Jillian, Jillian, Jillian

ok, so week one was kind of unorganized and a clusterduck but I managed to work out for the majority of the week :) I've decided that I'll be doing the 30 day shred video every other day, and fill in the other days with the Six Weeks Six Pack video thinger. So far I have learned that there are many many many more muscles that can be sore on my body than I realized. Muscles that haven't been sore in a VERY long time. I'm happy with myself for getting through the videos and really pushing myself more each time I did it. It's hard though because there are days when I really would rather through the dvd's out a window, but you know what? We all have days like that. We're all human and intricate beings and well sometimes that just seems like the easier choice.

I've put together an idea for a Fitness Journal for myself too :) I'll just be using a binder and lined paper, but it's what works for me (plus it's cheaper haha)! I'll be writing what workout I'll be doing that day with a box to check off, the date, how I feel that day on a scale of 1-10 (1 being terrible and 10 being pretty darn great), how I ate throughout the day (good, bad, great, okay) and what my goal for the day is and if I accomplished that or not. The idea is that I have to actively be paying attention to what's going on during the day the whole day. Not just once in the morning to jot some stuff down, but actually actively noticing what's going on with myself physically and emotionally during the day.

I'll let you guys know how week two goes next monday! :)

peace

30 Days

First before I forget, my nails haven't changed much...I'm now using Sally Hansen Vitasurge strength gel, but they're still starting to peel when they get to a certain length : / any suggestions???

----30 Days----

Okay, so when I first started this blog it was to get some motivation for me to workout. I'll be honest, that hasn't happened all that much because of the craziness that is my life. I'm going to be 21 in August (woot woot!!) and I want to be happier with myself than I am now. My summer classes just started last week and I'm working part time, but I have a bit more time than I did during the school year. I'm staying at my friend's house for the summer so I can just commute to school, and I noticed that she has the Jillian Michael's 30 day shred video. I tried the Insanity workout last week for two days and a) it was a little too long for the time I had and b) I was so sore I could barely move (which isn't all that good when you have clinicals)

Moral of the story: I'm going to start the 30 day shred today and see what comes of it! I'm going to quite soda cold turkey today and strive to eat even better than I do now! I'm down to 182 right now so we'll see what I'm at come 30 days :)

peace

let's talk nails

Okay peeps, now I'll be honest that I'm not much of a material girl. But, I like to look polished and nice. Whenever my bestie and I talk about 'girls' night' the first thing we say is "We should do our nails!!" (that and chick flicks, face masks, popcorn and/or chocolate...none of which are a bad thing...). We always love to walk through the nail polish section in the store and see what new, bright, fascinating colors are available. But what happens when our nails get a mind of their own?

I'll be honest, my nails peel. And it bothers the bejeezums out of me. I'll paint my nails all nice and pretty and then next thing I know, not only is the nail polish chipping off, but so are the layers of my nail!! So I started to do a little research and I'll let you know how it helps me.

Here's what I'm going to do:

1) Take a daily supplement called Biotin. It's a B vitamin that's supposedly good for your nails, skin, and hair.

2) No polish for a while! - I guess this helps according to some sources...so we'll see...

3) Nail strengthener - this is the only thing I'll be putting on my nails. Right now I have L.A. Colors strengthener, but it's almost finished. So after that, I'll let you know what I decide to try.

Well ladies and gents, I'm off to date night with the love :) Have a wonderful and safe evening

peace

Quittin' Cold Turkey

You know what most people say about people that are addicted to something - "Oh just quit cold turkey."


ummm let me just point out, that it is much, much, MUCH harder than it sounds or seems. Honestly...and there usually isn't even any turkey involved.

Now, someone out there is probably wondering what I'm quitting.

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!!!!!

badadadadadadadadadadadaa


Facebook.

I know what you must be thinking...HOW??? or eh. Some people never got addicted so it won't seem as bad as I think it does. I think the same about smoking or drinking...I've never been addicted, so what's the big deal?

It's so freaking hard. As a society we put so much effort into being 'connected' with everyone that we're 'friends' with, that we forget what actual social interaction is like. We become socially awkward unless we can make everything like strawberry jam and lemonade in a text or facebook post. People, we have lost touch.

