One less stress - for now.

I just completed my final exam for my Macroeconomics course. I decided to not complete the course project, and I still ended up with a 3.8 GPA for the class. If I had done the paper, I'd have gotten a 4.0. I figure that the grade doesn't transfer to my 4-year anyways, and I'll have plenty of papers to write soon.

That course was a little hard though. Pretty intense stuff to digest in just 7 weeks. Phew. Glad it's done. Now I have one week off before I start 3 courses in the fall. At least those are all 15 week courses.

Ok. Yesterday we did a grueling hike through the Sleeping Bear Dunes. It was only 1.4 miles, but it was through sand under the blazing sun...with 4 miserable kids. I did do the Dune Climb, but not the one that I really wanted to. After the hike, we decided to just go hit the beach instead. We were all ready for a break.

I thought we might do another hike today through the Beech-Maple forest part, but I'm not sure if it's going to happen. It's our last night here, so maybe we'll just chillax.

Hope everyone's doing well.

Vacation...

We're still on vacation. I just wanted to say that we've been eating ok; although I feel insatiably hungry. I've been snacking a lot, but I'm trying to eat health(ier) snacks. We are renting a cabin this year, so we've cooked every meal thus far...no eating out. We could be doing better, but we could also be doing WAY worse.

Activity is good. Hiking, swimming, and kayaking so far. Tomorrow, we'll hit the Sleeping Bear Dunes, hoping to climb the big one this year.

Ok. I'll write more and post pics when we return. Hope everyone is doing well...

Momentum

I feel the momentum building again in FAT, and it's great. I certainly don't mean to leave anyone out of this, but my observation is that this happens whenever Billy gets back in. So, Billy, please stay involved...for the rest of us.

I'm also very excited that Beck and Kevin seem to be back in too. You can do it, guys.

Ripx, you've always seemed to stay involved, but it took a little while for you to really find your groove. I'm so glad to see you thriving now. I remember how you used to get so frustrated with yourself. It's obviously paying off now. Congrats on the guns btw.

The rest of you all seem to be thriving as well. Rob, I think you're doing well, even though we don't hear from you as much lately. I realize that you're busy.

Will just reached his 100 lbs lost mark. Jason is almost to his goal, and is looking great. Susie just recently started out, but I just know she'll be successful. Brandon seems dedicated and is already starting to see big results. Geoff seems to be doing quite well, although we don't hear from him as much anymore.

Ok. I know that I probably missed a bunch of people, and maybe some have fallen off here and there, but...our success rate is pretty high here.

Btw...if you don't see your name on my blogroll, please let me know. I don't have time to read everyone's comments on everyone's blogs, and that's generally how we see new members. I apologize if I've overlooked anyone.

If you're still reading, but not doing, please get back in. It's a good time to get refocused.

I honestly didn't intend on saying any of that, but whatever. What I was actually going to say was: I've been using a different running method this week. I don't want to stress my body out too much, considering I had some ankle trouble for a while there, so here's what seems to be working really well for me this week: I start out at 5.5 mph on the treadmill and increase it by .1 mph every minute. I go until I really need a rest. Today I made it to 6.8 and then I rested for 1 minute at 3.5 mph. Then I started over at 5.5, only this time increasing by .2 mph. I ended up at 6.7 mph. I ended up with 3 miles, including warm-up and cool-down.

I also do other types of "games" like that on other days for variety. Sometimes I do more of a walk/jog, mixing up the incline between 6 - 15%. Other times I do more of a real HIIT thing. However, I find that the method in the above paragraph gives me a little bit of both endurance and HIIT, with less risk of injury.

My goal right now is to get ready for the Turkey Trot in November. I plan on finishing that in under 29 minutes. Beck, I'm just doing the 5k, since I want a year over year comparison...yeah, that's the reason. You're welcome to tackle the 10k though :)

I'm on Vacation - Woo Hoo!!!

I need this vacation more than anything right now. Although, I did get most everything off my to-do list at work, so I don't know what I'm escaping from now. hmmm...

