Adrian: Day 97, I'm Back

I'm wondering if the other PCPer's have been keeping up with the diet and maintenance exercise plans, because I sure haven't. I just kind of threw it out the window after day 90. But after a week of vegging out, I realize that I'm not exactly feeling too good about not working out and not paying attention to what I eat. So I decided to get back on it. I did the short work-out tonight, and it was pretty easy. Though my strength has definitely declined a bit. Or maybe just my idea of how much pain I'm willing to tolerate. Anyway, I'm going to keep posting here in an effort to keep myself motivated, and to stick to regular exercise and a healthy diet for as long as I can. So check back here every now and then for sporadic updates on my progress and backsliding.

Adrian: Day 66, I Got Lazy

I'm starting to put weight back on.  I'm eating more, but I haven't been working out as hard as I used to.  I've been lazy, and I can't lie to myself about that.  I also haven't been getting enough variety in my diet.  I've been pretty much eating cereal and granola for my carbs every day.  I know it's wrong, because of all the extra sugar, but it's so easy and it tastes so good.  I've been eating lots of sweet potatoes lately, and I've definitely been eating avocados almost every day.  I really feel like I need to kick things back into gear, but it's been a tough mental game.  How do you beat your own mind? 

Adrian: Day 54, Experience Points

I just finished my workout. My nose started bleeding while I was doing the planks.. The PCP is literally kicking my butt! It isn't really kicking my butt, but Patrick says that at this point, things should be easy for us. But actually, I feel like it's still hard. I've been dealing with my tendency to call it quits when things get tough. I'm not close to quitting, but it hasn't been very easy to workout every day. I'm not used to being this fit and healthy! I used to eat leftover pizza for breakfast.

I catch myself thinking about resorting to old habits of vegging out all day long and eating junk. Something funny I noticed is that I've been having a lot of food-related dreams lately. Last night for example, I dreamt that Emiko and I were making gyros in our drawing class. Emiko put herb butter and cheese in hers. Light glistened off the cheese and foil and I could see the steam rising off of it too. I haven't strayed from the diet in real life, but for the past couple of days, I've been sitting around and playing a lot of video games.

When I start feeling unmotivated, I remember Emiko's post, in which she said I was her PCP hero. That memory has been getting me off my butt when I feel low. I think to myself, "What kind of hero sits around playing video games all day?" I can either pretend to be a hero in a video game, or I can work on being Adrian in real life.


So, to all the gamers out there: Put down the controller and pick up a jump rope; stop gaining levels and start losing weight; you can't press the reset button in real life; etc.

Emiko: Day 43, Five Seven Five

I was going to write a normal post, but I can't get anything out but haikus. So here they are...

Pulled out his bad teeth

I waited in the lobby

His smile still perfect

Awoke, back aching

Standing bent while making soup

In bed, a massage

I don't want to work out today. It's already nine. I may just do 8 minute abs and call it a night. Sorry this post is so short, it's been a long day.

I can't believe it's Week 7! Kind of a weird start for Adrian and I, but tomorrow is a new day. I Hope that you are all really well.

Adrian: Day 28, Climbing a new Peak

As you know, Emiko and I have been kind of on a bum trip lately, both of us feeling low on energy and motivation. Today, while we were out running errands, I was feeling lethargic, and decided to be the passenger. I slumped in my seat, checking out all the ethnic food diversity that Oakland has to offer; passively daydreaming about quitting the PCP and eating out at different restaurants.

At the grocery store, I walked about in a hazy daydream candyland, stuffing my face with potato chips, chocolate bars, sugar-dried fruit, and even granola. When I came to, I was carrying a grocery bag full of grains, and loose-leaf tea.

Afterward, Emiko dropped me off at home so I could prepare lunch while she went out to do more groceries. I plopped down like a sack of steel cut oats in front of the kitchen table with a bowl of carbs to chow on. After the snack, I equipped myself with knife and cutting board and set off for battle with our vegetables.

At around 6 p.m., Emiko and I had a pot of black tea - vanilla almond and snacked on some fruit. We were trying to get a movie to work on our computer, but it took so long to set up that we decided to start our exercises before it got too dark.

I started the jump-ropes, while Emiko listened to some audio lectures for Buddhist Philosophy class. My first set was 400, which was about my previous record for jumps. My first set is usually 100-150, to warm up, but this time, I wasn't tired at all and I didn't need a warm-up. I felt strong, and ended up doing another 550 in the next two sets. For my third and final set, I hit my all-time record of 1000 jumps! I was able to do jumps on one leg, and also while alternating my legs. I didn't want to stop, and I felt like I could do 500 more, but I decided to end it there, fearing an adrenaline crash. So all in all, I did 1950 jumps today. I ended up nailing the rest of the work-out too, but still only hit the minimums on the shoulder raises. Still, this is the strongest I've felt this whole time.

I was glistening with pride after my jump ropes.

I felt a renewed sense of energy and inspiration during this work-out, and I think it was mainly because of the tea. I think I'm gonna have it before work-out from now on. As I type though, Emiko has just taken the wind out of my sails by doing 1350 jumps! That girl is crazy, yo.

Adrian: Day 25, A Semi-Lazy Day

I felt a bit sick when I went to bed last night. Had a feeling sort of like nausea. My mind was clear though; I didn't have the usual 'this sucks' kind of feelings that I tend to have while sick. And I woke up this morning feeling refreshed, and relaxed - to the point of not wanting to do anything but maneuver my body into different reclining positions. Gus was sitting on the bed however, staring me down intently. He was attempting with all his willpower to communicate with me telepathically that he wanted food, and he wanted it A.S.A.P.

