2. Get back to Primal moving

One of the things I appreciate most about the Primal Blueprint is its outlook on exercise. Contrary to popular fitness belief, the average (healthy) person does not need to have a gym membership, run miles upon miles every week, or kill themselves at a workout 5 times a week (although, if you're training for a marathon or iron man or other intense athletic competition, that's cool too). I've also picked up a lot of great exercise ideas and concepts from Steve at Nerd Fitness. (I know I always talk about these blogs, and it's not that I don't read anything else or look at anything, but I just don't like anything else as much as these two guys!)

For those who are not familiar with PB exercise guidelines, here's a quick overview:

• Move a lot at really slow pace
• Lift heavy things
• Sprint once in a while

1. Get back to Primal eating.

http://s247.photobucket.com/user/MDA2008/media/Blackboard_grok2.jpg.html

Full disclosure: I'm infatuated with the Primal Blueprint and Mark's Daily Apple. And I'm probably on the fast track to love. I've mentioned Mark Sisson's blog here on numerous occasions, and while there are a lot of Paleo blogs out there that are great, MDA has the perfect mix of health and fitness advice based on well-researched science. It's the lifestyle I've found that resonates with me the most, and the one that I feel answers all my questions about what is healthy and what is not, and why conventional health advice has never really helped me with my health or my weight.

If you don't know anything about the Primal Blueprint, I suggest subscribing to the newsletter at MDA to get started. You don't have to make any changes to your life, and you don't have to agree with everything he says. BUT I do think you need to read it and evaluate it for what it's worth. Then what you do with that information is completely up to you.

Sweet Summertime

Awwwwww. The longer days. The colder drinks. The warmer temps.

That's right. It is SUMMA TIME! Well, almost. Never mind that it snowed here two days ago. That's history! And we are just looking forward from here on out.

I know I've been terrible about writing in here and keeping things updated, but that whole "I'm teaching freshman comp and getting my master's degree and directing a conference and writing my thesis" thing really ate up a lot of my time. BUT now 'tis summer, and lest ye be able to produce a myriad of writings to delight and enthrall readers across the land.

Okay, that's something I definitely picked up from my fellow TA's this year. Anyyyyy who. I'm working at The Firm again this summer, and will be covering the phones over the regular guy's lunch break. So what better time to do a bit of blogging? Plus, I really, truly believe that doing this (and by this, I mean writing about my plans, goals, triumphs, and tribulations) helps me stay on track with my health. I don't think it's because I think people are reading this and I owe it to them to stay on track, but the fact that I'm putting it down somewhere means I owe it to myself to follow through on things.

And what exactly, you ask, might those things be? Lucky for you, I'm going to tell you!

Feel Better First, Lose Weight Later

We live in a backwards, mixed up world. Often, we are struggling to fix problems to meet specific goals. And goals are great, fantastic even! They're essential to our sense of accomplishment and our sense of drive and ambition. But what if the goal we have is actually not the goal we need?

Okay, that's all vague and ambiguous and now that you don't know what the hell I'm talking about, let's get real.

Health. Our doctor's tell us, "Lose weight, and you'll feel better." But what if it's the other way around? What if we instead worked to feel better, and by doing so we then began to lose weight?

Ladies! LIFT HEAVY THINGS

Well hello there! It's been a while, and a lot has happened. I went home for Christmas, went on a cruise to Mexico, the Caymans, and Jamaica, strolled down Bourbon Street in New Orleans, and decided I'm doing a triathlon (and yes, still planning on the half, but it'll probably be in August). Whew. I've been busy, but things have been GREAT!

One of the bigger changes I've done, fitness wise, is I've started heavy lifting...again. When I was training for volleyball, I loved lifting. I could lift for hours. I could lift for daaaayyys. My coach always told me that I needed to do more cardio though, to help me lose weight. Well, that might be what conventional wisdom tells us, and while studies might show that cardio does help you lose more weight, only doing cardio will make you lose both fat and muscle. Um, lose muscle??? I don't know about you, but I don't want to lose muscle. I want to be strong. I'm thinking, the stronger you are, the more muscles you have, the better your endurance. Stands to reason.

SO I've been heavy lifting 2-3 times a week. And it's been GREAT. I forgot how much I love lifting and I love seeing how much stronger I'm already getting.

June 22, 2013: 13.1 Miles

Yes. This is what you think it is.

Or maybe it's not. I'm not a mind-reader.

Okay, so what it IS is me proclaiming my plan to run a half marathon early next summer. On June 22 to be exact. And how long is a half marathon? Well, it is 13.1 miles. Yes. Thirteen point one miles. And I'm going to run that damn thing, and run it good.

This is what 40 pounds looks like

I just took a photo of myself and compared it to my "before" photo. And I'm happy to say that I think I no longer need the quotes around that, because I legitimately have a before photo. Check it out:

June 11, 2012 - When I started TSFL

November 15, 2012 - Today. Primal and
loving it.