Settling into our new blog home

Origins

Some followers of this blog are familiar with its origins: a thread on a message board that started over a year ago, meant to chronicle weight loss and fitness. I really never imagined that I'd stick with it for more than a week. Past threads had died a quick, painless death. But this time my love, my passion, my devotion to fitness won out over my busy schedule and innate laziness.

This weekend I finally made the big move to an official blogging host. I transferred each post, one by one, to Blogger. The decision came with my desire to create a more comprehensive log of my workouts as well as share the endless advice and research that I pick up weekly through magazines and conversation.

I no longer have a tangible goal - a certain number of push-ups that I want to complete, a particular weight I wish to achieve, a specific size clothing I want to fit into. Instead I simply strive to be the healthiest, fittest person that I can be within the limitations of my lifestyle and drive. I have fantasies of being some fitness amazon one day and the word Crossfit gets me more excited than it should, but my love of good food pretty much negates any chances of either. I am trying to enjoy healthy, natural, homecooked food more and more however, so I plan to include nutrition and dietary updates within this blog as well.

Objective

This blog will include: daily exercise including strength training, aerobic activity, gym classes, pilates; nutrition and dietary information and consumption; as well as personal notes upon my progress, physical and emotional health related directly to my physical wellbeing. Separate from this blog, however, is my running. I am currently working towards my first marathon. While I may note my runs within daily exercise posts, details and reflections will be posted in Runs with iPod.

Please enjoy the blog! Sometimes I post more than others, but I hope to keep this active while simulaneously posting in the original thread. Therefore there may be gaps of time when I don't have the time to crosspost, and you'll see a bunch of posts updated at once.

Introduction

Since the thread began in a location where the reader knew who I was already, I never made a post introducing myself. This will be brief, but enough to form a sketch of the woman behind the blog.

As any good introduction begins, I'll start with my age. I turned 27 years old last summer - not exactly the spring chicken I once was, but the irony is that I have never been more fit than I am today. Some things do get better with age, and luckily I was smart enough to jump on this train before it was too late. And by too late I mean the big 3-0 of cellular decay! My health in years to come is incredibly important and I can't afford to neglect it if I want to lead a full, active life far into my 90s. I also have the responsiblity to remain in good shape for friends and family - it's amazing how the lifestyle of one can impact the lifestyle of those around them.

Lifestyle-wise, I'm a 9-5er with a gym membership that occupies the hours before and after my sedentary desk job. I am currently unwed and live with roommates. I have a love for cooking that my housemates don't seem to share, so our pantry is divided and I tend to cook for one. There are a number of pros and cons to this - bulk purchasing, portion-size, creativity - which I'm sure I'll touch upon as time goes on. I have a strict grocery budget and eating out has been cut out completely. I'm a lacto-ovo vegetarian, so sufficient protein consumption is always a struggle.

In the summer I plant a garden. I have a year-round herb garden that sits indoors during the winter. I try to use fresh ingredients as much as possible within my means. I read Clean Eating magazine, Martha Stewart Living, Oxygen, Hers, Body + Soul, and a vast array of online blogs, always consuming as much new information and ideas as possible. I'm still in the process of trying to transform my diet to meet with my nutritional/fitness needs.

I fell in love with Pilates last year and contemplate one day become an instructor, which I can afford the certification. Until then I take classes at my gym and practice at home.

Running, however, is my main passion. I began running two years ago and racing a year ago. I completed my first half marathon at the end of last summer. This year my goal is to complete a full marathon. I may not have the speed of competative athletes, but the journey is the best part for me, not winning. It is my escape, the place I go to clear my head and destress. That is why I have a separate blog devoted to my running journey - it's too important to get mixed up with everything else I want to talk about!

I hope that provides a little insight beyond my gym achievements, meals and morsels of random fitness advice. I hope you enjoy the months of posts to come!