I also need to work on being more accepting of any fight that my body puts up in a my weight loss journey. The main goal is only 30 pounds, and I can do it. I’ve done it before. I just need to get my body back into the rhythm and figure out what it needs to make healthy weight loss happen.

Frustrations are common for life, but they are not permanent and they don’t necessarily speak of who you are as a person. Unfortunately, if you’ve never met a person before and that’s how you make yourself out to be, that is how they are going to see you. Even if you meet them again, they’ll still remember that first meeting. That’s a sad thing, really as everyone has an off day.

I think it’s funny that I’m writing this on a day that is rainy and just kind of meh. I’m determined not to let it get the best of me today. I will be productive and will do my best to maintain a happy demeanor. But, I want it to be a real one. I want it to be me. When I was younger and dealing with self esteem issues, a friend once told me, “Fake it till you make it.” I think it’s time to reinstate this.

If you’re having trouble too but are working to correct it, I’d love some pointers and maybe we can work on it together. I’ve already got one person that is going to watch me for negativity and I will do the same for her. Sometimes, it’s easier to have people point it out to you. And, I thank you.

Despite the fact that the vacation was quite stressful for me, there were a few things that I was able to enjoy quite a bit: Look Out Mountain, Stone Mountain, Southern Sweets Bakery, and the Breman Center’s Dr. Seuss exhibit. I have pictures of all of these things and you will be able to see them as soon as I finish uploading them. It looks like I’ll be adding them to Facebook because Flickr won’t allow me to upload all of one folder before demanding that I pay for an upgraded account. I’ve never used it before and any fee seems hefty when you don’t know if you’ll actually use it.

During my consideration of how to use this blog, I think it will become something about my life in general–with a heavy emphasis on health. There’s more to me than my interest in getting healthy again. I’m a knitter and I plan to learn how to crochet soon. I plan to knit xmas gifts for family and friends. I have thoughts I’d like to express. I also have random interests that I’d like to inform people about.

Basically, so far I plan to use this blog for:

1. health information (including exercises, nutrition, recipes)
2. book reviews
3. knitting
4. possibly crochet (if I learn it well enough to become a common hobby)

That being said, if I’m reviewing something, it may not be something new, it could be a book I found and decided to read. The knitting can include the showing off of what I’ve knit as well as writing about frustrations, etc.

I’m still always open to answering questions about health if I can. I do warn you that it will be information I’ve looked up, which anyone can do, but I’m willing to find the information for you. As mentioned before, I’m not a doctor and I haven’t done any research other than looking up the information so you should always check with a doctor before taking the information given. I claim no liability.

I find it exceedingly self-limiting to just talk about health when there is so much more to who I am. I’m hopeful that this will also help me utilize the site more often too. I also hope this means you’ll find it more interesting as well.

Lastly, before I start planning out new entries, I would like to inform you that the url to this site will be changing soon. I’m not sure exactly when but I will keep you informed of this change. I was told by the webmaster that a redirect will be set up so that you won’t be left out if it’s a bit before you come back to the site.

I just really feel the need to remind people that any kind of fundamentalism has the potential to be dangerous. This means, that most people of Islamic faith are NOT ready to strap bombs onto their person and blow themselves up in the name of Allah. This also means that most people that follow Islam are peaceful.

Christians have also been violent and are violent. Of course, I am referring to the fundamentalists. Think of those abortion clinics that are bombed, and abortion doctors gunned down. How is killing life to preserve life acceptable? It isn’t. Murder is still murder.

This last article is important to keep in mind because Islamophobia (as the article calls it) is unacceptable for the “American way of life.”

I hope this isn’t too scattered but I felt the need to say something.

After doing some research I’ve found that a few exercises are completely out:

• squats
• running
• basketball
• tennis
• soccer
• raquetball
• football
• jumping exercises
• full-arc knee extensions
• lunges
• deep squats
• hurdler’s stretches

These are all bad for some one with injured knees because they can either put a lot of force on your knees (they say when running you actually put 3-5 times your weight down on your foot), or can have awkward positions. You’ll also note that I said running and not jogging. Jogging characterized in one source as a shorter, slower paced run. Of course, depending on the injury sustained, that can be out too, so you’ll need to listen to your body to see if that type of workout is okay for you. A treadmill is strongly encouraged.

