Thursday, January 6, 2011

Back On The Wagon

I'm not alone when I say that I enjoyed the Holidays a little too much.  That is, the food and drink opportunities were plentiful and the workouts were minimal.  The end result is that I've been feeling guilty, and very much like a "blob" in the last few days.

I haven't been overweight for a long time and, in fact, I'm typically more concerned with being too skinny than the opposite.  I've been on a pretty rigorous workout regiment for the better part of the last two years and I'm very much in tune with my body.  When it's tight, I'm tight.  And when it's loose, well, I can feel that too.

As I've said here before, I don't weigh myself.  I'm happier not knowing, and my scale and I have never been friends.  So I don't know how much I weigh.  But I do know it's too much, and I need to get back to it.  I feel the extra weight the most in my face, my tummy, and my thighs....

Me: Beginning of Jan 2011

Lastly, over the years I've come to recognize that my eating habits are directly connected to my abilities to work out and vice versa.  When I go for long stretches and don't run or lift or otherwise get the heart and muscles pumping I'm far more likely to start bad eating habits.  I get the most of my fitness center membership investment - I assure you.

Why is all of this so important?  A couple of reasons.  First, I strongly believe that diet and overall fitness has some bearing on the possible onset of diabetes and I watched my dad fade away fighting his losing battle with it over the years.  I don't want that to happen to me.  Secondly, I've worked hard to get this body the way I want it and I'm not about to let it go now.  And lastly, I've got big aspirations that require significant levels of physical exertion so I need to be at a high level of fitness to follow-thru.

So - last night I hopped back on the Wagon again.  It was my first time at the fitness center in a month.  I ran 4 miles on the treadmill, did some V Squats and other leg exercises, did a stomach workout, and generally got the blood flowing through the muscles again.  I was pleasantly surprised that things went as well as they did although I can tell that I'll be hating myself for the next couple of days - I'm sore.

I plan to keep it up.

A couple of other things to mention before I hop into the shower.

I got an email from NCTE yesterday announcing that their Lobby Day and Policy Institute will be March 20-22 this year.  There's more information on their website, or you can register here.

Secondly, there's an annual Trans conference here in Harrisburg that's run by the local Trans group.  It's called the Keystone Conference and I remarked after my visit to the inaugural version of it two years ago how well organized and attended it was.  Last year built upon the success of the first year and this year looks to be a breakout for the conference.  National leaders like Dr. O and Dr. Meltzer will be here and the range of programming is representative of its growth.  Anyway, here's the info.  Now that this is home I'll hope to see as many people there as can make it.  :)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Having grown up with a mentally ill brother myself, to attribute anything they think or do to the real world shows either a lack of any real understanding of serious mental illness or simply a desire to shoe horn a tragic event to fit into a view you already hold.

Before he had even been arraigned or anyone knew his name, before an accurate body count was known, before the true health status of Giffords was known, before anyone knew anything beyond a shooting had taken place and a Democratic official had been shot, the left, along with the media was blaming the right.

The only root cause was his mental illness. His friends and others who know him prove that out.

The shooter is sick, mentally ill, that's why the shooting happened not because of anything going on in the real world.

Donna said...

@ the previous commenter: I appreciate your perspective. However I disagree with it. In my opinion it's no coincidence that this heinous event happened in Arizona. And you can try to convince me all you want that this was simply a mentally unstable person carrying out their own act of violence but I don't for a second believe that. As far as I'm concerned the broader discussion is far more a social one than a political one but there's more to it than simply a crazed social misfit with a gun. Be that as it may - I stand by my opinion and I'm confident that it's valid.

Anonymous said...

The only social aspect I can see would be that none of the people close to him, family and friends, did anything to get him any help.