Friday, November 12, 2010

Pizza Enduced Hangover.. and the Console Energy Center

Good Morning Everyone,

HAPPY FRIDAY! I am so happy its Friday because I have some super fun stuff planned for this weekend.. going away party, birthday celebration, brunch with friends, and a little bit of homework but thats for Sunday morning : ) Last night was so much fun but I am definately feeling the effects of it this morning..

Last night my friend Rach invited a few of us to her brothers hockey game as a cheap way to be able to see the newly built Console Energy Center. It was beautiful on the inside!
RMU Vs CAL U

This was the lobby..

The game was awesome to watch and the pregame was even better because they honored veterans that went to RMU..

The most moving of which was definately Pat MclVain, a former RMU Hockey player and an Army veteran who was severly wounded in Iraq. They presented him with a certificate and a flag. The crowd clapped loudly and screamed to show their support.. it was pretty moving.

This is Pat from the Jumbo Tron

 The only downfall of the night was that I am pretty sure I ate my weight in Pizza which was unnecessary and so I woke up this morning feeling like garbage. Normally I dont have any problems splurging every once in a while but this morning I felt super tired and kind of like I had a hangover.. a pizza enduced hangover.

So I have decided that today I will switch off between hot tea and water to make sure that I start to get back on track for this weekend : )

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

C'mon, Thats A Cop Out!

Good Morning everyone!

Thank goodness its Wednesday and I am ready to take the rest of this week by storm!! I really want time to come fast because Thanksgiving is sooo close and I love turkey day. The day itself has changed a lot since my parents divorce a few years ago (splitting time between 2 family sides now) but the thought of the day is still the same.. good food, family time and this year an added little piece of amazing.. my wonderful boyfriend will be coming with me to share family time too! We have decided to split the holiday traditions and spend half the day with his friends and half with my family : ) Grown up decision huh?


Because we are obviously grown ups : )

So lately I have been thinking about the long term effects of our healthy decisions.. I have some history of bad health in my family and I am starting to wonder if I am doomed by it or if my healthy decisions now can help me avoid the health traps that I have the potential to fall into. For example, I have a history on both my mother and my fathers sides of cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes and weight problems. Now everyone  knows that these things do not just pop up over night, that they are a product of your decisions and your genetic predisposition. . but the question becomes.. Am I doomed anyway? Will working out everyday, eating lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grains matter if I am going to have diabetes when I turn 50 anyway? This line of thinking is kind of similar to the "I could be hit by a bus tomorrow so why not enjoy a 3 pound bacon cheeseburger today!"




So should we have this "throw caution to the wind" attitude when it comes to our lives? Should we say screw it because we all die in the end anyway so whats the point in killing myself in the gym and  eating a salad instead of the half a pizza that I really want while I sit on the couch! Well while I love the seize the day mentality I think that it all comes down to a matter of happiness.

I know that I was unhappy when I realized I had gained my "freshman fifteen" ok... really it was a Senior twenty.. but shhh. : p I didn't like to look in the mirror, I was always tired, I didn't feel confident when I went out with my friends and I dreaded shopping for jeans.. and who wants to wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and not like what they see? Who wants to think "I didn't take one minute yesterday to care enough about myself, my body and my future to take some action to keep it healthy."  So when I decided to do something about it and I started seeing the numbers go down.. I realized that it was making me happy.. I was hitting personal bests in the gym.. running more than I ever had before in my life, building muscle and really surprising myself. Not to mention eating well and exercising makes you happier overall just because of your hormone balances and endorphins released during hard exercise! And its continued to make me feel happier because I got back down to what I weighed in high school and have been able to keep it off  for over a year now.

I think a lot of people don't realize how being healthy can make them happier.. and don't get me wrong here! I do NOT mean thin! Thin does not equal happy ..healthy equals happy.  I think some of the most beautiful women are the curvaceous ones.. Hell, I like to think I am a curvy little thing myself! But even the thought of knowing you gained some muscle and are stronger than you were before or that you may be doing something that will teach your children good habits when they grow up should make you feel very good about yourself and that will make you happy.

I sometimes think that this "I could die tomorrow" mentality is simply a cop out for people who don't want to have some kind of excuse, even if it's a very flimsy one, to justify the unhealthy things that they do... because lets be realistic will you die tomorrow? Probably not.. but will you die fifteen years sooner because of a heart attack or diabetes? Yes..

Just a few thoughts on this chilly Pittsburgh morning...

What do you think?

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Eating at Night and Running at Lunch

Good Morning Folks! How are you today? Well I HOPE after that Steelers victory last night! Youll be happy to know I was in my jersey with my ladies watching with excitement!



This is the only pic I have in my Steelers Jersey that I would post haha Steelers v Browns game
 Because my work schedule has been made slightly longer I am trying to figure out the best time to go to the gym today. I cant go after work like usual because I wont have time before class. I am thinking I may have to do the impossible and work out during my lunch break : / I hate the thought of working up a sweat and getting back to work but I also hate the thought of going to the gym at 9pm tonight after working 9 hours and then class for 3. I just want to go home after a long day like that.

