Running with Ginger: 1

I want to introduce you to Ginger, my ever faithful running buddy. Ginger comes with me on every run. Sometimes she's on my right and sometimes she's on my left. Hey, I don't want to get an armband tan.

Ginger, in case you were wondering, is my iPhone.

Throughout our runs, Ginger and I have sampled a number of different running apps. I want to take today to review one of those apps with you!

Today's app is Zombies, Run!.

Zombies, Run! is one part game, one part running app. I'm not normally into the whole zombie thing but this app is addictive. I mean, seriously addictive.

The basic premise is that you're in post-zombie apocalypse England. You're one of the few remaining humans and in order to keep your township, Able Township, alive you have to run missions. Turns out gas stations aren't that common in post-zombie apocalypse England.

The first mission you complete is called Jolly Alpha Five Niner. This mission provides you a very sketchy overview of the game. You also receive your identity while running the mission; from that point forward you get to be Runner 5. Several of the other key characters are introduced in this mission.  If you successfully complete the mission, you unlock more missions to run in the future.

Cons

There are a few things I dislike about the app.

Foremost is the fact that you can't really see your runs after you complete them. You get a brief screen that details how far you ran, how long it took you and what your average pace was. But once you exist that screen you don't get to see it again unless you take a picture of it. I would love to compare past runs but I just don't have that option if I forget to get a screen cap the instant I finish.

Second, I dislike the fact that you don't really know how long a mission is going to be before you start out on it. At the same time, I do like that about the app. It keeps you more on your toes and invested in the game instead of just getting through the miles or time allotted to the mission. It does make planning rather difficult so make sure to clear plenty of time for your run.

Pros

There are a couple of things I love about this app.

First, the zombie chases. Oh my goodness. These are so fun.  Periodically, and largely without warning, you get chased by zombies. The app will tell you how close the zombies are to you and the zombie noises grow louder and louder. The zombie noises are unbelievably realistic; they almost frighten me at times. The best part of the chases? If you don't actually run faster the zombies close in on you. There were a few times where I've had to break into a dead sprint to outrun the zombies, or zoms as the game refers to them. If you'd rather not have the chases on, you can turn them off. Do heed the app and watch out for traffic while running. I have to admit I've been so desperate to run away from the zoms that I almost ran over people on the street. I know. It's embarrassing.

That leads me to another favorite aspect of the app: how involved it is. The app is truly a complete package. It's not just random zombie chases. The creators do a really good job of creating an entire story line that you invest in as you run. For example, I adore Sam. Sam is the communications operator in the game so he's the one you hear from the most. The app also doesn't reveal everything about the characters up front. I'm still not sure who I am or who sent me to Abel Township. I think I may actually be a bad guy which makes me nervous. The sound effects are amazing which also keeps you invested.

My third favorite thing is related to the second: you don't know when Sam or another character is going to break in or when the zoms are going to show up. You can incorporate your own music into the app. If you chose to do so, when a character isn't speaking to you or you aren't being chased the app will play tracks from your chosen playlist. Sometimes you'll go for several songs and almost forget that you're running a mission. Other times tehy break in frequently. It all keeps you on your toes so that you never get too comfortable or bored with the app.

Fourth, the runs are all different. Not only is your mission different, the lengths and distances are different as well. Some are longer and more intense, others are easier. Like in my third favorite thing about the app, this keeps you from experiencing too much boredom while running.

Miscellaneous

The app has an option for running indoors on a treadmill. Unfortunately I don't think the chases work on a treadmill. I haven't actually tried it out yet so I can't say much about how well this feature works.

As you run, you collect supplies to bring back to the township. You don't have to do anything about these objects but when you finish you can distribute them around the camp and increase the size of your township.

Conclusion

I highly recommend this app. I LOVE it. Yes it's $8. But trust me--it's worth every penny. The app is best suited for those who are less concerned with tracking every single mile, every single split, etc. If you're interested in keeping your runs exciting and playful I recommend Zombies, run! for you!

three.

Y'all.

This week? It's insane.

And not just because I started a new blog and a new healthy eating plan (I refuse to call it a diet but that's a discussion for its own post).

Other than the panel in place of my normal class, Monday was fairly normal. I came home from my last class and thought, I'll make a smoothie! I hadn't had my snack for the day so I thought that would make the perfect time. I pulled out my blender and in went all the ingredients. Feeling pleased as punch I pressed blend.

