The journal of "Whatever!: the final push to graduation and beyond."

[lilly_julia]

Hi there. Maybe some of y'all remember me. I was doing hunky dory, training my ass off, looking to do a triathlon when last october I herniated a cervical disk during kickboxing class (in my neck). It really, really sucked hardcore. I was on 6 vicodin a day for two months after that. And working out??? please. It was not happening. So I went and saw my natural chiropractor and he helped immensely (much more than vicodin and celebrex, neither of which I have to take anymore.) I healed rather quickly (still not at 100%) and started doing pilates regularly. I started slow, with the easy class, and progressed to the intermediate class. and i LOVE IT. I have never seen such quick results on the midsection area. Seriously. I am combining it with cardio (no running) and yoga. No weightlifting for now. I need to strengthen my core before I work on my extremities, because it's kind of like building a house without a foundation, hence more prone to injuries... of which I've had many. These are per the reccomendation of my doctor, who has treated many athletic injuries, so I'll trust that advice.

I am graduating in june with a degree in Visual Communications, and the program is really really tough and demanding, especially in these last ten weeks. So it will be interesting trying to balance the whole graduation shebang with trying to sleep, work out regularly, not shoveling crap into my mouth while designing on the computer at 2am, not crying during class, not drinking enough coffee to kill an elephant, you get what I'm saying. It seems as though the students who do the most sophisticated and complex work have terrible skin, undereye bags and muffin tops from alternating design marathoning with drinking to forget the stress. I'm not exaggerating, my school is TOUGH.

The other crazy thing I've done is the graphics and cover for a novel that is being released in three weeks. if you're interested the website is http://www.trap****nthewheel.com I'm pretty darn proud of it. It was a ****load of work as you can imagine.

So what are my difficulties? Well, one of them is having an amazing group of friends whom I love dearly and want to keep, who love to drink and eat a lot. For instance, today I refused a trip to Milwaukee with my sister because there will be a huge party with a lot of old friends and of course, a ton of drinking and who knows what else, and the only thing I think I will gain from it is a hangover, so I refused to go hang with my sis, whom I only get to see twice a year. Is that really selfish?

The other is my internet addiction. I'm not kidding. I am a fiend for ********. I check it a zillion times a day. It really gets in the way of cleaning, thereby cooking as well. It interferes with my productivity in a major way.

I drink a lot of wine. Maybe 7 glasses a week. I know it will interfere with ever getting the lean body I've always wanted. The people on here are so inspirational, that's why I like this site a lot. I'm not the "get cut and drench myself with tanning oil" type, so I feel somewhat of an outsider on the forums sometimes, but there is no other fitness site that I've found where the members are as active and therefore better at keeping me motivated.

What else? oh yeah. I will be here posting food and pictures and my daily life, fitness related and otherwise. I hope you find it at least entertaining, and comment away as you like.

peace in the middle east,
-Lilly

[CharliC]

First in

Welcome back girl- looking forward to following along with the new post-disk-herniation journey!

[lilly_julia]

And you too, Charli. Your journal's the cooooooooolest.

and sorry about the link to the website.. I did not design that crappy splash page, I swear! It should be an actual site by the end of the week! ha ha.

[Brahette]

Hey there!! Welcome back! Glad to hear you're healing from your injury. You seem like quite the busy gal!! Congrats on graduating soon! Your designing sounds like alot of fun!! Oh I so hear you on that group of friends thing! I'm the only one out of my friends that even has a regular workout schedule... trying to explain stuff to them just falls on deaf ears! I'm looking forward to your posts and I LOVE food pictures!!

[lilly_julia]

Hey there!! Welcome back! Glad to hear you're healing from your injury. You seem like quite the busy gal!! Congrats on graduating soon! Your designing sounds like alot of fun!! Oh I so hear you on that group of friends thing! I'm the only one out of my friends that even has a regular workout schedule... trying to explain stuff to them just falls on deaf ears! I'm looking forward to your posts and I LOVE food pictures!!

