I got the job! Yes! In two weeks, I will be prepping for my ninth grade English class, and this coming Monday I will sitting with 30 other teachers getting professional development training. It's all been such a blur that I keep pinching myself to make sure that I'm not dreaming all of this. Now, the challenge of fitting exercise into a working life, a family life, and a social life comes into play. It will definitely be interesting to say the least.
Tonight I celebrated with a glass of the champagne my parents gave us for New Year's, and then I got all my paperwork together for the processing meeting in the school district office tomorrow. Before I knew it, the clock read 10 pm and the gym was closed. No gym workout for me today, but I did do a little bit of yoga poses in order to appease my body. I am severely sore. Every muscle in my body is aching from the workouts on Tuesday and Wednesday. Yikes. Which makes me another example of the cautionary tale: Do not forget to stretch after working out!
Well, that's all for today. Good night, Everybody!
Katy
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Organizing your go-to foods
After challenging myself to utilize the tips in the Fashion Insider's Diet from Allure magazine (see December blogs for reference), I've started to write out index cards for my breakfast and lunch choices to make the decision even simpler.
On each card I have the meal and the food as the headline. Then I write down all the nutrition facts for each component for a quick reference. No more divvying out the portions and checking labels over and over again. In the Essential Vegetarian Cookbook, Diana Shaw takes it one step further and recommends freezing and storing your food in healthy portion sizes once a week, so that when the moment comes, it's virtually thoughtless, and yet still nutrition conscious.
I am really eager to see the outcome once I get into my year with the vegetarian cookbook and a routine meal plan. Now, it's still in its haphazard planning phases, and I'm just trying to get a knack for planning simple and following through.
On each card I have the meal and the food as the headline. Then I write down all the nutrition facts for each component for a quick reference. No more divvying out the portions and checking labels over and over again. In the Essential Vegetarian Cookbook, Diana Shaw takes it one step further and recommends freezing and storing your food in healthy portion sizes once a week, so that when the moment comes, it's virtually thoughtless, and yet still nutrition conscious.
I am really eager to see the outcome once I get into my year with the vegetarian cookbook and a routine meal plan. Now, it's still in its haphazard planning phases, and I'm just trying to get a knack for planning simple and following through.
The Interview
I'm going in for another job interview tomorrow, and while flipping through Elle magazine, I came across I quote that made my heart drop, and I have been a bundle of nerves ever since. I'm qualified. I'm passionate about teaching. Put me in front of kids, and I light up and my energy goes through the roof. I'm also overweight. And, there in the middle of Elle's Make Better Issue were junior editor, Johanna Cox's, words in size 20 font that made me question everything about this opportunity: "There is something deep inside of me that has always associated an imperfect figure with weakness." (Elle Magazine, January 2010)
While I applaud Johanna for her honesty, and for her eloquent piece on exercise addiction, her words sent me into a whirlwind of doubt and nerves about meeting a recruiter for an interview. David Ramsey says that the average human resources person will know within 30 seconds of meeting you if you are a viable candidate for the job.
On the flip side, overweight people are constantly making up for their first impressions with bubbly personalities, humor, and talking about their road to weight-loss within the first few moments of meeting a new person. I know that I'm guilty of all three. Unfortunately, insincerity and false confidence doesn't read well in any kind of social interaction much less a job interview. So 'faking it, til you make it' isn't an option. Thankfully, I am confident about my abilities, my qualifications, and my love for education and children, and I'm hoping that will shine through my Lane Bryant wardrobe and will help me land the second and third interviews leading towards a teaching position.
In my research I actually came across an article called: Obese People and Appearance: Why Fat isn't Beautiful. The writer discussed, in general terms, what is like to be depressed and overweight, and then, in the last paragraph, the author said this:
The Forbes Magazine Article: Is Your Weight Affecting Your Career? takes it up a notch discussing actual statistics that make me want to run on a treadmill for 24 hours in order to really prepare myself for this potential step in the hiring process:
While I applaud Johanna for her honesty, and for her eloquent piece on exercise addiction, her words sent me into a whirlwind of doubt and nerves about meeting a recruiter for an interview. David Ramsey says that the average human resources person will know within 30 seconds of meeting you if you are a viable candidate for the job.
On the flip side, overweight people are constantly making up for their first impressions with bubbly personalities, humor, and talking about their road to weight-loss within the first few moments of meeting a new person. I know that I'm guilty of all three. Unfortunately, insincerity and false confidence doesn't read well in any kind of social interaction much less a job interview. So 'faking it, til you make it' isn't an option. Thankfully, I am confident about my abilities, my qualifications, and my love for education and children, and I'm hoping that will shine through my Lane Bryant wardrobe and will help me land the second and third interviews leading towards a teaching position.
