A trip to the ER

Well...didn't weigh in today. I woke up around 5am with an intense pain in my lower back and abdomen. I had never woken up crying prior to today. After trying to deal with it for 45 minutes or so I asked my mom to drive me to the ER. All sorts of thoughts were flying through my mind, from appendicitis to kidney stones to ovarian cysts. All the symptoms fit, and I needed some professional help!

I've never had to have an IV before!

Turns out I had a pretty nasty kidney stone. It was easily one of the most painful experiences of my life thus far, coming in long dull, but intense, waves. So intense, I was vomiting, so they hooked me up to several liters of saline to keep my hydrated and to help pass the stone. After five hours of CT scans and blood draws in the ER, I'm now back in the comfort of my own home, napping and relaxing.

I sincerely hope I never have to deal with that again. 

Treating myself to a date night!

I went to yoga again yesterday morning! The instructor was nice, if not a bit space-cadettesque. Though it was the same type of basic yoga, her teaching style was quite different. I enjoyed her history lessons on yoga as we moved from pose to pose, the medically proven health benefits, and encouragement throughout the hour I was there. 

Today I had (still have) no obligations. I did go for a small run at the local county park this morning. The trail stretch about 2.2 miles, and it took me just under an hour. I was in no rush, and it felt great afterwards. It was nice to sit and read and snuggle with the dogs this afternoon. They really are the best sort of therapy, with the wonderful benefit of being a personal space heater on a cold day like today. 

Skye and Emma: My Furball Therapy

One of the small disadvantages to having a boyfriend in the military is the hard-to-come-by date night. It's really never a big deal, but sometimes I get the itch to go out...like tonight. I think I'm going to take myself to the movies. I know a lot of people who can't stand to go out alone like that, but I think there's something wonderful in the anonymity of sitting by myself. My weakness? The over-buttered/salted/fat-soaked popcorn. So good, so bad. After a little research I have come to find that one SMALL AMC popcorn (the way I like to doctor it up) contains about 490 calories, 22 grams of saturated fat (the kind you don't want), and more than your recommended daily allowance of sodium. Yikes!!! Tonight I must satisfy myself with the mere buttery smell that saturates the air.

One more day til weigh-in. I wonder if the changes I've made are really making a difference? Certainly it's too soon to tell, I'm only a week in, but I know I've been feeling good. So that's a great sign in and of itself. 

I forgot I had muscles there...

Yoga was nothing short of amazing! I was fearful of a room filled with stick-figured yoga pros with the flexibility of an Olympic gymnast in training, gliding seamlessly from position to position. I let out a huge, and I'm sure quite  audible, sigh of relief when none of the above showed itself to be true. The Groupon I had purchased brought in a very diverse crowd last night (almost everyone who walked in the door had one in hand). People of all shapes, sizes, and skill levels filled the room. The hour was filled with a basic, yet challenging, set of poses. Colleen, our instructor, was wonderful and supportive. It was nice to have someone walking by tap my foot just a bit over to the left, pull my arms just a little more forward, and not feel once like I was making a mistake...more like an excitement that I was learning how to do something the right way. By the end of the session, I was sweaty, tired, but I felt accomplished. I bent and stretched in ways I never thought I could, and by this afternoon I was feeling muscles in my back and sides that I completely forgot were in existence. I can't wait to go again! Might be Thursday morning.

I was talking to my boyfriend about starting this blog (more like texting, due to him being at work), I needed affirmation this blog was the right move. He has been getting back into shape using the P90X program, and I really value his opinion when it comes to fitness. It is also my obligation as his girlfriend to say his results are fabulous. No, really, amazing! No complaints here. I regress. He was very supportive, telling me it was a good idea, and even suggested that I keep a food journal. That was something I never thought of doing before. Write about my food? Count calories? The idea never really fazed me. Not even an hour later, by complete coincidence, my friend April directed me towards a pretty cool website: http://caloriecount.about.com

I've signed up and have been logging in what I eat for the past two days. I'm not out to count calories before I consume anything. I know I already eat a pretty healthy diet. I just want to make sure I'm staying in a healthy calorie  range, and I've never tried to keep track before! So far, I've been in the 1300-1400 range...snacks included. I love my snacks. That's always been my weakness. I'm a born grazer, always sifting through cupboards or opening the fridge just to see what's inside. It was once of the most difficult moments in my life when I handed over the Cool Ranch Doritos for air popped popcorn. Now I'm addicted to popcorn, and there's nothing wrong (or unhealthy...when eaten plain) with that!

