The First Steps

I worked out earlier today.  Until a couple of weeks ago, I hadn't lifted in probably over a year.  When I was at my old job, more of a 9-to-5 with a 10 minute commute, I was doing P90X, pretty regularly.  Now, I don't have the time to work out for an hour-hour and a half every day.  I could do it on weekends, and maybe I still will start trying to do some of the exercises on weekends.  We'll see.

And yes, I know people say "I don't have time" is an excuse.  Well, maybe it is.  But right now, I know I'm not going to be able to be back to working out every day, or even most of the week.  But I will get in workouts when I can.  Made a smoothie afterwards - soy milk, peanut butter, bananas, and ice.  Simple, but delicious.  I bought protein powder earlier, but forgot to include it.  Still delicious, and somewhat sadly it was one of the things that actually motivated me to start working out.  They're that good.

Now, to dinner.  I wanted to make something healthy (ordering take-out would be a bad way to start this...).  I went grocery shopping earlier, and made a point to just pick up healthy ingredients.  I also wanted to make sure I had enough different flavors going on so I didn't get...well, bored.  We'll see if it works. 

Without further ado, here is the first meal - arugula salad with blue cheese, walnuts, blueberries, and roast chicken breast (marinated in a lo-fat raspberry vinagrette and some random spices I had in my cabinet - chili powder, garlic powder, lemon pepper, and salt).  Sounds complex, and fancy, but very simple.  The only cooking involved was roasting the chicken.  I love using marinades whenever I can to add a little bit more flavor.  I used half the chicken breast for the salad, and I figure I'll save the rest for something tomorow...

And yes, I had a beer with the salad.  Seems counterproductive.  But better than having a beer with deep-fried buffalo wings (which I do love, by the way, and I will still eat once in awhile).  It's all about baby steps.

It was good - I really liked how the chicken turned out.  I wasn't a big fan of the raspberry viniagrette - I may try a balsamic or red wine viniagrette next time.  But still, a decently healthy meal.

The beginning of the journey

I'm a 27 year old attorney, and in the field I am in and the company I work for, it is a 24/7/365 job.  I'm also a part-time graduate student pursuing a masters degree.  My office is an hour away from where I live, and I do that commute every day.

That is not to brag, or complain, or to invoke sympathy.  Those are the facts, and to provide context.

Needless to say, I do not have a whole lot of free time.  With my schedule, I've noticed my overall health, and wellness, gradually deteriorate.  I feel like I've felt it for awhile, and have done periodic, one-off things to try to improve, but never really committed to it.  But over the last couple of weeks, I've realized it is time for a change.

Why now?

Over the last month or two, I've had the front button fall off two pairs of my pants.  Now, I've had these pants for a few years now, and they weren't exactly the highest quality to begin with.  But still, it bothered me.  But the culmination was this past week.  I bought a pair of jeans last week in my normal size - and admittedly, they were tighter, skinnier jeans.  The first time I wore them, there was a tear right under the back pocket.  Now, that could have been a coincidence as well...but three times in the last couple of months was too much to be a coincidence.  If it wasn't a sign, I decided to take it as one.

When I went today to buy a new pair of jeans, they didn't have my size, but they did have one waist size bigger.  I bought them, but the rest of the afternoon I was thinking one thing.

I have to make a change.

No one wakes up one day and finds themself horribly out of shape, or obese, or not as healthy as they would like.  It happens gradually, over a period of time.  I've noticed it - I am 15 pounds heavier than I was approximately a year and a half ago.  I'm not relying solely on numbers, and I don't think anyone who looks at me would think I'm out of shape.  In fact, most would probably wish they were in as good shape as I was, but that's not my point.  I see the downward spiral coming, and I know that if I don't stop and take steps now.

I'm not committing to a certain weight, or even certain weekly goals.  I don't want to set goals, and then get discouraged when I don't achieve them.  What I am going to commit to is a gradual lifestyle change.

Does this mean I'm going to give up everything I enjoy?  Absolutely not.  I enjoy having a beer or two after work or with dinner, and I will still probably do that, if I'm in the mood for it.  I'm still going to go out and eat sandwiches for lunch once in awhile.  But if I can gradually introduce some healthier meals into my diet, and exercise when I can, it's a step in the right direction.  Eventually I will move closer to my office, and I will have more time to exercise - but I'm not going to wait until that happens to start down this journey.

So why the name, and why the blog?  Well, "Starlight Seraph" has been my screen name since middle school, back in the days of the old AOL Instant Messenger.  I've always liked it...there is no particular meaning behind it, but now I sort of identify myself with it.  Perhaps over time, I'll find more meaning in it, and in the name of the blog.

I decided to do the blog as a way of tracking my journey over time.  I'll try to post recipes, ideas, whatever happens to come across my mind.  I'm not looking for sympathy, support, etc...but I do believe in paying it forward, and I hope that someone who reads this will be inspired, whether it's through what I'm doing or just thinks one of the recipes looks good and wants to try. 

And so it begins.