Saturday, February 28, 2009

Day 4

Well today shall be a full day.

I'll let you know right now, I will be sorta kinda breaking my fast. Sorta. See, Willy and I have to go tasting at a Mexican place that may do our wedding catering. I'm not going to eat entire meals, though, just tiny bites. I know god will forgive me, because he knows just how much hell I'm going through in planning this wedding. ;) But for any of you reading this, trust me, this will harm more than help. Because eating a tiny bit is going to start up my metabolism, and I will be in hunger pain for the rest of the day. *sigh*

This is the only time I will eat during the day during Lent. I won't be doing any more taste testing until after Easter. I swears. I also have to go and do some shopping this afternoon for makeup and clothes and ingredients for fake blood. Why? We have a photo shoot tomorrow, yaaay! So I need to dress accordingly.

I am also going to note right here that no, I do not expect to lose weight by fasting this way, and no, I really have not lost ANY weight. The only change I've noticed is an increase of pain during the day, and a less "heavy" feeling. I wonder if after another week of this, I'll see other differences? Giving up animal products is hard and strange.

Also expect the cable guy to come in and fix our cable problem. Somethings up with the splitter, and even after we replaced it, it still won't let us watch tv and be on the internet at the same time. Stupid Comcast.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Day 3 (Cont.)

Today went very well. My only slip up (which isn't really a slip-up?) was when I bought juice during lunch. I should have known better than to have trusted it, because it was one of those crappy juice mixes that had high fructose corn syrup. -_- I do not want corn in my carrot juice, thank you. Douchebags.

Anyhow, before coming home I stopped off to buy a few things to make my fasting easier. I got some salmon for tomorrow's dinner, and tonight I made a white bean soup with tomatoes and onions and carrots. It really was good, so here's me posting the recipe!

- 1 box of Swanson's vegetable broth
- 2 cans of white beans
- 1 can of diced tomatoes
- 1 can of carrots
- 1/2 an onion
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 cups water
- salt/pepper to taste

This made a lot of soup so I kept the rest for later meals, and for Willy to eat when he's hungry. It's all vegan and very easy to make, plus it makes the house smell delicious. :)

Day 3

So I made a bit of a mistake, last night. Not really a big one. I didn't cheat or anything. I had a completely vegan meal, it's just that.. it feel like I overate a bit.

I took Willy to Hard Times (our favorite chili place) because they were giving away free bowls of chili with any purchase. So, I got a side of fries, and a bowl of vegetarian chili. It may SOUND strange, but it is actually "soy flakes cooked in a tomato base with fresh mushrooms, onions, green peppers, jalapenos & peanuts". So while it sounds weird, it's really seriously delicious. Total amount of calories? 260. Now those fries.. I have a love affair with French fries and vinegar. While dieting, this is the thing that I miss the most. I had some last night, which combined with the veggie chili, made me feel really full and guilty. Why? Because there were about 500 calories in those fries. Ughghghg...

Now ordinarily this isn't a big deal. I had a snack at my place before going to Hard Times, a slice of double fiber wheat bread and some hummus. So for the entire day, I had about 1000 calories. This wouldn't be BAD if it had been spread throughout the day. Unfortunately, all of those calories were consumed over about 2 hours. So my body is likely storing them as fat, right now. Because I'm a silly dumb girl who likes French fries.

Well no more of that. I refuse to gain weight during this fast. Tonight I'm going out for some beans, salmon, and other sea foods(no not breaded), so that I can have some nice healthy fats and protein at night when I eat. I don't want to become a "white vegetarian" and gain weight by eating starchy foods in place of meat. No way.

On the bright side, my stomach muscles are sore from last night's band practice. I actually get a pretty good stomach work out while singing during practice, because I keep my abs tight the whole time, and while singing, I'm still flexing them. So at the end of practice I'm fairly exhausted.

Day 3 should go much better than day 2. No more of day 2s antics, I tell ya.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Day 2 (Cont.)

It's almost noon, and I'm feeling weird. Nauseous, pressure in my forehead, and kinda weak. My right arm is throbbing with the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, and I'm a little shaky. I did have a cup of coffee, so I'm wondering if this is an effect of the caffeine. I'm drinking lots of water, but it doesn't seem to be helping.

Hoping that this will pass, soon. I made an appointment to see the doctor on Monday, so, here's hoping my hand will be okay. It's painful to draw right now.

