June 27, 2006
sleep freak
More and more studies are showing the benefits of a good night's sleep. I'm somewhat ambivalent about sleep. I enjoy it but at the same time I feel like there are things I could be doing or missing by going to sleep. I'm not someone who necessarily wants to sleep more than 8-9 hours at a time. But I wish that when I slept that I slept more peacefully overall. I wake up a lot and I dream like a freak. Some nights my dreams are so detailed and intense that I feel completely unrested. I feel always on the verge of waking up--that half lucid dreaming, half sleep state. It's not restful at all.
But to our credit, we have managed to follow most of the healthy sleep tips from the National Sleep Foundation. We go to bed and get up at mostly the same time--and even on weekends we're not too far off the mark, usually only sleeping an hour or so more than normal. We keep our room cool and dark, use it only for sleep and other private things ;-). We have a new mattress. I exercise regularly (most of the time). We eat many hours before we sleep. And we don't smoke. Sometimes we'll have a drink before bed--but usually several hours before with dinner. Otherwise for the most part, we do all the right things. We even have white noise. And I've trained myself to do two things I would have always thought impossible--to only hit the alarm once and to NOT look at the clock if I wake in the middle of the night.
That latter point is important and I know it's helped quite a bit. I would often look at the clock and see that it was 4 or 5 and think, oh crap, I have to get up in an hour or two hours. And then I would never really get back to sleep. I manage this much better than I used to, thankfully.
But more frustrating to me is the crazy dreaming. I have such vivid, elaborate, colorful and often very linear dreams. I wish I could remember them better or had the werewithal to write them down. If so I would have a gazillion novels or screenplays screaming to be written. But for the most part, they keep me partially awake and extremely vivid ones can also have a tendency to sit with me throughout the day, like a little weight in the back of my mind. Thank god they are not usually scary or terribly disturbing dreams.
This morning I was dreaming about sleeping in my old basement room in the house that I grew up in. I was the same age that I am now. For some reason, I knew that the person who owned the house--a woman I was not related to--would be home at 4AM which only gave me a little time to fix the special shovel that I had which I had been carrying with me throughout the rest of my dream (which I don't recall). I remember that there was a little compartment near the shovel head that I had opened and was going to put something into but the woman drove up and parked next to the ground-level window, which oddly, the window shade was open and it was bright sun (although I knew it was only 4AM). I rushed to climb into bed and pretend that I was asleep, trying to arrange myself on the bed like I was sleep tousled. I was wearing my red velvet bathrobe and I was worried she would wonder why I had that on in bed. But she didn't seem to notice as she got out of the Blazer she was driving and peered briefly in the window before heading into the house. When I finally heard her opening the front door, I bolted up and looked for ways to hide the shovel, which I knew was going to be the only way I could escape later.
It gets weirder and weirder after that. And it was only a tiny portion of a much grander, highly complex dream. I know that dreaming is supposed to be healthy but some nights I sort of feel them to be a curse as I feel on the verge of waking for most of the night and then when I finally do awake I only want to go back to sleep and catch up on all that I've missed. Even now, I'm sitting here yawning, wishing I could nap.
I don't think it's insomnia because I am technically asleep. I can't find any information on chronic dreaming though. I would love to be able to just sleep peacefully through the majority of the night rather than feeling as though my brain is in high-gear for the duration of my respite.
Posted by crystallyn at 07:20 AM | TrackBack
June 08, 2006
not much hype about hyperstrike
I've been looking for a different online program to track and plan my fitness activities--none of them have really done it for me in the end. I'm somewhat interested in a brand new site that came out earlier this year: Hyperstrike. It's purely a fitness planner and tracker--nutrition isn't a component that you can currently track. That's fine for me, however, since I track my food and nutrition elsewhere. The planning for fitness, although still somewhat rudimentary in ways, is actually quite interesting.
Essentially what Hyperstrike does is to help you create an overall fitness plan. They have three tracks, Lean, Fitness and Performance. Lean and fitness would both work fine for me. You input some basic information and then it spits out a calendar with your training plan built in. What's very nice about it is the animated video clips that show you how to perform all the strength training exercises.