Thanks! good to hear that someone knows what I'm going through with my group of friends. Its super frustrating. I feel so weird when I'm with them, I feel like if I don't eat crap and drink like a fish like them they will think that I think I'm better than them, or I'm annoying to hang out with, or I've got some kind of compulsion, etc.
case in point.. I kind of wish I went to Milwaukee today. and on the other hand, I don't. I wish I could have spent time with my sister at an awesome house party. I don't want to sleep on a couch and wake up hungover and guilty.. besides, my mom's having easter dinner tomorrow night and of course it will be sinfully indulgent, as it always is. I told my sis that i wasn't going because I have so much work to do.. which i do.. but I didn't accomplish jack today, except for working out. So I don't know if this was the right decision or not. I know all my friends are having a rocking good time and are disappointed I didn't come. damn.

today's workout:
20 minutes elliptical
20 minutes stairclimber, level 10
20 minutes 4.5 on treadmill at 5% incline

food:
1/4 papaya, beet and fiber powder in almond milk with flax oil
2 slices ezekiel, natural peanut butter, sf blackberry jam
1/2 c. cottage cheese
cup of kefir
1/2 grapefruit
buckwheat groats
3 sprats (little fish like sardines)
head of broccoli
4 oz. red wine (that's IT for the night!)

feels good to journal again. Just a little dissapointed that I didn't work like I said I would, and I know I will regret it soon!

[CharliC]

I'm another one with no friends or family with any interest in exercise and nutrition. Most of them are used to it and I'm used to them, though it's highly irritating when they whinge about their shape and make no effort to do anything about it.

Meals are sounding interesting- do you eat your papaya with lime? And your cardio sounds delightfully painful

Sorry to hear the work schedule didn't go to plan, but with a bit of luck you'll be extra productive having now had the benefit of a rest.

I'll keep an eye on Trapped On The Wheel- I'm looking forward to seeing the fruits of your labour!

[rubes00]

Hey there
I can totally agree with the friend aspect. I'm like the only one of my group who is on a nutritionally sound plan and who goes to the gym! Whenever I go back to my home town, I always tell myeslf that I'm not gonna drink that much (terrible I know), but I always end up drunker than sh*t by the end of the night and the worse hangover in the morning.. only to go cure it with a bloody mary and some fried food LOL...

Your cardio session looks great from yesterday! And you food looks oh so yummy! Good luck balancing it all... I'll be following!

[lilly_julia]

I'm another one with no friends or family with any interest in exercise and nutrition. Most of them are used to it and I'm used to them, though it's highly irritating when they whinge about their shape and make no effort to do anything about it.

Meals are sounding interesting- do you eat your papaya with lime? And your cardio sounds delightfully painful

Sorry to hear the work schedule didn't go to plan, but with a bit of luck you'll be extra productive having now had the benefit of a rest.

I'll keep an eye on Trapped On The Wheel- I'm looking forward to seeing the fruits of your labour!

its so frustrating and nerve wracking. What can you do? They don't want to be nagged, so you site back and watch them eat in horror.

I BETTER get some work done today (no excuses darnit!)

Hey there
I can totally agree with the friend aspect. I'm like the only one of my group who is on a nutritionally sound plan and who goes to the gym! Whenever I go back to my home town, I always tell myeslf that I'm not gonna drink that much (terrible I know), but I always end up drunker than sh*t by the end of the night and the worse hangover in the morning.. only to go cure it with a bloody mary and some fried food LOL...

Your cardio session looks great from yesterday! And you food looks oh so yummy! Good luck balancing it all... I'll be following!

Thanks.. the cardio session was KILLER. but doing it on three different machines rather than just one made it at least seem like it took less time for sure. And does that food look balanced to you? I hope so! I'm going to be following a pretty mundane diet for the next couple months because I have no time to make anything interesting! so expect a lot of yogurt, broccoli and oatmeal.. the fastest healthy things i know how to make and have no excuse for not making!

alright so just got back from my 1 hour pilates session and 1/2 hour uphill treadmill climb.. 2.12 miles, 4 mph building slowly up to 6% incline at the 15 minute mark. I feel so good in my body at Pilates, I definitely feel like I have more control over my limbs.. they no longer flail and splay all over the place. I really love it. My weight isn't changing but I look slimmer. My BMI is in the slightly overweight range (25.1) so I hope to change that soon.

I AM SO GLAD I DIDN'T PARTY LAST NIGHT! waking up sober and getting an awesome workout makes me feel so much better about myself then would a ton of drinking followed by waking up hungover on someone else's couch in another town. The party would have been fun, but I have trouble staying awake for stuff like that. And I'm not interested in the ways that my friends employ to stay awake.. and if I were around them I would have been tempted to join in on the debauchery. I aint gonna lie. So I am really glad I stayed away. The me of 5 years ago would have gone in a heartbeat.

