Friday, January 3, 2014

Back Again...New Year, New Me!



Has it been forever since I wrote a blog post or what? The last couple months were busier than I could even manage and I just had little to no free time on my hands. I started a new job...well two which I am very excited about and just got caught in the whirl wind of the holiday season. Thankfully, I stuck to my healthy habits pretty well. Now don't get me wrong I had a Christmas cookie or two and enjoyed family dinners but I didn't turn those splurges into anything more than one meal or one cookie.

I also stayed on track with my workouts throughout the month as well. I have been kind of all over the place with my workouts but I am staying active no matter what. I try to at least have 5 days with cardio and I strength train 3 days.

This year I am all about bettering myself. Usually my resolution is to lose weight but since I am already doing that I decided to make more specific resolutions.

Resolutions 2014


Nutrition Wishes: 
·         Eat slower! 
·         Better portion control. Use my food scale more and measure my foods better.
·         Drink more water.
·         Eat less processed crap. Even though it’s “fat free,” doesn’t mean it’s healthy.
·         Cook at home more and meal prep weekly


5 Kitchen Wishes:
·         Keep less junk food in the house.
·         Clean out old spices and buy fresh.
·         Use more fresh herbs in my cooking.
·         Recycle more.
·         Switch over to glass BPA free storage containers.


5 Fitness Wishes:
·         Try new things…classes, challenges…whatever!
·         Stretch everyday.
·         Take rest days with stride and learn to not feel bad about letting my body rest.
·         Do more workouts with my boyfriend.
·         Step out of my cardio comfort zone. Try cycling or start swimming!


5 Life Wishes:
·         Stop putting off things till the last minute. Make to-do lists and actually do them.
·         Plan a vacation with Zach.
·         Continue to chase my MUA dream.
·         Be more financially aware. Record what I spend and cut out unnecessary splurges.

·         Take more time to relax even if it’s just meditating 5 minutes a day. Stop worrying so much!


I I can't wait to kick my Fitness up a notch. I am still doing Dietbet's though I keep saying "this one will be the last one." I just like money too much haha. I was mostly sucked in this month because two of my favorite fitness bloggers were hosting them. The Blogilates challenge is going to be fun though because she has a lot of interactive stuff on her blog that goes along with the challenge like workouts and meal plans. She also added extra bonus incentives. 

December In Pictures


 Probably one of my favorite items that I got for Christmas was my Polar FT40 watch. Check it out here! I have wanted one for quite a while so I knew exactly what to ask for from Santa. I did plenty of research before deciding on the FT40. It was reasonably priced and had the best rating and reviews. It also had all the functions I wanted without being too complicated. I have been using it all week and I am in LOVE. Way more accurate than the gym machines and it also pushes me to stay in my targeted heart rate zone when I workout.
 Been all about those healthy meals you know. I especially was really into salad and soups this month. Cold chilly weather brings out the soup lover in me. I made quite a few healthy soups myself but on this particular day I was eating the Progresso Light Vegetable Soup. Word to the wise: Do not get this soup. It was so bland I thought I was eating veggies in water.
 I go through phases with breakfasts. Eating breakfast at all for me in a huge feat because when I first started my journey I hated breakfast. I almost never ate it. Now I am learning to love it and look forward to breakfast in the morning. Like I said I go through phases throughout the month. One week all I eat is cereal, then I am all about carbs like English muffins or toast, and then I get on a huge egg kick. This month for almost the whole month I was in the egg zone. Egg scrambles were my food of choice and I made them almost everyday but I made different versions. The one above was peppers, onions, turkey ham, and hot sauce!!! Oh ya hot sauce has been a recent favorite of mine too. I am eating it on a lot of things I never did before.
 I have been doing great with incorporating fresh fruits and vegetables into my diet. I have been trying to use what is in season at the time but my counters are usually sprawled with fresh produce.
 I have started to make meal prepping a priority especially since I now have a lunch everyday for work in a place that has lots of unhealthy options close by (Pizza, Chinese, Arby's, Bakery's) so packing ahead has been crucial for staying on track. I have found that I love making foil packets of things. This being Salmon above. I just put the salmon in the foil with olive oil, lemon juice, crushed garlic, parsley, and pepper and baked it. It was amazing and lasted me three days worth of lunches.
 A yummy salmon pasta I whipped up quick one night. This photo does not do it justice but it was to die for. Yolk free egg noodles, Salmon (cooked the same way as above), Italian seasoned diced tomatoes, and feta cheese. So easy and soooo yummy!
 Like I said I have been all about eggs and fresh produce lately. I just thought it was cute how my breakfast looked like it was smiling.
 I had an amazing Christmas with my family. Santa was good to everyone and I enjoyed every minute of being with my loved ones.
 Another gem I got for Christmas. I have only tried this once but man is it a good fat burner. It is going to take some time for me to get used to the routines but so far it's pretty great. Plus the instructor is so motivational and full of energy.
My sibling and myself with my grandmother. I just love this picture. Apparently black was our color this year. 
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