The Summer of Kate

First week of Summer!

I love summer. I love the smell, the beach, the sun, and the food.

Especially the food.

However, this summer I don't have that warm and fuzzy feeling...instead I am suffering from a mixture of tension and egocentricism (yup, I made that word up).

I am incredibly worried about the unstructured time of the Summer. I am only working three days a week BUT a big part of my summer duties is community outings which equal a lot of eating out. I do a decent job of managing myself when I am scheduled to be at work for 10-12 hours a day, but having all that time to myself...I could self destruct. Enter tension.

Incoming!!! My inflated ego. I actually wouldn't call myself egocentric, however, I do have a pretty good sense that I can, in fact, control myself. So...I have dubbed this summer The Summer of Kate. This summer is a turning point for me. I am going to work on all of my "stuff' - all my wobbly bits, my eating habits and I will have to face all of the unstructured times and all the celebrations. I will do it all successfully because I know that I can.

A list of events that I need to plan around:
*Community outings including:
Aquarium
Pizza and Ice Cream (at least twice)
Bowling
Movies
Scavenger Hunt
*My baby sisters 21st birthday
*Tina and Gordon visit from Venice
*My Birthday
*At least 3 other birthdays
*The 4th of July
*Beer Festival
And all of the surprise occasions

So the strategizing begins. This will be my summer. Summer 2010 - Summer of Kate.

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Shout out goes to my ego

Quote of the day: Egoism is the very essence of a noble soul. - Nietzsche

Today I took the P90x fit test...here are the results:
My resting heart rate: 70
Pull-ups: 8 (with an assist)
Push-ups: 5
Toe Touch: +2 1/2
Wall Squat: 1 minute and 3 seconds
Bicep Curl: using 10 pounds in each hand- 10
In & Outs: 30
Heart Rate Maximizer - after 2 minutes of jumping jacks
Heart Rate immediately following: 150
One minute following: 120
Two minutes following: 84
Three minutes following: 82
Four minutes following: 80

What I ate today:
Protein Shake
Banana
Bison Burger - yummy with almost half the fat and calories of beef
Carrots
Apple
Iced Latte -Jess, you would be proud. I used a reusable cup :)
BBQ Chicken wrap
Doritos
Watermelon
Orange

Happy Summer!
-K

A Big P.S.
Apologies to the friend who complained about yesterdays post. I don't think Tom wants two girlfriends as of right now, but check back in seven more years (the "itch") he may change his mind ;)

Happy Birthday Tom!!!

Happy Birthday, Tom!

As many of you know Tom is pretty awesome. We met over 7 1/2 years ago and ever since then its always (almost) been him and me.

Now we live together with our hilarious dog, Sasha, and he has been my rock. Despite my ups and down in life he has been here. He knows my weaknesses and my strengths. He has seen me at my best and my worst. He knows all my flaws and has heard me bitch constantly about them all - and yet he loves me; he still shows me every single day that he loves me, even after 6 1/2 years of coupledom.

While I have a TON of great supporters -and I love you all, he (by far) is my biggest and best support of all. While sometimes I gripe that he is "micromanaging" me I know that he is doing all he can to help me reach my goal. And, baby, I love you for it. Not only has he helped me cook my "better for you" meals but he comes to the gym with me for moral support and he has listened with open ears and an empathetic heart when I need to obsessively talk about my journey.

Tom, without you and your love and support this would be a million times harder. Thank you. I love you!

**************************************************
Shout out goes to Tom, for being awesome!

In true fashion of "us" the Quote of the day: I could be dreaming but I keep believing you're the one I'm living for. -Bobby D
*
Tomorrow begins P90x!!! Woo

Food wise today was an eh day, Birthday celebration at the Cheesecake Factory. Cheesecake is a weakness of mine.

What I ate today:
Cheerios
Milk
Banana
Apple
Orange
Yogurt
Small piece of chicken
2 pieces of bread
One enchilada
Rice and Beans
A few bites of Cheesecake
Cappuccino
Watermelon

Much love
-K

I almost died...

