6/24/07
Today was a success! David and I both headed out to walk around 9:00 p.m....it's SO much easier when we actually walk together! We talked on the phone the entire time, and it flew by! I'm also realizing that it's good because it gives us a point in every day where we're gauranteed to connect. After a busy Saturday of house cleaning, cooking, reading for my two psych classes, and talking to him, it was a positive end to the day, though I was somewhat hot and breathless by the end of it.
6/25/07
Today was the kicker, the first really difficult day. I had a busy and completely self-indulgent day (I declared it a rare "eat whatever I want" day, so I had Skittles for breakfast, Coldstone for lunch, and a fancy dessert from Cyrano's for dinner)...after Dev Psych, I went to the pool to lay out for a couple of hours, went to my health psych class, and then my best friend Tom came over and we went to Cyrano's in Webster Groves for dessert and then came back to my apartment, where we had a fabulous, enlightening conversation that lasted till 2 a.m. When he left, I realized I STILL hadn't walked and that I had to be awake for class at 8:30 a.m.! Determined not to fail and being the perfectionist that I am, I called David, who was thankfully still awake (it was 3 a.m. his time!), threw on pajamas, and headed out for my walk around the condo complex while he walked around his campus and talked to me on the phone the entire time...he's such a trooper! My morale was quite low, as I was EXHAUSTED and just dying to crawl under my covers. At 26 minutes, I was like "You want to call it a night?" and David goes, "We've still got 4 minutes, dear. I'm a bitch, I know!" He's SO great to keep me going, I would have given up on this long ago without him. So far we both have a 100% success rate, and I'm quite proud of us ;)!
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Health Psych Project, Days 1 and 2
I should start off by introducing myself. My name is Mackenzie, and I'm a 19-year-old rising junior at Washington University in St. Louis. I recently switched from the pre-medical track to a psychology major with minors in biology and Spanish. I'm enrolled in two summer school classes, Developmental Psychology and Health Psychology, and for my Health Psychology course, each of us is required to complete a three week health behavior project through which we work to increase the frequency with which we perform a health enhancing behavior or decrease the frequency with which we engage in a health compromising behavior. The area I chose to focus on was exercise, as it has always been a struggle for me and something that I've been very inconsistent with. My goal is to engage in moderate physical activity (walking, yoga, etc.) for 30 mins 5 days per week, and to engage in more strenuous activity (like an exercise class or a gym workout) for 30 mins 2 days per week. Yesterday was Day 1 of the project.
6/22/07
I decided that in order to stick to this project successfully, I needed to enlist some help. In addition, I'm constantly concerned for the health of David, my boyfriend of three years, as he is obese with a BMI of 33. So yesterday afternoon, I explained to him how difficult this project was going to be for me and asked that he join me in it so that we could keep each other accountable. Always eager to please, he agreed, and because he had happened to walk to downtown Albany, NY to run errands yesterday (a 3 mi walk!), he had a head start. Last night I went to dinner with my best friend, and when he left around 8:30 p.m, I headed out for a walk around my condo complex. I was in a good mood, a bit tired from a long day of class/errands/laying out at the pool/dinner with a friend, but looking forward to the productive weekend ahead, and I called David at the beginning of my walk and talked to him throughout it to make the time pass more quickly. I didn't wear a watch but had him time me, and I think that made it go faster because I wasn't constantly looking at a clock. At the end, I was out of breath and sweaty, but felt good about successfully completing Day 1!
6/23/07
Today got my exercise somewhat unintentionally. I'm a bit obsessive about cleaning my apartment, if I do say so myself, so this morning I set out on a cleaning marathon (bathroom, dusting, glass, floors, stove, microwave, sink, counter, dishwashter, laundry, etc.), and after two hours, I was sore and sweating! I think all of that scrubbing the tub and shower DEFINITELY counts as exercise. I could tell I was getting far in excess of my intended thirty minute workout without even having to make time for it! David's been at an amusement park with friends for the day, so I'm sure he's gotten his exercise by walking around the park in the heat all day, but I'll check in with him tonight. The accountability is good for both of us, I think. Hopefully we're working towards building healthy lifestyles that we can pursue together in the future.
6/22/07
I decided that in order to stick to this project successfully, I needed to enlist some help. In addition, I'm constantly concerned for the health of David, my boyfriend of three years, as he is obese with a BMI of 33. So yesterday afternoon, I explained to him how difficult this project was going to be for me and asked that he join me in it so that we could keep each other accountable. Always eager to please, he agreed, and because he had happened to walk to downtown Albany, NY to run errands yesterday (a 3 mi walk!), he had a head start. Last night I went to dinner with my best friend, and when he left around 8:30 p.m, I headed out for a walk around my condo complex. I was in a good mood, a bit tired from a long day of class/errands/laying out at the pool/dinner with a friend, but looking forward to the productive weekend ahead, and I called David at the beginning of my walk and talked to him throughout it to make the time pass more quickly. I didn't wear a watch but had him time me, and I think that made it go faster because I wasn't constantly looking at a clock. At the end, I was out of breath and sweaty, but felt good about successfully completing Day 1!
6/23/07
Today got my exercise somewhat unintentionally. I'm a bit obsessive about cleaning my apartment, if I do say so myself, so this morning I set out on a cleaning marathon (bathroom, dusting, glass, floors, stove, microwave, sink, counter, dishwashter, laundry, etc.), and after two hours, I was sore and sweating! I think all of that scrubbing the tub and shower DEFINITELY counts as exercise. I could tell I was getting far in excess of my intended thirty minute workout without even having to make time for it! David's been at an amusement park with friends for the day, so I'm sure he's gotten his exercise by walking around the park in the heat all day, but I'll check in with him tonight. The accountability is good for both of us, I think. Hopefully we're working towards building healthy lifestyles that we can pursue together in the future.
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