Oh, Jillian Michaels

I don't know where it came from, but I recently became very interested in the "fashion" and "beauty" sections of magazines and newspapers. I don't find myself to be a very fashionable person, but on days that I'm really up for it, I try pretty hard (today is not one of those days).

I was reading through Glamour.com and came across a whole section by Jillian Michaels called Jillian Michaels Motivates. If I could ask for anyone in the world to give me motivation to get off my ass and workout, it would hands down be Jillian Michaels. So I clicked on the link and started to read her blogs. I came across one called "The Secret to Staying Motivated". Jillian asks all the unmotivated people to write these questions in a journal, then when you feel like you don't have the energy to get out there, look back at the answers and hopefully you will find your own motivation within yourself.

Here are my answers:


1. What do I want to change? Be specific.

I'm sick of being in the double digits in my jean size. For so many years I have wanted to be a size 8, but have never been able to get there.

I also want to feel like a healthy person. I'm not by any means overweight, but I don't feel comfortable in my own skin. I have always felt amazing after a really good workout, but I haven't had one of those in a long time because I have too many excuses to not push myself and get out there: I'm exhausted, I've been working for 14 hours today, I don't have time, etc. No more excuses!

2. Why do I want to change it?

I hate having that fat spill over the sides, forcing me to wear body slimming materials under my every day clothing. I hate feeling bloated (even though I'm not). I hate having tight clothes until I wear them enough to stretch out a bit.

3. What will the benefits of making this change be to my body and to my life?

There are so many benefits to these changes. Two years ago I lost 30 pounds and have never felt so happy/proud/motivated/excited in my entire life. I felt confident in my body and in myself. Then, I stopped losing weight. I didn't put any back on, but have maintained my weight for the last two years. I want to lose more and be at a healthy weight instead of at the top of my range.

4. What am I willing to sacrifice to make this change happen?

I believe my last few posts have answered this question, but I will restate. I am willing to sacrifice my love for meat and teach myself how to eat healthy so that I can become an overall healthy person.

I think I should put more thought into these answers, but it's a start! I just bought $50 worth of Under Armour workout clothing, specifically for cold weather, so I can't say that I don't have the appropriate clothing to go for a walk/run in the winter months. And I think I did a pretty good job with the fashion side of things, too. Take a look!

Do ya see the turqoise line in the leggings? Totally matches the turqoise color of the shirt! A.Dor.A.Ble!

Packers & Bratwurst

For those of you who don't follow football, the Green Bay Packers won the NFC Title last night and are going to the Super Bowl at Cowboy Stadium in Dallas, TX on Feb. 6! They will be playing the Steelers, who have won two Super Bowls in the last six years. The Packers are my team, so I can't wait for them to take the Steelers down and win that ring!

GO PACKERS!

Bratwurst is one of my favorite foods and we eat it quite a bit in my family...since we're German and from Wisconsin (it only makes sense). Last night, to celebrate the Pack win, we had bratwurst (which I checked ahead of time and found out that it is pork, not beef). Since I only have another week to eat pork, I was able to eat the delicious bratwurst with sauerkraut.

Last week, I purchased the many times mentioned Alicia Silverstone book, The Kind Diet. I'm really excited to finish it off and cook some meals from her recipe section! I cook for my parents and my dad would not be happy to know that he's eating a full vegan meal, so I'll have to keep that on the sly.

I also purchased Born to Run, which I'm REALLY excited to read. I need a ton of motivation to start running again and I think this book will give me the push that I need. I'm hoping that after I read this book, I will have all the motivation I need to start my training for the Australia Solar Eclipse Marathon happening in only 16 short months. I can only pray that I will be able to run a full marathon -- 26 miles! Right now, I'd be lucky to get a mile out of myself! As much as I love skiing, I cannot wait until summer when I can get back into trail running!

Side note: I also purchased Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, which I've been wanting to read FOREVER, and The Bell Jar, which I have never read and can't wait to start!

