The Cleanse

I know it's been awhile. I'm really needing to get back on this everyday. But anyway, on Monday I started a ten day cleanse. My dad and step-mom introduced me to this. They did this cleanse over the summer and it really worked for them. The thing that I like about this cleanse is that the cleanse part of this is the pills we take and other than that it teaches you to eat clean and healthy foods. And that you can live without a lot of the junk we think we have to have. I can basically eat any fruits, vegetables, lean meats, plain nuts, and brown rice I would like. I just have to eat them without any added salts and sugars. So it's teaching me how to cook in a more healthy way. Plus it cuts back proportions and has been teaching me to eat little and healthy snacks throughout the day.
I am currently on day 5 of the cleanse and when I weighed myself yesterday morning I had already lost 4 pounds. Besides this I am pleased to say I haven't been super hungry, just dealing with the cravings of bad food and caffeine. I haven't had coffee or an energy drink since Sunday. That is probably the roughest part for me because I've lived off of those for the last four years...it's how I got through college! But ultimately I think this taking away caffeine is good for me.
So tomorrow I'm going to write a breakdown of all of the foods I've eaten so far on the cleanse. I'm hoping that I will continue to lose weight but even if I don't I know that this is all good for me. It's hard but good for me. So here's to the rest of my time on this cleanse! I'm feeling optimistic about it! 

Day 1 vs Today

 So here it is. This is me just five months later. The same exact outfit, just a better camera. This is very surreal! I can't believe how far I have already come! WHAT?!?!?! Honestly, I wasn't 100% sure I'd be able to do this and I can tell you it's been a LONG process that isn't done yet. But seeing these images, side by side, makes me feel like this has all been worth it and it will continue to be worth it.
This might be one of the most exciting days I've had in such a long time! I feel rejuvenated! I feel ready to take on the world! I'm excited to do my ten day cleanse after thanksgiving. I'm excited to go running tonight! All of the soreness from the last couple of weeks is worth it. All of the changes in my diet, all of the work...it's all worth it!
I cannot wait to see where I am five months from now! I cannot wait to feel even better! I cannot wait!
If I've taken away anything from these last 5 months, it's that I need to start believing in myself and my abilities to stick to it, to get things done. I need to start believing that I am good enough and strong enough to make my life the way I want it to be. That I can look exactly how I want to look and that this all if for ME. This is not for anyone else but me.

So...here's to the next five months! I can't wait to see what they bring!

It WILL be worth it!

Okay. So I know this is late but it's up! These last couple of weeks have been crazy but I am trying to get back on track. I am SUPER sore today from yesterdays workout. I just finished a thirty minute run and then directly after did the insane abs workout from Insanity. It felt really good to do. And now I am writing this blog post! I call it a successful day.
I also ate pineapple today, which was super delicious! I'm realizing how much I love it! I'm also going to go grab some avocado because I am hungry and it sounds delicious! Besides...it's better than some other foods I could grab right now.
To be honest, for the past three-ish weeks I haven't felt that motivation I did when I first moved back to the west side. I've lost that drive that was propelling me forward in this get healthy track. But today...there was a hint of it for me. It's really not that hard to get off my butt and go for a run or do an extra workout even while I watch TV. If I can sit while watching TV, I can do an ab exercise while watching TV. So...I'm hoping that this bit of drive I found today will stick. I'm hoping that I can find that push to keep me going through the long, cold winter. I know that as the weather gets colder and the sun rises later, my desire to stay in bed will grow. But I just have to keep pushing. Like I've heard a thousand times, "No one said it would be easier, they just said it'd be worth it." So here's to pushing through the hard parts to the part where I get to see the results I'm longing for.
On a positive note...these pictures on this post vs the pictures on my first post...it's not bad. I feel like this progress so far is pretty darn good motivation!

