The state of the me
Aug. 25th, 2010 12:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
miss_pryssSo, I continue to love Leverage.
Not much to say on that front except that Nate has been so much less unbearable! And of course the holy trinity of hitter thief and hacker continue to rock my world with their unbearable awesomeness.
Also (I think I've said this before) this season seems to be much less stupid! Or else turning thirty made me more stupid, which, actually? May in fact be the case.
I recently gave MAD MEN a try but found it a little too...portentious? In the "pompous and weighty" sense. I'm very impressed by it, but ultimately left cold by it. Which, in fact, is how I felt about INCEPTION in every way except that I'm now HUNGERING for Arthur/Eames fic.
In other news, I lost 20 pounds (on purpose).
My metabolism has slowed way down in the last year (thanks so much, The March of Time). I kind of porked up last winter (at least by my standards) and got to an all-time highest weight - around 155. I actually sort of enjoyed being at that weight. It felt...luxurious? I was all padded and soft and cosy! It was nice! (And my boobs were huge!)
But my face didn't look so pretty with the extra chub, and I was easing up towards a BMI of "no longer safely in the Normal range" and my hips started hurting when I slept on my side at night. The thing that finally annoyed me into action, though, was not being able to squeeze into my pants any more. I didn't want to have to buy a new wardrobe to accommodate my otherwise pretty rockin' Rubinesque squishiness.
So, vanity and practicality conspired and I set out on a journey to drop some pounds. That was in April. Since then I've been counting every freaking calorie and pushing hard to get into running shape. I'm running 10-15 miles a week and probably walking another 5. It has been... hard. Really hard. But not impossible. And actually, quite rewarding in certain ways.
Outcomes of this new calorie counting lifestyle include:
- A renewed appreciation of food! When you're averaging 1200-1300 calories a day you don't want to waste time with things that aren''t delicious. I've been cooking more and better and with more passion than ever before.
- A renewed appreciation of fruits and vegetables. So much nutrition! So few calories! :D
- A new distrust of refined flour and sugar. So little nutrition. So many calories. D:
- An intensified passion for potato chips. Look, I don't know what it is but I will walk an extra two miles on my way home after work just to create enough of a calorie deficit for a little bag of Kettle salt and pepper chips. The crinkled kind. God. So delicious.
- Muscles where there were no muscles before: especially in my thighs and the place where my thighs join my hips in the front. I like them. I earned them.
The first month or six weeks were the hardest - the radical change in my eating habits meant I was hungry pretty much all the time, and cranky pretty much all of the time. Plus, there was some heavy stuff going on with my family around then; I was kind of a basket case for a while, frankly.
I've sort of adjusted to the diet, and I'm actually really enjoying the exercise. And now, five months after I started, I'm at 136. I was going to stop at 140, which is where I've sort of defaulted for the last 10 years of my life, but I found myself wondering what life would be like if, say, my thighs didn't rub together when I walk. So I'm keeping on with it.
It's slow going. The calorie deficit I've been maintaining would have meant fast weight loss three years ago, but it's amazing how profoundly my system changed when I hit 29. My body clings to fat like grim death now. Mr. Smarty-Pants has been amazing through the whole thing - finding a perfect balance between being supportive and minding his own business. I have trained him well, and it's paying off.
So I figure I'm probably looking at a year, all told, of daily calorie counting, even once I'm no longer trying to lose weight - I'll need to stay focused to keep the weight off.
I'm not entirely sure if this whole thing would have even been possible without the "MyPlate" tool at Livestrong.com. A friend mentioned it to me back in March and that's what really got me going on my current regimen. It's got a searchable database of foods indexed with their calorie and nutritional content and it's generally very user friendly. It makes it very, very easy to keep track of your intake and to log in your fitness stuff. I'm sure it doesn't work for everyone but I found it was exactly the tool I needed to make this work.
The end result (so far)?
- My face is once more not pouchy, and that's nice!
- Hips no longer hurt at night!
- Thighs not rubbing quite so vigorously!
- BMI back where it belongs!
The pants not fitting problem was only solved for about a month, though. Now they're all too big. GOD DAMN IT.
