An Orgasm in Your Mouth

Well this is awkward...

Alright, so to explain the title, I tried out two things together. Both delicious, one of which I already knew was awesome, and another that I always wanted to try. Edamame Hummus on Naan Bread. Oh god it was so good. So glad I took a trip to Trader Joe's.

Well for what's new over the last few days, I took a math midterm (I really hate calculus...) but it went alright, I think I did pretty well. And this weekend, I have a choir rehearsal/retreat (from 10-4) on Saturday, so kind of looking forward to that? I've been missing too many rehearsals, so I need to get on the ball and get back into the music. I also need to make a trip to Keizer to Men's Wearhouse, to get myself a black blazer for my choir; unfortunately, I can't pick up a cheap one at Goodwill because they never have any decent sizes. Hell, the XL that I tried on felt like a small! Oh well, I guess I can stay fancy and get a nice sports coat. I also will be going to the Volleyball games on Friday and Saturday here at OSU. I don't know what it is about the sport, but Nick, Ryan, and I have really gotten into it. I've mentioned to them that I want to be that guy in the crowd, where after a game, the team will just look over at me and be like, "Hey, it's that guy!" I mean that in a good way, I guess like a really dedicated fan, is all. Plus... The women are attractive and wearing spandex... Anyways.

Alright, so, I never did a double workout. Originally I was going to put together my plyometrics and shoulders/arms workout, but was far too exhausted, so then I was going to do yoga with shoulders/arms yesterday, except that after the yoga and classes, and a midterm, I was too tired. So I decided I'm going to skip the half-workout that I usually do on the 7th day, and just catch up using that day. It'll be alright because Saturday will be the first day of my 4th week, which is a recovery week, so it's not like I'm getting right back into weights. This week has been pretty tiring so far, so I think this is the best option. I'm kind of looking forward to the recovery week, just to see what it's like. Basically, take out the weights, and add in an extra yoga, and then add in core synergistics (really, that isn't a word, but whatever) as well as stretching.  So we'll see how that goes. So what I'll do is shoulders/arms tonight, Kenpo tomorrow, and legs/back on Friday, and then I'll be back on track.

Also on the subject of working out, I do have a knee injury. My right knee makes a cracking/grinding noise whenever I go down and bend my knee (squats and lunges basically), and it creates some discomfort. I realized that it's probably from when I re-sprained my knee this summer. It was actually the second week of ultimate frisbee I believe, and somehow re-sprained it. However, it wasn't too bad because I wasn't working at the time, and wasn't very active for a couple weeks, so it pretty much healed up. But obviously, it didn't, so I asked my brother about it. He recommended icing it, as well as drinking plenty of water to help lubricate the joint better. I'm also thinking about maybe investing in a heatpad of my own, and heating it up before working out (specifically days that are leg intensive), as that will help get the blood flowing better. Hopefully this will go away soon, but who knows.

I've also had a bit of trouble with sleeping. I couldn't fall asleep last night (it didn't help that I was playing NCAA Football 2011 pretty late... addicting game) and ended up with a migraine in the morning, so that kind of fell through. So after this post, I'm going to workout, and then basically go to sleep. It will happen.

Edamame hummus and naan bread... Yum. So we needed to go shopping for some food, obviously, today, and I decided to take the initiative to find some new foods that I normally don't get. So the best way to lose weight, is of course... Adding in more foods to your diet! Wait... What? Well from my perspective, I don't want to completely eliminate some foods that I love. Why should I punish myself? I'd rather add in healthier options, to make sure I get plenty of the vitamins and nutrients that my body needs, and hope that overtime, I'll start minimizing the unhealthy foods. I plan on eliminating or minimizing certain foods as my monthly challenges (I might do a food challenge every month, and throw in other stuff once in a while on top of it). So one month I might eliminate all soda, and then hopefully in the future, I won't be as likely to drink as much soda, and incorporate things like water more often into my meals and snacks. That kind of thing. Taking something away, especially if you take a lot away from your diet, makes it feel like a punishment. Sure, it works! If you are happy about it and stick to it. I on the other hand, want to feel comfortable eating some chili dogs for dinner, or having a few tortilla chips and salsa as a snack. My overall goal is to lead a better life; you have to be happy in order to be part of that better life.