I used to spend incredible amounts of time getting lost in books, outside in imaginary worlds and stories, or just playing with myself or my siblings. I can't recall the last time I have done any of those things. We have become so engrossed in what everyone else's "life" is like that we forget to realize that a computer screen isn't what life is about. Now, yes I blog here and there. That's the difference. Every time I opened my browser up I immediately went to facebook. I always had to be logged on or putting a status up. Why hasn't anyone liked it?? Aren't I funny? WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME??? We are feeding insecurity among every age group to feel like it's all about how many invites you have, the number of facebook friends, how many people have liked or commented on a status, when it isn't at all. You begin believing that you're not liked or ignored by people who you don't know or never see or talk to in real life.

Thus, I made my decision. Deactivation it was. The worst part is that Facebook gives you a little guilt trip while they're at it. They put up pictures of people who will supposedly miss you...how do you know that Facebook?? HMMM???

They don't. One or two of the people they showed I hadn't spoken to in quite some time so I picked apart that fallacy...anyway! Then they make you choose a reason as to why you're leaving...and one of them is "it's just temporary, I'll be back." Personally, I think there should be an option that says "everyone on this site is pretty much a selfish, self-centered jerk that I don't want to have to interact with" but I doubt that will happen.

So for this past week I've actually noticed that I've been focusing more and really studying and learning. Amazing, I know. I've been getting less headaches, and my inner chi is feeling pretty good. It was super hard the first couple days, but I just told myself no. Yeah it would be super easy to reactivate it by signing back into my account, but what's the point? I don't want to be worrying about what everyone else is complaining about. I don't need storm clouds and negativity in my life...I need rays of sunshine. I have found that I've been much more in touch with myself and what I'm thinking and saying instead of just spitting word vomit out of my mouth. I've rediscovered my appreciation for absorbing the outdoors and the actual company of others. I let myself get lost in a book this week and I realized how much I truly missed the feeling of realizing that I had been reading for over 3 hours straight. I have found what some people call the 'flow' when I start working on things. I get completely absorbed in it and I let myself feel connected and enjoy my work and crafts. It's such an amazing feeling and experience.

One of the best parts is that the people who really care have emailed, texted, called, or asked personally if they see me what was up. They've actually tried to stay in contact with me. I can tell you right now I definitely haven't received 542 texts and/or emails about the matter. Being off of the site for a week has proved pretty awesome and stress relieving. So, I've decided that as of now I'm staying Facebook free. I quit cold turkey, and I will never again make fun of my mother for using the phrase.

Peace

P.S. I hope that this inspires others to try it out too :)

When I'm down and low

As I've started this journey I've realized a few things about me. One of my biggest things is that I can have a temper. I'm a firm believer in "treating others the way you'd like to be treated." And it's pretty hard to have respect for someone when they don't respect you.

Now, as I've also mentioned before, I'm Irish. I know it's a stereotype, but I have an Irish temper...I can get pretty pissed off pretty quickly when people decide to be stupid. So that being said, it's safe to say that it's something I have to work on quite often to curb. I like to say that I do pretty good with controlling myself and not saying hurtful things to people around me...however I've noticed that this has led to me being walked over quite a bit by people who claim to be my 'friends'.

I will say right now I hate being the doormat. I'm the middle of five girls, so quite frankly I've often been the doormat. However as a now (mostly) adult I will say that I've started to stand up for myself and it's started to weed out the impostors. I've lost a few friends, and quite frankly it hasn't seemed to be a bad thing, but I've gained some new ones and my relationships have gotten even stronger with the ones who've stuck with me. There have been ups and downs to this and it's been incredibly stressful and painful, but I'm starting to realize that I need to just suck it up and tell 'em off.

Anger is such a hard thing to control or even to quell. I care so much about the people that are around me that I often find myself holding onto hard feelings that I can't seem to get rid of. I carry around so much anger and bitterness, but I'm still the ever present friend who would do anything for anyone. I've started to be able to put those feelings aside because in the end, it's only hurting me. It doesn't hurt who I'm angry at - they couldn't care less.

Well here goes. My goal of the week is to let go. To let me be me and say screw them. This is my life and my story. I will lean on God to help me with this journey and this goal that I have for myself. Because God knows I'm going to need His help...probably more than I even know.

Here are some Bible verses that I'm going to be carrying around with me through the week

Ephesians 4:31
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

Ephesians 4: 26-27
Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.

Proverbs 15:1
A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Psalm 46:10
Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

Hopefully that can help some of you guys out too...whether you believe in God or not. Being angry hasn't ever helped a bad situation get better. Have a great day :)

Peace

O.O what the...

Ok, I'm just typing this up super quick to let you guys know what's going on. So I started try the Mango Thin stuff and well...it's had some...interesting side effects. I'm not one to talk all about bodily functions on the internet or anything like that, but I mean this is an experiment to help people out.

