arms, but that is the least important of the areas I would like to shape up. The top two problem areas are my theighs and abs.

I do not consider myself big - if you were to look at me, I look normally proportioned. However, my theighs rub together a bit when I walk. It's funny that I never really thought anything of this until recently, even though it has been a problem for a number of years now. I have worn through a number of jeans on the theighs, and I would like to prevent that from happening to the new pairs that I bought coming home from writing the GRE.

The other area I would really like to improve is my stomach. If I stand tall, my stomach looks not bad. But I think I slouch a bit in normal, everyday life. Plus I would love to look good in shirts that are a bit tight on the mid section.

So, having discussed my two bigger problem areas, I think it might be a good idea to focus on getting my theighs toned and slimmed down a little bit. I think that they are the area where I carry excess weight, so it would probably be in my best interest to try to shape then up. Plus I'd rather not wear through any more jeans in the near future.

I will still work on my abs a bit, but I am going to try to concentrate on my theighs for the next while, and see if that helps my progress a bit.

I Think It's Time To Try Something New . . .

Well, during the last month, my weight has been yo-yoing around 185 lbs. I think I was 184 last week, and now I'm 186 today. I know that I haven't been working out all the time like I was before school, so I have to find time to fit it in (well, that was one of the goals of this school year anyway - develop healthy habits in preparation of going away next year). Also, since school has started, I've had a major disruption in my schedule - now I am up in the morning some days, when before I rarely was; this means that I then have an extra meal (a real breakfast in the morning) that I rarely had during the summer. To compensate during the summer, I had a planned, larger snack in the evening as I was up anyway (my dietician recommended this).

I also need to find a new workout time; during the summer I was working out in the afternoon, but that doesn't work when I have classes in the afternoon. Maybe I'll have to do a workout in the evenings on days with afternoon classes. I'll have to try out different times, and see what works and what doesn't.

What's Been Happening since My Last Post

Well, the biggest thing that has happened since last weekend is that I wasn't feeling very well, starting around this past Thursday. I think it has been mostly caused by a lack of sleep - partially from not being used to getting up for classes, and partially from my cat insisting on being fed extremely early! Normally my parents feed her, but they were away for almost two weeks, so she had to come and wake me up!

So anyway, I'm feeling a bit better....and just in time for a new week that'll be even busier than last week!!!

Hurray for Exercise!

I guess I really started getting back on track yesterday with the exercising. I was at my aunt's house for dinner, and afterwards my cousin and I played some DDR. Well, not just some DDR, but 6000+ steps worth of DDR. Whenever I think of working out, I usually forget that DDR is a great way to get your daily exercising in without feeling like you are exercising.

So anyways, today I decided to do a half hour of strength training, using the routine from Prevention's Get Moving. I was rather tired, and in the middle of a good book that I'm reading for school (Beowulf), and I didn't really want to work out. But wow was I glad I did! I felt like a million bucks afterwards!

Getting Back on Track: What's Happened Since Tuesday

Alright, so what has happened since Tuesday?

I had wanted to start using my pedometer again, but so far I keep forgetting. I haven't been sleeping very well lately (and my cat keeps waking me up early!) so I often get up and remember a lot later. But hopefully I can get back into the habit again soon!

The one thing I have been really good with has been the Self Diet Club. Since the weekend, I have been able to get back into entering everything online (and I even managed to lose a pound!)

So the last thing that I need to get back on track with is exercising. This past week, I've barely done anything! Of course, it doesn't help that I've been so tired, as I then don't feel like exercising when I have the time! So hopefully, over the weekend I can start getting back on track with that, too.

Of course, I'll need to work on integrating exercise with studying....

First Day of Classes!

Well, today was my first day of classes. I went to three of the four that I am signed up for, and so far, I think this year is going to be a lot of fun! I am taking mostly English classes, with one Sociology class; this year is really different, as I am not taking any Psychology classes (Psych is my major).

I am especially excited for the writing course that I managed to get into; it sounds like it will be quite interesting! The only one I'm a bit worried about being overwhelmed with is the 1st year English class: I have to read Beowulf in its entirety by next Thursday! Hopefully it isn't a struggle to get through!

Getting Back on Track Once Again

Alright, today (well, later today) I am going to get back on track once again. You see, this past weekend has been brutal for my exercising and healthy eating habits: it was my bro's last weekend in town before he heads back to school in Toronto, so of course it was a weekend of partying!

Saturday night was the big party, which was a night of drinking, eating cookies and cheezies, and fun! However, we (everyone who stayed the night at my house) went to sleep rather late, then got up rather earlier than I normally do to go to breakfast. So in the middle of the afternoon, I ended up having a nap instead of exercising.

Then today, my Aunt invited me over for supper at her house. So I got up a bit late in an attempt to catch up on sleep, and after cleaning out the fridge and whatnot (I wanted to see what groceries I should get to help me get back on track) I went to their house and stayed until about 11 pm. I had wanted to work out a bit tonight, but now it's a bit late and I feel like I should try to catch up on sleep a bit first.

The other thing I haven't been using is the Self Diet Club. I haven't recorded my meals all weekend. So I'm also hoping to get back to using that tomorrow.

Finally, I think I'm going to try to use my pedometer again. I haven't used it in a couple of months.

Last Day at the Dollar Store!!!!

Yesterday was my last shift working at the Dollar Store!!!! I started working in the snack bar at the Dollar Store at the end of May as I was in need of a summer job. I was a bit frustrated with it at times (I almost quit part way through the summer) but I am proud of myself for sticking with it! Now I can happily put this experience on my resume!

Prevention Dance Yourself Thin

Okay, I've had this dvd for quite awhile, but I had never done the full thing altogether in one sitting before yesterday.

I really like the instructor, Marie Forleo. She's a lot of fun and very encouraging (this isn't the only dvd I have with her, but it was the first one that I got with her). Sometimes I'll do a different workout, then use this video for the cool down.

That being said, however, the actual dances are not my favourites. They're fun, but they're a bit hard. There's this one move that I had a really hard time getting the footwork on (and to make it worse, my brother was making fun of me so I didn't go back to it for several months).

There are 2 dances that are each 15 minutes, which is a bit long in my opinion. I prefer the 10 minute dances personally - there's a bit more variety when you stack them together - 3 in a half hour instead of 2.

So to reiterate: the dvd is fun and I like the instructor, but it isn't my favourite dvd in the world.

