I haven't really been putting much focus on diet lately, and if I decided to step on the scale tonight I'm sure it would show. Life has been stressful to say the least, and when my body experiences stress it does one of two things: I over eat on delicious fatty foods like burgers and french fries, or chocolate ice cream... etc. OR my appetite is completely gone and nothing is edible.

Well, this time, my body has decided to combine the two... i now feel completely nauseated about 70% of the day, and when food actually does sound good.... its the salty, fried, fatty foods that my body is ok with ingesting. Luckily though.... I don't eat much of it.

I'm at a loss right now... I don't know how to curb this eating issue my body has decided to create – And NO I'm not preggers.... but right now veggies and sweets are making me gag... and that is so weird.

I'm really hoping this is all over soon. This can't be healthy for me.

Vegetable garden...

last weekend I did a little work around the house.

I turned my overgrown side yard into a vegetable garden.

I can't even express to you how excited I am to have all these beauties growing in my own yard:

tomatoes

bell pepper

jalapeño

cayenne pepper

zucchini

cucumber

broccoli

green beans

green onion

basil

thyme

oregano

LOTS and LOTS of veggies and herbs!!

here's to having healthy foods right outside my door!

Coach and be coached...

Still doing the boot camp... and I'm still loving it so far, even the sore-almost-every-day element doesn't seem so bad anymore. It's a good feeling.

SO... my friend Wendy wanted in on the boot camp action, but she couldn't participate because it's through my work and it's an "employees only" type situation, so what's a girl to do?

Well...

 I am writing down all the exercises I do at lunch time boot camp and do a 2nd boot camp evening workout on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

Yup, that's right. DOUBLE boot camp.

The 2nd workout is almost harder because I am trying my very hardest to show her how to do the exercises properly, which makes them harder... But it feels great, and I really think the 2nd workout twice a week is amplifying my results. I feel like I am shrinking a bit quicker, I'm firming up in more areas.... I'm getting fit.... just a teensy bit faster.

And I like that.

So I am going to keep putting in the work, and hopefully start to see major results.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Last night's workout:

Warm up jog - about 1/4 mile.

Running sequence around 5 cones, sprinting.
(3 minute, 2 repetitions)

Chariot Pulls {where you run with a rope around your waist
and your partner pulls back on the rope and runs with you}
(3 minutes, 2 repetitions)

Regular squats, with workout band - lifting band with arms as you come up from squat
(1 minute, 3 repetitions)

Workout band curls - Standing on band while doing curls with band
(1 minute, 3 repetitions)

Rock climbers (aka: evil workout from hell) - plank position while moving your feet up and down in a running-like movement. HARD STUFF
(1 minute, 3 repetitions)

Stretching and some yoga loveliness.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


done.

It sounds much easier than it really is... this stuff is rough, I tell you.

but I love it.

Finding humor in the process...

I think this illustration is hilarious. 

We've all been there. 

Out of shape, desperately trying to find ways to get back in shape. 

Then we find a workout to try... 

This is me when I try to do push-ups. It's a pretty funny sight to see. 

We have to find humor in the process of the pain...

Boot Camp Day 2: BUTT DAY

Day 2 was completely different than Day 1...

We stood on yoga mats the entire time, and did about 6 different variations of squats and lunges. It sounds so simple, perhaps even easy.... but oh no no no.... it was anything BUTT. (I'm such a dork!)

We did do a warm up run to get the blood pumping – then we straight into major squat moves. Not long after, I was sweating like a farm animal and crying for the simple ability to stand on both legs. I swear we balanced on one leg doing each exercise for about 10 minutes at a time... or at least that's what it felt like.

All whining aside, I'm loving this class. My legs feel like noodles and I love that feeling.
I think the best part about it is, because each class is so strenuous,
I am making sure I eat better and drink lots and lots of water.... 

{my sweaty self and my beloved H20 post workout)

this is a big deal people....

Day 2: Complete

:)

A reminder...

because i'm not training to become an olympian.

i just want to be a better me... one step at a time.

so far, so good.

:)

Boot Camp Day 1: Complete

Day 1 of boot camp is done.

I'm pretty spent, but I actually feel really good at the same time. The camaraderie of being in a group setting definitely motivates me, especially being 1 of 2 girls in a group of 20. It's very motivating to keep up with the boys... and I think I did a decent job on the first day.

Day 1 was an assessment workout - to see where we are at the beginning:

1/4 mi lap around the park – my time: 2:19 min
1 minute of push-ups – my count: 10 regular push-ups, 19 knee push-ups
1 minute of crunches – my count: 45 crunches
1 minute of shuffling back and forth (basketball style) between two cones – 23 reps

then...

3 minutes of pushing a balance ball across the field. Holy heck that was hard!!
3 minutes of running in a square around cones. forward, sideways, backwards, sideways. It sounds easy, but it was rough.
3 minutes of running while someone pulls you in the other direction with a rope around your waist.

then, a warm down of stretching and basic yoga.

As I said before, I am spent... but somehow my energy is slowly regaining.

I feel good, and I like that.

Day 1: Successful.

BOOT CAMP Day 1

This weekend was a complete setback. I'm a wee bit disappointed in my complete lack of exercise this weekend... Especially saturday since I usually swim or go for a hike. Instead I worked on my tan. I had that "Monday I'll start everything" attitude...