So I noticed that I've had to urinate A LOT more since I started using the supplement and that, well, my urine was...how can I put this? Umm neon yellow. Now when I say neon, I mean sharpie yellow highlighter neon yellow. At first I thought "hey maybe I need to drink more water. Maybe it's just concentrated." Well I started drinking more water than what I was (which tends to be a bit) and that didn't really help at all. I also started to get headaches and just felt icky.

So in the end, I've stopped taking the supplement. It made me a little too worried and nervous about what it was doing on my insides there. Now don't get me wrong, it might work for other people. Everyone is different. No doubt about it. It just didn't work for me. If you try it out, let me know if it helped you or whatnot!

Peace

A Curious Experiment

Okay so it's pretty late (or pretty early depending on your perspective) and it's my first all-nighter this semester. I'm taking a break from homework and I figured I'd tell you about my little experiment.

I know that many of you have thought about trying 'diet pills' or maybe have even tried them. I've always been skeptical, and I've read some pretty negative things. So I figured I'd find out for myself and share the lovely experience with all y'all :)

For one month I'll be trying something called "Mango Thin." I picked it up on sale for $5 at Walgreens while I was home for the weekend. It's made with raspberry ketone and green tea. You take 2 tablets a day (with two separate meals) for 30 days. So here goes.

Peace

ow ow

Now when I say "ow ow" ;)  I mean ow ow ow ow ow my body hurts...in a great way of course!

I've been pretty busy unfortunately and I'm really trying to make this blog an every day thing! I'm sorry it hasn't been and it's been a little all over the place, but things get like that when you're losing your sanity ;) 

As many of you yourselves may be, I admit to being a severe Pinterest addict. If you have no clue what it is, Google it and be in awe. I have found so many cool, fun, unbelievably witty ideas and I can't get enough of it. One of my favorite categories is fitness. Now, admittedly, I love to repin it and put it on my board and I think "OO!! I'm going to try that sometime!" and then it sits on that board and I forget that it ever existed. I know that many of us pinners follow this terrible cycle. I am proud to announce that I have finally broke the chain! 

Last night I printed off two workouts off my board that I've been meaning to try and I did them. Before I get into what they are, let's have a little chat. Now, I'm not sure how much you know about working out, but it can be boring, annoying, time consuming, space consuming, a pain in the diaphragm, among many other things. But the pros outweigh the cons by a long run (no pun intended!)!! Being overweight, or even just out of shape, can impact your health in a lot of negative ways. The average blood pressure is 120/80 mm of Hg (millimeters of Mercury for those of you who don't do med speak) and anything about 140/90 is considered hypertension (high blood pressure). Hypertension is just plain bad for your body because it makes your heart work a lot harder to get blood to all the places it needs to be. Diet and exercise are two of the most effective ways of lowering your blood pressure. If you're on medication, definitely talk to your doc about incorporating the natural treatments with your medication regimen. You might even be able to get your BP to a manageable state that can get you off the med completely (that is in no way a guarantee). You should always talk to your doctor about any new diet or exercise regimen, whether you're on medication or not, to make sure that it's a good fit for you. 

Alright, now that my nursing teach-a-thon is out of the way, let's talk about the low-down nitty gritty. I love exercising...I'm overweight and out of shape, but I crave the way it makes me feel after. I always feel like I'm on top of the world and just overall great. Usually I'm running around like a chicken with its head cut off so it can be hard for me to stop myself and say "Self. You need to make time for this. It's important!" I have low blood pressure (although I have a family history of high blood pressure so I check it often) and good cholesterol so I say "Eh. It can wait until tomorrow. I still have x,y, and z to take care of." Next thing I know I'm laying in bed metaphorically kicking myself in the butt for not working out. The chain then repeats and nothing really gets done. So, I found two pretty quick (not necessarily easy) workouts that I gave a shot last night, and it was sooo worth it!! You should always try to incorporate 20-30 minutes (minimum!) of cardio into your day. This gets your heart pumping, which is good exercise for it, and it can help to clear some of the plaque buildup off of your blood vessels! Which is great because in the long run it can decrease your chances of arteriosclerosis and a heart attack in the future. Along with cardio, which encourages weight loss, you should get in weight training. Weight training is great because it helps build muscle which burns more calories than fat at rest! Who wouldn't want that?? Another great plus is that it helps women who are at risk of developing osteoporosis or who have already been diagnosed. Weight bearing activities such as walking and even lifting weights (starting with light weights and increased repetitions and then moving up as appropriately recommended by their doctor) encourages the body to take calcium out of the blood stream and build it back into the bone. It isn't a cure all, but nothing is for anything negative related to health (in my own opinion). 

