New Pal for You!

Maybe up until this point it has all been a rehearsal.  With the impending New Year's holiday, my motivation is getting a boost, and why not grab onto that annual hope wagon?

Since this blog began, I have:
*practiced eating well and mindfully on and off.
*rehearsed my sweet moves of exercise (maybe not so sweet...) on and off.
*established goals on and off.

And now it is all coming together because of my friends.  E, J, and Samm introduced me to My Fitness Pal online:  www.myfitnesspal.com

It is free and actually makes logging exercise and food fun.  "What?!  Shut yo' face, Krystal!"  And I'm here to say that yes, I think it is fun.  Either I am extremely lame, or it actually does make it more fun, or maybe perhaps it is a combination of the two...

None the less, I love it so far.  It's been a lot of fun and seeing my friends on there motivates me.  Logging in the calories and seeing that I can burn some of them through exercise motivates me to get off my chair and EXERCISE!  I have no idea why, but it just makes the mysteries of weight loss seem more tangible and under my own control.  For that reason, I'm going to stick with the site (I took a few days off due to holiday cookie bliss, and now I'm in it for the long run!)  I invite you to join too if you're interested in getting healthier/losing a few pounds, and would be honored to stay connected with any of you on there.  (krystallbooth at yahoo.com if you want to send a friend request through the site)

Sorry if this sounds like some sort of craptastic infomercial stuff, but I felt that I had a responsibility to uphold in sharing this site of awesomeness! lol  Cheers to New Year's and all of your new goals whatever they may be!

Dieting With Jesus

Are you ready for the annual cycle of Christmas celebrating through indulgence and New Year's guilt and repentance?  Have no fear, children, I have just the thing to get us through.

 Advertisement Found: 
"Dieting With Jesus Magnets!

Dieting With Jesus… because that ass needs a miracle! The Lord is our shepherd and he's thinning out the flock.
*Your body is a temple. Fill it with salad.
*Work those buns anywhere.
*Fat jeans or skinny jeans? You decide.
*Omega-3 fatty acids are a blessing for that tummy.

Magnets measure approximately 2 inches wide x 2 inches tall."

Originally I found this image on Vic the Vicar's blog (http://www.victhevicar.blogspot.com).  Vic's entry for these magnets is hilarious!  I highly recommend the read (posted on December 4)!
Then I found the advertisement for these blessed little things on perpetualkid.com.  Imagine the joy upon the face of a child when opening these up on Christmas morn! ...or hopefully someone in the family will like them...

That's a sweet headband, Jesus!  I think I will go workout!  Thanks again, my Man/Spirit!

Juices is the Reason for the Season!

For my Christmas gift to myself this year, I bought a juicer.  I recently watched a documentary, "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead," in which a man goes on a juice diet for two months and loses 93 pounds.  Although only drinking juice for two months isn't practical, we can definitely take some advice and include it in our diets every other day or so.

If you're like me, breakfast is usually a chore.  I've just never been hungry first thing in the morning.  Now I can throw some random fruits and vegetables in the juicer and ensure I have a healthy breakfast to kick-start my metabolism before my busy days (and apparently it's better for me than coffee, although I still can't give that up completely).  It's fun to experiment with different kinds of juices. Here's a picture of my concoction from today - orange, sweet potato, ginger juice (it's also fun to say).

While I know I won't lose 93 pounds over the next two months, this will definitely help me with my own weight loss goals just in time for those pesky New Year's Resolutions.

The Biggest Loser Finale!

Tonight is the finale!  The end of it all!  I don't know if you've been watching this season of "The Biggest Loser", but I know I'm not the only one of my friends who promptly reaches for ice cream or a candy bar on Tuesday nights to make the viewing that much more enjoyable.  Wrong?  Yes, but for crying out loud, during those certain challenges with mounds of doughnuts and all the talk about food isn't just tempting the contestants!

Last week, we found the final three contestants:  Ramon (won his spot on the finale through winning the marathon), John, and Antone.  I guess it is the battle of the boys this season, and I was sad to see Becky and Vinny not in the final three.  The two of them just seem like such big-hearted people, but of course it's only reality tv.  Do we really know these people?  No.  For all we know, Becky and Vinny could be evil-doers in their communities by nightly dumping over  Miss Mabel's trashcan, taking bats to mailboxes, egging the Reverend's house, and setting the town square on fire.  This behavior surely wouldn't warrant a prize of such grandeur.

