Moving onwards

I'm not sure how to write this post. Oh well, let's start at the beginning, shall we?

When I began with blogging two years ago, it was this blog and I thought that blogs have to be build around a certain topic. So since I have multiple interests, I've started out with other blogs for those other interests over time. First style, then photography, then style again, then a syndicated photography blog with a friend and lastly a blog for drawings/art. So this lead up to having a staggering number of 5 blogs.

Over the last two years I have changed a lot in all areas of life. I guess you could say I have grown up.

Now, as I'm starting with my own thing, I have decided to focus my time and efforts in the blog and real world. I finally have a goal that I work forward to, one that combines all parts of my life and that is actually palpable. Before that my life was a guessing game. Looking back, I'd say this was my problem: that I hadn't found my goal.
It certainly makes everything a lot easier to know what I want. I still stray from my path, but since I know my goal I always switch back into the goal direction using the detours to broaden my knowledge and gain inspiration.

Due to starting my own thing and the change in my believes I'm concentrating from now on my efforts in blogland and the real world on "San's Visual Art". Don't get me wrong, the Ironman Hawaii is still on my goal list (as are my new bike and a half-marathon for next year), but I will blog about it from now on at San's Visual Art, as about everything else.

So if you want to and haven't already I sincerely invite you to come on over to San's Visual Art. I'd love that. Not interested anymore? Then I sincerely thank you for reading this blog, supporting me and wish you and your loved ones a wonderful and amazing life, great training sessions and fantastic and most importantly injury free races.

Thank you all for your patience and reading and commenting,
Sandy

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

Good news

Where to start?

Okay here it goes:

1. I finally cracked the magical number of 130 lbs or 59 kg on my scale today, 129.4 lbs or 58.7 kg. Wohoooo. Losing this stuff on the scale is getting on slowly for me. However I can really see the changes in my body composition, now almost all of my clothes fit beautifully. Which is fantastic since it means that I don't have to buy new clothes in the next few months.

2. I finally stick to the primal/paleo lifestyle 99% of the time and if I slide I get back on track with the next step. I slided at Monday, after a hard and long day at work I needed comfort food. Or so I thought and had New York style cheese cake at my local starbucks. Yuk. As much as I love Starbucks, the cheese cake was awful and I ate only half of it. Yeah, I should have stopped after the first bite, but I was starving...

3. I will go on a holiday with my parents to Austria (note: little country in the south of Germany.) Believe me I'm more than in need of a little holiday and air change now.

4. I'm free again. Yep, I'm back on the market for an awesome new job and I'm confident that I will find it soon. I've learned a lot during the last two months and I'm glad about it. This way I know what I have to watch out for in my next job.

5. I love my yoga class and will definitely keep it up. My body certainly enjoys it.

6. I just did 10 push-ups.

7. I discovered Macadamia nuts for me. I love them. When it comes to food I don't stock up(because then I have to throw away half of it, quite often), the macadamia nuts are the exception to the rule.

8. Did I mention that I look and feel fantastic right now?

9. My very own trademark was registered yesterday. Talk about a coincidence, since it was the day I was set free. Hahahah. XD

On the other end of the spectrum, I haven't started with swimtraining. :( Somehow there seems to be a roadblock before that. I don't know why.

That's it from me, I wish all of you a wonderful weekend and fantastic races and training sessions.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!!

PS: I'll start with reading "Going Long" by Joe Friel today.

Finally back in training

and therefore back to this blog.

I've got tons of news for you. Yes, I've still got my new job and I plan on keeping it. At the moment it is a bit taxing, but in about 3 weeks everything will be steady.

Okay, back to the reason for this blog: triathlon training.

On Tuesday I started with Iyengar yoga in Leipzig's Yogaraum and surprisingly I liked it. I've attended a Hatha Yoga class years ago and I really disliked it. So, I was a bit nervous when I went to my first class this week. However, it couldn't have come at a better time, my muscles were all tight when I went to class.
Iyengar yoga is the sporty variaton of yoga and uses things like plankets and pillows to help the beginners to get into the correct positions without hurting oneself. It builds up the needed strength slowly. It's simply perfect for me. When I left after the class, my muscles were relaxed and I felt fine for the first time in months. Needless to say I will keep Iyengar yoga up. I also like my teacher, she's really nice.

Today I'll also send out my membership form for Leipzigs sport club, the swimmers division. I'll start with swim training in September, as I have already told you. And I'm horribly excited about it. ;-)

I will also try out wakeboarding in the next few weeks. Wohoo.

Even more fun, two of my new "colleagues"* are triathletes too, so I finally have some people around me to chat about triathlon in person, which is really exciting for me.

Foodwise I ran into a bit of trouble during the last weeks, due to my new job. But I'm getting back on track now and will use some new strategies.

My bike gives me a lot of trouble these days. Culprit is the gear shift, again. So at the moment I'm pondering the question to which bike shop I should bring it for repair, since the BDO didn't get it under control the last three times, in fact it got worse. As a matter of fact the chain got of the gearwheel several times, which it didn't until this year. To say I'm annoyed doesn't cut it. A new bike is planned for April 2012, but not earlier. So another bike shop for repair it is.

Well, that's it. I wish all of you a wonderful new week, full of fantastic training sessions and good luck for your races this week.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!!

*technically they belong to another company.

Short update

1. I've got a new job! As an engineer! And it is fantastic. I've been working since July 4th.

2. I'll start with yoga next month.

3. I'll start with swimming in September.

Have a great summer everyone and

keep moving forward!

Enrolling in a new career

Hey there,

I know this blog wasn't anywhere near anything training related lately, sorry. Thing is, I've added a new career so almost all of ,my time and energy goes into that direction now. Therefore for the next weeks this blog will take a break. Not that you'd miss me anyway.