2010 Goals

I just looked back at the goals that I set to accomplish within the 2010 year. Here's a refresher:

1. Read a book a week
2. Become more active
3. Eat healthier
4. Be successful in my career

Looking back at these things make me a little sad.

I read a book a week until the last week of November when I lost track of everything and became so busy with work that I was unable to accomplish this goal.

I am proud to say that I became more active in the summer when I took up trail running and was suprised to find that I loved it. But as soon as the snow hit the ground I became lazy again. I would like to point out that I took a second job in September, so that's another reason.

I don't think I did very well with the eating healthier. I tried really hard to cut my portions in half (which helped me lose 30 lbs. two years ago!), but it was very difficult. I'm a two-serving kind of person!

I think I was successful in the current career that I have, and taking on another job I have become very successful in managing my finances and maintaining a budget. However, my ultimate goal (which I still cannot discuss) was not a accomplished.

It's weird to think about these goals when things have changed so significantly. I feel different about my eating habits now that I've taken on this "ultimate vegan" diet. I've always wanted to be serious about it, but when that meal is put in front of me, I can't resist. I can't really describe the feeling that I have about food right now, but I guess the best word for it is PASSIONATE. I don't think I've ever felt that strongly about my diet before and I'm very excited about taking on this new achievement.

This past year, I set the goal of reading one book each week and I stuck to it throughout the entire year because once I started, I knew I'd feel awful giving something like that up. I've started on this path to veganism and have stuck to it, so now there's no turning back. It's a really incredible feeling to say that you're going to do something this extreme and actually make it happen! I can't wait to see/feel the results!

Day 10: No Cow

I have had several opportunities to indulge in delicious cow products, but am proud to say that I kept my composure.

I went to Ikea with my mom yesterday and we decided to have dinner in their restaurant. I absolutely love Swedish meatballs! My great grandmother came over from Sweden on the Titanic (yes, she was a survivor) and she passed down her amazing recipe to my grandmother, who passed it down to my mother. I really wanted to order the Swedish meatballs because our recipe is made from veal. I specifically asked what the meatballs were made out of when ordering. They said pork and beef, so I said no! I ordered the vegetarian crepes instead, which were delicious.

This morning, I was offered a piece of beef jerkey, which I also love, but refused and was proud to say that I gave up red meat forever!

Only 12 more days to indulge in pork and all things pig!

Journey to Veganism: January

Look at this face. This is the face of the two cheeseburgers I ate last week. He/she looks so sad. I wonder if he/she knows that his/her only existence is to put that steak on the plates of humans.

Whelp, today is the day (well, yesterday). The start of a new journey. Today/yesterday, I cut out red meat forever. So far, so good. The issue, really, is fighting that craving for a shredded beef taco, or the Beef with Broccoli from Szechwan that's so delicious. But I'm thinking that won't happen for at least a few days, if not weeks.

Seriously, look at that face! This is the face that will be going on my refrigerator. Then next month, I'll add the face of an adorable piggy, just to give myself a reminder that these animals are giving there lives up (forcefully) to feed me.

Ok, let's be honest. I am doing this as a new diet and for health purposes, and nothing else. I fully support everyone who believes what I believe; that God put animals on this earth for food. Let's face it. We are carnivorous mammals. In The Kind Diet, Alicia Silverstone claims that we are not made to eat meat because of the teeth that we have. I beg to differ. These teeth, my teeth, are pretty damn good at tearing meet off of bone. The ribs that I ate last week are proof. She claims that the molars are for chewing grains. Can't our teeth be for eating all forms of food, which includes meat? Look at cavemen. What did they have to survive offf of, living in desolate areas of the planet? Meat. Look at Adam and Eve. They had trees full of delicious fruits. But God forbid them from eating them. Maybe because he wanted them to eat the meat that was frolicking through the forest? Probably.

