Mooniestar's Diary: The Conscious Effort

[Natsky]

So I know there were a few rocky points, but that's all in the past now. Let's move on, shall we?

Lately, I feel like I'm super busy all over again. School has started, and my Japanese teacher has no qualms over starting the semester with tons of homework. We're starting to learn Kanji symbols (you know, the really hard, complicated stuff) but I'm going to make sure I study really hard.

I haven't played any DDR lately, nor have I done any work out DVD's. And I was so looking forward to doing the 2nd level in 30 Day Shred. But maybe the weekend... Oh, I dunno. Even though they are only 30 minute workouts, I still feel like I don't have time to do them. Crazy, huh.

I have continued one thing though that has been helping, and that's wearing my ankle weights to work. Once I get going, I don't even notice they're there. I've been keeping up with my water (though I usually only get 40-50 oz instead of the 60 I need), and I'm watching what I eat with the occasional treat here and there. Some more good news is that I have a pair of pants I bought about 3 weeks ago, size 8, that were pretty darn snug on me. Now, they're very loose all around (even around my hips!) and I almost regret buying them because they're so baggy now. But it feels very nice to not only feel progress but see it as well.

I saw 121.8 on the scale today. If I see that consistently enough, I'll change my ticker.

I got a surprise--let's call it a reward-- today also. Mom took my sister and I for a bit of shopping. I bought some new make up, the lightest they had (and maybe I won't look like a carrot), along with some new underwear and bras. Yay undies! It's one thing to buy new pants or shirts or dresses, but it's really nice to have under garments that fit you as well. As I said in a post before, I've lost the most measurements from my bust size (39 to 36), so it's really great to have a good fitting bra.

Anyway, my progress is very slow, but steady. And that I think, is very key. I find that my plateaus come around when I have my monthly, and whenever that's over, I drop my water weight and I have enough energy to start working out again. If this keeps up (mind you, very slowly), I should reach my goals by late Spring/early Summer. Just in time for the beach ^_^

So that's all for now. See you later! *hugs*

Good job Moonie. Its wonderful that you will probably meet your goal in time for bathing suit time... awesome!! Good job on keeping the weights on at work. And congrats on those baggy pants, isnt it wonderful when that happens!!

Sorry for not being around a couple days.... been working on my young adult novel... been also working on my walking and just regular busy and have had this massive cold thats kept me inside for a while. but been walking and losing ..its all good!

Awesome ... Moonie you rock! I dont think
I have ever heard any one reach their goal during bathing suit weather ..congrats hun!1
keep trecking
always
natalie jo

 

[mooniestar]

Wha?

Another day! Aghh, it's like I'm in Groundhog Day. Same Stuff, Different Day. You get what I mean. But it's not like I don't enjoy my free time, because I do. I have been getting very acquainted with my PS3. It's awesome.

So anyway, I had a bit of a breakdown a few days ago, just after I wrote that -long- journal entry. Not sure what to say about it. I don't like when I have breakdowns. But... they only happen about once a month, and I do feel much better afterwards.

Work has been eating up my time, along with school. They take up 3 hours of my day from Monday to Thursday. But it keeps me full time, and the semesters are only 8 weeks long instead of 15 or whatever like I had back in the states. Yesterday I had nearly zero time to myself. Class in the morning, no chance for lunch because of my dental appointment, and then dropped my sister off to practice, then just enough time to eat lunch, THEN I went to work until 9:30 PM. And on top of that, I didn't eat hardly anything at all. Lunch was a fish sandwich, and dinner was an apple. A freakin' apple. >.> I'm really going to have to start preparing better food for when I'm at work. Eating after 10 PM when I get home is not a good idea.

That's all for now, I don't want this diary to fall of the face of the earth. Toodles.

 

[Natsky]

Another day! Aghh, it's like I'm in Groundhog Day. Same Stuff, Different Day. You get what I mean. But it's not like I don't enjoy my free time, because I do. I have been getting very acquainted with my PS3. It's awesome.

