Friday, September 16, 2011

Three Cheers for Friday!  My dad went to his Aikido class and dropped me off at the Y where I did 45 minutes of cardio. I am really happy that I could end the week with a great cardio workout - bpm at 170! Oh yeah, the dude push ups were also good today - 3 sets of 15 - YES!!!!!

After the gym, I got a ride to my friends place and chilled with a few of them.  We watched movies and ate snacks. I was hoping that it wasn’t going to be a full-out junk food night. 

So I brought popcorn (Orville Redenbacher’s Microwave Popcorn) and a veggie platter, and we also had a fruit tray and dip!  I am proud of them for knowing that the chips and pop are simply not healthy for us!  OK, so we did have some Coke, but I drank water too!

According to the CalorieCount website for Oriville Redenbacher popcorn (http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-orville-redenbachers-movie-theater-butter-i90209) this specific microwavable brand gets a Nutrition grade of B- , with 120 calories for 102 grams. This mark is actually quite good compared to the other types of popcorn featured on the site! And I thought popcorn would be a healthy choice. 

So I’m glad I didn’t pig out, but I did eat a lot of yellow, orange and red peppers!!! Delicious!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Went on the treadmill for 35 minutes and had a heart rate of 170 bpm for most of the time. Feelin’ great!  Then I went rock climbing tonight and had a great time! 

Checked my flexibility and I am 4” from a split! I think I am also getting stringer from those dude push ups! Climbing is sooo easy – instructor tells me that because my hips are placed towards the wall, I am not using force to climb, but technique. But my grip certainly helps!

You know, I like what I am seeing in the mirror. My muscles look more toned and I am feeling so good and confident about myself. My dad says it’s all about attitude!

 

With him being a fitness nut, it is always mind over matter with him. (This week he is on a rampage about not eating chocolate!) Hmpfh! 

Anyway, I like how I look. So I ask you..... why do people make you feel like there is something wrong with you when you like yourself the way you are?

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

My parents told me that I had to get my priorities straight!   

OK, so my mom sees my computer with:

• YouTube open with music playing
• my Facebook open
• my SKYPE open, so

then accuses  me of not doing my homework. I WAS doing my homework - a partner assignment with a friend from class! Jeeeeze! But I get a lecture on priorities and getting things done and focusing on the task, blah, blah, blah, blah....

Let me give you some background… 

I am a teen with dyslexia (in my case I mix up patterns, numbers, letters and stuff) and I also have difficulty focusing for longer periods of time … oh look, a squirrel!  See what I mean? I have ADHD, but not severe enough for me to be on any meds. Anyways, my mom who also has the same thing, lectured me on how I had to focus and not have too many distractions.  (Look, the squirrel again!) We had a discussion on what a distraction is.  Here is what I mean…

For me, when the teacher tells the whole class to be quiet and that is a distraction for me.  I am NOT daydreaming when I look out the window while the teacher is lecturing. Yeah, I tune out, because the teacher hasn’t grabbed my attention, as she is yelling at another kid to keep quiet or something. There are many teachers that I don’t zone out with cuz they know how to teach me!

Then the teacher hands out something to read. OMG, she put in one of those fancy fonts again and soooooo small that now the writing is a blurrrr – and look, the squirrel!  So I ask for her to make a copy and enlarging the font cuz she forgot to do this again.  "A" wants one like mine too! "B" makes a derogatory comment. "C" throws his pencil to "D" but misses and it hits "E". I giggle and then get in trouble, get sent to the office to do my work. Works for me!  Grab my iPod on the way there and get all my work done in the office in ½ the time! There is soft music playing (classical stuff, but still OK) and the view outside is nice too – more squirrels!!! Lol…..

Anyways, enough of the disability and the ADHD.  My mom tells me that I have a condition (just like my diabetic friend) – and we have to deal with our difficulties as best as we can.  I guess my mom was right and that I do have to prioritize as it does take me longer to finish a task sometimes because of that squirrel!!!

So I finished my homework on SKYPE, downloaded a few tunes and went to the gym to do a few laps! I work differently. Do you think I got my priorities right? 

Look, a squirrel………

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Hi Everyone!

Enjoyed the pool tonight and did laps. Kept my cardio up for 30 minutes and it was going really well except I don’t like what the chlorine does to my hair. It feels all dry and brittle so I need more conditioner. Mom!!!!!

You remember my posting about having more people back in the gym? “Back to School” seems to be a marketing field day for the retailers and other sellers of services.  Well, I was talking to my parents over dinner (yes, we eat dinner together most of the time) about this and we think it’s because everyone is getting back top a schedule and wants to work towards a goal. January is another month for new beginnings and new goals!

My fitness goals haven’t really changed - I want to improve on my cardio and my splits. Then I want to get into gymnastics again (since my concussion) as I still need to be careful. My parents are supportive as long as I keep my schoolwork up to date. Dad says focus on the end result and break it into smaller chunks. So this is what I am doing. Getting into gymnastics by working to get my fitness, cardio, endurance and flexibility into excellent form!

I’ll keep you all posted!

Monday, September 12, 2011

I went to the Y to do a cardio workout today and I am so comfortable doing 30 minutes at my target heart rate, now about 170bpm!  I also did 3 sets of 20 dude push ups today, so I was rockin’!   

And I came home starving!!!!!   I had a really bad pasta craving and guess what was for dinner!  Pasta! And she had made three different sauces!!! 

My dad likes meat sauce, 

mom likes alfredo and

I like alfredo and tomato, so we each got what we wanted!  I had mine with tons of Parmesan cheese!

 

Pasta is high in carbs. But did you know that the longer you boil it the more carbs it gets??? My mom told me this but I don't get it. She has a science background but maybe she got things mixed up?!? 

So anyways, she cooks the pasta "al dente" and says that when she boils her pasta for 5 minutes, its glycemic index is like 30-35. But after 20 minutes the glycemic index can go up to 55-65! The glycemic index is the carb measurment. Basically, the higher the glycemic index, the worse the carb is for you and the sooner you'll be hungry again.

She also told me that the nutritional value of our pasta meal makes it somewhat suitable for maintaining optimum health.  "Go look it up" she tells me as dad gives her two thumbs up.  

So I did!  According to the National Pasta Association (not joking!), this is because it is low in saturated fat and sodium and high in thiamin and folate. Check out their site at http://www.ilovepasta.org/nutrition.html

Just don’t eat too much as it also can help you gain weight!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Had a lot of homework in math and science so I finished that up before going to the Y to work on my Cardio and then on some Flexibility and some Strength!  

I felt really good about myself and did really well:

 

- 30 min cardio

- making progress on splits

- increasing my push ups! (gotta remember to keep my back straight)

Saturday, September 10, 2011

I am about half way through my PPL10 course and it’s time to find out how I’m doing so today I finished my 2^nd Physical Fitness Review as well as my 2nd Active Living Review. 

 

Both assignments are going to be handed in today and I hope I get an “A”! Wish me luck!