Month: November 2016

Body Transformation – Entry 2 (Day 4)

by Chanel Rose, posted in About Me, General, My 2 Cents and Sadly No Coffee

Just a short little blurb update. Don’t get too excited.

Thus far, I have walked at least 5 miles everyday four days in a row, in addition to living. GO ME! Sunday through today, I have walked 21.57 miles. … My legs hurt.

Right now, as I might have stated in Entry 1, my goal is consistency. Doing five miles every day. So far so good. What does that mean exactly? I can complete the five miles at any speed I feel like. I can break the workout up into chunks if I want or need to do so. Therefore, the running I did yesterday was just icing on the cake. GO ME!

Now I didn’t run much. My apartment complex has a slight decline towards my building. Several times yesterday I ran the decline stretch. It totaled at least half a mile, though it could have been more (no more than one mile). I am going to say that I ran half a mile yesterday.

Note: Sunday I ran a few times up the incline, but that couldn’t have been more than a 1/4 mile. 

Today, I went to Forest Park and walked the steps to and from the World’s Fair Pavilion.

 

It is not as daunting as it looks. In fact, there was only one stretch I hated.

worlds-fair-pavilion-3

This stretch of stairs was the horrible stretch, but … It wasn’t even this whole segment of stairs. As you can see, the stair case is broken into three segments. That top little stretch nearly killed me.

About the sixth time or so going up these, I contemplated giving up the stairs, going home, and finishing my five miles there later today. Shortly after, I crossed the two mile mark I felt better.

There is a routine to my thoughts during the five. Between the 1.5 mile mark and 2 mile mark, I contemplate giving up walking five miles a day all together. I imagine how I would feel giving up this part of my self. It feels horrible to think that.

In just a short time frame, I have already incorporated walking five miles every day into my psyche. When imagining giving it up, I feel a great loss. I feel like a failure. That feeling gets me past the two mile mark. At that point, my thoughts are more along the lines of “oh, this is almost over. Let’s keep going.” Until mile four ….

At my four, I am ready for it to be over with. I have to stop myself from looking at my phone every 30 seconds to see how much further is left. It feels so good to cross the five mile mark.

I walk five miles every day. I have been doing it for four days now at 204 pounds. You can do this too. Pick a physical activity. Pick a duration. Pick a frequency. Most of all, tell yourself this everyday. Several times a day.

Being fit is a life style. Diet and exercise don’t work if you stop doing it. Of course you are going to gain wait if you stop being physically active. This is a permanent change in your life, so pick something you ENJOY doing.

I enjoy walking and running. “I complete five miles everyday.” What do you do?

Body Transformation – Entry 1

by Chanel Rose, posted in General

Today I weigh 204 lbs. Two Hundred Four Pounds. Coincidentally, that is how much I spent on Christmas presents and a few groceries today at Walmart. This time next year, I want one of those number to be 100 units less and the other 100 units more. Guess which is which.

My other bodily measurements are as follows: arms 14 inches, bust 46 inches, waist 37 inches, “gut” 44 1/4 inches, hips 48 1/2 inches, thighs 30 1/3 inches, height 60 inches. … for a total of 204 lbs. You don’t know this but my husband is about 67 inches and 207 lbs. Seven inches taller 3 lbs heavier. In all other measurements, I am bigger. Boo!

I have diagnosed myself with body dimorphism. In the mirror, I look heavy but not really that over weight. Pictures are a different matter. In pictures, I can see how over weight I am.

Now, before you start saying the camera adds five pounds, this is not “five pounds.” I am talking about 50 or 70 pounds. I still see my self as mostly the 130 lb high school student. A little soft in places but not too bad. Pictures tell me the real story. They tell me that I have gained 70 lbs in the last six years.

Last January I married my sweetie pie — and gained 10 or 20 lbs since that time. By our 2nd year anniversary, I want to be about 100 lbs lighter. Based on my height and how I perceive my body structure under my fat layers, 104 lbs shouldn’t be unhealthy. Of course, I will re-evaluate as I approach my goal. After all, weight loss will be but one metric for measuring my success and efforts.

I will also me measuring my stamina and what not. My ultimate goal is to be health and capable. Shits given concerning my weight are almost zero. Almost. Today, we walked 1.24 mi in 28 minutes. Averaging something like 2.6 mph. Based off of this, it would take me around 2 hours to complete 5 miles. And that is my goal. Daily.