Good Exercises:

1. swimming (minus the butterfly stroke)
2. walking
3. biking
4. elliptical
5. partial squats
6. step-ups
7. side-lying leg lifts
8. inner thigh leg lifts
9. calf raises
10. straight leg raises
11. short arc knee extensions
12. hamstring stretch

These exercises are better for the knees because they don’t have a high impact and they don’t cause you to place yourself into awkward positions. Of course, no two knee injuries are the same, so some may be good for you while others aren’t. Exercises that work your core and joints you use commonly are also important for strength. Your upper body shouldn’t be neglected either. In fact, you should definitely work it out to the best of your ability since it’s not injured. It’s common knowledge, also, that building lean muscle mass will also help burn fat if your goal is to lose weight.

I highly recommend reading the sources for more information–especially the first article–as it had other interesting information that didn’t quite seem to fit into the scope of this article. Another article I found also mentioned weight machines that are good for people that have bad knees because they strengthen the leg muscles around the knees. However, there is a machine that is mentioned in the article (source 3) that is at a conflict with the information seen so I’ll list it at the bottom and you can check it out with a professional.

This seems like a no-brainer, but you also want to make sure that your caloric intake doesn’t exceed your caloric output. That is how you put on weight. My previous post mentioned different ways to calculate your caloric intake so I would definitely take that into account as well. But remember, for my last post as well as this one, this information is a reference and I strongly encourage you to seek out the help of a professional so that you don’t unintentionally injure yourself.

References:

1. Good Exercises for Bad Knees
2. Best and Worst Exercises for Bad Knees
3. Workout Equipment for People with Bad Knees
4. How to Exercise with Bad Knees

Enough about me though, I’m interested in hearing about what you want to see on this blog. I want to be more diligent with writing and interacting with people through this blog but sometimes I get really concerned I won’t have anything to say. That’s a big problem for me.

I did read something in the news today, though, that really bothered me, but I find it appropriate considering how I started this post: Americans don’t know their caloric needs. This is a problem because not everyone needs the 2000 calories a day that the USDA calls for. With the help of Happy Herbivore, it was determined that I need 2570 because I work out a lot. This was important to find out because I started having blood sugar drops because I wasn’t eating enough. Any weight loss should be healthy, otherwise it won’t last and the unhealthy weight loss could have other implications.

So, that being said, whether you’re looking to maintain, lose, or gain weight, you need to know how many calories your body needs. I looked up some links (below) for sites that can help you determine your calories needed but honestly, you should probably find a professional to help you determine this because the sites vary. At the very least, you can get an idea of what you need. Remember, the minimum needed per day is 1200 calories.

• Calories per day calculator
• Guide to calculating calories needed
• Daily Requirement Chart*

*These are averages so you may still need to vary this according to personal factors.

Then. I would post what I lost or didn’t lose. I feel that this did a great injustice to the blog. It seemed to remove some of its credibility, to me. If it’s not about a specific number, exactly, why is the number one of the greatest emphases?

So, I’ve been trying to think of ways to use this blog while I get healthier and share these new behaviors with you. Not just show a number.

On top of that, I want to try to leave you, the reader, with something that will make you think. Something that could actually be helpful. I think that’s important. I’m not interested in just spewing some drivel. I don’t want this blog to be that way. I’m a picky blog reader and since there is a definite standard I have for blogs, why shouldn’t I hold myself to that very same standard?

I’ve heard from people that they like my blog (and they always remind me to drink water. haha.) and that’s nice to hear. I want to know what what I’m saying is interesting or educational on some level–even if it’s on something pertaining to local eats.

So. I’m hoping to change the blog in a way that I know it would be something I want to read and hopefully that means some one other than me will find it interesting.

While, I want to lose the thirty pounds (which hasn’t really happened yet because my life has been in some upheaval what with school, family life, etc.), the main emphasis should always be the healthy living.

