Stumbling Along

Well, so far, I seem to be stumbling along in my efforts to record what I eat and how much I exercise.

I sometimes remember, but then there are days I forget.

That being said, knowing what is in my journal so far makes me cringe.

Especially since I have both pics of Ramin AND Ramin-as-Erik in my front cover. (As I've said before: MAJOR YUM!)

Oh, hell, I might as well go up and grab it right now...it's become a bit like taking my medicine: if I remember my meds and don't take them, it always feels like there's something missing.

Which means having the pics of delicious Ramin Karimloo in my diary is WORKING!

There are certain details I wish to record, and I tried doing that all at once for a couple of days, but then it got to be too much. So I'm thinking: "Let me get into the habit of actually writing things down, and then let's keep track of the numbers, one nutrition fact at a time."

The thing I'm figuring out, though, is that when you're eating out, it's a bit difficult to keep track of what's in each dish. There's one dish at Perkins, for example, I know I'm not going to eat ever again--it's chock full of salt and grease and it really doesn't make me feel all that good.

Contrast that with the salmon dinners I like to make, with or without pasta: Serious, serious YUM! And serious, serious nutrition content!

Anyway, going to go plan a bunch of stuff, including blog post ideas. :-)

Later,
Kat ^.^

Inspiration Needs No Preamble

Normally I start my new blogs off with some crazy rambling pre-amble about the intent of the blog, but for some reason, I'm not feeling it with this one.

Because the intent is right there in the title and blog description for everyone to see.

It's hard to ignore. Just like the inspiration that's fueled my own personal desire to get fit and healthy and stay that way.

So, what's the inspiration?

First off, I do not come from an exercise-and-healthy-diet kind of family. I come from a family where treating themselves like crap on the inside and covering up all the emotional crap with crappy food and not exercising is the norm. Yes, dysfunctional emotions reign supreme on both sides, owing to various forms of abuse heaped on sensitive souls who didn't know how to fight back.

Yes, myself included--or at least, I've had to deal with the fallout, manifested in my own unhealthy attitudes. My parents, though they love me very much, have been less healthy examples and more "excellent warnings."

My mental switch to wanting to eat healthy has been a long time in the making, sped up by various healing sessions involving work on the astral realms among other alternative modalities to get some patterns unstuck.

But what's got the inspiration flowing for sure? What's got my juices flowing and determination to apply some good old-fashioned discipline (which I've sorely needed)?

It's not coming from anyone close by, I can tell you that.

It's because of my long-time love for a musical whose main character is someone I identify with deeply. Someone who's a musician like me, and from whom I would love to take any kind of musical instruction. Someone who haunts the underground portion of the Paris Opera House...yeah...him...Le Fantome de L'Opera...L'Ange de Musique...Erik...he represents the discipline I need.

That's the first layer of inspiration.

The second layer comes from a man who, in recent years, has donned the mask, hat and cloak and possesses a voice that, to my ears, heart, and soul, sounds precisely how I think Erik might have sounded. (John Owen-Jones of Wales sounds fairly similar, so he's my second-fave, but I'll save talk of Erik and his various "incarnations" for my other new blog.)

His name: Ramin Karimloo. He's my age (born in Sept. of 1978--you do the math), and he's the most stunning version of 'Erik' I have ever heard or seen. Not only does he look smashing in the 'Phantom' costume (would that I could have been the one to kiss him at the end of that scene where Christine FINALLY gets a clue about how hard Erik's life has been), there is a pic of Ramin floating around the internet where he's shirtless.

My reaction when I saw that? Two words: "Oh. DAMN!" Yeah...he's seriously fit. Not overblown, like "Ahnold," but balanced-looking: decently muscular and with nicely defined abs. But not super-extreme.

Picture Erik's mask over the right side of his face and you can get a decent idea of what kind of thoughts were going through my head...yeah, best saved for my new blog. ;-)

The point here is: if Ramin can look like *that* at 36, almost 37, then what the heck is *MY* excuse? Sure I'm a female, and hypothyroid to boot. Yes, it will take me longer to lose weight than other women, let alone the opposite gender.

But damn it--I want someone like that. Someone who sings like an angel--or a god (which is how many peeps writing Phantom-based fan-fic describe Erik's voice), but takes care of themselves with no apology.

Ramin is living, breathing proof that just because you're a musician doesn't mean you have to be lazy about your health. Just by being how he is, Ramin disproves every line of BS I heard about "exercise is only for jocks," or some such nonsense.

So both that pic of him shirtless, AND a pic of him dressed as Erik, have earned a place of honor: in the front cover of my new food and exercise journal. Just looking at both pics sends thrills through me that I can't explain. That gorgeous, raw, primal energy is delicious to feel, and I LOVE it.

I look at both pics and think: If I wanna look like that--or at least a female version of it--there are just certain things I need to do or eliminate. There's no question about it.

"So," you're likely thinking, "What's with the dark red?"

Red is the color of the first chakra for starters...

I won't elaborate on that too much more, at least not at this point in time. This is only the first post.

But let's just say, for now, that I feel the dark red works.

Anyway, I'm off to enjoy some healthy delicious food. ;-)

Later,
Kat