Transitions

I'm beginning to think life is all a series of transitions. Maybe I'm a little late on this revelation, but it really is true nothing stays the same. I always knew college would end and I would have to move on. And, I always knew that I wouldn't realize this until I wasn't going back to school. To be honest, its a little bittersweet to think I will not be returning to Happy Valley to go to class, go to parties, eat downtown and so much more. Part of me wants that life forever and its hard to imagine the changes I'll have in the coming months.
Its scary and exciting to change and grow. I believe that life is constantly evolving and try as we might, we cannot stop it. Someone once asked me if I think people change. In my heart and in my head I truly believe we do, but I was scared to tell him that. I tried to explain that people change but the fundamentals of our being do not. But, aside from breathing air and drinking water, everybody changes all the time. I am not the same person I was 4 years. I'm not even the same person I was a few weeks ago. I face my challenges and insecurities only to wake up with new challenges and insecurities to work through. I'm not saying this because its bad... in fact I accept the challenge.
I am always looking for a way to be better and that only come through growth. Growth can only happen through change and sometimes (most of the time) change is hard. I know a lot of my peers are at similar crossroads right now and most are lamenting about the transition into 'the real world'. We will always want the good things to remain the same, but the truth is we will never be in the same place at the same time ever again. And that's not such a bad thing. Enjoy the challenges, even when it hurts and continue to ever evolve into a greater version of you. 

Listening to your body

... is a hard thing to do. As fitness and health enthusiasts, a lot of us know our bodies very well. I try my best to stick to a schedule of healthy foods and exercise. When this is thrown off, my body knows it. And when I am on my schedule and my body still doesn't feel right, I know something is wrong. I believe it is so important to know your body inside and out. Your body is constantly telling you what it needs and how it reacts to change. It can also be a great insight into your emotional well-being as well. Our bodies are amazing machines that deserve to be fueled, maintained and treated properly... don't take your body for granted: it does amazing things for you.

That being said, it is sometimes SO HARD. The past few weeks I have been really busy fitting everything into my schedule. Last week I was horse showing and working at the farm. This week I was babysitting and working at the farm. Meaning 10 days that my alarm went off at 6am or earlier. I was moving my body for a majority of the day and sometimes woke up feeling like I was run over by a horse during the night. I'm simply not used to the activity I've put my body through. I thought that I would finally be able to get a good workout in on Tuesday, my first day off. I was hurting in the morning and feeling really tired, but I set my alarm for 7am (sleeping in!) so I could  fit in a workout. Throughout breakfast I was second-guessing a workout because I still wasn't feeling right, but decided I was being lazy and I could push through 20 minutes of cardio. Not quite.

I made it through about 15 minutes when my body started shaking and my muscles felt so fatigued I had to sit down. BUT I WASN'T DONE WITH MY WORKOUT was all I could think. It took a lot of self-talk to remind myself of all the things in the first paragraph. Pushing my body when it was exhausted was not going to make me stronger, and could actually hurt me more.  My body was telling me it couldn't do it. Not because I was lazy, but because physically I was exhausted. While I've wanted to try to workout during my free time this week, I've decided that riding and working at the barn will count. I will take the weekend off, sleep in on Sunday and start with a light workout on Monday.

As someone who is so into fitness, I love the challenge of pushing myself... almost to a fault. I know a lot of my fitness instructor friends know the feeling. But you have to draw the line. Long-term is much more important than short term in the fitness realm. Make sure you listen to your body... it really is your temple that holds a lot of secrets to your health and well-being.

Have a happy Friday and enjoy your weekend!!!

Tuesday morning pondering

I've been super busy the past week or so and I really wish I had the chance to blog... I think this is the first time I've missed blogging. I got the wonderful opportunity to show a horse at The New Jersey State Fair last week. I spent the week running back and forth from my house to the show to work and take care of the horses, show and hang out at the fair. We did really well... everyone got at least one blue ribbon!
Being at the show made me realize how fortunate I really am. Not only do I get to show horses with some very talented people whom I am lucky enough to call my friends, but I get to have horses in my life all the time. While at the fair I met some people who had never seen or pet a horse before in their life. I have been around horses since I was 7 and I forget what it was like when they were not in my life. I can see horses every single day if I want to and I spend a lot of time caring for and riding them. Not everyone gets this opportunity, but there are few people I have come across from outside the horse world who don't want to spend more time with horses. I am surrounded by people involved with horses and for some reason assumed that everyone else has the same experience. I do this with so many other things in life and I have to actively remind myself constantly that my world experience is not the same as the rest of the world's. 
This is something I have needed to think of a lot lately. I've been struggling with balance and have overcommitted myself far too many times. I sometimes feel over-capable (not a word but another self-diagnosed flaw of mine) and stretch myself thin to a fault. I need to stop saying 'yes' so much... it always gets me in trouble. This, coupled with 14 hour days has made me a little bit of an emotional wreck...think crying over a spilled blueberry-peanut butter rice cake. While rice cakes are important to me, they're not worth crying over (I later laughed about this... probably because its so pathetic).
As usual I'm trying to fall back into a routine. This has become routine and I am beginning to think I'm chasing something that doesn't exist... but thats the American way, right?
I have one goal for this week: ACTUALLY COOK SOMETHING.
I have been eating way too many cut up veggies, hummus and rice cakes. I need variety. Let me know if you have any good recipes!

