New Years Resolutions: Twenty-Eleven

Ah, yes...it's that time of year again. What goal am I going to set for myself that I will inevitably end up forgetting about by Lent.

Actually, to give myself some credit, I didn't do too poorly last year sticking to my resolutions. At least I did better than I had previous years.

This year is simple: I want to focus on my health. My weight has been like a yo-yo all my life and, mark my words, this year, 2011, that stops. And I mean it. My boyfriend and I have decided to focus on our health together and hopefully we can support each other in reaching our individual goals. Tonight I am rejoining weight watchers as it has done wonders for me in the past. I lost over 55 lbs before and have managed to keep most of that off.

One goal I have set for myself is to run in a 10k by the end of the year. I have already registered for a 5k on April 3rd and I'm pretty excited about having something to work towards. I used to run a few times a week last year and a 5k would have been no worries....but that habit has fallen by the way side and I want to get back into it.

Next year I'd like to run in a half marathon....but right now I am focusing on my 5k in April and a 10k by the end of the year...baby steps.

I've also made a very hard decision that I think might be the best for me at the moment. I've been a vegetarian for 2 years now. I've loved it and it's been surprisingly easy. However, I have found that since my change of diet, I have been eating much more pasta and many more carbs (things that DO NOT agree with my body and weight loss goals). It's been especially hard living with my boyfriend (who loves meat) and coming up with things that we can both eat .... enter pasta. He's been such a good sport about eating my 'fake meat' (think sloppy joes with fake meat, chili with fake meat, chicken sandwiches with fake chicken) but it's definitely been hard. I'd like to focus more on eating "whole" foods. Say like veggies with grilled chicken. And I obviously can't do that sort of a thing if I'm not eating chicken. I know I could eat beans, or tofu to get protein, but I can't cook tofu for the life of me and I'm not a huge bean fan. I've tried using substitutes but I keep finding myself eating pasta....

So, with that being said, as of 1.1.11 this girl will no longer be a vegetarian. Trust me, I am a bit sad about this. I don't like the thought of eating animals and it's certainly going to be a bit of an adjustment. But I think this might help me achieve my goals and I can always go back to vegetarianism in the future. To be honest, I'm a bit nervous how my body might react-it's been two years and I'm afraid I might get sick or something.

What are your New Years Resolutions?

Read more »

Starting the Master Cleanse

As part of my 2009 New Years Resolutions, I had made a goal to complete the Master Cleanse:

It's a 10-day detox where you basically only drink a mixture of fresh lemon juice, cayenne pepper and maple syrup. YUM! It's a bit more complicated than that, but I won't bore you with details. Anyways, you do the detox for 10 days and afterwards you are supposed to feel super healthy, totally energized and your body is 'free' of toxins. Oh yeah, did I mention you lose a few pounds too? Apparently, Beyonce did it for the movie Dreamgirls and Tobey Maguire did it for Spiderman.

I never got around to starting it, but the time has finally come. I am starting the 10 day program tomorrow and I am super excited and nervous! I hope I have the strength to stick to it and not give into any cravings. I am going to San Diego in a couple of weeks and then on a 2 week vacation to Maui in June so I want to cleanse my body, feel good and look good.

Wish me luck! :)

Read more »

Lent = Bye-Bye Facebook

Why on Earth would I decided to give up the one thing that I do everyday without fail? Well, just for that reason exactly.

Hello, my name is Rachelle, and I'm a Facebookaholic.

For Lent I usually try to give up something that will test my character to the max. Last year I gave up alcohol and fast food. It was difficult, but by the end I was healthier and very proud of myself. And I must say the whole process definitely changed my drinking/eating habits in the long run for the better. I am hoping that giving up Facebook will force me to do other things with the moments that I am bored and be more productive with the little down time I actually even have. 

And to be honest, I really don't like how I know everything that is going on in my friends' lives solely based on their status updates. I'd rather and should know those sorts of things because of having an actual conversation. I think Facebook has done society a disservice by disconnecting us from each other in the process of connecting us to each other (and we are guilty for allowing it to happen).

And if you recall, part of my New Years Resolution was "Unplug" (as in get off Facebook) and "Reconnect" (as in reconnect with old friends etc). So this sacrifice is kinda reinforcing my NYR.

I am however allowing myself to use Facebook chat and here is my justification for that: I use a program called Adium which logs into all my different chat programs at once so I don't have 5+ applications running at the same time. I am usually logged into Facebook chat through this and chat is not something that consumes my time like Facebook actually does. At least chatting is communicating and while I am chatting with someone, I am usually being productive doing something else on the computer. Facebook, on the other hand, just sucks me in.

Let's be honest, I'm going to miss it. I'm already having separation anxiety.

