Loving Long Beach

I am having a love affair with the city I live in, Long Beach, CA. Not only have I lived here for the last 17 years, but I don't see myself wanting to go anywhere in the near future.

There are so many fascinating parts to this city from its cultural diversity to it's tourist areas. From the museums to the playhouses. From the galleries to the painted electrical boxes on the streets.

Long Beach is a college town, my college town. It is full of young people with fresh ideas and angst. It is full of old people with memories and wisdom. Even the skyline is a combination of old and new.

And the best part is Long Beach's dedication to all things green.

We have recently been given our own bike paths in the downtown retail and residential areas. The paths are freshly laid and separated from the car lanes with a five inch curb. We have beach bike paths that are clean and fresh. And if there is not a class l path, there are ll & lll class lanes that are wide and safe.

The beach path leads to the LA river path. You can go from beaches to marshes to river beds. After a day on the trails there are many watering holes and great restaurants. And after dinner there are clubs for music or comedy or a movie. And there are so many shopping opportunities, with small boutiques to souvenir shops to WalMart.

My favorite thing to do in Long Beach is to ride my Trikke. I can get on it and just go. Anywhere. And so I introduce a new feature to the blog, JT loves LB. Look forward to pics of Long Beach from the point of view of a Trikke enthusiast, me.

What's up

A friend and I gave birth to an online magazine called TrikkeWorld Magazine.

I figured I should announce it to my faithful readers. Especially since my hit counter said no one even visited this site last week! So sad.

I have written so much about the Trikke and its wonderful benefits on my blog. I will continue to do so. And yet it's fun to look back at how the whole affair began. It really started back in 2009 when my same friend saw an infomercial in the middle of the night. From that came my love affair with my Trikke.

Most toys I get I grow tired of pretty quickly, but not the Trikke. Even as my one year anniversary approached I still was loving my Trikke.

Sometimes the funniest things are heard while trikking like it's too hard. It is not. The only other thing I can say about that is it's one fun ride. And it's not too hard.

Like anything the Trikke takes some getting used to, but it is so worth the trouble. And trouble is not the right word. The right word is trust. As you get used to riding the Trikke you develop trust. When that happens it truly is one fun ride!

Back on Track

Since I lost focus on my weight loss journey, I have had to recommit and refocus. And it is working! I am almost back to where I was last July, which was my lowest point, weight wise.

I got sidetracked with Zone Perfect bars and later just junk food and the holidays. It is so easy to lose focus. And of course, if something is good, well more of it must be better. Right? Wrong!

Sometimes I wonder if I really have it in me to lose weight. I am like a junkie when it comes to sugary, greasy foods. I try to introduce more colors into my diet, then I just don't feel hungry. I don't eat what was planned. This is where I mess up. I cannot plan my meals because I am a "what do I feel like eating" kind of person.

Back where I was last year at this time I was wondering if I should do the lap band thing or try again to curtail my sugar jones. I really don't want to do the lap band thing. Not just yet. So I will try again. Not starting over, that's not what this is about. It's about eating as well as I can... one day at a time.

And as long as I keep trying again there is hope. It's like a problem I need to solve. I'll just keep at it until I get it right.

The Sweetest Spot

 During my trikking history, I have found what seem to be many illusive sweet spots. Today was the ultimate! Firstly I should define the "sweet spot" for the non-trikking unfortunates out there.

The sweet spot refers to when all the trikking actions along with your body are working in unison to propel the Trikke forward. It is sort of spiritual with the right and left brain functioning at the same time and crossing meridians and such. I don't have those details down yet.

So back to the bike path. I have been really fighting with the Trikke. That is not the way to ride. I was trikking in this hula-hoop fashion which feels like a circle eight of the body. I was really working it. And it was working me. Unbelievably,  there were sweet spots within that framework. That is the magic of the Trikke.

I watched a video on YouTube that showed me a different way to ride, the correct way. I should be "pulling" the trike from side to side across the front of my body. And while doing that, turning the handlebars from side to side, almost slightly.

It is momentum in action. I turn and whip the Trikke around that centrifugal force field. And whip around again. I don't have to work so hard, and I now know where the rock and roll in the slogan comes from. It all works so well when you work it right.

Procrastination is a dirty word

My middle name is Procrastinator. If I can put a chore off, well, I do. There are so few things in my world that need immediate attention. And so a very bad habit has developed.

