it's (back) on

Ok so I did this juice thing, then I was in the gym doin' my thang and thennnnn I got sick for 2 weeks and it was horrible and I ate like shit and I didn't do anything but go to sleep as soon as I got home.... so all the progress I had made went to hell. However, I'm back at it as of last week. I started a bootcamp last Tuesday, and it was pure hell, but in a good way. From here until the end of May I'll be doing bootcamp 2 days a week, running 3 days a week,cardio sculpt one day a week and yoga 1-2 times a week. I'm really excited to do this and I already feel better. I will be doing other forms of exercises over my weekends to get out and enjoy nature and try other new things. This weekend I'm doing a turbo kick class on Sunday, I'm pretty much already worried about how I'll do haha. I'm going to stay straight on the diet but as you all know that's the hardest part for me. This week I prepped lots of grilled chicken breast, I've started protein shakes and for something sweet I've been eating unsweetened apple sauce, so if you like apple sauce that sort of thing helps me.I just really want to be healthy more than ever right now so I hope the mind stays focused! Also, another thing I have started is the following 30 day challenge, I'm on day 3, do it with me! :)

Well, I've been on this fitness kick for at least 3 full weeks, that's doing some type of exercise 5-6 times out of the week. It's working, it's hard, but it's pretty awesome. I love that I can see some changes and that I just feel better. I feel like when I'm not being a lazy bum I am a better version of me all around. Note to self: keep it up! I'll be doing a green smoothie diet next week, most likely starting that Sunday again. I know I'll have a freaking amazing meal on Saturday night so I'll need to start a good little diet after that. Will and I are going to do a hike tomorrow to celebrate this thing we have going. It seems kind of perfect because hiking involves climbing hills, sliding down some uneasy paths and sometimes even falling, but once you put your time into doing it, you feel see what you accomplished and it makes you happy you started it and kept with it. I find it easy to relate to our relationship because we have had some pretty dark times that we hit rock bottom, some people are aware of, some no one will ever be able to imagine, but at the end of the day, something keeps us at it and wanting the ultimate accomplishment of a legit relationship. The hard times make the good times awesome. We try not to look back but I mean it's natural, sometimes you just do, but we don't want to back there, like um EVER. I've made mistakes, he has too, thank goodness there is a beautiful concept known as forgiveness. We're gettin' there... Anyway not sure how I went there.... stay focused JK! So here we are at progress photos.... I can tell a difference! Thanks to my best girls who keep me motivated and in the gym, you know who you are!

Obviously I need to get in the sun haha...

 

Still Squishy, but I'll get there soon enough!



12 Lbs of lard

So it's official I'm down 12 lbs from where I was when I began taking things a little more seriously two weeks ago. Hopefully, I will continue to lose within the next month. I am happy I did the green smoothie detox, it made me more attentive to my eating habits and I have done more research on healthier recipes for meals and I am using a lot more organic ingredients these days. Still slowly getting back into eating clean, but already seeing improvements helps. I knew this before, but now I'm finally practicing it more, DIET is everything. I still chowed down this weekend a little but not excessive weight gain came from doing so. I've been more excited lately about new exercise and diet plans and goals. I feel a little healthier already! I'll be sharing more through this blog, but for now I'm still learning! Two ingredients that I am a big fan of are ground flax seed and chia seed. I just add 2 tablespoons of flax and 1 tablespoon of Chia to my smoothies and go. You can't taste either but they are both so good for you. Also have incorporated a water/apple cider vinegar mixture once in the morning and once in the evening. You can drink it throughout the day too! Just a few things that have been helpful for me so far :) I'm definitely going to have to begin the toning process too after some more weight is lost!