So anyway, I had a bit of a breakdown a few days ago, just after I wrote that -long- journal entry. Not sure what to say about it. I don't like when I have breakdowns. But... they only happen about once a month, and I do feel much better afterwards.

Work has been eating up my time, along with school. They take up 3 hours of my day from Monday to Thursday. But it keeps me full time, and the semesters are only 8 weeks long instead of 15 or whatever like I had back in the states. Yesterday I had nearly zero time to myself. Class in the morning, no chance for lunch because of my dental appointment, and then dropped my sister off to practice, then just enough time to eat lunch, THEN I went to work until 9:30 PM. And on top of that, I didn't eat hardly anything at all. Lunch was a fish sandwich, and dinner was an apple. A freakin' apple. >.> I'm really going to have to start preparing better food for when I'm at work. Eating after 10 PM when I get home is not a good idea.

That's all for now, I don't want this diary to fall of the face of the earth. Toodles.

An apple!!!!!!!!! oh Moonie, dont fall back on eating less. I realize that you are super busy, but when you do eat, try to eat enough. Because no caloric intake during the day just leads to starvation mode, which leads to weight gain in the end and going to the hospital ... trust me .. you wanna eat when you can ... but best wishes on that front ...WOW you are one busy girl!!!!!!!

I hope things slow down at some point for you ..
best wishes hun
always
your friend
natalie jo

 

[mooniestar]

Title not related

An apple!!!!!!!!! oh Moonie, dont fall back on eating less. I realize that you are super busy, but when you do eat, try to eat enough. Because no caloric intake during the day just leads to starvation mode, which leads to weight gain in the end and going to the hospital ... trust me .. you wanna eat when you can ... but best wishes on that front ...WOW you are one busy girl!!!!!!!

I hope things slow down at some point for you ..
best wishes hun
always
your friend
natalie jo

I know! I've decided that the best thing I can do is eat lunch RIGHT before my shift, along with preparing something at home to eat during my break, and then eating right after I get home. And of course, I don't just mean eating a lone apple or something similar, I mean a real meal. Man... it's tough. Haha, but I'll take it as a challenge. That day was special circumstances, every day won't be that extreme.

It's a new day and Mom has breakfast for us, sausage and biscuits. Hmm.... I suppose it will be okay. I'll probably eat some oatmeal, or make some egg whites. Eating a bigger breakfast will be key to my energy during the day. Lately, I've just been eating a banana or a bowl of cereal. I've just got some tweaking to do, that's all.

Another 9 hour work day today >.> I'm only looking forward to it because I won't be working alone this time (yesterday, it was just me in my department). Hopefully we'll get a shipment in that I can work on. Believe me, you tend to get most everything done in the first 2-3 hours and you can't even take a break yet. Well... you could, but I like to split my shifts right down the middle, lol.

That's all for now. Thanks for replying, Nat! *hugs* I will make it my duty to increase caloric intake. Haha, I sound professional.

P.S. I had a dream that I met Jillian Michaels. You can tell where MY mind is, lol. It's because I listen to her podcasts all the time.

 

[Natsky]

Wow I sounded like a drill seargent. Good on you for working on eating more, seriously its very important to eat. Because you can gain weight from not eating enough. lol

but anyway the job sounds tough ... good luck on that. I guess you have a hard time keeping busy and sometimes keeping relaxxed, good luck hun

and its good your eating more than a banana and cereal, cause that doesnt sound like enough.

You know whats a good cereal...

which barely makes a dent in my caloric intake, but gives me plenty of fiber
Kellogs K-Protein cereal. I dont know if its just an amercian thing, but look into it. The more protien you have, the better, some girls are having trouble with well, going ..moving along ... do you know what I mean .. and its just really important you eat a good diet ...

keep trecking hun
your doing wicked awesome
always
your friend
natalie jo

 

[mooniestar]

Wowzers

Oh... hello there, didn't see you. I am very very sleepy, and I have been for the past 4 or 5 days. Work has been pretty difficult as far as the hours are concerned. We just got finished doing year-end (or year-start) inventory of the entire store. Just to remind you all, I work at the second-largest Base Exchange in the world, so.... it was a lot of inventory. But the work wasn't hard, it was just the hours. I've made some friendly co-workers in the 4 or so months I've been there, so at least I wasn't alone.

