An idea

This time last year I was 100 percent committed to Ideal Protein. I knew that I would see results if I just followed the plan and when I did, I saw results. I lost 14 pounds in just about two months and I have been able to keep that weight off ever since.

I now find a new motivation to lose another 10-15 pounds, and have decided that I want to do 3-4 weeks of Ideal Protein to see the same results. I know that I can do it before my birthday weekend and it's something that's proved successful for me in the past. Another 10-15 pounds off my mid-section would be wonderful. Which would put me at the smallest I've been since high school.

I have realistic expectations about myself and weight loss, and I know I'll never be a size 4. But if I can be a size 8 instead of a 10, that would mean something to me. It would also put me in a better BMI range.

I have been a slacker recently with working out, but I successfully lost the 6 pounds I gained over the holidays. Putting me back at the weight I was when I moved to Telluride. Not too bad, but I could do so much better.

I didn't want to do Ideal Protein in the past because of the cost, but I have extra money this month with babysitting, and I have a paid off credit card with some extra cushion to put it on. When I am in Denver this coming weekend, I will buy 2-3 weeks worth of protein supplements and start it as soon as I'm back in Telluride. A detox of sorts.

New found motivation

I want to return to the motivation and inspiration I had in March to take care of myself and my body. I haven't been hard on it, but I barely knew what exercise was this summer. It took a 14 mile backpacking trip and two assumptions from strangers that I was pregnant to motivate me once again. Also, with all these lean and fit people surrounding me in Telluride, I at least want to be active.

So last week I joined the local gym with a three-month off-season discount. It is my hope that I will get in shape for ski season, and when the three months is up I can maintain that motivation and will power with downhill skiing and cross country skiing. And perhaps another off-season membership before I can try mountain biking.

Working out at this gym reminds me why I was so content going to Curves for two years. It's intimidating to be surrounded by all sorts of equipment that you don't know how to work really while big men huff and puff and stare at themselves in the mirror when you're just trying to do a few sit ups. I have all sorts of Women's Health magazines with work out tips. Next weekend I'll have to go through them for workout inspirations. As of now I'm doing 20-30 minutes of cardio and then 20-30 minutes of core and muscle work primarily on the mat. It feels good to be exercising again. Next week I will take a total body conditioning class that will surely kick my ass. My fit co-worker took it and she was sore in all sorts of new places the next day. I am waiting until next Tuesday to do it because I'll have Wednesday to take a break and I'm not going anywhere [for once] the following weekend.

I'm setting the modest intention/goal for myself to lose 15 pounds before my March 18 birthday...and fit into my skinny jeans before New Years, because I keep ripping my jeans and running low on acceptable jeans to wear to work.

A Year Ago Tonight

I'm the type of person who will remember arbitrary dates and tell everyone "a year ago tonight, such and such happened...." I'm THAT person who can remember the night that I started to have feelings for a certain someone (and nothing even happened that night) and uses references to other things that happened as a way to remember.

So that being said, the day(s) after the Pagosa Folk 'N Bluegrass Festival will always help me remember the fact that a year ago tomorrow I had breast reduction surgery.

A year ago tonight I was at my mom's house getting ready to start a pre-surgery fast watching the Pineapple Express with my best friend Holly in an effort to subside my overwhelming nerves for my surgery. I figured I wouldn't be able to go to sleep because of nerves, and surprisingly, was able to get a decent night's sleep before my 5 a.m. wake up call to report to the hospital. A year ago today I went to my doctor for my pre-op and he drew all over my chest in puple marker to mark where the incision lines would be.

Now, a year later, I am back to my pre-surgery weight (2o lbs down!) and I cannot believe that a year has gone by. I still am surprised with how my chest looks in a dress or shirt. I am still oh so very happy with the decision to have the surgery.

I still have chronic neck/shoulder/back tension as a result of the boobs taking their toll on my body for 8 years (how do women live their entire life with more than a DD cup???). Tomorrow I am trying acupuncture to see if it will help relieve the tension and pain.

A year later my best friend who comforted me before and after my surgery is getting married. What the hell happened to the last year? My goodness.

I used to always remember things by what grade they happened in and now I think my bench mark will be when I graduated/when I had my surgery now that I am gradeless so to speak.


In a somewhat unrelated note, I've decided this will now be my more personal blog, and I need to cool it on the way too personal commentary in the Girl in the Green Jacket link. Just for future reference. Surprise, surprise, the direction of that blog has changed once again.

My new intention

Wow, what a bitch fest that last post was. I'm almost tempted to delete it, but it does have some substantial things in it.

After posting that, a few days later my favorite new friend whom I feel like I've known for years sent me the following in an email:

We are not what we attract. We attract what we focus our thoughts on, but some mistake this for attracting what we want and say, i did not want this, why did it happen? We get what we think about, whether we think about what we want, or what we don't want. If you want love, focus on that desire, don't focus on the lack of having it.

She said her mom sent it to her. I'm not sure if her mom wrote it or picked it up from somewhere else. But I really like it. I am going to focus on how much love I receive from my family and close friends who love me because I'm Kathrine, and not someone who's trying to be someone else. So that being said I am setting a new intention:

I will to find someone who loves me for who I am. Make it so universe.

I do have some other details attached to that intention, but I don't want to share it with the internet.

And I promise I will soon post about how much I love my job. I still smile to myself when I think about how my intentional manifestation truly helped me get this job. So it can help me find a guy right? :)

Be Happy, Be Healthy

I was watching TV today and saw a commercial that referred to New Years' Resolutions. It reminded me that I had set one this year and I started to think about the fact that I really have stuck with it overall.