Well Wednesday marked the official ending to the green smoothie diet that I have been doing. I will say that I have carried it out through the end of this week because to me it really isn't all that tough. I probably will incorporate the green smoothies into an every day thing. I think they are the perfect breakfast for me. You can make them ahead, refrigerate them, and grab & go. The smoothies also work nicely for me during my lunch break, I take lunch at 11 so I'm not usually all that hungry, the green smoothies give me some good nutrients and I think they are filling. In the evenings, I'll probably stick to a healthy meal from here on out. Of course I'm sure I'll have an occasional "crap" meal or cocktail, but I'm hoping these two things are few and far between. Along with the smoothie detox I have been reading a lot about healthy stuff. I purchased a few books and have more recipe books and organic supplements coming my way in the mail. I also got a few workout dvds on amazon because they are so cheap and I am planning to start those as well. I am definitely taking a different approach this year, usually I eat crap and run a lot. This year I'm doing different types of exercise and attempting to eat organic, all natural foods. Of course this is all new so I'm still learning. I haven't had bread or dairy in 13 days. Kind of crazy for me. Honestly, I know these green smoothies look gross, but they are definitely not how they taste, they taste so good to me. I mean if you like fresh fruit, you'll love them. You can't really taste the kale, spinach or spring mix greens.  I just made out my workout plan for the next month and it's completely different than it's ever been. My hopes are to workout out 5-6 times a week. I will be doing stationary bike one night, a boxing bag workout one night, a 2-3 mile run one night, quick cardio burn class one day and yoga twice a week. I'm excited to try new things, I used to be scared of classes because I have horrible balance and I'm clumsy,but this year I just wanted to take on the challenge and overcome the fear of embarrassment. Oh yeah, so far I've lost 12 lbs. Go me! I've got a lot more work to do, but I plan on changing it up a lot this year, in March I plan to do a bootcamp and take regular yoga classes. I think for the first time I'm approaching this thing the right way, so I'm excited to see what I get out of it!

Day 8

Today marks day 8 of my 10 day greenin', so far I'm down 9 lbs. pretty cool. I did eat a little over the weekend, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to stick to the green smoothies. The recipes aren't that bad so it was easy for me to have them for breakfast & lunch both days. I just tried to be better about what I ate. I had a couple of salads and grilled zucchini, which were all pretty tasty! I'm going to do yoga for the first time in public on Wednesday night with my friend Emily, I'm excited about all the new changes this year has shot my way already. I think I'll be able to incorporate the green smoothies at least once a day even after I'm finished with the 10 days. Will & I also went grocery shopping over the weekend, we got a ton of healthy food and I was happy to see he is more on board than ever before, we came home with NO cheese and only 2 % milk for him, which is crazy, because we love cheese! I got a couple some new workout gear over the weekend, which always helps motivate me. Happy healthy livin' people!

Update

So this 10 day green smoothie plan really isn't bad at all. I really like juicing/smoothie-ing so that's probably why. The first day I did do the two shakes for breakfast & lunch, then a salad for dinner. But by day two I was cool without an actual meal for dinner. I think the biggest challenge I'll face is the fact that I'll want to eat out like always. Hoping to stick around inside so I'm not so distracted, I think the one thing I'll have going for me is the fact that I plan on weighing on Friday to track progress and so if I've lost, I'll be able to get through the last few days thinking positively. Hoping to start yoga next week. Been on the treadmill/stationary bike a lot lately. Happy health, happy life.

Sunday "FUN"day

The day has come! Today is here! It's the first day of my green smoothie challenge. Ten whole days of nothing but organic fruits, veggies, grains & nuts. I'm excited - kind of. All I know is that I don't want to look & feel like I do anymore, meaning change has to happen. Cheers to greens ;) - I'll probably keep a daily log of how this thing goes down for me. Are you trying any new diets/fitness plans/healthy eats?

Vacation 2015

Vacation 2015 has pretty much motivated me to get my shit together and my butt in gear. Also, I've always said that when I turn 30, I'd like to be really healthy, so this year marks a new beginning of health & fitness changes. This year, unlike the past 10 years, I've decided I'm going to change things up as far as the fitness side goes. Where it's super easy for me to get a 3 mile run out daily, I'd still like to challenge myself to do different types of workouts. I'm going to be a little more responsible about logging what I've eaten and done as far as exercise. Will is going to put up the punching bag in our garage so that I can use it for workouts. We also have a treadmill & stationary bike at home that have already been put to use. The past two nights I've done 40 minutes on each. I also received a yoga membership that I plan on trying out soon, I have been interested in Barre as well. The key for me this year is to challenge myself in areas I generally wouldn't do so to stay in shape. I'm sure once I get a little leaner I will incorporate weights, I actually like lifting weights. Sunday I am beginning my first 10 day detox and I've been reading a book to prepare myself for it. I plan to really try and stick with it and do the full detox to get the full benefits of the detox. I will start using this for my before & after photos as well. I'm always embarrassed to post the before photos, but honestly, it motivates me to get healthy. If you hate this boring blog, then don't read it, this blog is more for me to log crap anyway haha. I'll share my experiences in my new workouts that I plan to try and maybe some recipes. Who knows?