Just in case you are wondering, I've decided to work as a parttime visual artist. Parttime? Yeah, I'm still an engineer and I'm going to stick with it, after all I didn't battle through bloody thermodynamics for nothing.

I wish you all a wonderful summer, amazing A-, B- and just for fun races, and that the training goes well too.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

59.2 = 22.6 = Wahoo!

Making headway, but there is still a quite a bit of way before me.

However, I'm now constantly under 60 kg and this feels soooooo good. For celebration I pulled some special shoes out of their box (they hadn't seen the light of day, since I bought them back in 2008) and wear them and I'm planning keepin' on wearing them. And treat number two is applying for an ultracool job.

I'm also back with the Push-Up-Challenge, I started in on 20 on Friday and my body feels fine with it, though the heel of my right hand is still a bit tender.

Have a great new week!

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

Back in the saddle

After exactly 2 weeks I got back in the saddle. My hand is healing up just fine, give it another week and I'm back to normal. For the time being, I still have to be careful of how I grip the handle bar.

Life is looking good again!

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

A few food pics - Breakfast and Lunch

3 omelette versions for breakfast

with radish

with Parsley (currently my favourite)

with carrots (and lots of butter)

And my lunch one day.

rotisserie chicken, fresh italian strawberries and a banana. Life can be sooo good.

Swim-club it is...

Okay, so I've decided to join the swim-club instead, but will do so in September earliest. Two reasons for this: funding and summer break. The funding and my inability to swim freestyle was also the reason for switching to the swim-club instead. 


Weather is very nice at the moment and my hand is healing fine, so I'm confident that I will be back in the saddle by next week. 

Park in San Francisco in December 2008

Core training continues and I love to imagine how my stomach is getting flatter every morning. Sadly it's just this: my imagination. Oh well, at least my back feels better with.

I've also found out, that more veggies in my diet are favourable, so I'm working on getting in more of the green and colourfull stuff. Surprisingly this makes my diet cheaper. Love it!

Enjoy your weekend everyone and best of luck for those who race or train.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!!

Tri-club or no tri-club for another year - That's the question!

My right hand is on the mend and my right thigh isn't hurting while walking anymore. So I'm halfway comfortable again. Though my bike is still in my parents cellar and will stay there for another week or so, until I can put pressure on my palm again. Which also means that I can start my PushUp-Challenge again then.

In any case, you could say I have finally seen the light and have decided to become a member of Leipzigs Triathlonclub. Though there have to be some questions answered first. So a few minutes ago I send out an email to them, now I have to wait.

I wish you all a wonderful new week.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

Sugar: The Bitter Truth

This Talk by Robert H. Lustig, MD, is simply mindboggling.



KEEP MOVING FORWARD and stay away from any soda!

It happened again!!!!

Half an hour ago, it happened again. For the second time in mere week I fell off my bike. And while nothing happend the first time except for a new dent in my selfesteem. Today I hit the ground and scraped my right heel of the hand. 

Do you know these people who take everything in stride and don't moan when hurt?! Well, I'm definitely not one of them. So here it goes: ouuuuuccchhhhhhh. Fº©©∆∂†∂]¨¨⁄©∂]|≠{®ƒing bike!

Chris is supposed to come to Leipzig this weekend and normally we would go out for a long bikeride. Well, not this time. I'm walking from now on. This bike is evil. 

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

Coming up this week

A new Taste Bud Adventure: Kaktoogie 

See, even my korean roommate likes it. ;-)

Day 18: the splitting begins

No, not headaches, the amount of push-ups that I do in one go. Why? Well, since yesterday my triceps are sore. So I figured, if I break the days number down in smaller packages, my muscles would have time to recover and let me do the whole challenge without any further ado.

I've also discovered a "new" hobby that I want to try out: Geocaching. Which is essentially modern treasure hunting. You can find out more about it here: http://www.geocaching.com/



In any case I found that postcrossing is a wonderful hobby. For instance it is really surprising how long the postcards travel. I would've thought that the traveltime correlates to the distance it has to travel, but no. Taiwan took 7 days and a card to european town in Russia is still travelling after 16 days, thats 9000 km versus 1800 km and the longer trip is faster. Weird, huh? Okay, I admit it, at times I can become quite nerdy. But the best thing about postcrossing is to go to my mailbox with excitement, because now there is always a chance for finding a nice surprise. So far, I found two nice surprises in there, one from the USA and one from Canada. I really would like to get a card from South Korea or Argentina.

Tomorrow starts Easter in Germany. So now I'm off to the grocery store and after that I'm going to grace the German National Library with my attendance.

Happy Easter, if you celebrate it and best of luck for your races.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

On day 14 incorporate core strength

I'm pretty proud on myself today. Because today I didn't procrastinate my push-ups, I did all 15 in one go right after getting up. Yesterday I started with core strength training again, since my lower back is relatively mad at me.

Also, yesterday was the Leipzig Marathon. Shame on me, but I had totally forgotten about it. Well, it doesn't come through street that I look upon anymore, so that's the reason. My parents live right on the track, so would I have been there, I wouldn't have been abled to escape it and probably would've had a day in mourning the fact that my knee is still misbehaving. But it is getting better, so I will eventually start with running again. And yes, I mean running. Not jogging! :)

Foodwise I'm still on Paleo with the occassional cheating, though I'm really strict when it comes to grains. Yes, I did eat chocolate (provided it is grain free) once or twice and on Friday evening, when I went out with friends, I had potatoe wedges with sour cream and a Cosmopolitan. From this outing I even got sore muscles! Because I wore "high" heels, the front muscles of my feet were quite unhappy on Saturday morning. ;)

And on Thursday I received my first postcrossing postcard. From the US. And it's a really nice card too. :D 

I wish all of you a great week, good training and if you have a race this week, best of luck for that, too.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

On Day 8 make 7 in the morning and 8 at night

Pushups that is. Yep, forgot to make my seven on Saturday and had to do them on Sunday. At the moment this isn't such a problem, but as soon as I get to the higher numbers...  Just think, I forget at Day 77 and therefore have to make 155 on Day 78. Oyveh.