Self Diet Club Member!

Well, my free trial of the Self Diet Club finished a few days ago. But thanks to my mom getting me a subscription of Self Magazine, I get to remain a member of their diet club!

Originally, I was thinking that I would stop with the 30 day trial. But since I was getting some results, I started thinking that it might be a good thing to stay with until I reach my goal weight of 160 lbs (plus it might be able to help me maintain my weight at first, too!

Getting Back on Track

Well, due to my brief trip to Minneapolis, which was then followed by Mom and Dad's 25th Anniversary party yesterday, I haven't really worked out for the last four days. While in Minneapolis, I HAD workout stuff with me (I brought a workout dvd and my resistance bands) but I didn't have enough time to workout - due to studying, shopping, and travelling in general. But overall, I ate extremely well for travelling (and I had a few really awesome salads!!!) But yesterday, I neither ate well nor exercised.

So today was my first day working out again. I didn't do a whole lot today as I had to work at the Dollar Store, but what I did do felt really good! I did 15 minutes of yoga from my Om Yoga book (I timed the 15 minute segment and it took almost exactly 15 minutes!) Hopefully today will be a good start to a great week! :)

As to my diet for today, I didn't eat super well (I had a piece of cheesecake and a Mike's) but I ate a LOT less than I did yesterday. And other than the cheesecake and Mike's, I ate reasonably well. But I do miss the salads - I had a really good one from Chili's restaurant: Quesadilla Explosion!!!!

http://www.chilis.com/menu/default.asp?catID=5&tierID=61&Unit_ID=001%2E005%2E0205&menuType=Dine+In

The GRE is Over!!!!

Well, I am finally finished the GRE!!!!

I went to Minneapolis to write the GRE on Friday the 24th. My mom and I drove down on the Thursday (I was able to study on the way down there) and we stayed in a very nice hotel located right in the University of Minnesota campus - it was a 10 minute walk from the hotel to the testing building!

So on the day of the test, I studied a little bit during and after breakfast, then went to write the test. All in all, I did alright - I got approximately 19/30 on the verbal section (520) and 14/28 on the mathematical section (490). I won't know how I did on the essay questions for another few weeks.

I'm just happy it's over!!!!!!

GRE Math

Alright, I have less than one week left to go before I write the GRE...and I'm getting quite frustrated with the math. The book that I am studying from has assured me that all I need are the basics - nothing from an intermediate or advanced highschool math class. And I used to be quite good at math. But I haven't done most of these things since highschool, and so I forget them all. Plus the way the questions are worded doesn't help!

I was really frustrated last night with the algebra word problems - my brother went over them with me and I understood them when he showed me how to do them. But when I later attempted the SAME questions by myself, I couldn't for the life of me remember how to do them!!! Eventually I decided to move on to another topic, (which happened to be geometry) which I did a bit better at (and was a bit more fun doing).

Note about the GRE

So, a few nights ago, I decided to look into the different schools that offer my program to see what scores I'd need on the GRE. Well, of the 4 schools that I looked into, 3 of them said I don't need to write the GRE at all! And for the one school that does require it, I only need to write the GRE General - not the Psychology test!

Even though I don't really need to write it, I have decided I still will. I think that I might as well try to keep all doors open to my program, especially since there are so few schools that offer it.

Self Diet Club Update

Alright, so I have 12 days left of my 30 day trial. I've been quite proud of myself for actually keeping up with their food log (Other than the first day, I have entered everything that I've eaten!) It has also been a bit of a learning experience, seeing how much I typically eat on different days. I've found out that when I am hanging out with a certain friend of mine, I usually eat way more than I should. But in a typical day of mine, I usually eat a bit below what the Self Diet Club recommends I eat.

I've also found that, on a typical day, I don't eat a lot of fat, which is great. I think that on average, about 20-25% of my diet is fat (which does still fall short of their recommended 30%).

Also, since starting, I have managed to lose about 6 lbs. It has been kind of nice to see that their 2lb a week plan works! I have to say, their plan has worked quite well. Even when I have to use up some of their recommended calories on sugary things to raise my blood sugar level, I never feel like I am hungry by the end of the day. Way to go Self!

GRE Update

Okay, so I have about a week and a half left before I write it. I'll admit, I'm terrified! This test scares me a lot! (Earlier today, I was going over some math that I thought I knew pretty well and I did really terrible on it - I thought I was going to throw up! Luckily, I didn't).

However, I did some research into the program I want to get into...there are a few Universities that you don't need to write the test for, and all the ones that you do, it's only the General GRE (not the Psychology one). So I'm pretty happy about that!

I also found rough scores needed for one of the schools I'd like to apply to. It looks like I should be okay for the verbal scores (well, I'll put a bit more practice, and definately learn as many words as I can between then and now!). Which leaves my math score. I need to boost it by a bit. But hopefully I can figure everything out by then (I'm going to ask my brother for some help, too!)

As for working out, it hasn't been as big a priority for me the last week and a half. I've been trying to do something every day, but studying has been more important. But to make up for it, I've been trying to bike to work or whatnot, so I'm working out as part of getting to wherever I need to go.

GRE General date set!

Alright, so I finally have a date that I'm writing the GRE general. It's going to be Friday, August 24th. So now that I have a date, I'm going to be studying hard core (I only have 2 1/2 weeks till I write!)

So far, I have read over the strategies for writing the verbal stuff. I have started making flash cards of words I need to learn (I have over 80 made to date). Right now I'm just looking at the high frequency words in my book. After I've started going over the master list, then I'll start adding words from there as well. I'm hoping to start brushing up on mathematical stuff either today or tomorrow at the latest.

Back from Camp!

I'm now back from 3 fun days at camp! On the first day that I got there, I didn't do a whole lot until after supper, when I went fishing. We had a lot of fun and ended up with our limits!

The second day, my mom and I biked to the lake we fished on. It took about an hour, and we went just about 13 km in total! We then walked down to a different lake for a swim. After supper, we went to a nearby Provincial Park for another swim. Right before bed, I did 5 minutes of yoga (from the Om Yoga book).

Today (our last day), my dad and I walked down for a swim; we brought our fishing rods and caught some bass (we were just catching and releasing). We then went for a swim. After supper, we packed up and came home.

