Health Tag...I'm It!!!

     This post is quite neat because it was not Abigail inspired whatsoever. That pretty much saves you from a lot of rambling and tangents that I often model in my writing, and my talking, and my life...I'm a constant rambling tangent. A girlfriend of mine, Cathy, - am I allowed to call a previous boss a girlfriend?- forwarded me a questionnaire about fitness. A little secret that you may not know about me: I freakin' love questionnaires and/or quizzes. I can't tell you the hours I have spent on the internet filling out quiz after quiz to figure out what perfume best compliments my personality, which jelly I would enjoy most with peanut butter, if I am shaped more like a pear or an hour glass, or which Disney princess I would be in real life (I'd always answer so that I could be most like Ariel, even if I was lying...I needed to be her). Questionnaires are a bit better than a quiz because you get to fill in the blank, so when this little diddy was forwarded to me, I was like, "Yes, please!!!!" This particular one is about fitness and having a healthy lifestyle; I found it really interesting and inspiring to read the other comments. The rules state that I must answer each question in twenty words or less. I've never been much of a rule follower....

1. What was your "ah-ha moment" in caring for your health (mind, body, and soul)?

• January 2008, and sporadic moments before then, I had to turn my life around. I remember purposely buying shoes that I could slip on in order to avoid bending over to tie my shoes. For some reason, that made more sense then buying jeans that actually fit. I would literally lose my breath and redden in the face because my jeans were squeezing me in half, creating a nice crease and button imprint on my fat that would stay there for hours after the jeans were taken off...  wake up call.

2. What has been your funniest or most embarrassing workout moment?

• Hot Yoga: an hour and a half of intense movement and heat. At the end, I laid on my mat and cried. I couldn't control myself; I was delirious. But I didn't feel too badly because the girlfriend that came with me who was beside me threw up. I was crying, and she was puking-we didn't go back. 

3. Playlist?

• I do not have a set playlist for cardio, weights, or stretching, I have 800 songs on my Ipod that range from Bread, Fall Out Boy, Jason Mraz, Shaggy, Eminem, Reba, Glee Cast, The Chipmunks, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Poison, and anything else random. BPMs really don't motivate me to go faster, but a good song does. I make a fool out of myself with my treadmill dancing, but I don't care. 

4. Favorite Workout Gear?

• I love me some Danskin sport bras and capri pants of any kind. I have to wear a razor back tank of some sort; they don't slip off of my shoulders like a spaghetti strap tank can. My favorite running shoes are Brooks; they are heaven on my poor, jacked up feet. I am struggling with the socks, though. I need some sock help. Socks put me in a bad mood because it'll say something ridiculous like "Fits sizes 5-11." That's impossible!!!! It cannot do that! I wear a 6.5 and the sock heal is pulled up to my calf!!! I need some good, small socks that fit!

5. Favorite Workout?

• Dancing in a bar on the dance floor. I leave soaking wet from sweat, and I'm not ashamed. Seriously, I love it. I'm going to go to the club one day in my workout gear and a sweatband and do what I do best...make a scene. Girls are gonna be all like, "What is she doing? She's a freak." And I'm gonna be all like, "Yeah, homie, I'm gettin' my Jane Fonda on...woot woot." My husband will be at the bar questioning why he married me in the first place. Oh, you mean during the day, hmmm...in all seriousness, if you can get to a Crossfit Gym, that's my favorite. Urban Athletics in Canton had Urban Training...best workout ever!!! I was a beast!!! And now I'm just beastly (sad face).

6. How do you unplug from your day?

• My husband gave me a Kindle with over 900 books on it. There is no hope of me ever being productive when I get home. I like to snuggle at the end of the couch, wedge my feet under my husband's butt, care for the latest Seyo induced laceration, and lose myself in the Kindle. 

7. How do you handle stress?

• I let it build up until something emotional sets it off, like a picture of a confused chimpanzee. I then go missing for up to two days. I will be found in a dark corner eating chocolate icing out of a can and bawling hysterically that I'm fat. My husband will ask what happened, I'll say something about the chimpanzee, dirty dishes, ugly toes, face breakouts, and that my cat hates me. He'll push the hair out of my face, kiss my forehead, and all is better. I'm still working on a healthy way to manage stress, but this works for me. 

8. What's your favorite meal?

• The left side of the menu at Waffle House. But since we do not have a Waffle House in Korea, I guess my favorite meal here is steamed egg and soy bean/tofu soup with a side of rice. My favorite meal in the hizzie is steamed broccoli with a boiled potato...ahhhh...simple but delish!!

9.   How long do you brush your teeth each day?

• Probably around 45 seconds during each session. Bad breath scares me. 