Well, I made up for this with stuffing me silly through yesterdays lunch. My Grandpa had invited us for his 88th birthday. I had a ukrainian Soljanka, then a steak "Strindberg" (without fries) and then topped it off with icecream. I skipped dinner without missing it one bit(e). Well, as I've said before, I'm getting better at balancing out my diet. ;)

Baltic Sea shortly after the sun had set.

April weather is on my side, so far I can use my bike for every needed way. But at Friday I will use public transport, because at 9:30 AM I have another ...

I wish all of you a wonderful new week, fantastic training (weather) and enjoyable food.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!!

Day 4 already the forgetting starts

Yep, nearly forgot to do my pushups yesterday. Well, I remembered just before switching off the light and did them. 

At least I'm cycling everyday now and my behind is finally getting used to it again. *sigh*

I'm also getting much better at balancing out my diet.

And I found a new fun thing: postcrossing! Getting greetings from all over the world and sending greetings to all over the world, such a sweet thing. I send out my first 5 postcards in the last two days and now I can hardly wait to see from where I get my first cards. 

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!!

Day 2 of my 101-Push-Up-Challenge

I hope all of you had an amazing time this weekend I certainly had and Sunday was bordering on perfection. Sleeping in, enjoying a tasty breakfast, switching the winter to the summer wardrobe, pondering things while switching the wardrobe and pampering myself, cycling to my parents for a tasty lunch (barbecued chicken and carrots in my case), during lunch I had an awesome idea, then cycling to the apothecary garden and spending the afternoon there pondering things and drawing, riding my bike back home an hour before the thunderstorm hit Leipzig, enjoying a nice dinner, reading Malcolm Gladwells "What the dog saw and other adventures" (great book by the way), after that I enjoyed reading some awesome things over at 1000 awesome things. Oh and did I mention that we had 23° C / 73,4° F?!! Like I said a truly awesome Sunday.

Now you want to know what my idea was? Well, easy, the 101-Push-Up-Challenge. I nicked the idea from the Burpee Challenge, which I didn't complete (I forgot all about it on day 4 or so. *Smirk* Yes, I'm a horrible athlete.) I chose 101 days, because it's a prime and I like primes. The rules are the same as with the burpee challenge. I start with one push-up on day one and then add one every day, so on day 7 I have to do 7 push-ups. I don't have to do them in a row (Though I did the two today in the row! Yeah, I know, I'm amazingly strong. *cough*). But admittedly I'm not doing real push-ups, I do "knee push-ups" meaning I have my legs up to the knees on the bed. Now, what I hope for is naturally that by the end of the challenge I'll be abled to do at least ten real push-ups and maybe one one-handed push-up. As a matter of fact, I've set my goal for this year to be abled to do five one-handed push-ups in a row. We'll see if I have reached that goal on December 31st!

I'm also back to eating Paleo, after stepping off the wagon during my vacation. So here is another Photo Booth Pic, taken half an hour ago.

Have a great week everyone and

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

A few pics from my Baltic Sea Vacation

I've had a fantastic time, weather was perfect, food was great, butt hurt from cycling. I have new and much needed energy now. Back to work.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

Start of bike season = OUUUUUUCCCCCCCHHHHH

Yep, I finally succeeded in getting my bike out. And now my behind hurts since yesterday evening. 

Chris is returning for a few days to Leipzig, so there might be more ouch to come. 

And on the weekend I take a short trip to the Baltic Sea. Lot's of fresh air and hopefully nice enough weather for a lot of cycling. Wohoo.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!!

Changes

Before you get any bad ideas, I'm alive and healthy. Of the rest I'm pretty unsure myself.

Spring is coming around in Leipzig too, though it's still cold. My bike will get dusted off this week and if the weather is right, I will take it out for a spin. Other than that I'm focusing on more important things for the time being. 

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!!

Hoping for the people of Japan

I really hope for the people of Japan. That the aftershocks fade fast and that the damage and deathtoll are lower than estimated. I especially feel for the people in Sendai, a city I haven't known before this quake and that was hit so hard by the quake and then the tsunami. I lighted two candles yesterday for you and I will do so today. And I really hope the best for the people who are missing, may they be found alive, in good health and good spirits.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!!

Empowered and scared at the same time

I just realized, that literally every health issue of mine is rooted in my nutrition, every single one: allergies, skin, weight, etc. All of them are dependent on me eating the wrong/right food.

Realizing something like this is really empowering and frustrating and scaring at the same time. Because with every bite I take and also with every sip I literally decide if my body shall function at it's best or just get to stay "alive". Now, on a rational level we all would want the optimum of health, right? And naturally so do I. I want a lean and well functioning body. I want to burst with energy all day and have fun in life. So, what is the problem, you might ask.

For me eating healthy means: I have to eat natural foods and withstand the luring of literally everything sweet, the exception being fruits. My nutrition is from now on build of this: vegetables, meat, poultry, eggs, fish, fruit, nuts. There won't be any sugar, grains, potatoes or rice in my life anymore. Which means I'm going to eat differently then almost anybody else and certainly exactly opposite from my family and closest friends. Which led to squabbles before and will probably intensify.

As for the next two months I've decided to kick also chocolate and almost all dairy products (exception being butter and the milk in my Latte) out of my nutrition plan.
Why? Well, I want to finally get rid of all the inflammation in my body. I'm pretty sure, that I get this darned knee issue out and over with. So that I can finally run again.


KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

Good mood is restored

by a day offline.