I was introduced to the magic of easy air popped popcorn by my friend Bri. I was visiting her apartment one afternoon, and she put 1/4 of a cup of popcorn kernels into a brown paper lunch sack, put that sucker in the microwave for two minutes, and out came the most absolutely fluffy, delicious, and guilt-free snack. Call me ignorant, but I hadn't realized before that moment that the oil and butter they put in the microwave packs of store-bought popcorn is beyond unnecessary! I've never looked back.

Air-Popped Popcorn:
1/4 c. popcorn kernels
1 brown paper lunch sack
1 microwave
1 bowl that fits nicely in your lab as you sit down to watch the latest episode of Bones

Add the kernels to the sack, and set the microwave to 1 minute 45 seconds (my magic number, yours may vary due to microwave intensity). Flavor as desired, though in my humble opinion...less is more.

Yoga it is!

I am a new addict to Groupon. I've only bought once item so far, but I find myself checking it every day for great  deals. The one deal I've purchased? 25 yoga classes for $25, that's about $250 worth of classes. I really had no excuse NOT to buy it.

I called my good friend Sarah later in the day to see if she would buy one with me. The yoga studio is just minutes from her apartment, and it seemed like a great thing we could try to do together. She started laughing when I proposed the idea, stating she had just bought it earlier in the day! It was a good laugh, and we're going to our first Basic Yoga class tonight. I'll let you know how that goes. I've never been keen on public fitness or group classes. I avoid gyms like the plague, preferring to jiggle and sweat in the privacy of my own home. 

My goal until tonight is to organize a few rooms in the house, namely my room and the guest room (which has been temporary converted into a giant laundry basket). I've always been stressed by messy rooms, and in the past few weeks life has gotten away from me. Between work and school I have found little time for cleaning and laundry. It's seriously out of control!  How does it go..."A clean home is a happy home"? It will at least be a Happy Shannon after I get this laundry done.

Now the part of this entry I am dreading to post, even as I type. I weighed myself yesterday morning, and I plan to do so once a week. You get to see a picture of that scale, whether progress is good, bad, or stagnant.

I think I'm going to splurge on a pedicure after seeing this picture...

Here's the gist of the idea...

I’m not terribly unhealthy, but I’m a far cry from where I know I can be. I am finally ready to take this seriously. Before today, I’ve been scared of trying, with just the thought of making my goals publicly known giving me anxiety. That anxiety always morphed itself into fear and avoidance of healthy habits. 

Silly, I know.

I have found it increasingly more obvious that I am unhappy. My weight makes me feel unhealthy, I'm always sore, my back pains and spasms have worsened over the months, and my self-esteem has fallen to an alarmingly low level. I've noticed myself socially retracting, lashing out at the wrong people; I'm losing focus on what's actually important, and generally making my life feel more complicated than truly it needs to be. This, clearly, needs to change. Part of that begins with my health.

I'm roughly 25lbs from what's considered healthy for my height, but I don’t want to focus exclusively on weight loss. It can become an unhealthy obsession. I’m looking for an overall well-being and balance in my life. I hope to include my progress, healthy recipes I have come to love, and random things I find applicable!

I'm not sure if blogging is a good idea at this point, but if I sit here I will start to over-think the situation, and well...then it will never get posted. Part of me wonders if I'm psyching myself up for failure, once again. I need to drive that thought of failure from my mind.

I found a quote that I've become fond of, and my first goal is to say it to myself daily. In fact, it’s been written on a large piece of poster board and taped to the inside of my bedroom door, so I am forced to see it each and every morning.

"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time." -Thomas A. Edison