I like the premise of Hyperstrike and in theory it would be a great way to track my fitness because if it's powerful planning capability but it is lacking in its flexibility. You only can choose between the treadmill or elliptical for cardio for example. No cycling, swimming, rowing, etc., not even as a write-in. I find that to be the most frustrating. Granted, it is in beta, so maybe that will change. I'm terribly impatient though, and waiting for months to get a solution isn't really what I want.
So far the offline version of Fitday is the best that I've found for tracking holistically but it could stand tweaking in the exercise sections and it's not offered online.
I'm almost inclined to go back to some sort of pen & paper journal at this point...
Anyone have other suggestions?
Posted by crystallyn at 07:48 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 27, 2006
work and walk
At work I've been participating in a weight-loss challenge with five other co-workers. We each put in $10 a week and if we make our weekly personal goal, we split the pot with the other winners. If we all lose, the money goes in for the following week. We have all sorts of little rules for traveling--when you can adjust your wait, etc. So far I've been a winner for 10 of the 12 weeks. Last week I was traveling and was out. This week I think will be a bust but overall I've lost probably eight or nine pounds total so that's not so bad!
The supportive competitiveness of it has been great. It's really cool to have all of us on board. When we go out for lunch we're looking to eat healthy. Some of us will take walks at lunch together. We talk about exercise and what lengths we'll go to in order to be a winner each week. One of my co-workers even found a sauna suit at Wal-mart to run in!! We give her a huge bad time about it.
Today my manager sent me a pretty interesting article about treadmill desks.
The article talked about how Dr. James Levine, a Mayo Clinic obesity researcher in Rochester, Minn. has rigged his desk with a treadmill to enable him to walk while doing emails, phone calls and other desk work. It's a really interesting idea.
The urge to help workers overcome sedentary lifestyles is based on a scientific concept known as NEAT, nonexercise activity thermogenesis, or the energy spent on physical activities of daily living. The NEAT theory says there is more metabolic benefit from frequent fidgeting and small movements than from sitting still for days with an occasional hard-core workout.In other words, no sweat but big possible health gains. By walking 1 mile per hour on a treadmill, a worker could burn 100 extra calories an hour, Levine said. ''We're talking potential weight loss of 30, 40 pounds a year," he said.
And even cooler, they could be cheaper than regular workstations.
Treadmill workstations cost $1,100 compared with a standard cubicle price of $2,000, Levine said. He's working with companies to develop a product that could be mass-produced. He said several Minnesota-based employers are interested in the idea, but he declined to name them.
Really cool. I seriously would love to have something like that!! Not for walking ALL day but for big chunks of time it would be great.
Posted by crystallyn at 09:11 PM | TrackBack
February 10, 2006
bits of random-ness
I realize that I haven't blogged lately. I've been busy. Or lazy. Maybe a bit of both. But I'm always interested...
Some of the random things that have caught my interest:
* Zillow, a very cool way to research real-estate
* EQ2 and all of the enjoyable time-suck that it is
* How long it will be before they indict Cheney
* CB2 has a new catalog! But when are they going to open up a store in Boston?
* When you wash clothes and oil gets all over them, it means that your seal around the agitator is cracked and that basically a new washer is on your agenda. And new clothes. Argh.
* I hope to soon have the courage to join this club.
* Apparently up in Canada they aren't just fond of poutine (BLECH), but also eating pig's tails.
* Hanging out in the wonderfully clever Kingdom of Loathing
Posted by crystallyn at 07:01 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 11, 2006
becoming an athlete, yes--me!!
So here is my training schedule. This is a three-day a week running plan. Two-three other days during the week are for cross-training (bike, elliptical, etc.) cardio and for weight training.
Currently finishing my couch to 5k Training. I'm in week nine now. The numbers with / are run vs. walk times.
Jan 9 Week 9 5 min warmup, 3min run/2min walk for 30 min, 5 min cool down Total minutes ran each session: 18
Jan 16 Week 10 5 min warmup, 3/2, 4/1, 3/2, 4/1, 3/2, 4/1, 5 min cool down Total ran: 21
Jan 23 Week 11 5 min warmup, 4/1 for 30 minutes, 5 min cool down Total ran: 24
Jan 30 Week 12 Same type run as week 10 for day 1, week 11 for day 2&3 Total ran: 21/24
Feb 6 Week 13 5 min warmup, all running for 15, 15, 20 minutes, 5 min cool down
Feb 13 Week 14 5 min warmup, all running for 20, 20, 20 minutes, 5 min cool down
Feb 20 Week 15 5 min warmup, all running for 20, 25, 25 minutes, 5 min cool down
Feb 27 Week 16 5 min warmup, all running for 25, 25, 30 minutes, 5 min cool down
10k Training (miles not minutes) with at least 5 min walking warmup and cool down. Focus here is distance and improving speed.