Hmm, I haven't picked up DDR or Jillian for a very long time, especially since I started classes again. My time has just been whipped out from under me. The only thing I do when I'm not at work or school is resting at home, or finding something to eat. Honestly, I haven't even truly paid attention to whether stuff has transfats or how much sodium I'm ingesting. But it must be going okay because I'm still losing weight here and there, and other than feeling tired, I do have energy.

Today I had vanilla ice cream for the first time in... I really can't remember. I want to say a few months just to be safe, but it's probably more like since I moved here in July.

As of today also, my weight is between 120.4~121. Other than that though... things are mostly the same.

Anyway, I just wanted to do an entry before I completely forgot about this diary. There are only a few things that I follow on the internet, and that's anime, video games, and Facebook ;P

School has been going well. I got 2 of my Kanji quizzes back today, and got a perfect score on the first, and only missed one on the second. I'd say that's pretty sharp, right? Though... there are over 5000 Kanji to learn, and I don't think I'll ever make it that far. But here's hoping ^_^

Ki o tsukete, minna-san. Tsuzuke, ne. (Take care, everyone. To be continued.)

 

[mooniestar]

Crazy Days Ahead

Hey again... again. Ugh, that's getting old. Well, today was pretty all right. But it's tomorrow that I'm looking forward to. In a weird sort of way. You see, tomorrow is my only day off for the next 6 days. It kinda sucks. But money is money. Plus we got a bunch of new games/DVDs, so there will be plenty to do... I hope. Also, my co-worker Hiroe-san comes back tomorrow, and I hope she doesn't have to go to the hospital for a very long time. I've missed her energetic, smiling face, you know?

Anyway, Mom made homemade veggie soup this evening, and it was superb. She even said "I didn't even add any salt" and I was all "Oh, that's cool, lol". So... I like to think that she's supporting me in my weight loss.

I saw 119.6 on the scale today. Man... if you had told me that I would be at that weight a month ago, I wouldn't have believed you. And if you had told me that a year ago, I might've smacked you. It's so unbelievable. So anyway, even though tomorrow is my day off, I'm going to celebrate a bit by buying some new pants. And of course, that means... going to my workplace. The one day I don't have to go there, and I feel the need to go. So yeah.

Anyway, I haven't been this weight since... maybe I was 15 or 16. Lol, I know I wasn't that low when I was first starting college, I remember being about 139. And I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but I'm only 5'2".

That's all for now though... gonna go play on my new Wii for a bit ^^ See you all later!

 

[mooniestar]

Is This A Cause For Worry?

Okay, so yesterday was pretty much the best day ever. Well, maybe not ever... but it was my day off (still had class in the morning though, so no sleeping in), and I loved it. I pretty much played my Wii all day, a kind of obscure game called Muramasa. It's completely steeped in Japanese mythology and the graphics are so gorgeous I nearly die from the enemies cutting me just by looking at them. Oh, and I should mention that the game is 2-D, not 3-D like everything else in the gaming world. It's an absolute gem and masterpiece, and I love it!

Had maple oatmeal for breakfast and a tall glass of milk, then some homemade veggie soup leftover from yesterday for lunch. Got about 40 oz of water in too. Then that evening, started getting hunger pangs like crazy. And a thought came into my head. What do I want to eat most, right now, without hesitation? ...and I answered: "Duh, a supreme pizza." So Mom and I made a run up to the Olympic Mall and got a personal pizza each, with 3 breadsticks to share. I ate it and it was so good and yummy, I wished I had gotten a whole medium to scarf down and stuff myself with. ^__^

Though when I woke up this morning, I was all "Oh man... I ate all that food yesterday, especially so close to bedtime" But when I got on the scale...

117.6



....really? 2 pounds between one day? >_> Just---ugh, what is going on?

I mean, I have a theory, and it's not a good one. To test it out, I put a measuring tape around my calf, which is nearly all muscle... and it was a quarter of an inch smaller. Now, that could mean anything, but I'm sure that it might be safe to say that my body is starting to eat it's own muscle for food. Um, if that's true I'm not sure how to feel about it. And... I'm not sure what to do about it.

Eating more protein would probably make sense, so I'll try experimenting with that. But losing roughly 5 pounds in 2 weeks for someone my size, and for someone not exercising (save for work) has me a tad worried.

Anyway, I'm gonna quit now and get some lunch. All this talk about eating is naturally making me hungry. So... see you next time.

 

[mooniestar]

Back... just a quickie right now. All that 117.6 stuff was the most temporary thing ever. I'm back at 121, but I don't mind. Last few days have been hectic and I've done anything but pay attention to what I'm eating. Though I should be back on track pretty soon ;P

Some interesting developments have come about. Several -several- posts ago, I talked about how I wish my mom would make healthier choices with her lifestyles and eating habits... well it's finally come about. I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch, but this could very well be what I've been hoping and praying for.

She needs this. Even though my mom is so hinged on the thought that she has to do this only as long as Dad supports her (and by that, I mean doesn't berate her), I want this to work out. I'm going to pray that her back and hands don't give her trouble when she's exercising and that she begins to make good food choices.

So anyway, that's all, I just wanted to update this thing. Let's pray for the best.

 

[Jess393]

I hope things work out for your mom! Support her any way ya can, it all helps
And remember to always keep in mind the body naturally fluctuates 5lbs- either way- so don't worry TOO much. But make sure you're getting enuf protein in your diet! Feed your muscle tissues up hope you enjoyed your day off!!

 

[le_squish]

Hey! I just read through your journal! You've made some incredible progress! That's so great that your mom is going to start making some changes, too. As for your weight being 117 without exercising and whatnot, that's happened to me before too (not at 117 though haha), but I never considered it to be really dangerous because I would usually shoot back up 3 pounds the next day. I always just assumed the scale didn't calibrate right when I pushed the on button. Hmm... well anyway keep up the good work!

 

[mooniestar]

Oh, wow... Hi there!!

Haha ^_^ I'm back! It's been forever, hasn't it? Let's update on a few things, shall we?

First and foremost, weight loss. My ticker says 119, but I weighed in today at 116.6 and I'm pretty sure that's not 119, lol. I'll change it later. Who knows, I might jump back to 119. That's pretty much all I can say about that.

Eating healthy is going decent, I try to eat any healthier choices that I can, and making sure I eat breakfast every morning so I feel energized for work. My favorite snack is sunflower seeds, though I try not to eat too many at one time. Unfortunately, I'm still a slave to Diet Coke, lol. I'm pretty sure it's the caffeine that keeps me hooked, plus I'm a creature of habit.

Now onto the other stuff.

Schoolwise, I just finished my finals for the Spring Session 1 semester, and just signed up for Session 2, which starts on the 23rd. Tuition is already paid, I just have to buy one more book. I also sent off for my transcripts, which will tell me how much longer I have to be in college until I can get my Associates degree (because I'm lazy and poor, and I'm not going for my Bachelor's, so don't try talking me into it). My advisor told me that I could get my degree as early as this coming December, which would be completely and utterly awesome. I've been in school entirely too long and shelled out wayyyyy too much money. But isn't it all worth it? I hope so.