"Whir whir whir!" the blender said a little too loudly. Seriously though. That thing is deafening. When it's running you could drop an atomic bomb and I wouldn't hear it.

Then the blender said "clunk. Clunk. Clunk." Then silence. Absolute, utter silence. Even my parakeets were quiet. If you've ever owned parakeets you know how rare that is.

I took the blender off its base. I put it back on facing a different way. Nothing. I unplugged and replugged it. Nothing. I hit the reset button on the outlet. Nothing. So I resorted to staring at the blender with my hands on my hips.

AHA! I thought. I'm graduating from law school in May; surely I can think my way out of any problem!!

Turns out that's not true. Turns out my law degree will not grant me magical culinary genius powers in addition to my J.D. Which is technically a doctorate. Just FYI. I know, I'm disappointed too. I tried placing the ingredients in my food processor in hopes that I could somehow still get to smoothie form.

Word of advice: food processors don't make beverages. They don't make things even remotely close to them.

Having not been able to think my way out of this quandary I abandoned the whole smoothie idea and settled on a small parfait using largely the same ingredients.

Today was even more exciting: I had jury duty. Okay so maybe it wasn't that exciting. Thankfully I didn't have to spend a long time waiting for my number to be called. Instead I spent the day just settling in to a movie before getting called to another courtroom.

At first we were told lunch was at 12:30. Then the judge said, just kidding it's at 12:45. Then she said, by 12:45 I meant 1. Okay maybe she didn't say it quite like that.

Obviously a parfait would not have held up so I hadn't brought one. What's a girl on a plan to do when she can't bring her lunch and can't get the equivalent of the lunch she had planned??

Easy!

Swap lunch for dinner!!

I determined that I would amble my way slowly to the harbor and stop at something that caught my fancy. I passed a small place that offered salads, wraps and a variety of other disconnected options. They combined everything in a bowl then either wrapped it in a wrap or just placed it in plastic and handed it to you. One man's meal was drenched with broth after it was prepared. Not really sure what was going on in that bowl to be honest.  Miraculously they had every one of the ingredients I had planned for my salad. I was as happy as a pig in mud. I sat outside (it was sooo pretty out) and felt quite pleased at my choice. I have to say, I liked finding a healthy option in a pinch. It was like a little scavenger hunt!

As if a broken blender and one day of jury duty wasn't enough, I was actually selected to sit on a jury. I apologize in advance if I'm MIA for the next two days--I'll be busy juror-ing, which is a highly technical term that they don't teach you until your second year of law school. At least.

Totally kidding.

I'm pretty sure juror-ing is not a word.

But hey, I'm (almost) a lawyer. That CLEARLY gives me the ability to make up words then claim that they're legal terms. Duh.

I think I need to sleep now.

two

Today is my second full day.

Day one was a LOT harder than I ever thought it would be. I wanted to break down. I could have killed someone for an oreo or a handful of Goldfish. Anything processed would do, honestly. I actually almost broke down in tears at one point standing in front of my door, keys in hand. I was ready to go to the convenience store down the street to binge my heart out.

Breakfast

I am beyond thankful that I returned my keys to their hook and stayed home. I went to sleep hurting but hopeful. And yes, you will experience headaches when you cut the processed food out of your diet. How scary is that?! I knew processed foods were bad, but my goodness.

Today has gone much much better than yesterday did. I feel better. I still would love something processed but I don't feel as desperate as I did yesterday.

Lunch

To borrow from the Biggest Loser, I faced my first temptation today.

Gap jeans & shirt, Old Navy Blazer, Forever 21 necklace

I'm a member of the International Law Society and we had an event over lunch today. The event was on oceans, climate change and international law. We had speakers from the aquarium here in Baltimore, an NGO (non-governmental organization) focused on the Caribbean & the Chesapeake Bay Foundation which works extensively here in Maryland. While the talks were fascinating, sitting on the desks in front of me was one of my BIGGEST weakness: buffalo blue cheese sliders.

Y'all.

I ADORE anything fried, smothered in buffalo sauce and topped with blue cheese. And sitting on that desk were several juicy delicious looking sliders. A few feet away was a bowl of another weakness: potato chips. Since I'm friends with our president I knew in advance what food would be served. Instead of giving in and taking advantage of a "free" lunch I ran home to eat my planned meal right before the panel. I wasn't actually hungry when I got to the panel or when it finished. I was able to more calmly convince myself that this was an emotional craving and not actual hunger. I'm proud to say that I walked out of the panel without giving in to temptation.