I kept track of everything that I ate, so I entered it into the Self Diet Club. Well, I ate over their recommendations. On Saturday, I ate about 2844 calories, Sunday was 2453 calories, and Monday (today) was 2163 calories. I slowly got better, but I could sort of tell that I had eaten a bit more than normal (lol, I'm sure the Mike's Hards didn't help any!)

So all in all, I had a fun weekend. But tomorrow, it's back to normal - both eating and exercise!

Biked to Work!

Today I decided to bike to work. Normally this isn't a big deal, but today I worked at the farthest library from my house within the city. It took me about 40 minutes to get there (and I was going rather fast) due to the mostly uphill journey. It would have taken me 30 minutes to get home due to going mostly downhill, but I met my mom halfway and we took it rather easy coming home. All in all though, it was a great workout and a great day!

Camping!!!!

Yes, I am once again going camping! I will be leaving tomorrow morning sometime (in hopes of getting there in the early afternoon) and coming home sometime on Monday.

Self Diet Club

I signed up for the 30 day free trial of the Self Diet Club (it is free to subscribers) on Monday. So far, I've been quite proud of myself; I've managed to keep track of everything I've eaten from Tuesday till today (I didn't keep track of how much of everything I ate Monday night). Originally I was going to try their plan to lose 1 lb a week, but based on my profile, they recommended I eat WAY too many calories, so I dropped down to the 2 lb a week plan. Well, even that has been a bit too much for me - I've been struggling to eat as much as they recommend! Yesterday I forced myself to eat a bit extra, but today I didn't care (and fell short by about 350 calories). And they recommend that 30% of my diet is fat; I've fallen short on two of the three days so far.

All in all though, this has been quite an informative experience so far. I hope I can keep up with it for the whole month (hopefully this will go over better than the Self Jump Start Diet did back in February and March).

Denise Austin's Boot Camp

Alright, I just tried this dvd today. I bought it on Saturday, and figured I'd give it a shot.

The reason I decided to try this one was after talking to my cousin. She really likes Denise Austin's workouts. I have her dance one, which is awesome after you get used to her personality. (It's a bit hard to explain - she's really upbeat and enthusiastic.....but I guess sometimes it seems she's a little TOO enthusiastic).

So anyway, I decided to try the 20 minute strength workout. Well, this was my first time trying a boot camp workout and man, did I feel it! By the end of the workout, the sweat was pouring off of me!

And the 20 minutes was perfect! If it was longer, it would have been too much (well, I wouldn't have been able to see due to the sweat).

So anyway, the strength segment was pretty good. I'll have to try the cardio and flexibility segments sometime during the next week. :)

I'm Back

Alright, so I'm now back. The funeral was held in the chapel of the Home where my grandfather lived for the last year and a half. It was a very nice service. He was interred later that day.

So (of course) last week I didn't do a whole lot. The first couple of days after he passed away, I helped my mom get things ready for the funeral. The Dollar Store (my second job - the new job I mentioned in May but never said what it actually was) gave me the week off to be with my family. But by Wednesday, everything was ready so I kept my shifts with my other job (the Library).

I fit in a workout or two during the week, but I definately wasn't as active as I have been lately. And I don't think I ate as well as I have lately, either. It wasn't that I ate totally badly. I just ate a lot more (I think my whole family picked at the meat trays a lot!) But I tried to eat fruit as well.

So, long story short, I am trying to get back into my routine now. I went to a friend's house last night and ate rather badly (or too much, anyway). So today I was trying to get back on top of eating right. And I think I did alright! :)

Grandfather

I probably won't be around for the next little while because Two days ago, my grandfather passed away. He passed away peacefully. The funeral is going to be held this coming Friday, so my family is busy right now getting everything ready.

Paintball

Today I went paintballing for the first time ever. I went with a bunch of people from work and it was a lot of fun. While we were beset by a few technical difficulties (no one told me I should wear a long sleeved shirt, and a lot of people who said they were coming didn't show up), we still had a great time. I can't wait to go and play some more!!!

Get Moving Success!

Today marked the end of my first week with the Get Moving Dvd. And I actually stuck with it for the entire week! I did the suggested 20 minute workout every day, which included toning moves, core conditioning, cardio and yoga.

I'm incredibly proud of myself for sticking with it for the entire week! However, next week I think I'm going to switch up the cardio days with other dvds that I have (as I have a nice sized stack of dancing dvds). Plus I might add other workouts to the strength training days to try to shape up a bit faster. But all in all, this dvd was perfect for beginners and a great buy!

The Conclusion of "No Crap for a Week" Week

Well, yesterday was the official last day of "No Crap for a Week" Week. But honestly, I think day 6 is the actual day the week ended, as I ate a fair bit of crap last night. I was over at a friend's house, and I ate some cookies, as well as a piece of cake. I know it is stupid, and I didn't even really want the cookies, but they were in front of me, and over the course of the evening I ate a few. (I also didn't need the piece of cake, but I did want it).

I still believe that this is a rather tough thing to do. Everywhere you look, you see ads for crap that you really don't need. But once I see something, I often find myself craving it (well, depends on whether it is actually in front of me vs. a picture. I don't care about the picture). So I think the best solution for me is to minimize the crap that I eat in a day. I'll have a little something if I must, but I won't go overboard. If I only eat a little bit of crap every second day or so, then I'm doing fine. :) Hopefully in time I won't crave crap when I see it.

I also hope that I'll be able to repeat this week soon, but maybe with the support of my family I'll do better!

The "No Crap for a Week" Week, pt. 2

Alright, so I am now at day 6 of my "No Crap for a Week" Week. Overall I have done okay, but I did have a few lapses.

First of all, we had pepperoni in the house, and I ate a few pieces because I knew they were there. Second, I hung out with one of my friends and ate a few cookies (two I believe). Not earth-shattering, but still. And third, I ate a piece of birthday cake yesterday at work.

So the lesson of the week has been that it is very hard not to eat crap. I think if you have a supportive family who doesn't buy things like pepperoni then you'll have an easier time. Or if you have far better will power than I have. So next time I try something like this, I'll be sure to talk to everyone before I start so I can hopefully be supported by everyone in my house.

Get Moving!

I recently purchased the Prevention DVD Get Moving with Chris Freytag. Yesterday, I tried it out for the first time. It was a lot of fun!

The dvd has pre-selected workouts of 20 or 30 minutes for each day of the week (excluding Sunday, which is a rest day). Thus far I have done the 20 minute Monday workout (yesterday) and Tuesday workout (today).