Friday!

Like I said, things have been a little hectic lately. And I have been having SUCH a hard time waking up in the morning. I don't know what it could be because normally I love waking up early to get things done. I must be staying up too late reading, but even then I'm asleep before midnight and STILL have trouble getting up at 7. Needless to say morning workouts have fallen by the wayside. I have breakfast and then try to motivate moving and really working out. Yesterday I didn't plan so well and I could only get in 10 minutes before heading to the barn.
I couldn't decide if I should even try to workout since I was so crunched for time but I figured 10 minutes is better than no minutes! And I am so glad I did, I felt a lot better physically and mentally even after only 10 minutes. I picked 5 moves, did them for 30s each and repeated 4x for a total of 10 minutes. Easy and quick! And if you do it 2 or 3x a day its almost the equivalent of a 'real' workout!


I also didn't eat my normal six meals. I was babysitting and didn't bring enough snacks so I ate several handfuls of cereal while I was there and because I snacked all day I wasn't super hungry for dinner so I had 2 rice cakes with hummus and tomatoes and a rice cake with peanut butter and blueberries for dinner. SO.BORING. 


But, its FRIDAY! Meaning I have a TON of work to do this weekend:
- Clean out my car from everything from moving out (poking needles in my eyes is more fun)
- Pack for the horse show on Sunday
- Do my laundry (for a funny laundry post... see my BFF's post about laundry in the Philippines!)
- DO THE LAST OF MY SUMMER SCHOOL HOMEWORK!! This has truly been the bane of my existence and constantly hangs over my head because I am worried about getting it done. I am glad to be done with schoolwork! (notice I'm not glad to be done with college... that's another post)


Another goal: Fitness Friday WILL happen. I'm going to ride and work at the farm later, but I really want to do something quick this morning!

Mildy Exciting Adventures

My day in D.C with the girls was lots of fun. Tuesday morning I woke up for a run that was only supposed to be 30 minutes. However, my navigating skills combined with the confusing roundabouts in D.C made my run about 60 minutes instead.  I can't complain though... one of the things I like about running/getting lost in new places makes you run for as long as you have to in order to get back and isn't boring at all, even if I did get a little panicky that I would be lost forever in spandex and a tank in the city forever (yes, thats how I think). 
After the run we went shopping in Georgetown. We stopped in a few stores and one look at the price tag sent us running for the hills. The only store I could afford some things for the girls and I was H&M which I can find in the mall near my house, but shopping with the girls was fun.
The apartment we're in is super close to a Trader Joe's, so we stopped there for some healthy lunch supplies. The girls got some sushi, I got a salad and we all shared some mango, hummus, flatbreads, salsa and berries. I wanted to explore lots but an 8 and 11 year old are not so excited about organic vegan food. 
We spent the rest of the day at the rooftop pool overlooking the city... It was really cool.


Wednesday was a little hectic as I had to drive home to get to work. The trip took longer than I would have liked, but I made it back in time to lunge a horse before working at the farm. Needless to say, I didn't workout yesterday and I hope shoveling horse poop and pushing a wheelbarrow can count as an arm workout!


Here's my What I Ate Wednesday:
- Breakfast: 2 slices whole grain toast, peanut butter, blueberries
- Lunch: veggie wrap, Kind granola bar
- Snack: mango
- Snack: Kashi Go Lean Bar
- Snack: carrots, celery, peanut butter
- Dinner: salad with Cannelini beans, 1/2 sweet potato with hummus


Now I'm off to walk the dog, get a quick workout in, ride some horses and babysit! My day is filled already!

Too much stuff, too little car

Clearly I'm not one of those consistent bloggers. And if you don't know this about me by now, then I am sorry to disappoint. But, in typical K.P. fashion, without my routine I struggle. Last week was a little hectic and different than normal. I didn't have to babysit at all, so I was lost without my little baby to look after. I missed him after a day or two... he's just too cute! I'm back to babysitting this week though so I get to hang out with my little buddy! 


