Fitness

First off, I'd like to say that this isn't a fat-negative post. I'm not a thin girl; I'm naturally on the curvier/chubbier side, and I love my curves. Fat is hot, and healthy, and fit, and I'm looking forward to the day when people can use the term "fat" and have it interpreted as a compliment, not an insult. (With the Filipino side of my family, it actually is a compliment. Calling someone "fat" is often teasingly accompanied by "sexy." Although Filipinos have their own beauty-standard stupidities, but that's probably a topic for a later post.)

Over the past few months, I've somehow managed to gain 6.5kg (about 14.3lbs. Hmm, looks like the freshman 15 hit me 3 years late). I've spent most of my life being in between 50 and 55kg - usually 50kg - so I'm on the heavier side right now. My belly is a lot bigger, and my inner thighs are flabbier. Unfortunately for me, my weight gain is a direct result of living an unhealthier lifestyle, and not taking as much care of my body as I should. For the past year, I have:

- been eating less healthily. I usually have a burger once or twice a term, as a guilty pleasure of sorts, but I've really let go and have been eating lots of junk food. Burgers, spicy wings, fries, etc. I've been eating more than I need to, as well. This is all due to bigger portions, unhealthy food being readily available, healthy and tasty food being more difficult to find, etc, but I could have a lot more willpower, and try harder to eat well. I've always liked rich food and desserts a lot more than I should, too.

- not had an exercise routine. Ever since I've come to college, I go to the gym now and again, but not regularly, and it shows. When I was using the Wii Fit at Mina & Sylvanus' place, it concluded that I had the fitness/physique of a 35 year old. (I'm 22!)

- picked up quite the alcohol habit. I always drink at parties, and used to drink maybe once or twice a week, but over the year I started playing pong more often, and last summer I got into the habit of having at least one drink a night. Not enough to get sloshed, just pleasantly tipsy. Still, I think I polished off two bottles of Patron in two months :/ (Ahh, that was good stuff.) It got to the point where I was drinking even when I didn't really want to, but just because I was used to doing it. I never really thought about alcohol as calories until now; I always thought of drinks as magically outside of the "food & beverage" category. And my drinking is a problem not just because it's bad for my body. I drink when I'm nervous. I drink to try and be more social and uninhibited. I believe J put it best - I was hanging out at his frat with him and his friends, and I started getting really socially anxious, so I disappeared and hid for a bit to try and calm down. J found me and made me feel better, and remarked, "alcohol isn't going to fix this." Just like that; very simple. But he's right - the booze might help a little, but it's not a permanent solution. To be honest, I don't think I drink more than most people at my college. I probably drink less, in fact. Nevertheless, people I know have frequently nagged me about drinking too much - and nagging is probably the worst way to get me to do anything. Now I've decided for myself that I want to drink less, though, I'm going to go ahead and do it.

There are plenty of reasons why I want to get in better shape... so I can fit into my cute skirts and tight tops again (seriously, I can't wear some of my clothes anymore, it's so depressing), so I can have more stamina during sex (I might be sexually versatile, but I can be really lazy too) and just to feel good (eating well and going to the gym are annoying habits to start, but once I start doing them I feel a lot more energized and better mentally).

I've come up with some things I can do to improve my habits:

- keep a food log. Not calories, just stuff I eat. I've been doing this for a few days and so far it's very useful in keeping track of how much vegetables, fruits, desserts, etc I eat, and it's easier for me to notice whether or not I'm eating too much of the same thing.

- no food after a certain point in the day. As in, no food right before bed or late at night when my day is winding down. Haven't stuck to this because my sleep is still sort of erratic.

- give away the booze I don't want. I'm going to donate unwanted booze to J's housewarming party tomorrow. There's no point keeping the stuff around if I don't actually like it, plus this way I'm less tempted to just drink randomly.

- limit drinking to twice a week. Zeta Mu meetings and the weekends. And no drinking by myself. Going to try and limit the number of drinks I have a night, too. I'm usually tipsy on 2 drinks and really drunk at 6, so I guess I'll set 2-3 as a maximum.

- cut out certain foods/drinks. No burgers, fast food, or soda. Limit the amount of dessert I eat. I've switched from soda to tea, and so far that's worked out really well.

- go to the gym 3x a week. Me and M have agreed to go to the gym twice a week at a set time, which is great because I hate going to the gym by myself. I also signed up for an Anusara yoga class.

- have a health buddy. Maybe my mom, since we've both been complaining about unhealthy habits and how we want to change them. She's cutting down on her drinking and quit smoking a month ago now; I'm proud of her for being able to do that. Just having someone to talk to and being able to motivate and encourage each other always helps.

If you have any more suggestions for me, I'd love to hear them

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