As of Friday I was back down 20! I ran everyday last week. Over the weekend, I'm sure I gained those 2 lbs back from the beer and crappy food consumed, but I'm back in the gym running this week. I have a 10k Saturday and I am pretty excited about it! So glad to be excited about running again!

18

I stepped on the scale on Saturday and I'm back down 18 pounds, that's exciting! I need to lose another 12  to be where I was just a few months ago. It's annoying I put the weight on but I think I'm getting back in the better habits and routines. It's helped to get up at 5 in the morning and get my workout out of the way. I have been eating a ton of chicken and fish, which isn't new because that's the only type of meat I eat. But when I'm hungry instead of grabbing a meal bar or shake I've been trying to munch on chicken. I read (which I knew this food was bad) that this one chick started a no sugar diet and achieved the body she has today. Her problem areas where the same problem areas I struggle with, so I thought I'd try it. I can't say I've achieved it yet but I'm doing better than I was doing a couple if weeks ago.  Hoping to read more up on it and figure out a way I can get my eating more under control. When I didn't eat sugar for a month and half before my Bday I could really see the results. Hopefully I can get back in that mindset again, it would be cool to see if I could do it for the rest of my life, but that's never gonna happen, I love cake too much! :)

10 down, more to go

Exciting news, not even sure how, I've been monitoring my diet but not really working as hard as I should  on it, however, I've somehow lost 10 lbs. I needed to. A few weeks ago, I realized I had gained 30 lbs back just like a snap of the fingers. It happens. I'm like Oprah. up and down, never consistent. So it's back on the down slope and it's cool I've already lost 10 without really working so hard for it. I feel like the main reason is stress and being so busy. I've had some minor things that have been stressing me out. For example, I will be having a yard sale this weekend. If you know me, you know I'm very claustrophobic. So too many unused items/clothing in my house will drive me up the wall. Will, however, is the complete opposite. To him, everything has sentimental value. Not me, screw it, sell it, donate it or just trash it. I'm excited to get rid of unwanted  items. Hoping to make some new running shoe money as well. I feel like getting things ready for this yard sale has been my workout each night. There is a lot of up & down in the attic, lifting and god awful sweating. Once I finish each night I am simply exhausted, too exhausted to cook, too exhausted to eat or even have a glass of wine. So thanks stress, thanks for the weight loss. Not really the way I had planned it, but I'll take it. With that said, I may not be running the Chicago Marathon anymore, it's been a very busy summer, I've had some unexpected expenses come up, and some people who never pay me back that I've had to deal with, it's not fun, but it's life. I'm sure I'll find another race to run, and I hope that someday I'll get the opportunity to run it again. Too much on my plate right now though!

So far, so good

Not a bad little routine I'm doing in this challenge, of course, things seem to go so well when Will is out of town because I don't have much to do but workout and eat right. I hope and pray I get more motivated in my running. Chicago is in October and I'm not above opting out if I don't feel good about how it will go. I keep telling myself it is the summer heat, but right now something in my running just hasn't been gettin' me... It may be because my focus is on other things that I feel are much more important. However, I do think it will be an awesome opportunity to spend time with my family. That's pretty much what I'm looking forward to. Hanging with the Ahtone's in Chicago, but lets be honest? Do I really need to run a marathon to do that? hahaha. Oh well, I'll keep up with the training!

30 Day Challenge Begins TODAY

Drumroll please....

 

I've figured out with 30 day diet and exercise challenges I will be doing and it all begins TODAY! I'm nervous/excited to be making myself stay accountable. I think these two plans can only help my training rather than hurt it... unless of course I end up losing a shit ton of weight, which isn't going to happen. I've decided on my diet I'm going with the WHOLE 30 diet plan/challenge. I have also decided on the work out side I'll be going with Jim Stoppani's SHORTCUT TO SHRED plan, I will be doing this on top of my marathon training, so on the cardio days I'll just be doing my marathon training as cardio. I hope I don't die, wish me luck, fingers crossed, are you doing any new challenges?

