ready, set, blog!

Hello all! It has been a long time coming since the xanga days (if any of you are antique enough to remember what that is), and I have returned to blog life, thug life. Yes, lame.
Anyway, I have been pondering the idea of a fitness blog for a few weeks or so, but I have, until now, been unable to decide on an angle to take.
After much deliberation, I have chosen not to take a particular angle, but rather to blog about a broader spectrum of ideas of fitness, health and wellness, exercise, and eating habits--namely my own. I envision somewhat of an accountability blog, on which I regularly update where I am in my daily stride (or, perhaps, not so much) of staying in shape, eating well, and living positively in mind, body, and spirit.
Okay, so maybe that is an overtone my infamous lameness again, but over the past few months, I have become much more body- and health-conscious. I've began to realize the dire importance of positive thinking for a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle. In a weird way, I kind of believe that what we put into our bodies, food or otherwise, is derivative of what is already inside: thoughts, emotions, stress, etc. Of course we all know that eating badly or lazing around is a common effect of just being stressed out. So, I say the more positive reinforcement we allow ourselves, the healthier we become all around!
Well, I will move on now to the contents of my blogs. I mentioned that this blog is in a huge way for myself--something to look forward to or dread after a long day, something to hold accountable my overall fitness and health, and just something to do! I also hope that maybe my drive, successes, and failures will be an inspiration or tool to help others realize or relearn the importance of living healthy. Thirdly, as somewhat of a fitness novice, I hope to gain insight from the more experienced and devoted health nuts! So pipe in!

I would like to begin, probably more for personal reasons, with a record of where I am today, physically and otherwise. I hope over time that I greatly improve today's statistics!

Oh! And please let me STRESS, which I should have done before, that not a single particle of my being is educated in the science of physical fitness. I am not a doctor or even a fitness guru! I sort of just make it up as I go, really. So (not that anyone would ever even dream of it) do not base your workout or ANYTHING ELSE on my workout or my words! Haha, that disclaimer made me feel like a well-studied fitness mag or an infomercial.

Weight: 128.5 lbs. as of 6:15 p.m. and before supper
Ideal weight: 120-122 lbs
Height: 5'2 (and three quarters!) or so
Areas I want to work on more: gut and arms
Run stats: Really awful and really slow. I could run a couple miles if I had to, but I have a hard time breathing and a hard time staying motivated
Time spent a week on exercise: 3-4 times to the gym usually. anywhere from half an hour to a couple hours at a time
Exercises I'm pretty good at/spend a lot of time on: sit-ups and crunches (although I have a hard time seeing results), lunges (I feel these results), leg presses, squats and thrusters (I had to ask Derick the specific name for the former, and it made me laugh a little when I typed it), Captain's chair, triceps and biceps (with barbells), planks, leg lifts, and Zumba. For those of you who don't know, Zumba is a Colombian-derived aerobic exercise that incorporates Latin dances like merengue, hip-hop, and salsa and is normally set to reggaeton and rap music. I hope to later devote an entire blog to my new-found love of this genre!
Workout aspects I'd like to improve: run time, of course; endurance and stamina, speed (not just run times, but I'd like to do pyramid circuits timed and quicker); weight amounts, and determination (I sometimes have a hard time wanting to stay at the gym for a full workout.) I would also like to do more CrossFit (crossfitendurance.com, ooohhh citations! I'm getting professional! workouts, but a lot of those involve PULL UPS, which I have yet to master. So any pointers on pull ups for girls would be greatly appreciated. My pull up (singular) right now begins with a jump and, therefore, does not really count for anything at all.

Diet:
I really want to record what I eat each day and ways to improve that. Let me admit now that, though my diet is not close to being horrible, there are things I really need to focus on, but I love food so much, and it really is a struggle for me.

Non-problem areas (let's start with the positive, right?!): I do not drink caffeine, no coffee, no sodas. I usually eat a lot of vegetables and fruits. I do not skip meals. I eat something (loosely-used) for breakfast. I do not eat a large amount of junk food. I try to snack between meals.

Problems: I eat a LOT of carbs (pasta is my guilty pleasure). Though I don't really engorge all the time, I love chocolate. Because of my schedule, I sometimes eat late at night. I'm talking 9 or 10 p.m. (How bad is that for you, really?) I eat Blue Coast Burrito three-four times a week.

What I had today:
breakfast: Chocolate SlimFast Shake (because they're quick and yummy)
lunch: rice and bean burrito on a 12" spinach tortilla with a handful of chips, tomatilla salsa, and fruit tea
supper: (this is where it gets ugly) two helpings of spaghetti with tomato meat sauce and a bowl of Cheerios.
I also had two pieces of gum, a glass of grapefruit juice, and a bite or two of pickled cactus.

So that's where we are so far. I want to add some more goal-specific ideas on here soon! But that seems like a lot for my first blog. I'm sure only a handful of people made it this far, most of whom are just nosy. Just kidding. Have a good evening!


"The first wealth is health"- Emerson