...Well not really, but one year ago this weekend I had a very grounding experience that made me acutely aware of my mortality. Not trying to be overly dramatic but I almost drowned, and the only thing that saved my ass was the life vest and helmet I wore and 2 very brave men. After the shock of this event wore off I realized if I had ANY strength at all I would have been in much better shape. I probably would not have needed a life line or two men to come to my rescue had I simply been able to pull myself up, but that would imply I have any upper body strength.
Thinking about this event a year later - I now have some upper body strength, but I still can't do a pull up if my life depended on it. So that is why I am starting P90x in 2 days. I don't ever plan on being in the situation where my life depends on my physical strength, but I have made some pretty bad decisions in the past and I am sure that there will be more to come, and I want/need to be prepared to save my ass.
I am actually looking forward to the pain!

At the bottom of this post is the actual story.
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Shout out to Jess and Dan for the adventure

Quote of the day: Nature hates calculators. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

What I ate today:
Corn flakes
Milk
Banana
Apple
Turkey Hummus Wrap
Orange
Small iced latte with skim milk
Carrots
Chicken
Small potato
Broccoli
Watermelon
Ice cream

xo
Kate

The Ohiopyle and the Youghiogheny river

Now I am not a storyteller by any means, but as promised here is the almost too crazy to be true story of our insane white water rafting adventure.

This past weekend I went out to Pittsburgh to visit Jessica. Now I would consider Jessica and myself two very intelligent people. We have both completed our Master's programs, I now have 2 very successful jobs and Jess has gone on to her PhD in enviro engineering. You would think that we are more than capable of making smart, informed decisions.. but as this story will prove 18 plus years of education left us lacking some seriously needed decision making skills.
Prior to my arrival in the Burgh we had discussed several of our options for our entertainment, we discussed museums, bars, a Pirates game and the Ohiopyle state park which includes hiking, natural water slides and white water rafting. Having gone White Water Rafting a few times in the past and having a blast I thought that it was a good idea (bad decision number 1). Jessica and one of her friends Dan (who is also a smart climatologist-or something fancy- PhD student) did some research about the rapids in which offer guided or self guided trips. Somehow it was decided that we could go down the rapids self guided (bad decision number 2).
Now, the rafting rental place we wanted to rent from had told us when making reservations that three people could not rent a raft, but that we would have to rent a one person kayak and a two person kayak, which we agreed upon (this would be bad decision number three had this actually happened).
--- I am sure that many of you are wondering why we just didn't ask a fourth person to join...well Jess and Dan did. They asked probably about 10 of their friends, aquaintances and even some people they had no desire to spend a day with, but did out of desperation. No one could make it, so we trek on just the three of us.--- However, upon our arrival on Saturday morning the woman offered us a four man raft, which we jumped on because we wanted to STAY TOGETHER, ha.

Before I go on, there were signs that this trip was not going to go well which we so intelligently ignored. After we check in and are told we can get this four man raft for the three of us we are told that we need to park our car at the end of the river, about 7 to 9 miles down the road, where the course ends. Now we all must have misread the website, as we thought there was a shuttle that would bring us back to the launch area. We get down there and there is no shuttle no other people. We call the rafting company which tells us that we either needed to have two cars or hitch a ride. Ha. So we stand around contemplating this - wondering if we can get our 100 bucks back that we just paid. Just then we spot a park ranger! Putting on my best act I flag him down and bring Jess over to his car with him and tell him that we had no idea that the shuttle didn't run, which he informed us hasn't in a few years because not enough people were rafting to use it (which is BS, but anyway) we guilt him into giving us a ride back to the launch area. The park ranger cleans his truck out and I notice that his name is Hawk.
On the ride back I make small talk and stupidly ask how dangerous the rapids are in which he informs us that last Monday a guy drowned and gives the good details. Then ends it with "he was a drunken fool." Oh what a relief! A drunken fool drowns going down the rapids.