Yup. You read that right. FIVE miles EVER. SINGLE. DAY. It will take me about 2 hours at first to complete my daily goal, but that is part of my actual body transformation goal. Not to lose 100 lbs, but to be able to run five miles in the morning before work in a timely manner.

A quick Google search tells me that the average human can run about 8 mph. So, eventually, I should be able to do a quick 5 mile run in about 30 minutes. Get back home, shower, do the breakfast thing, and head to work. Easy peasy. Eventually.

Another reason I want to work out. Heart health. People can make me so angry my blood boils. Or, it feels that way. It is kind of sickening. It might actually just be my blood pressure rising. The sickening feeling might be my blood pressure rising too quickly. I don’t know, I am not a doctor, and I am doing a no-no by not consulting my doctor about my exercise routine.

My routine is going to be pretty light, so if I am not healthy enough for that I am in BIG trouble. Mostly, I am getting up off the couch for a little while during the day. See if that helps with the gut. Walking. Occasionally running. Twice a week going to the World’s Fair Pavilion at Forest Park to do my five miles going up and down those awful steps. Three times a week or so I will do arm movements with 3 to 5 lbs weights. Not sure that I would call that weight lifting as it is not much. Again, if I am not healthy enough to lift 5 lbs, I am in trouble.

Over the next several weeks, at least, exercise research will be part of my daily routine as well. My life style is obviously not physical, so it is best that I read about the different things I can do … and the proper technique to do them. This is to semi-replace hiring a personal coach. Semi because eventually, I would like a personal coach, but that will probably come about after I loss 20 lbs and hit a wall thus needing to figure out how to amp it up a level.

Also, it will be nice to have some else to hold me accountable. Until then I will rely on you and my Facebook followers to yell at me about doing things.

My Hobbies ….

by Chanel Rose, posted in About Me, General

I absolutely love trying new crafting hobbies.

My sewing machine is in its box on a shelf, seldom taken down. Tried my hand at embroidery… once. In college, I took an intro pottery class. That was fun. Occasionally, I buy paints, colored pencils, and crayons. Our wedding invites … made by me!

I love creating things. My go to hobby though is wax. I began making candles in high school, and sadly never actually got good at it. Today, I make wax melts and sell them on eBay.

I am hoping to get back into making candles. I would also like to embroider again, make my own clothes and such. The issue with crafting hobbies is that supplies take money (and space) and finished products take up space. Hence the eBay store.

Oh, and I like baking and cooking in general. Home made pudding, rolls, cookies, brownies. YUM!

What is your hobby?

Check out my eBay store here: http://www.ebay.com/sch/chanellyon/m.html?item=112195380992&ssPageName=STRK%3AMESELX%3AIT&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

November 11, 2016 – After the Election

by Chanel Rose, posted in About Me, Current Events, General, How to Contribute to Society, My 2 Cents and Sadly No Coffee

Donald Trump is now the President Elect. Many people are happy. Even more, not so much. What now? 

Some people are rioting. Some people are celebrating. Some people are burying their head in the sand. People are doing all kinds of crazy things… sane things… People are doing things. 

What should you do? I don’t know. Maybe you should do what you have always done. Maybe you should do what you have always dreamed of doing. Either way, do SOMETHING. 

Protest if you want. That is your right. Write to your Senators and your House Representatives. Believe it or not, elected officials do listen to you, at least to a degree. After all, they want to be reelected. 

What am I doing? Working on my hobby business, Made by Chanel. I make wax melts, candles, and body sprays. I love scented products and instead of paying a lot of money for various products and their many scents, I make my own. 

I am also a business consultant for Sweet Hollow Creations. SHC is a bath and body company. Handmade soaps, lotions, scrubs, all kinds of things. I love their products. It’s the only soap I use. Like, I bought a year plus supply. Partially to resale. Partially to use myself. 

I also breed mice. I love my little rodent family so much. 

I am also contemplating my career. Right now I am working on becoming a tax preparer and exploring that pathway. 

I am also thinking about my role in this society and what I want to contribute. Should I begin a career in public service or simply volunteer on the weekends? What steps should I take?

I implore you this: do something. Live your life. Build your life with a purpose.