Bad triathlete that I am, I didn't go swimming on Sunday. Instead I took a whole day off and created something with my hands. I repainted an ikea stool, which looks absolutely fab now and I did some doodling (you can see it here: http://sansartofswirls.blogspot.com/).

The doodling helps me to clear my head and so I finally had some awesome ideas for an application. So even if I don't get a job with that company, I'll at least have fun creating that application. 

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

The same as in Ireland in 2009

A day of hanging out (not working) at Starbucks has put my head back where it belongs. On my shoulders, looking forward.

When I was in Dublin back in September 2009 I was in such rotten mood too. Which was weird since this was my vacation, but anyway I was right down in the hole. So I spend my day at a Starbucks, watching people, thinking about things and in the evening I was back to normal.

So this morning I decided to go to Starbucks and don't bring my Mac and just sit there and think and maybe write a letter to a good friend. And so I did. I wrote an 8! pages letter, I drank my first ever cappuccino and than a Vanilla Roiboos Tea to recover from the cappuccino (I'm don't trink real coffee). I totally lost track of time. I had a nice chat with my barista. It was a perfect, perfect day there. Then I went "shopping" for a mint green or turqoise scarf, I didn't find one that I liked enought to buy it, but it was a fun stroll nonetheless. Then I went to my cobbler, which was another nice walk. I got my shoes back which was way less expensive than I thought and she was even so nice to make another set of holes in my belt! Then I went back to the city and sat in the sun in front of the opera house, which was fantastic. And then I had another nice idea for my letter. I took a few pics of the place in the sun and printed them right out at the next drugstore. I think my friend will have a smile on her face when she opens that letter. And that's the whole reason for it. Oh yes, I also had my first icecream of the new season. Yes the weather was that nice.

So all in all I had a fantastic day and I also got some work done.

I wish all of you a happy and wonderful weekend.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

6:06 alarm chime leads to bitchiness for 2 days

and still counting.

You really don't want to be around me at the moment. I'm in such rotten mood, that there is a constant black thundercloud right above my head. Which was neither removed by the swimming yesterday or the fact that I send out 3 applications in less than 24 hours or the 2 fantastic Starbucks chocolate mochas I drank in 24 hours (1 yesterday another 1 today) or the fact that I bought myself green (vintage mint=closest you get to turquoise this season) nail polish or that I even bought myself a beautiful turquoise handbag (that I neither needed) or the fact that the sun has been shining for more than a week. But it's freezing outside and I simply can't stand the winterclothes anymore. I want colors and lighter jackets and different shoes (don't get me started on the shoe stores in Leipzig, it's the kingdom of boredom shoewise! Argh).

And most importantly I want to finally have a challenging job. I'm dying of boredom over here!!!!

Rant over. Thundercloud still there.

I did it right!

The 25m pool, one of the hundreds that were build in the former GDR. They reconstructed it a few years back, but the main layout stays the same. And it's perfectly fine for swim training. I don't need a 50m pool to train.

I mean, I swam the amount that gives me a training effect and eventually a swimmers back. I really want a swimmers back!
How do I know that I did it right? Sore arm and shoulder muscles. Not that they hurt or scream at me, they just say we did something yesterday. Which is good.
Since I initially had planned to swim for one hour I wasn't too happy about just swimming 45 minutes. But my left shoulder warned me of an upcoming cramp, so I decided to leave the pool before something happened. That my muscles are sore now shows that it was just the right amount of training for them. Good.

My breakfast. Before going to the pool I drank the tea. And on my way home I munched the apple and the two boiled eggs.

My packed duffle. I just found out, that I need to bring a small old towel for stepping on when toweling off. What do you bring with you to the pool?

Next swim is scheduled for Wednesday morning and I'm confident, that I will get up at the right time. Because I do shut down my Mac at 9 PM now, so I get to sleep at 11 PM latest. Which is a major improvement.

And now I'm off to find my new cheese.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD! And have an amazing new week.

Paleojourney - A Mac Photo Booth Diary - Week 8

Okay, I took this picture right out of bed at 8:28 AM getting ready for my swim training. Initially I already wanted to be in the water at that time, but I overslept. ;)
I got up at 8:17 put the electric kettle on, brushed my teeth and took this picture for you, still in my night shirt.

I swam for 45 minutes today and am really proud on myself to walk to the pool, swim and then eat my breakfast while walking back home. By the way the walk to the pool took 30 minutes, the walk back took 45 minutes, same route. Yep, the swim definitely took it's toll. So I'll go swimmning on Wednesday again.
Oh almost forgot, no eye candy at the pool. :( But candy in the vending machine, however I stayed strong and just enjoyed my paleo breakfast (2 boiled eggs and an apple) on my way home. Yes, I'm such a badass athlete. ;)

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

Swim training scheduled for tomorrow morning

It has been quite some time since I went swimming. But tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock, I'll be on the way to my pool and then swim for an hour or so. At the moment it's just to get back in the swing of things, no special training technics or distances to cover or any fancy toys. I don't even have goggles. (Might change this over the Easter holidays.)

My duffle bag is packed already. Finding the swimsuit was the hard part, took me at least ten minutes. (It was right where it should be, but in a plastic bag that I didn't open when I first searched that drawer.) Then I nearly forgot to get the towel. That would have been a disaster, can you imagine that? I have even put together the breakfast already for after the swim (1 apple, 2 hard boiled eggs), I'll only drink some hot tea before leaving for the pool.
And you know what is also really good? I will walk to the pool. A brisk half hour walk on Sunday morning, then some nice swimming followed by another brisk walk. What a cool way to start off Sunday. I'm excited about it, but might not be so tomorrow morning at 7:30. ;)

After that I'll do some research and then head over to my parents for lunch and a nice afternoon nap. Followed by some more research. Ahh, sounds like the perfect Sunday to me. (Provided that there is some eye candy at the pool. )

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

2 days in and already feeling much better

Yep, Paleo can work this way. And I'm really glad about it. My stomach is almost flat again and feels just fine. My skin is recovering slowly and I'm feeling better overall. Oh yes, my sleep is better and my anxiety has gone away too. It's really AMAZING what impact your food choices have on your whole well being. Just think about how much better so many people would feel, just because they start to eat real food. Think of the millions saved in health care. Oh wait, that's the reason why the pharma industry doesn't like Paleo and real foods. Whoops. Too bad for them.