Then again, the title of "The Biggest Loser" and the cash prize isn't exactly determined by good behavior.  (Oh, we love to hate and love the contestants of reality shows and label them as "good" or "bad"!  In fact, I still harbor animosity towards the ultimate villain, Omarosa, from The Apprentice and that was years ago!  Lame, but true.)

I don't want to damn any of the contestants, but I would like to post what Antone said last week.  He said, "I'm really sick of John to be honest with you."

I'm excited to see what happens!  Cheers to our journeys and finding inspiration (even if it comes with a side of ice cream every now and then).

A Sampling from a Smorgasbord

Exercise TV on Cable...a blessing from above found on On Demand.  Seriously.  There is about every kind of workout found on this On Demand channel.  There's walking, kickboxing, yoga, cardio, dance, and weight training/toning workouts.  Some of these are almost a full hour, and others are ten minutes.

It is an exercise smorgasbord!

Lately, I've been trying out the "10 Pound Slimdown Kickbox" and the "10 Pound Slimdown Yoga" that are led by Chris Freytag.  The kickboxing surprisingly doesn't have a lot of kicking...hmmm.  It is a 40 minute workout and I know this because there is a daunting little clock in the corner of the screen that counts down the minutes.  Here is my experience with the workout...

Minute:Second/ Thought
39:14  Okay, here we go...so glad I'm making myself do this.
38:05  This feels great - not bad at all!
36:33  My legs do not want to stand after those squats and lunges...
35:28  Chris Freytag is crazy - appears to be on crack.
34:00  I look like an ass.
28:00  I'm going to die.
23:12  Pretty sure I shouldn't have heard that sound coming from my ankle.
18:29 Jiggling, jiggling, jiggling...again, so glad no one is watching.
16:00  Water, water, water
13:21 I am POWERFUL!
11:33  Did the music just speed up?
7:45  Dear Lord,...!!!
5:32  I AM IRON MAN
4:13  Shouldn't we be cooling down, Chris?
2:20 Cool down...finally.

I DID IT!

Within five minutes of finishing, I suddenly forget that it was challenging at all, and say, "That wasn't bad at all."  I don't know if it's my ego at work, or convenient amnesia so I do the workout in the future.  This is why I decided to break down the minutes so you have an honest perspective. 

I honestly love the Extreme Yoga workout - the one that is 20 minutes.  It's perfect and feels great after the kickboxing.  It makes the total workout last for a full hour and is a great stretch after the kickboxing since the cool down is lacking.

What workouts have you enjoyed...or have been making yourself do lately?  Any suggestions?

Fort Clog

http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/local/Fort-Wayne-Comes-In-Second-For-Most-Likely-To-Clog-Your-Arteries-134796093.html


...but at least we're optimistic!

What is it about Fort Wayne that makes the second place city for clogging our arteries?

Here are a some things Fort Wayne has stacked against it:

Lack of sidewalks and bike lanes
Abundance of chain restaurants
Lack of great public transportation
WEATHER!

Any of these things is not a great determining factor in and of itself, but when put together they pack a punch!  Instead of focusing on these negatives though, I'd like to point out some great things I've noticed about Fort Wayne.  Such as:

The Rivergreenway which is ever-expanding;

the amazing people who live there that continuously inspire others with the lives they live;

(for me, these people are especially Dana and Dawn, but there are countless others!  I am in awe of you!)

And also our dear Samm, who quite smoking this year, currently lives in the supposed clog-forming city of Fort Wayne (I have yet to master this though I now live in a "healthy" city).

Fort Wayne is changing for the better, and this little study just shows that the city structure needs to change in order to support its citizens better.  We could focus on the negative, but we are optimists!

*Someday there will be a city layout that allows people to easily get around the city without a car, whether by foot, by bike, and aided by an improved city transportation system.

*Someday there will be an more restaurants that focus more on the food quality (healthy,local, organic) rather than the quantity, and more options for buying locally grown, and organic foods that are convenient and reasonable (Trader Joes too!).

*As for the weather, well, Fort Wayne does not yet own a weather machine as featured on a Smurf episode, but know that when other people around the country complain about their weather by saying, "If you don't like the weather in (insert city or state here), just wait five minutes", they have no idea what they are talking about.  :)