Queen of Rambles

I went to the gym early today and did my extra workout. The machines are really cool because they keep track of your heart rate and how many calories you are burning. They also tell you if you are burning fat or not and to slow down. I had to slow down a lot. It felt like I was barely moving.

I’ve read all the books on burning calories. I know how it all works theoretically. Today was the first time I ever had a practical display of exactly how many calories I was burning. It was a giant slap in the face. All those little pieces of candy and gobs of cookie dough take a damn lot of work to burn off! I do believe after this little experience I am going to be much more careful about what I put in my mouth. I don’t want to have to work this hard!

I also think I really need to get back into walking. From what the info on the treadmill was telling me, I burn more fat when I do a brisk walk than when I do aerobics. Interesting. Very interesting. Time to pull out the ol’ walking shoes, grab Mike, and start moving. I don’t exactly understand how moving slower is better, but I have heard it so many times that I guess it must be true (slower as in a brisk walk instead of full, out and out aerobics, not as in a slow walk).

And for a final thought, here’s a very interesting but very long article about Americans and obesity. It makes a lot of sense to me, though I still think we do have a giant problem with obesity. I was sickened by the paragraph that said we need to tell black and Hispanic teenage girls that they are fat and need to know they are fat! Instead, we need to be convincing white girls that they look good and don’t need to have an eating disorder to be happy.

But enough fitness talk! What else is there to say?

It’s amazing how one person can make such a difference in your enjoyment of the day. The woman I share a room with was gone today and my day was so much brighter and happier! I didn’t have to listen to her incessant complaints. I didn’t have to listen to her non-stop tirade about how bad she’s treated. I didn’t have to dodge her very personal questions that are entirely inappropriate for work (have you ever asked a casual co-worker how many men they’ve slept with?). I didn’t have to deal with HER and it was good. She won’t be back till Thursday so I’m anticipating a good week. I am so annoyed that another human can have that much of an effect on my mood, but she does. She just grates and grates and grates.

Honestly, though, I am just soooooo happy these days. I knew I was pretty depressed over in Sweden but I didn’t realize just how depressed. I was totally defeated, completely miserable and just about as unsatisfied with life as a person can be. Exterior factors are actually worse right now, but my happiness level is much higher. I don’t understand how that works, exactly. You’d think living with my alcoholic father that I spent years escaping and working in a piddly low-paying job would make me bitter and miserable. It doesn’t. I barely think about it. I feel useful and smart and happy. I’ll just be a whole lot happier when we have our own place and are settled, but for the moment I am not having a horrible time waiting since I know it will happen eventually.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 27th, 2004 at 6:56 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.