So tonight is gonna be mega eat-a-thon at my mom's house and so I tried to pay it forward on the treadmill today! I know I will eat with abandon, so I'm just letting you all know ahead of time.. its a holiday, gosh darnit!

[lilly_julia]

back when models were allowed to look like women:

[lilly_julia]

oooooh weee! yesterday evening was some serious food action. My mom can cook. Good lord.

let me try to recall all that passed through my mouth here.. hmm..

almond milk, kefir and whey protein shake

a handful of cereal

oatmeal with raspberries and cinnamon

the most amazing piece of meat i've ever had in my life (my mom marintated flank steak for two days in a mixture of spices, stuffed with carrots, herbs and a hardboiled egg.. an Argentinian dish. It was seriously mind blowingly delicious!)

endive salad with creme fraische dressing

1/2 bowl of twice baked potatoes

small slice caramel torte that my little sister made
small slice fruit tart from Whole Foods

3 glasses champagne???

marinated zucchini strips

sun dried tomatoes...

i think that's all?

all in all well worth it. I think if you're gonna indulge, why not make it some high-quality gourmet awesomeness?

We had a great time at my mom's too. Although I'm real worried about her health.. its a long story.. but my sister and her girlfriend were in town and the 3 of us sisters were together laughing and being goofy.. doesn't get to happen very often, my older sis lives in San Francisco. And she didn't even go to the party in Milwaukee on Saturday as it turns out! so everything was cool in the end.

I had a great Easter weekend but I have to catch up on all the work I didn't do today. I don't think I will make it to the gym but will make up for it tomorrow after class, which I don't normally do but right now I think its warranted.. seeing as how I'm fulla pie!

[Brahette]

OMG that dinner sounds freaking delicious! My mouth is watering! I miss homecooked meals! Glad to hear you had a great weekend Being sober and getting things done is faaaar more productive than not

[lilly_julia]

you are so right. And your back looks fantastic!

[CharliC]

Agreed- gourmet indulgence>junk food binge

Good to hear that you had a great time with the family. I seem to remember that you spoke about your mum's health before- am I right in recalling that she wasn't being proactive about improving it? Hope things all work out okay.

[rubes00]

Hey good to hear you had a rather enjoyable Easter day... lots of yummy food always does you good

[twinnett]

Hi there!! Good to see you back!!!

[lilly_julia]

Agreed- gourmet indulgence>junk food binge

Good to hear that you had a great time with the family. I seem to remember that you spoke about your mum's health before- am I right in recalling that she wasn't being proactive about improving it? Hope things all work out okay.

Oh, she still isn't being proactive.. even if its as something as simple as drinking water instead of diet coke, even that small lifesaving step is too much for her.. she'd rather take a pill for the side effects.. I know. It breaks my heart.

Hey good to hear you had a rather enjoyable Easter day... lots of yummy food always does you good

that DID do me good! especially since I worked hard on the treadmill so I wouldn't feel guilty about it.. that's always the best.

Hi there!! Good to see you back!!!

thanks! good to see you here too! I will try to stick around! I like it here.

Yesterday I finally got some work done and I am pretty pleased with it. Didn't go to the gym though.. wanted to, but the weather was awful. I know, bad excuse.I could have driven there if I really wanted to (i live in walking distance.. lucky me! imagine if I didn't LOL).

so food...
breakfast was oatmeal with raspberries and cinnamon
snack while studying was plain sunflower seeds ( a good lot of them)
lunch was buckwheat with a fried egg ( i didn't eat all the buckwheat because I realized it was too many carbs with not enough activity. See, I'm learning!)
an apple
like, half a really delicious and juicy papaya
garbanzo bean salad with green pepper, tomato, green onions, mango, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, cumin, cayenne and salt. THIS WAS SOO TASTY. and surprising because it was one of those "mix up all the vegetables we have in the fridge and see what happens" type of meals! garbanzos are always a good addition to that!

[CharliC]

Sorry to hear about your mum. I know where you're coming from because I can see my dad going the same way. If there's a pill to take for cholesterol or blood sugar regulation, he figures that he doesn't have to change his diet in the slightest.

