Countdown.

Starting weight: 188.0

Current weight: 174.3

Goal weight: ~140.0

First off, holy crap. I didn't realize I lost that much weight. I feel lighter but not that much. I think I may need to get a new scale because when I first stepped on it it said 170.4 and I gasped. I stepped on it 3 more times and I got 174.3. Maybe it was just trying to fool me :P it is really nice to see my hard work is paying off. I just need to start adding more protein to my diet because I am TIRED all the time. I find that I'm more flexible and that I don't get fatigued as easily during workouts. Doing DDP Yoga on the days I'm not boxing has really been a huge help. 

In six days I'm getting LASIK. I am so incredibly excited and nervous and terrified all at once.

I am excited because I've been wearing glasses since I was about 5 years old. I've been wanting this surgery since I was like 7 when I first heard about it. I am SO ready to be glasses-free!

I'm nervous because I'm not looking forward to the post-op period. My friend Misfit Librarian recently had the procedure done and reading about her's and others' experience during recovery does not sound fun to me. I'm not looking forward to not being able to drive at night for a little while either.

I'm terrified because it is a surgical procedure and things can go wrong and there can always be complications. And especially because it's on my eyes, it's not something I really want to mess around with. But the fact of the matter is, if I want to have a shot at being an LEO, I need to get my eyes fixed. 

But I know everything will be fine. What's going to suck is my friend KJ is coming to visit next weekend and she's staying with me. When I scheduled my surgery, I didn't realize it was the day before we're supposed to go to NJ for the Pro- Wrestling Syndicate show. We're also going to Queens that afternoon to meet Bret Hart. I can probably drive that afternoon but she's going to have to drive to Jersey because I know I won't be able to drive home at night. 

Tonight I'm (hopefully) going to NYWC if it doesn't snow too hard. We'll see. 

Happy Saturday!

Aye Eye.

I scheduled a consultation appointment for LASIK for Thursday evening.
I'm incredibly excited. I've wanted this operation since middle school when I first heard about it. I've been wearing glasses since I was about 5 years old. I am the only one in my family who's ever needed glasses so young, besides my aunt who was born deaf and with Usher Syndrome.
I am incredibly nervous too. Because my vision has always been so impaired, I've always been incredibly sensitive when it comes to taking care of my eyes. I am absolutely petrified of having this operation because if there's complications, it's my vision. I can't imagine living a live where I can't see (well, less than I already can). But no matter how nervous I am, if I want to go into the law enforcement field, I have to get it done because my eyesight is too poor to pass any vision test they will give.

In other news, I'm about 99% sure that I passed my physical fitness exam for Customs & Border Protection on Monday! I took the day off from work (well, I "worked from home" so I still got paid), and headed down to one of the hangers at JFK. I was there for about 2 hours. Their vision test was very basic and I was wearing my contact lenses, so I'll probably be getting a letter shortly, stating that I need to have an independent eye exam and send them the results. But anyway, I had a vision test, a hearing test, then an EKG with a basic physical. When the doctor came in to read the EKG she asked me, "Wow, you exercise often don't you?" And I replied, "Well like 2 - 3 days a week." "High intensity?" "Yes, for an hour each session." She goes, "I can tell. You have a low resting heart rate." I was really happy when I heard that!

Then came the physical fitness test.  The room I was in was actually a physical therapy room, and there were two people there receiving their treatments. They were nice. The first section was push ups--the one exercise that I have a lot of trouble doing. I've never had a lot of upper body strength, and since I weigh on the closer side to 200 lbs., I obviously can't support my body weight with my upper body. So these are difficult for me. I was really afraid I was going to fail this section. I needed a minimum of 12 to pass, and I cranked out 20! I couldn't believe it! Then came sits ups and I passed that. Then there was a "lift/lower" test where I had to pick up a crate with 50 lbs. of weight in it off the floor and set it on the table a total of 8 times. I did that with ease. Then came the agility part where I had to side touch three separate taped lines on the floor. It's hard to explain but I basically had to shuffle side-to-side without turning my torso. It reminded of the exercises the football team would do in high school. Thankfully, I do this sort of "shuffle" in kickboxing every week so I aced that.

 And then FINALLY, it was the dreaded "Step test." For five minutes straight, I had to step up onto and down off of an exercise step at the rate of 120 bpm. That's about a light jogging pace. There first two and a half minutes went fine. Then my legs started cramping. The next minute and a half was TORTURE. I was almost crying and I actually started yelling to myself, "C'mon! Keep going!" The patients in the room with me were cheering me on too! I pushed hard through the last 30 seconds and finished strong. I was so happy I passed! After my leg stopped feeling like jelly, I went downstairs and called my mom and Kerstin. I get an official letter in the mail in about 3 - 4 weeks but I am sure that I did it!

DDP Yoga Challenge Initial Post. Goals.

I registered for the DDP Yoga Challenge today.
I'll be tagging posts related to the challenge as "#ddpyogachallenge" so you can follow along.
I may create a couple of videos to show my progress and a little background.
You can find out more about the challenge here.


My Goals:
I have several goals that I hope to achieve through DDP Yoga

1 - Lose weight. I am currently around 185 lbs. And while I may not look like it or feel like it, this number needs to come down. Thankfully, I am very healthy and I wish to stay that way.

2 - Gain strength. In order to pass the physical fitness exams, I need to have a certain amount of strength which I currently don't have. Push-ups, sitting, and running are common in these types of tests. Hopefully, blogging about it well help me not only keep track of my progress in these areas, but also encourage to work just a little bit harder every time.

3 - Have a better diet. I'll be honest--my current diet right now is complete garbage. And I believe it's one of the main reasons why I am tired all the time. I need my energy back and one way to do this is to eat right.

4 - Learn to de-stress. I have heard that yoga is one way to learn how to control your breathing and stress levels. It helps you clear your mind. This is something I struggle with CONSTANTLY. DDP Yoga appealed to me because not only does it help you build your strength and increase your flexibility, but it helps you focus on your breathing and has the de-stressing benefits of Yoga.

I especially need that last one because my life the past two and a half years have been incredibly stressful. I was in a relationship with an emotionally abusive and selfish partner who was not nearly as supportive as he should have been, when I moved back home to get away from him, I became a caretaker for my grandmother who was terminally ill. Then about a month after she passed away, my family and I lost our home and everything we had in Hurricane Sandy. The past year since the storm has been wretched, between fighting with insurance companies, to trying to find a place to live, to trying to scrape enough money to rebuild our home and move on with our lives. Because of all of these things I have let myself and my body fall by the wayside. I am finally ready to change that and take charge of my health. I believe I can achieve these goals through DDP Yoga. My next post will have some before photos and possibly video.