Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Freshman Fifteen

 Day 94 (11/16/2016)
I’ve been working on my fitness and health very half-assed. I eat out for pretty much every meal on the weekend and I have ice cream 2-3 days a week. Monday night I went to the gym for the first time in three weeks; I spent an hour on the treadmill alternating between walking, running, mild incline, and steep incline. I did a lot of chores around the house after I got home so on Tuesday Emily thanked me with pizza and beer. We decided that a large sausage, mushroom, and olive pizza would be our last hoorah before we kick things into gear. Honestly, my goal is to move towards a plant based diet – not vegan or vegetarian. I still like burgers, I still like chicken, I still like yogurt, and ice cream, and omelets, and turkey. I just want to base my normal eating habits around mostly fruits, veggies, and whole grains to get away from more processed foods.
I’ve tried a lot of different eating habits – low carb, low sugar, restricted calories, flux dieting, no dairy – but nothing has left me with sustainable results. Since the beginning of summer I’ve definitely lost muscle in my legs and gained fat just about everywhere else which has left me unhappy with my looks and with my overall health. I’m excited to go to the gym tonight and do another hour of cardio. I think starting out by doing 2 days of cardio a week and one day of weights for a month is a good way to reset my body and my mentality.
I’ve stopped trying to force myself to go to the gym at 6:00 in the morning just to avoid people, so I have since sucked it up and dealt with the 7:00pm gym rush. Since being really set on living out my next 3 years in Bend, Oregon I’ve had a lot more motivation. Walking around on a flat concrete surface – even for a large amount of miles – doesn’t require a lot of physical strength at my current state. However, hiking, biking, swimming, boarding, and climbing do.
I’d hate to let my health slip for this year in New York and then return to Oregon with no physical stamina to do the things I’ve been yearning to do.
Last week, as I’ve said, I took a lot of time off from people and social outings. I stayed in and thought about “if I could do anything right now, what would it be?” The answer wasn’t “go see the Empire State Building” or “go to a party” or “go window shopping”, my answer was “go outside”. Just in general. I wanted to smell fresh air and see clean trees. Personally, I’ve been surprised by how much I’ve been missing the outdoors until I talked to my mom. She, and everyone else in my family, thinks I’m crazy for being surprised by this. As a kid I was always outside on my scooter, or roller blades, or at my elementary school playing foursquare, or at a park, or swinging in my dad’s backyard. I constantly had to be doing something and I was constantly outside with friends, but because I was fat I never thought of myself as an outdoorsy person. It’s funny what effects a poor body image can have on the rest of your life.
I’m enjoying my time here with my roommate, new friends, and old friends. I love the city lights and the restaurants, I love the ice cream and the clubs. I genuinely enjoy my days here but I’m excited to be working towards the goals I have set for my future. I’m excited for the school program I hope to join in the fall, and I’m excited to be close to the beach, the mountains, the forest, the water, and the desert. 

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