Mar 6 Week 1 2.5m, 2m, 3m
Mar 13 Week 2 2.5m, 2m, 3.5m
Mar 20 Week 3 2.5m, 2m, 4m
Mar 27 Week 4 3m, 2m, 4m
Apr 3 Week 5 3m, 2m, 4.5m
Apr 10 Week 6 3m, 2m, 5m
Apr 17 Week 7 3m, 2m, 5.5m
Apr24 Week 8 3m, 2m, 5.5m
My one concern is that I'm traveling twice during this training period and I worry that will throw me off a bit. But the hotel in Dublin (CA not Ireland!) has a gym that I can use and WILL use and when I'm in Boise in March I'll have to find a way to make it a priority. I think it will be easier because I'll be closer to the race day and will have more motivation to stay on track.
I'm also thinking of maybe running a 5k in March to warm me up. Any suggestions?
Posted by crystallyn at 07:14 AM | TrackBack
December 15, 2005
woohooo I'm on my way!
This morning I ran a whole mile straight without stopping!! I don't think I've done that since I was 13 or 14 so I consider this a massive accomplishment!!! Granted, it was a 13 min mile but still! I can work on getting faster.
I've been averaging nearly two miles every training session but it's always interspersed with walking so this is just plain cool to me. My boss wants me to run the James Joyce Ramble with her at the end of April. It's a 10k so that's a rather lofty goal but I'm going to aim for it! If I keep on the same training schedule I should be able to manage it! I think that running a race like that for my first one is actually terribly apropos since I'm such a literary lover...
The James Joyce Ramble is a charity-driven event of a nature not offered anywhere else in the world, fully integrating the elements of culture, literature and athletics.In its second decade, it is known throughout the world. Among its attractions is the scenery and ambiance of the course where each mile is named for a literary work by James Joyce, with costumed professional actors all along the way interpreting these works with staged readings accompanied by traditional music of the British Isles.
The venue of this respected 10-kilometer road race and fitness walk is in the historic New England town of Dedham, adjacent to Boston. Dedham is the government seat of Norfolk County. The race by tradition is always held on the final Sunday of April. Ramble participants are college educated professionals who are drawn from all over the country by the event's reputation as a grand spectacle of a race sanctioned by USA Track & Field and conducted on a certified 6.2 mile course with records held by Olympic medal winners.
I REALLY want to be able to do this...
Posted by crystallyn at 07:55 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 06, 2005
Me, a runner?
Today I began week 9 of the aggressive couch to 5k plan. So basically this week I am running 18 minutes and walking 12 minutes (run for 3-4 min then walk for 1-2 min, repeat). It's really wonderful to feel my body improving. Today was a bit of a struggle but I'm getting there.
I do feel pretty cool for managing to maintain both a gym membership and a weekly exercise schedule for nearly two years straight. Exercise is a habit now--an activity that I do look forward to, that I think about and that I feel awful if I go more than a few days without moving my body around. I'm stronger than ever before and my endurance is improving. Weight loss is still slow but that will come. Having a fitness goal is better for me, I think. I'll always need to watch and track my food but even more important, I'll always need to exercise--two habits that I will have to do for the rest of my life. Sometimes I feel a bit resentful about that, but mostly I feel excited.
I was a bit of a nerdy kid growing up. I was an athlete early on, playing basketball, volleyball and softball, but eventually it wasn't cool (I was a little waver/punker chick, you see). Plus I just wasn't into the beer guzzling party scene that accompanied sports in high school. My parents couldn't understand that--they saw sports as wholesome but where I went to school it meant massive peer pressure to do things that I didn't believe in. It wasn't about the sports and so I wasn't interested.