So we get to the launch area, are given a raft 3 oars and 3 helmets. We watch the safety video twice and launch away. The first 3 or 4 rapids we handle like true champs. We do get stuck a few times but nothing major and we make it without a hitch. We come to an area where we see a guided group off to the side of the river all talking, we think nothing of this and paddle on. Big Big Big rapids. Somehow, Dan and I fall out the raft, Jess stays in. We manage to both get back in but then we realize that our raft is flooding with water, it is literally lodged in between 2 rocks and is submerged. We are doing everything we can to dislodge the raft but nothing works. Meanwhile, everything we had in our raft starts to float away. Also, somewhere in this mess I feel my shoes get ripped from my feet and I am now barefoot (this is bad decision 3 -as I was not wearing the appropriate foot gear, and neither was Dan as he lost his shoes too, powerful rapids they are). So finally we see this guy in a kayak come towards us, he gets out of his boat climbs on a rock next to us and we are all like awesome he is going to help. No, no. He stands on the rock whips out a video camera and starts filming. Outraged. Another dude in a kayak comes over and says we need to move. Duh. We tell him we can't so he and the man filming come and help us dump the water from our boat and dislodge. All the while telling us in a very "nice" way that this is why people takes guides. How much did we want to bitch slap this guy. Anyway...Somehow, one of us lost an oar in this debacle and luckily one of the kayakers give us an extra, phew. So we get through the rest of this rapid, which we later find out is called cucumber rapid and its a level 4.

OH. Did I forget to tell you that in White Water rafting there are levels of rapids? Well, yes, there are 5 levels. 1 to 5. Usually the family friendly guided rapids are levels 2 possibly 3, but not usually. The Youghiogheny river is level 3 and 4.

So two of us are shoeless and we are all a bit rattled but we are fine and it was kind of fun. We realize that the mass of guided rafts that were stopped before the cucumber rapids was to inform them about the danger and safety precautions needed. So we need to be aware and we will know when it gets bad. So we keep going and are having fun. I spot of one of Dan's shoes and jump in to rescue it.
We take a short break on this little beach like area and Dan spots of my shoes and rescues that. Awesome we now each have a left shoe. We get back in and continue to do a great job navigating the hydrolics and the level three rapids. Then we come to Dimple Rapids.