...But now it is Monday, and today, on this lovely Monday, I start body boot camp.

this boot camp was offered as a lunch break option at my work, and since I was already in the routine of working out on my lunch break, I figured this might be a more efficient solution to getting a great workout.

I work out better when someone else is telling me what to do.

I work out better when there are people around me because my pride won't let me give up in front of a crowd.

I'm hoping that knowing I am going to be doing an hour of strenuous activity is going to help my eating habits during the week.

speaking of healthy food, my current obsession is:

starbucks protein box.... boiled egg, apple, grapes, peanut butter, cheese... can it get any better?

it's easily made at home, which i plan to start doing, and it's got all the good stuff you need in the morning. i love this thing for breakfast!!

anyways, I am excited and a little bit nervous about this boot camp... 

but I'll report back this afternoon.

Let's see how this goes.

So I went for a run yesterday. I didn't plan to run far, maybe just a mile. I haven't been running much this year, and I am trying to change that. I used to run a lot. Like, 2 to 3 miles a day. Sometimes more. I am still amazed at how dedicated I was with it.... I must get back there again, because right now I feel like this pretty much sums me up:

HAHAHAHAHA

I did run 2 miles instead of 1 yesterday. That's a pretty good start.... Boy am I feeling it in my legs today. What a painfully great feeling it is too. 

look-alike

For a long time now many people have told me I look like Adele.

Family. Friends. Strangers. They all see it.... 

and I sort of do too, with the exception of our chins... and while I am sure it was always meant to be a compliment, I used to find myself not terribly flattered. Don't get me wrong, she's an amazing woman with talent coming out of her ears... it just took me a while to realize that it was indeed a huge compliment. 

Just because she's not a bean pole doesn't mean it's not a compliment.

Anyways, after seeing Rasha's post I finally decided to post these photos so you can see for yourself.

What do you think? Do I really look like her?

7 week challenge

In seven short weeks, I am heading to VEGAS for my best friends birthday.

You know what this means... lots of cute dresses and, dun dun dun.... the dreaded bathing suit.

I have come the the conclusion - there isn't going to be a better opportunity (or better inspiration) to kick-start my weight loss, than this trip right here. I have been on a bit of a roller coaster lately with all of the stress and life crazyness... and my diet has also been on that roller coaster.

So starting today, I am on a majorly strict diet. Not a crash diet, but close to it.... for seven weeks. Lean meats, LOTS of veggies and good fruits, and minimal carbs. Then, once VEGAS is over, I will slowly start maintaining what foundation I've developed from those seven weeks, and begin a new healthy chapter.

Week 1 starting.... NOW.

Friendly reminders...

some friendly reminders of why i'm doing this... 

for whenever i am feeling weak...

or hungry...

or defeated...

i have images like this to remind me

:)

what the egg!!!

it seems as though there is a love-hate relationship with dieting and the egg. they are full of protein, and keep me full longer than any fibrous brick of chocolate covered whatever, or any cardboard tasting cereal, but whenever i enter in my little "calorie tracker" that i've eaten an egg or two... i get all these red flags. saturated fat. cholesterol. and so on....

{photo via pinterest.com}

is an egg really that bad for you? my mother {who has a degree in nutrition, so she's pretty legit}  seems to think a breakfast with eggs every day is probably not so good for you, but eggs are much better than these little diet apps make it seem. an egg is not like eating a mcDonalds cheeseburger. but it does contain a lot more saturated fat and cholesterol than ... let's say... special K cereal.

but they're so so so good.

maybe now is the time to switch to egg whites.

one final return...

i am back. again. for the umpteenth time.

but this time, it will be different. it already is different. things are changing - though not physically, yet, but mentally things are changing. i am slowly ridding myself of temptation. i am learning what it is like to be hungry, and be okay with it. now before you go and assume i am embracing an eating disorder, allow me to explain:

before i started this one last attempt at "dieting" about 2 weeks ago, i was never hungry. i was never hungry because i hated the feeling. the emptiness in my stomach that felt like small stabs, and the rumbling of hunger was just too uncomfortable for me to ever allow it. so, i ate too much 3 times a day AND snacked too much in between to eliminate any possibility of the feeling of hunger.

so now, i drink as much water as i can to suppress the hunger pains in between my much-smaller meals, and they really are starting to get better. my stomach is shrinking. i don't have to eat as much to feel satisfied {notice i didn't say full}. i am getting used to the rumbling, meaning i am getting used to eating less. i am getting used to eating what i should be, rather than what my eyes think i should be.

other good changes i've noticed:
* i am saying no to 400+ calorie breakfast items that i used to so easily cave in to.
* i am eating "just enough" for breakfast and lunch AND i am getting some exercise in too
* i am realizing that soda really isn't all that wonderful
* i am craving less junk food

things to still work on:
* dinner - still over-eating on this one every now and then
* my sweet tooth kicks in every now and again - gotta get a handle on that
* not weighing myself so much. i used to weigh every day and it just wasn't healthy or helpful. it's too discouraging because of the ups and downs of water weight. i need to weigh myself once a month.

so there's the update on my progress. more to come.