In my research I actually came across an article called: Obese People and Appearance: Why Fat isn't Beautiful. The writer discussed, in general terms, what is like to be depressed and overweight, and then, in the last paragraph, the author said this:
"You may be compassionate and empathetic, but if you own a business or lead a sales team, you probably won't want an obese person to represent your firm. No matter how open your own thinking may be, you know your clients may react poorly to an obese customer service representative." (obesityfocused.com)Nice. This author's vague first person's account on being overweight just highlighted some of the difficulties of being a plus sized person and then concluded that because of every stereotype is "true" don't even think of hiring a plus sized person because, well, we aren't that great to look at. Great work anonymous blogger.
The Forbes Magazine Article: Is Your Weight Affecting Your Career? takes it up a notch discussing actual statistics that make me want to run on a treadmill for 24 hours in order to really prepare myself for this potential step in the hiring process:
The bias [towards overweight persons] appears to be most prominent during the hiring process, when an employer knows a potential employee the least and therefore is most likely to be influenced by stereotypes (such as fat people are lazy), says Cort Rudolph, a Wayne State University researcher... A 2004 study by Cornell University Associate Professor John Cawley found that when the average white woman puts on an additional 64 pounds, her wages drop 9%. (Some studies have shown that overweight white women are evaluated more harshly than overweight African American women and that African Americans tend to be more accepting of large body types, according to Roehling.) (Forbes Magazine, May 2008).
Due to pregnancy and other factors, I gained and kept 70 pounds after my first son was born. If I had stayed in the work force, due to these statistics, I would have either seen a reluctance to promote me/increase my salary or have been fired. This is just another reason for me to achieve this goal of optimal health. Though I'm reluctant to agree, Kate Seidametova made an excellent point in her article "Why Do Taller Men Earn More and Overweight Women Earn Less?"
Well, consider this: the stereotypes and our way of thinking in the Western world have been shaped thousands of years ago by the Romans, who even had a saying: “Mens sana in corpore sano” (“A sound mind in a health body”). Even though today we have many anti-discrimination laws, two-thousand-year-old stereotypes are not easy to break. (Resumark Blog, December 2009)Thanks for the food for thought, Kate. Now I'm off to pick out my, hopefully slimming, outfit for tomorrow. Wish me luck!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Maintenance
Cleanse, Clarify, Moisturize, zit cream, under eye cream, hair cream, brush teeth, apply teeth whitening strips, take off whitening strips, floss, and rinse. Shave off any unwanted hair. Take out workout clothes. Place filled water bottles into fridge for easy access in the morning. Write up "must-do," "want-to-do," "kind-of-need-to-do" lists for the next day. Just the normal night-time ritual.
If I had known how high-maintenance I would become by the age of 28, I may have asked God to take me earlier in life or to change my gender. However, acknowledging the people and the benefits of my life now, taking my life earlier or turning me into a man would not have been a practical thing for God to do. The world would have not been the same had I not lived to birth and love Harrison and Libby, and though I would have made a lovely and sensitive man, I don't think I would have wanted the issues that they deal with any more than my own. So, here I sit, with whitening strips on my teeth and a to-do list a mile long contemplating my life rather than tidying up the kitchen or some other quiet chore that needs to be done.
And with that, I also leave you this wonderful recipe for spaghetti squash:
Cut an enormous spaghetti squash length-wise and take out the seeds. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Once the oven is heated place the squash cut side down into a casserole dish with about 3/4 inch of water. Bake for 50 minutes until the shell of the squash is tender. Take it out and place the gourd cut-side up. Spoon the meat of the squash onto a plate (it will look like beautiful strands of pasta) and top with diced tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, a touch of olive oil, and fresh basil. Simple. Delightful. And, your body will thank you for the dietary fiber all night long.
Good Night, Everybody. Pleasant dreams.
Love,
Katy
If I had known how high-maintenance I would become by the age of 28, I may have asked God to take me earlier in life or to change my gender. However, acknowledging the people and the benefits of my life now, taking my life earlier or turning me into a man would not have been a practical thing for God to do. The world would have not been the same had I not lived to birth and love Harrison and Libby, and though I would have made a lovely and sensitive man, I don't think I would have wanted the issues that they deal with any more than my own. So, here I sit, with whitening strips on my teeth and a to-do list a mile long contemplating my life rather than tidying up the kitchen or some other quiet chore that needs to be done.