Consequently it meant that my pursuit of knowledge and my love of food took me further and further away from the path toward building my body as a temple. I wasn't interested in taking the time to shape my body. I also have a nice little stubborn streak--my father told me that if I didn't start losing weight I would never get a boyfriend or a job, one of my girlfriends in college told me that she wished I had my body because she would love the challenge of making it beautiful...in both cases I was going to prove them wrong---I knew that finding a job and a relationship wouldn't have anything to do with my weight and well, it didn't. So I suppose I "won" that stupid battle that wasn't a battle. But in the end, I did lose--I lost a lot of years where I should have been paying attention to my health.
When I turned 30, I vowed that I would be healthier at 35 than I was at 25, and possibly at 15. I am already healthier than I was at 25 (stronger, better cholesterol, no more neck problems, 40 lbs lighter) and I'm probably not terribly far from being able to say that I'm healthier than when I was 15--plus, I still have another 6 months to try and achieve that. :-)
Along with all of that comes a wonderful sense of self-confidence. I feel better about myself. I have a great hair-do (I'm not blonde anymore, btw!!! I'm a wonderful deep fiesty red!). I am strong. My car accident wounds have healed for the most part, which is such a blessing. And with my better health has come all sorts of wonderful opportunities in my life as a whole. It's a really great feeling.
I'm SO excited that I'm becoming a runner!! Me, who probably hasn't run a mile straight since I was about 13...WILL BE running a 5k before my 35th birthday! YAY!
Posted by crystallyn at 07:59 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
November 03, 2005
couch to 5k
So I'm really doing it...the couch to 5k running program. Remember way back in February when I talked about working towards a mini-triathlon? I never forgot about that. I was battling shin splints and so felt discouraged about running in general. Finally switched out my shoes and started up again and boom! I'm on my way!
The good thing is that I'm such a gym rat that I didn't have to start from scratch. I am strong and I have been a demon on the elliptical and the bike so my endurance isn't bad. So even though I technically only started two weeks ago, I'm ready to start on week 3 of month 2 of the couch program. It's a great feeling to be improving and adding more time to my jogging each week. My goal is to run a 5k by my birthday next year, which I think will be easily doable.
Joanie inspired me awhile back when she started training for and ran a couple different half-marathons. Maybe I can follow in her footsteps someday. :)
The other super cool thing is that I am working toward my goal of being healthier at 35 than I was at 15--I already am in a lot of ways and am moving ever closer!
Posted by crystallyn at 07:11 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
August 29, 2005
calculate your life expectancy
found on one of my favorite sites, Lifehacker, you can determine how your health and history may affect the length of your life.
Here's my expectancy:
Life Expectancy: 89.53
Lower Quartile : 82.99
Median Lifetime: 91.53
Upper Quartile : 98.37
Unless I add in my asthma, which is mild and only during the winter. I wouldn't consider it the type of asthma that compromises my life much at all.
Life Expectancy: 85.74
Lower Quartile : 79.04
Median Lifetime: 87.84
Upper Quartile : 94.49
Check yours out:
http://gosset.wharton.upenn.edu/~foster/mortality/perl/CalcForm.html
Posted by crystallyn at 04:07 PM | TrackBack
February 09, 2005
i think i might be insane
I'm thinking that I might want to start training toward a mini-triathlon. Not for this year, but maybe next year, if I begin training now. I've been adding some jogging into my walking program and I'm beginning to really kick ass on the elliptical, so I am thinking that it's not entirely beyond me if I work at it.
Plus then I'll have a real fitness goal to work toward, rather than just dropping pounds and clothes sizes; which is, truthfully, the real goal, but I need to make it something more driving and challenging, I think. I tend to get so discouraged when I plateau, so instead of focusing on the weight loss, what if I focus on becoming as fit as possible? And proving it to myself?
Beginning Triathalete makes me think that maybe it's something attainable. There are some great beginning runner programs charted out there. I have access to a pool, treadmill and bike. As the weather gets warmer, there is a 3-mile-around lake to walk/run a block from my house. I have all the tools and I am dedicated to the gym...why not work toward a real goal?
