If You Like Pina Coladas…

BTW Happy National Pina Colada Day!

Yep, it’s today!

Read Full Post »

Happy Friday!

Yay it’s Friiiiiiiiday! Best day EVER! So excited for this weekend because we have nothing planned and I love that since last weekend we were in AZ and so exhausted when we got home! I’m hoping this weekend will consist of movie nights, some gym time, some yummy food and wine AND I really want to try and get to the Hillcrest Farmers Market on Sunday. It’s open from 9-2 so I hope we can make it down there since I’ve never been to one before, I’m super excited to walk around and see what they have. It’s actually been voted numerous times as The Best of Many San Diego’s Farmers Markets and is part of the California Federation of ceritfied Farmers Markets.

Oh and I wanted to post a picture of one of the biggest bestest strawberries I ever had!

The picture doesn’t even do it justice–it was HUGE and amazing! I love Strawberries!

Read Full Post »

Some Interesting Facts on Weight Loss

 

While shopping at Henry’s last week I picked up the latest issue of body and soul and I just found an interesting article on their website about healthy weight loss.

Secrets to Healthy Weight Loss–I was reading through it and realized how simple many of their solutions are to incorporate into everyday life without changing your diet drastically.

Remove Distractions: To get more mindful about food, eat meals in an environment that promotes calm. Move away from the computer, turn off the TV. “Eating in a relaxed environment allows you to hear your body’s cues more clearly.”          I definitely agree with this! At times I’ll bring a meal to the couch and watch some TV while mindlessly scarfing down my food–by the time I’m done I haven’t been paying attention, I don’t feel satisfied, and I want to eat more.

Eat Frequently: 4-5 small meals throughout the day. I love this one because often times we think we have to deprive ourselves in order to lose weight or even maintain, when in reality it’ll most likely cause us to binge and splurge when we reach that point of hunger. Staying satisfied with many small meals throughout the day is much more realistic in maintaining a healthy balance.

Make a Plan: One day a week, strategize ways to incorporate exercise into your week. This is one of the most important ways to stay healthy and fit and even though it can be hard to find time, planning ahead will make it that much easier to successfully fit it in.

There’s plenty more on the website–I thought I’d just highlight a few points that I know I’ve struggled with here and there.

Read Full Post »

I Love Me Some Green Drink!

 

Yep that’s right, I love them! I’ve been making a green smoothie consistently for about a week and a half now and I look forward to having it everyday–yesterday I made TWO! Just knowing how beneficial the mix of veggies and fruit is to my health makes me feel so good about drinking them. I know that many days would go by and I wouldn’t be getting anywhere near the amount of servings I need per day unless I made these–I have a tendency to not include enough into my diet.

The only thing is that I’ve only made 1 kind of smoothie so far

• Spinach
• Banana
• Almond Milk

I obviously know that I could put more in, I just don’t know any good mixes or what veggies and fruit are more beneficial to include. What’s better? Kale or Spinach? And is it good to eat that many bananas? What other fruits would go well in the mix? Should I be using Almond Milk or Water? So many questions about this 1 drink! I know that I like the mix I’ve already made, I just want to know if I should be adding more to it!?!

I’m finally starting to feel back to normal today after our mini 4th of July vaca! I just get into such a funk and it took ALL of me to get my butt up yesterday and go to the gym–I did NOT want to go! Luckily I did and it as always, made me feel so much better! I tried to do my usual and ended up:

• 17 min walking on treadmill incline-speed 4.0
• 10 min. on bike
• 3 sets of tricep pulldowns
• 3 sets of bicep curls
• 3 sets of shoulder exercises

I did some other exercises that the trainer wanted me to incorporate into my routine and I’m getting used to those finally–also trying to increase the amount of weight I’ve been using which has been pretty successful!

I’m not sure if I’m going to make it to the gym tonight, I have my 1st test of the summer semester tonight so I might focus on just that and try some more online yoga!

Read Full Post »

A Case of the Mondays

Ugh! Mondays are just never a great day–especially following a 3 day weekend! Although it went by VERY fast, it really was a GREAT weekend. We had an amzing time with our friends in Arizona and it’s always sad when we have to say goodbye. 😦 Luckily they are from San Diego and come back to see their family and friends a lot!

Thursday I got off of work at 1 and rushed home so that I could finish packing and get on the road before all of the holiday traffic hit. Don’t really know why I felt the need to pack my whole life (I always over pack) All I really needed was a bathing suit and pjs–perfect 4th of July attire. Anyways, Erick was great! He packed us some snacks for the trip up there so that we didn’t have to staop too much–I don’t know what it is about road trips but they just make me so hungry! He made some tuna and brough WW bread for us to make sammies. Brought some fresh fruit, cliff bars and of course an energy drink for me since I’d been up since 4:30. It was PERFECT!

The whole trip was tons of fun, full of pool time and BBQs! I love summer! 🙂 Of course I overindulged a bit (hey, it was a holiday!) But I’m back and ready to hit the gym again, it’s been almost a week now since the last time I’ve been and I can’t wait to go work off some of the alcohol and junk food!

Read Full Post »

Too Big?