As we approach we see a good 20 rafts lined up getting lectured by their guides. We decide to hold off and park the raft, walk around and see for ourselves what these rapids are actually like. They are huge and they are scary and we watch people get tossed from their rafts and kayaks attempting to go down them. There is the option of portage at these rapids, which means we haul our raft 500 feet around these rapids. We decide that if cucumber rapids was an issue, this was going to be a bigger one. However, shoeless attempting to carry a 300 pound raft seemed more impossible than the dimple rapids. So we decide "lets do this" (biggest bad decision of the day, number 4). We watch several rafts go down and we know the technique and exactly what we need to do. Which is possible when you have an 6-8 person raft with 1000 pounds of human bodies to keep the raft more level. We start our decent and right away, its bad form. The first boulder we hit knocks all three of us from the boat. Now I can only speak from my perspective here, although Jess, Dan and I discussed this at length later on in the day. As I am thrown from the raft I tell myself get on your back and face forward, you need to see where you are going. I am still holding my oar and I plan to use it to help push away from the rocks and boulders. I am staying relatively calm although and being thrashed around hitting rock after rock and pushed under the water swallowing what felt like gallons of water. I soon hear Jessica yelling to me. I spot her holding on to the raft which she so obviously calls to me "I HAVE THE RAFT" I make is towards her and grab onto the raft as well (bad decision 5) we hear people shouting to us "GET BACK IN THE RAFT, GET BACK IN THE RAFT " We get Jess in and I toss my oar on board, then comes a giant rock which crushes me between it and the raft. Now comes the panic. Jess is in the boat. I desperately want to be in the boat. I feel Jess grabbing at my arms and yelling at me to get in. I go under the boat, come up on the other side. I hear Jess yell "WE NEED HELP" some dude tosses me a line with a floating bouy which I grab, but the raft comes crashing into me yet again forcing me to let go of the line. Just then some brilliantly brave men jump into the rapids and pull us to the side. I am gasping for air and feeling the need to throw up the quantity of water I just swallowed. The the same time we are shouting that we are missing Dan and cant see him. We spot him walking on the rocks on the other side of the river. We also notice that we have no oars. Not even the one that I was holding onto most of my swim down the dimple rapids and tossed into the raft. Then I become acutely aware of my bloody knee and ankle and skinned shins.
This is where we meet a group of godsent people. A woman named Anna offers me some first aid and bandaids. Dan is making his way to our side very carefully. And Jessica asks for advice on how to get down the rest of the rapids sans oars. A man named Terry offers us two of his groups oars, and Dan finally makes it to us. Looking at Dan's wounds I feel selfish as his toe is a bloody mess and his calves are not skinned but gouged. More first aid is offered, as is some food, as we naturally had none. Terry and his crew offer for us to follow them down the rest of the way and whip out A MAP OF THE RAPIDS. This is especially funny because, at least I was not aware of any kind of map exsisting, nor were we offered one at any point. The map also gives you the best course to get through each set of major rapids. We jump at the chance to follow along especially because we have only 2 oars.
Much to our dismay we disembark to get through the rest of the rapids. Terry and his 2 rafts get through the next set, called the wine bottle (or something) with no issue, we start through and get stuck on a rock, which prior to dimple was no problem for us, but with me with no oar and shaking like a leaf we all immediately get into the center of the boat and sit. We get off the rock and meet up with the rest of the group at jumpers rock. Where we watch a majority of the other rafters jump 30 feet into the water from a giant rock. We sit this one out. Terry comes to see how we are feeling to which I reply anxious, or nervous. Terry offers to get in with us and guide us down the rest of the rapids. We accept. As we are getting ready to leave another group of people come by asking if we lost an oar. We say yes and are given an oar that does not belong to us, but we take it anyway. Mind you we have now lost 4 oars and have 3 new ones on loan, plus a stranger to lead the way. Terry is some kind of expert and has done Youghiogheny river a number of times. He gets us through the rest of the level three rapids and one more level 4 without so much as getting stuck on a rock.

We land at the end of the rapids and get out. Now we realize that this is where the shuttle comes in. Awesome (our final bad decision, what am I up to? 100?). However, because we were told that the shuttle doesn't run we didn't think to ask about it further. So all these people have red wrist bands on to get onto this bus, because the car is parked about a mile away from our landing. So we send Jessica with her charm to beg for a ride with a promise of payment when we get to the car. YES! It works. So we deflate our raft hop onto the bus and make our way to the car. We have to get the giant raft to fit into the trunk of the sebring we rented which we somehow manage. We realize that we will have to pay for our missing oars and start doing the math. Not too bad. Only 10 bucks an oar.
Upon our arrival we are assisted with unloading our raft that we shoved into the trunk. It's here I realize that my rear is in bad shape and announce this to all the young men helping us unload.
The Art of Distraction. We realize that they are not paying attention to what we are returning and nor do we share that we used at least 7 of their oars. As they are too enamored by our story and our battle wounds.

We had plans to check out the natural waterslides, however decided to call it a day and head back to the Pitt. The three of us discuss our feelings and fears, and decided that not a single one of us had ever felt that kind of fear. The kind where you actually believe you are going to die and fear for your life. As much as we would like to blame the rafting company we take full responsibility for our inflated egos and lack of respect for mother nature and we will never overestimate our abilities again nor we will underestimate the power of the Youghiogheny.

A large amount of beer, and pizza was ordered and consumed. And we survived.

Dear Dad and Mom

Dear Dad and Mom,

Happy Fathers Day Dad.

Mom. Dad. This one is for you.

I don't always say it, and I definitely don't say it often enough: I love the both of you from the bottom of my heart. Because of you I am who I have become today, for better and for worse - but mostly for better. I have become successful in so many ways (and if I have not told you I am quite happy) and many of my successes are because you have always stood by my side helping me along. Thank you. For everything.