Okay! Workouts! Sorry...the nurse part of me usually gets first dibs here ;) One more thing though! Always warm up and stretch out before you start! You'll be one sore hurt puppy the next day if you don't!

Do it Daily x2 Reps

     20 Jumping Jacks

     10 Crunches

     5   Push-Ups

     10 Calf Raises

     25 Russian Twists

     10 Squats

     20 High Knees

     10 Reverse Crunches

     30 Second Plank

     15 Second Side Plank (on each side)

Alrighty. A few notes. I put my yoga mat down and I found that I jump a lot higher and with more motivation  because I say my feet can't drag up the sides of the mat or I have to do the jumping jack again. So feet on the mat then feet on the floor. No dragging! The crunches. Don't pull your head up. Use your abs to pull you body together and keep your nose pointing to the ceiling. Push ups - if you have to put your knees down, do it. Don't push yourself. Try to make it a goal to do one military and then the other four modified. Then 2 military and 3 modified, and so on. It's a manageable goal that gets you somewhere and shows your improvement. If you can do them all military, try to see how close to the floor you can get. Calf raises! These are a body weight workout. Like yoga, its all about going slow and maintaining control. Go up slow and go down slow...don't just let your heel fall to the floor. Russian twists will be the metaphorical death of me. They hurt and they can be tricky. Keep your core tight to keep your back supported-you don't want to get hurt! If you need more of a challenge, hold onto a weight at both ends and have at it. Again, going slow really can intensify this exercise, as well as how far back you lean. Squats, don't bend to far forward while you're doing them and try to go slow and push towards the floor with your buttocks and thighs. That's really what you want to be working with this exercise! High knees...one is a right AND a left. Not right knee up is one then left knee up is two. I find counting one and two and three and etc helps me to not skimp. LiveStrong has a good youtube video on how to do this exercise. Planks, do them however you're comfortable. Don't kill yourself but try as hard as you can to stay up! What I did was one circuit of this routine and then I threw in a short weight circuit. 

I did 10 reps of each with 5 lbs weights (**I'll add the link I used to get to this to show pics!**)

http://goodbyebabylon.tumblr.com/post/40336398152

"Tone your Arms in 7 Days" 

     Triceps Kickbacks

     Biceps Curl and Front Press

     90-Degree Raise

     Standing Shoulder Fly

     Reverse Curl & Side Press

Notes: The slower and more controlled movements you have the better results you'll see. Control your breathing to match your lift...so inhale and then as you exhale slowly lift the weights into the exercise and after you complete the move and are returning to start inhale slowly. It helps with controlling the weights, your form, and completing the whole movement. 

I did the cardio once through instead of twice, then the arms and then the cardio again and then arms again and then I cooled down by walking around my building and stretching everything out! I hope you guys give this a stab and comment to let me know what you think of it! :) 

Peace

Goal-a-licious

SO! It's been almost a week and I'm struggling to get my butt up to work out. Now, it's not because I'm motivated. Because I am...I'm just finding it hard to find the time. But I figured I'd talk a little bit about my goals...and hopefully that'll help me pinpoint time frames :)

Last summer I actually started to really try to lose some weight. I've been an athlete plagued with injuries (wrenching my knee, dislocating my shoulder, appendicitis, well I think you get the idea) and it's been hard for me to be consistently active and healthy. I hate not being consistent. I think it's one of the most important things for someone to be. You have to be consistent in your life to really make things happen. Well anywho, about June/July I really started to work out and make a real effort to make myself feel better. By the end of the summer I had lost roughly 8 pounds and I looked like I had some muscle on my. What was even better was the fact that I felt a million times better. I didn't feel like I as always struggling to keep up with my life or like I was always about to fall asleep. Since then it's been up and down because of crazy schedules at school and such, and since then I've dropped another 2-3 pounds. So in all I'm 10 or 11 pounds lighter than I was last summer.

Now this was also the summer I tried the no shampoo thing (which wasn't all that bad) and I worked like a crazy person and then took on a new semester of nursing school. So I guess what I'm getting at is that I'm being a little over dramatic thinking that I can't manage to make time to do SOMETHING even though this semester will be even crazier than the last three.