Alright, I'm not bashing vegans (afterall, I will be one within the year). I get where you're coming from. I understand the "why can we eat cows and pigs and chickens, but not dogs and cats" mentality. I get it. In a way, it breaks my heart. But in another way, it's what's meant to be.

On another note, I think Alicia's facts from her book are incredible. She discusses how animal waste is dumped into the rivers where people get their drinking water from. She discusses how the animals are treated before they are slaughtered (chickens having their beaks and legs cut off and forced to sit in a tiny cage without any sort of movement). What I don't understand is how we humans can even allow these acts to occur. The least we can do is provide a life for these animals that enables cows to graze fields, pigs to roll in the mud, and chickens to flap their wings, all before they are slaughtered and sent to the grocery stores throughout America and the world. Don't you agree? I for some reason thought that these laws had been set in place many years ago with the Animal Rights groups, but apparently they only go so far.

I encourage everyone to at least research these slaughterhouses and find out what is really going on. I refuse to watch the videos that have been released because I wouldn't be able to handle them. My friend, Amy, and I went to a Sundance movie last year called, The Dry Land. They shoot a cow in the head and slice his stomach open right there on the screen. I was not expecting that one bit and I broke into tears right in the theater, sitting behind America Ferrera. Thank God it was dark.

That's all my venting for now. More on this subject Feb. 1.

Solar Eclipse Marathon

I went onto the Lululemon website today to look for high collar sweatshirts. Their main page shows a girl holding a sign that says, "I run the Great Wall Marathon in China by 2015". That sparked my curiosity, so I Googled it. Apparently, there's a marathon that takes place on the Great Wall of China. How cool is that? I also found out that the company that organizes this event also has marathons in South Africa, Greenland, Jordan, and a brand new one to start in 2012 in Queensland, Australia on the morning of the SOLAR ECLIPSE! It's called the Solar Eclipse Marathon.

I have always wanted to be a runner. I would need to start out slow, by doing a 5k, then a 10k, then a half marathon, and so forth. But I think this Solar Eclipse Marathon could be a really great goal for me.

The prices are resonable and lodging is even cheaper if you have a group of 4-6.

Anyone interested?

Something to think about. I think it sounds awesome!

New Year, New Life, New Me

So far, 2011 has been great! I'm exhausted from working 60+ hours each week, I'm hungry because I don't have the time to go home to get food or the money to buy it, and I'm breaking out.


All of this awesomeness ended yesterday (I hope). I was going to meet up with a friend Whitney on Main Street for a beer after I got off of work at 10pm, but when I got to work at 5:30, someone was already there and offered to take my shift. Whitney hadn't planned on going to Main until 8, so I decided that since I was there, I'd help out with a few things (because it's been really busy) and also go ahead and have a free 30 min. massage because a therapist's appointment was just cancelled.



I lay on the table and the therapist comes in. She says, "I'm going to do an hour on you instead, if that's ok." Umm, yeah! This was my first massage in months (again, I don't have the time) and it felt amazing. I get done around 7:30, just in time to pull myself together and meet up with Whitney.


I head up to Main St. and she's just walking in the door of the bar with a friend of hers from Boston, Chris. Now, usually I'm really shy with new people, but I was killing it! LOL here, LOL there. A few beers later, I head home when I normally would have been leaving the massage studio.


Today, things got even better. I read my friend and high school teammate Kali's blog that she just started. She decided to start in a journey towards the vegan lifestyle. In the past, I have had mixed opinions on veganism, but after I read her post, I decided to really consider it. The health benefits alone are reason to make the change. The only issue is that I have this belief that God put animals (farm kind) on this planet so humans could eat them.




So, this morning, I decided to return back to that post and look a bit more into it. She mentions that she read Alicia Silverston's book, The Kind Diet, and that she plans on following her blog, The Kind Life. I head over the http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ to see what I can find on this book and, sure enough, with my B&N membership (no big deal) I can view all the way to chapter 5. I start reading.


