(un) Fitness Friday: aka the Nothing Post

Soooooo...

What can I say?  Not a super productive week.  It happens, yeah?  I blame the American Idol premier :o)

What I have done is get back on the exercise bandwagon...and I'm officially back to wedding weight. Yay!

The living room is still in perfect condition, thanks to about 30 seconds of daily attention.

I also made my first from-(mostly)-scratch soup and it even got Jeremy's stamp of approval.

Just for fun, here are some photos of the artwork Jer and I picked up on the honeymoon:

The 3 Ladies we picked up by Bellet for the Lounge/Dining Room and my Favorite Little Piece for the Living Room!

Left and Middle were FREE, Dolphins are for sea-themed bathroom redo

New Bones is on (because I write a day in advance)...so, yeah...that's where I'll be!

bgt

One room (mostly down) and another has a drastic face lift!

Wow...Yesterday was productive!

I cannot believe I busted out almost an entire room AND got started on another in only one day!  The living room was cleared of trash and random clutter, then swept, vacuumed, the couch cover washed and cushions fortified, bookcases were dusted and the entertainment center organized!  Here's a peak of the nearly finished room:

As for the Florida room, well...I'll let the photos speak for themselves:

Before

After

Well, I'm pretty much going to relax this weekend and try to get Jeremy to help me finish clearing off the shelves in the Florida room (we'll see how that goes).

As much work as I got accomplished yesterday, the living room was probably one of the easiest rooms in terms of clutter so I shouldn't expect my progress to be as fast in other parts of the house.  It is good knowing  that one day's work can bring massive changes.

“It is important that you recognize your progress and take pride in your accomplishments. Share your achievements with others. Brag a little. The recognition and support of those around you is nurturing.”

- Rosemarie Rossetti

bgt

Fitness Fridays!

As important as cleaning house is, I think it'll be nice to take a break every Friday to chit chat about healthy living in general...the things that keep our bodies and brains FIT :o)

Since I'm pretty much obsessed with healthy living science-type stuff, this will be a good way for me to share the random tidbits I've learned over the years and ask for some of your opinions, as well.

Earlier in the week, I came across an (old) article on time.com in which the author uses some (somewhat questionable) evidence to support the claim that scheduled, vigorous, aerobic exercise does not have a significant impact on weight loss.  Basically, because your 50 minute Cardio Fusion Dancercising Class makes you really hungry, or you feel like rewarding yourself for all that hard work, you wind up eating more to compensate for the exertion - most likely eating more calories than your Booty Bootcamp burned...

Right.

Honestly, I feel like anyone who would fall into that pitfall is guilty of being totally clueless.  For a female weighing in at 130lbs, a five mile run burns a meager 400 kcal*, equivalent to two poptarts.  Now, after an hour of ruthlessly pounding pavement, the LAST thing I want to do is waste that effort by gobbling up junk food.  That would be the definition of glutton for punishment!  Even if exercise were my only lifestyle change (assuming I eat exactly what my basal metabolism required), a daily five mile run would put me at a weekly deficit of nearly 3000 kcal (almost a full pound)...so how exactly can you discount it as a powerful tool for shedding fat?

That said, the author of the Time article does provide food for thought...but I hope that rather than convince readers that exercise won't help them lose weight, it encouraged them to inspect their eating habits in response to working out.

In summary: You cannot shed fat without creating a calorie deficit.  Exercise can help you create or increase your calorie deficit.  (Exercise can also help you reduce stress, maintain strong bones, muscles and joints, improve self-esteem, etc etc.)  Rewarding yourself or choosing the wrong foods to refuel after a workout counteracts the hard work you did.

What are your thoughts?  Do we tend to overestimate how much we're burning when we hit the gym?  Do you need exercise to maintain your physique or to lose weight?  Is diet alone enough?

Nothing in life is certain except death, taxes and the second law of thermodynamics. 

