Ardentli.Net

So, as of this week I have officially completed my undergraduate education! I will be walking for my graduation ceremony in May. Till then I am staying in upstate New York, but I basically have a 3 month vacation.

I’m planning on working out extensively during my three months due to lack of other obligations. I want to be hitting the gym 5 to 6 times a week and working hard on my cardio fitness. As a few of you might know I’ve been a poor runner most of my life, but last summer while I was in Boston I worked on outdoor running and finally was able to complete a 5k run without stopping. For me that was quite an achievement and I really, really, really want to get that up to a 10k by summer.

My other goals are going to be to try to lose 5lbs by the end of May. Modest goal, but I figure goals of any variety are good ones to have.

My proposed exercise schedule:

Day 1: Cardio workout

• 45 minutes elliptical
• 15 minutes bike cycling

Day 2: Jogging/Weights

• 5 minute pre-stretch
• 5 min run, 3 min walk, 10 min run, 3 min walk, 5 min run, 3 min walk
• Abdominals, back, shoulders

Day 3: Cardio workout round 2

• 45 mins elliptical
• 15 minutes bike cycling

Day 4: More jogging/weights

• 5 minute pre-stretch
• 5 min run, 3 min walk, 10 min run, 3 min walk, 5 min run, 3 min walk
• Arms, legs, glutes

Day 5: Random cardio day

• Probably will vary this day up, but I’m thinking a longer jog (20 minutes) and more elliptical workouts
• Any area I find deficient

I think I’ll be making a 1234342th attempt to keep this public blog updated with my health/workout information. I’m having such a huge problem with committing to a theme to this blog. My apologies!

Yeesh, losing weight is such a pain in the behind.

This summer I’ve decided to kick my extra 15 lbs I gained from college and I’m finding it to be so difficult! I think my hardest, biggest, largest what-have-you problem is the calorie intake bit. I’ve been keeping track of everything I eat and lowering my calorie intake by 500 calories per day (so from an average of 2100 to 1500-1600) and wow, is it difficult. Finding food, that is.

I work a full-time job so I usually eat out at lunch. I was looking at the nutrition information of the food places we eat at (we typically eat downstairs in our corporate office’s cafeteria) and even things like simple sandwiches had a startling amount of calories, fat, etc. I was hard-pressed to find any foods on the menu under 500 calories that weren’t salads! Cripes, no wonder so many full-time workers gain so much weight. I’ve settled on eating salads and lower calorie sandwiches like tuna. I’m sticking with water and coffee (with splenda) with only for drinks while here. So many calories come from beverages we drink. Therefore, I’ve been great about cutting out calorie-filled beverages.

Someone my height/weight should be eating no less than 1400 calories a day, but in American culture finding meals that are even close to that calorie wise is difficult. Looks like I’ll have to pack more lunches for myself over the next few weeks.

I’m also in the process of sniffing out a gym here in Boston that I can go to for two months only. I loved having my college’s gym handy and I would go 4-5x a week for a cardio workout, but having nothing here in Boston and tons of rainy days (hence no outdoor running) is annoying. I’m actually going to go check out a gym after work today.

So how do you working ladies stay slim and trim? I’m guessing most everyone brings in lunches. If anyone has any great motivational stories about how they dropped a small amount of weight (I don’t think 15lbs is anything drastic) lemme know! I’m pretty adamant about being the same weight/health standard ending college as when I started.

Actually, I’m healthier now than I was when I started college. I was thinner then, but much less fit cardio wise.

Oh, by the way, for anyone who wants to join a great forum, BoardX is looking for more members. We’ve hit a summer slump, so to speak, but it’s really a great community I’ve been a part of for 2+ years now. Everyone’s great and mature, so I’d highly recommend checking out JC’s board.

Also, I’m reading the novel of Howl’s Moving Castle. The movie stayed pretty true to the book thus far!

Finally! I’ve found a place to live in Boston. After about a week and a half of cruising Craigslist I finally found a place that’s what I want and close to where I’d work. I’m living in a 3 bedroom Victorian style house on the first floor with two other 22-23 year old roommates who are graduate students. The apartment is nice, spacious, and I get my own private bedroom, walk in closet (yay!), washer/dryer included, and parking paid for.  The cost? $950 a month. Sounds mondo expensive, but honestly for Boston it’s not. It’s honestly about the best I can find that’s not a trash heap in the Boston proper area. I’ll be moving in the last week of May.

Besides the typical class schedule I’ve also got back on my exercise routine. I was slacking and only going to the gym 3 times a week instead of my usual 5x a week so I’m back on normal exercise schedules. I’d really like to lose 10lbs by the end of this quarter and a total of 15-20lbs by the end of summer to get rid of all that college weight. It’s so irritating that I keep falling off the exercise horse so I’m really adamant about sticking with it this time. I’ve been doing cardio on the ellpitical for 45 mins a day plus abs and arm workouts every other day as well as legs and glutes workouts on the others. Hopefully I’ll get back into great shape by the end of the summer.