I just found out that there is one food option at Starbucks that is "paleo-approved", their fruit salad. So should I be hungry, I now know what I can eat here. Yes, I write this post at my Starbucks. I just love to be here and ponder and plan things. Do some research and enjoying life in general. Did you ever recogize that their Vanilla Rooibos Tea has a really strong apple flavour?! I like it simply because of that.

Trainingwise I'm just walking and taking the stairs, since my knee is acting up again. But I'll check out the swimming pool schedule this weekend and will probably start swimming again next week. So this should get interesting since I found out, that one swimming pool is practically just around the corner and since it is one with cheap fees, I might just declare 2011 as the swimming year. Plus Tango, because I've decided to learn Tango. Now I just need to find a dance partner, since I don't live in Argentina, this might be a problem.

Why Tango you ask? Well, take a look at this:

Have a magical weekend everyone.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

Bad news for Starbucks

Yes, I still love Starbucks. Yes, I will still go there and ponder things and drink frappucinos and chocolate mochas. But no, I won't buy their chocolate truffle cake anymore and eat it. The reason?

It's not worth the feeling unwell afterwards. The pleasure of eating it lasts about an hour, if I eat really slow. My hurting stomach lasts the whole night. 1 hour vs. 8 hours. This is in serious disequilibrium, even without the other bad effects like bad skin for days afterwards. So, as sad as it is, no more Starbucks truffle cake or any other of their baked goods for me.

I've learned all this after I had my After-a-job-interview-treat last evening. I've been for another interview, this time lo and behold in my home town, and afterwards I went to Starbucks and bought my treat. I ate it (took me maybe 20 minutes) and had a complaining stomach 3 hours later. Yeah well, it was my own stupid decision. I've been free of grains for quite some time now, it's only logical that my body would be mad at me.

So, lesson learned. Back to Paleo.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!
And listen to your body.

Paleojourney - A Mac Photo Booth Diary - Week 7

No other news.

Have a great week everyone.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!!

Freedom of choice

Suddenly I feel free. Last week I was feeling horrible, this week the world is full of possibilities.

LIFE IS GREAT!!

Paleojourney - A Mac Photo Booth Diary - Week 6 - Rollercoaster ride

This past week was quite taxing for me. I've learned a lot in terms of the changes my body goes through at the moment, how I can help it and in terms of business.
Nuff said.

New week, new challenges, new goals.

Goals for this week:
1. Clear my desk. ;-)
2. Eat 100% paleo/primal/real food.
3. Wear a really cool outfit everyday.
4. Take the 9 flights of stairs to my flat everyday once. (Did you ever realize that there are easy and tough stairs? When I take the 9 flights to my flat I'm a bit out of breath, but I'm fine. Not so at the public library, there I'm out of breath when I reach the second floor and nearly had to stop for rest on the third floor. {Good thing somebody was walking behind me, so it would've hurt my pride to stop.})
5. Do at least one sprint in this week.
6. Do some strength training everyday. Today it's arms.
7. Stay scale-free the whole week. (Next weighing is planned for March 1st.)

Have a magical week everyone.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!!

Paradigm Shift

Okay, so this morning I stepped on my scale out of a strong interest. What I saw let me do my happy dance. 59,7kg - 131,4 lbs Finally cracked the 60!

But in fact this isn't the start of the story or the paradigm shift. Those happened yesterday.

Yesterday, I couldn't eat due to mental stress. I won't tell you why yesterday was so stressfull. In any case not eating, because I'm under stress is a totally new thing for me. Before yesterday I usually ate (binging on sweets) when under stress, this was even so last Friday. But not yesterday. So I guess there really was a paradigm shift happening in the last days. Which is amazing!!

Today I'm back to eating normal, my normal = Paleo. Though the mental stress has lessened the reason for it is still there. Well, I'll hold strong and fight on.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!!

forward and then retreat, forward retreat

That's my life at them moment. For every 2 steps forward I retreat one. I move more and more, but I eat bad things when I'm down, because life is a bit uncertain at the moment.

I still don't have a place in Stuttgart to stay, since the dormitory is out of the question, because I'm too old!! Now I'm looking for flat share and will go to Stuttgart on Saturday to meet the people living in an ultra cool flat, which has some added advantages, like being in my price range and central.

Meanwhile my parents are driving me crazy with their "helpful" advices and hinting that I might not be abled to get this Masters degree or do the job properly. As if I'd do this for the first time! I know, they care, but do they have to treat me like a ten year old? Don't think so.

But at least the weather is nice (sunshine), my jeans fit and Chris is coming to Leipzig today. So I'm fairly happy at the moment.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

Paleojourney - A Mac Photo Booth Diary - Week 5 - Success

You don't really see it in my face, but this morning brought some very nice surprises.
I don't need to buy new trousers this week!!
I thought I had to, because one jeans and slacks aren't enough, when you go to work. However, this morning I thought: "Well, your current jeans are sitting relatively loose and you know you are down to around 60kg, so let's try some of my old trousers."(I haven't weighed myself in a week!)
And lo' and behold they fit, all of them!!

The one in the following picture is a jeans I bought before I gained so much weight due to taking the pill in 2003! When I bought this jeans I was literally 5 kg lighter and now it fits!!! That's the reason for my expression.