And with that, I also leave you this wonderful recipe for spaghetti squash:
Cut an enormous spaghetti squash length-wise and take out the seeds. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Once the oven is heated place the squash cut side down into a casserole dish with about 3/4 inch of water. Bake for 50 minutes until the shell of the squash is tender. Take it out and place the gourd cut-side up. Spoon the meat of the squash onto a plate (it will look like beautiful strands of pasta) and top with diced tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, a touch of olive oil, and fresh basil. Simple. Delightful. And, your body will thank you for the dietary fiber all night long.
Good Night, Everybody. Pleasant dreams.
Love,
Katy
The Elliptical
Eleven o'clock rolls around and I'm still in my bathrobe scrolling through status updates on facebook. I jump in the shower, throw on my workout clothes, pack two lunches, three water bottles, and a canister protein powder, wake Libby from her nap, change her diaper, swing a coat on her, and we're on our way by 11:45.
Today was a big presentation day for my work-from-home husband, and I agreed to pick up Harrison from school and keep the kids out of the house for a few hours. The YMCA gym with their on-site childcare seemed like the best option.
After dropping the kids off to eat lunch and play with their friends, I ventured toward the wellness center. Weights then cardio? Or, cardio before weights? I couldn't remember what my trainer told me and the weight machines were mostly vacant, so I decided it was Upper Body Day. I was going to kick butt on these machines, after all, I'm constantly lifting children, so how difficult could it be? This is when I started to really feel the result of my three month stint away from exercising. After inhaling and exhaling my way through the routine I learned in August, I headed for the elliptical. I rule at the elliptical.
Ruled. I ruled at the elliptical. After fifteen minutes, my personal best of seven miles in an hour on my favorite cardio machine was not going to happen. I was only 1.3 miles in, drenched in sweat, and completely red faced. Staying away from the gym for 3 months was my worst idea ever. The experiment was to see how long it would take me to reset my physical capability back to zero. How long would I have to take a break in order for all my progress to be erased? Three months. That's my answer. Probably less, but three months. Go ahead. Call me an idiot. I already have it printed on a name tag and stuck to my forehead.
I made an effort to keep going strong for half an hour. In thirty minutes, I only went 2.3 miles and burned 304 calories. Okay, enough of the shame-fest. I made it back in there. I did accomplish that much. And now I know. Don't be an idiot. After my workout, I watched the glutton's fantasy: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs with my children, and conquered cutting a massive spaghetti squash in preparation for dinner. I feel good. This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship, elliptical. Until tomorrow you fiendish friend.
Today was a big presentation day for my work-from-home husband, and I agreed to pick up Harrison from school and keep the kids out of the house for a few hours. The YMCA gym with their on-site childcare seemed like the best option.
After dropping the kids off to eat lunch and play with their friends, I ventured toward the wellness center. Weights then cardio? Or, cardio before weights? I couldn't remember what my trainer told me and the weight machines were mostly vacant, so I decided it was Upper Body Day. I was going to kick butt on these machines, after all, I'm constantly lifting children, so how difficult could it be? This is when I started to really feel the result of my three month stint away from exercising. After inhaling and exhaling my way through the routine I learned in August, I headed for the elliptical. I rule at the elliptical.
Ruled. I ruled at the elliptical. After fifteen minutes, my personal best of seven miles in an hour on my favorite cardio machine was not going to happen. I was only 1.3 miles in, drenched in sweat, and completely red faced. Staying away from the gym for 3 months was my worst idea ever. The experiment was to see how long it would take me to reset my physical capability back to zero. How long would I have to take a break in order for all my progress to be erased? Three months. That's my answer. Probably less, but three months. Go ahead. Call me an idiot. I already have it printed on a name tag and stuck to my forehead.
I made an effort to keep going strong for half an hour. In thirty minutes, I only went 2.3 miles and burned 304 calories. Okay, enough of the shame-fest. I made it back in there. I did accomplish that much. And now I know. Don't be an idiot. After my workout, I watched the glutton's fantasy: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs with my children, and conquered cutting a massive spaghetti squash in preparation for dinner. I feel good. This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship, elliptical. Until tomorrow you fiendish friend.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Day 1 Discovery: Working Out w/Husband is Awesome
In order to honor my resolution to workout tonight and to honor my husband at the same time, I decided that the best way to exercise after spending a day away from each other would be to workout together. I was just about to put down my magazine and suggest squats and sit-ups when Matt picked up the Wii controller and asked if I would join him.
I did, and it was one of the first times in a long while that Matt and I allowed ourselves to just be goofy with one another, and now I wonder why we waited so long. Since we only had Wii Sport and not Wii Fitness, I made a mental rule to myself: This is my workout; don't stop moving. On the plus side, doing squats, running in place, and jumping around not only distracted my opponent from doing his best, but it made him laugh. This, in my opinion, was an excellent way to begin the week.