With that statement, I want to emphasize emphatically that I do not subscribe to diets. Diets aren’t permanent. Lifestyle changes are. Think about it a minute and consider the fine print on any commercial touting some miracle diet where either you buy perfectly portioned meals or some kind of magical pill. You’ll seem to remember the fact that they always put some finely printed statement that the results of the newly thin person in front of you are not typical. That’s because diets really are designed to fail. People stay on diets until they hit a weight they want, go back to eating how they used to and are surprised when they gain the weight back with a few little poundy friends that tag along.

I digress.

So, long story short (I’m really pulling the cliches tonight. Don’t tell my freshman english teacher!), I’m going to make my blog fit the way I actually feel about my journey back into more consistently healthy eating and not worry about the rest. You may get an update every so often, but honestly, it wasn’t fair to you as a reader or myself because I was putting extra stress on myself to produce weight loss. I’m not on some reality show where my life solely consists of losing weight. I have a life and sometimes things go haywire when I’m trying to start something new.

But, that doesn’t mean I have to give up. And that also means making sure that I’m getting the intended message across.

I say this because not only do I have hormonal changes as is normal for a woman, I am also a lousy fluid drinker. I mean that if I don’t think about drinking something initially I can go all day and not drink a single drop of liquid. Once I start drinking though, I’m usually okay and I can’t seem to stop drinking after that.

So long story short, I’m hoping that I’m not either over-working out or over-eating. I’ll figure it out. I have something else I want to address, but it isn’t appropriate for this post. I feel that it does deserve its own post.

I’ve decided that I’m going to also look into posting things about food so I’m going to start now with a recipe I’ve loved for a while… and I think you should know about it.

The first one is Vegan Nikujaga from Just Hungry.

Since I’ve linked to the recipe I won’t be posting it. However, I will tell you what I think about it and what changes I’ve made.

I love this recipe because it’s relatively easy to make and it’s got a nice savory taste. It’s especially nice on cool days when it’s not warm enough for something cool and sweet but too warm for a heavy, warm stew.

I also suggest waiting a day to eat it which does require a little forethought and planning–which I’m admittedly bad at. It’s worth the wait though. I promise. The flavor deepens and that savory flavor gets a little stronger since the simmering isn’t quite enough on its own to completely infuse everything with that delicious savory flavor.

It does call for fried tofu but I find that it isn’t necessary. I get the normal tofu and drain it really well and then brown it in a skillet before putting it into the mixture to simmer. If you want the tofu even chewier, definitely freeze it. I like the nikujaga made with the tofu frozen or unfrozen. You can try it both ways and see which you like better. If you’re not used to eating tofu, I’d try the frozen first since it does have a texture closer to meat.

One of the reasons I like this recipe is because it has relatively few ingredients and doesn’t require an obscene amount of work to make. I do love the more involved recipes but sometimes it’s more work than I’d prefer to go through when I won’t be eating it immediately–I try to make at least a few meals ahead so I don’t end up eating out a whole lot. That’s one of the things I’ve been avoiding since I’m trying to lose this extra weight.

The sesame oil is pretty important to the recipe but if you don’t have it and really want it (like I did this Tuesday) you can sub another oil but I would definitely make sure to pick some up prior to making it again.

I’ve used both regular green beans and haricot vertes for the recipe and both work well but I have found that I like the haricot vertes best for their subtle flavor.

I also suggest putting some sushi rice with it to soak up some of the broth that is left over (You definitely want some without getting rid of it all. I realized this this last time because I boiled off a little too much liquid).

You can also put other veggies in, but I would only use veggies that have a light flavor. Despite the fact that I love broccoli, this would not be the recipe to put it in because it will overpower the flavor of the nikujaga.

Yesterday I tried the Single-Serve Blueberry Muffins by Happy Herbivore. I made a triple batch because I thought that it would be good to have them for breakfast this morning. I tried one with some Earth Balance… and over the course of an hour ate all three. Yes, you heard me, all three. They were absolutely amazing and I can understand why they should only be made one at a time–because you will eat them all! They are a little heavy but that is good for me because things like oatmeal hardly ever stick for me. I end up hungry a couple hours later and that always frustrates me to no end.

I plan to experiment with some other fruits and see what happens. I think strawberry could be promising.

Lastly, I wanted to post that Ganesha, the lovely webmistress, has become a writer at Vegan Mainstream. You should congratulate her! To go to her blog, definitely check my sidebar and you’ll be able to see her personal blog!