So, I might not have lost so many pounds, but obviously my body changes for the better. And let's not forget: muscles weigh more than fat. So I'm quite excited and am more than happy to stick with the Paleo lifestyle. When I move in to weeks it will be a bit tricky to keep it up for two weeks, since I'm not sure where I will stay for the first two weeks and I have to find the right kind of grocery stores, but I'll prepare and stick with Paleo, because the effort obviously pays off. Wohoo.

Other things: I did two sprints yesterday, just for the fun of it. I also found that it's not worth cheating with any backed goods, even if it's just a bite. Just chocolate is fine, but grains are pure poison to me!

Happy Sunday everyone!!

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

Fighting the habits and cravings

Goodness me. I thought I was over this, but since Monday I need to make sure that I don't come to close to any baked goods, because I really, really, really lust after some chocolate cake or raisin rolls. So far I stood strong, lucky me that there seems to be no place in town that has eclairs though I know there is a certain Brasserie that might have them. Luckily this would mean quite a detour for me and so I am pretty safe from that one. And thank the flying Spaghettimonster for Brazil nuts, they are my saviour.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

Doesn't this sound amazing?

Elle UK Horoscope for Virgo in February 2011
As February opens, you’ll welcome a fabulous New Moon in your house of work. For most other signs, the busy bee energy can be a bit of a drag, but for you, it’s like manna from heaven. You’ll be able to organise rather than agonise for the first two weeks of the month. On the 2nd, the New Moon (also the Chinese New Year of the Rabbit) invites you to plan out your next six months of success. A colleague could give you some major praise, you might get a promotion, or even make a big change – from one job to another. Whatever happens, don’t let anything stress you out, because it’s all good this time, Virgo. With the Sun also highlighting your work and schedule sector through the 18th, you’re on the radar of VIP’s. After this date, the energy turns toward love and partnerships. With Mercury, Mars, the Sun and Uranus all traversing your relationship zone during the last ten days of the month, you may be thinking about your significant other 24/7. If you’re single, this is an excellent time to focus on manifesting your soul mate. He’s out there and coming ever closer to you.

And it is so fitting!!
(I just LOVE it, when my horoscopes support me and what's coming next. Mind games, I tell you are so helpful. ;-P )

On to the food issue.
It seems starting cold turkey with the Whole30 (hey, that rhymes, *grin*) wasn't the smartest idea. Especially since I made the old mistake to focus on the foods I can't eat instead of those I can enjoy. Well you guess it already, I didn't eat according to plan. Since I'm a bit unsure of several food, because they some different articles on them on the Whole9 website, I've decided to "design" my own whole 30 program. As a matter of fact I make it up as I go along and concentrate on the good and real foods. Meaning, dairy except for butter is still out of the equation same goes for grains, rice, potatoes and nightshades (tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplants), since I seem to be allergic to tomatoes "lately" (or maybe it's just the pesticides in them?).

With it I'm also changing my grocery shopping habits, I buy only produce that I can use up in the next 2-3 days. Which is an accomplishment in itself that I wanted to reach for years(!), since I used to buy a lot of produce and then most of it would rot away on my counter or in the fridge. This change has the added bonus of less waste and saving money, and since I won't have much space in the dormitory to store my food, this change of habits comes right at the time it is needed.

Speeking of habits: there are two other good changes.
1) Yesterday evening I finally went to bed at 10 PM (which was my goal) and read till 11 PM and then turned of the light to sleep. And I guess I got a full 8 hours of sleep, which I hadn't for the last weeks, even though it was my goal, since I got the important YES. No I just have to truly implement this going to bed early, jobstart is coming near in huge steps.
2) I'm only buying clothes that fit and that I need. I went shopping with my friend K yesterday evening. She started working again last month, after her parents time (2 years in Germany) and is in dire need of a professional wardrobe. In any case I still need some new professional clothes too and I was lucky to find a sleek cardigan made of a nice fabric and a cut that flatters me. It took me about one year and a lot of shopping (looking around and trying out) to find this cardigan.
I also found a really beautiful dress in red, since it's the new collection and I'm currently fighting my fat successfully I didn't buy it yesterday (major accomplishment).

However I still have to battle with myself over food. Yesterday was really off, I always wanted to eat sweets. Horrible. But I stood strong, nothing unhealthy passed my mouth. Yeah. Looks like I'm developing some willpower at last.

And you, some accomplishments?

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

What a great start

for a new week.

Three good things in one morning:

1. I had an awesome apple-omelette for breakfast. It was made of 3 eggs, 1/2 apple and salt/pepper/"fine herbes" spice, baked/fryed in coconut oil. Yummy and quite filling, I will cut down to 2 eggs tomorrow. This is so much better than my chocolate proteine shake. I love it. Now I just have figure out different recipes and get faster.



2. I looked in the mirror before I left the house and thought "Wow, I look beautiful". This is a FIRST. I mean, the best I thought of me until now was: "Not bad". And this morning I've thought somthing this nice when I looked at myself. I'm making major progress here!!


3. I figured out how to stop sabotaging myself. You know until now I had some habits that were leading me away from my goals. These habits I had taken on, because of my rebellious nature. Now, I use my inner rebel to get to my goals! For example: Caring for my body. Most people don't care well for their body, they eat wrong, smoke, don't exercise, get inadequate sleep, don't groom themselves. So I'm a rebel and do all that and will look fantastic and live fantastic even at 90. You get my drift? Same goes for style and other stuff.
   

So all in all this is a fantastic start into a new week.

I wish all of you a magical week.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!!