I also had to go to State College one last time to finally move out of the apartment. It was UNBELIEVABLE how much stuff we had accumulated over 2 years. I didn't have nearly enough room in my car to take it all home and I unfortunately had to throw a lot of it away. In retrospect, I should have planned MUCH better to give myself more time to sort and donate a lot of stuff. Also in retrospect.... DON'T HAVE SO MUCH STUFF!! It really opened my eyes to things I 'valued' for so long and how that changed when I was cranky from moving. That knick-knack I needed to save for sentimental reasons? See ya! It was in the trash faster than you could even say the words.


But alas, I have closed this chapter of my life and our little apartment in the Meridian on College Ave is empty. It was weird to think I'm graduated from Penn State. College was such an influential part of my life and has been a big part of my identity for the past four years that its hard to imagine something different.


But, R and I had a discussion about this (yes, he came with me. and yes, making him come to help me move really helped us out. a lot). Moving forward from Penn State gives me the opportunity to shape a new identity and a new part of my life, and that's pretty exciting. 


But anywhoooo, I havent worked out since Saturday and my drinking (wine and beer) and eating (granola by the handfuls) haven't been stellar. But, I enjoyed myself this weekend and I am okay with that. I'm in D.C with the fam, so I am looking forward to a good run in the city in the morning and some time by the pool with the girls!

Fun Facts Friday

Stole this idea from one of my favorite bloggers Clean Eating Chelsea (click!) and wanted to try it here!


1. Coffee can cure a headache. It can actually cure anything. I am certain of this. 
2. I actually did my homework this week... score!
3. Reduced sodium miso is not all its cracked up to be. Splurge on the sodium for the miso, trust me!
4. I want to eat a whole pan of warm brownies and peanut butter. But who doesn't.
5. I ate 1.5lbs of watermelon yesterday. And it.was.delicious.
6. My brother is currently making his own coffee grinder. Ummm, what?!
7. My new skill to conquer is to make cool braids in my hair.


Those are all the fun facts... I don't know how fun they really are. But today's workout was! I hadn't had coffee all week and then I had it right before my workout and it made me a little shaky, but other than that I enjoyed it. I stole it from Peanut Butter Fingers (I know, I know, can't I come up with ANYTHING original?!). 


Here's the workout called 10-6. You start with 10 reps of a move and then decrease by 1 each repetition until you reach 6. You can even do all the way down to 1 and can do it with any exercise. These are the moves I did:
- Mountain climbers
- Lunges (each leg)
- Jumping jacks
- Squats
- Pushups
- Plank (30s)
- Bicycle
- Burpees
- V-sit
- Dumbbell swings
- Tricep press
- Crunches on stability ball


The whole thing took about 25 minutes. I did an extra 20 minutes on the elliptical and finished with some good stretching.


The rest of the day was super mediocre. I'm hoping for something slightly more exciting for tomorrow, but the prospects are not looking good. I'll need to find something to pull me out of this slump, but its been a rough week.

Happy weekend!

It's Tuesday... I wish I had a more witty line to start this post, but the creative juices aren't quite there. Today I did some babysitting, did a workout and got my nails and hair done. Not quite a cure to heartbreak, but it helps a little. 


I tried sticking with the Crazy Sexy Diet cleanse plan, but I'm not sure how I feel about it. The book has some great information that has made an impact on my commitment to my nutrition. It has also reinforced my desire to cut out meat. My goal is 21 days no meat and that is probably the only part of the cleanse I'll stick with. I find that just veggies isn't enough to maintain my body type and level of activity. I also find that juice and smoothies are not always enough for breakfast... I love my breakfast and have always believed it is the most important and (should be) biggest meal of the day.


I'm no nutrition expert, this is my personal opinion. I love the information and healthy vegan perspective Kris provides in the Crazy Sexy Diet, but it's a little extreme. Diet is always about balance, but is also about knowing your body and what feels/works best.


I did a short circuit workout today... nothing extraordinary, but it did the trick. I'm currently watching this movie about saving whales stuck in the ice and it is riveting. I'm really enjoying it. So, I'm gunna finish the movie, watch another one and do some homework. Not super exciting, but its the little things. 

Back in the groove...

Well, at least as much of a groove as I can be considering I've got some things going on that make functioning a little hard. When your life gets very, very, VERY off balance, sitting in bed and crying all day seems like a much better option.