After feeding the cats, I had a bowl of protein-enhanced cereal and a plate of broccoli for breakfast. Not too exciting. I felt sort of indifferent to being awake. I was reminded of this girl I used to know, Lorena, who used to say that eating vegetables made her feel bored. I never understood, until this morning, but only just a little bit.

For lunch, we were planning to cook up some fish that we bought at the Temescal Farmer's Market yesterday, but once we got back from school, Emiko pretty much had to rush off to work, so there was no time for us to have lunch together. Instead, we broiled up turkey patties, and Emiko packed her lunch. At around 8 p.m., I visited Emiko at work, and she made us banana & apple smoothies.

I decided to take my rest day today, because even by late afternoon, I felt pretty lazy. I started doing my jump ropes in the apartment (because my downstairs neighbor wasn't home) and I ended up getting a burst of energy and decided to do the rest of the exercises.

I kept Patrick's high school track & field story in mind. His coach told him that if he felt tired while running that he should at least try to make it to a tree some ways ahead, and when he made it to the tree, to keep going and to choose another tree further up ahead to stop at, and when he got to that tree, he would choose a new landmark to stop at, and to keep going this way until finished. Patrick also mentioned that he was overweight in high school, but that's hard to believe, because he looks like Spiderman now.


PCP senses tingling!

Anyhow, I'd better cut this post short. I still haven't finished dinner, and I've got some chores to do.

Goodnight!
Adrian

Adrian: Day 18, Laborious Day

Battled the fatigue again today. Felt drowsy and overpowered by the heat all day. Fell asleep on the couch around 2 p.m. to the smell of barbecue wafting in through the window. Woke up about forty minutes later and spent some time reading and dragging my body around.

I wonder if my body is paying off a prolonged sleep debt. Before starting PCP, I spent the last few months going to bed around 11 and getting up at 5 or 6. I must be paying it off. Emiko has been really strong this week though, and energetic; it's inspiring. Hope to hit that high soon.

At around 5 p.m., went into the back alley to do my jump ropes. Saw that it was my downstairs neighbor grilling. He had a huge mound of chicken and sausages on a tiny little grill - all to himself. Nice. Been feeling hungrier these days, but wasn't really tempted by the meat pile. He wasn't offering anyway.

I didn't feel very strong during my exercises today. Was only able to do about half the number of jumps before getting tired and having to break. Still not hitting the max on the incline pull ups and not hitting the minimum on the side shoulder flies after the first set.

My shoulders need work. Had the idea to start doing standing meditation again, as it can really strengthen the shoulders. Maybe I'll add it to my PCP routine.

Anyhow, I'm still feeling pooped so that's all for now. Hope everyone enjoyed their day.

Goodnight,
Adrian

Emiko & Adrian: Day 16, Good Snooze and Bad Snooze

So, remember how we mentioned that Patrick wants us all to get at least 8 hours of sleep every night? One would think that forcing ourselves to get that much rest would allow us to wake up refreshed and jumping out of bed. But what we've been doing is more like crawling out of bed. For some reason, the body just says, "hey, I like sleep! I want to keep doing this." *Emiko hits snooze button* Emiko has actually learned how to hit the snooze button while still in REM sleep.

The bad news (or bad snooze) is that the first hour of the day is spent in a groggy haze. We shuffle around in the morning going through the motions, weighing our veggies and peeling our eggs, etc. The lack of energy might also be because we are not seeing the results yet, and it's hard to keep feeling excited every day when we can't really imagine our bodies looking any different.

The good news (snooze) is that despite this lack of energy, we know it's important to continue going through the motions, and we are. We've been sticking closely to our diets, struggling through the exercises, and pushing on.

Adrian found this proverb in Buddhism, A Very Short Introduction, the text we are reading for our Buddhist philosophy class:

"Sow an act, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny."

We both found this quote to be inspiring, and we hope that it's inspiring for the rest of you as well. Every action we're undertaking right now with this new lifestyle is creating better habits, and will eventually strengthen our characters and not just our bodies.

On that note, we are off to bed for another full night of rest! G'night.

Emiko: Day 4, Fatigue v. Energy

The first two-thirds of today I was in a total haze. I felt really fatigued, lazy, and unmotivated and that just made me feel crappy and down. Emotionally I was pretty out of whack, which is abnormal for me because, as Adrian says, I am "usually just a happy-go-lucky girl." Today was the first time during the PCP that I have felt that major lack of energy that led me to apply for the PCP in the first place. While I was experiencing it, the lack of energy made me feel even less optimistic...but soon I realized that so much of that was a falling into old habits and not examining my actions.

Along with Adrian, I waited until about 6pm to begin my exercises. In fact, I am glad he got started first because if he hadn't made that move I may not have started until much later. The fatigue I was feeling made me not want to do much of anything. I kind of lay stagnant, seemingly unable to move my own body around or to get my brain working past half-speed. 

Boy do I regret not doing the exercises in the morning. After engaging my body and getting my blood flowing and muscles working, my energy level came bursting up. Now it's three hours later, I am showered and filled with curry and tea, and yet I still feel energetic. Feeling so good and in touch with my body makes me really want to sit zazen, or draw. Something that engages my body and mind. I think I may go to that right after I post this. 

A fog has truly lifted, and I feel much clearer...and happier.

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