Paleojourney - A Mac Photo Booth Diary - Week 4 + Whole30 Start

Okay, the first month of "fully" Primal is over. Frankly, I haven't reached my weight goal, which was an easy 59,9 kg. The reasons? My cold at the start of the month and the last week, eating a Lebkuchen (because my mom frustrated me to no end) and celebrating my new job this Friday with friends (2 Desperados beers, 1 coke, 1 salad with a side of baguette, Tortilla chips). So today I weighed 60,9 kg, which is exactly the same as on December 31st. At the start of this week I was down to 60,2 kg. Well, that's what I get when I don't keep my insulin low and eat wheat.

Since I still have my skin issues and I wasn't 100% Paleo and got the receipt for it, I've decided to do the "Whole 30" starting today. Which essentially means eating real food for 30 days straight. I'll "Cut out all the inflammatory, insulin-spiking, calorie-dense but nutritionally sparse food groups for a full 30 days." (http://whole9life.com/2010/12/whole30-2011/)

Here is what I won't eat for the next 30 days:

• added sugar of any kind, real or artificial
  

• processed foods
  

• alcohol

• grains
  

• legumes
  

• dairy

• white potatoes

This is essentially the Paleo Diet as proposed by Dr. Cordain and I won't step on my scale for the next 30 days (rule of the Whole30). Since it's all about the other changes and not my weight, though I will probably loose some fat. But most importantly I want my skin and health to improve, remember there is still my knee issue that prevents me from running (*annoyed sigh*). The real challenge will be when I move to Stuttgart around the 20th. I'll really have to dial my food usage and amounts in until then. Dormitary and a new job in a new city, quite the challenge.

Okay, now I'm off to Starbucks (I'll drink a tea {it's not only cheaper but also sugarfree, so ten times better then the Chocolate Mocha I had these past weeks} and water, I'll bring Brazil nuts should I need a snack), after all I still have a lot of reading to do until 23rd and I simply can't stand it to stay at home all day anymore. Which is an interesting change of pace, I've had no problem with it a few weeks ago.

Enjoy your Sundays and have a good start into the new week.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!!

Friiiiiiiidddaaaaayyyyyyyyy!!!!

Wohooo. Only a few more hours and you can relax, so keep up your spirits. Only 24 days for me and I start out at my new company. I'm feeling great today. Isn't it wonderful, only one day of not talking to my mom lifts my spirits to this height. Good thing I'm not afraid of heights. Hihi.
Additionally the weather is pretty good, we have something that you could call sunshine and to fight the cold I have my amazing winter coat. So all is well.

Enjoy your Fridays.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

New team member

May I introduce you to my new team member: Mashimaro.


I bought him today. The reason? I need a physical reminder of my goals (learning fluent japanese and living in Japan for at least a year) and an ally battling Elliot (my dragon) and his stupid ideas (like not reading the assigned reading for my first masters classes).
I know, I know: Mashimaro is a korean rabbit, but this is good too, because during my masters class that goes along with my new job we will take a trip to China or Brazil. I'll take the China trip and then visit South Korea and Japan. Mashimaro is a good reminder for this goal too. And for starting with a Japanese class in Autumn. Besides that, Mashimaro is just really cute. From what I've read it is a really cool and cheeky rabbit, so he's just perfect to battle Elliott and his anxiety, complexes and procrastination issues.
Before you think I'm totally crazy, it's these little mind games that keep me moving forward. And yes, I know that Elliott and Mashimaro aren't real, they are just psychological tricks I use to accomplish my goals.

Yesterday was an odd day for me, I had another row (in lack of a better word) with my mom and then sank into a really bad mood, mulling things over until they looked bleak and horrible (moving into a dormitory in Stuttgart at my age and the major hook of the job, not the dormitory LoL). Thanks to that I did get only 2 hours of sleep last "night" from 6AM to 8AM.
Luckily, I've changed my thought patterns enough already to get back in positive territory by 3:30 AM. I realized a few thought and behaviour patterns and took some action to break them, like throwing away all advertising pens (I don't need them and I sure as hell don't want to move them to Stuttgart). Cleaning up at 4:30AM might be a bit weird, but it felt good and got me grounded.

So, one of the decisions I made is that I'll reduce the contact to my mom to the absolute necessary minimum. It's sad to do this, but necessary for me since she doesn't accept the boundaries I set and draws me down into negativity. I'm over 30 and capable of doing things on my own. She seriously questioned my ability to finish this master course successfully. Gee, thanks Mom, just what I needed when I start out. And that is exactly the reason for getting Mashimaro today and going to Starbucks, it's become my haven of sanity. Mashimoro will fight with me to get back to my real personality and get rid of the timid person my mom and former teachers/friends/colleagues made me. I'm different than the average woman and I'm proud to be different. (Never guessed that, huh? LoL)

I'm not sure if I have what it takes to be best of my class, but I'll strive for it. This is a first in my life, until now I never thought I'd be good enough or that it would mean something for me if I put in some effort and accomplished something. Now I know that it is definitely worth to put in the effort and strive for being the best. Even if I fail in this attempt, I will inevitably end up higher as when I put in no effort. And it will definitely pay off. Maybe not in money, maybe not in the near future, but it will pay off eventually.

Do you have allies in your battles? Even if they are only represented by a stuffed animal?!

Oh yeah, nearly forgot. Only 300 grams to go to my January weight goal. Might be that I reach it tomorrow. Wohoo.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!! If you need it, find yourself some allies.
...and stuffed anime charakters are just fine for this. (But remember: only talk to them in privacy! ;-)

My secret to weight loss is

sleep and magnesium. I just realized it again today.

Even though my sleep wasn't that deep, when I woke up my weight was down another 300 grams. So my January weight goal is certainly within reach. I just have to get to bed early and make sure that I get at least 300mg of Magnesium that day. 600 mg is better though.

Getting to bed early is also important because even though I tend to not sleep in (sleeping in = getting up after 10AM), I will have to get up 2 hours earlier in about a month, so I have to shift my sleeping time accordingly. This should get interesting, I will stay at a dormitory of my company for the first months (until I have found my new studio) and I always have had a different wake/sleep cycle than other students (going to bed relatively early, can be pretty annoying).