I started off with some of the Crazy Sexy Diet (CSD) tips I learned (still not finished with the book). But I did skip ahead to the 21 day cleanse plan. I didn't have the ingredients for juice (nor have I tackled the juicer yet) but I made a smoothie! Super simple ingredients: 1c almond milk, handful of frozen strawberries, handful of blueberries, 4 ice cubes and a tablespoon of peanut butter. I also drank 1 c of water with cayenne- you only need a little sprinkle! I put too much in and it sunk to the bottom - yuck. You're also supposed to put lemon in so I will do that tomorrow. This is supposed to kickstart your metabolism and help digestion. The CSD recommends no 'solid' foods before noon. Luckily my smoothie filled me up and I was able to make it until noon. 


Here's the rest of the day's eats!
Lunch: veggies with pesto pasta
Snack: Larabar and Kombucha
Snack: apple
Dinner: Salad, quinoa with raw veggies (CSD approved!)
Kris Carr, the author of CSD recommends you eat no less than 3 hours before bed. However, I am notorious for starving late at night so I had a snack of rice cakes, peanut butter and blueberries. I know how my body works and I'll wake up from hunger at 3am. 


I'm feeling so much better being back to whole, healthy foods after a week of overindulging at the beach. I felt so gross all week and realized how important (while sometimes difficult) it is to maintain my diet to feel the best. 


I've spent the past hour and a half making a collage envelope for my online art class... I'm graduating in 3 weeks. Aren't I a little old for this?! Anywho, I'm back to my art project, crying my eyes out and skipping sad songs on Pandora. TGIt'sAlmostTuesday!


OOOO! Also, I found this new blog today. She has a TON of workout routines I'm excited to try. Go check out Julie's site at Peanut Butter Fingers (ugh, so me. Peanut butter = my kryptonite)

Oh, life

Well hello there blogging world. I have neglected you once again. Let's blame summertime laziness because I. have. not. been. with. it. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind and while I can point fingers at a lack of routine, I really need to take a good hard look in the mirror and say life got the best of me. And then I move on. 


I really have been off track lately. I haven't been organized and have followed the 'live now, organize later' ideology. And in typical Kelly fashion, I've taken it to the extreme and neglected the little routines and packaged life I love.


So now I'm back from vacation, dying of a heartache, but ready to take on my week and make it great. I'm new to relationship troubles and this hurts a lot worse than I could have imagined. I didn't know I had so many tears (and so much snot). But, life goes on and I will find a way to make it work... whatever that way may be. All I know is that each relationship is hard. Very hard, but there is always that one person you want to push through all the shit and be with forever. That's where I'm at. Its a partnership and slowly but surely we can get back to where we need to be. I need to believe that.


But, enough of my heartbreak, I'm on to new fitness and health adventures! Last week, a blogger friend of mine wrote about her experiences with the Crazy Sexy Diet (click here to go to her page: Eat on the Run!). I was indulging in lots of margaritas, crab cakes and more margaritas last week and decided now would be a good time to try it too! I'm still reading the book, but I am a fan of a lot of Kris Carr's philosophies: balance your food = balance your life. She emphasizes a raw food, vegan diet of varying degrees (read: you don't need to go all raw/veg at once). I also really like what she has to say about your body's pH levels... thats something I've never explored in all of my nutrition fact-finding. I'm hoping to cram in some reading (when I should be studying philosophy) and start the Crazy Sexy Diet today or tomorrow. 


I'm taking this week to focus on myself and find my balance. I really think that will help us get balance back in our relationship. 

“Life is like riding a bicycle - in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving.” 
― Albert Einstein

Where is the world is Kelly Post?!

Okay, so maybe I am not quite as exciting/elusive as Carmen Sandiego, but I have been MIA for a while and I apologize (but I'm not sure how many of you really read this/look forward to it). Life happens and I neglect my blog... good thing its not a baby. But, I had a great couple of days with my bff, some good rides and lot of time at the barn. Workouts were slightly scattered, but I managed 5 days and even started some strength training again. Exciting, I know :).


Yesterday I wanted to workout outside but didn't want to run as my knees have been bothering me. So I took my workout to a local elementary school in search of a soccer field. Alas, there was none, but every cloud has a silver lining and someone had left cones on an open field behind the school. I took this as a sign from the Fitness Gods and made up an interval workout on the spot:

• Place cones about 15-20 yards apart
• 10 laps (run from one cone to the other = 1 lap), walking lunge across and back
• 9 laps, moving squats across and back
• 8 laps and so on, alternating between lunges and squats between

I ran as fast as I could between cones to get my heart rate up and then a quick 30s rest before lunges and squats. You can play with the rest/work time and use any exercise between laps. I finished up with some grapevines, skips and sprints to round out my 60 minutes. 

Max HR= 190, calories burned= 651

Do you have any good outdoor workouts? 

I promise I'll be better about the blog. 

Wednesday: Workouts, pants and food

So my workout is nothing so 'new' today. A time-crunched morning led me to make a quick circuit workout (so technically I've never done it before)... cheating? Give me a break :) [p.s. anyone know how to put emoticons in here?].