Back to the point. I've talked to my doctor and I'm technically "obese" even though I don't even look close to it. I'm 5'7 and I look a little heavy, but not obese. A point that I'd love to make, by the way, is that those charts that they use don't take into consideration a lot of things. I'll tell you right now I'm built like an Irish boxer. There's no denying that I'm half Irish (the other half is Portuguese - I know...weird mix) and that I was built to be an athlete and what not. So one of my goals is to embrace that fact. I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'll probably never be considered 'voluptuous' or have a Kardashian (should I put a  copyright there...? ;) ) butt or anything like that. I won't be petite or a 'tiny little thing'...but I'm starting to realize that my body is the only body I'll ever get. You don't get many redo's when it comes to taking care of the one ya got. So here goes. My dad has high blood pressure and I'm worried about it. My brother has Type I Diabetes. So far every test I've had has come up clean. I have consistently low BP (usually 102/65ish) and great cholesterol. I'm going to start taking advantage of the momentum that I have left over from the summer.

So here's my first goal. By valentine's day (my one year anniversary with my amazing, handsome, supportive, caring, gentle, kind, and - ahem. Sorry) I'd like to have lost about 5 pounds. But that isn't the only part of it - I want to start looking toned. I want to be able to do at least one pull up (at some point in my life not necessarily Valentines haha) and do 10 actual push ups without putting my knees down. I also want to cut down my (already pretty small) soda intake down by at least half. I drink about 2-5 cans/servings of soda in a week and I really need to stop drinking it. I have issues with gluten, and a lot of the caramel coloring and ingredients have gluten. We'll leave that to another post though :)

My friends, let us toast our water and other healthy drinks such as green tea to accepting ourselves as who we are. Because the mirror doesn't lie...we do. And we all deserve to look at that mirror and realize that the mirror was telling us we were beautiful the whole time.

New Semester

As a nursing student life is never very dull...or boring...or filled with copious amounts of unscheduled or unoccupied time. I started my new semester today, and the way it's looking I'm going to be very tired for a very long time.

I'm going to admit that it's pretty easy to get overwhelmed and overtired. I'm going to have to work extra hard at getting my workout in and really striving to eat healthy. I'm going to be using the TurboJam Series from Beach Body...I first used them a while ago and I absolutely fell in love with them! I don't get bored in the middle of the workout or any of that junk.

Well, I'm off to read a whole bunch of stuff for all my classes. I'll be more thorough later about my goals and my actual workouts and stuff.

Peace

Day One

I'm new to this whole 'blogging' craze, so please bear with me!

Like so many others I've jumped on the 'it's a new year so I'm getting in shape and losing weight' bandwagon. Now some people may just call it a crazy train (I've admittedly done so in past years) and they can just take a back seat for now. I guess I just figure 13 is my lucky number - I don't know why it just has proven itself over the years. For this first post I'll let you know a little bit about me!

First off, I'm a 20 year old nursing student in the northeast. Yes, general I know...but that's sort of the idea ;) I'm the middle child of five girls...of a very large very Portuguese family (yeah chew on that one for a bit). I absolutely love to travel and I want to see more and more of my world. I'm a makeshift motivational speaker for my friends and roommates (but really who can't do that?). I love to do crafty things like crocheting and origami - so mostly things that involve sitting around on my butt!

And this is where our story begins my friends. I need some accountability - I guess that's my problem sometimes. Now, don't get me wrong, I love my workouts. But sometimes I would much rather crawl into bed and pass out than throw on my gym clothes and work out. Who isn't like that? We read magazines about celebrities who workout with incredible trainers for 2 hours a day 5 days a week, and in reality that is completely improbable for the average human being. We don't have the time, energy, space or money for that. We're the ones who have to work out in our living room because that's all we have darn it! Well that's all I have at least - and starting Sunday I'll have even less at my dorm. I'm hoping that by having this blog I'll become accountable to at least one person and I'll be an inspiration to someone. I hope that I'll be able to inspire someone to get up and get healthy so that they can lead a happier, healthier, stronger life. I know how it is to go into that fitting room and have someone ask does it fit? And all you can mutter is no because in reality I'd love to say fit what? me? Funnyyyy.

So ladies, and potentially gentlemen, here are the stats.
          Height: 5'7''
          Weight: 187 lbs.
          Arm: 13''
          Thigh: 24''
          Waist: 39''
          Hips: 45''
As ashamed and embarrassed by these as I am, there they are. My goal for this blog is to chart my progress and share tips and advise that I find along the way with all of you. Anecdotes, funny gym stories, delicious recipes, work out tips, you name it and it will probably make its way in here. Well guess, here's to kicking fit what.