The Monday workout was strength training/toning for the upper and lower body. Wow could I feel it! It was fast and easy to follow. And as I don't do a lot of strength training, I think I'll start to see some results soon if I keep this up!

Today's workout was a walking cardio segment. I think the actual workout was 15 minutes. It was pretty good, but I think I might change up the cardio days with other dvd's as well (as I have a nice sized library of dance dvds).

All in all, I'm quite happy with this purchase and can't wait for tomorrow's workout!

Om Yoga Update

This is just a quick update about the Om Yoga book. I've been doing the 5 minute workout twice through right before bed every night. It's awesome! I do the last few moves in bed, so I can relax with corpse pose and drift off to sleep! I'm hoping to try the 15 minute workout one of these nights!

The "No Crap for a Week" Week

After last Thursday, I decided to challenge myself to eat no crap for one week straight.

During the day on Thursday, I did extremely good. I didn't eat nything bad for me, and I felt great. After supper, I went to a friend's house and just ate fruit and some popcorn. The trouble happened afterwards, when me and a different friend wanted to hang out and play Starcraft. We stopped at the grocery store and I bought some good-for-me stuff and he bought some crap. Well, when we got back to his place, I ignored all the stuff I bought and ate all the crap!

So when I went home, I decided right then and there that I would challenge myself. One week straight, no crap.

So this is day 3, and let me tell you how hard it's been! The first day everything was alright. But yesterday evening, like everyone wanted me to eat crap!

It started after supper. I went to a new Greek restaurant and had an excellent (healthy!) meal. But when we got back home, my mom had made desert - a pie. And as she has never made pie before, she insisted we try some. (It was excellent, by the way!)

Next, I went to my friend's house to play Starcraft. He had just made a cake, and he insisted I have some before leaving (I almost made it out without having any, but not quite). It was also quite good. I just wish this had happened some other week! (He also had Mike's Hard Berry, which I also love, but I didn't have one).

Today I did reasonably well. The only thing I had was a wanton a friend at work let me have from a new Chinese restaurant. In exchange, I later gave him a carrot.

Home from Camping

Wow, I had a really great weekend out at camp! Other than the bugs, it was really relaxing.

I went swimming on Sunday and Tuesday. The water was really cold when you first started in, but after going under a few times you got used to it. I biked on Monday up the road 5km - it felt like we'd barely gone anywhere, but we ended up going about 10km in total!

We went fishing Sunday and Monday evening. Sunday night was rather miserable, but Monday night was great! The water was calm, there was very little wind, and everyone caught a few fish. :)

After fishing both nights, we played crib. It was great fun, playing team games. I also found out that I'm not a super big fan of junk food anymore - it just doesn't taste as good to me anymore.

All in all, a great long weekend. :)

Camping!!!

I'm super excited - after work tomorrow (technically today) I am heading out to camp!!! I can't wait to go fishing!!!!!!

Om Yoga!

A friend of mine recommended this book, Om Yoga Today by Cyndi Lee. As it was in the bargain books section of Chapters for about $5, I decided to pick it up. I am so glad I did!

First of all, the book is bound sort of like a spiral notebook, so you can flip to any given page and the book will stay open. This is awesome, as you can leave it on the floor while you are practicing yoga and it'll stay on your page! This is a lot better than having to prop the book open with something so you don't lose your page.

I also like the author's philosophy that you should fit in what you can - don't worry if you only have a few minutes. The book is split up into different segments which you can do, depending on how much time you have. If you only have 5 minutes, there's one routine. But if you have longer (like 15, 60 or even 90 minutes) there are longer routines. Oh, and the routines all build on each other - the 15 minute routine incorporates the 5 minute routine, etc.

I've found that this book is a lot easier than a yoga dvd for people like me who are relatively new to yoga - you can go at your own pace so you don't get lost. Plus the diagrams, though stick people, are still really helpful. All in all, this was a great buy!

Centennial Park Mountain Biking!

I've been on top of the world the last few days: I've been out to Centennial Park twice to bike the trails!!!!

I think Centennial Park is one of the greatest places to bike around town; it's so much fun! Back in high school, some of the bike team races would be held out there, which is when I first started biking there. While I can't get up Hydro Hill anymore (that'll come with more practice), I can still get around in reasonably good time.

I'm planning on going out there once or twice a week all summer, which will be great fun and will get me in better shape (especially my lungs - the first time up Hydro Hill it was my lungs that made me stop, not my legs).

Yay! New Job!!!

Well, I can happily say that my money worries are a thing of the past. My interview today was successful, and I have my first shift on Wednesday!!!!

Things Haven't Been So Hot...

Well, I've been sort of slacking in the exercise department. Yes, I have done some exercising, namely DDR and a bit of biking. But overall I've definately been slacking.

I think part of the problem is that I'm feeling overwhelmed. Right now, I definately think deferring my thesis was a bad idea. I need to study for the GRE, and here I am doing a stupid lit search again. It's really frustrating. Let me tell you, the lit search, in my opinion, is a total turn-off from doing research. Once you get through that and into actually collecting the data, then you're smooth sailing (well, except for the writing parts - those can be rather tiresome, too).

On top of that, I'm looking for a second job. I have an interview tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully that will work out. But then I have to worry about juggling hours with thesis stuff - when am I actually going to have a summer????

Another thing that is on my mind are the novels sitting in my room right now. Stupid me, I keep a list of them. Well, there's 82 books on my bloody list! I'd really like to get through a few of them, but I always think I should do something else instead. Or else I just end up wasting time.

Oh yeah, my laptop's been acting up lately. So even when I want to work on things, I end up having to reboot like 3 times, trying to fix the problem (it's a software problem).

So lately, I've been wasting time, too busy, and eating really badly. Which may have helped make me sick a few days ago. Not my idea of fun times.

I keep thinking that I need to eat better again, and exercise (I don't even like sitting still for long periods unless I'm really into a video game or else reading a novel). But I keep thinking that I don't really feel like it. So I'm hoping I can get some of this other stuff off of my mind, which wil help get me back on track with living healthy.

Lack of Willpower

Okay, Ineed to confess: I seriously lack in the willpower department.

The problem is when something is right in front of me. I might not particularly want it - but I'll often eat it anyway. The worst place is work, when I am on break. If there's cakes or cookies, I'm almost guaranteed to take something. The only thing that has helped is having healthier food with me, but even that doesn't help all the time.