Here's the workout: Go through all the moves without rest. Take 30-60s rest between circuits. I did it with 10lb weights but should've done 12.5 or 15

• Squats and bicep curls (x12), 60s jumping jacks
• Alternating lunges (12 each leg) and shoulder press (x12), 60s jog
• Plie squat and upright row (x12), pike crunches (12 each leg)
• Side lunge (12 each side), tricep press (x12), 60s moguls
• Leg lifts (12 each side), 12 pushups, 60s plank jacks (DEATH)
• REPEAT x 3!

The whole thing took about 40 minutes give or take a water break or two. 

I spent the morning babysitting at the farm and was able to sneak in a walk with the baby. Then, I had my.whole.afternoon.free. It was fabulous. I was able to get my nails done (in a record 30 minutes mind you), buy a new summer wardrobe, do laundry, and relax. 

New clothes from H&M!

New romper (it wouldn't be a proper selfie if it wasn't in the bathroom with the flash)

New dress and shorts! I got another fantastic pair of shorts but my patience with the camera was quickly waning

Shopping, while I did find some great summer pieces, was a little stressful. Apparently I've gone up a pant size. Its pretty disheartening considering I've felt great lately. And yes, I'm skipped a few workouts here and there, but I work out most days of the week and have made a conscious effort to eat better. Its also kind of tough to admit I've gained some weight, but I think everyone struggles with this at some point or another. I've been down the road of exercising constantly and excruciating over every calorie, and quite frankly, its exhausting to even think about. So, I'm going to up my workouts a little, stick to my plan but remember that the most important thing is my health, not my pant size. Besides, dresses are better for summer anyway!

Here's the eats for the day:

• Meal1: 1/2 c oats with 1c almond milk and greek yogurt
• Meal2: salad, banana
• Meal3: apple, Kind granola bar
• Meal4: Fig newtons
• Meal5: salad, tomato, rice cake with hummus
• Meal6: TBD

Back on the bandwagon?!

Obviously I've been MIA recently, but I've been a busy girl. I spent the weekend with Ryan, making it a weekend long birthday celebration. I had a GREAT workout on Saturday. Nothing too creative... just another interval. But I was running at this park close to home that has a little track around it. One lap is about 5:30 so I can run a lap, throw some squats or box jumps in between each lap to break up my workout. I'm loving intervals so much now that just plain running is less desirable now... the intervals keep me entertained and I can go much longer.


And then.... I haven't worked out in 3 days. Woof. But alas, life does happen and a few hangovers/lazy Mondays and packing a house sometimes take precedence. Part of me wants to have a major panic attack/temper tantrum (directed at myself) but the other part tells me to grow up and get over it. 3 days off may be a good thing because I'm dying for a good workout now. 


I DID however, have some great rides so far this week. Its so nice to be able to ride all the time now and I'm enjoying it so much. Anywho, I'm back on the bandwagon and back to my workout plan meaning tomorrow is a New Workout Wednesday! Until then, sleep tight!

New Workout Wednesday!

I've managed to stick to my plan so far... not that three days is too much, but its good to know I have manageable workouts instead of skipping a day and having to go hardcore the next day. Today is the very first new workout Wednesday and it was a success! I completed a Tone It Up workout (click here for the link!). While it may seem super quick, doing all the reps the full three times could take almost 35 minutes. I ran out of time this morning, so I went 2x through and ended with 5 min interval cardio.


I also had a great day babysitting/looking at horses with Holly. Its so fun to see new horses and try them out even if you don't buy! Its the horse person 'window shopping'. Then I drove to Ryan's just to take a nap... I'm a glutton for his bed.


And last but not least for today... What I Ate Wednesday:
- Breakfast: 2 slices Ezekial bread, 1cup greek yogurt, handfull of blueberries and drizzle of honey
- Snack: coffee and Kind granola bar
- Lunch: Ruby Tuesdays... they had an interesting zuccini cake for about 400 calories and I had some salad bar 
- Snack: watermelon... I can't get enough
- Snack: mango
- Dinner: egg whites, wrap, hummus, salad and a little hot and sour soup
- Small piece of chocolate


I was pretty hungry today... o well! 

Here's My Plan

On my never-ending quest to improve my fitness and overall health, I've set a new goal and this blog is my accountability. To make sure I get my workouts in and that I make them count, I've set my workout calendar for the next month. We're going to the beach at the beginning of July, and a brand new bathing suit is calling my name. 


As per usual with all my new goals, I approach it with a Herculean zeal that fools me into thinking I'll be on the cover of Fitness magazine at the end of the week. Shocker alert! This doesn't happen. Then I get discouraged and fall back into my regular routines of working out and if nothing changes, well, nothing changes. 


