Posts by pumpkin314

Hey Jess, welcome!

I hear you completely about not being lazy.  I kind of have a similar vague goal: to make good choices.  Like not to eat so much that I'm miserable, not spending every waking moment vegging out, not procrastinating.... Yeah, it's hard to stick with that.  Maybe we could have a thing in our group where we would pick one little way to achieve our goal each day or week.  That way maybe it would be easier to stick with?

I definitely did NOT have a good choices day today.  Sometimes I think I forget that it's okay to stop eating before I feel gross and overly stuffed.  Hmm, that might be a good lesson for tomorrow.

Hey everybody --

So, how's it going?  Like I said before, I'm kind of at a point where I had totally lost my mind and couldn't stop eating everything in sight for about 2, 2.5 months.  Since coming back to CC it's been better, but I will admit that I ALREADY had a night out where I drank WAY too much beer and finished off the night with a heapin' helping of pancakes and french fries (who even eats those together??!).  Ugh.  Not exactly what I would call a good choice!

But I didn't let it throw me off, so I guess there's the silver lining. 

I know it will be a while before I feel any lighter/slimmer or notice that my clothes are fitting better again, but already I'm starting to feel better about my body.  My body and I have not been friends lately, so it's nice to change that attitude a little.

Oh, and here's my new motivation: I only have one nice suit - and it fit me when I was at my slimmest...and I think I'm going to have a job interview here soon, hopefully in the next 3 weeks.  Will it be enough time to slim back down to sqeeze my booty into those pants?  I guess I'll have to try my best and just find out!!

Hi, I'd like to join, if you'll have me.  I don't want to be annoying, though -- I'm kind of a skinny girl looking to lose about 20 pounds.

However, I really do need help.  I gained all 20 of those extra pounds in the last 2 to 3 months, and I'm really having troble controling what I eat and being motivated to exercise at all.  Essentially, I let some emotionally troubles throw me off my healthy course, and now I need major help getting back on track - I just need some people to be supportive, positive influences on me to make healthy choices.

I dunno if that is what you're thinking, but if so, I'd love to be support for you. :)

31 minutes is very respectable!  But as someone else above suggested, don't be surprised if it's even a bit faster on race day, because you'll be so pumped up and surrounded by other runners to motivate you. 

Well, I would certainly say weights.  When I did the bands, it felt like nothing or it felt awkward and like I was doing it wrong.  But on the same token, weights are a MAJOR investment.  I got the cheapest ones I could find: gold's gym from Walmart - but at $20/set, it can add up.  I ended up with 4 sets that I modified to be 10, 15, 20, and 30 lbs each.  I also have 3, 5, and 8 pounds for the cardio days.

If I had it to do over, I might have waited until I could afford Powerblocks, which are by far considered the best adjustable weights.

Chalean extreme is a great program and I know it helped me build muscle, but it ended up costing a lot and by the second month I was getting bored.  But that's just my two cents.

What has the internet done to us?  Does having a screen between up give us license to be openly hostile and hateful? 

I guess I'm really glad that I don't have an eating disorder, because I imagine that if I did...well, some of the comments directed at me might have affected me negatively.  I guess it's kind of a fun trip down memory lane to have people ridicule me for my body.  It hasn't happened since the boys in junior high.  Granted, they said it to my face, but it felt oddly the same. 

(ETA:  wait, wait...I just looked again and realized that 2 of the things that are so revolting about me, my skin color and my bone structure, are actually things I have no control over whatsoever and have remained unchanged regardless of my weight.  I don't know what to say.  I can't even fathom the state of mind that would be required to ridicule someone based on things about their appearance, let alone things that they cannot control.  I am legitimately hurt.)

To Dana: Sorry for giving vegetarians a bad name.  I hope someday people will not hate us and we can actually say whatever we want without ridicule.

To Vancouver: Similarly, sorry for being an ineloquent vegan.  It's hard to always be on my best behaviour.