I would also like to take this opportunity to ask that you take care of yourselves. It is no secret that us Smiths are not blessed with great health. Several of us are diabetic (or close t0 it) and/or have thyroid issues, heart issues, weight issues and the list goes on. And several of us don't take the best care of these problems. In a way I am asking out of selfishness but I am giving myself permission to be a little selfish about this. Dad I want you to walk me down the aisle at my wedding and Mom I want you to make cookies for your grandkids. I want you to continue to be here by my side helping me find more successes for as long as God will allow it, and you have the free will to prolong that.

I love you two very much and I am so lucky to be a part of such an amazing supportive family. You two have given me so much including my strength and will to take my health into my own hands - for that I am eternally grateful. So again: Thank you.

I love you,
Kate

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Shout out to Mom and Dad

Quote of the day: I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he's rich. - M*A*S*H

What I ate today:
2 Lemon Poppy Seed muffins
Apple
Chicken and Steak (small piece of each)
Lite potato salad
Salad
Corn on the cob
Cantaloupe
Grapes
Handful of nuts
Lite flour chocolate cupcake


Weigh in: 164 down 6 pounds

xo
-K

Weekend Woes

It's the weekend. Yay!

Weekends for me are the hardest. Unstructured, lots of events, and lots of food. This weekend has many opportunities for me to make unhealthy choices. Honestly, I am struggling a little bit.

So I found this article on Sparkpeople about strategies for success and helped put me (and my attitude) back on track.

1. Start Small
Quite possibly the biggest mistake people make is pushing the accelerator too soon. You can’t lose 20 pounds in a week. But you can lose one. Taking small bites and chewing slowly have as much to do with goal achievement as they do with your mom’s dinner table scolding.

2. Get It On Paper
Whether setting your first goals, tracking daily progress, or sharing your deepest thoughts with a journal, writing things down crystallizes your ideas, exposes underlying fears, and paints an accurate picture of real life.

3. Focus On Everyday Habits
The building blocks of a healthy lifestyle are forged in the smallest of actions you take every day and every week. Healthy choices can become as natural as brushing your teeth or locking the front door. Build one habit, one action at a time.

4. Always See Your Goal
Goals need attention. They need to be seen and heard and thought of often if they ever hope to come true. So surround yourself with as many reminders as possible.

5. Be Consistent
Imagine a plane taking off. In the beginning, a lot of energy is spent to simply get moving down the runway. But as speed and momentum take over, the plane is pulled forward and up into the sky, faster and further by the second. Consistent action, no matter how small, has more power than you ever imagined.

6. Never Stop Learning
A healthy lifestyle is a process—a journey more than a destination. You can always learn more about nutrition, fitness, and even yourself that can help you be just a little bit better tomorrow.

7. Come Out of Seclusion
Has anyone ever achieved anything of real value all alone? Probably not many. Most receive some form of help from other people. Support, information, a sense of shared experience, encouragement, advice, and a well-timed pep talk are all invaluable as you set off on your adventure.

8. Allow For Setbacks
Accept the fact right now that you will make mistakes, and that it can be a positive thing. We are usually harder on ourselves that we are on anyone else we know. Be your own #1 fan. That means being supportive (instead of critical) when you stumble, and enjoying your wins (rather than ignoring your accomplishments) when you succeed.

9. Trust Your Plan
You’ll have up weeks and down weeks, and frustrating weeks that make no sense at all. The tools and strategies you’re learning will help you build a plan that makes a healthier lifestyle almost inevitable. If you consistently make the right choices and build healthy habits, weight loss is literally just a matter of time.

10. Have Fun!!!
Who says getting healthy has to be a chore, a burden to be endured or suffered through? Probably a very unhappy person, that’s who. This is an exciting adventure of self-discovery and building a meaningful life. Enjoy the ride!

Like my sister said to me last post, its not all going to happen at once. I need to celebrate my small successes. And today is only one day out of many to come.