I really don't know what to do about this. I can't always move the food out of sight. And once I know it is there, I'm usually bothered by it until I have something. So if anyone has any suggestions, let me know!

Getting Back on Track

Okay, last week I wasn't quite as active (other than walking around Toronto, I didn't really do much) and I wasn't eaing as well as I should've. So today is the beginning of a new week, and I am going to get back on track with eating right and exercising. Today I did a bit of yoga and my 10 Minute Solution Fat Blasting Dance Mix Ab Attack, (which worked out to about 25 minutes of exercise altogether) so I'm already doing better than I did all weekend.

Also, it was my mother's birthday yesterday and we had a BBQ. I was quite proud of myself: I had one burger, lots of salad and veggies, and I didn't have seconds!!!! (I did have a small piece of ice cream cake though, as well as a bit of the left over salad for snack last night). But overall, I did good! (Well, except that I forgot to do insulin for the cake, so I ended up going high - but that was easily corrected after I did glucose a few hours later).

Toronto Update, part 2

Alright, so this is the final Toronto update, as I am now back home in Thunder Bay. Toronto was a lot of fun and I'm glad I went - but now it's nice to be home.

Yesterday was a lot of fun. My brother took me to Honest Ed's, which is really overwhelming. They have so much stuff!!!! We then went for Suchi at Suchi on Bloor. I'm going to be honest - I am not a big fan of sushi (but it was waaaaaay better than it was at the Sushi Bowl in Thunder Bay). We got teryaki bento boxes, which were really good (although it was sooo much food!)

Afterwards, we went to a Hippie Drum Circle. I wish we could've stayed a bit longer because it was so much fun! (But my bro's friends, whom we were meeting up with were leaving - we talked them into staying for a bit longer, but then we all left). Next time I go to Toronto, I hope I can go back - I love dancing!!!!

Toronto Update

Well, today was my first full day in Toronto. It was a lot of fun. I wandered around the downtown area during the afternoon with a friend (browsing a few of the bookstores). Then for supper, my bro and I went to Fresh, a vegetarian restaurant down the street from where he lives. It was really good! I ordered their urban wrap, which has tempeh in it (some sort of protein product that has a nutty taste). It was the first time I've even heard of tempeh, but it was really good! I totally recommend Fresh to everyone who wants to try something different!

What's Happening: the End of April Update

Well, the most important thing that's happened is that exams are over!!!! I wrote my last one on the 21st, and so one more year of school is done!

Other than that, I have been doing a bit of fun reading (which is great for my mental health - reading is one of my favourite things to do), as well as a lot of walking and biking. I haven't been doing too many exercise videos lately (due to my biking). But I did get a few in from ebay, so I'll be posting about them as soon as I try them out!

Also, I'm off to Toronto for a few days so I most likely won't be exercising too much (although I think I'll be walking quite a bit).

1st Day Biking!!!!!

Well, I finally did it: I took my mountain bike out for for the first time this year!

Last night I checked the weather, and decided to bike to the school (I had a meeting and decided I wanted to save some gas in my car). So I managed to get up and eat early enough, and I was on the trail!

It was really cold on the way to the university, but coming home was really nice (plus it was downhill on the way home, so I made way better time!)

All in all, today has been a great day!

Exercise Goal April Update

Ok, so yesterday I did all my measurements. Back in January, I weighed 189 lbs, and I am now down to 185 lbs! Also back in January, my waist was 33 1/2 inches, and my hips were 40 inches. My waist is now 32 1/2 inches (yay! I lost a whole inch!) but somehow I managed to gain an inch and a quarter (I'm thinking I didn't measure my hips properly back in January - that's kind of weird to gain so much). More importantly though, my BMI is down from 27.12 in January to 26.54 as of yesterday!!! And the really awesome thing is that I've managed to do all this while I've been studying (so I haven't had as much time to work out!) So overall, things are looking pretty good!

As my last exam is this coming Saturday, I'm looking forward to more time to be active - and with a few dvd's on the way as well as summer, things are looking up!

Stem Cell Transplant Helps Treat Diabetes

I was watching CTV news and this story came on:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070410/diabetes_stem_070410/20070410?hub=TopStories

They have a new treatment that has put the Type 1 diabetes of some newly diagnosed people back into remission! Although this doesn't help people like me who have had the disease for years, this is incredibly exciting news!

The treatment involves giving people chemotherapy to weaken their immune system, then giving them stem cells that were harvested from their own bodies prior to chemo to strengthen their immune system. Afterwards, the patients required no medication of any kind - no insulin, no immune suppressants, nothing! This is incredibly exciting news for people with Type 1 everywhere - it may lead to future developments that can help us all!

I want to add a complaint about the way the story was reported though: the lady reporting it (I didn't get her name) made a pretty nervy comment "Why would people want to subject themselves to such a drastic treatment when this is a managable disease." Yes, insulin does help people with Type 1 diabetes manage the disease. But it is far from perfect, and everyone with Type 1 has to worry that down the road they will develop one of many serious and sometimes deadly complications. If I were given the chance to live without taking insulin or other medications (like the immunosuppressants) I'd definately consider "subjecting myself to such a drastic treatment."

Walking!

The last few days, I've done a lot of walking.

On Easter day, my parents and I walked to my grandmother's house for supper - which was a great way to work off all the pie I ate! Then yesterday, my mom and I walked around our house a bit. And today I walked to work. So all in all, it's been a nice couple of days (although it's still a bit cold!)

DDR

Dance Dance Revolution - the greatest game ever invented.

I don't know how many people out there play it, but I absolutely love it!

I bought Ultramix 3 for my Xbox last year after Christmas, and it kept me active through school. I don't play it as much as I did last year, as now I have a ton of exercise dvds, but it's still great to play.

One feature that I really like about Ultramix 3 is that it tracks how many steps you take and how many calories you burn in workout mode. This past week, I played it 3 times, burning about 1500 calories and taking around 26,000 steps! (Last night alone I had over 10,000 steps and burned about 580 calories).

I enjoy just picking and choosing my songs, playing a few on heavy and then going down to standard. But this past week I was playing Quest mode, finally beating a few of the cities in the North (I'm still not sure where the points are coming from though).

All in all, a great workout and a great game!

Hypocrite

Ok, so I'm a bit of a hypocrite. My last post was all about fitting in a 10 minute workout because you always can. Well, all weekend, I've been working on a massive paper that is due tomorrow, and haven't fit in a workout since Thursday. So tomorrow, I can't wait to get back on track, because I really miss being active!