Everything seems to be falling into place perfectly right now. Career is better than I ever thought possible. School is going well. I've been back to running for a month now, and I feel great with that. My eating has been really good this week. My personal life is great. I can't really think of one negative thing right now.

Oh, back to the running thing. I went to the gym 4 times this week so far, and I plan on going the next two days. I am actually looking forward to it. I hope my vacation doesn't screw up my momentum.

I know I didn't really say much in this post, but I'm hoping to write a little more frequently than I have been in the past couple of months.

A few things.

Ripx, thanks for checking up on me. I was actually going to blog today anyways :)

First the update: I'm doing well. I didn't want to say anything prematurely, but...I've been back to the gym for over 3 weeks now. It's amazing how quickly the body can get back into it. We joined a different gym, and we love it. It's way cheaper. Less frills, but it certainly has everything we need. In fact, it makes it much simpler to just go and work out.

School and work are also going well. I haven't missed a deadline yet, and I'm going to be caught up for my much needed vacation next week.

Now, a rant: We went to Cedar Point on Saturday, and I was in shock over the state of our youth. They aren't just fat. Their shapes are literally not natural. The girls did not have figures. Big guts and fatty backs w/narrow hips. The only answer I can come up with is that it must be due to processed food and lack of activity. When I was growing up, there were fat kids, but the fat kids were just bigger than us. Same shapes for the most part...just bigger. This is no longer the case. I don't know how else to describe what I'm talking about. They might even weigh the same as I do, but I'm proportionate. They so aren't. Anyways... one interesting thing was that many of the moms actually looked pretty great. I felt that the average 30 something looked much better than the average 17 yr old.

As disgusting as that scenario was, it has prompted me to refocus on my diet...and my family's diet. I went to the fruit market yesterday and bought a grocery cart full of fruits and vegetables. The kids are LOVING it. Good stuff.

Rant #2: Has anyone seen the commercial with the athletes promoting chicken for breakfast? McDonalds fried chicken sandwiches on a fattening biscuits. Appalling commercial. I can't get over it.

Not quite a comeback...yet...

I really feel that I reached my breaking point yesterday. It wasn't an earth shattering moment or anything. I just kind of woke up and yearned for that feeling of control. I am not happy when I feel that I cannot control what I'm putting into my mouth. I honestly derive no joy from stuffing my face and waking up feeling full. It's an awful, disgusting feeling.

I do, however, love the feeling of not eating the full serving because I'm no longer hungry. I enjoy feeling that I'm in charge of me. Back to moderation.

School is going well, and I'm finding my rhythm. I will do well in this for sure.

I'm pretty sure that work will die down just a little after this week. I'm finally realizing that it's ok to recognize my limitations in this area. There is only so much time in a week. I will meet all my deadlines, but only if I say no to people sometimes...or give them the choice of what they'd rather have done. Do you want your proposal written or do you want me to create that unnecessary flowchart....your choice :) Yeah...that's what I thought.

I am fairly confident that I will return to the gym next weekend. Maybe before. I just know that I can't take on that commitment until after the end of this week. Too many deadlines looming.

Someone thought that I sounded a little down in my last blog. I'm not really. I'm just drifting to that place in my mind that shields me from life's pressures. It's a happy place. A place of denial. No big deal.

It's good to see a lot of you guys doing really well. Good to see some of the others coming back around. We can do this. We never thought we could do it in the first place, but we did. We can do it again. I don't want to have to do it all over again though. That's why we're stopping it now, right? We must take control.

Here's the Deal

I can't even really begin to talk about weight loss right now. I'll be honest. I haven't lost any weight, and I'm positive that I've gained some. How much? Not a clue. I do know that I'm still within my acceptable range. This is just not top priority to me at this minute.

Just an update...I started school last week, and I'm really busy. I'm still swamped with my work too. Tons of deadlines approaching. It's a good thing I work better under pressure...in a way. I produce better stuff when I'm completely swamped, but I do let the pressure get to me some. I don't know if it's good or bad that I let it consume me. I'm incredibly focused...but I feel bad for all of the other things that I put on the backburner. It would be nice to find some kind of balance.

Yeah, I need to get back on track. I will. I know I will.