5.18.2011

vegas recreated.

eating, shopping, gambling, and eating again. spent over $300, consumed over 3000 calories without a doubt.

started with a lunch at a korean bbq restaurant in oakland: yuna, ferris, and I. it was pretty confusing on what we should order. we were ready to do an "all you can you eat" special. but none of the selections for the "all you can eat" offered short ribs. particularly the gal-bi. and even the LA gal-bi. the waitress was annoyingly strict and didn't allow substitutions (even though the restaurant had done so before). so we were left ordering a large combo with every kind of meat possible, which I'm sure serves 4 people minimum, in addition to an additional side order of gal-bi. our own "all you can eat". we finished it all. I was full, and we all smelled of beef and charcoal from grilling the food. too full to eat dessert, we had some of yuna's extra dessert delights chewing gum -- key lime pie and strawberry shortcake. mixed both in my mouth together and it tasted of strawberry limeade. but I then got chewing fatigue and had to spit it out.

it was raining outside, we wanted to chill for a little bit but had no idea what to do. we didn't want to run into anyone because of how we looked and smelled. (I dressed down significantly, knowing the clothes would go straight in the wash afterward.) and we didn't want to walk since it was raining. so yuna suggested the north face outlet. they definitely had some sale going on. some items carried additional discounts, and others had small defects and were heavily discounted. it was kind of a fun game to try to find what was wrong with a particular item.

overall though, this was a bad idea. spent over 200, but I'd argue that it was a good deal, given that I walked away with three jackets. still, I told myself monday, I was going to start saving. FAIL. poor yuna: not only did she spend about 600 between this trip and the one she did the day before buying lot's of heavy coats and jackets, but also she couldn't possibly fit it in her suitcase. she'll probably have to wear it through security and take it off on the plane. 

on the drive back to the peninsula, ferris had a feeling we would win at artichoke joke's playing blackjack. I trusted his gut, so we went in hoping to win $20 each and then walk out. we were set to walk away after a $10 loss. ended up losing only $12.50. they moved so slowly dealing, collecting,counting, and paying out. it was painful. makes me appreciate just how fast they move in vegas.
split aces and got 21 on each hand and pushed. just our luck.
another hand: we hit on 14 with the dealer showing a 5. the table was mad when we "screwed it up" and the dealer ended up getting 21. whatever. (still learning the chart)
gotta go back next time to win our money back.

the next bad decision was going for dessert with kim. we still weren't all the hungry. I was hoping we could find a cafe or yogurt shop or some sort. ferris suggested a restaurant setting and we settled on cheesecake factory. we sat down and ended up ordering entrees. no dessert. worst of all, they screwed up ferris's order and ended up giving us both entrees. I had half my burger, and half of ferris's order.talk about caloric. and this was past 11PM. I defintely ate the worst out of the group.

I had set to start my 30 day kick yesterday, but clearly that didn't happen. I cheated enough for a whole month. and now I'm starting today. first, by slightly starving myself a bit due to yesterday's flop.  maxing out at 1000 calories. burning off 800. here we go.

new rule: stay in. watch tv. workout. don't eat. socializing is very expensive and very fattening.

5.16.2011

core.

thanks to ferris, went to the youtube gym to workout last night. I had a couple protein bars and a protein shake during the workout. probably not the smartest thing to do. (I felt a little sick after the workout)
but thanks to this ab roller, I can strengthen my midsection.
I want to buy one asap. tried it for the first time yesterday. they're pretty cheap and supposedly very effective if one wants to work his/her core. it's pretty difficult to get low, and I can feel its effects already. I didn't even do that many reps. that's how out of shape I am.
going to set some new weight loss goals (short term of course), as I have been seriously slacking. it's hard to get back on track these past few weeks. too much snacking -- err.

in other news, I'm going to try to be a serious saver and cut back my spending. not going to be easy, but I know I will have to. I have been doing way too much shopping. I'm sure I've tried this before, but failed.

season finale for a bunch of my monday shows. this gives me time to catch up on others!

5.03.2011

thanks steve.

I did a workout on exercise tv the other day. this one was led by steve maresca, one of my favorite instructors.
it felt pretty good afterward and was a nice change from the treadmill. I perspired quite a bit -- wet head, wet back. about 20 minutes of intensity. I was was actually proud of myself for following it exactly as instructed and not needing to take an extensive break. I did fail however when it came to the pushups with the hands close to the body. I can do pushups, but not like that. I guess I still have weak upper body strength.

the real pain came when I woke up this morning. all those lower body exercises took quite a toll on my body. aching buttox and legs. it was such a struggle to get out of bed. I cannot bend down and even just squatting into a sitting position hurts. walking so stiffly makes me look constipated. clearly I am very out of shape because this is not normal. can't wait to heal so I can go back to working out. especially with what appears to be a +.5 gain. doesn't help that I had chipotle for dinner. but man those burrito bowls are so good -- high protein at least!

can't wait for the voice to come on.