10 Minute Solution: Fat Blasting Dance Mix

Lately, I've been really busy due to school, with the last few projects being due before exams. So I haven't been able to fit in a lot of working out (plus I slept in the two days I was planning on biking to school this week). But the one thing I have had time for: a 10 Minute Workout! Which is why I've found this dvd to be great. I've found that you can almost always fit in a 10 minute workout; it can fit into your schedule when the longer ones can't.

I have to admit, I haven't really tried most of the workouts on this dvd (well, I tried them awhile ago, but only once each). So I can't really say much about them. But the one workout from this video that I've done a lot of this week is the Ab Attack. I've done it on its own, or else at the end of working out either on the exercise bike or after playing some DDR. I might be imagining things, but I think I might be starting to see a little improvement...hopefully all those isolations are starting to pay off!

Workout Update

Well, I think I've gotten back into the workout groove, and all I feel is....tired. This has been a long week due to school (it's the end of the school year, so projects are all due now), and fitting in a workout has been tough. But I've managed to fit one in most days this past week, and I feel good about that. But at the same time, I haven't been getting enough sleep and I've been feeling that all week now.

Other than finish my last big paper this week, (and try to get another draft of my thesis proposal handed in) I'm hoping to get my bike out! This has been a long winter (well, except that there wasn't any snow) and I've been itching to do some real biking for a few weeks now!

Peanut Butter

Ok....I think I might be addicted to peanut butter.

It's not a hard-core addiction (yet). I read about one lady (I think it was in Fitness magazine) who takes jars with her wherever she goes. Thankfully I'm not as hard-core as that. However, I do enjoy eating peanut butter by the tablespoon. Not on anything, just straight from the jar.

I had some about an hour ago, and man, I could sure use some peanut butter now. I've been fighting the urge to go get some more since about 5 minutes after eating it.

So what is it about peanut butter that's just so good? If anyone has any ideas, or just wants to share their stories about it, feel free to comment!

Water

One thing that I have been doing the last few months is making an effort to drink more water. And I am amazed at the difference in the way I've felt!

First of all, I feel really dry if I drink pop. Before I could easily down a couple glasses of say diet 7up. But now, I can drink one, and even then I'll often feel dry afterwards. The same goes for Mike's Hard.

I also used to drink lots of skim milk. Over the last few months, instead of say two glasses per meal, I'll drink only one glass at breakfast, and another one at supper. So now I'm a lot closer to meeting Canada's Food Guide daily recommendation of dairy.

I've also been happy to find that tea seems to work like water, which is perfect for when I need something to warm me up! Although I do still get the odd hot chocolate when I go out for coffee with friends, I seem to be drinking more tea instead, which is also better for me (less sugar=less insulin used, also less calories).

Another thing that I've noticed is around my period. The first day or two, I used to get bad cramps. But now, if I do get cramps, they're easily managable.

So all in all, I think choosing water was a really great thing for me to do!

Fun With Sensors, Part 2

Well, this is three days later. The second sensor did manage to last all three days. And so I went onto the Carelink website (https://carelink.minimed.com/patient/entry.jsp?bhcp=1) and uploaded all the data from the sensor. It's so cool! You can see exactly what your blood sugar did! (And here I thought it was just cool to see it on the meter - seeing it for all three days is awesome!!!!)

Playing around a little bit with the various reports that the website can generate, I got it to generate a report that shows what percentage of blood sugars were too high or too low! The only problem that I had was that it will not give me the data from today. So I'm going to have to re-upload everything after midnight tonight to get that information.

The two problems that I had these last two days mostly concerned the transmitter (thankfully, the sensor was fine). The first was that it kept coming off of my body - I used the sticky-stuff that they gave me with the transmitter to attach it. This stuff was too small, and didn't want to stay. I solved that problem by buying larger stuff, called Tegaderm. Two pieces kept the transmitter in place no problem (while I had gone through about 5 pieces of the other stuff). The second problem that I had was where I put the transmitter - it was right over a part of my abs that move a lot (especially while dancing). I think that might have been part of the first problem - the location was just too terrible. Next time I'll have to be more careful with where I put the transmitter so it will be more comfortable.

Fun With Sensors

So the one and only time that I have used a sensor for my Real Time Transmitter was back before my old pump died. I lost all the settings (and all the data) because I didn't know how to get it off of the old pump. I found out that to get the data off, you have to go through the Link Blood Glucose Monitor. To do so, you have to turn a setting on in your pump. By the time I found this out, my old pump wouldn't let me change any settings so the data was lost forever.

So this time around, I know how to get the data off of my pump AS SOON AS the sensor is finished. The only problem I'm having is actually getting the sensor to work.

The Transmitter came with an insertion device which I'm terrified to use. So I've manually inserted both sensors. The first time went alright - I was with a Diabetes Educator who talked me through it. This second time, however, was like the first time I tried putting an infusion set on by myself: it went wrong.

I'm not entirely sure what went wrong this time. I thought everything was going alright. But within the first minute, it started bleeding. Not a whole lot. But I guess it was enough to screw up the whole sensor.

Two hours later, my pump demanded a blood sugar to calibrate the sensor. That seemed to go alright, but then it kept telling me that the sensor had failed. After seeming to be alright, it demanded another calibration. Then it told me the sensor failed again. At this point, I knew the sensor wasn't going to work, so I took it off, and decided to try again today.

Today, I almost did use the insertion device. But I chickened out at the last minute - I don't want to screw up and waste another sensor. So I manually inserted it again - thankfully this time it didn't bleed.

Of course, this one didn't go perfectly either. I didn't connect it properly, so it kept failing. I took the protective coverings off so I could properly connect it. It seemed ok for a bit, but then it told me the sensor failed. Hopefully now *touch wood* it's going to work properly!!

Dance Off the Inches: Sizzling Salsa

I bought this dvd about a week ago, and I finally tried the whole thing yesterday (I did the Step Guide the day after I bought it, but never got around to actually trying the workout until yesterday - I haven't been feeling well, plus I tried another dvd which I also bought - but more on that another day!). I tried salsa about a year ago with a friend, and I thought this would be fun to try. (It was an impulse buy from Walmart when I went shopping with a friend).