Shout out to Tina who often inspires me

Quote of the day: We are what we do... Not what we did. Now if we continue doing what we used to do, we can't be upset that we are still what we were, simply because we're still doing what we did! -Unknown

What I ate today:
Lemon Poppy Seed muffin (thanks again to Dori who has sent me countless lowfat recipes)
Banana
1/2 Chicken, tomato and pesto Panini from U Food Grill for lunch
the other 1/2 for dinner
Apple
Orange
Carrots
Lite flour Chocolate Cupcake (another Dori recipe)

And since I am going to a friends house tonight for some Rock Band fun I am going to factor in a glass of sangria

Tomorrow is weigh in day!

Luck
-K

Posting secrets

I am a big fan of the website postsecret.com. I love the idea of people being able to share some of their most embarrassing, scary, funny and personal secrets with the world without having to face judgment. I also think that when a person finally reveals a secret they often find comfort in not having to hold onto it anymore. There is something freeing about sharing the secret..it no longer burdens your soul and often, if shared with the right people, others share similar feelings.

There are some secrets of my own that I have not shared with people and would like to let them go. Many of them are from the past but I have been holding on to them as if they provided me with an odd sense of security. But they no longer have a place and now they are just uncomfortable. So I want to put a couple of them out there, I need to let them go.

*I used to engage in some very unhealthy food activities. I would "secretly" go to fast food places and order up. Eat in the car, then try to "hide the evidence." I had become so embarrassed of my eating habits that I would literally try to hide the junk I would eat. IF I would get "caught" I would feel horrible about myself for days-but continue to eat junk.

AND

*I often would ignore my "hunger signals" especially when my body was telling me I was full, but I would continue to eat.

I am sure I will have more to share in the future.

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Today was an ok day. I had two parties which means lots of junk food available. Since Friday is bagel day, and I love bagels, I decided that I was definitely going to eat one. Then I did my best to manage the rest of my choices throughout the rest of the day.

Shout out to JessWils for sending me a super motivating snail mail card-THANKS! I miss you!

Quote of the day: A writer should have this little voice inside of you saying, Tell the truth. Reveal a few secrets here. -Quentin Tarantino

What I ate:
Low fat Banana muffin (thank you Dori)
Fruit Salad
Bagel with Cream Cheese
Orange
Banana
Handful of chips
3 Jumble cookies
1 1/2 Sam Adams Light
Apple
Cheerios
Orange

Also, Check out this article I LOVE it:
http://jezebel.com/5155912/dear-restaurant-servers-stop-being-conspiratorial-about-dessert

Always
-K

Waste Management

Someone recently asked why I named this blog Waist Management. Well, because I am trying to manage my waist AND the waste that I put into my body. I need to become more and more aware of what I am putting in and what it will do for me. Also, I was trying to be punny.

Today I read an article about a woman who has "conquered" her relationship issues with food by giving into what her body wants/craves (with portion control). My first thought was "this is bullshit" if I gave in to my every single food want, I would have eaten myself to death. HOWEVER, the whole point of this change is not to deprive myself of my wants or cravings but to manage how I satisfy them. I could always go for a brownie or some chips and sometimes I will eat them, but neither will really do a whole lot for me emotionally or nutritionally. So instead of the brownie I may eat a chocolate chip granola bar, or the chocolate pretzel special K bars (delicious!) and as for the chips - I highly recommend making your own chex mix (saltylicious!). Waste management.

While I manage that waste I will hopefully also be managing my waist!


Today was an interesting day. It was Beach Day at work. This meant BBQ food and lots of soda. So I brought my own lunch. It worked like a charm, some people kind of laughed that I still brought my own lunch, but honestly a hot dog vs a big fluffy turkey sandwich with hummus...no contest - turkey wins. It also allowed me to eat my delicious Nann pizza guilt free. I like that feeling, guilt free.

Now I have to prepare for the two parties tomorrow and Father's day, three big food events.

Shout out to this guy

Quote of the day: "It's better to go into the can than to go onto your can" -Alice

What I ate today:
Cheerios
Milk
Apple
Orange
Granola bar
Turkey with hummus sandwich
watermelon
Nann Pizza
3 Jumble cookies (thank you Dori- they are awesome)
More Watermelon (my favorite fruit)
Water
Lime Seltzer
Iced tea

xo
-K