Fat Days

So...I'm assuming you know exactly what I'm talking about. Fat days. They are not fun at all but we all have them. The days where no matter what we put on, how we do our hair or makeup we still feel fat. That is my day today. Plus, I have to post my pictures of myself that I was supposed to post yesterday. It's not my favorite but I have to keep going forward! I know that I will have these days periodically. They aren't fun and definitely make me feel defeated. But the only cure is to keep going with the hard work and dedication! So I will continue on this path I have chosen. Plus, I'll be seeing one of my biggest and strongest support groups later this week! One of my best friends moved to LA last year and she's back to visit!! All four of us are getting together to get some dinner and catch up! I am so insanely excited! They are just the breath of fresh air I need!!
Honestly, I think having supportive people in your life might be the biggest secret to success in anything. These people are here to help you through the tough times. To get you over those humps. They remind you why you are doing it and to keep pushing your towards your goal. I'm blessed and thankful to have my life full of people like that. So...even though this is a fat day, I know this week will be exactly what I need!

Post College Life

I really thought that post college life would allow for at least a little more free time. But so far it really hasn't. I wake up early to go exercise, then I come home and have thirty minutes to get completely ready for my day before I leave for work, where I sit in an hour and a half to two hours of traffic. Then I work, go home through about an hour of traffic, and get ready for rehearsal. Then I go to rehearsal, come home and go to bed, then repeat again the next day. Now, don't get me wrong I'm loving every minute of how busy I am but I definitely have been slacking on my blog because of it!
However, the benefit to being this busy is that I am too busy to snack too much. I find this probably one of the most helpful parts of trying to get healthy. Plus I've been packing fruit, veggies or other healthy snacks with me to eat at work or on my way home. So that has been quite great!
Work and the play keep me active during the day. So most of my week I'm not just sitting at home. I think my life style is really just helping me get to where I want to be.
The things I need to improve are finding the time to make sure I post on this blog everyday, making sure I eat three full meals a day, and getting enough sleep! Hopefully this week I can do all of these things! Also...I think I'm going to try to fit some yoga into my day too this week! Fingers crossed!

Pictures

I'm really happy with the fact that I've posted all of these pictures of me for all of these weeks. It's hard to see the change in your body from day to day. But looking back at the pictures from day one and seeing the pictures from today allows me to see some change. I weighed myself today and I haven't gone down in weight at all since last week but that's okay. It all takes time. I just have to keep going and stay motivated. I really pushed myself this morning. There will be ups and downs. There will be successes and failures. I will go forward and I will take steps backwards. But that is just part of the process; it's part of life.
Ultimately, I'm happy with what I'm doing. I'm happy with the fact that I am eating healthier and exercising. I just feel better. And that...that is what truly matters in the end.

Find Your Motivation

So I made this corn, black bean, avocado, salsa thing. It's very delicious and I made it with fresh ingredients. So that was great and lovely! I also enjoyed some tomato basil soup, which is definitely my downfall currently. I am obsessed! I also enjoy my power bars still. They've been tasting so great again.
Other than that I am incredibly sore from working out this morning! It feels great! I've really been trying to push myself again. I'm still continuing on the arm challenge. It's really making my arms sore!! I have so much inspiration and drive in my life right now! I'm hoping to ride this wave of motivation as far as I possibly can and then keep going! So get out there and do it today yourself! Find your motivation! Figure out what it is that will get you started and keep you going!

October is for Arms

So now that it is the start of October my exercise group is doing an arm challenge. I really think that this will be very helpful for me! I'm excited to get my arms in better shape! Other than that I've been keeping up with exercise and eating well. I've stayed pretty busy today but had a semi-lazy day yesterday. I've felt like I've been on the verge of sick for a week now but I've never actually gotten fully sick. So I tried to just take it easy and take care of myself. I'm feeling a little better today.
In exciting news we did our 3rd fit test for insanity today and I went up again in all of my reps on all of the exercises. It's very exciting! I really thought I was going to go down but I did very well! I was for sure exhausted afterward though.
Tonight I'm going to try to get some snacks together to bring with me to work tomorrow. I'm excited to keep up with the weight loss. It's exciting to see it finally coming off.
So I will keep going on this track!! Exercising, eating healthy, staying busy! It's all making me very happy!
Also one of my new goals is to drink much more water during the day! Check out this picture to see why!

They're Melting Away!