To the OP: Glad you enjoyed the scotch egg.  Do what you've got to do.  I hope eating remains a conscious and enjoyable exercise.

Hey, you know what?  Me crying and whining about my opinions as to what people should and shouldn't eat is no different from all the poo-poo'ers who try to make people feel bad for drinking diet soda or taking diet pills or eating trans fats or whatever. 

I answered her question in a helpful way (saying that meat does not make me sick, even after being vegan for years) and I stuck in my unsolicited opinion for good measure.  Since we're so worried about the law, I'll note that providing unwelcome opinions is also generally not illegal.

To me this all sounds like a lot of over-denial and guilty justification.  Oh, and this, too: http://audubonmagazine.org/features0901/viewp oint.html

And, to thow in a little guilty justification on my own part, I'll say it's hard to be morally assaulted all day every day.  Yes, I have a passionate view on a controversial subject, and usually I keep my yap shut...but it just never stops and sometimes I lose it and blurt stuff (like now).  I mean, pro-lifers don't have to deal with watching people get abortions every day at lunch time and talk about how delicious it is.

Okay, enough of this.  I'm sorry for being rude.  To the OP, I wish you a lot of luck with your dietary choices, whatever they may be, but I do hope once you get your nutrition under control you'll see that being veg can be healthy and humane and you'll return to the fold.

Hi all,

I'm glad to hear everyone is keeping busy.  Phox and Sue, I'm sorry to hear your being frustrated by those last clingy winter pounds, but it probably is due a lot to the weather.  ...And now that it's March, spring is just around the corner and it will be so much easier to be active and enjoy the outdoors.  AND there will be delicious fresh fruits and veggies to eat and we all won't be craving warm, fatty comfort foods so much.

Okay, maybe I'm deluding myself!  Here it doesn't feel much like spring (high of 17 today...at least it's sunny).  I did go snowboarding, though, so at least I'll enjoy the winter if it insists on hanging around.

OH, and Karey, both of the dresses are really pretty, but I LOVE #2 with the flowers.  I actually *really* like the cut and the flowers are so fun, and the jewelry you paired with it is great.  Plain black is probably more classic, formal, and versatile, but I think the flowered one is great and looks awesome on you! And I think it would be very appropriate for a wedding and a cruise (though I have never been on a cruise, yet)  ...Actually, this makes me want to start looking for a dress for my cruise...but that isn't until August, so I should probably wait or I will end up buying, like, 6!  I love an excuse to buy a cute dress!!

Well, I had better get back to studying.  I have a terrible feeling about the exam on Saturday, and I need all the practice I can get!  Hope you all are doing well.

Well, I'm not exactly an expert, but here's my 2 cents:

1500-1700 is pretty low, I wouldn't reduce that any more, and if you want to start running again, I would probably even up the calories a little.

Running is fun, but if you have stopped for a while, take it easy getting back into it.  I am a newb runner myself, so I am not the best source of info, but here is an article from coolrunnings about upping mileage:

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_1/107.s html

Good luck

They don't touch.  Not at all.  I never thought I would be able to say that, but it's true, my thighs do not touch when I am standing normally. 

re: covering ankle tattoos--

I am about to encounter this big time with the one on top of my foot.  I have about a billion job interviews during the week after next.  EEEP. 

Typically, I wear a pant suit with boots.  This is totally normal in the winter.  You could probably get away with a skirt suit and classy boots in the winter at a less formal place.  Here is my secret tip, though (also only works in winter or when it would be normal to wear nylons):  Wear flesh colored opaque tights with off-black nylons OVER!  You can see a tiny hint of tatto still, but you really kind of have to be looking for it.   They do make spray on tattoo cover, but I can't see how that wouldn't either look weird or rub off.

I'm hoping once I get a job, I can come up with a better solution!  Maybe they won't mind tattoos?  (Unfortunately, I'm going to be a lawyer, a rather more buttoned-up profession)

I have several tattoos, including one covering the top of my right foot.  I hope to get another on the outside of my left foot this summer.