Not much to say on that front except that Nate has been so much less unbearable! And of course the holy trinity of hitter thief and hacker continue to rock my world with their unbearable awesomeness.
Also (I think I've said this before) this season seems to be much less stupid! Or else turning thirty made me more stupid, which, actually? May in fact be the case.
I recently gave MAD MEN a try but found it a little too...portentious? In the "pompous and weighty" sense. I'm very impressed by it, but ultimately left cold by it. Which, in fact, is how I felt about INCEPTION in every way except that I'm now HUNGERING for Arthur/Eames fic.
In other news, I lost 20 pounds (on purpose).
My metabolism has slowed way down in the last year (thanks so much, The March of Time). I kind of porked up last winter (at least by my standards) and got to an all-time highest weight - around 155. I actually sort of enjoyed being at that weight. It felt...luxurious? I was all padded and soft and cosy! It was nice! (And my boobs were huge!)
But my face didn't look so pretty with the extra chub, and I was easing up towards a BMI of "no longer safely in the Normal range" and my hips started hurting when I slept on my side at night. The thing that finally annoyed me into action, though, was not being able to squeeze into my pants any more. I didn't want to have to buy a new wardrobe to accommodate my otherwise pretty rockin' Rubinesque squishiness.
So, vanity and practicality conspired and I set out on a journey to drop some pounds. That was in April. Since then I've been counting every freaking calorie and pushing hard to get into running shape. I'm running 10-15 miles a week and probably walking another 5. It has been... hard. Really hard. But not impossible. And actually, quite rewarding in certain ways.
Outcomes of this new calorie counting lifestyle include:
- A renewed appreciation of food! When you're averaging 1200-1300 calories a day you don't want to waste time with things that aren''t delicious. I've been cooking more and better and with more passion than ever before.
- A renewed appreciation of fruits and vegetables. So much nutrition! So few calories! :D
- A new distrust of refined flour and sugar. So little nutrition. So many calories. D:
- An intensified passion for potato chips. Look, I don't know what it is but I will walk an extra two miles on my way home after work just to create enough of a calorie deficit for a little bag of Kettle salt and pepper chips. The crinkled kind. God. So delicious.
- Muscles where there were no muscles before: especially in my thighs and the place where my thighs join my hips in the front. I like them. I earned them.
The first month or six weeks were the hardest - the radical change in my eating habits meant I was hungry pretty much all the time, and cranky pretty much all of the time. Plus, there was some heavy stuff going on with my family around then; I was kind of a basket case for a while, frankly.
I've sort of adjusted to the diet, and I'm actually really enjoying the exercise. And now, five months after I started, I'm at 136. I was going to stop at 140, which is where I've sort of defaulted for the last 10 years of my life, but I found myself wondering what life would be like if, say, my thighs didn't rub together when I walk. So I'm keeping on with it.
It's slow going. The calorie deficit I've been maintaining would have meant fast weight loss three years ago, but it's amazing how profoundly my system changed when I hit 29. My body clings to fat like grim death now. Mr. Smarty-Pants has been amazing through the whole thing - finding a perfect balance between being supportive and minding his own business. I have trained him well, and it's paying off.
So I figure I'm probably looking at a year, all told, of daily calorie counting, even once I'm no longer trying to lose weight - I'll need to stay focused to keep the weight off.
I'm not entirely sure if this whole thing would have even been possible without the "MyPlate" tool at Livestrong.com. A friend mentioned it to me back in March and that's what really got me going on my current regimen. It's got a searchable database of foods indexed with their calorie and nutritional content and it's generally very user friendly. It makes it very, very easy to keep track of your intake and to log in your fitness stuff. I'm sure it doesn't work for everyone but I found it was exactly the tool I needed to make this work.
The end result (so far)?
- My face is once more not pouchy, and that's nice!
- Hips no longer hurt at night!
- Thighs not rubbing quite so vigorously!
- BMI back where it belongs!
The pants not fitting problem was only solved for about a month, though. Now they're all too big. GOD DAMN IT.
