` a little less conversation; a little more action. `

So my last post was all about why I've decided to start a blog, and my reasons behind actually getting off my ass and doing something about getting into shape. I suppose I should update on where I was a few months ago when I started, and what has happened since.

In December, a rep from Goodlife Fitness came into work to promote the new facility at Penhorn. They told us all about the company, what was offered, and gave us a pretty good introductory rate. I had been thinking about joining a gym somewhere for a while, so I figured, why not? I signed up that day, and the gym itself opened in January. I was shocked and horrified when, at my initial assessment, my blood pressure was through the roof and my resting heart rate was up - my blood pressure has always been on the low end of normal, and my heart rate normal. I was a little discouraged as well, by the fact that the trainer was really forceful and basically told me there was no way I could succeed without paying $9000 for an intense training package. I left the gym in tears, and did not return for my 4-week follow up appointment.

Though discouraging, I didn't let that trainer keep me from the gym; I started off that evening with a BodyCombat class, and vowed to make this part of my weekly routine. I also decided then that 3 times a week was a good place for me to start with going to the gym. I kept this up for all of two weeks before things went to hell. First I got a sinus infection that moved into a chest cold, and anyone with half a brain knows that when you can't breathe, it's really hard to exercise. Then, as soon as I recovered from that I was into midterm papers and exams at school. Combine this with crap weather and having to bus around in the rain/snow/ice etc, then follow that up with 3 weeks of the worst cold of my life, and you hit mid-March, and a grand total of 3 trips to the gym in about 6 weeks. Suffice it to say, I fell off the horse.

I started back last week, with BodyCombat preceded by BodyFlow on Tuesday evening (they call it BodyBalance on the link, but it's the same class). This, at first, may seem like a very strange combination, but I loved it the first time I tried it. I find the BodyFlow class is a great warm-up to the more intense BodyCombat class, plus they work different parts of the body. I missed this past Tuesday night again because we had tickets for the Music As A Weapon V Tour, but I got up at 7:30 to go to a 9am BodyFlow class yesterday to make up for it, then we went bowling last night. I think that, on my weeks I don't work Fridays, I might make BodyFlow a twice-a-week thing. I already feel like my flexibility is improving after just 2 classes, and I'm definitely working muscles that were long-since forgotten (believe it or not, I once had a killer 6-pack!)

Another area that is a constant work-in-progress for me is healthy eating. I started off really well, then fell back into the vicious cycle of grabbing whatever is quick and edible, regardless of nutritional value. I went out and bought a bunch of groceries yesterday, all healthy stuff. I made a chicken pot pie last night, and though pastry is high in fat, I bought the kind made with all-vegetable shortening and used no-salt-added chicken broth for the gravy (2% of the daily recommended intake of sodium vs. 38% in the regular kind). I also made a few minor changes to some of the ingredients for things I like to eat and cook - skim milk instead of 1%, whole wheat macaroni and Low Fat cheese for homemade mac and cheese, ground turkey for burgers, and fruit instead of sugary treats. I've been drinking a lot more water and consuming less alcohol lately as well - not only do I not have the time or money to go out, but I find that I get too hungover the next day to make it worth it to drink much anymore.

So that is where I am at right now. I'm trying hard to manage stress - it's that time of year again where school gets busy and everyone has a million places they want me to be at once, plus some restructuring at work means a lot of changes to the type and quantity of my workload. I just finished my first exam this morning, and have 2 more and a presentation due next weekend. It's also the time of year when the weather gets better though, so there's more motivation to go outside and more things to go do.

Speaking of things to do and nice weather, it's about time I got off the computer!

` look alive, sunshine. `

I've decided to start a blog. More specifically, a blog to track my own progress on trying to get myself to a healthier place in life. I guess this requires a little background.

First off, if there is one thing, and one thing only, that you must know about me it's this:

I. AM. LAZY.

Yup. Not going to pussyfoot around it, I will be the first to admit that the reason I never reach my goals and finish projects is that I get lazy. This is why there is still no trim or ceiling tiles in my half-renovated bathroom that I started last July. It's why I gave up on my applications for Law school and the Bachelor of Social Work program (the former was in 2007 - I was too lazy to study for the LSAT and then I was too lazy to go write it - the latter in 2009). Not going into either of those professions has turned out to be a good thing, but that's beside the point. It's why I end up with a pile of dirty laundry so big I can't see my bedroom floor before I actually get around to washing it.

Perhaps the worst aspect of my life where I am lazy, is when it comes to my own health. I have had problems in just about every aspect of my health at some point in my life - between my terrible excuse for an immune system, total lack of ability to cope with stress, anxiety and depression, and the fact that I am in terrible physical shape, I don't know how I've lived to be 25. I have, thankfully, overcome some pretty self-destructive habits (which I won't get into here) and found ways to keep my mental health in check for the most part, but there is still that issue of being in terrible physical shape.

This has nothing to do with my body shape - I am overall pretty happy with how my body looks most days. Anyone who tells you they are completely happy with their body 100% of the time is lying. It's got to do with how I feel. Which, most of the time, is kind of crappy. I have a hard time carrying groceries in from the car or lifting boxes of files down off of shelves at work. I get winded walking up the hill from the bus stop to my boyfriend's place. At 25, I feel closer to 40 most days.

So, that's why I'm doing this. I'll recap how it's been going the past few months later on, for now, it's time to relax a bit before getting some sleep.