 So I weighed myself because it is Monday and I've lost another three pounds. So I am officially down to 146. This makes me both excited and nervous. I really wasn't sure I'd be able to lose the five pounds by the time I was supposed to. I keep thinking that something must be going wrong...even though it's not.
So, I think what I need to do is stop second guessing everything and just trust that I can do it! I've been working out, plus work gives me another work out during my day and staying busy has really cut down my snacking.
I'm enjoying how everything is going but I still have a decent amount of time before I am truly where I want to be. However, I'm getting there, I'm seeing results and that makes me happy! I just have to keep going!
Thank goodness for the support system I have! I can't wait to see where I get to!
Also...on a final note. One of my new favorite healthy snacks is edamame hummus! Check that stuff out!

Pushing Through

So through the entire workout this morning I was holding back throwing up. It was BAD. But I still did it! I got through the exercise. I'm feeling much better after coming home and falling asleep. I've been doing little exercises throughout the day during commercials of the shows I'm watching. I've also been fighting the urge to snack. I've been getting really sncky lately. I think I'm going to pick up some hummus and some other good for me snacks. That way I won't eat bad things more often during the day.
I'm in for a long day tomorrow that unfortunately means that I cannot work out in the morning because of how early I have to get to work and I CANNOT be late. So I'm going to have to do something either when I get home or find some time after work but before rehearsal. So we shall see how all of that shakes out tomorrow.
I will also need to pack some serious snacks and food for tomorrow. Alright, I'm off to go get some stuff in line before tomorrow!

Pictures, hiking and weightless.

 Alright. So I haven't posted a picture in a while. I'm getting back into that habit today. For the exercise group we are doing a weight loss goal this month. My goal is to lose 5 pounds. I started at 150. Within a week I was down to 149. I was worried because when I started working out I hovered between 140 and 145. So...I was nervous about losing even the 5 pounds. So we shall see how this goes.
I've gotten back into eating better and exercising more. I really truly love the morning workouts. But I am noticing that my body gets tired faster than it did before. I feel like this has to be a mental thing because it should be getting at least a little easier. I'm going to keep pushing and trying everything I can to stay motivated. I went on a hike yesterday, which was a lot of fun! I would highly recommend to everyone doing this every now and again, at least! It was great because I got to enjoy being outside, I took pictures and I was exercising while I was doing it!
Other than that I'm still just staying on the same track. Keeping my ultimate goal in mind and always moving forward!

I'm back!

Well, I'm back after a short stint away from this blog. Life got a little crazy with my sisters wedding and all of the family in town. Finally everything is going back to normal and is starting to settle down. I'm back to working out every morning at 5:30. Plus I have work and rehearsals for a play!! So I'm keeping busy and enjoying every minute of it.
I've been eating fairly healthy since the wedding. Back to lot of good foods. I recently acquired a lot of fresh tuna that my step-grandpa and cousin caught. So I've enjoyed cooking that. Plus I recently found that one of my favorite snacks is an avocado, tomato, pineapple salad thing. I add in some onion and jalapeno, plus the smallest amount of salt and pepper. It's quite delicious!
Anyway, I have a ten hour shift at work today. So I'm going to get a little sleep before I have to get ready to leave.

September Means Running

Well it is officially September. This means the running challenge starts today! I'm excited for this one! I think it will be great and very beneficial for me. Other than that I was on my feet for ten hours today. I carried some heavy things at work. I also ate pretty healthy today but was starving at the end of work. So I had a slightly bigger portion than I should have of my dinner.
Other than that I figured out that I can do leg lifts while I'm in the car. It's not as good as standing but I figure as long as I'm safe, it's got to do at least a little something. So why not? My left leg definitely gets more of a workout from that though. I'm also excited to start back in with boot camp again tomorrow. We had a break for labor day. So I'll be doing that.
I've also got a callback tomorrow for a show. If I get in my life is going to get pretty busy, which I really like. I find that when I'm more busy I tend to be better about staying healthy. I'm not really sure why but it's just something I've noticed.
Well I need a good nights sleep! So I'm off to bed!

Here We Go Again!

