Laurel Falls Hike

Downstream

Upstream

Daniel and I went hiking out near Laurel Falls, TN. on Sunday. It was really beautiful out there. I am sad to report that we didn't make it all the way out to the falls (next time!) due to mud and improper shoes on our part, but the scenery we did see was still amazing. I snapped a few photos of the creek as it ran along a rock face out in the woods. We hiked a total of 2 miles so I still feel pretty good about the exercise we did get.

If you click the Laurel Falls link above, it will take you to a website with info. on how to get there/what to expect out of the hike, etc. The path is part of the Appalachian Trail, which stretches from Georgia all the way to Maine. I feel so lucky to live in such a vibrant hiking community. I'll be sure to share more trails with you as we check them out.

My "Official" Weight Loss Plan

Before I share my plan with you, I feel like since this is the internet and very public, that I need to state a brief disclaimer: In no way am I a doctor or any kind of health professional. I am not suggesting that you do what I do, or do what you read here. I don't even know how well my plan will work at this point, but I want to blog about it. This is about documenting my journey, not telling others what to do or giving weight loss advice. However, if you are ever in need of some moral support, please do drop me a line...I'll do the best I can to brighten your day.
*End Disclaimer*

My "Official" Weight Loss Plan
(Subject to change, of course, esp. as I get in better shape)

• Consume 1200 to 1550 calories per day (tracking them on SparkPeople.com)
  
• Limit sugar and fat: no soda, no junk food
• Drink 8 full glasses of water each day
  
• Burn at least 750 calories per week (also tracking this on SparkPeople.com)
  
• Walk 5 miles per week (if I manage this I burn well over 750 calories)
• Strength training 3 times per week
• Overall: Lose 2 lbs. per week
  

I've started a Health Journal as well. I have found that working on it really helps me on the days I need some motivation or find myself in a funk. I've shared a few images here just to keep this post from being all text.

So far, I've lost almost 3 pounds since joining SparkPeople. I am still under my goal of losing 2 lbs. per week, right now I'm at about half of that actually, but I am ok with that. If there is anything I've figured out about my body, it's that I'm a slow loser. I'm not letting that discourage me. As long as I'm losing something, I'm happy. And I'm already enjoying the increased energy I feel from eating healthy and exercising on a daily basis.

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend, and to all you dads out there, a belated Happy Father's Day to you! I am so lucky to be able to call my dad one of my best friends. He truly is. We are so much alike that is scares me sometimes (I've inherited his horrible sense of humor, ha!). Proof: His Father's Day card said: Dad, for Father's Day I wanted to get you something personal...(when you open it:) So I farted in this card.

Yep. True story. I wish I had thought to photograph it before I mailed it off to him.

The StudioFinn shop is due for a major earring update this week, so stay tuned for that. I have at least eight pairs of earrings to list for sale in there.

Oh, and I updated my profile picture today. The one that was up there was almost two years old. I hope you like it.

Random Weekend Update

Breakfast this morning: hard boiled egg, coffee (no sugar) with 1 % milk, water, whole wheat blueberry waffle, a smidgen of lemon strawberry preserves from the farmer's market, and vitamins (fish oil, multivitamin, D3, garlic, and cranberry)


I hope everyone had a good weekend. I know I did. A little too good, if you ask me. Daniel and I went out for sushi on Saturday and I didn't think to look up the caloric values for what I ate until after I got home. Talk about a buzzkill. The rolls I like (spicy tuna and shrimp tempura) are loaded with calories. And carbs. I don't know how I had the delusion that any/all sushi was "healthy" food before, but let me just say when we go out for it again...I'm sticky to plain fish and rice. No fancy stuff. At least not for a while. It's realizations like this one that make me think to myself, "Jeeze Keely, no wonder you can't lose weight! You aren't educating yourself on what you put in your body!" Learning can be painful sometimes...kinda like beating your head against a wall. But you get over it. And now I know to look up what I want to eat before I put it in my mouth and avoid the regret in the first place.

We walked 1.2 miles yesterday after the heat of the day died down. And I ate a nice lean breakfast this morning. Doing these things helps me stave off any negative feelings or doubts that I'm not doing enough to shed the pounds. I've also started strength training three days a week, according to the workout plan I have on Spark People. My energy levels are picking up since I've been focused on eating a more overall balanced diet (I was sooo tired on low carb.) and fresh foods, and remembering to take vitamins with breakfast in the morning is helping too. So even though I get that nagging doubt a few times a day, I still feel pretty good about what I'm doing. It really helps that I have a supportive significant other as well.

The Farmer's Market has become a Saturday morning ritual. Farm fresh eggs are just so delicious, and we picked up a few other goodies as well (fresh lettuce, black bean hummus, salsa, the preserves I mentioned for breakfast, and this succulent which I really love). I've been wanting to expand my succulent garden for a while now, and this little guy is the perfect addition. Plus I scored the pot at Ross for a mere $2.99.

I love the rosettes this plant produces. I'm probably going to make a painting of it some time soon. Our walls are so bare, esp. for an artist to be living here.

I've added a few new things to both KeelyB and StudioFinn. Stop by and check them out! Also, have a wonderful week!

I Sait It "Out Loud"

Sunrise over the lake.

Hello to anyone out there who might be reading. I realized that since this post I have neglected to write about my plans to get healthy/ lose weight. In the new habit of being completely honest with myself, and choosing to share these things with the internet, here it goes...I haven't written about it because there is nothing to update. No improvements made. At best I've been treading water, so to speak, and I've wanted to shove my goal of losing weight into the closet with all of the other clothes that no longer fit and shelve my goals. Along with my self esteem.

