Woof

I barely even have the energy for this post right now. Sports conditioning KILLED me today. Pushed me right to my edge. After one particularly hard set I was completely out or breath/borderline asthma attack feeling and legit thought I was going to puke. Jackson def pushed us tonight since almost everyone at some point either blacked out or was seeing spots. It felt sooo good though. I never get to that level in my normal workout. I actually wish this class was twice a week because I would be in badass shape. He said that to jack up my normal workouts I should switch machines every 20 minutes (so 20 minutes of treadmill, stairs, and row or bike) because it confuses the muscles and burns more calories. He also said that when I do the stairmaster I should walk on a high incline but turn the speed down low enough that I don't have to hold on to the safety bars. Makes you work your body more. Going to attempt to hit the gym tomorrow night as long as I'm not too sore, although I walked for 50 mins before the class and then Sam and I walked for probs 20 mins after the class to cool down so I should be ok.

For dinner I made some badass guacamole. I only had 1 avocado left and wanted to make a fair amount of guac, so I tried something daring and added two heaping tablespoons of plain greek yogurt along with a heaping tablespoon of roasted garlic salsa. It was soooooo good. The yogurt added and tanginess and a little extra protein. It also means I have left overs for tomorrow!!!

And finally, I am on to week 3 of not biting my nails!!! I can't remember the name of the Essie polish, and I'm too tired to get up and look, but it's grey and cute and I love how long my nails are getting!!!
One goal at a time baby.

Xoxo Sarah

PS random thought, but my favorite shirts for working out are plain Hanes v-necks. I think I want a bunch more white and black ones.

Holy sports conditioning

Wow, big workout tonight. I went to the Tuesday night sports conditioning class at 7pm with Erika and boy did I get my ass kicked!!! The instructor is a KPE major and a full back on the football team (and super hot) and he kicked our asses with intervals of cardio, legs/abs, and arms, all integrating different weights and medicine balls into the routine. My entire body was red half the time and I could feel myself shaking, but it felt good. I always say you can judge how good a workout is by the post-workout hair situation

I'd say that's pretty solid

The class really worked my entire body, and even though I know I will be sore as hell tomorrow, the class didn't kill me. It probably also help that I did a mile around the track afterwards (slowly) with Erika&Sam which helped keep my muscles loose, and then we did some yoga. Because I didn't die, I will def be doing the class again next week. And even though everyone says you should workout in the morning, I honestly enjoy working out at night. It helps relieve the stress of the day and eats up those sometimes boring hours of 6-9 when you don't really know what to do with yourself (because homework is obviously out of the question).
If I'm not in too much pain tomorrow I would like to attempt to run as much of 5k as I possibly can. Using this website that Coach Kelsey gave me I've been trying to build up my running game, but honestly have mostly been walking and I think it's about time to step it up. I hate running but love the idea of it and really want to be one of those people that can just be like "Oh ya I got up and ran 5 miles this morning so now I'm good to go fr the day". Mostly I imagine this happening on Thanksgiving so I can then stuff my face guilt free *whoops*.
As far asmy small goals have been going, I made it a week without biting my nails (well all but one, but I'm still counting it as a win) sooooo I got to paint my nails a new color tonight!!!

Essie "Mamba"

How white do my teeth look in that picture?? Holy cow! Anyway, I digress.
I also bought some solid healthy food for the rest of the week and am going to use some of the tips this book "Spark" mentioned here on certain foods (omega-3s) that combat cortisol, which is the cause for my belly fat (thanks stress!!). My friend Sam gave me some good tips, so big shout out to her!!
Xoxo love you all, thanks for the support!