Alright, so I did pretty badly the last week I was in Ellensburg. I was just too tired and got lazy because of it. So I went backwards a good amount. But instead of dwelling on going backwards I'm just going to work even harder now that I am back. I have realized that I'm not good at working out on my own. I definitely struggle with pushing myself when I am not in a group. I also have realized after working out this morning with the group that I end up being in a MUCH better mood on days when I exercise. I just feel better about myself and don't hate myself because I was lazy.
I will also say this...it's INSANELY difficult to eat healthy and live a healthy life when those around you and those you live with are not doing it too. It's amazing how just having the people around you doing what you're doing can really keep you on the right track. So that's something to keep in mind.
But even though I've had some set backs in the getting healthy department my head is still held high. This is part of the process. I feel great that I'm still sticking with it and not giving up or feeling hopeless. I also have a new hair color and cut and I feel ready to take on the world! I honestly believe that the better you think you look, the better you will feel. So don't be afraid to do something girly and treat yourself. Whatever that may be for you...just do it! You will instantly feel better.
So. All in all, I had a wonderful trip that helped me learn more about myself. I also found a lot of healthy food I like and learned more about taking pictures with my camera! So I call it a success!
Also enjoy these interesting myths I found on Pinterest! I'm not sure if they are all 100% true but they seem pretty good and like they could be. So take from it what you will!

Love Yourself

So today was just one of those days. I woke up and I worked out like always. I made myself a healthy lunch, which was a pita sandwich with chicken, hummus and a bunch of veggies and was going to try to go without any caffeine. That did not work. I got the worst caffeine headache today. It was very painful and I had a very difficult time getting through rehearsal. So at lunch I broke down and got myself an iced americano. I need to cut back.
But I guess what is nice is that I'm still on track. Plus I will wake up tomorrow, workout again and keep this going. Everyday is a new day to choose to be the person you want to be. This is a choice I make every single day. I truly believe that if I can do it and you are reading this you can do it too.  If you are wanting to make a change, just do it. Nothing is stopping you but you. YOU are the only guarantee in life, so make the choice for yourself. Do not do it for anyone but you. Do it so that you can look in the mirror and love the person you see. You don't have to even get to any particular weight, just get to where YOU are happy. That's it. In the end, you can make yourself happy. You can love you. That's the thought that keeps me going every single day. I want to love me. I want the body that I want. I don't care what other people want me to look like. I want to get to a weight that I love. I choose to love who I am everyday and I know you can too.
Now I'll stop preaching and head to bed. I hope that I've been able to help you if you needed it.

When Life Gets Busy

 Man when life gets busy it gets hard to update my blog. I need to be more diligent about it. Since Thursday I've been insanely tired and I can't figure out why. But I basically wake up in the mornings and workout, then I go to rehearsal (which during breaks me and a couple of the girls do some sort of workout-ish thing) then I come home and fall asleep. I've been trying to stick to eating healthy. It's going pretty well. Cooking always seems like so much work before I do it. But after I've started cooking, it really never is that much work.
I need to change my perspective. I think that's the solution. If I see cooking as something fun and helpful then it will seem less like a chore. I wonder if that will work for lunges...
Anyway I still am loving this life change. I feel great after a workout and terrible if I know I didn't push myself hard enough. The changes in my body and daily life keep me motivated. Plus, if that isn't enough I have a great support system to keep me motivated. I don't know what I'd do without them. Honestly, I think that is one of the biggest things you need. I am lucky enough to have a large support system. I have my family, which has a lot of people in it, my friends, my boyfriend, and my workout group. Like I said, I'm a lucky lady.
So here's to being more diligent and motivated to do the healthy things!

So this morning I did my Insanity workout because it is Wednesday. I worked out to the music of Zelda. It was epic! Then right after Insanity I did my ab challenge...I'm really feeling them right now!!
Today I also brought the laptop to rehearsal so I had to carry it for the whole walk there and back. The wonderful thing about Ellensburg is that if I want to go anywhere or get anything I have to walk. This I'm sure is good for me. Instead of driving, I walk. So even though it takes longer it is better for me.
Today I had a power bar, an egg sandwich, a roast beef sandwich loaded with veggies, two small chicken tacos, and some roasted potatoes.

Keep Going!

So I did my exercises for the day. I woke up at 5:30 and did my exercises from Grace and Arnie. Then immediately after, I did my ab challenge. This includes 25 normal crunches, 25 crunches on your left side, 25 crunches on your right side, 25 left knee crunches, 25 right knee crunches, 25 crunches legs only half bent, 25 crunches legs flat on the ground, 25 second plank hold, and 25 leg lift butt raise crunches. This challenge goes on for 14 days. I am on day two.
For breakfast I had an egg sandwich, for lunch I had soup and bread, for snack I had some chips and salsa and for dinner I made some Cornish game hen and roasted veggies.
Tomorrow is Insanity day! I just have to keep going!

