Tag Archives for Inspiration
Get Funky
I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately when it comes to working out and cooking. My job has been absolutely insane lately and I haven’t been left with much else than a lot of stress and a huge desire to sleep the moment I get home. I mean, check out how sad and neglected my fridge was:
Of course this was interfering with my blogging since there wasn’t much to write about. Well, I got home yesterday and told myself that I was gonna snap out of this slump I’m in. I hit up the grocery store and got some fresh fruit, veggies, eggs, tofu, Ezekiel bread and Greek yogurt. The fridge looks much better like this:
After that Greg and I took Pepper for a walk since the weather was so nice. I was honestly still feelin’ about as scummy as that pond up there but I knew the walk would do me some good. As we were looping back to the car we stopped and checked out the beautiful sky.
Seriously. How gorgeous is that?! It made everything seem okay in that moment.
When we got home I cracked open a cold one and decided to drink my problems away. Kombucha is amazing like that. :]
It was pretty late and I wasn’t in the mood to make something really involved to eat so we decided to heat up this frozen pizza we had bought earlier. It turned out really well and was super good! I love crispy crusts and lots of basil.
Before bed I made some Ezekiel toast with almond butter and agave on one and almond butter and banana on the other. Whenever I make toast with banana I always think of one of my favorite Gilmore Girl episodes ever. If you’re as addicted to that show as me then you know exactly what I’m talking about.
Now it is a new day and I vow to not let things that I can’t control get to me. It’s no good to stress out about things you can’t change and to instead just focus on what you can make better.
How do you handle stress? I like to watch old episodes of my favorite tv shows (Gilmore Girls, Parks & Recreation) and go running. I always feel better after a nice, long run!
Ripped In 30 Challenge
I picked up a copy of Jillian Michaels’ “Ripped In 30″ over the weekend. I am really excited to start it because it’s very similar to 30 Day Shred except there are four workouts you do over four weeks! I’ve heard wonderful things about this workout and decided to do a little challenge.
I’m going to do the entire program starting tomorrow morning and track my progress including before and after shots, weight and measurements. I’ve been kind of stuck where I am working out and eating well but not really seeing any changes anymore and I want to break through that. I will be nice to have new workouts and hopefully see some muscle definition.
There is a free meal plan with recipes on Jillian’s site that you’re supposed to follow in order to see maximum results. It is actually all very realistic and looks easy to follow. I’m going to try to adhere to her plan as much as possible, but I’ll probably be adding in an extra snack in the morning. I’ll post what exactly I’m eating and how the workouts are going. I’m excited to start a program and be disciplined enough to finish it and hopefully see some good results.
Have any of you started Ripped In 30 or done any of the workouts? I’d love to hear what you think about it!
Trying Something New: Kickboxing!
*Let me first say that this was a killer workout. I was dripping with sweat and chugging water throughout the class. When I woke up this morning my legs, shoulders, butt, obliques and back were super sore so I know I got an amazing workout in. It was a 45 minute class and I burned 515 calories. The reason the time shows 57 minutes is because I started my heart rate monitor when the instructor was showing us beginners what each move and combo was.
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I finally stuck to my New Year’s goal of taking one new fitness class per month and for March that was kickboxing. I was really nervous about it since I’m not the most coordinated person in the world, but Greg said he’d come along which made me happy since it was a new class and at a gym location I’d never been before.
Before class began the instructor asked if there was anyone new and me, Greg and another girl raised our hands in the class of about eight people. She showed us what each move was that she’d be calling out, as well as some combos used during class. She started off with jab, cross, hook and uppercut.. I’m thinking to myself that this is no big deal and I’ve got this. Then she goes into these crazy ass combinations that require a little more effort than a jab cross combo. These combinations were not only hard to follow, but I’m in a mirrored room doing some really embarrassing moves that I can’t quite keep up with. I was really nervous now.
Class starts and we do a warm up and I’m checking out the other people in the mirrors, especially the other new girl, to see how they’re doing and they all look like they have a clue what is going on. I was so self-conscious during that first song that I remember thinking to myself that I wouldn’t be able to do this and there was no way I could handle another forty-five minutes. The self-doubt that was flooding my brain was intense and was really starting to shake me up a bit.
But ya know what? I snapped out of it and I looked around at the class and saw people in different stages of their fitness journey who were working hard, not caring about what they looked like in the mirrors and were trying something that, at one point, maybe they never thought they could do either. I mean really.. I’m just in a stinky old gym when I could be at home sitting on the couch watching tv, but instead I’m stepping out of my comfort zone and in that moment I was so proud that I took that first step. I stepped into the gym and I vowed to try something new. It took me two months to work up the courage to try something new and different and who really cares if I embarrass myself. Are these people going to remember how awkward I looked? Nope. Do they even care what I’m doing? Doubt it. They are working on themselves and not worrying about anyone else.
So I just forgot about looking perfect and had fun. I couldn’t keep up during every combo, but I kept moving. I messed up plenty of times, but I tried the best I could and I actually got the hang of most of it. And when we were “adding flair” by gyrating across the room I even smiled. Okay, that part was actually a little embarrassing, but seeing Greg’s face when the instructor said we were going to basically hump the air across the room made it totally worth it.
At the end of class I had gotten a great workout in and I had fun. I wasn’t really as bad as I thought I was going to be, I did something new for myself and I’m looking forward to next week. Don’t be scared to take a new class because you feel like you might look silly or feel out of place.. just smile, don’t take things so seriously and have a great time. Just like life, you don’t have to keep up with everyone else, you only have to keep moving.
A Lil’ Inspiration
How amazing is this?! To be that strong is still unbelievable to me and I feel like I could never reach that point. I have to remember that last year I couldn’t even do one push-up and now I’m up to 10 real, solid push-ups or that I can now run a 5k without stopping when I couldn’t make it a mile before. It takes time and I just need to learn to be patient and keep working hard. I love photos like this because they let you know that really anything is possible if you work hard enough. Love it!
