50lbs

Yesterday I went to the hospital's gym for my gym orientation. As a facility supervisor and fitness instructor of a college gym, I already knew how to work most of the equipment so I spared the trainer that agony of explaining how you can increase the incline on a treadmill. What I did need help with was the weights. They have a significantly older Cybex weight system which is almost intimidating. Even though I knew the general mechanism of a rear dealt fly and a back extension, I needed a brief tutorial on how to work these aged machines. They work great, I just need to adjust to them.

Now, I'm known for being a very open person. I wear my heart on my sleeve and I don't hold back. I will now discuss a topic of sensitive concern to me.

Yesterday I went to the hospital's gym for my gym orientation. I received my fitness assessment from late August. It told me my strength was above average for a girl my age. That is great. It also told me that I have 40% body fat when I should have at max 24%. Additionally I need to lose 48lbs of FAT. I weighed myself this morning and found out that that I now have to lose 50lbs of FAT. I have GAINED weight.

I'm really not in a position where I can hit the gym three days a week and eat three well balanced meals while drinking 8 glasses of water. My job is relatively fast paced, a typical 9-5 M-F. By the end of the day I'm hungry because I take lunch at around 12pm and I'm tired. I have just enough time to eat a quick dinner, get a shower, make my lunch for the next day, choose my outfit for the next day and check my e-mail before it is time for me to go to bed so I can get enough sleep to function. It is exhausting. It also makes me miss school.

Of course we do things like go out to restaurants occasionally and eat cookies and ice cream. I really need to stop all that. I am also limiting myself to a half a mug of coffee with no creamer until I can ween myself off coffee completely. Coffee is horrible for you. As is soda and beer.

I really don't think skinny people have any fun. Honestly though, if I ever want a man or to avoid diabetes I need to start now. The older I get the harder it is going to get to lose weight. Soon I'll just be one of those really obese people who no one really wants to look at.

The problem is time and scheduling. For example, today I got up at 7:40 and was out the door by 8:05. I usually bring my breakfast with me because I can't eat really early in the morning. Well I'll eat my breakfast at about 10 or 10:30am. Lunch around 12 or 12:30pm then I have to drive a co-worker to the Phila airport after work. That trip plus the trip back to my house is going to get me home at around 7 or so. I'm going to be tired and starving. So naturally I'm going to want to eat a quick fix meal which is unhealthy in large quantities.

I foresee myself becoming more irritable and I limit my food intake, exercise daily and hate myself. haha

Until next time...

Becoming a Young Professional

Greetings! So life has been quite peachy. I'm adjusting just fine to just about everything. This holiday weekend I got to meet up with other volunteers in the Philly area and we even went out for a night on the town. Basically we went to a bar called the Tattooed Mom, decorated ears of corn to make them look like little people and enjoyed $1 16oz Pabst throughout the evening. Yes, it was classic. All of this took place on Philly's South Street which is known for many things. The Tattooed Mom was unlike anything I've ever seen. The first floor was chic and eclectic and the second floor was covered in graffiti and crazy decorations. It was a really nice place and I want to go back there some time.

Anyway, I'm currently becoming a young professional. I'm learning how to guide my own projects, make my own packets, and really pioneer programs. There are moments where I'm sitting at my desk in my office going 'wow....I'm grown up.' I know that sounds stupid but it feels weird having a 40 min commute to work, having an office and a desk, having responsibilities which span beyond answering phones, cleaning weight equipment and serving food. I mean sure, I've been a newspaper reporter but I think that all my jobs involved my boss telling me a set task, me completing it, and then getting a new one. My jobs either had a set schedule which was the same thing every day or I received new tasks to complete.

I kind of get new tasks and sort of have a set schedule. For the most part I guide my own way. Like I just finished e-mailing local college and university service organizations to get volunteers for our homework helper program. Later today I have a staff meeting where I have to present my system for lending out Leapfrog Learning toys. I mean really, this is the real world.

I'm continuing to fall in love with Philly. My heart is really starting to latch on to it and all its ghetto fabulousness. Last night my best friend asked me when I'd be coming back home to visit. I told her I would probably spend Thanksgiving up here and that I'd be home for Christmas. I really didn't mean to say it but I told her I don't want to go home. I'm so happy here. My biggest fear is that this is so temporary. I mean in a year I'm back to square one with nothing but experience to show for it. I'm hoping I can find a way to stay here. To have a job which makes a difference, live by a city which has so much culture to offer, and enjoy the company of new people is all I could ask for. I think a big part of it though is that I don't have 'real world' responsibilities such as rent, bills, food..etc. That is all taken care of. So, I'm spoiled and I live in a distorted reality.

But I still want to stay here even if I have to work multiple jobs and live in a crack house in a year.

Sad. I know. I'm getting just enough city to love it and just enough suburb to feel safe. Its the perfect combination. Anyway I should probably get back to work. I'd give it about two weeks before the Health Care System realizes that they have a blog which has not been blocked. (The health care system blocks everything from facebook to gmail and random sites in between. It is kind of annoying). Back to work, lots of meetings today.

Until next time...