#4 Test my 0-60 on salt flats (Utah Bucket List)

Secret confession, guys!  (well, maybe not now...)  I geek out about geology.  You should go on a hike with me.  really.  I took this field geology class just for fun, and LOVED it!  I have a closet rock collection that I'm super proud of.  If I know anything, I spout it off whether you were interested or not!

Now, salt is not a rock...but it still makes me excited (actually it's called halite and it's a mineral ;).  And the fact that Utah HAS a salt flat is even more exciting.  Geek time: the salt flat was formed when the ancient Lake Bonneville began to recede after the Ice Age.  It was a fresh water lake, but had many dissolved minerals (like halite) that were deposited into the bed.  Now--ta dah!--it's a huge salt flat.

yeah, those were the salt crystals!  Wouldn't YOU get excited?!

Early fur trappers and traders found it impossible to cross.  In 1896 a guy had the brilliant idea to have "carriage and bicycle" races here --yeah, I read that on the sign and laughed right out loud!  In 1914 they had automobile races and the first land speed record was set.  Now they continue to set speed records (ironically the 0-60 times aren't that great, but the salt flats allow them to gain speeds in excess of 400mph) at events called "speed week," "world of speed," and "word finals" all in August and September.

These cars go 400-600 mph.  They have to be that low, otherwise the air will lift them off the ground!

So now that you've seen me geek out, you'll understand why I wanted to go!  I actually went here last year, probably in November, and there was an inch of water covering the flats.  It was really cool for taking pictures...but no way to drive on it.

Note cool reflection!

So I had to go back!  We drove Greg's car (his has more get-up-and-go than mine), and each took turns going 100 mph.  I did 105 while listening to "The Distance" by Cake (if you haven't heard that song, go youtube it right now!).  :)

I also did my first E-break turns and donuts.  I've always wanted to do those things, but have always been scared.  ...but in the salt flats there's nothing to run into!  So I felt really safe.  And Greg taught me how to do it.

Greg driving

By the end, the car was filthy with mud and salt.  And we were happy campers!

Before--see how clean?

After--yeah, that's right!  I sprayed the mud up on that car!

We stayed past nightfall to see the stars, and were richly rewarded.

Such a great trip!  And another goal accomplished.  And my dollar today goes to help with the typhoon that hit the Phillipines.  They need it more than anyone else I could donate to right now.  I donated through Direct Relief International, which works with a partner on the ground to deliver medical supplies.  Click here if you want to donate too!

#68 Weigh 130 pounds: half-way there!

I actually hit this mark a few days ago!  And was ecstatic!  ...and too busy to write a blog post.  But here I am at 3am Monday morning, and rather than fight to fall asleep any longer, I'm being productive.  :)  Right now it feels great!  We'll see how it feels later today..haha

So!  For those of you just tuning in, I hit a high of 160 at the end of July, set a goal to weigh 130, and now I'm a little more than half-way there!  This post was supposed to be written at 145 (I was going to write every 5 pounds to stay motivated), and, well, I actually weigh 143.  Sa-weet!  130 is a semi-arbitrary number.  What I'm actually going to do is have my body fat tested at BYU's bod pod when I hit that mark and see if I want to stay there or lose a little more.  My less-arbitrary goal is 22% body fat, which is the upper boundary of the "lean" category for women.  I think body fat percentage is a much better indicator of health than BMI.

                

Now I've lost 17 pounds and over 11 inches!  Woo hoo!  It feels great.  I already exercised regularly before this, so that has stayed constant.  I started doing a program called Take Shape for Life (you use 5 MediFast meal replacements/day and 1 meat and veggie meal you cook yourself, and it comes with a health coach, textbook, and workbook to help you gain healthy habits), which has been working great for me.  This week I had a super proud moment when I put on the jeans I bought at the beginning of the semester and could pull them out several inches in front of me.  So I put on my belt...and even cinched to its tightest hole it wouldn't keep my pants up! haha  So I had the opportunity to use the leather puncher I inherited from my grandpa, and poked a new hole in it!  It worked fabulously.  I thought of Grandpa smiling in heaven at that (even though I never met him).

Look at that shiny new hole!

