Category Archives: School

Sep 10 2012
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2012, Easy, School, Weight Loss

Starting the Week Off Right

Today has been all about prep. Well it actually started Sunday night. I finished laundry, cleaned and vacuumed and bought the necessary groceries for survival. Now your probably rolling your eyes, I am even just typing that sentence out. These are all things that I shouldn’t need a pat on the back for, I promise I’m not asking for one, but I’m really proud of myself.

Rather then start the week off running around like a chicken with its head cut off I was prepared. Per Brittany’s example I hard boiled a dozen eggs and left them in the fridge ready for breakfast and lunches. I cut up veggies and pre bagged fruit slices so I could grab and go. I put a few granola bars in my backpack so I wouldn’t be starving while at school.

So far it’s been working. I get sucked into the temptation of a treat from Second Cup but I am really going to try to avoid the extra calories and money spent. I haven’t stopped at a fast food place on my way home and I have no intention to. My butt is even in bed early so I have a solid 8 hours of sleep. Nothing feels better than being rested for class and work.

The only thing that I want to focus on is the exercise. It has slipped to the wayside as of this last week. I downloaded a new app, GymPact, and I didn’t make my goal for last week and lost five bucks. Talk about motivation to get myself in gear. Even though I haven’t been anywhere near perfect in the gym I’m still trying to not be to hard on myself. Balancing school, work, homework and a social life is challenging. These first few weeks are all about finding that balance and making it work for me.

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Mar 08 2012
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School

Study Bug

Today has been filled with study.

Boring study.

Interesting study.

All study.

Sadly it doesn’t leave me with very interesting material to talk about. I am trying to keep as far ahead as I possibly can. Finals always seem to suddenly appear and I want to be confident in my ability heading into them. My diet has been well, not perfect but certainly healthier. I am starting to crave fresh foods. Indulgences become less and less frequent. Eventually healthy will feel normal for me. I am still missing Eric like crazy, and honestly studying helps keep my mind off him being gone. So does dinner with friends and long walks with my dog. I don’t work this weekend so I am going to try and get back into the kitchen and cook something new. Maybe I will finally use that Jillian Michaels Yoga DVD I  bought many months ago. Life is just full of surprises.

Now back to studying. Happy (almost) Friday everyone!

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Mar 05 2012
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Food Journal, School, Weekend, Weight Loss

Skipping Class.

Today was a sleep in and don’t go to school kind of day. Not the best for a Monday but the extra few hours of sleep felt divine. I woke up this morning and was starved so I immediately made some turkey bacon and a scrambled egg. This meal was a little lack lustre. Is turkey bacon really that much better for you then real bacon? The ingredient list is long, the sodium is really high and it is just not satisfying. I think I am going to go back to keeping real bacon on the menu but only as a once in a while type food.

One of the benefits of skipping class is staying home and doing school work in your pyjamas. Nothing better than a big cup of coffee and being curled up on the couch with my laptop. It is pretty much right back into study mode as I have another midterm at the end of the next week and a paper due shortly after that. Summer can not happen soon enough!

This weekend was pretty low key. In my psych class we have a certain amount of research participation that we have to do, so Saturday morning was dedicated to a few hours of that. It was quite a simple project but a bit on the tedious side. As a benefit I got paid $4 to be there so it wasn’t all bad.

The best part of the weekend was a surprise tweet from Eric!

We email back and forth but any extra chat time is always welcome. He is still gone for another few weeks! Sunday was an early lunch with an old friend and then the best nap I have ever had. It was hard trying to get out of bed and be productive after that nap.

Today is all about one choice at a time. Healthy eating is not natural for me yet so I am finding I really have to be proactive and make every decision count. It pretty much comes down to not allowing myself to make excuses. My goal this week is to journal all my meals and how my emotional state is when I eat something. All to often I eat because I am bored, tired, sad etc. I want to start being more mindful of the reasons I eat or overeat. Hopefully it will set me up for success down the road. Hope everyone is having a good Monday!