Being my first time trying it, I didn't do the moves perfectly, but it was a lot of fun! The moves weren't too hard (and doing that step guide earlier helped a bit!) and I really felt like I'd had a good workout when I was done. (Actually, I could really feel it just half way through, so that was a good sign).

Another thing that I liked about this dvd was that Marie Forleo was one of the dancers. Marie is thus far my favourite dance instructor out of all the dance dvd's that I own. I thought her being on here was just a little touch that made this dvd that much more awesome.

All in all, I'm quite happy with this buy!

Low Blood Sugars

So today, I was biking for about 25 minutes. I had done glucose before starting and it was fine, neither high nor low. I set my pump so the basal rate was 0.0 for the next half hour (that way it wouldn't give me insulin as I was working out).

30 minutes later, I had burned approximately 200 calories, and I ended up having to drink somewhere between 50 to 100 due to an insulin reaction!

This has come up a number of times as I've been working out: I end up having to consume like half of the calories I've just burned!

At least this wasn't as bad as the time that I kept drinking orange juice because I didn't want to stop playing Dance Dance Revolution.....

SELF Challenge

Well, my next thing to try is the SELF Challenge. I signed up for it before I signed up for the Jump Start Diet, but it didn't start until Feburary 28th (I think). So earlier today (well, yesterday), was my first time checking in. I was happy to see that one of my friends is also going to do the Challenge with me!

There are two parts to it: the work out and the meal plan. I think I'll be ok with the workout part - it'll be no problem to report how much of whatever I do because I already record my workouts in my exercise log. And this will even calculate the calories you've burned! But I think I'm going to have problems with the meal plan. I don't really know how many calories are in anything, and I doubt I'm going to follow their meal plan suggestions (I admit I got a bit mad that orange juice comes up a few times between their breakfast and snack suggestions - I love orange juice, but can't drink it all the time because it sends my blood sugar shooting up too high).

It'll be interesting to see how I do with this one: it's another one of the check in and report how you're doing things like the Jump Start diet was. But I think with this one, you don't have to check back every day - just every few days. (Well, I hope so - as that's probably what I'll end up doing!)

SELF Jump Start Diet

Well, yesterday was my official last day using the SELF Jump Start Diet (found at http://jumpstartdiet.com/). How it works is you sign up, and each day you're supposed to log in in the morning to get a tip. Then you try it for the day, and at the end of the day you rate what you thought of it. This goes on for 31 days. You can track the tips as you go along, so you can see which ones you liked, and which ones you followed.

This seemed like a really good idea at the time when I signed up. However, I quickly realized that I was going to have a hard time doing this. You see, I like my sleep. So I tend to get up in the morning and rush around then out the door. I rarely had time (or wanted) to turn my computer on to check for the day's tip. On top of that, there would be days when I couldn't be bothered to go on the internet at all, so I didn't even track the tips! (It was a good thing I keep a food/exercise log, so I was able to go back and see which tips I followed!)

My top rated tips were: curb TV snacking, downsize your dishes, and go for "free" foods. My favourite was using smaller dishes - I've noticed that using a smaller plate really does help you eat less!

Yoga in Bed!

I bought this DVD awhile ago, but I haven't been doing it for a few weeks now. So today, I made sure I got up early enough to do the little workout. Wow, I forgot how much fun it is! I like doing the morning routine because it makes you feel a bit more energized for the day afterwards.

I've only attempted the evening routine once - it got to this one point that during the yoga class my mom and I took in the fall, my mom was making fun of me because my hands can't do it properly! So I decided not to continue with it.

The Value of Sleep

And so, I was thinking that today I would get up a bit earlier, work out for a bit, then head to school afterwards. In actual fact, I ended up shutting off my alarm, and before I could get out of bed, I fell back asleep! Luckily I managed to wake up with just enough time to eat something and run to class (I was still late though). Then later, I was planning on workoing out for a half hour on my bike....I made it for about 15 minutes before I had to call it quits for a nap!

It looks like Study Week has finally caught up to me (or else I'm coming down with something). I've been tired all day, even though I managed to get a descent amount of sleep! To make matters worse, I have some school work I want to get done before I can go back to sleep tonight! Luckily I get to sleep in tomorrow....and hopefully I'll be more awake!

Study Week, part 3

And so this year's study week draws to a close. My brother went back to Toronto today, where he'll be for a few more months until this school year is over. This past week, I had a lot of fun, was tired out, and didn't really work out much. But I was please to discover that other than the last few days, I really didn't do too badly with my eating. So starting tomorrow, I'll get back to my workouts, and stop eating out for a little while to get back on track....also, back to the pea pods!

Study Week, part 2

Study week is basically over for all intents and purposes; there's just the weekend left. The whole week has pretty much followed the theme set by the beginning of it: fun, tiring and not so great for the workout. I also haven't been eating too healthily the last few days, with pizza for supper a few times, plus chips one night (today was a lot better than yesterday was though). For workouts, I've basically just tried to walk as much as possible (managed to fit a walk in to go get the chips). I'm thinking I'll be trying to get back to eating healthily this weekend, and back to the daily workouts by Monday. Hopefully the sleep issue will solve itself this week, too.

Study Week

Well, this study week is turning out to be fun, but rather tiring and not so great for the workout. It all started with a fun night of drinking this past Saturday....I crashed at a friend's house and got a whopping 3 hours sleep. Sunday night wasn't too bad....although I did end up staying up later than planned. I still managed to get around 8 1/2 hours sleep. Then last night, I ended up staying out waaaaay later than planned, then I had an insulin reaction which led to 4 hours of sleep. So I haven't been sleeping, I've gone out for food a few times, and haven't really worked out. All in all, awesome.

Happy Valentine's!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Well....so much for the first day of my goal! After I got home (I had an exam right during supper time, then a class) I ate a special Valentine's supper. The chicken was awesome (and not very fatty - it was stuffed with spinach and ricotta), and so were the potatoes (party potatoes!!!! I don't think they're terribly good for you!) Also: cheesecake. All in all an awesome supper.

So here's to tomorrow: getting back on track with my goal that I set yesterday!!

The Exercise Goal

Alright, while I was studying, I was looking through the Sears catalogue at the bathing suits (that's where the bikini I wanted was). After thinking about it quite a bit (and not really sure if I liked the bikini as much any more - what do you expect, I'm a gemini?) I decided that I don't want to get it (this is the bikini, left - it's the Gottex 2 piece bikini from Sears Canada: http://www.sears.ca/gp/product/B000MWBCFI/sr=1-0/qid=1171423621/ref=sr_1_0/002-7012321-8050446?ie=UTF8&searsBrand=core&mqnodeid=16329121 .)