I did, and it was one of the first times in a long while that Matt and I allowed ourselves to just be goofy with one another, and now I wonder why we waited so long. Since we only had Wii Sport and not Wii Fitness, I made a mental rule to myself: This is my workout; don't stop moving. On the plus side, doing squats, running in place, and jumping around not only distracted my opponent from doing his best, but it made him laugh. This, in my opinion, was an excellent way to begin the week.
Day 1 Discovery: I am not a morning person
Bump, Bump, Bump, Hey-O, Hey-ooOh. The disco beat of my alarm goes off, and I don't have to open my eyes to know the time of "day." It's still dark outside, and my husband's elbow nudges me out of my fading reverie. I look up, yup, 5:15 am.
"It's okay for me to workout at night, right?"
"Yeah, if you actually do it."
"I'll do it tonight. It's better than watching TV on the couch."
I think about my conversation with a friend who's media fasting, and wonder if maybe this would be the way to break the grip of late night television and CW soap operas. Working out at night would be ideal. Especially if I get a job teaching. It wouldn't break my routine if I get a job that requires me to hit the road earlier than seven. It would be a lot easier to do night workouts with Y babysitting when Matt goes out of town. After I talk myself into the idea of sleeping in, my darling husband speaks up.
"You would probably feel better if you did it in the morning."
Shoot. He's right. I sit up. I swing my feet over so that my toes touch the ground. My head is pounding. My eyelids droop. I crash back into bed with defeat. I sleep in until 7:30 only to be awoken when Harrison comes bounding into our room saying that Libby decided to take off her dirty diaper in the crib.
Yikes. I should have gone to the gym.
"It's okay for me to workout at night, right?"
"Yeah, if you actually do it."
"I'll do it tonight. It's better than watching TV on the couch."
I think about my conversation with a friend who's media fasting, and wonder if maybe this would be the way to break the grip of late night television and CW soap operas. Working out at night would be ideal. Especially if I get a job teaching. It wouldn't break my routine if I get a job that requires me to hit the road earlier than seven. It would be a lot easier to do night workouts with Y babysitting when Matt goes out of town. After I talk myself into the idea of sleeping in, my darling husband speaks up.
"You would probably feel better if you did it in the morning."
Shoot. He's right. I sit up. I swing my feet over so that my toes touch the ground. My head is pounding. My eyelids droop. I crash back into bed with defeat. I sleep in until 7:30 only to be awoken when Harrison comes bounding into our room saying that Libby decided to take off her dirty diaper in the crib.
Yikes. I should have gone to the gym.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Happy New Year!
The first of January usually sees me in a hopeful fury, scribbling down the answers to all my problems, visions, dreams, goals and deadlines. This year seems to be different. As I was explaining to my friend Jamie last night as we brought in the New Year, when I try to control everything (i.e. my life, my aspirations, and all those things I wish I could change from my past to make for a brighter present and future) I just end up downtrodden and upset with one hand in the cookie jar and the other in my mouth. However, when I let go, take things slowly, and take on flexibility I feel more in control of my emotional outcome; therefore, my physical wellness follows suit.
Not to say that the past laissez faire zeigeist is the way to be "flexible." What I do mean by being flexible, however, is the over-all message of the serenity prayer and Proverbs 3:5-6: I firmly believe in changing what I can and accepting that which I don't have the power to control. I just need the courage and understanding to figure out exactly how to do that. I spend much too much time wondering about past regrets, why certain friendships are the way they turned out to be, and what I could do to remedy previous transgressions against myself and others.
So, my New Year's resolution is this: Learn how to discern between my healthy and unhealthy motivators in life and to start gaining wisdom towards/letting go of the need to control things that send me into a downward spiral every time I fail to change them.
Much love and peace to you all and happy resolution planning!
The Serenity Prayer
Not to say that the past laissez faire zeigeist is the way to be "flexible." What I do mean by being flexible, however, is the over-all message of the serenity prayer and Proverbs 3:5-6: I firmly believe in changing what I can and accepting that which I don't have the power to control. I just need the courage and understanding to figure out exactly how to do that. I spend much too much time wondering about past regrets, why certain friendships are the way they turned out to be, and what I could do to remedy previous transgressions against myself and others.
So, my New Year's resolution is this: Learn how to discern between my healthy and unhealthy motivators in life and to start gaining wisdom towards/letting go of the need to control things that send me into a downward spiral every time I fail to change them.
Much love and peace to you all and happy resolution planning!
The Serenity Prayer
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
--Reinhold Niebuhr
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