13 Things That Happen When You Date A Girl Who Loves Her Dog

Yep…this is just too true!

Weekly Wrap-up: Grad School, GGS ambassador!

1. So this weekend I’ve been prepping for my first day of grad school!!!! I’m so excited that I finally get to start school tomorrow and that I’m a new member of the NC State Wolfpack! I even have pretty good classes for my first semester! Exercise nutrition, maternal & child nutrition and lactation & milk (which sounds…okay lol).

2. Ibecame a Girls Gone Sporty Ambassador! How fun!! I’m thrilled to rep the brand. Use the hashtags #ggs and #girlsgonesporty so we can see all your pics on Instagram and Twitter statuses!

3. I started Insanity on January 1st. I did the first month of it last year, but I’m wanting to do the WHOLE thing this time. So far, it’s been going well!! I finished my first week and I feel great. Granted, my accountability partner DJ had to force me to workout via text, but it still got done!

4. I got this new protein in the mail. Optimum Nutrition 100% Gold Standard Whey in Mocha Cappuccino! I finally finished my Peanut Butter Marshmallow Cellucor Whey. It sounded good but there was wayyyyy too much sweetener in it. Hopefully the ON won’t be the same way.

5. Well, I have an orthodontist appointment in the morning to get my bottom teeth straightened out. Unfortunately my dentist waited to tell me (for 2 years) that my teeth have significantly shifted, and of course I haven’t noticed, so once he said that I made an appointment stat! Hopefully my orthodontist can fix it without having to put braces back on!!!!

Xoxo

My resolutions, a 5k, detoxing and being kind

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

So firstly I’m starting out by saying be kind to others. How, you ask? Many people have a resolution by going to a gym. Sure, the gyms are crowded. I get it. But those new people probably feel awkward and uncomfortable. Instead of complaining about them, help them out even if it’s just with a smile. Remember this: you were a new person at the gym once. Help them reach their goals.

Has anyone seen this picture floating around? I think it’s a great idea!! Which leads me to my resolutions:

1. 20 min of reading time per day, unrelated to school.

2. Lose 15% body fat by the end of the year.

3. Straight A’s.

4. Writing notes in the happiness jar. It sounds so fun!

So how did I spend my New Years Eve? By running a 5k right after it turned midnight! It was SO COLD! But having that memory will be fun.

I love this water bottle!!! I’ve been wanting one for so long so finally getting my hands on one is great. I have lemon, cucumber and ginger in there. Great for detoxing! I’ve also put cinnamon sticks and apple slices for a good, clean taste. Yum!

Friday five…in quotes!

Okay, so I love quotes. So in honor of that, I’ve decided to do a Friday five in quotes! This was hard for me because I have so many favorite quotes to choose from. But, here are five of my faves!

I had this one as my phone background for a while. It’s a cool picture. Plus, I love it. Always think of yourself as a princess and never let anyone treat you as something less.

Very true. Don’t ever be embarrassed about doing something out of the norm. You could inspire someone else to follow your lead.

I love Blair Waldorf. We’d be bff’s if I was an upper east sider. But she’s right. That body you want? Make it happen. That job you’ve dreamed of? Make it happen. Want to go back to school? Do it! It’s not going to fall into your lap. You have to take charge and get what you want. Don’t be afraid to do it. Sure, it could be new and foreign, but it could be fun!

This is just self explanatory. Another of my absolute favorites!

Be happy. It’s simple…although sometimes we make it more difficult. It’s hard to purge some things that make is angry, upset or unhappy, but it needs to be done. You only get one life and you need to live it as happily as you can.

Resolution time

So it’s now time to start your resolutions. This year I challenge you to stick with them. Many people use weight loss as their resolution and give up after a couple months. Why? You’re probably not using the right tools.

Use a calorie tracker like myfitnesspal or sparkpeople.

Try something new! Yoga, weight lifting, Zumba. Anything that you want to try. Fitness is fun!!! You just have to try what works for you (ps I got new ankle straps and a tricep rope from Christmas…yay!)

Find a buddy. Anyone. Having someone to keep you accountable is one of the best things, in my opinion. My accountability partners have all been found online in Facebook groups and they’ve become good friends of mine. I recently found another who is going to do Insanity with me starting January 1st. Excited!

So just keep going. It isn’t failure if you get up after you fall. There are always bumps in the road. Dust yourself off and get back up!

Feel this moment

Feel this moment by Pitbull – great song. I love music. It’s a lifeline for me. I commute back and forth to school (an hour each way) and if I didn’t have music I’d go insane. I hate the radio, though. The talking…no. I recently discovered Fit Radio for my workous. Download it if you haven’t already! It has some great mixes.

Okay, so the title was the point of the intro. Feel this moment. Love that song. Lately, I’ve learned to “feel the moment.” It’s taken me so long to actually do it, but I’m pretty successful for the most part. I’m really trying to feel the moment in workouts and in my eating, which is HUGE for me.

So a little background info:

I’m Italian…I’m a little heavier than I should be, and I’m trying to battle those Italian genes that want me to eat and eat. A few years ago I saw a weight loss site that I signed up for because I was serious about losing weight. So I was all “yea, this is great!” because, you know, I was losing weight slowly. What I didn’t realize was that I was starving myself and very restrictive. I’ve never admitted it until recently that that is what I did…because I nevery realized it until now. I was only eating around 1200 calories. But I’d do so much cardio (I was the elliptical queen, doing 60 min about 5-6 times a week) and I would get hungry that I’d eat a bunch of crap after my exercising! So essentially, I would barely eat, then eat ice cream, cookies, diet soda, etc.

I didn’t realize that I wasn’t actually being healthy. I finally gave up soda a few years ago, which I’m proud of (every now and then I’ll have a little…then regret it when my tummy hurts). NOW my battle is sweet tea. I live in the south where tea is sweeter than you can imagine! And it’s sooo good.

So I had lost some weight in all of my restrictive eating, lots of cardio, and no resistance training and decided to push myself harder by running hard on the treadmill. Bad idea. I gave myself a bad injury. I had a bruised bone and cartilage in my knee which gave me a huge setback. The doctor said I could go on the stationary bike, but who wants to do that when you burn so many calories on the elliptical or treadmill?! Not me. So I got lazy. And with my crappy eating, and lazy (again) lifestyle, I gained weight slowly back. So fastforward to now, and I’m still battling to lose that weight. Except now I realize what I’ve done wrong and how to correct it. I know that I can lift heavy weights and it’s GOOD because I won’t get bulky and I don’t have to do as much cardio. The problem is I no longer want to do cardio! And I’m trying to work on my eating to moderate the bad stuff.

I’m trying to “feel” the moment and make myself go after my goals. It’s hard! But I have graduation in 6 weeks and I really want to look good in that super cute dress I just bought at the store. So I’m going to eat well, lift heavy for 3-4 days, do 2-3 days of cardio, and on my rest day go for a slow walk. After all, I have a Boxer puppy so he keeps me on my toes a lot!

Although I’ll post a lot about fitness, nutrition, and my weight loss journey, I’ll also post randoms. So keep me accountable! 🙂