So I have set my calendar with some specific goals

• I want to get better at the exercise I already do. Example: I've been running hills... I want to run them faster, I want to run more of them. I've been doing circuits and they have been TOUGH I want them to be easy. So there are 3 standing workouts to aid this goal: My Tone it Up workouts & cardio, my hill runs, and my long interval runs. Then everything else is shifted around to have similar workouts on other days to make me better at what I already do
• Try new workouts. I always have the intention of trying something new, but then chicken out and do a boring old workout. I have incorporated one new workout each week, giving birth to a new blog segment: New Workout Wednesday. Keep me accountable, people!
• Have a goal. While this calendar may seem easy, thats the goal. I sometimes disappoint myself when I set unrealistic goals and don't reach them. This is manageable and I'm hoping it will be fun. At the end of the month, I will be happy to not have skipped workouts for no reason and hopefully will see a change in what I am doing.

Extra workouts will be bonus points... because sometimes its just foolish to think I can workout 2x a day every day. I do try to have a life. So this is my plan, and this blog will help my progress.

Here's the calendar for this week:

• Monday: Tone it Up, 40 min cardio
• Tuesday: Hill run X4 (50s recover)
• Wednesday: New workout wednesday
• Thursday: Long run (interval)
• Friday: off
• Saturday: 60 min circuit
• Sunday:off

Monday challenge: What do you want to accomplish in June? You can set a goal for the day, week, month, whatever.. let me know what it is and we can work on it together!

I'm back!

I have taken a little hiatus from blogging as the past week has been a little hectic. The whole family went to Charlottesville, VA for my cousin's wedding (CONGRATS SARAH AND FRANCESCO!). It was absolutely beautiful and I had such a fun time with my family. 


But now, its back to the grind. I fell off the wagon hardcore last week. I was sore and unmotivated last week and then decided food, drinks and family were more of a priority this weekend than working out. Its hard not to feel guilty for not working out for 4 (!) days, but it is important to take rest days and enjoy all the other parts of life.But now I am back and right back to it. I'm a lot more motivated after some rest days.


On a different note, I've been thinking about adding some structure to my blog. A lot of the other blogs I read have themed blog days and it makes it more interesting and fun to read. I look forward to reading about a similar topic on various days of the week. I am also hoping it will help to structure my workouts and eats for the days. I think I'll reveal my big plan next week.


For now, I am in charge of the house. NOT FUN. Herding two young girls and a wily dog is quite the chore. Not to mention, I keep cutting up watermelon which makes a huge mess. 
Its been really hot here in NJ an I am SERIOUSLY considering buying a blow up pool... am I too old for that?  I think I'll use the girls as an excuse to be 22 and sitting in a baby pool, but I need a suntan and some cold water. 

Its just been one of those weeks

Ever have the feeling that you're getting things done, but oh-so-slowly? I felt like I couldn't find my groove this week. I'm such a routine person that when things shift around, I get lost. I haven't gotten nearly enough workouts in, but I have been spending MUCH more time at the barn and riding... does it even out? For this week it will have to. 


I'm hoping next week will be a little more normal... something tells me not though. I'm still adjusting to moving in with dad and find myself spending a lot of time shuffling back and forth helping mom and seeing Ryan. Things will even out, they always do.


My food has also been all over the place. I've not been as hungry as I always am and seem to find myself gravitating towards watermelon and pineapple. That's seriously all I want. I'm really trying to listen to my 'inner nutritionist' and giving my body what its telling me what it wants (which is usually a giant glob of peanut butter and chocolate cake which doesn't happen. I need to draw the line). I'm eating when I'm hungry, stopping when I'm full and not beating myself up over a few french fries or that peanut butter I love so much. So far its working. My jeans aren't as tight and I feel a lot better. I'm going to stick with this instead of managing every. single. thing. I. eat. That's no fun for anyone.


Tonight, I am going to eat more watermelon and pineapple and listen to some more Latin music. That's another thing I've been craving too.


I'll be offline for most of the weekend... my cousin is getting married in Charlottesville and the whole family is headed down there... SO EXCITED! Enjoy your long weekend :)

Highlights of the past few days

I haven't had time to sit down and blog over the past few days, so I'll throw in some of the highlights:
1. I made homemade pizza with my brother and boyfriend on Sunday: grilled veggies + thin crust + pesto + goat cheese = heaven. We ate three whole pies and didn't even leave it on the table long enough to take a picture
2. My stepmom taught her first Zumba routine to a fitness class!
3. Riding horses just makes me a happier person... and it makes my legs a lot more sore
4. Speaking of sore, I was overly ambitious in thinking I could do a hill workout today. My body is having a rough morning, so its looking like a light workout. Those hills can wait until tomorrow.
5. I'm trying to convince my boyfriend to go to the mall today... I need shoes for the wedding this weekend.
6. Wedding this weekend! 