 

30 Day Challenge

I'll be starting a 30 day challenge next Monday. I forget why it's so hard to stay dedicated to being healthy in the summer but then I remember summer is my favorite season, and it involves a lot of weekend happenings, beer drinking and frozen treat indulging. With that said, I've been active but it's always easy for me to see a pound here and there when I'm not committing fully to being healthy. I have a birthday party this weekend which will involve being not at home, celebration drinks and lots of fun, so I'm making myself start a 30 day challenge starting Monday. Running is absolutely miserable right now, so I've instead been doing a lot of biking. I know it's not the best idea but then again, it's really not the worst. Zero points for me for signing up for a marathon and having to train during the blistering heat. Dumb, just dumb. Anyway, starting Monday, I'll be getting back into the healthy crap, Will goes out of town next week, so it's always easier being healthy and going to the gym because I'm only cooking for me and I usually don't like being home by myself so I'd rather go to the gym anyway! I'll be posting what diet & exercise challenges here soon. I'm hoping it turns into a 60/90/120 etc. day challenge. Maybe I'll shoot for a different challenge each month!?! Stay tuned... in the meantime, stay cool people!

I'm not as hard at it as I was pre-birthday but I haven't gone a week without exercising in some form for the past 6 months. It makes me proud. My diet is very strange, I'm more cautious about the shit I put into my body but I do allow myself to enjoy things. I made brownies last night, everytime I ate one (i ate two by the way) i felt sick to my stomach, I hope my body could react that way to every shitty food. Next week I will be doing all types of exercise and I cannot wait. Biking, hiking, running, swimming, rafting, let the fun begin. I'll also be cleansing while on vacation, how can I do that on vacation? I don't know but I gotta be in a swimsuit on the 4th so I gotta be all healthy and shit!

Birthday Binge Week

Last week was a week that I let myself go all out and eat whatever I wanted, I don't think I'll want cake for another 2 months to be honest. Or beer or wings, it just gets exhausting to eat all the junk haha. Never thought I'd say that. This week I've already started out with my fruits & veggies and I feel better. Maybe I'm turning this thing into a lifestyle. Who knew? ;)

20 before 29

Project 20 lbs down before 29 has officially been reached! Now tomorrow when I eat cake I'm going to eat with out feeling guilty... or so I say, I'm sure I will a little but a girl has to have cake on her birthday! Gym time for the week is starting a little later than planned due to the hangover from the weekend but it makes me realize why I, myself, can't drink like that anymore. Drinking for me means, no rest, crappy eating the next day, and little motivation to run/exercise. So, I need to make sure that I limit that crap and move forward with my diet & exercise, it's fun, but to me it's not worth it like it used to be. Anyway, last week I posted some before & after photos to help keep myself motivated in looking my best by the time I was 29 now I'll start doing the same in hopes to look my VERY BEST by the time I'm 30! I've only got one year left starting now!

Was able to wear a bikini without feeling too self conscious this year!

Last day of 28, feeling better in this skin!

Results

Finally to do an update on my progress. I guess because I have to be seen in a swimming suit this weekend! Diet & exercise pay off, I have worked my ass off  for the last three months! I'm down a total 22 lbs,, I feel good about my results, but the hard work isn't even close to over. Those were just 22 lbs I needed to get rid of, I am in the process of building lean muscle these days I want to be in legit shape when I start training for Chicago, which starts the last two weeks of June. My main focus is weight training, cardio and most importantly diet! The diet part is so hard for me, I'm a girl who likes her cold blue moon, wings and most of all cake! You can bet your ass I'm still planning on devouring my birthday cake in a week though! Anyway, here's my updated yet not finished body!

I have not fallen off the weight loss wagon, I've just been super busy at work and unable to update diet and exercise. I have been doing my part. This morning I did skip breakfast and not on purpose. I am going to the gym tonight and cannot wait to sweat out all the weekend drinks and unhealthy food. I got some compliments, so that's always rewarding. I'm still hesistant about putting on a swimming suit this weekend eeee... Oh well!

Progress Report

I'm about a month & a half into this whole lose 30 before I turn 29. So far I'm halfway there. I have 4 weeks to lose 15 more. Talk about pressure. haha. Just kidding! I'm not really putting too much stress on myself, I am just locking down on the diet and exercising. It's crazy how much your diet has to do with the progress. I am finally seeing where I was an idiot with my food choices in the past and correcting them with eating better. I am starting a 12 day cleanse today (again) should be fun... "fun". These cleanses do make me feel better and keep me on track. I am also starting the 30 day shred today. Big things going down! I was going to post progress pictures, but maybe later!