Image courtesy of Silus Grok via flickr
I was chatting with a friend of recently when the subject of weight loss came up. He told me that he had managed to lose 10 pounds in the last month, and when I asked what he was doing he told me that he had stopped going to McDonalds for breakfast every morning and started drinking less soda at work.
That’s it.
Another exercise I had was to write a thank you letter for one of my happy pieces of encouragement…
As I mentioned in my post yesterday I had a very hard time coming up with three enemies to my creative self-worth due to the fact that I had far more positive artistic influences in my life than negative ones. That said, I had an equally hard time listing three positives because there were a LOT to choose from. I did manage to finally pick three to write down, and of the influences I selected was Salvatore “Sam” Falco.
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
When it comes to healthy eating battle cries this has to be one of the most common ones. However, despite the scientific evidence proving the statement above to be true quite there are a great deal of people who choose to skip off on breakfast before starting their day. For some folks it is simply because the allure of sleeping an extra 30 minutes is too great to pass up. If you’re trying to lose weight you may skip off on breakfast because you’re not sure of the healthy, low-calorie options that are out there. Many of the popular breakfast options that we’re familiar with such as pancakes, doughnuts, fried eggs, and biscuits with sausage gravy really don’t fall into the “light” category.
Not every breakfast has to be a big bowl of Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs. If you’re looking for a healthier way to start your day I have five options that may just tickle your fancy.
Image by Ken Lund
Over the last few months I’ve been taking part in the Weight Watchers® Walk-!t Challenge. The program is a partnership between Weight Watchers and Active.com that encouraged Weight Watchers members to sign up for and complete a 5K walk for charity. As part of the program Weight Watchers provided trainers to those who signed up for the challenge to help prepare them for the 5k. I’ve never taken part in any kind of event like this before, so while I already walk considerably more than 5k on a daily basis I thought it was a great opportunity to get some more exercise in to my routine and I signed up.
I got an email this morning from my trainer that got me thinking. Amusingly enough it wasn’t part of the email itself but her signature that sent the wheels in my head spinning.
Photo by uuzinger
I have never, in my entire life, done a pull-up.
This is not an easy revelation for me to make. The truth of the matter is that it’s downright painful.
Back when I was in Middle School (6th to 8th grades down here in Florida) physical education was a mandatory class that everyone had daily. For some kids it was an excuse to get outside and have some fun during the school day. For me it was a daily reminder of how much I sucked. It was an opportunity for me to get picked on for how slow I was, how much I was sweating in the hot Florida sun, how I was horrible at team sports, and how ugly I looked when I didn’t have my shirt on. The latter, of course, only happened on one of the very rare occasions when I would actually get up the nerve to “dress out.” When I didn’t, which was most of the time, I got picked on instead because of how badly I smelled due to not taking a shower after class.
The absolute worst humiliation I had to endure during that time, however, was a direct result of The President’s Challenge.
You took me where you went shopping, you jerk! You think I care what store in that shitpit dirt mall has the latest Godzilla bootlegs? Do you call eating pizza in the same dive pizzeria every night eating out? Do I give a shit when two major comic book labels are crossing over characters, selling two editions of the same book in varied-ink chromium covers? I’m a girl, damn it! I wanna do girly things! Like fix up someone’s hair and get phone calls expressing romantic sentiments!
– Rene, Mallrats (1995)
Ok, fellas. This post is for you. Ladies, if you’d like to step back for a moment and have a good laugh at the fact that I even felt the need to write this particular post feel free.
Let’s be honest guys. Despite all of the facts and figures out there that point out how much sense it makes to lead a healthy lifestyle, if you’re on this web site looking for tips and tricks to lose weight and/or get in shape you’re most likely doing it because you’re looking for a girlfriend. There’s nothing wrong with that particular motivation. I myself dropped the biggest chunk of my weight during a period where I was single after my divorce.
Getting into a relationship is one thing. STAYING in a relationship is an entirely different subject altogether, and Rene sums up one of the challenges we (as geeks face) – remembering that girls, occasionally, like to do girly things. Even if you’re fortunate enough to land yourself a geek girl (which I have…you may envy me now), there are still going to be times when she wants to do something romantic. Her idea of romantic MAY involve singing Klingon Opera together, but it’s just as likely she may want you to bring her flowers and cuddle up with her to watch Pride and Prejudice. Hell, if you’re open to the experience you may even enjoy it (although I’m still not seeing what the big deal of “wet Colin Firth” is).
Long story short? A woman who is willing to put up with all the weird geek stuff you’re in to is a precious thing. Don’t blow it by constantly neglecting the things SHE likes to do as well (because, believe it or not, not every girl has a “dressing up like Slave Leia” fantasy).