Spring 2010

The spring 2010 semester started 2 weeks ago, and Doug and I are still getting used to our new class schedules! I am enrolled in 18 credits, including classes on electronic circuits, mechanical behavior of materials, corrosion, and law in literature. This is the semester for my junior lab, to start getting ready for senior project! I am also in Pilates and mountain biking.

Doug is enrolled in construction management, introduction to engineering, university, and english. We are both going to be so busy this semester!

In other news, I officially need to get new figure skates. My old pair weren't designed for jumping, and I have been jumping and spinning on them for a year now! I think I'm going to try to get them in summer, so I don't have to worry about them during the school year. It will be so nice to have better fitting skates. :)

Pride in Appearance

Motivation. I need it. I think I got it. I'm not talking about school. I'm talking about fitness and taking pride in my appearance. I worked REALLY hard, spending 3 hours at the gym at least twice a week. My hard work paid off, and I lost A LOT of weight. I went from 190-something to 140. 50+ pounds!! I loved my new body. I could tell the difference in my fitness. I could run for 17 minutes at a time. That doesn't sound like a lot, but if you consider I started out not being able to run for even a minute. See those jeans I'm wearing in that picture to the left? <-- They are a size two. Alas, my schedule got really hectic and I quit working out. Those jeans are now neatly folded in my closet. I can't even fit a leg in. I got used to my fast metabolism, and I started sneaking sweets. Fall semester came, along with MAJOR stress. It was a really hard semester, and it showed. I began to gain weight. Seeing myself in the mirror depressed me, and I hated being in photos. I felt self conscious wherever I went. I felt like everybody was looking at my new weight. I wore baggy clothes, even though I'd gained maybe 10 pounds, and all my "skinny" clothes still fit well. I quit taking pride in my appearance, sometimes going a week without a shower. To help fuel me for all nighters, I ate. And ate. And ate.

Here I am now. I can see the extra weight gain in my face, and in my new-again double chin. I am basically back at my starting weight. This blog is closed, so I'm being really honest here. I weigh about 195, depending on the day. Sometimes 190 if I'm dehydrated. I had to buy new jeans because I ripped the thighs out of my old ones. Instead of a size TWO I am a size FOURTEEN. I want to cry just writing this. I still don't take any pride in my appearance. I don't wear make up, ever, because I don't like looking in the mirror to put it on. I take pictures of Doug now, but not me.

I'm done with this.

I want to remember what was so good about my peak fitness:

• Did I mention size two?!?
• Band was a breeze. I could run and march all over the field all day.
• I loved walking places on campus, or riding my bike around downtown.
• Confidence. I was not afraid of people. I loved meeting new people, and I made it a point to talk to and work with students in each of my classes.
• Attention. My coworkers would notice my weight loss and compliment me. Guys visiting the library where I worked would ask me out or flirt with me.
• Skating. I didn't seem to have to struggle as hard to learn something.
• It was SO easy to find clothes. Everything seemed to look great on me. One of my favorite pastimes is shopping at thrift stores, and at this weight, nothing was too small.
• Bikinis. They fit!! I've always said that if you want to wear a bikini, do it. Don't hide because of your body. However, my chest was too big and fitting into a bikini just was not an option before.
• Small chest. I went from a DDD to a manageable 34DD. I LOVED it. Clothes fit better, and my back didn't hurt as much. Plus bras actually existed and fit.
  
• Pride. I was working really hard, and it made me proud. It established a feeling of self-worth that little else gives me. School also gives me this feeling, but not as strong.
• My skin was the clearest it's ever been. Very few breakouts.
• Stress management. Working out turned into a GREAT way to relieve stress.
  

I am going to get that body back. I want the confident, proud me back. I want to know that I am fit. I want to be able to run a mile again without stopping to walk. I am going to wear those jeans again. Sooo, I thought I'd share my journey on here. I like typing better than writing, so I'll be more likely to update this and be honest. Plus, if I think *anybody* at all is reading this, even just Doug, it'll motivate me to stay focused and not make excuses.

Starting Numbers:

• Weight: 195 lbs
• Waist: 37 in
  
• Bust: 43 in
  
• Chest: 38 in
  
• Girth: 65 in
  
• Thighs: ? in
• Hips: 47 in

Goal:

• Work out every day, even if just a bit.
• Lose 1 lb.
• Water instead of soda.
  

