Pork products, or, is bacon the downfall of the modern world?

Clearly, I am not good at being a blogger, as it has been literally a couple years since my last post, but lately I have been inspired, so I figured, why not add a post? It's my blog I can do what I want. 

Lots of changes in my life since my last post. First, I quit hot yoga for awhile for a number of reasons including keeping up with the cost, and enrolled in school for a Graphic Design Certificate, which I have now graduated from. It was a one year program and in the time I was a full time student, still not gainfully employed full time, you can imagine I gained a bit of weight, partly due to laziness, partly stress. It is amazing how much time you can waste when it is available to you. It is a universal truth, I think, that when you have the free time, you put more things off than when you don't. They say "Busy people get things done" and it is true. Unfortunately I used school as an excuse to be lazy in other aspects of my life and now I am suffering the consequences. So now I am back in action and taking control of my health again!

Just before I enrolled in school I also was a member of a running/triathlon group in hopes I would complete a half marathon and triathlon eventually. I did the half marathon and got over my fear of the open ocean swimming, but unfortunately never got a working bicycle in time to enroll in and complete a triathlon. I did set a PR for my half marathon. (I am slow so I won't post the time, but it was great for ME). And I did a 188 mile relay with 11 other people on my team in the Nevada desert, Ragnar Las Vegas for those who are in the running world. And then I quit running too, so I could focus on school. 

So here I am, finally finished with school and in dire need of a body overhaul. I have joined Weight Watchers which has worked for me in the past. I still dance with a local samba dance group, and plan on getting to more practices, and I also plan on getting back into running and yoga. Although I don't specifically endorse dieting or Weight Watchers, I do agree with its premises. Eat what you want, just in moderation. And try to aim for the things that diet "experts" tell us are good: fiber, lean cuts of meat, LOTS of veggies, fruit, and cut the crap! 

So, recently I had a debate with someone about eating pork products as I was eating a prepackaged breakfast sandwich which contained a small slice of Canadian bacon. I will be the first to say I grew up in an exceptionally healthy household due to my father being a doctor of preventive medicine and a health fanatic mother.  We almost never ate red meat or I don't recall being served any pork. However, even Dad ate an occasional strip of bacon (cooked very crisp to cut the fat content was his way of ordering it) and I believe that on occasion, indulgence in bacon or the occasional pork product really is not going to ruin your health as some people claim. In fact, I am attending vegan cooking classes in an effort to steer myself in the better food direction. For the record, I am not now nor likely will I ever become a full bore vegan. I am an omnivore and I make no apologies. That being said, I do try to limit the amount of meat products I eat. I actually enjoy vegan cuisine and to some degree the vegan lifestyle, however, I see it as a cuisine, like Mexican, Fusion, French etc, not something I have to commit my entire life to. I am sure pork products kill laboratory rats in excessive quantities, but until they prove that bacon and other pork products in moderation causes some rare life threatening disease, or is contributing to the downfall of the modern world, I will continue to eat it, in moderation, of course!

New Motivation

It has been a while since I have posted anything and I have also noticed a recent digression from my usual fitness routine. It makes me wonder if my lack of motivation lately to work out (admittedly, I have been going to way too many Happy Hours and not enough classes at the gym!) is a direct correlation to my lack of motivation to blog. I have been doing many other side projects on my computer, so it is not like I have not been at the computer. Maybe it is the principle of "Out of sight, out of mind" ? So it gets me to thinking, if I can re-motivate myself to blog, it can realign my thinking so that I can get back on track with my workout routine.

I have recently become unemployed and have had to quit my regular Martial Arts training to spare the financial expense until I find gainful employment again, so I am theorizing that my lack of routine has been a de-motivator in all aspects of my life. No matter what type of person you are, having some sort of structure or routine will always enhance your motivation, hence the effectiveness of Personal Trainers or organized group instruction classes at the gym. Have you ever noticed that when you set an appointment with a trainer or consciously decide to take a scheduled class, you are more likely to go than if you just tell yourself you will work out more and leave the details to chance? The structured plan always keeps you motivated because it is written out in no uncertain terms. If you do not go at a certain time you either miss the class or have to answer to your trainer. I went 2 or more times a week to my karate class for about 6 years religiously, at the same times on the same days of the week due to the class schedule. And in that time I achieved a Black Belt, simply by knowing that if I missed class, I missed out, and may have dropped out entirely. So now that I am not going, I have noticed that I have gained back some of the weight I had lost and my time at the gym or going on my runs at the beach has lessened. So I am back to blogging, and hopefully back to the gym more often and on track once again!