Yay for a productive Monday- very pleased to hear you're happy with what you've achieved

[Brahette]

you are so right. And your back looks fantastic!

Thanks Still a work in progress!!


Glad to hear you got some work done. I also live close to the gym and ride my bike there (parking is $1 each time and I can't afford that with how often I go!). Oh the joys of riding home during a Hawaiian downpour Those are fun, but at least I get cooled off!! lol! Garbanzo salad sounds delish!! Throw togethers sometimes surprise me with how good they are

[bebeklein]

Hey Lilly! Got some good stuff going on in here!

I love yoga and pilates too, although I'm not doing them ATM. But I love the way they make me feel....definitely lifts me up mentally.

There is this cool pilates vid I found on youtube...kind of dance pilates. I feel so relaxed after I watch it.


I love me some Christy and Cindy too. Those women still look amazing TODAY! Eva Mendes is a modern day Cindy to me.

[lilly_julia]

Sorry to hear about your mum. I know where you're coming from because I can see my dad going the same way. If there's a pill to take for cholesterol or blood sugar regulation, he figures that he doesn't have to change his diet in the slightest.

Yay for a productive Monday- very pleased to hear you're happy with what you've achieved

I know, I know.. I am kind of in denial about her health. I don't know how to deal with it right now. She needs me to lend out an arm of support, but she needs such a huge and heavy arm and I don't know how to approach it (its her mental health too. a double whammy) you'll be hearing about her from me in this journal, you can bet.

Thanks Still a work in progress!!


Glad to hear you got some work done. I also live close to the gym and ride my bike there (parking is $1 each time and I can't afford that with how often I go!). Oh the joys of riding home during a Hawaiian downpour Those are fun, but at least I get cooled off!! lol! Garbanzo salad sounds delish!! Throw togethers sometimes surprise me with how good they are

mmmm yeah! it did turn out great! they're so versatile and darn good for you too. We have a good 6 or 7 cans in the cupboard right now!

Hey Lilly! Got some good stuff going on in here!

I love yoga and pilates too, although I'm not doing them ATM. But I love the way they make me feel....definitely lifts me up mentally.

There is this cool pilates vid I found on youtube...kind of dance pilates. I feel so relaxed after I watch it.


I love me some Christy and Cindy too. Those women still look amazing TODAY! Eva Mendes is a modern day Cindy to me.

That woman makes pilates look so easy! That's because its all about being completely graceful and fluid, much like ballet (only if it were more like breakdancing I guess? ha ha ha!)
And I love the looks of those models.. so regal and glamorous, you don't see it much these days. Oh, the early nineties... And isn't Eva Mendes like sweet cream and coffee or what? She's adorable.

Ok folks, confession time.
Yesterday was bad planning personified by yours truly.

Breakfast was a glass of kefir and then an Ezekiel, nat. pb and nat. jam sandwich eaten on the train

mid-morning snack was a huge homemade granola bar from intelligentsia coffee.. i know, calorie BOMB. but it gets worse.

lunch was a great salad with spinach, broccoli, pumpkin seed, raisins and chicken and soy-ginger vinagrette.. very good.

THen I went to my friend's birthday party.

And had lots of chips.. they are my downfall.. god I could eat so many chips.. and there was doritos, tortilla chips and potato chips. THere is a reason I haven't had Cool Ranch doritos since I was a teenager. THey're coated in crack dust!
A small slice of chocolate birthday cake
a handful of M&Ms
two glasses of wine (I'm just glad it wasn't three or four, LOL).

ok folks.. how the heck am I supposed to go to situations where junk food is plentiful and simply not eat it? I don't know how to do this!!! Like I said, I don't buy junk food.. because if I see it, it hasn't a chance with me. Can I get some advice on this? because it seems to happen so often!

DAMN YOU COOL RANCH!!!

on another note.. as far as the big azz granola bar at the coffee shop.. I promise from now on to eat a balance bar instead while downtown studying in class.. they sell them at the convenience store in the building.. so no more excuses there!

But I did walk a good 2 or 3 miles with a laptop and a book on my back.. that helps, right?

[Brahette]

hee hee that made me giggle My crack is Smartfood White Popcorn!! OMG I've been known to eat an entire bag by myself!!