So the main thing I'm focusing on with my diet, is that I don't eliminate anything (unless it's a challenge, which will start in November), but I add in healthier foods that provide nutrients that I feel as if will make my body healthier. It just so happens, that most of these foods are fairly healthy as well. Now I do take a multivitamin (with iron as well, as I was iron deficient around 2009... Weird, since I'm a man who loves to eat meat. That shit never happens). So here's a list of vitamins and nutrients that I want more of in my diet.

Fiber
Omega 3 Fatty Acids
Zinc
Vitamin A
Carotenoids
Bioflavonoids

Now, the most important are the top 3 to me. I have never gotten enough fiber in my diet. It helps your digestive system, as well as makes you feel more full. Fiber also helps reduce the chances of diabetes and heart disease, which have been evident in my family, and I really want to prevent that. This was automatically my first choice to add into my diet. Foods that I'll eat that are high in fiber are a variety of fruits that I already eat, whole-wheat pasta, bran based cereal, brown rice, black beans, corn/peas (already eat those, but maybe more frequently now) and carrots (also eat them). As long as I just eat a little bit more of these regularly, then things should go well.
For omega 3 fatty acids, I knew I wasn't getting much in my diet. They help the heart a lot, and help prevent heart disease and other heart problems, as well as high blood pressure. On a college student's budget, there isn't much room for fish, and I don't eat a lot of the vegetables that produce it. So I decided to invest in flaxseeds, which aren't all that great, but aren't all that bad either. They provide a fair amount of the fatty acids, as well as fiber and protein. Just a tablespoon a day (or even every other day) would be a fantastic change; plus helps with the fiber.
And zinc, a nutrient that helps a lot in the immune system, I decided I could use a bit more of, but won't stress much about (don't want too much). The only new thing I'll be introducing for zinc are peanuts, which will help as a small snack, but also for a lot of other nutrients. Many of the foods I'm adding in will also carry small amounts of zinc, so I'm covered there.

I also wanted to work on other nutrients and vitamins that help the immune system, which is why I turned to vitamin A, carotenoids, and bioflavonoids. I already get plenty of vitamin C, however, I want to focus on the other things that help support the immune system. I do get lots of vitamin A, however, I could use a bit more, especially with a weak immune system, and all the foods I've been incorporating do provide lots of vitamin A. Bioflavonoids are important antioxidants that are very similar to vitamin C, and in fact, work hand in hand with each other for your body. They also can help improve cardiovascular health and improve red blood cells, but also help reduce the risk of cancers. Most of the foods that I am adding or already eat contain these. However, I might be increasing my consumption of some of the foods. Such foods are red bell peppers, broccoli, carrots, spinach, tomatoes, and citrus fruits (such as apples and oranges). Perfect! For carotenoids, they provide a high source of vitamin A, and help support the immune system and reproductive system. Nothing new for this, spinach, carrots, and tomatoes.

Basically, I'll be mainly eating spinach for my salad's lettuce, and throwing in tomatoes, red bell peppers, and carrots. Will continue eating my apples and bananas, as well as peas and corn, and throwing in some oranges too. Peanuts will be light snacks, and will also include cereals that contain lots of fiber (I don't actually have full out bran cereal yet, but might eventually get into it. I got some cheap Fiber One, a bit sugary, but it's a start). And also including black beans, brown rice and whole-wheat pasta (not necessarily replacing the other options, but increasing the consumption of those foods).

That should be the last of my really long posts here. Basically, I want to add in healthy foods, and slowly replace the not so good foods with them, as opposed to eliminating something I don't want to. I hope this works out well, and I also hope the increased nutrients will help my body, both in health and weight. 'til next time, stay fancy.