I'm Loving It!

 Alright so I have lots of pictures from today. My breakfast start off with honey vanilla Greek yogurt with granola, strawberries and raspberries. Then I seared up some Ahi Tuna and put it on an Asian salad for lunch. Followed by some chips and salsa for a snack. And I am currently making Mac and Cheese for dinner.
I did my workout this afternoon. I'll be doing my ab workout after I post this.
I also have posted my pictures for this week. I'm not going to lie I'm feeling super inspired this week. I was worried about being back in Ellensburg but so far so good. It's been nice having the time to take pictures, make food, exercise and write this blog. And I still have some downtime. Ellensburg is treating me right!
It's amazing how much a life change like this can completely reshape your outlook on life. I feel like a much stronger and calmer individual than I did before this blog. But honestly I couldn't have done any of this without all of the wonderful and supportive people I have in my life. They continue to inspire me everyday to keep this up. To take chances. To put all of myself out there. So here's a big thank you to all of them for everything they do for me.

Shrimp with Cilantro Mojo

So today was my first day in Ellensburg. It's been fantastic! I went to the store to buy groceries and started with the outsides first!! (Which is one of the healthy habits). I bought a ton of healthy food to eat.
When I got back from the store I made fresh salsa. It's just the veggies, fresh lime juice, and some salt. Then I also made dinner. We had shrimp tacos. I took the shrimp with cilantro mojo from the Thin Kitchen cook book that Grace and Arnie gave me. It was AMAZING!!!
I used:

• fresh orange juice from 1 orange
• fresh lime juice from 1 lime
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 3 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3 leaves of fresh basil (the original recipe calls for oregano but I switched it)
• 1/4 fresh cilantro

To make the mojo: combine orange juice, lime juice, chicken broth, garlic, 3 tsp of olive oil, sugar and basil in small saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in cilantro, and cool for 5 minutes. Pour mojo into a medium bowl and add the shrimp, tossing well to coat. Let the shrimp marinate 15 minutes. Then cook.  (I edited the directions a little bit...this is exactly what I did). I put some shrimp on a corn tortilla with a little avocado and the homemade salsa.
I found this recipe absolutely wonderful. The two gents I ate with tonight also really enjoyed this meal! I call it a win! This is one I will for sure need to have again.
I cannot wait for the rest of this week! I think it's going to be great!

Beautiful Like Me

Well, my squat challenge is over!! I did it! Also I've started to see small changes in my body! It's wonderful! I looked in the mirror today and smiled! I'm loving the feeling of getting healthy. I love that I can feel muscles I didn't know I had. I love being able to be active for longer before getting tired. I just love the feeling of waking up and going to sleep everyday knowing that I am making a difference in my life.
So my Ellensburg adventure starts tomorrow! This will be the true test of the habits I have been building up. I'm arming myself with healthy recipes, workouts and motivation! I'm going to also start an ab challenge now that the squat challenge is done.
So here's to another step forward and hopefully not many back!

Portion Control

This morning kicked my butt! All of my muscles feel sore today. Which for me I absolutely love because it means I'm still working them hard enough to grow. It also makes me feel accomplished.  I'm loving every single moment of this road to becoming healthy!
My eating habits are probably the hardest part for me. I've been craving all of the worst food this week!! Before I go to work I think I'm going to swing by the store and pick up some healthy food to eat at work. That for sure is the hardest time for me. I'm hoping if I get a filling enough snack in me I'll feel a lot better by the end of the day.
Going along with my food issues I've included two different ways to measure portions.
I also have two days left of my squat challenge!! I can't believe the 30 days is almost up! This whole process is so exciting and wonderful!
My next biggest challenge is surviving my 2 1/2 week trip to Ellensburg! I have to keep ALL of this stuff up! I think I can do it!

PROGRESS!!!

