exercise, health and happiness
I love to exercise. Running gives me an adrenaline rush that can't be beat. I have been trying to run on a regular basis for the last year or two, but I always fade in and out depending on my class, work, extra curricular schedule, etc.
I am going to run a 5k this Saturday in Hillsdale, and I have been working up to it for only a week now. I ran it yesterday in 27 minutes, 13 seconds. Today, I ran the route with my brother, and we even added a level of difficulty by throwing in the hill next to victory park, and we dropped my time to 26 minutes! that's insane! I can't believe that I did that. Better yet though, I finished and I wasn't "that tired".
The other day I was telling Jolene (who also likes to run) about something that my dad said when I ran track in middle school, "Leave it all on the track lizzy, don't cross the finish line and feel like you can keep running. You should finish and have no energy left to continue. Then, you'll know that you ran as hard as you could". I am really excited for the 5k on saturday because I have a feeling that I am going to go all out, I will run harder than I have been the past week, and I will drop even more time off of my run. Sean also gave me a few pointers on my breathing, and how to breathe through my nose more, which will help me run harder and longer.
I have been very self-conscious for the past 5-6 years. Unhappy with my weight, and wanting to be back to the physical shape that I was in freshmen year of high school. While I have known what needs to be done to fix that, I just haven't been able to make myself do it. I workout on a regular basis, and anybody who saw my workout schedule would think that my weight shouldn't be a problem.... but that's not the problem. It's my eating habits.
We all know that Lizzy loves food... but I don't think anyone realizes HOW MUCH I actually "graze".. Yes, I call it grazing. I must have some oral fixation (yeah, I said that too)...because I just love to snack and I can rarely go a few hours without eating something. My freshmen and sophomore years at Albion I didn't eat nearly as much, mostly because I didn't want to go to Baldwin... but I didn't lose much weight because I didn't workout. Now that I am back on a workout schedule, I am still not losing weight because of the way I eat.
SO. I have decided that the buck stops here. (yeah, that saying means more to me because my high school mascot was the "bucks" and we used to say "the buck stops here" when referring to something important to us). The buck MUST stop here. I am sick of being unhappy with my appearance. I am sick of being self-conscious. I want to be able to go to the beach this summer and ENJOY myself, for once.
I am not going on a strict diet or anything, I am just going to be more conscientious of what I am eating. Going home this summer will help that A LOT because my mom will be buying all the food, so I can just have her be the "bad guy" and hide the cookies and ice cream from me.
Don't get me wrong, I actually LOVE healthy foods. I eat vegetables all the time, good lean meat (protein folks!), but it's my love for the sweets... like ice cream and cookies that needs to stop. or at least needs to be moderated.
I am in the process of sending an email to my parents about this, because while my mom will be able to help me with the healthy foods part, my dad wont. I am JUST like my dad when it comes to food. We love to snack, especially late at night. My dad plays tennis 6 days a week, sometimes 7, and he coaches too. He is only a big guy, because my mom lets him have 3 helpings at dinner, and then she lets him have a big bowl of ice cream or cookies in between.... SO, if I am going to do this right, I am going to make my dad join.
Wish me luck. I don't have a set goal yet, but there will be a huge change, and hopefully for the better.
I am going to run a 5k this Saturday in Hillsdale, and I have been working up to it for only a week now. I ran it yesterday in 27 minutes, 13 seconds. Today, I ran the route with my brother, and we even added a level of difficulty by throwing in the hill next to victory park, and we dropped my time to 26 minutes! that's insane! I can't believe that I did that. Better yet though, I finished and I wasn't "that tired".
The other day I was telling Jolene (who also likes to run) about something that my dad said when I ran track in middle school, "Leave it all on the track lizzy, don't cross the finish line and feel like you can keep running. You should finish and have no energy left to continue. Then, you'll know that you ran as hard as you could". I am really excited for the 5k on saturday because I have a feeling that I am going to go all out, I will run harder than I have been the past week, and I will drop even more time off of my run. Sean also gave me a few pointers on my breathing, and how to breathe through my nose more, which will help me run harder and longer.
I have been very self-conscious for the past 5-6 years. Unhappy with my weight, and wanting to be back to the physical shape that I was in freshmen year of high school. While I have known what needs to be done to fix that, I just haven't been able to make myself do it. I workout on a regular basis, and anybody who saw my workout schedule would think that my weight shouldn't be a problem.... but that's not the problem. It's my eating habits.
We all know that Lizzy loves food... but I don't think anyone realizes HOW MUCH I actually "graze".. Yes, I call it grazing. I must have some oral fixation (yeah, I said that too)...because I just love to snack and I can rarely go a few hours without eating something. My freshmen and sophomore years at Albion I didn't eat nearly as much, mostly because I didn't want to go to Baldwin... but I didn't lose much weight because I didn't workout. Now that I am back on a workout schedule, I am still not losing weight because of the way I eat.
SO. I have decided that the buck stops here. (yeah, that saying means more to me because my high school mascot was the "bucks" and we used to say "the buck stops here" when referring to something important to us). The buck MUST stop here. I am sick of being unhappy with my appearance. I am sick of being self-conscious. I want to be able to go to the beach this summer and ENJOY myself, for once.
I am not going on a strict diet or anything, I am just going to be more conscientious of what I am eating. Going home this summer will help that A LOT because my mom will be buying all the food, so I can just have her be the "bad guy" and hide the cookies and ice cream from me.
Don't get me wrong, I actually LOVE healthy foods. I eat vegetables all the time, good lean meat (protein folks!), but it's my love for the sweets... like ice cream and cookies that needs to stop. or at least needs to be moderated.
I am in the process of sending an email to my parents about this, because while my mom will be able to help me with the healthy foods part, my dad wont. I am JUST like my dad when it comes to food. We love to snack, especially late at night. My dad plays tennis 6 days a week, sometimes 7, and he coaches too. He is only a big guy, because my mom lets him have 3 helpings at dinner, and then she lets him have a big bowl of ice cream or cookies in between.... SO, if I am going to do this right, I am going to make my dad join.
Wish me luck. I don't have a set goal yet, but there will be a huge change, and hopefully for the better.