As far as what you get and where, that is so totally personal.  I agree that you should pick something you know you'll love forever, but for some people that might be flash off the wall, so I won't judge.

Tips, though...I do have a few.  Most important:  BABY THAT TATTOO!!  While it is healing, nothing is more important than making sure you take care of the tattoo.  An f'd up tattoo costs a lot to fix or is there for life.  What does this mean?  It means think before you act.  Consider the time of year.  If you want to get a foot tattoo, don't get it at a time when you have to wear shoes (or big snow boots).  After getting mine, I wore only slippers for maybe a week or 2 (keep in mind your foot will swell AND you don't want stuff rubbing on it).  Similarly, don't get it at a time when you won't be able to take care of it properly, like right before a camping trip when you won't be able to keep it clean, or before some performance where you would have to wear a costume that would rub on it.  For at least 2 weeks after getting a tattoo, it should be the first thing you think of.  That means you might have to make some sacrifices.  Considering this website, I will warn you that tattoos should not get very sweaty while they are healing.  That means if you are going to get it in a place where you sweat, you should take it easy working out.  Trust me, it's more important that the tattoo heals right than it is to keep working out for two weeks.  You can always make up a workout, but you can't un-screw-up a tattoo.

Other tips: Go to a good artist.  Don't pick one out of the phone book.  Get references from people with awesome tattoos, talk to the artist, get a feeling for their style, accept that you might have to make an appointment far in the future, and accept that it is going to cost big bucks.  Then, when they tell you how to take care of the tattoo, do exactly what they say.

Last bit of "advice:"  It doesn't really hurt that badly. 

I think the secret ingredient is making it look effortless.  I am so jealous of those girls that can throw on any old thing and put their hair up with a pencil and still look runway-ready.  And the kicker is that they don't even notice or care how gorgeous they are.  It kills me because I have to try so hard :(

I have two good friends that have natural model good looks and seem almost like they try to appear awkward and dress sort of weird and shabby.  And still, prettiest girls ever.  And you can't hate them because they are so sweet and oblivious.  I CAN still be jealous.  Though it doesn't help me much.

HAAAAA haaaaaaaa...  I guess I have been on CC so long I have started to get loopy and when people ask very sincere questions that sound to the veteran calorie counter like a joke...well, it makes me laugh.

There are no exercises to make you lose weight in your hips and thighs.  I am really sorry to break that news to you.  I have gone from being overweight to being ridiculously thin, but I still have very disproportionately large hips and thighs, plus delightful fat bulges on my knees and award-winning cankles.  You just have to get used to it.  My body likes to keep the fat on the lower half.  Who am I to question my body's judgment?

So the short, less snarky answer is to aim for whole-body fat loss with a variety of cardio workouts as well as interval training and weight lifting, if that's your sort of thing.  I personally like to do just cardio maybe 2-3 days a week and do cardio + core or cardio + strength on the other days.

Hey guys-

It looks like we've all been a little too busy with life to keep up posting, huh?  Sue, I hope the renovations are going well.  Can you see the light at the end of the tunnel yet?  Karey, I hope you're feeling better.  I hear where you're coming from about lacking motivation lately.  The last few weeks I haven't felt like working out much, I'm bored with food, I can barely be bothered to change out of my pjs to go to class.  It's not that I'm depressed or anything, I think it's just that time of year and I feel BLAH.

Also, my studying for the bar is ramping up big time.  The first part of the test is in just over a week. EEP.  I have study classes for 15 hours this weekend.  Ugh, no wonder I don't care about anything.

Hope everyone is doing well.  Any hints to get out of the late winter doldrums?  Any recipes to share or fun workouts, helpful websites, favorite new food finds?  Anyone heard any good jokes lately?...

...ehhh, better get back to studying.