And yet this cannot continue. Things are piling up around my ears. If I don't stop procrastinating I will drop into the much scarier world of hoarding.

The prospect of becoming a hoarder has made me more aware of my bad habit of putting everything off. It's a vicious cycle. There is something that is so sad about hoarders. And yet, I am beginning to understand the illness.

It springs from the feeling of "not enough." I can understand the feeling of not enough. I come from that family. I was conditioned to believe there was not enough from an early age. My mother confided in me as a child. "Where are we going to get the money for...?" was a familiar theme. And then she would lite another cigarette.

As an adult, I function under the prospect of not enough. There certainly is not enough money to last a month. And from that, all else springs. With that in mind, I tend to hold onto things I may need in the future. The thing is, I never seem to need exactly what I save.

Now is the time to take that leap of faith. I can let go of some of my unused items. I will be able to provide everything I need. And I have everything I need right now, in this moment.

And so a new goal is born -- winter cleaning!

Resolution for 2011 -- set goals!

My new year's resolutions will have nothing to do with being a better person or to stop smoking -- after all, I already quit smoking last year, which made me a better person. My resolutions will be much more specific than that. So is that a goal then?

I could resolve to eat better, but my goal is to lose weight. Or, I could resolve to get outside more, but my goal of trikking often would get that done. And when I  trikke, I really am enjoying the great outdoors to the fullest.

So, which do I do? Announce my resolutions, or set my goals?

Goals are more than resolutions. Goals are something we plan out and tackle one little bit at a time. The plan is charted out and the road is mapped. Goals are something we look at daily, and check off each step along the way.

Resolutions are much broader and are a very public thing. We boast about them during the holidays. And resolutions give us reason to splurge until January one. "I'll eat now and make a resolution at the beginning of the year."

Goals are much more private. Plus, we don't boast about setting a goal, we only boast when achieving that goal. So goals are more personal than resolutions.

And we all know that resolutions last only as long as the crowds in the gym.

To Those I've Snubbed

Back in the day, when I was young, beautiful and thin, I was very unapproachable. I watched, as a child, those old movies from the 1930's when women rebuffed the advances of men. Back when women were hard to get. Unfortunately, I never learned that was just fiction.

In real life I was one lonely, beautiful, young and thin woman. Guys didn't respond like in the movies. If I didn't smile at them, well, they didn't think, "oh, challenge." They thought "oh, bitch," and moved on to the next less beautiful yet friendly woman. I would think he's just not the one. Or I would console myself with "I'm out of his league" and I would go on to refuse to dance with the next guy who asked.

This all hit home for me the other day when I was talking to someone I thought was cute. He was not interested, he wouldn't even look me in the eyes as we spoke. Well, I thought, he could have at least been nice.

The years have leveled the playing field. I realize with my now imperfect packaging that even though someone might not have the best look, great gifts come in all kinds of wrappings.

Silly Willa

There is something about a paper bag...

... that makes Jake want to get
cozy.

My Friend, the Diet

I have decided to befriend the diet. I may as well. If I want to get anywhere with my weight loss goal, I must befriend the diet. There are no options. If I want to lose weight I must play by her rules. Period.

I have tried eating healthier foods--protein bars instead of candy bars, yogurt instead of ice cream and nuts instead of chips, etc., etc. Yet it all comes down to counting calories. I can exercise all day long, but if I don't cut calories my efforts are for naught.

With all that said I must also admit that I have been eating myself into plateau land. I have been hovering around 250 for four or five months now. The truth is I am not on a plateau, I am eating too many calories! I'm tired of it.

I am also tired of shopping for a few healthy alternatives then blow the effort by eating them all in one night. Yes, in one night. That won't work well even with healthier options.

I have come to realize that I can eat banana splits all day as long as it's under 1800 calories per day. I just won't feel my best. So, the only secret to losing weight is 1800 calories a day. There are some "buts" though.

Eat 1800 calories BUT only 30% should be from fats. Eat 1800 calories BUT get enough protein BUT it's got to be lean protein. Eat from the food pyramid BUT be careful of servings from the upper levels of the pyramid. It always comes down to that.

In my opinion, people who are overweight are diet masters, they just don't act on what they know. I'm crossing over to the other side. I'm ready for the next level of thin-ness to take over my life. I'm ready for the next step, which is (can you guess?) no more than 1800 calories per day!

I will refocus on my diet/food plan and I will report it here... I am now a friend of the diet. And she is a friend to me.