Seth Lloyd 

bgt

*Net calorie burn, which is total energy expenditure minus what you would have burned anyway just sitting on your couch watching Desperate Housewives reruns.

What I shiny sink I have...

A cousin (and commenter) recommended I take a look at FlyLady.net, so I did.  The site specifically requests that you not reproduce any of the tips or content, but I will say that the first thing it tells you to do is clean & shine your kitchen sink.  Why?  Because it's easy to upkeep and it's a good sense of accomplishment.  I don't have any bleach, so I had to use bathroom cleaner on our white (who DOES that? it always looks dingy...) sink, but it took whitened up all the scratch marks and put a good shine on it.  Yay.

This FlyLady site looks like a great resource, and there are definitely some things I'm taking away from my hour of browsing, but I doubt I'll subscribe.  Unfortunately, they send out around 10 emails each day...and one of the most cluttered areas of my life is my email inbox!  I recommend clicking through the first month's guide and picking out any habits you think will help you :)

So, what's my plan of attack?  Lord knows I need one because I spend most of my time "cleaning" wondering what in the heck to do next.  The general game plan for each room is this:

1. Two dedicated hours in the AM picking up trash and collecting items for donation.
2. Lunch and blogging break.
3. Detailed cleaning (vacuuming, dusting, windows, cobwebs, washing relevant laundry)
4. Putting the room back in order and removing anything that belongs elsewhere.
5. Normal life (cooking dinner, time with HubBear)
6. Picking up whatever got out of place that day (and cleaning the sink before bed).

Once the house is cleared of stuff that needs tossing and donating, I'll be focusing that time on creating organizational systems to help prevent the clutter from getting so bad (from a trash can in the office to finding more storage space for the kitchen).  Eventually my mornings will be mostly free of cleaning duties!

Rooms will be cleaned in the order of what bothers me most to what bothers me least:
1. Living room and dining room (because it's almost empty anyway)
2. Bedroom (entire suite)
3. Office
4. Kitchen
5. Bathroom, hallway and hall closet
6. Guest room
7. Florida room and outside
8. Garage (which will be assigned to weekends so Jeremy can work on it with me...it's mostly his stuff)

After the first round of cleaning each room, which I predict will take at least 3 weeks, I'll be able to address multiple areas in one day and will hopefully down to about 30 minutes to an hour of upkeep daily.  (Keep dreaming, right?)

For now, I have a spotless kitchen sink and a long road ahead.

"You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win."

Zig Ziglar 

bgt

As Promised...The Dirty Photos....

As much as I regretted my promise to share photographic evidence of the house's current state, well, here it is:

Living Room

Florida Room aka Jer's Play Room

Dining Room (eventually lounge)

Porch

Breakfast Nook

Kitchen

Hall Bathroom

Office

Master Bedroom

Guest Bedroom aka Becky's Clothes Storage Facility

Hall Closet

Garage

It's hard to believe how quickly things can fall into absolute chaos.  Just over a year ago, the house was spotless (though admittedly, much of the clutter was hiding in closets and in the garage, and we didn't have a dog).  These pictures are pretty embarrassing, but I hope they motivate me to make real progress.

Speaking of progress, I filled two trash bags last night with junk from the office.  Mostly beer bottles (ahem, Jeremy) and wedding litter (that's all me).  As Jeremy says, "the house looks dirtier when it's clean" because now I can see the floor...and all of the animal hair that needs vacuuming.  Good thing that's my favorite chore!

So, are you brave enough to post photos of your home's clutter?  Perhaps just on a bliary your sure no one reads ;o)

“If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, what is the significance of a clean desk?” 

Dr. Laurence J. Peter

bgt

Four(ish) Months to Gooooooo...

I guess I should start by setting the scene:

- I start medical school in under 7 months! (Finally!!)
- I start OTS in just over 4 months!
- I've been married (to my favorite person on earth) for 1 month! (Already!!)

also

- I have one (very spoiled) dog.
- I have one (very messy) house.
- I have fifteen libbies to part with to reach my goal.