Read more »

New Years Resolution

I don't have a single resolution this year, but rather a theme.

Unplug. Reconnect. Cleanse.

A number of things fall under each part of that theme. Allow me to elaborate:

Unplug.

• get off Facebook!
• spend less time depending on technology for entertainment (tv, internet etc)

Reconnect.

• focus on spending more time with family
• focus on spending more time with my friends both near and far
• reconnect with my community through volunteering (will be volunteering at a wildlife rescue center!)
• focus on reconnecting with old friends
• maybe most importantly, reconnect with myself and do more things that make me happy and make me, ME.

Cleanse.

• eat healthier and focus on organic foods
• reach my weight loss goal by Maui in June
• exercise more and develop a regular gym pattern
• cleanse my spirit and mind
• cleanse my mouth (aka...stop swearing so much and act like a lady!)

I have a really good feeling about this year. Twenty-Ten is going to bring a lot of good changes and I feel that having a theme as a resolution will be more influential in how I live my life, rather than have goals that I forget about two months later.

I can't wait to leave 2009 behind. It's about time...

Read more »

Recent Discoveries

10. It's the return of Tool Academy!!! OH MAN! SOOO GOOD!

9. gofobo.com A site to get into free movie screenings. LOVE IT!

8. The Vampire Diaries starts next week!

7. Life teaches you some tough lessons. (stay tuned for a future post)

6. My quarter century bday is in less than a month! (You think I can pull of turning 24 again without anyone noticing?)

5. Thank you VH1 for your new series: My Antonio. God this man is gorgeous...

4. "An animal rights group is calling on the nation's largest grocery story chains to post

warnings on egg cartons that unwanted male chicks are ground up alive, after videotaping the common industry practice at an Iowa egg hatchery." You MUST read the rest of this article from TIME.

3. "Large thighs may protect the heart" HA! It's about time I had something going for me! ;) Read the BBC article.

2. And with that said....I am doing well on the the weight loss goal. My bday is Oct 4th and my goal is to lose just under 10 lbs for my special day. It's going well so far! :)

1. I can't think of anything for #1, so I will leave you with this...

Read more »

I'm still here

Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since my last post. How time flies when you are....well, busy!

It's nearly Easter, which means Lent is nearly over and I can finally drink again. Yes, I actually made it. Besides my mai tai of weakness and having literally a sip of Jim Beam on my brother's 21st birthday, I have been dry for all of Lent. Not gonna lie, pretty impressed with myself. I have saved a TON of money and have actually lost about 8 lbs in the past few weeks (Weight Watchers has helped with that too).

Now that we are over three months into 2009, I want to take a look at my New Years Resolutions and see how those are holding up:

1. 10 Day Master Cleanse.

As mentioned previously, it's not gonna happen anytime soon.

Grade: withdrawn

2. Start going to the gym again

I am lazy and unmotivated. Period. I need to do something about it. Now.

Grade: F

3. Go veggie and eat healthy

I am still going strong with this one and haven't had meat since December 31st 2008.

Grade: A

4. Lose the 'break-up weight'

Joined Weight Watchers, already lost about 8lbs in a just a few weeks. Going extremely well!

Grade: A- (still got a way to go)

5. Get a REAL job

Need to get my ducks in a line to go back to school for radiation therapy

Grade: C

6. Cut back on the booze

WOOT WOOT!!!!!

Grade: A+

Not too shabby. I seem to be an 'all or nothing' kind of girl. Either I am fully committed to a goal, or it just doesn't seem to happen. I am gonna start focusing on some of those that are slacking. :)

Read more »

Here We Go...

I started Weight Watchers on Friday. I've done it before and lost a TON of weight. About 14 months ago, I was at my thinnest. I felt amazing, looked pretty damn good if I do say so myself, and while I will never be 'skinny' (proud to say I have a booty and boobs), I was definitely a healthy thin.

What happened? Well as I mentioned in a previous post, 2008 ended up being a horrible year for me. For those that have read New Moon... basically that book embodies the pain I was going through. I was supposed to move to Australia to live with my (Australian) boyfriend. But literally at the last minute I chickened out and we broke up. I was heartbroken. Yes, it was my choice, but it ruined me. I spent the rest of the year crying, eating away my emotions, and laying in bed everyday til I had to go to work. So between being unmotivated to do anything and eating away my pain, the cute figure I worked so hard to get has become something I am more or less embarrassed of.

My best friend is getting married in June and I hope to lose at least 25 lbs by then. I would be feeling like the old me again.

Aside from my "Mai Tai of Weakness," I have stuck to my 'no booze for lent' commitment. I definitely like how my body feels without alcohol. As of March 1st, I have been a vegetarian for 2 months. Pretty proud of myself and impressed by how easy it's been so far.