Reality Check and Self Control

Ok, so it has been a few weeks since I posted. I know I'm slacking. I think I've just been very frustrated with this whole process. I know diet is huge, which is really the biggest piece I'm not staying consistent with, but it's hard when A) you dont have a lot of $$ and B) when you're on a college campus and everyone around you is eating shitty food, a lot. Drinking doesn't help either.
I think the biggest thing is I needed a reality check, which I got the other day. I realized that if I keep looking at the big goal of 30 lbs, I'm going to fail because it just keeps seeming too daunting. Or I will have some buff chick dip and be like "fuck, I'm never going to make it". I realized the other day if I'm ever going to succeed I need to start breaking it down into smaller pieces because otherwise I feel like I'm losing control. And to prove to myself that I actually may HAVE some self-control, I gave myself a different challenge that has nothing to do with diet/exercise. As many of you know I bite my nails constantly. So I went out and bought a bunch of great nail polish (all by Essie)and did a really good job painting my nails. I'm going to keep each color on for 1 week, and if I don't bite my nails for that entire week then I will repaint my nails a new color. If I do bite my nails then I have to repaint it the same color until I can go one week without biting. Tomorrow will be the first week mark, and so far so good! I have gone a whole week without biting my nails, which helps me prove to myself that if I set smaller, more attainable goals that are also fun.
One thing that I set yesterday was my friend Erika and I are going to set a night every week (Weds) where we go to the gym together and work out for a solid 2 hours. We did it yesterday and it worked pretty well. We motivated each other to go long on the cardio, and showed each other some different toning up/yoga moves. I have been doing the Tone it up! Bikini Strap workouts 3 times a week and can really feel it in my chest, triceps and butt. I feel like if I make small weekly fitness goals (which, again, Tone It Up! is really great for) they then just naturally get integrated into my routine and I begin building up to better workouts. The toehr goal for this week is to get to at least one class at the rec a week. This week it will either be spin class tonight or sports conditioning tomorrow (hopefully both!).
My finally goal is to try and eat some sort of vegetable with every meal. Instead of making goals that are more like punishments (don't eat cheese, don't eat chocolate, don't drink coffee) I'm going to try a similar approach as with fitness: if I make small weekly goals that slowly build on top of each other they will naturally be integrated into daily life. So by eating veggies with every meal it means I will be eating more of them every day, and then can slowly phase out some of the less healthy foods.
Another thing I have to keep reminding myself is that coffee is NO GOOD. It costs me $$, dries me out, and only makes me more tired. I already have tons of different tea at my house, so it's stupid to waste all that. So when I'm craving coffee I'm gonna turn to water/tea (plus with the dryer cold weather my lips are getting chapped, and I know drinking more water helps keeping my mouth from looking like a dried out asshole).
Off to have some Kashi oatmeal and then rock it out to Dub Step on the treadmill!
Xoxo
PS this is just for fun :p

Word, from the lib

Weekend Warrior!

Wow, WHAT a weekend. After my pity party and then new found inspiration (along with some fantastic supporters) I got back at it this weekend. First, I bought some cheap but healthy food, along with a bunch of lean cuisines (JOD was so proud) and got some serious gym time in.

My new stash of LCs, along with some other healthy cheap food

I have been reading a lot of Health magazine, and one thing that I have really taken away (along with paying attention to what Bethenny Frankel teaches) is to find ways to be active/squeeze in work outs throughout the day besides just hitting the gym.  So Saturday I had a BIG workout sesh and then because we out for the great Her Campus Maine Breast Cancer event we did some serious dancing there and at the after party. Sunday I went for a walk in the woods with Cooper and captured these great shots

Today I hit the gym for about an hour (walked for 40mins and then did some different yoga and toning move from my Health magazine) and then discovered the most obvious but BEST small exercise to throw in randomly through out the day: DANCING!!! By playing music during my shower and actually dancing in the shower I was adding some extra core exercises. I also danced in my room while I was waiting for my hair to dry. It's really fun (who doesn't love dancing?) and adds a little extra to my activity level throughout the day.
The other way I'm switching things up is...gasp...not drinking. Saturday night I only had one beer the entire night. I kept myself going by having a red bull before going out and then getting a small coffe at T-Hos a 1am before hitting the after party. I cut way back on calories consumed by doing that, didn't feel like shit the next day, didn't binge eat, and was able to stay out until 4am (which is something I can never do when I drink because I get so tired!). My big pit fall this weekend? We did a real housewives of NJ watch party last night at JOD's and had some serious munchies (buff chix dip, mini weiners, fried ravioli and a delicious dessert concoction that Josh made). I tried to keep the buff chix dip somewhat healthy by using 1/3 less fat cream cheese, vegan mayo, fat free cheese and greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Today I gotta make sure to load up on veggies and water and keep that calorie count low. Hopefully this week I can fit in another 2 hour workout at some point (probs Friday), but until then I just gotta keep hitting the gym the best I can and try and squeeze in other small activities when I can!
XOXO

The Pity Party is OVER!!

