Val as of late...
Hellooooooo, world.
I'm a little hyper AND sleepy right now because I had to pull an all-nighter last night to finish an assignment.
I haven't written anything here in a long time, I figured I'd talk a little bit about what's been happening here in the messy world of Val's.
So, I have been under quite a bit of stress.
What stress is that?
Well, I'm not gonna get into it right now, although a lot of my friends already know about it.
Anyway, stress is stress, a lot of which Val's been under for many many months now.
Around Christmas, I had so much work and was home alone.
I literally kept working from morning to midnight to dawn to noon to evening to......
Around this time, I stopped having appetite for food. Like, completely.
I knew my body was hungry because I could feel it growling and getting uncomfortable. But that just didn't translate into "Man, I'm starving. I wanna eat something" followed by the fridge doors being opened.
When you're like this for 10 days straight or more, you lose weight very quickly.
I think I was probably around 110 pounds (I'm 5"3' = 161cm) before this happened, but I was startled to see that it'd dropped down to slightly less than 104.
In all my adulthood, I'd never been quite that thin before.
(Oh, wait, that was a lie. When I first came to the US, I'd dropped down to 100 pounds, but that was WHILE eating lots of food...)
Anyway, I knew I had to do something because I was feeling really weak and still stressed, depressed even.
Luckily, I'd rejoined a local fitness center over Thanksgiving (which I think I wrote about in my Zumba post), so I decided to start using it more regularly.
I was enjoying Zumba, although.........something was missing.
Because I knew what I really wanted to do, first and foremost, was stretch and tone my muscles, instead of cardio-dancing.... lol
So, I decided to try Body Flow. It's a combination of Tai Chi, Yoga, and Pilate. You are basically stretching and toning your muscles that entire hour. The first time I went, I became hooked.
It's simply amazing and all I wanted in a workout. And the classes are always very full, I have to get there at least 5 minutes early with my yoga mat if I want a decent spot.
I also love the fact that they dim the light down quite a bit so that it's more soothing (I literally hate bright lights, it irritates my nerves), and also the fact that they use hit pop songs that are either calm or inspiring. One of the songs they use is With Or Without You by U2, which I love.
The class ends with a 10-minute relaxation/meditation.
After that, I go straight to the elliptical and keep going as hard as I can for 30 minutes of cardio (about 4000 strides, 300+ calories).
For a while, I was watching Mr. Craig in the 007 series on my Kindle Fire while on the elliptical, and it was simply awesome.
But now that I've exhausted the two movies already, I've switched to my default love of GACKT songs.
Then, I take a shower, put on my swimsuits, and jump in the Jacuzzi for 30 minutes or so, and stretch in it again.
Then, depending on how I feel, I get in the sauna to warm up or relax even more.
After that, I take a shower again, and then put clothes and makeup back on.
All in all, I spend at least 3 hours there once I go. lol
I've been doing this about 3 times a week for 2-3 weeks now.
The results have been good. While I still weigh around 104-105 (which, according to the BMI, tells me I'm borderline underweight), I don't feel weak anymore. Instead, I feel light and strong. And with the loss of the fat, I can actually see my muscles toning up a lot sooner. lol
And all this for doing what I enjoy = Body Flow and Jacuzzi (as well as a stop at Starbucks on the way to get No.2 from preschool as a treat for myself). Not sure if I'll say I 'enjoy' being on the elliptical, but in order to really 'deserve' and enjoy the rewards, I know I have to do cardio after Body Flow. And I entertain myself with movies and music, so it's not bad.
So, at the gym, I'm basically sticking to what I really like doing. Otherwise, I won't be going there very much. I know myself. lol
So.......
All in all, I have been very stressed, and yet trying to get things going in a better direction while improving my health.
I'm sorry I'm quite absent from LJ lately, I just really need to focus on myself right now.
People can usually see my antics more often on Twitter, although my participation there has been pretty sporadic lately, too.
I went to watch Skyfall for the 3rd time last weekend.
It was as beautiful as the first time......
And my pre-ordered Blu-ray's coming on Feb. 12!!!! :'D♥
I cannot wait.
Oh, I also went to see The Hobbit.
It was a bit long, but I did enjoy it.
I literally swooned when Galadriel made her cool golden appearance on the big screen... lol
Ummmm, did anything else interesting happen...?
Oh, yes, I went to the mall the other day, and got a steal of a deal on a black jacket that'll be good for early spring and fall. It was originally close to $200, but was returned after Christmas, and maybe because it's size 0, it had been marked down to less than $70. And then there was an additional one-day 40% off sale going on in the mall that day. I didn't know this before I hit the mall. I also got a cute beige top, which was also a steal. No luck on knee-high boots, though. I'm looking for black leather since I already have brown leather. You gotta love those leather knee-high boots with heels. I'll keep looking.
I'm sure there were some other exciting things that happened or not, but right now I'm too sleepy and can't think of any and I'm sure you're about to plead TL;DR anyway....
I wanted to make a question post for OGYD, but I feel my eyebrows getting heavier and heavier, so that'll be another day.