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Jan 13 2012
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2012, School

All Work and No Play

With school back in session my brain is totally focused on social sciences. Sounds pretty lame eh? It mostly is.  No real complaints though, I just like to hear myself bitch.

             Facebook is pulled up on my laptop like normal.

               Life is good.

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Oct 06 2011
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School

What I Love [and Hate] About University

Making the decision to go to university was huge for me. After highschool I waited 5 whole years to decide what to do and where to do it at. I always knew I wanted to go to school, but when I left highschool the timing just didn’t feel right. Drinking and partying was priority, not introductory calculus.

Now that I’m finally enrolled in university and attending (almost) everyday there are certainly things I love about it, plus some things that drive me crazy.

What I love about University

1. Being in class with people who want to be in class – In primary education everyone is forced to go, but in university it’s vastly different. You end up paying big bucks to get the education you need to further your career. I love having intellectual discussions with people who are passionate about the field they are in. I look forward to being challenged by my professors as well as my fellow peers.

2. I love all the people – Thirty thousand people is nothing to laugh at and even though I went to a big highschool (my graduating class was 650+) I was in a pretty small town. Now Edmonton isn’t a huge city but there are so many different cultures and people at the U of A. I love meeting new people and university has allowed me to meet so many new friends that I would of normally never met.

3. Campus is gorgeous – The U of A’s campus is huge, over 50 city blocks, and all of the buildings have so much character. From the gigantic old oak trees to the stunning detail in the buildings there is always something pretty to look at. Even the newer buildings are intriguing. I love how colorful everything is. They really make it a very welcoming place to be.

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What I don’t like about University

1. People who talk in class – Being in my first year means I’m often in huge lecture halls with kids 5 years younger than me. It really drives me crazy when the people sitting in front of me chat the entire class. I’m not a prude and a lot of times I can ignore it but if your class is entirely lecture based I kind of want to pay attention. I could care less who fucked who in a dorm room.

2. The food – This hasn’t affected me so much yet, but when the time comes that I’m on campus for 6 or 7 hours at a time there really isn’t a ton of healthy options to pick from for meals. I know the university is trying to get better, but sometimes it is nice to have more variety than Subway.

Overall I love going to class and feeling like I’m working towards something. My mind needed to be stimulated and going to university just feels right. I’m glad I waited until I was a little bit older to go to class, or I would of been the person fucking in the dorm rooms. and feeling like I’m working towards something. My mind needed to be stimulated and going to university just feels right. I’m glad I waited until I was a little bit older to go to class, or I would of been the person fucking in the dorm rooms.

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Sep 19 2011
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Meals, Motivation, School, snacks

5 AM and Everything Else

Mornings suck. I’m slowly getting used to it, but 5 am is not a time my body is used to functioning at. Coffee used to be something I relied on in the AM. I’m slowly weening myself off the black gold and switching to tea and water. Water just doesn’t give me a shot of energy first thing in the morning.

I really notice a difference in my body if I don’t eat my fruit and vegetables the day before. As basic as it sounds some days I just don’t eat them. I’ll get a bagel for breakast, have a sandwich for lunch and by the time dinner rolls around I’m usually working so there is no time to eat. I like to snack all day but by late afternoon I’m not in the mindframe to make a good choice. Peanut candies sound a whole lot better than an apple.

It always surprises me how good healthy food tastes. When I get on a junk binge I forget how good fresh Greek yogurt and berries taste or how satisfying garden carrots can be. I need to find a way to stop myself from going completely off track.

Being up at 5 am and then on the go until 8 or 9 pm makes meal planning a challenge. Every day changes for me and when I do try and plan a meal I often find that when the time comes to make it, I just don’t want what I’ve set aside to make.

Does anyone have any tips or ideas? How can I start incorporating healthy snacks while on the go?

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