Ok, so I had a little bit of a pity party today. I was feeling pretty down about life, so I went over to my friend Sam+Creadles's house and we had a solid girls night. We all vented about shit that has hit the fan and gave each other some solid feedback. Since they are also poor grad assistants and fairly healthy eaters, they gave me some tips on cheap healthy eating. Sam said that celery and carrots are always cheap, and she buys them with a big cuke that she slices up and eats throughout the week. She also said yogurt and oatmeal is pretty cheap too. Creadles told me about apple cider vinegar and that it's supposed to help with weight loss. She started drinking it before every meal (1 tablespoon mixed with 8 oz water) and said that it not only makes you feel full but it also really flushes out your system. We then brainstormed some ways to make it taste better, like mixing it with a little Agave nectar or a packet of Emergen-C. This, combined with some super sweet support from my Floridian transplant friend Erin, really helped pull me out of my funk. We also made the most INCREDIBLE pasta-less eggplant lasagna (basically just layered eggplant parm), followed by "Raising Helena" and brownies with cream cheese frosting (hey, it was a girls night, we needed a little something extra).  We also drank martinis and discussed the finer aspects of porn, but that's besides the point. I really thank everyone for their support, and I was really inspired tonight to pick myself back off, shake off the rainy day blues (it has been overcast for 2 weeks now!!!! -_-), and take this weekend to get back on track. Tomorrow and Saturday are gonna be big gym days, and Sunday I'm going on a hike up by Dover-Foxcroft with a friend.
For now I'm just going to polish off my Emergen-C/Vinegar drink (which basically tastes like Kombucha) and hopefully flush out the brownies and cream cheese frosting I just ate cause HONEY BADGER DIDN'T GIVE A SHIT, IT WAS A HUNGRY LITTLE BASTARD!!!!

Frustration

Ok so I haven't posted in a while, I've been crazy busy and crazy stressed and crazy broke. Busy, stressed, and broke has meant no time for working out and stress eating. Stress eating is the worst. I;ve also been frustrated because I feel like I was working out and eating healthy and not really seeing results except in my fitness ability but not in weight/inches lost, but this past weekend was homecoming and we did some eating and drinking, and it seems like it undid all the work I had been doing. Like I just puffed up and gained weight after ONE weekend. What the hell?? Also being broke means not being able to get the healthy food I need. Kelsey made the point that there are cheap healthy foods like lentils, but I have $0 right now which means I'm just taking what I can get for food.  UGH being broke and busy and stressed just takes such a toll on my eating/exercising. Any suggestions? How can I step things up in a busy time??

Tone it up!

Tone it up! Is a FANTASTIC fitness blog for women! (@toneitup) It has all the tools any woman who wants to get in shape needs from workouts, healthy recipes, even a diet plan! It was started by two friends, Karena and Katrina, who are quickly becoming the "it-girls" of fitness. I think what they are doing is so great because it gives women a place to go and find all the resources they need to help get them on the right path! I have already started checking out some of their workouts and recipes, and it is definitely a tool I will be adding to my routine.
The other thing I found during the break was an article in Health by Bethenny Frankel that had her quick 15 minute power yoga routine. By doing this routine twice a day (I was thinking when I wake up and either before bed or during my workout) you can lose up to three inches of your waist! I tried the routine this morning and it was really great, definitely some challenging but invigorating moves.
Yesterday when I hit the gym I actually ran a mile on the treadmill (haven't had the motivation for it in a few weeks) and a major part was because the perfect mix of song came together on my playlist. While some obvious ones really put me in the zone (Run the World and Till the World Ends) a surprising perfect ryhtmic running somg is Lil Wayne's "Right Above it". Listening two it twice through got me through half a mile and really put me in the zone! So here is my new and improved running playlist:

If that isn't the face of Pumped Up I don't know what it

1. Super Bass (warm up)
2. Run the world (Girls)
3. Till the World Ends
4. Right Above it
5. Play your part (Pt.1)- Girl Talk
6. The Edge of Glory
7. Who's that Chick (feat. Rihanna)
8. Blow
9. Hands All Over - Maroon 5

It's short because I'm very particular about what songs I run to. They have to have the perfect rhythm/tempo and pump me up enough that I not only set my pace to it, but get lost in the song and forget that I'm even running.
It's the start of homecomimg weekend which means lots of drinking and hanging with old friends, so I'm going to have to make sure I moderate my drinking, avoid eating too much tailgating food, and try and fit in some workouts around hangovers and visiting friends (which is why Bethenny's yoga routine is so great).
GO BLUE!