Day 2

Yesterday wen't pretty well. Throughout the day I did feel hungry, but drinking coffee and tea curbed any pain I might have otherwise felt. When I did eat last night, I had to wrack my brain for acceptable things. Our fridge, I've come to realize, is about 70% animal products. Nothing wrong with this mind you, but it's pretty hard to make a meal of side dishes. So I did my best.

1 slice of double fiber wheat bread with 2 tablespoons of hummus
1 avocado
1 bowl of mixed baby vegetables (peas, carrots, snow peas, & baby corn)
1 cup of frozen strawberries

The weird thing about it is, on a plate, that's a lot of food. Plenty. Yet after eating it, while I could tell that I was full, my brain didn't signal that I was full. I could have kept eating. I was hoping that the fat from the avocado would help, but, I still had the urge to keep eating even after I knew that I was full. Funny how animal products do that, huh? My ancestors (Central American Natives) ate a LOT of fat. A LOT. And it kept them feeling good while they hunted and farmed. A diet with virtually no fat is not normal for someone of my built, so, I am feeling very hungry and strange, even with a full meal. I'm thinking this will probably pass as the days progress.

Tonight however, is band practice. That means I'll need to get some fish or something to eat tonight because it takes a ton of energy to scream and sing for three hours. Hopefully I'll find something appropriate and won't have to resort to the evils of fast food fish. Mostly because I'm pretty sure that there's egg in their breading. MAN this is tough.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Day 1

Okay, so, it's day 1 of my fast. It felt nice to just be able to run out of the apartment without preparing breakfast like I usually do, but man do I miss it. I am starving right now. I have a cup of coffee (with a packet of fiber enriched Splenda) and my bottle of water. I'll be drinking herbal tea (no sweetener) throughout the day, to keep my mouth busy. The coffee is helping a little, my stomach isn't growling or hurting anymore.

Last night we celebrated Mardi Gras by going to IHOP. There were free pancakes, so I got this meal with hash browns, bacon, eggs, and stuffed Trench toast. Plus the pancakes. The French toast was really kinda "meh" but, that's what experience is good for. Learning in the future that the picture on the menu really -is- decieving. The pancakes were good, though. I knew going in that I was going to enjoy that meal so, damn it, I did. It felt almost like my last meal. I was a little depressed with the idea of not having meat or alcohol for the next 40 days, but then I remembered, hey, it's okay. I like a lot of vegeterian things. And I can still eat fish! The problem will lie with making Willy dinner, at the same time that I make my own. I'll have to get myself some fish and cook his meat seperately.

Thats cool, though. I really like fish. It kind of angers me that he doesn't, because it really hinders my cooking. I can't add fish to anything! But to keep up my protein, I'll just have to buckle down and cook seperate meat courses for the two of us. At least this will give me an excuse to buy some salmon. I haven't had salmon since I moved from my parents' house. I used to complain about it all the time, but damn do I miss it now. It's such a delicious fish. Tonight I'm thinking that I'll cook up some of our frozen vegetables, and cook a side of beef for Willy seperately. I don't -think- I have any protein enriched non-meaty things at home, so I'll wait until the weekend to go buy some. Beans, lentils, that sort of thing.

I do have some avocados, so those will take care of the fat I need. And yes people, a little fat IS needed in any diet. Avocados are so good for you in that they provide both healthy fat, vitamins, and have virtually no sugars like your average fruits. The fat in avocados also helps you to continue feeling full. :) So stock up on these wonderful fruits, they really are good for you.

Anyhow, that was yesterday. I look forward to talking about how this, day 1, went. But for now I have to actully live through it.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

40 days of Lent

Well happy Mardi Gras! Today it is traditional to eat pancakes, because in ye olden times, people would eat pancakes to prepare for Lent to get rid of their dairy products, since we can't eat them while fasting.

Also can't eat meat.

Or during the day.

So basically, for the next forty days, I will be observing Lent by giving up food during daylight hours, meat, and alcohol. Sound strange? It is. But I want to give this a try. Maybe it will help me to appreciate life a little more.

Also, I'm giving up one other thing:

Complaining about my weight. So for 40 days, I will do my damndest not to do any of these things. Eeee.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Scapulae is a fun word!

I noticed last night that my shoulder bones, specifically the scapulae (shoulder blade), stick out really effing far. The only time I remember seeing this was with two girls on the swimteam who were stick thin and really tall. Here are the scalpulae:
I've never noticed this on myself, before. Maybe they've always done that and I was just too chubby to notice? I can also see my back muscles when I flex, for the first time. It's really cool to see the definition. I'm still pissed at how I store fat in my thighs and nearly nowhere else. I can see my ribs at all times, now, but I still have fat to lose in my thighs. So since it's impossible to "spot train" (it's a myth) I have to lose weight everywhere in order to lose it where I want it.