I am trying to make sure to hit the gym more than before (hopefully 6 days a week) because I know the holidays are coming up and that means good food, alcohol and very little time or opportunity for exercise. I want to get my body ready for that time so I don't come back with a little holiday love around my waist.

Today I want to tackle a big question about myself but first I think a little bit of back story is necessary.

Since I moved to Pittsburgh for college I have always lived with people. In my freshmen year I lived in the freshmen dorms (awful places) with my room mate Emma. I am pretty sure she thought I was a crazy person because I barely ever went out, I worked almost every night and weekend, didn't drink and Oh yea.. had a crazy ass, jealous, anger management case for a boyfriend when I came to college. (PS I think that last part had a lot to do with it! HAHA.. don't worry didn't last too long in the grand scheme of things and I was 18.. don't judge me : p)


One of my favorite photos from freshmen year.
 Then for the rest of my undergrad I lived with two of my best friends on campus and off.. these girls were crazy and I loved them.. even though their craziness and my goodie two shoes-ness (word?) sometimes clashed.


From left to right: April, Kayla, me


Hear no Evil?

And then for my first year of graduate school I lived with these lovely ladies...
Kelly, Me, Rachel and Whitney

So once I realized the steps that I wanted to take in my life after graduation from the Masters program. I realized that this 2nd year of my MBA will hopefully be the only time in my life I will be able to live by myself. So I went for it and I told myself that I was going to use this year or so to really focus on myself and figure out exactly who I am and what I want in life. Ya know? The "what would you be doing if you knew no one was there to interrupt" type of thing. Unfortunately my life has become so busy that its usually laundry..wah wah wahhh but one of the questions I have yet to answer about myself has to do with my self control.

I always have the tendencies to eat at night.. I don't know why.. its when I crave salty, sweet and carbs.. but its 11 o'clock at night and there is no need. I am not even hungry. I work so hard during the day to work out, eat right , pack a healthy lunch and snacks but when I get home and finally stop running.. all I want to do is eat. Then I get mad at myself because there was no need and then it screws up the next days healthy eating because I am not hungry when I wake up (which if you know me.. you know that breakfast is my favorite.. I am ALWAYS hungry when I wake up) I just lose my self control. Its never bad food bc I don't have bad food in my apartment.. but I might have some toast or whatever.. just something that I definitely didn't need.

So I guess this is something I need to figure out and I need to figure out how to stop it.. so that I can feel good about my healthy decisions from when I wake up ridiculously early in the morning to when I go to sleep at night!

Always be improving yourself to be who you want to be .. because at the end of the day.. you are all you have : )

Monday, November 8, 2010

Girls night, Flat Bread Pizza and a 42% Obesity Rate

Good Morning lovely blog readers! I hope this blog finds you all happy, well and free from the sniffles! I am doing well in the no sniffle department so far and I am hoping that it continues that way!

This weekend was a blast which is why I took a blogging hiatus since last week. The number one reason was that I couldn't find anything that I particularly wanted to write about but also that I had spent a good majority of my weekend in front of a computer doing homework and I just couldn't do it anymore! I am more than half way thru a Masters Degree and so sometimes I have to take "homework weekends" in which I lock myself in the Beehive in South Side or my apartment and just bust out papers and book reviews. I also spent some time with my wonderful friends which was awesome...I love them and I am hoping that I can convince many of them to come down and visit me when I move to Charlotte, NC this summer.

Friday was the wine loft and a movie with some awesome people and Saturday I got to spend time with a slew of girls that I love. There was a Kim, Marlee, Kacey and 2 Stephanie's thrown into the mix! : ) We ate some delicious veggie/red sauce pasta and drank some delicious red wine.. while talking girl talk (sorry guys) and it was great fun!

Sunday I went up to visit my mom which is always fun. I love spending time with my family and especially my parents because I feel like I can talk to my parents and my sister about absolutely anything. My mom and I made some delicious super thin crust pizza from scratch and watched movies. I want to spend as much time as possible with my family this year before I get to far away from them and visiting isn't as easy.

As I looked around in public places I encountered however, I noticed the ratio of overweight people to people with what I would assume is a normal BMI. I would say the ratio was pretty on point with the national average which is 1/3 of people being obese or overweight for their height. I started thinking about the Marie Claire article that go so much hype a few weeks ago when a writer was brutally honest about her feelings on obese and overweight people and I started to think to myself.. do I feel that way when I sit in this room?

The answer was sometimes yes but I don't think to the extent that this writer does. I will admit that the article upset me just like everyone else but at the same time I can respect her for writing 100% honestly about how she feels. A recent study done by Harvard scientists says that if the current trend in the US continues, by the year 2050, 42% of Americans will be overweight or obese. THATS ALMOST HALF OUR POPULATION!! This means time for a serious wake up call!!

So I want to know what you think! What feelings immediately come to you when you see someone who is overweight or obese? Do you think its right or wrong to empower those that are overweight to continue to be so or try to help them lose weight? I want to know what everyone thinks.. so email me or comment here, facebook or twitter please. I am seriously interested!

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