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Law School--Outlines/Notes

It's not fun!

Here are my outlines/notes and the grades I got in each class. Hamline is a tier 3 school with an emphasis on ADR. Hopefully, that set of facts should help you decide whether my outlines/notes will do you any good or not.

I refer to Mike Shecket in my notes a lot (http://lawschool.mikeshecket.com). His stuff is very helpful.

Outlines/Notes:
Contracts I - B
Contracts II - C+
Civil Procedure I - B
Civil Procedure II - B
Con Law I
Criminal Law - B+
Criminal Procedure I - B+
Mediation - B
Property
Torts I - B+

Triathlons--Fall/Winter Training - Week Five

Monday, I swam. I didn't have my workout written on my arm so I had to do it by memory. I didn't do quite enough, but I was close.

I've fallen off the bandwagon. I get back on with week five this week.

Triathlons--Fall/Winter Training - Week Four

Monday, I swam instead of Wednesday. I'm going to start using Wednesdays as my break.

Tuesday, I strength trained and watched TBL.

Wednesday, I'm taking the day off and playing kickball.

Thursday, I don't remember.

Friday, I ran.

Saturday, I don't remember.

Sunday, I biked for 30 minutes.

Health--Kim Lyons: Calories, Portions and When/How Often to Eat

Kim Lyons talks about portions.

Here's an article by Kim discussing a good way to measure portions and learning to listen to your body. I can't do this yet, though I'm getting better. After three years, I still need to track my calories, so I don't think it's for everyone right away. But eventually, it should be something we all strive for!

Triathlons--Fall/Winter Training - Week Three

Monday, I went for a nice bike ride to Lake Como. My ankles were sore the next day.

Tuesday, I strength trained. I went out and bought 20 pound dumbbells. I'm going to feel that tomorrow...

Wednesday, I ran instead. Woke up too late to swim!

Thursday, I was in Iowa.

Friday, I was in Iowa.

Saturday, I was tired from being in Iowa.

Sunday, I biked according to the plan and ran two miles.

Health--Kim Lyons: The Importance of Water

Water is really important to weight loss, and Kim reiterates that point in this article.

The Importance of Water

Making a Change

In the photos to the left, I weighed 236 pounds. That was in 2005. That was the height of my weight gain.

In the photos to the right, taken August/September 2008, I weighed approximately 160 pounds, a 76 pound difference. I have achieved what I set out to do--essentially, to obtain a healthy body and a better hip to waist ratio.

Although I still desire to lose about 15-20 more pounds, the hardest part is over--the part where I had to convince myself that I could do it.

The part where I failed, then got back up and tried again. And again.

The part where I, in the process of nearly three years, found out who I really was.

For any nerds/geeks or anyone in general who would like tips from someone who lost a great deal of weight and has been able to keep it off for this long, please leave me a comment here in this entry! If I get enough questions, I can start a tab on this site where I answer them!

That being said, I'm no fitness expert or doctor or anything like that. I'm just someone who did it. I don't have any gimmicks or magic pills. Just encouragement and hard facts that you can find in multitudes of books. But I managed to put them together in a way that works and would love to help others out!

My first tips are:

  • Register at SparkPeople.com. I lost nearly 30 pounds using this site. It's free!
  • Drink half your body weight in water in fluid ounces. I actually try to drink 100 fl. oz. a day. That keeps me from retaining excess body water.
  • Write down EVERYTHING you eat! Journal it! See where your calories are coming from! There are some good books out there with calorie contents in everything--but SparkPeople has a database and a good nutrition journal which is easy to use!
  • Find a supportive community. Find a friend to help or to join. Get a cheerleading squad! Use forums (like those at SparkPeople!). People who have support and use forums have more success in losing weight.

Find someone who inspires you and print out photos of them. I have pictures of Princess Leia and Jillian Michaels everywhere. I'm not even joking. One of my goals is to eventually sport a gold bikini! And Jillian Michaels is pretty much my hero. I adore her. You can also hang up inspirational quotes on your fridge or on your bathroom mirror. Put things in places that will keep you motivated and remind you why you're doing this. Maybe pictures of your kids, or your dog, or whatever!

Changing is hard and you have to want it, because if you don't, you'll give up. You have to decide that you love yourself enough to make the change for a healthier you. The first hurdles are hard, but if you can get over them and establish healthy habits, it gets easier from there.

So, please feel free to leave any questions in the comments here or email me at susi@gmail.com!

Health--Battle of the Pumpkin Coffees

This fall, two coffee shops have pumpkin flavored drinks. There's Starbucks' classic "Pumpkin Spice Latte" and Caribou Coffee’s "Wild Pumpkin".

I have always been a long-time fan of Starbucks' version. It's the stuff my dreams are made of. I can manage a small (tall, 12 oz.) serving with nonfat dairy and whipped cream for 260 calories. Take off the whip and the drink drops to 200 calories. Not bad for something that is SO DELICIOUS.

I tried Caribou's version just today and when I first tasted it, I wondered, where's the pumpkin? There's no pumpkin flavor to it aside from a soft after note. They describe it as "a masterful mix of pumpkin, spice, white chocolate, espresso and cream that's like pumpkin pie right out of the oven" but to me, it's more of a "high in fat & calories concoction that remotely tastes like pumpkin".

Caribou's version, in their smallest serving (which is a medium, 16 oz.--they don't allow you to get a small, 12 oz., in their "fancy" drinks), has 600 calories and 23 grams of fat. Starbucks' Grande (16 oz.) version of their drink with whole milk STILL has less at 17! I got the bugger with nonfat milk, so that probably shaved off 20 or 30 calories and some grams of fat, but even then, the drink is simply NOT worth having!

I can go to Starbucks and get the tastier version of their drink in a 16 oz. serving with skim milk and whip and it still only weighs in at 330 calories and 7 grams of fat. Even with whole milk, the same drink is 410 calories. More than I care for, but yet less than Caribou.

So if it’s a pumpkin coffee you’re craving this fall, head for Starbucks.

Triathlons--Fall/Winter Training - Week Two

Monday, I have off today! Yay!

Tuesday, I strength trained.

Wednesday, I ran instead of swimming.

Thursday, I did nothing.

Friday, I swam.

Saturday, I strength trained.

Sunday, I jump roped but did not bike.

Health--Kim Lyons: Sugar

Understanding Sugars

Here is an article from former The Biggest Loser trainer Kim Lyons about how sugar affects your body, where it hides, and how you can break your dependence on it.

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