So, for the next month I train myself to get to bed early (10PM) and drink lots of magnesium (600mg), so that I fit into my old trousers and suits easily when I start at my new company. And I will keep my insulin levels on a low level, no spikes allowed. This should get interesting.

The weather is back to crap again, it can't decide between rain and snow and the temperatures are around the freezing point. So running is no possibility, but I do my stretching and some other routines.

Funny thing happened the other evening, when I layed down to read a bit before turning off the light and I layed on the side my legs felt weird. It took me a minute to realizes what was the weird thing, it was the fact that my legs layed bone on bone. I haven't had this in years! And my calves look like I've got tons of muscles and strength. They were always quite strong and now they look like it again, more and more definition. I love this.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

Paleojourney - A Mac Photo Booth Diary - Week 3

I know, I'm one day late. I simply forgot it yesterday, since I was half asleep the whole day. Today I'm fine though. One more week and the 1. Paleo month is over, I hope that I reach my weight goal, but I don't think there'll be a problem.

Have a magical week everyone.

Finally: the YES

After another "No" I finally got the "YES"! You know what that means. I'll move again and won't bore you any longer with finding-a-job-talk. Wohoo. I'll move back to the "Ländle", meaning Baden-Württemberg, but luckily to a big city this time.

It's the job with the major hook and but I've decided that the rest outweighs the hook by far. After all it's an engineers dream job and it has everything that I'm good in and it gives me the opportunity to further develop my skillset and I "clicked" with my colleagues and boss, so there..

In any case it should get interesting, since it is a big company and they have some sport program, so as soon as I'll set my foot in there I'll find out about the training possibilities and then I'll restart my training. Until then it is leaning out and getting the food right and getting an appointment with a special doc for sorting out the knee issue.

And keeping Elliott at bay. This little monster of mine has gone into overdrive since yesterday, buy this, buy that. But I won't buy anything new yet, for several reasons. I need nothing new right this moment is a major one. I'm saving up for my Rimowa Topas Cabin Trolley and my iPod touch are two others. I'm getting rid of body fat so my body changes is the next. And then the shopping possibilities in the Southwest are better also. So there...


Okay, got to do my hair and then use the beautiful weather to get some things done, like shoes to the cobbler, public library, buying groceries, etc.

Hope all of you are well and enjoy your weekends.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!!

What I like about Starbucks

That I can trink lovely beverages and eat THE chocolate cake while working undisturbed in a great, comforting atmosphere with people around me that like the same things that I like, for example: Apple (MacBook Pros), stylish clothes and reading, learning, chatting with friends or just enjoying to be in company of other people while doing your own things.



Pics from my trainride to Villingen in the Black Forest on Tuesday. Took those pics between Mannheim and Karlsruhe.

Starbucks really succeeded in creating a place where you feel comfortable to spend time working or hanging out. Wished they had longer opening hours in the evening 8:30 PM or 9 o'clock is just toooooooo early to close shop.

I'm so crazy about this place, I'd love to buy one of those small bistro tables. Either the one with the writing or the one with the chess board. And don't get me started on the pictures. Sigh. You know what? I would love to have their interior design team to come to my kitchen and turn it into one with Starbucks flair. I'm really crazy about that company. And no, I didn't get payed to write this article.

What is your favourite "third place"?

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

Crappy day + some positive things

This day was totally off and not only for me.

Starting off the day: with bad hair. I didn't get my hair under control, I hadn't had this kind of trouble with my hair in months!!! Just what I needed.

Then my dress trousers for interviews weren't fitting anymore, they literally hang on me. Yes, fine, Paleo eating works, but why can't those darned trousers shrink with me? Oh, I did look fine, but would you want to draw your trousers up every few steps and yes, that is with a belt?

Afterwards I had a little mishap on the train to Stuttgart. Just what I needed. (rolling eyes)

My interview went downhill just from the start (1PM, the worst time of day for an interview with me, I'm totally unabled to concentrate at this time of day.). While we seemed to click on a personal level, the rest was definitely crap from my point of view. The job is cool, but the major hook remains.. Pfffffffff.

Then I didn't get my Starbucks-after-interview-treat because there was no time in Stuttgart or Frankfurt (Deutsche Bahn, argh) and Starbucks had already closed when I arrived in Leipzig. Thank you very much. (spoken through clenched teeth, grrrrrrrr)

Then the zipper drawer of my new bag ripped, it's a leather handbag and not a cheap one. AAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH So, tomorrow I will not only write new applications, but also return my bag. Just what I need at the moment.

And when I finally arrived home, what did I find in my mailbox? Yes, another "NO". Well, can't say I cared about that one. Nevertheless, you have to admire the accuracy of the universe, just fitting as a finish of this day.

Oh, and my friend canned her oral exam as alternative practitioner. Well, it's said to be tougher than the written, still ...

I just hope that your days were better than this.


But there were a few positive things today too:

my trousers hang on me

I timed everything perfectly

I ate gluten-free and primal these two days on the road (due to the Starbucks issue today *grumble*)

I realized that I have finally closed the Villingen chapter of my life

I enjoyed my short stay with my friend A

Even though I'm fed up, my mood is surprisingly good

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!!

Paleojourney - A Mac Photo Booth Diary - Week 2

My cold is more or less gone, I'm free of nasal spray again and I'm taking big steps forward in my personal development, more on that when I sorted out my thoughts. So I'm feeling fine overall, sorry for the last meltdown.

For the giveaway. Jennifer the running shirt is yours if you want it, I just need your contact information. You'll find my blog e-mail adress in my profile for the next week. Otherwise it goes to Keith, should be interesting to see him in that outfit. *snicker*

Enjoy your Sunday everyone and

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!!