I can't believe that I have written this post. Me, who has always hated exercise and here I am, actually aspiring to become an athlete. I think it's a way to extend my understanding of who I am. I am becoming healthy--I am determined and NOTHING is going to make me lose sight of that. I've been going to the gym faithfully for 10 months straight...a record for me. My body is slowly changing, but it is changing. I had a setback at Christmas (7 lb setback!) but I've quickly found my groove again and am back at the weights that I was doing before I fell off the wagon. I feel funny if I don't make it to the gym on a given day. I sleep better. My cholesterol is near optimum (even though I'm still overweight). I am stronger than I have been in years.
I can do this.
So here it is...a new goal. Closer to a mini-triathlon by my birthday, June 5, 2006.
Posted by crystallyn at 07:33 PM | Comments (3)
August 23, 2004
sparkling whites!
So I decided to give it a shot...and try out Crest White Strips. I was shocked to discover that they really work! Even after just one application I could tell the difference.
They're not too terrible, but you can't really talk to people when you have them on. I have a tough time with the one on the bottom...it makes you salivate a bit and then the strip gets slippery, which then gets icky. But for the most part, they are pretty easy to use.
But seriously, one application really brightened my teeth...dramatically. I don't think I have terribly yellowed teeth or anything, but definitely have the effects of years of coffee. I don't even think I need the whole 7 day treatment, but I'll keep at it. On day two and I already think that the nearly $20 price tag is worth it.
Now I'll have the sparkly model smile to go with my sparkly blue eyes.
Vanity kills...it don't pay bills. But my teeth are whiter! Who knows what's in this stuff though!
Posted by crystallyn at 09:52 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
June 28, 2004
Body Brag
I went to the doctor this last week. The yearly girlie thing (I can see you wrinkling your nose at that) and my doctor was very pleased. Pleased because I've changed. I've dropped nearly 30 lbs since I was there last year, but best of all...my healthy lifestyle has brought my cholesterol level down...way down.
My cholesterol level is exactly 200 (down from 240). 200! Some of you are saying, wait, that's not all that great...it's at the borderline high risk level! Well, not exactly. The numbers, while they don't lie...don't tell the whole truth.
My HDL (good cholesterol) is at 67. The AHA recommends a level of 40 or more.
My LDL (bad cholesterol) is at 103--which is near optimal!! To understand the LDL levels, look at this chart from the American Heart Association:
LDL Cholesterol Levels
Less than 100 mg/dL Optimal
100 to 129 mg/dL Near Optimal/ Above Optimal
130 to 159 mg/dL Borderline High
160 to 189 mg/dL High
190 mg/dL and above Very High
"The key point to remember is, the lower your LDL cholesterol, the lower your risk. "
I've been working hard since last fall to eat much healthier. More fruits and vegetables. Few processed foods. I haven't eaten fast food (with the exception of Taco Bell's chicken soft tacos) for nearly four years! None of that Atkins/South Beach crap for me. Just healthy eating--watching portions, trying to get all the food groups in and getting off my ass and moving it around.
Since the spring, I started walking on a regular basis and when I joined the Mount Auburn Club, I discovered something else...I really DO like exercise. I like how it makes me feel. I like that I sleep better. I like how I look forward to water aerobics, weight training and finding ways to challenge my body. I love that I feel stronger. I love that I didn't get sick even ONCE this last winter...I haven't been sick in nearly a year, in fact!! Those of you who know me now how rare this is.
Very cool, huh? And to top it off, I am starting to actually see and feel muscle definition in my arms, shoulders, back and calves from all the weight lifting I've been doing.
My clothes are becoming too big. Joe looked at a pair of jean shorts I was wearing this weekend that have been a summer staple for the last couple years and he laughed. "You look like you are wearing a saggy diaper!" Looks like those shorts are headed to the Goodwill pile. They will join the two huge bags of winter clothes that I gave away at the beginning of spring. The clothes still fit me at the time...it was a bold move, deciding that they needed to go because I refuse to fit into them this winter. And my boldness is paying off. I will need a new winter wardrobe. In another five pounds, I'll be lighter than I've been in TEN years.
Pretty damn cool, if you ask me.
My goal is to be healthier and more fit at 35 (I have two years to go!) than I was at 15. I'm halfway there!
For those of you chicks that want to join me in my quest for buffness, I found a kickass site chock-full of good information: Stumptuous. And for those of you with a hankering for healthy goodness:
Skinny Daily
Put Down the Donut
Posted by crystallyn at 06:41 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack