All throughout February I was following a workout calendar to lose a few inches around my waist. Let me just put out there that I don't watch my figure, I don't count calories, and I'm not on a diet.
I've just always wanted to be under 135 pounds. Don't get me wrong, with my height and age I'm at a healthy weight, but ever since freshmen year of high school I've been 135 pounds. Whenever I lost a bit of weight I'd gain it back one way or another, but I never gained any weight past 135 pounds, so I was happy with that. At the end of my senior year of high school I got a physical and weighed in at 127 pounds. I was basically active/dancing from October to the June so I was surprised I weighed that much. I was actually very happy about it. Then that summer i decided to donate blood. I didn't know how much of a minimum I needed to weigh so I decided to gain a couple of pounds to get up to 130 just in case. I went back up to 135 pounds. This is my last semester of college. In January on New Years I made a list of goals I wanted to obtain in 2014: the top one was get back in shape. Notice, I said get back in shape. I didn't say lose weight, because that isn't my goal. I don't weigh myself anymore. I don't own a scale. Whenever I need to tell people my weight I just say "I don't weigh myself so I'm somewhere between 130 and 135". With the media putting pressures on girls to say thin or to regularly know their weight, I went against that. I didn't want to be confined by my numbers. Starting February I followed three workout calendars: Fab Ab February, 30 Day Push Up Challenge, and 30 Day Plank Challenge. Most cases I'd do it once a day, right before I went to bed. Other days I'd do it twice a day, after I wake up and before I go to sleep. The two reasons I followed these calendars are 1) I wanted to strengthen my core and 2) I wanted to gain by my arm muscles. Plus, my left arm is a tad bit flabbier than my right and it bothered me. After a couple of days I stopped attempting the 30 Day Plank Challenge because the Fab Ab February Calendar had plank exercises in it as well. At this time, I started to drink more water (so much so, I could time when I had to go to the bathroom), cut down my portion sizes at meals, and eat a lot of small meals instead of 3 big ones through out the day. I also stopped eating/snacking three hours before I went to bed (11pm every night). I also walk to and from campus whenever I have classes or work, I never drive unless its after 4:30 and it's really cold by the time I would walk back to my apartment. I also started walking the loop once a week and I play Just Dance 3 two times a week in the mornings before work or classes. It is now the last day of February and I lost 4 inches around my waist. I feel like I have more energy, I'm happier, and I have more confidence about myself (not that I didn't have any before). I figured out that the way I work out is by not working out. Let me explain: I don't actively think about workouts. I walk to and from campus because its in walking distance: 7mins. I play Just Dance 2, 3, or 4 because I LOVE those games and I LOVE dancing. I don't go to the gym because I hate going to the gym. I don't like being in one place. I don't like being stuck indoors. I don't like how much of a mental workout it is. When I think of the gym I think of a set number your heart rate has to be, I think of mile times, I think of sets, and repetitions. I think of boring. It's not fun. I work out by having fun or taking the time to reflect. When I walk, I take the time to think about my day, my friends, my future, etc. When I play Just Dance I play to have fun and to dance. I love roller skating and plan on doing it more when it gets warmer. I like pushing myself past my limit with crunches and push ups. I like to work on my martial arts because it helps me be in balance and it calms me. I feel, if you actively workout and give yourself a plan you won't get the results you want. This is partially why I never liked going to the gym. People would always plan workout schedules for me but I never liked doing it. I think it had more to do with structure than anything else. I work out by not working out. I work out by having fun. Next month, my plan is to do the next calendar, Mad Abs March, and I'm going to work on my legs. Roller skating will definitely be a great way to get that started. Here's hoping for Spring weather soon. --SJ
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So Jess and I (and Mack and Mere if they would like to join in as well) have another item to add to our resumes: contributors to a magazine.
It is an online magazine called Twin Life Magazine. It is an online magazine about multiples. Don't let the title confuse you, it is about any sets of multiples and not just twins. I contact one of the editors asking if they were accepting submissions for works about multiples. I got into contact with a woman named Jenna who is one of the last few running the magazine. She said it is updated from time to time but not often since her boss moved to a new state. We emailed back and forth and I said that I was a multiple and I was interested in submitting work to the magazine: in part to add to my portfolio/resume but to get my work out there. She thought that it was a great idea since I was a multiple, to add to the magazine. I told my sisters of the opportunity and told them that they could submit to the magazine as well. Jess and I are currently the only two submitting to the magazine because of busy schedules, school work, etc. We decided to write about a common topic but to give our own points of view. Jenna says if our submissions become more of a frequent thing, we will be named admins of the site so we can upload our submissions whenever we're finished with them. We hope to have our second posts up soon. Our first articles were published on February 17th. Click below if you would like to read them: --Jess's Article: Getting to Know You --Steph's Article: Life as a Quadruplet: “4x the ___________” --SJ |
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"Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you." - Walt Whitman Archives
January 2022
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