All Work And No Play

I hate not exercising. It always makes me feel sluggish. Overeating or eating junk food also makes me feel slow. It's really true what they say. Being healthy just makes you feel good (among all the
other great benefits of course.)

If my writing feels stilted today, it's because I'm one exam away from winter holiday, which anyone that's ever taken any class knows means that special half-anxious, half-excited, and alltogether overstimulated feeling that comes at this point in the year/grading period. People are running around frantically trying to cram in any knowledge they can, all the while ignoring their bodies. I never see such long lines at the takeout places as during finals week, although the gyms actually tend to seem more busy. I think it's mostly because the procrastinators come out, trying to do anything but study or work.

I'll admit, I did that twice this week as well. On the one hand, I'm glad I actually got out there and exercised, even if only for 30 min (once) and 45 min (the second time). However, I went out with the excuse that I'd really be able to focus on my French notecards while cycling or elliptical-ing and thus multitask my time to a hilt. Of course, it really just meant that I stopped studying for about an hour each time to get my gym stuff ready, work out, get there and come back, and shower.

Oh well. Hopefully the little bit of exercise will offset the not-so-great nature of my meals recently. I've been avoiding sit down meals in order to "maximize my time," which means takeout. Chinese, Mexican, chili cheese fries, pizza. Also, sandwiches and salad, but those healthier choices don't counterbalance the incredibly unhealthy food of the rest of the time.

Only two more days though, and I'm done. Of course, I doubt I'm going to be eating less while vacationing, but I will be walking around a lot. I'm also getting my wisdom teeth taken out after Christmas, which means liquid foods and no exercise for a week or so. Fun times.

Oh, the weather outside...

Is not too bad, but a little chilly, yes. It's winter that makes you appreciate the weather of LA. True, we don't have snow, but we can get outside with just two layers at night and walk around in tshirts and flip flops in the daytime.

Of course, with winter comes winter weight gain. I've seen so many articles on the many factors that cause us to gain weight in winter. It's cold, so we sleep in and skip workouts. We don't want to walk or run outside. We don't even want to brace the cold to get to the gym. We also eat more because of the weather and because of all the holiday gettogethers and gifts of food.

Wintertime also adds two more factors for my weight gain--finals and winter break. As I'm still working on that degree, finals are a pretty terrible time for me and stressing more means eating more and eating worse than usual for lack of time and energy. And then when I finally finish, winter break comes by, and I have no motivation at all to exercise. This year, I'm off to Taiwan for a week full of eating at all the Taiwanese restaurants I can find, then home just in time for Christmas Eve and all the holiday food tims with family and friends.

But it's the holiday season after all. So if I gain a little, it's not a big deal. However, I did weigh myself last weekend and I was up to 162 or 163. My usual weight is around 160 (give or take 2 or 3 lbs) so this isn't too bad, but it does mean the overeating and lack of exercise didn't just magically cause nothing to happen with my body. I'm not exercising now, except for ten to twenty minute bursts of home calisthenics every few days, but eating has been all right. I haven't been indulging in too much junk food, and snacking is at a minimum, so I'm considering this a wash. Just need to get through the next week, and I'm home free!