Okay, I need to get my bangs (fringe for those of you in Europe) cut so I have to get going. If you have any recipes I should try, lemme know for sure!

The whole time was spent with David. I even stayed at his place from Wednesday through Sunday (sadly today brought my return to the real world and to my place). On Wednesday after David got off work we went to get the preparations for my birthday dinner at a place called Local Harvest. The penne pasta and sauce was made by Mangia. I figured something like this would work well for both myself and my omnivorous boyfriend. We then walked back home and watched “Annie Hall”–a good movie if you haven’t seen it.

At midnight my boyfriend woke me up to sing happy birthday to me. Which was ridiculously sweet. We ate at Local Harvest for breakfast (there’s a grocery and a restaurant) and I ended up with a free cookie due to my birthday! Then we met up with Meredith and Ganesha to visit this place called Remains that repurposes old clothing. It’s quite interesting and very exhilarating to go through the bins after the very fascinating tour.

Following this we were on our own and we decided to travel through part of the Hill that was near where he lived–the area near St. Ambrose Catholic Church. It’s absolutely beautiful there and it was insane how quiet it was there. It was like we’d left the city entirely. There were cute bakeries and gift shops. There was also a high fashion store there called Spif<3. What I really enjoyed was finding the coffee shopShaw’s Coffee. It’s what I consider an amazing repurposing of a building. It used to be a bank. There is even a backroom with seating that used to be a room with safe deposit boxes. I, of course wanted to sit in there! They also have some beautiful paint work in that backroom. After the trip through one more grocery, we set off toSweetArt.

SweetArt is this beautiful bakery/cafe that was opened in the Shaw Neighborhood a little over a year ago. Raine does the baking while her husband Cbabi creates amazing works of art. Everything they’ve had has been delicious. I’ve actually had to limit my trips to once or twice a week depending because I seriously have no impulse control around their delicious food and cupcakes. If you live in the Saint Louis area you simply MUST go. You’re missing out if you don’t. Anyway, David and I bought cupcakes in lieu of a birthday cake. A bonus was that it was cupcake happy hour! Half a dozen cupcakes for less than 8 dollars. We went back home and made our dinner. Unfortunately even my garlic-loving self almost couldn’t handle how much garlic was in the sauce. I think if I use the sauce next time I’ll make sure it’s more than just a penne and sauce kind of dish so that I can break it up a bit. The penne noodles were amazing though. I’d get those again in a heartbeat.

After dinner we watched “Ghost”–my birthday present. I couldn’t think of a better way to end the day than watching a movie cuddled up to your favorite person.

Friday was a lowkey day where I ended up having a leisurely breakfast and then David and I ended up going to the zoo because he’d never been. I have mixed feelings about zoos. The day was so pretty though I needed to be out in the sunshine since I’ve been miserable since the temperatures dropped below 50 degrees. We ended up doing more but I’m drawing a blank. Isn’t that frustrating?!

Saturday is what made me induct David into sainthood. He spent the day with my family with me. I ended up getting a netbook for my birthday. The day was ridiculously stressful because it’s very hard to wrangle roughly eight people and keep them all on task. We ended up finishing off the night with some Schlafly beer atBoogaloo.

Unfortunately–through no fault of Boogaloo–some jerks at the next table threatened to beat up my sister’s boyfriend over my one year old nephew being a baby (read occasional squeals and what not but not overly so. He’s very well behaved and we were quite attentive to his needs). The cowardly couple ended up waiting until only my sister, her boyfriend and the baby were there because they had to finish up a beer while we were getting things coordinated outside with cars and such. I’m glad nothing came of it in the end but I’m going to emphasize right now that violence is never okay. Threats of advice aren’t either. If you’re unhappy in a crowded and loud restaurant (it was very busy–good on Boogaloo) over a small child that’s not very loud maybe you shouldn’t be out in the first place. If you don’t like children, that’s fine, don’t sit next to one. I respect that not everyone likes kids but there comes a point that if you know there’s a child near where you’re going to be seated then perhaps you should ask to be seated elsewhere. Once again, violence is never okay.

Sleep was what occurred next. It was really the only option.

