I’m ready!

Ok…did everyone see the season finale of The Biggest Loser on Tuesday night?  This is one TV event that is highly anticipated in our house–we may not get to see every episode during the season, but we always tune in for the big finale.  I absolutely love this show!  By the way…I know the picture of Jillian Michaels on the left doesn’t quite reflect the show, the contestants or the finale, but I can’t help it–she’s so damn HOT!!  Oh what I would give to have her as my personal trainer, but I digress… 

What’s so inspiring about the show is witnessing all the determination, the struggles, and the sheer transformation that takes place as a result of hard work and dedication, and you don’t have to be obese to appreciate any of that.  I love the message the show sends out–work hard to achieve your goals and take no shortcuts!  There’s no magic pills, fad diets, or liposuctions here…just your good ol’ fashion workouts and eating right, and the same formula applies to everyone, whether you’re trying to lose 5 pounds or 200 pounds.

After watching the finale, I’m more motivated than ever to get my workout and health back on track.  I’m not in terrible shape, but I could do so much better.  So, yesterday I took a quick assessment of my recent eating habits and took these photos:I must admit that I do enjoy the visual assortment of soda, beer and sake every time I go to open my fridge, but it’s never a good sign when water bottles start getting pushed to the back.  My other big issue is my “sweet stash”.  Yup, chocolate is my favorite vice, and this bowl is situated centrally in my kitchen…way too much temptation for anyone.  Now, I’m a firm believer of the saying, “everything in moderation”, and I have no intention of giving up either alcohol or chocolate no matter what Jillian says, but I will have to cut down considerably.  I’ve been in this “training mode” before, so I know too well what lies ahead of me, but I’m still very excited!  I’ll try to post regularly to log my progress…maybe blogging about it will help keep me accountable.

heeeello~ world!!

Ok…signed up for my very own space in this gigantic universe of blogosphere…now I’m good to go, right?  Except…now that I actually have the power of expression, I’m drawing a complete blank!  How funny is that?  All the things I’ve been wanting to say and share have vanished, at least for the time being.  So, for now I’ll just ramble on for a little while about….well, how ’bout the weather?

We are now into the month of April here in Atlanta.  Normally, this time of the year is when the temperature starts to shoot into the 70’s and you start to see people come out of their winter hibernation everywhere and it’s a beautiful sight.  Well, spring is definitely taking its time getting here this year for some reason and we’ve been having many cold rainy days for the past few weeks and this morning the temperature even dropped down into the 30’s.  What the heck is goin’ on here?  I’m definitely getting antsy and starting to feel my body reacting to the low vitamin D level and out of whack melatonin level.  Take it from someone that has moved here from the cold and dark Northeast, seasonal affective disorder is definitely REAL and can be VERY debilitating, both mentally and physically.  Now, I say physically not because it’s physiologically painful to the body, but because once you start to get mentally depressed, you start to neglect all aspects of your life, including your physical health.  For me personally, I stop exercising, eat poorly, and consume more alcohol.

I’ve been lucky in the sense that my seasonal disorder was never so severe to the point of reaching clinical depression, feeling suicidal or needing to get on medication, and most of my symptoms really vanished slowly over time on its own since I’ve relocated to the warmer climate, but it does rear it’s ugly head every once in a while.

Well, they said we’ll make it up to 62 degrees by this afternoon and it’s suppose to be beautiful for the rest of the week and into the weekend, so maybe I’m safe.  I think I’ll go for a run around Piedmont Park later on and hopefully recharge…

Update (4.9.09)…

Piedmont Park

Well, the weather turned out even better than what they had forecasted. I made it out to Piedmont Park late in the afternoon and it was absolutely beautiful! We had to have made it well into the high 60’s, for I was more than comfortable running in my t-shirt and shorts. Unfortunately, I can’t say the rest of my body felt just as comfortable–my lungs felt like it was on fire, my heart was ready to jump out of my chest and my legs felt like they weighed a ton…it’s been a long dark winter, and it’s time to wake up!