I've also started reading a book called "A Course in WeightLoss: 21 spiritual lessons for surrendering your weight forever" by Marianne Williamson.  That's been really good because it combats the distorted thoughts and emotional damage that instigate compulsive eating.  So it's a great companion to TSFL to get a whole person approach.  I've realized that I overeat (or rather, overate) for a variety of reasons: because I'm bored on long car rides, because I'm doing a menial task like grading and I want to motivate myself through it, because I'm lonely, because I want to celebrate, because every social event ever always has delicious food, and because it tastes so dang good!  I'm a bored eater, an emotional eater, and a social eater.  haha, that's a lot against me!  But this book is changing my perspective.  In regard to emotional eating, she basically says that's a form of idolatry, because we're ascribing attributes of God to something other than God.  "Only God has the power to comfort, nurture, and sustain me," she says, and we need to realize that "food cannot nurture (us) emotionally, and that God, and only God, can."  That was revolutionary to me.  Another powerful thing she said (and I've only read the first 18 pages) is that overeating is an act of self-hate.  It is violence toward self.  That caught my attention!  Here I am thinking I'm being gentle with myself or nice to myself, treating myself kindly by giving myself treats when I'm sad or celebrating... but it's not true!  That is not an act of self-love!  So, it's kind of a paradigm-shift, reading this book.

So, in summary, I feel great.  TSFL takes off the pounds.  Drinking tons of water is making my skin super soft.  Exercising gives me energy and relieves stress.  Marianne Williamson's book is changing my perspective.  God is giving me strength.  And my clothes don't fit! haha and I have no money to buy new clothes, but it's all good cuz I can make them work!  :)

And, per usual, here's a little "fitspiration" for us all:

Just today I was telling someone that my goal is to be "strong," not "sexy"...he said I could have both. :)

#14 Eat out at 10 new places: The Red Mango (10/10)

This weekend I hung out with my friend Camila, who is about to move back to Brazil.  We decided to try a new frozen yogurt place in town, the Red Mango.

The Red Mango has a modern, yet cozy interior.  There were seats around a fake fire, normal tables, and cushy benches.  Here's the only pic I found online of the interior:

I also noticed right away that they were a "healthy" frozen yogurt place.  They don't add artificial stuff, emphasize the probiotics their products have, and also have a new Greek yogurt line with 50% more protein!

Instead of being one of those places where you serve yourself and load your concoction up with toppings, you order a size and they put the toppings on for you (paying for each one, rather than by weight), like a typical ice cream parlor.  There are only 4 flavors of yogurt to choose from, which makes choosing a little easier.  There were probably 12 toppings to choose from.

Indeed, it tasted healthy!  Delicious, simple, and light.  Definitely a keeper.

Wow--I tried 10 new restaurants a lot sooner than I anticipated!  One more goal down!  Today my dollar goes to...typhoon relief!  They need it more than anyone else I could donate to right now.  I donated through Direct Relief International, which works with a partner on the ground to deliver medical supplies.  Click here if you want to donate too!

#68 Weigh 130 pounds: the second 5 pounds

Hello friends!  If you missed "the first 5 pounds" you're welcome to read it here.  It gives a little background info (e.g. I weighed in at 160 in July, freaked out, and decided to post with every 5 pounds I lose).  And today I weighed in at 150.5!  I'm not going to fiddle with tenths of a pound, so I'm posting now.

Here's a little update since the first five pounds... it was really hard to exercise discipline while eating normal foods.  I had a hard time changing my mindset to "I'm eating healthy now...therefore I'm not going to eat this treat."  There is a LOT of social eating where I live, and I have to admit I've instigated a fair amount of it myself.  I like people, I like food, and I don't think twice.

Mmm

So I needed a little more radical change to really help me change my mindset and habits.  After weeks of deliberation, I decided to try the "diet" (even though that word has a negative connotation) my roommate is doing.  It's worked great for her, and I've watched it happen.  The program is Take Shape For Life, and it uses MediFast products.  I eat 5 of their meals per day and one "lean and green" meal (lean meat + green veggies).  They also educate you on a healthy lifestyle that you can maintain after the weight loss phase.  Before starting I went to the fitness office at my college and had my body fat professionally tested.  I love numbers, so that'll be fun for me to know how that number changes, and I'll do it again toward the end so I know when to stop.  I also had a milkshake the night before I started. yup.  :)

I just finished my first week!  Was it hard? Yeah.  The first three days I had horrible headaches (a painful reminder of my sugar addiction).  I was hungry-ish for the first 5, as my stomach shrunk to accommodate smaller portion sizes.  And speaking of shrinking, I've noticed a difference in myself!  I can feel it, see it, and my clothes fit differently!

This is nice...but I'm glad it isn't true in my case!  

Beyond changing the way I eat, I've also been exercising.  I'm actually pretty excited about the plan I've developed.  On Monday, Thursday, Saturday I run, using the three target runs from the book Run Less, Fun Faster.  Tuesdays I bike for an hour, Wednesday is an hour of yoga, and Friday is 40 minutes of swimming - all with different work out buddies!  It's great!  And motivating.  I'm super proud of myself because I've always wanted to swim and do yoga, and never have.  I love biking, but often don't make it happen on my own.  Now I just need to figure out when I'm going to incorporate strength training.

This.  Is true.  It = my body and it = working out. :)

Week 1: down 6.1 pounds.  Not bad!  :D