But I'm not going to do that.

June, as short as it has been thus far, has been a very productive and awakening month for me. I think I've finally thawed out from the move over the winter. (yeah, it took long enough right?) After a blur of January, February, and March, April held some painful realizations for me. May was spent mourning over those realizations and pouting a bit. And now June has come along. I am over feeling sorry for myself. I am over the sense of defeat and ready to move on. Ready to take charge. Ready to make some real change.

Real change starts with a change of mindset. Or at least, a change of heart. A change of point of view. I've had all three. I've been empowered and I am ready to share with the world. I am ready to hold myself accountable, and to reach out to others to help hold myself accountable. I am done making excuses...excuses not to exercise, not getting the work done that I want to get done, and for falling short of the person I want to be.

As far as my weight goes, which ties directly to this "good health" I am searching for...I have let my thyroid disease be my excuse for being overweight for far too long. I have let the screws in my hips be an excuse not to push my body into exercising, and sometimes into not moving at all. I've let the nerves that get pinched in my pelvis hold me back. When the truth is: Moving is good for me. It is the best medicine around. I won't ever be a marathon runner. In fact, I won't ever be a runner at all (the impact from running is actually bad for my hips, doctor says) but I can be a walker, a swimmer, a biker, and a million other active things. I've shed the fear and I am ready to shed the pounds, too.

And about this "diet" thing, which is really a lifestyle change for me, because it will be permanent, I have found the guidance I have been searching for. I've tried low carb. I've tried other "fad" diets and failed...because that is just it, they're fads. I could never stick to them. I know what is best for me and that is to count calories and eat a balanced diet of a little bit of everything. Cut out the really bad stuff (bye bye, cheetos) but overall, don't deny myself of foods like bread and fruit, just because some diet guy who wrote a book says they're bad for me. I know that method doesn't work. Not for me. My goal is to overall, just eat healthy...and count calories until I shed the weight I want to shed.

The website SparkPeople.com is going to help me achieve my goals.

At the risk of sounding like an infomercial: If you are interested in losing weight or just improving your lifestyle, I highly encourage you to click the link above and check it out. I was skeptical at first, esp. since I found it just stumbling around on the internet, but this site is wonderful. They have a calorie counter that actually has a database of foods to refer to, a meal plan generator, exercise tracker, message boards, teams you can join, motivation articles, etc. There are SO many tools! I haven't even reached the full potential of the site yet. And best of all, it's FREE!

I got on Spark People, signed up, and created a profile. And most importantly, I said it "out loud": I want to lose 40 pounds by November 2011.

That's two pounds a week. That is back to what I weighed in high school. That will put me back into my healthy BMI range. I want to feel my age and not my weight.

So, there you have it. I know I can do this thing. And I know that as I shed the pounds I will gain what I lost in energy. That thought is so very exciting. I know there will be bumps in the road, and even setbacks, but I am ready to take my health into my own hands and face this thing head-on. Positive changes have already taken place. I look forward to those that are still to come.

Please feel free to comment and post any helpful websites or tips of your own for eating healthy and/or losing weight. And if anyone out there ever needs some support, just holler at me! Seriously : )

Reflections on 26

I turned 26 this past Monday. This is an awesome online birthday greeting sent to me (complete with shiny diamonds, rainbows, and a unicorn) by my sister, Rowan, and her boyfriend Drew. Also included are Zoe (the white dog) and Bella. I just love the dogs faces in this photo. They are not happy AT ALL to be wearing hats! (I miss you all SO MUCH!!!)

Creeping close to age 30 is a strange thing for me. For the first time in my life I am more aware of my mortality than ever. It's funny though, because I don't consider 30 to be "old" at all. In fact, I feel that I am entering into the prime years of my life. I finally have a concrete sense of who I am, what I want out of life, and am the most content I have ever been in my time on this plane, thus far. The future is bright and I look to it with renewed hope. However, this passing birthday held some sobering awakenings for me.

First of all, and the most sobering of them by far, is my health. I applied (and was accepted) for individual health insurance this month. This was a new process for me. I've either been uninsured or covered under my parents' plan thus far, and applying for individual health coverage with no help from an employer was a different experience. I've never been completely healthy. My major health problems started at the age of 13, thanks to a thyroid disease, and have plagued me every few years since then. I am thankful that nothing super serious has ever come up ("super serious" being a term that differs greatly depending on who you ask) but the point is that I have never been in "good health". I've never taken charge of my situation. My attempts to get fit in the past have been mild, at best. I realized this year that needs to change, more than ever.

My monthly payment for health insurance is higher than what was quoted to me because of my weight. Insurance companies don't care what you look like, they simply calculate risk. And my risk for future health issues is raised by my weight. It's a fact. I'm not ashamed of my body. On the contrary I am rather comfortable in it. But what I've realized is I need to put in the efforts to get fit, get in better shape, if my body is going to last me to a ripe old age. And as a result I would like to lose 30 pounds. I'm going to lose 30 pounds.

I bought a wellness journal and pedometer and have already begun my journey toward better health. This week alone I've logged 3 miles on my pedometer, and my goals toward covering more distance will only rise. Our fridge is now full of healthy foods: fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, chicken. I already feel better. More importantly I feel empowered.

I know I'm not the only person out there struggling to be healthy, to lose weight. Our country is plagued by obesity. I choose to share all of this with you because I hope to aid in the fight against this disease (it really is a disease) and share hope/inspiration with others on a similar path as mine. So from here on out, you'll probably see more in this blog about health. I plan on sharing some healthy recipes for sure! And of course, I will continue to blog about my number one passion in life: art.

It feels good to be 26. Cheers to all the other April birthdays out there!