My resolution was to be happy and healthy. I have not been both all the time for the last 5 months, but I have done things with the intention of being happy or healthy and overall I feel much happier and much healthier than I was last December.

That's not to say everything's perfect-I would be happier if I had some more money in my bank account or could lose another 10 pounds. But I love my new job. And I love my new apartment that I'm paying out the ass for in rent, and starting this pay period I will be making more money and spending less.

I haven't exercised as much as I should here in Telluride but it's still a goal of mine. I went for a walk (with bursts of running) along the river yesterday because it was just so beautiful and when I wake up early enough and have time in the morning, I'm trying to do strength training with all the exercise equipments/props I've accumulated. The good thing is, I'm pretty broke so I can't afford to buy a lot of food, so I'm on the "no money til payday" diet for a week and a half. (Gotta pay rent!)

I don't know where I wanted to go with this blog, but I felt like posting something so I don't feel like this space has been abandoned or that I have forgotten about my quest to feel fabulous.

The next month is going to be a whirlwind of film festivals, weddings and music festivals. So my June goal is to be happy (and maintain my weight, if I can't lose any, I at least won't gain more.) After the fourth of July I want to go on a cleanse diet (a healthy one) that my cousin suggested to me. My goal for July will be to be healthy. And perhaps to lose another 10 pounds. we shall see.

Back on Track

I've been in Telluride for one week. I LOVE IT! All the hassle, stress and uncertainty paid off for this job. (Read more about it at Girl in the Green Jacket). For the next few weeks I have Mondays off because of furlough during the off-season. Today I committed my day off to getting my fitness and eating back on track (and finding a place to live.)

When I was in Durango I found out that Moleskine makes wellness journals. Not only am I obsessed with my Moleskine calendar and notebooks, but I was looking for something to keep track of my eating, fitness and motivation. I found it at Maria's and went through it today and really plotted out my refocusing efforts on wellness and whole living.

I've realized that there's more to being a certain size and weight. Although I have a weight loss goal in mind, my overall goal is to live a more whole and balanced lifestyle. Telluride's the perfect place to establish such a lifestyle, and I can start any habit I want here since I'm changing so much in my life already.

So in the spirit of starting fresh, tomorrow starts a new diet. I really hate to use the word diet because this plan doesn't tell me what to eat, how much and when...but for lack of a better word I'll use it.

So tomorrow I will start the Mayo Clinic Diet. In order to do it right, you need two weeks without temptations to adopt the different eating habits and now is the best time to start it.

So the main gist is to adopt 5 healthy habits, break 5 habits and adopt 5 more bonus habits.

The 5 habits to adopt are:

• Eat fruits and veggies (4 or more vegetables and 3 or more servings of fruits)-something I've been trying to do already.
  

• Eat a healthy breakfast (but not too much)-breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, I just need to incorporate more fruit and whole grain into my meals.
  

• Eat whole grains-I'm a sucker for sourdough bread, but I can stick to whole grains for two weeks.
  

• Eat healthy fats only-this includes nuts, olive oil, avocados. Nuts and dried cranberries make for an excellent mid-afternoon snack and would help me stick to two of those rules.
  

• MOVE! -30 minutes or more 7 days a week even if it's only walking.

The 5 habits to break are:

• Don't watch TV while you're eating dinner (on that note watch only as much TV as you exercised)-This is easier said than done when I'm in a big condo by myself, but I am going to try to do more core and mat work as I'm watching TV.
  

• No added sugar (only what's naturally found in fruit)-does Chocolate count as fruit?
  

• No snacks-only fruit or vegetables for snack food.
  

• Moderate meat and low fat dairy (stick to 3 oz of meat a day)-this will be difficult because I enjoy my protein from lean meat and you all know how I feel about cheese. But for two weeks and a promised 6-10 lbs weight loss, I'll give it a shot.
• No eating at restaurants-A no brainer for me currently because restaurants here are either closed for the off-season, or I can't afford to go out until I start getting paid at the new job.

There are 5 bonus habits that they encourage readers to adopt as well. Keep a food and activity record (piece of cake with my new wellness journal that has a section for tracking daily diet and fitness), walk or exercise 60 minutes a day (you can also use a pedometer and try to increase steps by 1,000 step increments until you get to 10,000 steps per day. Eat 'real food' and write down your daily goals. The last two I won't adhere to fully because I'll already be eating real food with the other 10 habits and and I operate better with weekly goals over daily goals.

So yeah, there's my new plan. I'm still 16 pounds away from my original weight loss goal I set when I started Ideal Protein. The Mayo Clinic book says I can lose 6-10 pounds in two weeks just by following those habits. Worth a shot right? It'd get me that much closer to my total weight loss goal....but in the mean time, it'll make me feel much healthier and better about myself for getting back into it rather than giving up and eating whatever I want. I still have Holly's wedding as my weight loss motivation.

Words to live by

I was going through my drafts and realized that I saved this, but never posted it. I found it from the living section on the Huffington Post.

In order to permanently lose weight, you want to:

1. Focus Inward: This is for you and only for you. Not for an event, not for other people.

2. Change Your Identity: You are now a person who takes care of yourself. You eat 'right,' you shake your booty, and you love yourself.

3. Have More: Healthy living is not about restricting yourself; it's not about what you can't eat. It's about having more healthy foods, more fun, more love, more creativity, more life!

I've been working out. Not as much as I'd like, but still more than I was. Maybe 2 or 3 times a week since I joined the gym. I'll be going to a total body conditioning class tomorrow. I expect it to KICK MY ASS. My co-worker goes to it, so knowing that she's expecting me tomorrow is really good motivation to get my ass out of bed in the morning and go. It's at 8 a.m. I'm setting three alarms. I am ready to feel the burn.