Ok well it was big but looks way bigger on here!  This was my cereal this morning–I was hungry!

I’m officially motivated! I finally met with a presonal trainer at the gym last night and went over where I am at this point and what my goals are. I guess for the past 3 weeks I’ve pretty much been doing all of the wrong things at the gym 😦 I thought I was being really good by doing the eliptical for 45 minutes a day, but with 0 resistence I guess it’s not so great! So she put me on the treadmill walking on an incline for 4 minutes and WOW my heartrate was way up in just the short amount of time–felt like I was getting way more of a workout.

Then we went to the weight machines and she explained to me that everyone has different goals and that not all of these machines are meant for me. Hmmm don’t know why I couldn’t figure that one out myself–I really thought I could benefit from all of them! The most interesting thing that she told me and SO glad that she did, was the fact that a lot of girls use the inner thigh weight machine thinking that it’s going to slim their thighs….WRONG! You’re actually just building muscle and could potentially make you’re thighs look bigger. So even though you’re burning calories while working your muscles, you’re not necessarily burning them from that area–it could be from anywhere on your body.

I know that I dont have a lot of weight to lose–I really just want to shed 5-10 pounds but I’m so ready to do it and feel better physically! Lately I’ve just been feeling pretty BLAH and the fact that I’ve gained a bit of weight since I quit smoking and started eating EVERYTHING has made me dread putting on my pants every morning! lol So hopefully this new plan will start making me feel a little better!

I also have this slight addiction to exercise TV OnDemand–I love it and it’s helped me a lot over the past year! So last night before my training session I tried a little yoga! I kinda suck–never been too flexible and don’t have much experience. I took a few Bikram classes that I loved though so I’d really like to practice a little more. Anyway…last night I tried a fat burning yoga and a yoga core video aaaand today I’m SORE! I’m definitely going to keep working on it though…it just seems so peaceful! 🙂 Soon…..this will be me! lol

Read Full Post »

Disaster Cookies

I was really excited about making these oatmeal cookies I had found on the internet on Friday–I went straight to the store after work and got all of the ingredients I needed so I could make them that night.

I really don’t know what happened! I’m not sure if you can actually tell that they’re oatmeal BALLS! They never flattened out like cookies–they’re just BALLS! They’re honestly pretty tasty and it didn’t stop me from eating them, it’s just frustrating and wanted them to be perfect! I will definitely have to perfect this one!

Read Full Post »

Smoke Free Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee

This week will be 4 months since I quit smoking! 4 MONTHS…I never thought I would say that and be this happy! I went to the gym tonight and got on the eliptical thinking that I’d only stay on for about 30 minutes or so because usually by that time I’m SO ready to be done…45 minutes later I was still going at it! I stopped at that point because I really wanted to fit some weights in before I left and I wasn’t sure how long you’re really supposed to be on them anyway. But the best part of my whole gym experience tonight was that I was on my machine sweating away and I could BREATHE–for a while I didn’t really think that it was possoble for me to be active and not have to pause constantly to gasp for air. I didn’t have to stop once to catch my breath and I feel AMAZING right now!  🙂

I think the gym has finally made me realize that I will never pick up a cigarette again…I feel way too good without them!

Read Full Post »

Yummyness

 

I had my first taste of a Cliff Bar today and I can honestly say that I never knew how delicious they were! WOW! I’d always seen them at the store but never really felt the need to try it out–after doing so I’m definitely gonna have to get more. I think they’ll be the perfect thing to hold me over when going straight to the gym after work!

Read Full Post »

Hello world!

Welcome YAY! This is my first post and I couldn’t be more excited about it—I’m looking at this as a little adventure; I’m creating this blog in hopes that it will encourage me to maintain the healthy lifestyle I’m striving for. Of course as I continue to chronicle my experiences, I hope to connect with others as well as give and receive advice along the way.

A little bit about me—I’m 23 years old and I live in San Diego–I go to school full time (mostly online) as well as work full time, so it can be quite the task to include exercise and a nutritious diet into my schedule.

These past 5 years have been pure craziness. Losing my mom to cancer was not quite easy for me—I had just started college and not quite knowing how to deal with the loss; I took a few years off of school and indulged in a not so healthy lifestyle full of fast food, laziness and cigarettes. Slowly but surely I’m starting to get my life back together—I know that my mom would have wanted it and I of course do too. SO this past year I dropped 15 pounds, I QUIT smoking, started working out and I’m ready to be the healthiest that I can possibly be! Unfortunately I don’t really know what it truly takes to accomplish these goals in a way that’s conducive to my busy schedule. This is going to be quite the journey that I am SO ready for!

For the past year I’ve been exercising in my living room, in front of the TV to Exercise TV OnDemand! I’ve loved every second of it and will continue to do my Jillian workouts…I’m obsessed! 🙂 BUT I officially joined the Gym a few days ago and I’m so excited about everything it has to offer! Tonight at 6:30 I’ll be meeting with a trainer so she can show me around a bit, right now I just have no clue how to work anything in there and have been sticking to the Eliptical. Hopefully all goes well and I can start going with some kind of routine to follow and look forward to!

 

And this is me!

Read Full Post »