OK, good night, Dears.
I'm a little hyper AND sleepy right now because I had to pull an all-nighter last night to finish an assignment.
I haven't written anything here in a long time, I figured I'd talk a little bit about what's been happening here in the messy world of Val's.
So, I have been under quite a bit of stress.
What stress is that?
Well, I'm not gonna get into it right now, although a lot of my friends already know about it.
Anyway, stress is stress, a lot of which Val's been under for many many months now.
Around Christmas, I had so much work and was home alone.
I literally kept working from morning to midnight to dawn to noon to evening to......
Around this time, I stopped having appetite for food. Like, completely.
I knew my body was hungry because I could feel it growling and getting uncomfortable. But that just didn't translate into "Man, I'm starving. I wanna eat something" followed by the fridge doors being opened.
When you're like this for 10 days straight or more, you lose weight very quickly.
I think I was probably around 110 pounds (I'm 5"3' = 161cm) before this happened, but I was startled to see that it'd dropped down to slightly less than 104.
In all my adulthood, I'd never been quite that thin before.
(Oh, wait, that was a lie. When I first came to the US, I'd dropped down to 100 pounds, but that was WHILE eating lots of food...)
Anyway, I knew I had to do something because I was feeling really weak and still stressed, depressed even.
Luckily, I'd rejoined a local fitness center over Thanksgiving (which I think I wrote about in my Zumba post), so I decided to start using it more regularly.
I was enjoying Zumba, although.........something was missing.
Because I knew what I really wanted to do, first and foremost, was stretch and tone my muscles, instead of cardio-dancing.... lol
So, I decided to try Body Flow. It's a combination of Tai Chi, Yoga, and Pilate. You are basically stretching and toning your muscles that entire hour. The first time I went, I became hooked.
It's simply amazing and all I wanted in a workout. And the classes are always very full, I have to get there at least 5 minutes early with my yoga mat if I want a decent spot.
I also love the fact that they dim the light down quite a bit so that it's more soothing (I literally hate bright lights, it irritates my nerves), and also the fact that they use hit pop songs that are either calm or inspiring. One of the songs they use is With Or Without You by U2, which I love.
The class ends with a 10-minute relaxation/meditation.
After that, I go straight to the elliptical and keep going as hard as I can for 30 minutes of cardio (about 4000 strides, 300+ calories).
For a while, I was watching Mr. Craig in the 007 series on my Kindle Fire while on the elliptical, and it was simply awesome.
But now that I've exhausted the two movies already, I've switched to my default love of GACKT songs.
Then, I take a shower, put on my swimsuits, and jump in the Jacuzzi for 30 minutes or so, and stretch in it again.
Then, depending on how I feel, I get in the sauna to warm up or relax even more.
After that, I take a shower again, and then put clothes and makeup back on.
All in all, I spend at least 3 hours there once I go. lol
I've been doing this about 3 times a week for 2-3 weeks now.
The results have been good. While I still weigh around 104-105 (which, according to the BMI, tells me I'm borderline underweight), I don't feel weak anymore. Instead, I feel light and strong. And with the loss of the fat, I can actually see my muscles toning up a lot sooner. lol
And all this for doing what I enjoy = Body Flow and Jacuzzi (as well as a stop at Starbucks on the way to get No.2 from preschool as a treat for myself). Not sure if I'll say I 'enjoy' being on the elliptical, but in order to really 'deserve' and enjoy the rewards, I know I have to do cardio after Body Flow. And I entertain myself with movies and music, so it's not bad.
So, at the gym, I'm basically sticking to what I really like doing. Otherwise, I won't be going there very much. I know myself. lol
So.......
All in all, I have been very stressed, and yet trying to get things going in a better direction while improving my health.
I'm sorry I'm quite absent from LJ lately, I just really need to focus on myself right now.
People can usually see my antics more often on Twitter, although my participation there has been pretty sporadic lately, too.
I went to watch Skyfall for the 3rd time last weekend.
It was as beautiful as the first time......
And my pre-ordered Blu-ray's coming on Feb. 12!!!! :'D♥
I cannot wait.
Oh, I also went to see The Hobbit.
It was a bit long, but I did enjoy it.
I literally swooned when Galadriel made her cool golden appearance on the big screen... lol
Ummmm, did anything else interesting happen...?
Oh, yes, I went to the mall the other day, and got a steal of a deal on a black jacket that'll be good for early spring and fall. It was originally close to $200, but was returned after Christmas, and maybe because it's size 0, it had been marked down to less than $70. And then there was an additional one-day 40% off sale going on in the mall that day. I didn't know this before I hit the mall. I also got a cute beige top, which was also a steal. No luck on knee-high boots, though. I'm looking for black leather since I already have brown leather. You gotta love those leather knee-high boots with heels. I'll keep looking.
I'm sure there were some other exciting things that happened or not, but right now I'm too sleepy and can't think of any and I'm sure you're about to plead TL;DR anyway....
I wanted to make a question post for OGYD, but I feel my eyebrows getting heavier and heavier, so that'll be another day.
OK, good night, Dears.