Workout Plan:

Wednesday:
9 a.m. - 11 a.m. = Treadmill (Walk 4 min, run 1 min, repeat.); With elevated heartrate, do various floor exercises: Situps, pushups, utilize medicine ball, stretch; Do some resistance training with arms (press) and thighs.
Thursday: 8 a.m. - 10 a.m. = Treadmill (Walk 3 min 55 s, run 1 min 5 s, repeat); With elevated heartrate, do various floor exercises: Situps, pushups, utilize medicine ball, stretch; Do resistance training with arms (press) and thighs.
Friday: 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. = Treadmill (15 min, run as much as possible);With elevated heartrate, do various floor exercises: Situps, pushups, utilize medicine ball, stretch; Recumbent bicycle (Just keep heart rate up); Stretch again
Saturday: 8 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. = Treadmill (Walk 3 min 50 s, run 1 min 10 s, repeat to 30 min); With elevated heartrate, do various floor exercises: Situps, pushups, utilize medicine ball; Elliptical for 5 min to stay limber; Emphasize stretch.
Sunday: Go for a brisk walk outside for 15 mins OR Treadmill (Walk 3 min 40 s, run 1 min 20 s, repeat to 30 min); With elevated heartrate, do various floor exercises: Situps, pushups, utilize medicine ball; Recumbent bike for 5 min to stay limber; Resistance training

Doug and Pammy Continued

Pictures of Doug, me, and family:

Doug and Pammy

At the Festival of Trees. There were so many beautifully decorated trees.

Zzzzzz......

How I feel right now. :) School is really wearing me out. We had, I think, 5 band events in 4 weeks. I'm finally enjoying my classes, but this rhythm of stress, stress, stress is wearing me out! This picture really says it all. Have you ever been to DailySquee.com? They have the most adorable pictures of baby animals. It reminds me that it's not all about us (humans) and that the world really is a wonderful place.

Doug and I are just wrapping up our semester. After next week, there are only TWO weeks before finals. Eeek! I feel like I don't do anything but sleep, school, study, band, study repeat! I think Doug is feeling the same way.

Figure Skating

I LOVE figure skating. It is truly one of my passions. I have been skating for about 1.5 years now out at Idaho Iceworld. After a cute guy (I know!!) taught me how to skate well, that was all I could do. Give me a good hour to get used to it, and I could skate *sort of* comfortably around the ice. I could not, however, stop. The worst fall I have had skating was when I didn't know how to stop, and I tumbled over a little kid with an EZ Skate.

Since then, I have learned so much from my lessons. I have so many tricks up my sleeve. I am even working on jumps and spins now!! You have no idea how much this excites me! These are things I am learning currently that excite me:

• Backward edges
• Toe loop
• Loop
• Half flip
• Scratch spin
• Backwards spin
• Spiral
• Lunge

The feeling of being on ice is like no other. I don't know how to describe what I feel when I step onto the ice, or smell the cool air at an ice rink. I feel invincible on skates, beautiful, and graceful. This is quite an accomplishment, as usually I feel awkward and clumsy. When I am on the ice, I want people to see me and notice me. If I could quit college and figure skate all day long, I probably would.

My skates!

About Me: School Edition

I am a student at Boise State University. This is my fourth year attending, and I am majoring in Materials Science and Engineering. This fall semester, I am taking 12 (?) credits. They are:

• MSE 310: Electrical Properties of Materials
• SPAN 101: Spanish 1
• MSE 465: An Introduction to Mathematica
• MSE 497: Communication in Nanotechnology
• MATH 360: Engineering Statistics

My favorite class by far is Statistics, much to the annoyance of my study buddy. :) I am greatly enjoying all of my classes. I can't believe there are only a few weeks left of the semester! If I stay on top of my classes, I might be able to graduate as soon as Spring 2011! Some days that sounds so close, and other days it seems so far away.

I was fortunate enough to land a job working in a research lab under Professor Bill Knowlton. He is a brilliant man, and I am so thrilled that I get to earn such valuable work experience as an undergraduate. If you don't know, undergraduate research is incredibly rare in universities. This is what makes BSU one of the top schools in the country for engineering. The hours are sooo nice compared to what I'd been used to. I was working 19 hours a week, and now I only have to work a minimum of 7 hours. I get to do things like fabricating electrodes in a clean room.

School is hard work, and it's not for everybody, but I am definitely glad that I chose this route. Most days. ;)