WOW! Not only am I impressed with Alicia's writing, but all of the facts and figures are just heartbreaking. I found myself crying at different parts of the 2nd chapter (Nasty Food #1: Meat) because of all of this information being crammed into 19 pages. And not just information, but details on videos that were released of cows and pigs in slaughterhouses that are so brutally tortured that I had a to take a minute, cry my tears, and take a sip of water to collect myself. Mind you, I was reading all of this at my desk at work.

I left to go home for lunch and to let the doggies out right in the middle of chapter 2, and I had a turkey and swiss sandwich to eat (and by sandwich, I mean turkey and swiss and that's all. No bread, veggies, or condiments). I definitely thought twice about eating it, but I was starving and we don't have much else in the house with the remodel still going on.

Here's my concensus: Starting Sunday, Jan. 9, I will start a vegetarian diet by first cutting out red meat. Each month I will cut something else out, chicken, and finally fish at the end. By year's end, I plan on eating completely vegan foods. Depending on how this goes, I may consider going vegan all the way (you know, with the beauty products and the clothing, etc), but for now, I will only plan on the diet.

I know some people go cold turkey (no pun intended), but I'm such a big meat eater that I don't think I could realistically pull that off. One thing at a time!

As aweful as this may be, I might hit up Burger King on my way to work and grab a burger. I only have 3 more days of red meat eating left! If I throw it up or I can't stand eating after two bites, I know the stories are setting in.

I'll make monthly posts with my progress (along with all my usual posts).

Wish me luck!

Babies Galore

Literally everyone around me is getting pregant. My close friend, a co-worker, another friend, someone I knew from high school, etc. I thought springtime was the baby making season. Now everyone is getting knocked up in the fall and winter. Is it because it's a little colder this year?

I normally wouldn't think twice about this, but being 26 years old, single, and a resident of Utah (where everyone gets married at 20 and pregnant by 21), I'm beginning to feel the pressure. Ok, I started feeling it a few years ago, but more so now with all my friends hopping on the boat.

I want children, but I just don't think right now is the best time for me. I don't have the income to support a family. Some may say that's the husband's job, but come on! It's 2011. The wife is just as much a part of bringing home the bacon as the husband.

Have you seen the documentary Babies? It's amazing! I laughed, I cried, it's incredible! Rent it immediately, if not sooner. Babies is all about babies in different parts of the world. My favorite part was when the baby in Mongolia's brother pushes him in his stroller up a hill outside of his yurt home and leaves him there with the cows in the middle of a field.

Is it weird that I have baby names all picked out?

New Blog

I am proud to announce the deletion of my Park City Culinary Adventures blog (since it wasn't going too well) and the creation of my new blog, Movies by Chelsea. I think this blog will be much more exciting.

Cheers!

Happy 2011!

It's true. The older you get the faster time goes by. 2010 went by in a flash! Here are a few things that I experienced in the last year:

1. Exhaustion
2. Realizing that I can't stay up until the wee hours of the morning
3. The joy of reading
4. Realizing that I can't sleep past 10am, if not 9am
5. The 2010 Winter Olympics
6. A short, but fun trip to Arizona
7. Celebrating the life of my amazing & beautiful grandmother, Dorothy June
8. Taking a well needed vacation to New York to spend time with my brother
9. Finding a love for running by trail (with dog)
10. Venturing to Boise to visit my second family a few times
11. Venturing to Colorado to visit close friends, and to work (and by work, I mean ski)
12. Taking in the outdoors and understanding the beauty of the mountains all around me
13. Admitting that I hate Salt Lake
14. Loving Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews, and the rest of the Pack
15. Understanding that the economy is still a mess and that I won't be getting out of Utah any time soon.
16. Turning 26 and realizing that I haven't accomplished anything...queue quarter-life crisis, part 2.

What a great year!