Exercise, Food and Etc

Okay, so I know that in order to fully reach my on-going health goals exercise is a MUST. Honestly, I hate exercising. It's not so much that I am too lazy to do it, it's just that I really feel overwhelmed when it comes to that. I've been looking at various places for gym memberships but the sites don't have the most important information on there: THE PRICE. That just totally turns me off because I don't want you to call me and try to con me into joining your gym. All I want is the information right in front of me so I can make my own decision.

Another reason why I'm afraid of exercise is because I don't want to lose weight. I am tired of being 105lbs. I'm 5'3 and I know I'm not that underweight, but I still am and I don't like it. I don't think I consume enough carbs and protein to give me some weight and yet not become fat. So if anyone knows any tips so that I can gain/maintain a healthy weight, I am SO there and yes I KNOW I have to do some type of exercise.

So I was looking online and I found a few kool websites with information regarding lactose intolerance and certain cheeses. Basically what they were saying is that I may be able to consume aged cheeses such as parmesan, romano, and cheddar because the lactose is gradually turned into lactic acid, which they say has no effect on people who are intolerant. Apparently I can eat feta and other goat cheeses too because they have a different form of lactose and protein that doesn't irritate those who are lactose intolerant.

I had spaghetti again for dinner but it was plain this time. I was in a lazy mood. However, I did make some celery-carrot-spinach juice, sweetened with one apple and one pear. It was really good. I think I will stop being afraid to make nasty juice and incorporate more veggies and leave out the fruit sometimes. Not that the fruit is bad, I just want to experiment with more veggie juices.

I added a bunch more books that I want to read. They are mostly vegan/vegetarian (as are the blogs I read), but I haven't quite made the committment to do that yet. At this point I don't think I'm going to be vegan; it's more like I'm deciding between a vegetarian or a flexitarian, but I'm open to all the healthy meal options.

OH YEAH. I remember what I wanted to talk about. So I started training at my new job, Smoothie King. It's not just a smoothie bar, but a nutrition center. They use all natural products, including turbinado instead of processed white sugar, and honey as sweeteners. And if you don't want the sugar at all, you can "Make it Skinny," which also takes off 100 calories. It seems like a lot, but I think most of the smoothies are designed to be meal replacements. Check out the website, they pretty much have a smoothie for everyone and I am so excited to be working there and I can't wait till we open on Sunday. We get one free smoothie per shift, so I will most definitely be doing reviews.

Mmmmm juice...

So.........today I juiced and it was awesome! I made apple/carrot/spinach juice and it was SOOOO good. Whatever I was craving, the juice made it go away. I think I was craving something sweet because my mom made sweet potato cheesecake and I couldn't eat it because I'm trying not to eat dairy.

I tried those steel cut oats for breakfast. They were alright. I put cinnamon, nutmeg and honey in them. I don't think the first two did a damn thing to help the flavor and I'm pretty sure I didn't put enough honey in thre because it really wasn't that sweet. But, I did enjoy the texture very much. It was chewy and nutty, just as others described it. I made enough for tomorrow, but the bf liked it so much that he ate the rest. Oh well, at least it only takes 10 minutes.

In a few hours I have to take the bf to the train station to go back home so I'm probably not going to feel like making anything. I don't wanna just eat nothing so I will probably have a bagel with earth balance and some rice milk.

I also have to go to the eye doctor and hopefully I can get an exam before I have to go to school tomorrow at 12:30. Luckily the campus is only 10 minutes from my house, but I can't go to school if I can't see. If I can't get an exam when I need to, then I guess I will be going there with one contact squinting at the board LOL. It's the first day of class so I hope she doesn't keep us the whole time.

sidenote: Me and the bf tried to make guacamole again and it was a complete disaster! I didn't know yoou weren't supposed to put avocadoes in the fridge and so it was hard and we tried to blend it and it wouldn't work so I put water in it and it tasted like sugar honey ice tea and the taste is still in my mouth, ugh. So we had to trash it.

Anyway, haven't updated about my hair in a hot minute. I washed it today and detangled with my Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle conditioner. The Denman brush is my best friend when it comes to detangling. I use my fingers first, and then I go through my hair with the brush to further detangle and get out all the shed hair. It was the bomb and the conditioner left my scalp tingling. I put my hair into these 4 dookie twists and put a scarf on. I'ma take it down tomorrow and put it in a puff or something. I need a trim REALLY bad. I've dusted my ends a few times, but I want a stylist to do it but I'm scared they're gonna get scissor happy. Maybe when I have some extra money I'll go back to the Aveda salon and let Jennifer trim my ends. I love that place because their hair dyes are 93% natural and are plant-based, which = less damage, yay!

I'm off to "nap" before I have to start my day. *sigh*

I bought a juicer!

I wasn't really all that hungry yesterday, so for breakfast I had a multigrain bagel with some Earth Balance. To drink, I had a big glass of water. I probably could have drank some rice milk too, to get some added vitamins and stuff, but I guess I wasn't thinking about it. For a snack, I had an apple and Odwalla's green drink. For lunch/dinner (I woke up late so breakfast was at like.....3 or 4pm) I had a turkey sandwich with vegenaise, rice cheese, mustard, and jalapeños. Very delicious. With that I also had a big cup of water.

My sister made these really good-smelling teriyaki chicken wraps, topped with provolone cheese. OMG I wanted to eat one so bad but I couldn't. The teriyaki sauce had a bunch of sugar and hydrogenated oils, etc. So, thanks but no thanks.

Today I bought a Juiceman Jr from Wal-Mart. Hopefully, it does a decent job. It's not the Vita-Mix I want, but I can wait until I am more established to get one of those. Now I can get the veggies and fruits I desperately need everyday. I also bought some MSG-free seasonings so I can enjoy my food, yay! Me and my mom bought these flavored sea salts (which I believe are mostly natural). I know it's not like organic or anything like that, but I really don't plan on using that much.

Also, I am going to take Chi-Chi's advice and try some oatmeal or millet porridge for breakfast and maybe having a little cereal as a snack sometimes. The oats and grains would provide much of what I'm missing in my current diet. This is so exciting :)

I have some organic soy protein powder, I think I should drink some sometimes with my rice milk, maybe in between a meal or something like that. That should help me meet my protein requirements for the day.

::sigh:: This seems like a lot of work, but I think it's worth it. Once I find out what works for me, I'm sure it will get easier. My only concern is that I will probably have to cook more, because like I said, I live with my folks and I can't control what my mom cooks. I want to try and promote health in my house without being too instrusive. But, at the same time, I don't think she's really going to change. She's making fajitas tomorrow (and it's probably gonna be sooooo good), but I don't know if what she's using to season it has MSG or anything like that and I annoy her with all my questions LOL. So we shall see. If so, I will probably just have some tilapia and leftover brown rice for dinner.

I ned to go to bed, it's almost 6am. I'm going to set an alarm for 12 because I have to go to work and I would like to get something accomplished before then.