So, in an effort to create more motivation and accountability, and to maybe help a friend or stranger find inspiration to clean up their life, I've decided to keep (or restart) a bliary...a blournal?

Tomorrow, I'll be posting pics of the house as is.  Mess and all.  Just putting it out there.
Then, I'll keep you up to date on my progress cleaning, organizing, and redecorating.
Meanwhile, I'll also be sharing links to products and articles that I find helpful.
Finally, for those who care, I'll be including a little information about my progress toward a more healthy body.

My goal is to finish the cleaning and organizing, and the weight loss, by OTS (May 31st).  Actually redecorating may be on hold until July or my winter holiday break.  More than just documenting the progress, I would love if this "bliary" became a place for conversation about cleaning out life's clutter and making changes for a healthier, more organized life.  So, please comment with tips, opinions, your own getting-clean stories...anything that strikes you!

"Manifest plainness,
Embrace simplicity,
Reduce selfishness,
Have few desires."

Lao-tzu (604 BC - 531 BC)

bgt

Update

- 34 again on MCAT (better Verbal and Writing but lost a point in Biological)
- Reserved Newton Chapel for December 11, 2010
- Have AWESOME blackberry
- 3 tests next week


<3
bg

Newest Goal: Productive + Fun Week

Hope you all enjoyed my animaptions from the last post (get it? animals+captions=anim-aptions!)...

Side note: if you particularly enjoy a particular post, leave a comment so I know what it is you particularly like to see. Particularly.

So, moving on...here's my goal list for the week:

- Read all chapters for Biochem & Ecology midterms

- Complete all homework by the day before it's due

- Complete all over-the-weekend assignments by Friday night

- NO MEAT (workin' on day 6...WOOTYEET)

- Make a new friend (seriously)

And above all...stay positive + have fun.

So, what am I up to?

Well, I started the morning at 1:00 pm with a soy-fruit smoothie, oatmeal and coffee.  Homework's all done.  Chapter prepping is complete.  I'm actually taking some time to practice my penmanship.  I'm also relearning the Hebrew alphabet.  And finally, I'm watching Secrets of the Founding Fathers on the History Channel.  Doesn't that sound like an exciting Sunday afternoon?

Jeremy's shower broke again.  The floor is cracked and he'll need to reseal it.  Hopefully, it'll last longer than 2 months this time.  If anyone out there has a better idea on how to fix it, please let me know in the comments.

Well, I hope this post hasn't been too boring.  Here's a funny photo to make up for it:

If you don't get it, go here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolcat

LOTS OF <3s to you LOVELY readers!

bg

Cute Animals!

Because who doesn't like cute animals??  Celebrating my renewed vegetarianism!

I am not cute.  Stop looking at me.  Now.  Stop.  I bite.

 

Mooooooom.  It's wet out! Do we have to go to school today?

 

*nibble* I said I'd eat my veh-ja-tuh-bles.  You don't gotta watch me....

 

If I can't see you me, you can't see me. Right?

 

Hrm. Smells like chicken.

Oh...you're takin' a picture, eh?  I'll just stand right 'bout here...

And end.

<3

bg

From Monsoons to First Days of Autumn & Leaf Collecting...aka Really Long Post Names

So, yesterday it rained 20" in the ATL.  I'm not sure how much it rained here, but it was pretty intense.

So intense, I wrote a poem about it (see previous blost).
((ps - "blost" is the new term for blog post.  yes, coined right here, right now))

I'm feeling a bit goofy tonight, so here are some captioned pictures:

 

No party is complete without Aqua.

Giant beanbag chairs are for drunken meditations.  Oooommm.

Found on forest floor.  Okay, I have no idea what this is?

Yet another giant, interesting moth-creature.

Entirely unedited.  Florida Maple : )

And now, in celebration of my day spent collecting leaves, painting them with nail polish, covering them with tape and sticking the impressions on glass slides....