So first of all I'm super tired so this will be pretty short.
But...today I saw my first real sign of progress!! I bought this pair of black skinny jeans when I first got my job. They were on super sale but pretty tight. I decided to buy them anyway. I haven't touched them since I bought them. They still had the tags on and everything. So this morning I decided to wear them to work and give my slacks a break. I was mentally preparing myself for the tightness of the jeans...BUT when I put them on and zipped them up...they were a little big!!! Big enough to where I needed to wear a belt!!! I was so excited!!! I might have teared up a little bit...it was very exciting.
I know this is a small win but I will take it. It was exactly what I needed to keep motivated. So here's to the future and more days where my clothes fit differently!!

These Days Will Happen

So...I'm not excited about posting my pictures today. It's been a day where I feel big. I know these days are bound to happen but today feels like a not going forward day. I feel like I've gone back ten or twenty steps. It's the first time in a long time I haven't felt like I am moving forward in my weight loss.
This means I just need to buckle down and do more. I need to make more time for this. I just have to keep reminding myself this is a process. There will be ups and downs but I have to stick with this and keep pushing!
Tomorrow is a new day and a fresh start!

Getting It Together

This weekend has been super long! It's been non-stop and I've gotten home very late the last three nights. So here it is I'm catching up!
So for the August healthy challenge I've done

1. Taking a daily vitamin
2. Flossing
3. Drinking more water
4. Eating Breakfast

It's going pretty well so far. I was a little bit nervous about the vitamin one because they used to make me nauseous...but so far so good!
My eating habits have stayed pretty good. I've been slacking a little bit on the healthy snacks throughout the day. That is something I could really improve on. The last couple of days I've found myself STARVING! I'm not entirely sure why...I might need more protein? I know I haven't been getting a lot of that. But one thing from yesterday that I discovered is that I love throwing edamame in stuff. Yesterday I put it in a salad and some pasta I made.
I've continued on the same workout plan. Today was the first day I fully got to sleep in. It was glorious! I needed it!
Other than that I'm starting to plan out my two and a half weeks away. I'm going to put together a meal plan, that way I know what to get at the store and I know I will eat healthy. I also believe Grace and Arnie will be giving me some exercises I can I do while I am there. I will be sticking to this whole plan while I'm away.
So today I will:

1. Make a meal plan
2. Make a packing list
3. Figure out how much I need to save for a car
4. Clean

I think all of these things will make for a much smoother week!!

August Healthy Habits Challenge

Alright. So I worked out this morning, continued squats and walked a lot at work. I am feeling the soreness in my body today. But I am still excited to do it again tomorrow.
Also since it is August I will be starting the August Healthy Habits Challenge. Today I started with taking vitamins every day! I hope that I can keep up with all of these healthy habits!

Sleep

So yesterday I slept through my alarm and then proceeded to sleep until 2ish. I did not get out of bed until then. That was my body's way of telling me it needed the day to fully rest. I didn't have work, so that's what I did. I rested all day and it was nice.
I didn't have breakfast since I slept through it. But I enjoyed some ravioli for lunch, shepherd's pie for dinner and some bread pudding for dessert. That was all I ate. I really enjoyed my day of rest.
I'll be posting again tonight for today's activities and food!

Feeling Good

So I worked out at 5:30, continued my squat challenge, and worked. I ate a nature valley bar, an egg sandwich with ham and veggies, an apple, pineapple, and an Amy's gluten free microwave dinner.
Here's the thing. What they say about how it's easier to wake up every morning to work out than it is to look in the mirror and not be happy with what you see, is completely true! I have not been this happy in a long time. Even if I am not actually smaller, I just feel better. I look and the mirror and love myself because at least I'm being active and doing this! I'm putting forth a real effort. I am already in better shape than I was. I'm so excited for the future. Once I got on track with working out and eating healthy my entire life started falling into place. I'm more optimistic about the future in every aspect and I'm just a happier person. If you are on the edge of starting I suggest just doing it now. Get through the first week or two. Those are the hardest! After that, it just becomes everyday! Start now! Feel better NOW!

Progress!

Well it's time for another picture! Time just keeps going by so fast. The squat challenge, the workouts! I had some progress today...I did pushups! I did them and I did a lot of them. Plus I did these things called marching plank. When I first started exercising I could barely do one. Today I did ten in a row fairly easily! This is exciting progress! Plus my arms are very sore right now. So I'm going to call that a win!
I ate a nature valley bar, a slim fast breakfast shake, a salad, and ravioli. It was all very delicious!