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no subject
Date: 2010-08-25 04:25 pm (UTC)FWIW -- in case this might be of any interest -- a friend of mine just did this program, which I really like the look of (the guy is all like "Gyms suck! You don't need gimmicks to get fit! Fitness is all around you! Never eat diet foods!") and I'm going to start it myself on Sept. 15. That's the last chance for this year, because they avoid running it over the holidays (further proof that they are sensible and human):
http://thepeakconditionproject.com/about
My friend lost weight while doing it, which was one of her goals -- but not everyone does -- they tailor the program to fit your specific goals. I don't feel the need to lose weight as such (don't want to run into the pants problem!) but I do want to be a bad-ass, and I wouldn't mind having some more muscles in some of the bits that are squishier right now.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-25 06:06 pm (UTC)I've been sort of contemplating taking a martial arts class - both for self-defense and because it seems like an awesome way to get really strong/fit. Or yoga or something. Something to supplement the running. (Which, at the pace I go, can hardly even be called jogging...)
no subject
Date: 2010-08-25 06:22 pm (UTC)Yeah, I think doing the Peak Condition thing might be challenging as a vegan -- but it might be a challenge they would rise to, if one were to inquire. Patrick is based in Japan so must be familiar with people who don't eat a lot of animal products. Potato chips (and anything else that comes in a factory-made package) would be right out, though, except for the three "indulgences" that are built into the program (one per month). I think the program is a good fit for me because I *like* cooking everything from scratch and already use a lot less salt than most people I know. My biggest challenge will be giving up butter.... and chocolate of course.
Oh, it costs $495 altogether (including all the blog hosting/setup, etc.) I'm giving up my gym membership at the end of Sept. which will offset it quite a bit -- one reason I want to do it is to become a fit, yet gym-free (and thus slightly richer) individual.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-25 08:18 pm (UTC)Do you know anyone who's done crossfit? NOT THAT I AM EVER GOING TO DO CROSSFIT -- but I'm curious how this program compares.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-25 04:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-25 06:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-25 04:30 pm (UTC)And re: Mad Men, as I'm sure you've probably been told, it does take quite a while to come together. I didn't start really caring about the characters until mid-to-late first season, but when it did, oh boy. It's definitely more of a ... one season equals a novel rather than a batch of short stories kind of narrative, but I do understand saying *nah* to it.
Also, I am with you re: being left cold by Inception itself but being o_O *grabbyhands* by Arthur/Eames.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-25 04:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-25 05:18 pm (UTC)Also, there is stuff like Tom Hardy's mouth and JGL's faaaaaaace that require your attention.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-25 08:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-25 10:07 pm (UTC)And perhaps, um, Eames feels a tad guilty because while he was mostly a gentleman, maybe he finally gave in a little to Arthur's pleading and gave him a hand job to calm him the fuck down. And feels like if Arthur found this out it would Not Be Good. But he also feels dumbfounded by how beyond-his-wildest-expectations-hot out-of-control Arthur was, despite the situation, and he can't get all the filthy promises Arthur made out of his head, even though he'd never dream of holding him to them.
And then, um, stuff goes here. And then they done sex. The question is how to get them from feeling awkward and guilty around each other to *sexing*. Because I think in this situation, Eames would feel compelled to not be Mr. 'let's be saucy and tease/seduce Arthur for fun' because a) it's a shitty thing to do to use this knowledge against Arthur and b) what he may have thought of as a possible fun roll in the hay feels different now that he's seen Arthur so vulnerable. c) he's pretty sure Arthur's a lot more emotionally fragile right now than he realizes or wants to admit.
So he settles on sticking around Arthur's side as long as Arthur will let him, letting Arthur figure it out/ask the questions when and if he wants to, and looking after Arthur regardless of whether or not Arthur thinks he needs looking after. And with any luck, given time, he'll get to find out how much of that was the drugs talking and how much of that was Arthur. In the meantime, now that he knows Arthur has all these heretofore unseen *layers* he can't help but study the man.
All of which freaks Arthur the fuck out. But Arthur doesn't freak out. ARGH. Wow, that tl;dr'd longer than I meant to. Thanks for not minding the ramble. it helped to get that out.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-28 01:50 pm (UTC)