Sometimes there just aren't any healthy options available at these types of events. That's why it's so important to plan ahead and have a strategy.

Dinner

I'm hopeful now, more so than I was yesterday. I know this is only day two and that it will take many many more days to reach my goal. But I've already tangled with a couple of demons and walked away victorious. I'll keep praying and keep fighting; I know deep in my heart that I'll reach my goal.

faith & weight loss

I  wanted to take a minute and explain why I believe that faith and weight loss are intimately connected.

Take a minute and read through Matthew 19:16-26.

In this particular story, Jesus tells the young man that he must give up all his worldly possessions in order to follow Christ. For some people, worldly possessions are easy to give up. But you still have to die to yourself in order to rise in Christ. So if you're one of those people who doesn't care about worldly possessions anyways how do you take up your cross?

Nothing in life is truly one-size-fits-all. The same goes for our relationship with Christ which is why if you were the young man Jesus would say something different to you than He did to the young man in the Gospel.

For me, worldly possessions would be replaced with my relationship with food.

We all know that food is necessary for survival. We also know that food is meant to be enjoyed. I'm not seeking to destroy all enjoyment of food. I'm striving for a healthier relationship with it.

For years, food has been my god. I turned to food for comfort, stability, happiness and basically everything I needed. As a result my waistline grew and I withdrew from my faith. I felt heavy all the time. Not just physically heavy--emotionally and spiritually heavy. I was so caught up in my guilt and my weight that I thought only about food and how much I disliked my weight.

Gluttony often gets dismissed as a deadly sin. We always think of lust, greed, anger, & envy when we think of deadly sins. Rarely do we think sloth or gluttony. But I would argue that both are just as relevant today. Gluttony conjures up images of Romans lounging on mats being fanned with palm leaves while enjoying an overly large spread of food. But gluttony is more than that. There's no fancy food required to be a glutton. Gluttony is simply placing food above God. You don't even have to be overweight to be a glutton. Gluttony occurs when you turn to food for comfort, think about food constantly, or when food becomes a source of guilt and shame.

Throughout this process I'm focused on something much larger than vanity. I'm trying to conquer my relationship with food. I want to enjoy food without it controlling my life. I don't want food to be my comforter and my savior anymore. I want to finally be free from the overwhelming focus on my waistline and the guilt that follows almost every meal.

I know that was super heavy and dense but I felt that it was important to explain why faith plays a role in this blog about weight loss. I promise that there will be meal photos coming soon and hopefully outfit photos (if I can find time to take them)!

an explanation

Earlier this semester I found out about the Air Force JAG corps. I went to an info session, I thought about joining. But then I decided my mom and sister were right: it was hard to picture me in the Air Force. So I got a normal job and pushed JAG to the back of my mind.

But then I came home for my final spring break and my mom started telling me about a friend's son who had considered the JAG. He was interested in international law as well. Then she said: "Why don't you do that?"

I did some research.

I thought about it some more.

I could do 4 1/2 weeks of physical training. It's not quite normal bootcamp; I'll be surrounded by fellow attorneys, doctors and chaplains.

I could live in Italy for two years. Or Portugal. Or Germany. Or South Korea. Or Japan. Or Turkey. I would be blissful there.

I could get a solid foundation and exposure to a broad range of legal areas.

I could start my international law career.

But there was a catch.

In order to be in the Air Force I have to meet certain height and weight requirements. I don't meet those requirements.

At least not yet. But I will.

So that's why I started this blog. You see I already have a regular blog where I talk about a range of issues. I wanted to keep the weight loss stuff separate though; that blog is more for keeping friends and family across the country up to date on what's going on in my life.

The Lighter Side of French Toast will be a weight loss blog with a little twist. I'll be taking outfit of the day photos throughout my journey to show my progress, combining fashion and weight loss. I won't be sharing my goal weight, my starting weight or any pounds lost. I will be sharing with you how I feel throughout my journey. I'll be sharing meals (but not recipes unless I created them myself).

I don't know if I'm going to apply for JAG. But I do know that I don't want to be limited by my weight again. So grab some french toast topped with strawberries instead of syrup and stay a while!