Blog Archives

Consistency.

1/16/2017

With an active lifestyle and eating really healthy in-between cheating last weekend I actually managed to lose weight. I am officially down 10 pounds. In the image above I am the black line and a coworker (who will remain nameless to avoid deep, deep shame) is the green. This competition sure is motivating. I will continue to weigh in every day at work to track my progress. Honestly not ever weigh in alone shows an accurate weight depending on the time of day you weigh in but if can show progress and allows you to see how you lifestyle and decision making affect your health.

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Cheating on the Weekend

1/15/2017

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Yep. Last weekend I cheated. Friday me and the roommates had a cheat dinner. Breakfast burrito, chicken and waffles, homemade pop-tart, beer, and a crazy good peanut butter cake baked by the amazing Helen. Even though all these things were split with other people I did feel guilty eating what I did. This week I wont cheat to make up for it. On a good note I got to spend a lot of time with my Eisley and Rosie over the weekend & it filled my heart with so much joy.

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Road to 200

1/12/2017

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Me and a coworker have a fun little competition to see who can get to 200 lbs first (our weight loss goal is lower than 200). So of course I designed a chart because all the charts online look stupid. Also I lost 7 lbs in 11 days so I'm on the right track!

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Catching Up

1/10/2017

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So about that committing to posting everyday last week thing… Between work, a friend coming in from China, and a trip to New York I got a little tied up. I didn’t make the most healthy decisions in New York over the weekend, however, I didn’t go over board. I just need to hit the gym hard this week. I still feel much better waking up in the morning. I actually am feeling excited as I sit on the train back to Baltimore because I know I will get to jump back into my routine. I am almost as excited as I was to execute a spontaneous trip to Brooklyn (my new favorite place to visit in the US).

Some places that were dope:

Reynard
Brooklyn Brewery
Fette Sau
Spuyten Duyvil
Bakeri
Kinfolk
MoMA (their gift shops were sick)
Shops in Williamsburg (too many to remember)
Central Park helping a 60+ year old Chinese lady (while speaking only Chinese)

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Tired.

1/5/2017

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Today I woke up tired and remained so most of the day. Not sure if it was the groggy weather coupled with the gentle, melodic falsetto of Arron Marsh, or me just being exhausted from working out at 6am five days in a row. I sure hope I find more energy tomorrow. Sometimes you just need to be a melancholy emo kid and grunt out design work at your desk with your hood up all day.

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Health: Routine (continued)

1/4/2017

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Continuing my weekly intention of practicing a routine, I have successfully been stretching before and after my morning work outs everyday. This morning started a little earlier than normal (5:45am) but I still had lots of energy immediately after waking up. I met my friend Ellis for coffee this morning after the gym. I could tell I was able to focus more on the conversation. Even having to be creative and come up with some ideas came easier than normal. My overall mental state has changed drastically.

Maintaining the same healthy eating habits is a huge part of breaking into a routine for me. Olivia has to be one of the best cooks I know and is continuously killin' it with every meal. She is tied with Blake for best roomie for sure. Eating small veggie/fruit snacks through out the day is keeping me energized and feeling great.

These blog posts are also a routine I am committing to this week. I will surly not post every single day during my year of intentional living, however, to get in the habit of posting frequently I'll be doing this everyday during my first week.

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Health: Routine

1/3/2017

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Part of this intention is going to really clash with my life style. I am a very spontaneous person. I stay up very late and have lots of trouble waking up in the morning. Sometimes during the day i’ll have boosts of energy and other times I feel completely drained. I am committing to be in bed by 10:45pm every night and hopefully asleep by 11pm. I will be putting my iPhone away around 10pm and avoiding screens to allow my brain to start shutting down. Another practice I picked up in China because most Chinese do this is showering at night. I always used to just shower in the morning before I went off to work but doing this at night feels so good. Crawling into bed nice and clean helps me fall asleep.

Waking up at 6am and heading straight to the gym every morning is tough but doing it with Blake makes it a lot easier. It makes me more motivated. Its easier to cancel plans with myself, but I am more likely to keep plans if they are with someone else. Workouts are more fun with a partner too. Especially with someone as competitive as he is.