And no, there's no such thing as "you just need to tone". To "tone" would be to make the muscles visible. To do that, I'd need to lose fat. I hate it when people say that kind of stuff, because it's all crap. You can not "tone" without losing fat. Luckily, weight lifting is good for burning fat, and it doesn't make girls bulky like other rumors state. *eyeroll*

Anyhoo, I looked up stuff for "prominent scalpulae" and I came up with an answer from a medical text book. "Patients with prominent scalpulae may have an alar or pterygoid chest." So I looked up "pterygoid chest" and "alar chest", and what does it mean?

Alar chest --> flat chest

a chest in which the anteroposterior diameter is shorter than the average.

Synonym: alar chest, pterygoid chest.


Fuck you, doctors.
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Thursday, February 19, 2009

A few down..

..many more to go.

I discovered, much to my delight this morning, that I am several pounds away from being 120lbs. Which means that the diet and working out is indeed going well, and maybe, JUST MAYBE, I will wear a swimsuit this year. In public. Maybe.

Anyhoo, Blood Corps is also on Metal Head Radio now! Isn't that great? I am certainly happy about it, and the weight loss has inspired me to strive for more excellence during our next show in March. I'm actually looking forward to it! Hurray for me!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Future of Food

This article on CNN.com is all about how, in the future, it may be possible for people to buy food based on their personal body chemistry a bit easier. For example, someone like me who can not digest potatoes and things as easily as my Irish boyfriend, might go for the foods marked with a blue sign. While, someone who needs to lower their cholestorol, might go for foods marked with a green sign.

Wouldn't that make life a heck of a lot easier???

Monday, February 16, 2009

More band news!

So Blood Corps is moving pretty well, now. We've got another show on the 18th of April, in Baltimore. We've also got a gig at KCs Music Alley, but, it's in March! So we'll see if the rest of the band agrees to that one. Not only do we have three gigs lined up, but we've also got a music video to shoot! We'll be shooting it with Scott Hanson, a great guy who's worked with Willie Nelson. Talk about exciting!!

We're working on getting some merchandise, too. Right now we don't have anything but some white t-shirts with the Blood Corps logo. We're getting some new ones printed, hopefully in time for all of these shows. I'm thinking of getting the stickers myself, because we'll be needing them pretty badly and they're not very expensive. I just have to be careful since the wedding is coming, and well, you know how it is...

In other news, I'm back on the diet after a few days of holiday eating. It was Valentines Day and Willy took me to Fox Meadows for chocolate and wine tasting. Then on Sunday, we went to his parents' house to do taxes and they celebrated my birthday. It was very sweet. Gotta look good for these upcoming shows, though.. so no more eating badly for me, thanks. It'll be tuna and celery for a while!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

dope show on April 16th

Well, my band will be opening for a band called dope on April 16th. I didn't capitalize dope because that's how they write it. That stuff always drives me crazy, but I respect their rights as artists.

I'm excited about this show because it will be our first show with the new line-up. Devon on bass will be a big change, but he's a good guy so I think it will be good. All of our songs will be originals, and I'm a LOT happier about our new material than I've ever been before. Often I had a few that I kind of sighed at, but it's getting closer to the point where I'm excited to sing every single song, and I think that's important for me, as a musician to do. To love every song, so that the audience does too.

I'm noticing a lot more people are interested in seeing this show, mostly because dope is a band they've heard of before. I have to say, after watching the music video for their song "Bitch", I don't personally care for them. They sing about themes that make me personally uncomfortable. You can watch it here. The lyrics that caught me were:

I want you
I hate you
The one I love I hate
But the sex is great

I'll let you all know right now; I will -never- sing about sex. Skull fucking? Sure, I did that honestly as a joke. I can't seriously sing a song about sex. Love I can do. I am especially a fan of unrequited love, twisted love, strange love. I haven't written a real love song yet, but I might. Sex, though? No. I have way too many hang-ups on the subject, it's too personal for me. I cringe at the thought. I clam up. It's something I don't want to do, and so, I won't. One of our guitarists had his dad come up once, and he gave me the idea for a song all about sex. I waited until he was gone to rage about it. I'm not a slut, and I'm not going to sing like one. Don't even try to get me to do it, because I won't, and that's final.

So for all of you guys who think it's all about "sex drugs and rock n' roll", sorry. I won't sing about sex, and I won't sing about drugs either.