My suggestion is to eat before you go so you're not hungry and bring something with you. I've done it lots of times and sure I look like a complete dork whipping out some weird food at the party, but who cares! When I do things this way, I may sneak a chip or two, or something else that's offered. I try to pick the healthy things though. Like one party I went to had some cheese and crackers as well as all the junk food, so I just had a few pieces of cheese.

But hey, just chalk it up to a great night with friends

[lilly_julia]

so my mom emailed me this morning with the subject line "Easter+My House=Disaster" and it detailed how everyone in her house now has food poisoning. I thought, well whatever do you mean? I feel fine. So I went to a coffee shop to do homework.. sitiing there, drinking coffee and water, and I get up to go to the bathroom and TOTAL VERTIGO. could not get my bearings at all! I am extremely dizzy now, as well as nauseous.. the type of nauseous where I get up and go to the bathroom thinking that I may revisit my previous meal so to speak, but don't and the feeling passes. I take probiotics regularly so that may be helping. But this sucks. No work out today. No anything today. I am flat out on this couch! boo-hoo-hoo.....

[bebeklein]

mmmm yeah! it did turn out great! they're so versatile and darn good for you too. We have a good 6 or 7 cans in the cupboard right now!

That's a lot of cans of garbanzos!!!! I never know what to do with them. I only make 3 types of salads - shrimp, sirloin steak, and greek. I like hummus tho.

And isn't Eva Mendes like sweet cream and coffee or what? She's adorable.

I love that saying! I'm gonna have to incorporate it into my vocab.

And had lots of chips.. they are my downfall.. god I could eat so many chips.. and there was doritos, tortilla chips and potato chips. THere is a reason I haven't had Cool Ranch doritos since I was a teenager. THey're coated in crack dust!
A small slice of chocolate birthday cake
a handful of M&Ms
two glasses of wine (I'm just glad it wasn't three or four, LOL).

I think you did pretty good with the cake and wine. Chips are hard cuz once you start eating them it's hard to stop. But I agree with brahette, eat something ahead of time. These things usually work for me:
1. .5c cottage cheese with strawberries and stevia (cottage cheese keeps me full for a while)
2. deli meat, e.g. turkey breast wrapped in a slice of mozzarella
3. sardines on a couple of crackers (the fat in sardines keeps me full for a while)

on another note.. as far as the big azz granola bar at the coffee shop.. I promise from now on to eat a balance bar instead while downtown studying in class.. they sell them at the convenience store in the building.. so no more excuses there!

You could even bring your own bar in your back pack and save $$. Another option is packing a hardboiled egg. You could pair that with an orange or apple or even buy a FF latte if you're a little hungrier.

But I did walk a good 2 or 3 miles with a laptop and a book on my back.. that helps, right?

Walking is great, especially if hills are involved. You probably burned about 130 - 200 cals and if that's something you do 5 days a week, it adds up...600 - 1000 cals just for doing something that's part of your normal routine.

[Brahette]

Oh no!!! Hope you feel better!!

[lilly_julia]

bebelkein, you are AWESOME for all that useful advice. Thanks so much!

[CharliC]

Bugger about the food poisoning . Nothing's more horrible than nausea, especially when you can't even throw up for it to subside (okay, 'revisit previous meal' is more eloquent). Here's hoping it's just a 24 hour thing- take care.

I agree with what's been said re: junk food damage control. Eat before and have food with you. Also, if you decide totreat yourself, don't opt for the really moreish things (chips, cookies, salted nuts etc.). At least with a slice of cake, you don't automatically reach for another slice when you've finished it. Well.... actually.... I'm pretty partial to cake.

[lilly_julia]

actually that totally makes sense..

I only had one teeny slice of cake.

I only had one teeny slice of cheese pizza (which, I forgot to mention in my above post there.. I didn't even want it, but she ordered three pizzas, the other two were sausage and pepperoni respectively, and I don't eat pork.. I was hoping she might throw a vegetable on one of them but no such luck)

but with an open bag of chips staring me in the face, fuhgettaboutit!

[bebeklein]

bebelkein, you are AWESOME for all that useful advice. Thanks so much!

You're welcome lilly....Hope you feel better. I've never had food poisoning but my sister has so I know it's not a pretty sight.

[bebeklein]

BTW, I was at the grocery store the other day and I saw buckwheat on the shelf and it made me think of you

[lilly_julia]

hey! what's going on here! i could have sworn that I logged yesterday.. and now I come here and the post is gone.. grr! i don't want to do it over again!