A Busy Weekend

So this weekend has been crazy busy but I made it through! The last couple of days I've kept up with the squat challenge but I haven't had enough time or energy to do much else. I did A LOT of physical stuff at work, which was good. Plus my eating habits this weekend stayed good! I'm very excited about that! I know this is short but I have to get some rest! I've got to workout at 5:30!!

Sweat

So I woke up and worked out at 5:30. We did stations today, which, I really like. I feel like the time passes faster and I honestly learned the names of lots of different things. I continued the squat challenge. Plus I ended up doing a decent amount of physical activity at work today.
I ate a nature valley bar, a half a sandwich, some cherries, half of a pickle, a little thing of fries, and smaller portion of left over Mexican food. It was all very good.
I used to think that I just didn't sweat very much. But now I know that is not true at all. I have sweat more in the last three weeks than I think I have my entire life. It's a very satisfying feeling to be sweaty after a workout. It makes me feel like I've accomplished something and worked very hard.

One Year From Now

I can't wait to see where I'll be!

So today I woke up and again did my 5:30am workout. I also continued on my squats. Then I went to learn how to use my new camera from my aunt, Cheryl. She's amazing! So I learned how to take basic pictures with my camera on manual. So after she taught me I went to the waterfront in Edmonds and walked around for two hours taking pictures. It was quite wonderful and felt great to be up on my feet and outside!
Today I ate a nature valley bar, 1/4 of a Jimmy John's sandwich, half of a Jimmy John's pickle, and am about to eat an Amy's Light and Lean Black Bean and Cheese Enchilada. So all in all a very satisfying day! I'm really getting excited because I'm noticing I need less food to feel full. I am still fully satisfied at the end of the day with the food I eat. It's crazy because the first week or so when I was trying to eat less I was miserable. But now that time has passed I'm doing really well with the less food. I feel great!
I'm now going to plug my Aunt's photography. If you are looking for a person to take wedding pictures, family portraits, senior pictures or headshots I highly recommend checking out Cheryl Ford. She is who I will be going to when I want to take my next set of headshots. Not only is she a great photographer, she's friendly and makes you feel instantly comfortable. You can check her out here: http://cheryl-ford-photography.com/

Sick Day

So I went to bed last night not feeling well. Then I woke up this morning still not feeling well. But I went and worked out anyway. It kicked my butt today. I then proceeded to come home and sleep all day because I was sick. So...not much to talk about. I'm feeling a little better but I'm hoping tomorrow I'll be all better.

30 Day Squat Challenge

So today I worked out again at 5:30am. It was great! I didn't have to stop nearly as much as I have in the past! Now I don't know if I'm getting more in shape or if my body is finding ways to make things easier...I guess we'll see. I also kept going on my squat challenge...which was a rest day! Speaking of which I realize I hadn't posted it yet...so there it is! The squat challenge!
Today was not a good eating day for me. My uncle is in town so we went out to eat. I had a California eggs benedict for breakfast and lunch. Plus I still have some leftovers. Then for dinner I had three carne asada tacos at the Mariners game. Plus a beer, some garlic fries, and one chocolate covered strawberry.
So...that was my day. Pretty short and sweet. Nothing too crazy. Tomorrow I do it all again!

Week Three Pictures!

Okay so today started a bit rocky. First even though I had plugged in my phone, it decided to be "dead" when I woke up this morning. Thus, causing me to sleep in late and miss the 5:30am workout session. Then I tried to find the 9am session but failed in being able to find the place where it takes place. So...I didn't get to workout with Grace and Arnie. Instead I went to the middle school near my house and did exercises that I've learned and ran laps around the track in between each set. Plus I got all of my squats in for the day and I carried some heavier stuff at work.
Today I ate a doughnut, an egg sandwich, an apple, a string cheese, a Lean Cuisine enchilada (which was delicious) and finally a cupcake that my boyfriend's sister, Kathleen, brought me at work.
And finally...these are my week three pictures! I can't believe its already been three weeks! This is very exciting! I love the feeling of marking another week off the calender! WHOOT!
Also...I got my fancy camera today...so once I learn how to use it I will be able to upload better pictures! Very exciting things are happening!