The reason I don't want this suit in particular is the sequins on the top - I'm thinking I don't really like them (you can't really see it in this picture, but in a close-up they're really noticable). But the other reason is due to my insulin pump. If I wear a bikini, you'd be able to see the infusion set (where the pump attaches to my body) and I'm not sure if I'd be comfort

able with that. Plus, you'd see all the old marks from old infusion sets (I'm sure no one would realize it, but I'd know) and the sticky residue stuff that's sometimes left when I take them off.

So instead of the bikini, I found this awesome tankini that I'd prefer instead:

(Be Creative Ming Dynasty halter top and bottoms, also from Sears: http://www.sears.ca/gp/product/B000LS73KQ/ref=pd_huc_gp_2/002-7012321-8050446?ie=UTF8&searsBrand=core)

I noticed this suit right off the bat, and I think it's georgous!

So this is the goal I'm now working towards: looking absolutely georgous in this suit.

At my last weight in, I weight about 185 lbs. So now my goal is to get down to 160 by June 1st, and to get into shape so I'll look awesome in it!

First time biking!

Well, I almost wasn't able to fit it in, due to studying and waiting for a FedEx guy to come pick up a package. But today I tried out my exercise bike!!!

I only biked for 15 minutes, but it was awesome! I lugged the bike upstairs and biked while playing a few rounds of Star Wars Battlefront 2 on my X-box! I knew this bike would be awesome to have!

Procrastination

Here I am, blogging instead of studying.

I've been telling myself to start studying for an upcoming exam. Yesterday I did alright, catching up on all the reading I missed. But today seems to be a washout.

What is it about procrastination? I've found that I'm always putting off studying, especially the night before an exam. It gets so bad that I'll often clean my room before I'll crack open the books. This leads to problems in and of itself; I've always considered my room a fun place to be, so I get distracted by random things I find while cleaning. Books and magazines are usually the worst for distracting me.

I've found the internet has also been one of the worst places of procrastination as well. Instead of working on an assignment, I'll find myself chatting, checking my email a million times, or playing online games. I noticed the other day, when I needed to check my email really quickly before getting back to work, that about a half hour passed in the blink of an eye!

So why do I keep procrastinating? I could say that I'm a perfectionist who is terrified of producing something less than perfect. But I know I'm not. Or maybe I'm afraid of failing, so I don't want to start anything. But I know that's not it, either. I think what it all comes down to is that whatever I have to do, I find boring.

This is really a stupid reason to procrastinate. Putting something off because it's boring doesn't make it go away. It just drags it out longer, so, in the end, you have less time to do something fun.

So maybe it's time to go and study...

Exercise bike!!!!

Yay! I finally bought an exercise bike today!

I was getting a bit worried that I'd never find one that I liked (and was cheap). But I looked in the paper, and found one listed in a moving sale. I went to check it out and bought it - for $15!!!!!

I wanted an exercise bike for three reasons:
1. I like biking, and don't like biking outside in the winter (especially with the crazy wind we've had lately)
2. I'm planning on biking to Kakabeka (a little town that's about a 20 minute drive away from Thunder Bay) on the last weekend of April.
3. Being able to exercise while reading or playing video games would be awesome!

So now I can start training for my bike! (And hopefully I'll be in shape for biking this summer!)

The day my insulin pump died or why I'm NEVER going back onto injections

I thought this would be fitting for my first post....

This all started last Sunday (the 4th) though I didn't know it yet. My pump gave me a low battery warning, which, in itself, isn't really out of the ordinary. As it's been super cold the last week, I thought that might be why I got the low battery. So I changed it, and thought nothing of it.

It was two days later that I complained a bit to my mom. I told her that my pump seemed to be going through batteries (running on AAA's, they're a bit expensive). She told me that maybe I should phone someone else who has a pump, just to see if they're also experiencing this problem. So I phoned, and they told me to phone the pump company's 24-hour help line.

The guy there asked me to go through the pump's alert history and tell him how many low battery warnings I've had. It turned out there were 3 in the last 3 days. He told me it might just be the box of batteries, but to be on the safe side, they'd send me a new pump.

I phoned my dad to bring a new box of batteries home with him. A little while later, just before my dad was due home, the pump told me to change the battery in it. So I tried the rest of the one box that I had and the pump wouldn't recognize any of them!

Luckily, my dad came home a little while later. Out of the new box of batteries, the second one worked fine. But I noticed that within the hour the battery icon was already showing some of the power was gone. I went out to a later show with a friend, and by the time I got there, just 3 hours later, I already had a low battery warning!

When I got home, I was going to play Starcraft with the same friend online. Before we started, I decided to change the battery, just so I didn't have to in the middle of a game. This is when things went really bad: I tried every one of the batteries left in the new box (14) and the pump wouldn't recognize ANY of them!

So, on to plan B. Plan B consisted of me going back onto insulin injections until the new pump came in a day or two. That first night was really brutal: I didn't have a long acting insulin like NPH to get me through the night so I had to get up every 4-5 hours to give myself a new injection. Needless to say, I only got about 5 hours of sleep altogether (which was not helped by the insulin reaction I had at 8:30 the next day due to me miscalculating the 5am insulin dose).

The next, I went and bought NPH as soon as I could. Most of my injections coincided with time off between classes, so I didn't have too much of a problem until supper time. The supper injection was due between about 6 and 7pm; I have a class from 5:30-7, and another one from 7-10. In the end, I decided to skip the 7-10 class so I could come home and eat.

But that whole day, I was afraid to exercise in case I had miscalculated another dose. Plus I kept running into another problem: when I'm on the pump, I can eat anything whenever I want. Not so with injections. I didn't want to have all kinds of different doses of insulin working, so I only ate when I took the injections every 4-5 hours. Plus I remembered having to have a bed time snack, but I had absolutely no idea how much to eat!!!

Needless to say, I was incredibly happy when I could finally get back onto a pump on the 8th. (Of course, as luck would have it, I did an injection in the morning, and the pump was delivered to my door like 2 minutes later so I had to wait until the injection wore off 4-5 hours later to go back onto the pump!) In a way, it was a good wake-up call - now I know why I'm on the pump. And I'm absolutely positive that I'm not voluntarily going back onto injections ever!!!!