I'm still wanting to live on the island, and I'm trying to find out different avenues I can take in order to do that. So far, I can't really look at apartments until I start saving some real cash, which isn't happening soon because I need to buy my own car. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I don't have my own car yet. And I still live with my parental units. Everyone says I should live with them as long as possible, but... I dunno. There are so many things I want to experience. I want to experience living on my own (with or without a roommate) and I want to live in a country that's not about arrogance and idiocy (sorry, America). ....*watches as everyone leaves her diary*

Oh well... guess I'll just be talking to myself now. Anyway, this has been just a silly little dream of mine, but I would have never imagined that I could actually be this close to achieving it. I want this so bad, if Japan were a one-night hooker, I'd buy her for life. That's probably a REALLY bad analogy. Sorry ^^;

Of course, I haven't taken into account anything else, like getting married or having kids (in that order), but I'm trying to take things one at a time. But I'm not giving up. I'm not just saying that because I'm in a slightly good mood, or because it's a cheesy cliche thing to say... I really mean it. I don't want to give up on this. I can tell that things are going to get rough, but if it means succeeding in life, then I'm going for it. I'll take all the necessary precautions and spend every last penny (or yen) that I have to get it.

So yeah ^_^ I have roughly 6 months and counting before my 23rd birthday, when my SOFA status runs out from being a full-time student. I wouldn't even have to go to school after that... but I'm going to. I'm so close to that degree, that I want to finish what I started. Then I can finally start concentrating on making money, maybe getting a second job, who knows? I just know that I have a passion for this and that nothing is going to stop me.

Haaaah, so much for a short entry. I guess I'll be on my way now. See you soon!

 

[mooniestar]

Back again, things are moving quickly!

Hi all, me again. I seemed to fall of the face of the Earth every couple of months, but I always bounce back.

Quick update on things, life wise:
-Dad is getting out of the military, said it's just not for him and he wants to move back to Kentucky and plant a church. I really hope everything works out for him. He leaves this winter, November/December time.
-Mom and sister have been applied for as an Early Leave of Dependents, so they are going (along with all the household stuff) this July. My name is on that list as well.
-I am in the process of getting my own SOFA and living here by myself. It's pretty smooth so far, but I'm not going to jinx it. I know for a fact that things are going to get very rough if I don't take care of stuff right away.
-School is on temporary hiatus. I want to continue in the Fall, but right now I'm not going to give it a second thought and concentrate on saving money.
-Still don't have my own car yet, though I'm thinking that I might just buy the Suzuki from Mom. They're going to sell the cars anyway, so why not?

And that's all the main points of life. Work is still going on, I am getting along with people, still haven't made friends outside of work, I'm still single, and I'm still anxious about all of this.

Now on to health/weight loss stuff. Not really much to say, actually. I'm still addicted to diet coke, sunflower seeds, and wearing ankle weights to work. Though the latter, I haven't really done in a while, haha. I still manage to play DDR once in a blue moon, still cranking it up to Heavy mode. Other than that, I haven't been giving it any second thought.

But sometime I wonder if that's okay. If I've become so ingrained with healthy-ish habits, that it becomes second nature, I'm pretty sure it's all right. As you can see by my ticker in my sig, I'm 2 lbs under my goal weight as of this morning. My body hasn't changed much, still the same measurements, so I'm thinking I can bump it down to 110 and still be safe. I am only 5'2", after all.

This summer, I'll be moving in with one of my sister's teachers as a very gracious roommate. I have had other offers (one from a co-worker and one from my own teacher), but so far this one is the best one. I will have to get used to the fact that she has 2 dogs, and I'm just don't have the disposition to like dogs, but other than that I'm sure things will run smoothly. She is trying to lose weight and be healthy herself, and has her own incline trainer (yes!), so I know I can keep up with my own weight loss/maintenance.

Oh yeah, my sis has become a lifeguard, so I'll have another reason to start swimming this summer. If I drown, she gets to save me! Ha, not really. I'm proud that her first job isn't flipping burgers. No offense to those who do that ;P She wants to drop some pounds too, so I'm excited for her.

Anyway, that's all for now. I have work in a few hours, but this will not be last you hear from me. Hopefully I'll bump up these sparse updates to once a week... maybe. Until then, see ya.

 

[tintinmax]

DDR is so old school

suzuki?? those cars are great.. good on gas especially if its a kei car

which island do you live on? Okinawa?