Pretty random, but such is life. I'll post something more productive tomorrow :)

Saturday Morning Sweat

Yesterday was actually a great day/not so great day all rolled in one. After having a few too many drinks on Thursday, it was slow going Friday morning. But a turkey sandwich, several glasses of water and some gingerade Kombucha saved my life. I spent the rest of the day babysitting at the barn in the beautiful weather. I also got to ride two horses and lamented about how out of riding shape I am. I'm surprised I can walk today because I was sore after two long rides. 
I was so excited to come home from the barn and hang out with Ryan when my car died... AGAIN. I noticed white steam coming from my car, decided pulling over on the highway was not in my best interest and got off at the next exit where my car was billowing white steam from the engine. I spent the next 45 minutes on the side of the road in my riding pants and boots... FML.
But, alas, its saturday afternoon and my car is A-ok. After a good night's sleep, I woke up, had some peanut butter toast with honey and strawberries. I read my favorite blogs and drank some coffee (by now this should sound familiar, I'm a routine person) and decided to craft a workout to do outside in the sunshine!
Women's Health Magazine has a page of 'finisher' workouts, designed to give an extra challenge at the end of a workout. They propose 5 different choices, but why not roll them all into one workout?
Here's the workout:
- Part 1: perform each move for 20s, rest for 10s, move on to next move
-- Squats
-- Burpees
-- Mountain Climbers
-- Lunge and skip (do a round on each leg)
- Part 2: perform 12 reps of each move (10lb weights)
-- Deadlift
-- Bicep curl
-- Squat
-- Shoulder Press
- Part 3: place two cones (or in my case, flower pots) about 25 yards apart
-- Sprint 6 round-trips, 90s rest
-- Sprint 3 round-trips, 90s rest
*Do parts 1, 2 and 3 three times*
-Part 4: 12 reps of each move then repeat x3
-- Plie squat & upright row
-- Static skinny squat & lateral raise
--Lunge right
--Tricep press
-- Lunge left
I was in the mood to take my time with my workout this morning, so this took me about 50 minutes, including a 5 minute warmup.


The rest of the day was spent in blissful relaxation. I had some vegan chicken salad from Basil Bandwagon on Ezekial pita for lunch... SO good. Then I had some steamed veggies and brown rice with some drunken noodles, pad thai and crispy duck from a local Thai restaurant. I absolutely had seconds :).


I'm spending the rest of the night relaxing, contemplating doing homework and figuring out how to work this blog... anyone know how to make posts in individual pages. I want to create pages of workouts so I can store them neatly in my 'workouts' page and not take up so much space in the posts... any help would be appreciated!


Happy Saturday!

Productive Days are the Best Days

Thursdays can be a little hit or miss for me. Its not quite the weekend, but it could be if I want it and thats what I chose today. I woke up excited for oatmeal and a long run. I ate breakfast, took care of some homework (these summer classes may kill me), read my favorite blogs, drank some green tea and sent emails all before 10am! I won't lie, I was procrastinating my run, but I found my motivation in the form of a great playlist and hit the road.


Last week I set the goal of a 65 minute long run. My long term goal is to get up to a half marathon time, around 2:30. However, I was all aboard the Struggle Bus on my run last week. For some reason, my body was telling me 'no way'. Even on the flat roads and a slow pace my heartrate was up around 182, telling me something was off (a moderate pace keeps me at 165). Maybe I was overambitious or maybe my body just wasn't up to it last week, but I wanted to try something a little different today. I went with another interval workout to keep my mind in the game and I'm really pleased with the workout.

• Part 1:
• - 5 min walking warmup
• - 10 min run; moderate pace
• - 2 minute walk, 1 min fast run (past a comfortable pace), 2 minute walk
• --- I repeated this twice, making up half of my workout---
• Part 2:
• - 1 min fast run (past comfortable...sprint last 10s), 1 min walk (x5)
• - 2 minute walk, 1 min fast run (past a comfortable pace), 2 minute walk
• ---I repeated this twice, making up the other half of the workout

I actually had a lot of fun challenging myself on the way back. I had originally planned to repeat part 1 4x, but I was feeling good and wanted to work some more on pushing outside of my comfort zone. It was a challenge sprinting at the end, but it felt good when I was done!


The rest of my day was spent running errands (read: buying a new dress), cleaning up my moms and doing some yard work. My bro came home today, so we're celebrating with a bbq and drinks! I just had some DELICIOUS grilled corn and I'm ready for some strawberry-mango frozen drinks.  