Sunday yielded an exploration of the central west end. We hadn’t really been to the area since it’d gotten cold because this winter had been really harsh and since I can’t regulate my body temperature very well I’d have only ruined the experience for David and myself. It was a nice break before buying groceries and cooking for the dinner get together we had with my friend Jon and his boyfriend Daniel. During this span of time Jon put linux on my netbook. I recommend it since even with a top of the line netbook like I have windows is still a bit heavy for the poor thing.

The night ended with having to drop my wonderful boyfriend off and a drive back to my place. This was an amazing long weekend. I couldn’t have asked for a better one.

I’ve decided that I’m going to update on Mondays and Wednesdays. Sometimes Thursdays but there won’t be a weigh in since I’ll have weighed on Wednesday. These are the days I am guaranteed to work out. I am planning on working out another day or so but we’ll see. I’m trying not to burn  myself out.

Next, onto my weigh in and weight loss themed stuff:

So, today I weighed in at 255. Yes, I’ve gained a pound but I don’t think it’s too bad considering I took pretty much a week off from the rest of the world (including food responsibility). I’ll drop that back off pretty easily. I’m not worried about that.

I forgot my running shoes today so I ended up doing a sit-down bike on level 14 for about 30 minutes. I also started my goes on the 200 situps and 100 pushups. The crunches weren’t so bad but the pushups nearly killed me. It’s been a while, but they’ll get easier. I feel better already. I feel a little extra tension in my neck but I can handle that.

Today I’ve been really good about buying random snacks at my coffee shop. I just got some coffee and I’ve been trying to work on my physics homework… which sucks. It’s not supposed to be hard but I do believe I’ve psyched myself out.

As I’ve neglected to mention, Ganesha posted that yesterday was Dr. Seuss’ birthday. She posted an homage to him. The cartoon posted is an amazing one, and as she said, it’s also a commentary on racism. I’ll bet you didn’t recognize that when you were young and watching it. I encourage you to watch it and consider it in this new light.

In other news, tomorrow is my birthday and I’ll be officially 28. I’m excited. I’m going to spend the entire day with David with a possible side of Ganesha and Meredith. My goodness. I’m so excited though my weekend is going to be officially booked. Friday I have my fun crafty night with friends. Saturday I have breakfast with two friends and my family comes in late morning/afternoon. Sunday doesn’t seem to be booked so solid but that’s a good thing. It’ll be nice to rest and recover. Woot.

If you’re vegan, I’m sure you’ve probably heard of Hannah Kaminsky. She’s known for her delicious book “My Sweet Vegan” as well as some ebooks that I’ve had my eye on for a while. But did you know she’s also a crafter? She really, really is and I feel the need to share this section of her blog with you. When they’re patterns of animals she weaves cute little stories to go with them. She’s honestly just all-around talented!

Lastly, because I said I was going to do it. I have a small but helpful list of Iphone apps for you:

1. C25K – This app allows you to have the Couch to 5k program on your iphone with YOUR music. The first time I started, there wasn’t an app until I was almost finished. The reason this is so nice is that you don’t have to drag around a stopwatch or rely on a podcast that has music you don’t even like (this can make a run seem much longer). This one, if you’re trying to get back into shape with running almost seems indispensable.
2. Hundred Pushups – This one really isn’t needed, BUT it’s nice to always know what day you’re supposed to do what than try to keep track of it on a printed out sheet or something of the like.
3. 200 Situps – Same reason as Hundred Pushups
4. 200 Squats – Same reason as Hundred Pushups

That’s my short list. No more, no less. If you passed all of them up except for one, I’d encourage you get the C25K app. It’s very, very nice and worth the small amount it costs. Skip a soda or two. Maybe skip your tall fancy mocha drink from Starbucks or whatever coffee shop you frequent. That would pay for it in one go easily.

Of course, if you don’t want to pay, you could do intervals (I don’t know as much about this but I hear it’s good) and use Pandora for the iphone (or whatever fancy phone you use) and pay nothing (at least with the iphone). If you want some interesting music that may not be mass produced though, I’d spring for the SomaFM app. It’s an internet radio that operates on donations. I also happen to be listening to them right at this moment.

Okay, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be going to try to make some birdy friends.