Well, that's it, that's the questionnaire. As simple as those questions are it still made me think about things that I don't usually think about it, such as how I handle stress. I now know that my method above may not be the healthiest outlet, gotta work on that. Until next time :)

The More I Eat, The More I Lose: Part II

     On Friday, I ran. Yep, huge accomplishment right there, folks. At first I thought, "Hmmmm, why does this hurt? I just ran a half marathon the other day; it's not like you've not been running, Abigail." And then it occurred to me: the "other day" was almost four weeks ago, like almost a month ago. For four weeks, not a single step I took was a running step. I don't think I even walked at a brisk pace during those four weeks. In fact, I'm pretty sure there is a week in there that I have mentally blocked out for no reason at all except for my brain is that lazy right now. This little realization also showed me how quickly time goes by. Four weeks went by in the drink of a beer; time is funny like that, though. It'll fly by until you're waiting for something awesome to happen, like The Little Mermaid coming out of the Disney Vault or the sound of the magical ding from the microwave telling me that the Pocket of Joy, aka Hot Pocket, is indeed, ready to be consumed, and then time stands still. I said that to say this: the next part of this blog post was written in February when my husband was in the states, and I was here being all fit and sexy. It's amazing, isn't it? He leaves, and I lose all kinds of weight and start looking like my old self. He comes back, and I do things like dig week old chocolate chip cookie crumbs out of my bra or justify eating a pint of ice cream because I need the calcium. I don't know why that is. It's like I'm scared if he sees the fat Abigail on skype, he'll decide not to come back, but if I'm all "ohh la la" he'll rush back home, as does my fat to my butt. Sorry, sweetheart....

     Anyway, as I was saying, this next part was a follow up to the refrigerator tour that I provided a while back. I said that I would show you how I pack the ultimate lunches. I'll never understand the idea that one has to starve themselves to lose weight. Not this girl, if I'm starving, then I'm hefty, but if I am eating incessantly, the weight does fall off. It's literally all about what you eat. You can eat all the food in the world if it's the right food. Again, this is what I was doing in February when I was experiencing weight loss success. I'm sure you're wondering why I'm not doing it anymore if it's a system I swear by. Because I love struggling with my weight, homie!!! Nah, not really, I'll tell you in a minute, but first, let's see what's for lunch!!!

A Week of Lunch in the Life of Abigail:

I carry a Tote lunch box because they were all out of the old school, hard rectangle My Little Ponies box, they have yet to make a Sex and the City lunch box, and my cooler for beer wouldn't be appropriate, so I have my Tote, which I totally love. You'll notice that there are things that I must have in my lunch: apple, carrots, and holy moly Crystal Light. First of all, to quote my girlfriend Jessica, "You're not really hungry unless your hungry enough to eat an apple." I always ate apples, but that quote changed the way I looked at the apple. Some people are burdened with apple eating? Well, I never (insert dramatic head toss). I love me some apples!!! But, since she told me that, I always start with the apple, and if I want the rest of my food, then I'll continue chowing down. Seriously, I ALWAYS WANT THE REST OF MY FOOD!!!! Second must have, carrots...crunchy, sweet, cold, amazing with mustard, and cheap. Why not eat carrots??? Plus, they are the only food that I must eat with a beverage because they get stuck in my throat and cause me to choke and almost asphyxiate, therefore, increasing my water intake. Bonus!!! Third must have, Crystal Light, God created it just for me because he loves me that much. Crystal Light makes all the bad things go away. Now that you know those three things will be in all of my lunches, I'll only explain the other items. WARNING: you will be jealous.

Monday

To the right, I have a whole wheat pita (2pts), Boca Burger (2pts), and a slice of 2% Kraft cheese (1pt). In the little container, cucumbers with lemon juice, garlic, and oregano...a little dish I call awesome.

Tuesday

 Ah man, that looks awesome: steamed broccoli, 2% Kraft cheese (1pt) for the broccoli, sauerkraut, turkey kielbasa (2pts) -aka, what I had for dinner last night-, Yoplait Greek yogurt (2pts), and a segmented orange. Don't worry, the Crystal Light is in the Tote.

Wednesday

Starting on the left, I have a little container of fat free cottage cheese sweetened with Splenda (3pts), a steamed/mashed sweet potato flavored with vanilla, Splenda, and cinnamon (4pts), awesome cucumbers, and a mandarin orange. That is a colorful lunch, my friends.

Thursday

Apparently, I still had some turkey kielbasa (2pts) and sauerkraut leftover because in snuck into a Thursday lunch, but it's delish, so I don't care. I also have some fat free cottage cheese (3pts), an orange, and some more awesome cucumbers.

Friday

Now notice the difference on Friday; I don't ever know what Friday night will entail, so I have to have some caloric/point wiggle room. All I have on this day is fat free cottage cheese (3pts) and two oranges, which is still enough to get me through the day. 

Looking at it like this, it looks like that is way tooooooooooooo much food for a person to pack for lunch, but to be honest, it's not just lunch. I am a chronic snacker; I have to be chewing something 24/7 and gum doesn't always cut it. The day they make gum taste like KFC gravy is the day that gum might appease my chewing addiction. I pack with the knowledge that I will eat all of this food during the hours 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. I always, always, always, start with the produce. First, I'll eat the apple, and then I'll move on to the carrots, and anything else after that is in a random order, but those two must come first. If I have the need to munch or crunch, I run to my Tote with excitement because I know it's loaded with a ton of good-for-me-goodies that I won't punch myself in the face over later!!!!

Present day:

Okay, so I thought I'd switch it up and only pack a few things in my lunch, and guess what happened, I'm blubbery again. It has nothing to do with the fact that my amount of working out has been cut in half, no sir, nuh uh, not that, buddy. I pack an apple and carrots for my lunch, and the next thing I know, I've eaten those two items by 8:15 a.m., and start gnawing on a preschooler's arm. Poor planning on my part. I've decided to do better this week. Since when have I needed a reason to eat more, puh-lease...it's what I do best. So even though those pictures were taken in February, you can count on my future lunches looking the same. That's right, be jealous.