Enjoy the rest of your beautiful Thursday and till next time...

What I Ate Wednesday and an Interval workout!

Yesterday was pretty uneventful so I figured I would spare you all the boring details of my life. But, I have some good stuff for today! One of the reasons I started this blog was to motivate some more challenge in eating healthy and working out. Giving something interesting to read every few days is inspiring me to step outside of my comfort zone and try a lot of new stuff. 


So, today, instead of my normal 3 mile jog, I decided to step it up with some intervals. I started with a 2:1 ratio of work to recovery, then 1:1 and then 1:2. Working with intervals is a fun way to break up your workout and can work on the bike, in circuits or cardio machines at the gym. Here's the workout: 

• - 2 min walking
• - 2 min running: normal pace, 1 min walk (x3)
• - 1 min running: pushing the pace past comfortable, 1 min walk (x5)
• - 30 second spring, 1 min walk (x4)
• - Repeat or finish out your workout with a jog

To my surprise this worked perfectly with the 3.1 mile loop. The whole workout took about 30 minutes. Average heart rate was 162 bpm, max heart rate was 193 and total calorie burn was 367... not bad for a 30 min workout. This was much more effective than jogging the route like I normally do.


I think I am going to try something similar for my long run tomorrow. I struggled last week so hopefully some interval running will break it up a little bit. 


I also got to go grocery shopping today! Unlike most, grocery shopping is one of my FAVORITE activities. I love looking at all the products and reviewing ingredients and planning my meals for the week. Some goodies I picked up: champagne mangoes, tomatoes, Larabars, Kombucha and a new protein powder.

I was attracted to this one because its comprised of several different sources of protein... especially chia, which is an up-and-coming superfood. I liked the flavor of it, but it was really chunky with just almond milk... this powder needs to see a blender and would be great in smoothies.


Last thought, in keeping with the title of this post, What I Ate Wednesday:

• Breakfast: 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1 cup water, 1 cup almond milk (extra liquid = more oatmeal!), 1tbs peanut butter
• Snack: greek yogurt, 3 strawberries
• Lunch: hummus wrap, mango, Kombucha drink
• Dinner: tilapia taco at Blue Fish Grill (surprise dinner from the boyfriend!).. I may have had some fries too ;) 
• Snack: protein powder, almond milk

Question of the day: Any good interval workouts? Let me know if you try this one or something like it!

Happy Monday!

It may be a happy Monday, but its definitely not a sunny one. It was very hard to motivate to get out of bed this morning... considering I was woken up by a 95lb chocolate lab jumping on the bed at 7:30. I was hoping to get a workout in before breakfast, but I was too hungry so my oatmeal was priority. 

Then, in keeping with trying new things, I've been working on Shape Magazine's "Fit in a Flash" workout. Its 24 minutes of 4 moves repeated 6x. Its quick and pretty effective, so I'll do it a few more times this week. I paired this workout with hill runs.  My dad lives in a hilly area, so I picked the biggest hill and ran it 3x. The whole workout was about an hour. 

After that, it was my first day on the job as a babysitter. I've not been around a teeny tiny baby in such a long time and I cannot tell you when I last changed a diaper. I was a little unsure of my skills, but I guess changing diapers is like riding a bike? I picked it back up pretty quickly. 

Besides that, its been a nondescript Monday. I think I'll finish out the day with the boy and some playoff basketball. I'm also trying to read a few more chapters of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil". It was a recommendation from a friend and I definitely suggest you read it... very interesting and captivating non-fiction.

Until next time!

There's no time like the present

So I've been thinking about starting a blog for a long time. I've been making excuses for putting it off, telling myself that I'll start in the beginning of May and then it was pushed back to after I move home, and then ever further by telling myself I'll start "when things calm down". Well, things are calm and I have no reason not to start my blog other than the trepidation of putting my life on the internet. Yet, I think about it all of the time, and I'm ready... there will always be an excuse not to do it. 


I'm not sure what kind of blog this is and I'm thinking its going to end up being a bit of everything. What I'm really hoping to get out of it is the sharing of ideas (mostly about food and fitness) that I've found on similar blogs online. I think it will also be a good way to catch up with friends after graduation (a la this blog from my bff who is on her way to the Peace Corps in the Philippines http://alisonbhoffman.blogspot.com/).


So today marks the first day of my experiment in trying new things. I need to step outside of my comfort zone. I need adopt the same attitude I have toward my fitness: I've been struggling a little with new workouts and increasing my fitness... nothing changes if things stay the same. So here I am, making my plunge into the blogging world. Welcome to my grand experiment!