So between showering before bed, a set sleep schedule, putting down the phone, and hitting the gym before the sun comes up every day (besides Sundays) I will maintain a healthy routine.

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January: Health

1/2/2017

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This months intention will be Health. This is something I have abused a lot last year. I traveled more than ever before and did not make healthy decisions when it came time to eat. Over the passed 4 years I’ve lost 55 pounds and gained about 45 pounds back. This intention is special to me because one of my best friends, and roommate Blake will be joining me. We will be on a strict diet his wife Olivia helped come up with and she cooks all the time and is super duper awesome. Going through this with my brother is really important to me as this is the area I struggle the most in. Eating well is not the only part of this intention. I will be focusing on being more physical in my everyday routine. I joined the YMCA with Blake & Olivia. Blake and I will go every morning at 6am. This morning was my first time waking up that early to go to the gym and I felt so energized afterwards. As Blake and I were walking to my car I noticed the sun wasn’t even up yet. Accomplishing something even so small as completing a work out before the sun is up feels more rewarding than I expected. In addition to going to the gym near my place in the city I joined a gym next to my office in Rosedale. A bunch of my coworkers go to the same gym and twice a week a core group goes. We call them “Too Swoll Tuesdays” and “Thigh Burnin’ Thursdays” (thank you Matt for the alliteration).

Some other focuses this month include picking entire weeks to practice Meditation & Yoga.

Intentional Eating Plan

No:

Gluten
Sugar
Dairy
Grains
Red Meat
Whisky
Beer

Yes:

Fruit
Veggies
Chicken
Fish
Natural Sugars

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The Year Of Intentional Living (2017)

1/2/2017

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I am choosing to make 2017 my year of intentional living. I’d like to think this is a practice that is always present in my life, however, this year I will go about it a different way. Inspired by my friend Amelia I will be choosing one intention per month to practice and share with everyone via social media. Forcing myself to share and even go as far as changing my profile picture on Facebook to align with what I'm practicing that month not only holds me accountable, but will hopefully inspire someone else just like I was. This will be the biggest project I have ever set out to accomplish and if I can manage to pull this off it will change the way I live in every aspect. Some months I will focus on specific parts of the intension to really zero in and drill down to areas I never thought I could go.

A lot has built up to this project. Last year I traveled to 8 countries and 34 different cities, flew in an airplane 74 times, got out of a 3 year relationship, moved three times (2 times abroad), learned a second language, played music with countless people all over the world, and made new friendships that will last a lifetime and strengthened others. I learned more about myself in 2016 than any other year I've been alive. I plan to make 2017 the most important year of my life. I moved in with my friends Blake & Olivia in Baltimore, Maryland and this is where I begin my year of intentional living journey.

2016 in review:

Places I Visited:

Shanghai, China
Guangzhou, China
Suzhou, China
Shenzhen, China
Xiamen, China
Foshan, China
Xingtai, China
Shijiazhuang, China
Beijing, China
Nanjing, China
Hong Kong
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Phú Quốc, Vietnam
Mũi Né, Vietnam
Taipei, Taiwan
Taichung, Taiwan
Tainan, Taiwan
Seoul, South Korea
Paris, France
Toronto, Canada

U.S.
Baltimore, MD
Lexington, KY
Louisville, KY
Nashville, TN
Maxwelton, WV
Leesburg, VA
Fairfax, VA
New York, NY
Outer Banks, NC
Philadelphia, PA
Cherry Hill, NJ
Washington, DC
Los Angeles, CA

Albums that Impacted me in 2016:

Bon Iver - “22 A Million”
The Japanese House - “Pools To Bathe In” & “Clean”
Radiohead - “A Moon Shaped Pool”
Copeland - “Ixora”
Sufjan Stevens - “Carrie & Lowell”
Deakin - “Sleep Cycle”
Paul McCartney - “Ram”
My Bloody Valentine - “Loveless”

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Consistency.

Cheating on the Weekend

Road to 200

Catching Up

Tired.

Health: Routine (continued)

Health: Routine

January: Health

The Year Of Intentional Living (2017)

Jody Lee Oliver

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