Anyways, wish me luck with the weight loss. I hope this is the last time I will have to do WW.

Read more »

40 Days and 40 Nights

Last night, I had my last drink for the next 40 days. 

Yes, you heard me right. 

I, Rachelle, am giving up alcohol for Lent. Alcohol and alcohol's good friend, fast food.

My reasoning for this is simple. First of all, I am constantly going out for a drink with friends (usually after work). Don't get it twisted- I am NOT constantly getting drunk or anywhere near it, just a simple drink. But think of all the money wasted and unnecessary calories consumed.

Lets' do a little math exercise:

A hard working restaurant server often joins her friends and coworkers for a nice cold brew after work. Occasionally, she will go out to the city and have a few more on very special nights. If she consumes on average 6 drinks a week, how much money would she spend during Lent?

Factors to consider:

47 days (count-there are actually 47 days in Lent)

7 days (per week)

6 beers (per week)

$5 (average cost of a beer)

47/7=approx 6.7 weeks of Lent 6 beers x $5=$30 per week

$30 x 6.7 weeks of Lent= $201

Just with giving up alcohol alone, I will be saving approximately $201.

Now let's factor in the money spent on Fast Food.

A hard working restaurant server often goes out with her friends on the weekends to unwind and have a few drinks. Oftentimes, a trip to the local Jack-in-the Box or Taco Bell takes place on the way home. If this occurs once a week and an average of $5 is spent each time, how much money will she say during Lent?

Factors to consider:

6.7 weeks (approx during Lent)

1 Trip to Fast Food (per week)

$5 (average cost of Fast Food)

6.7 trips to FF x $5=$33.50 saved 

$201 ($ saved on alcohol) + $33.50 (Fast Food)= $234.50 saved 

$234.50. O-M-G!

Now let's figure out how many extra calories I am in-taking from alcohol alone.

After work, a hard working restaurant server often enjoys a beer  with her friends. With an average of 6 drinks a week, during the course of Lent she will have consumed approximately 40 beers. If a Bud Light is approximately 110 calories, how many calories will she intake from beer alone during Lent.

110 calories x 40 beers= 4,400 calories

4,400 calories!?! Are you kidding me!?! 

And this is actually underestimating since I only drink Bud Light about half of the time. Not to mention all of that fast food too. 

No wonder I have gained so much weight this past year. 

Lent will save me: over $234.50 and more than 4,400 calories

I should have done this sooner!

Read more »

Oh those resolutions...

So I don't have much to say, but I feel like I have been quiet for a bit. I have officially been a vegetarian for 12 days and it's been soooo easy. I hardily even have to think about it. Just goes to show how much meat I ate before I decided to make a change.

I am going to start the Master Cleanse diet February 1st. It's a 10-day detox where you basically only drink a mixture of fresh lemon juice, cayenne pepper and maple syrup. YUM! It's a bit more complicated than that, but I won't bore you with details. Anyways, you do the detox for 10 days and afterwards you are supposed to feel super healthy, totally energized and your body is 'free' of toxins. Oh yeah, did I mention you lose a few pounds too?  I am actually not doing it for that reason, but more for the cleansing aspects.  Apparently, Beyonce did it for the movie Dreamgirls and Tobey Maguire did it for Spiderman. Can't wait!

Oh, did I mention my best friend is getting married in less than six months and I need to look HOT? (of course not as hot as her) :P

Here's to slimming down and toning up!

Next mission: getting into a steady gym habit...

Read more »

Going Veggie

Part of my New Years Resolution is to become a vegetarian. Actually more like a Pescatarian cause I don't think I could ever part with seafood.  Why I have decided to make such a drastic lifestyle change? Basically, I had a very traumatizing experience at a Hooters recently that I wrote about in my "Chicken Hands" blog entry which led to me researching PETA videos online. The rest is history.

I've never been much of a meat eater, but there will still be somethings I am going to miss:

Pepperoni Pizza & Calzones

Sausage

Carne Asada burritos

Chicken Potstickers

Cheeseburgers

I want to get this book for a bit of "motivation."

Read more »

New Year's Resolutions

2008 was not my year. I broke up with my boyfriend of 2 years. Cancelled my plans to move to Australia at the last minute. Ate my way through my emotions. Got a kick-ass internship, but failed to get a real job.

However, 2008 wasn't a complete waste. I moved into an awesome place with two incredible roommates. Got a 'new' car. Made some pretty amazing friends. Was there for the birth of Logan. And learned who my real friends are.

2009 will be my year.

And to help ensure that happens are my New Year's Resolutions:

1. 10 Day Master Cleanse 

2. Start going to the gym again

3. Go veggie and eat healthy

4. Lose the 'break-up weight' (by June 20 for my bff Jenny's Wedding)

5. Get a REAL job

Read more »