Didn’t actually do a lot of resting! I cleaned out the closet all day, ran errands, cleaned the house. Glad I did all of that yesterday because today I woke up to snow! about 4-5 inches. And it’s the wet slippery kind so I decided to just stay in today. Kinda missing the gym and tanning. But nice to spend the day on the couch watching old episodes of Lie To Me with my kitty Charlie. Anyway, forecast says tomorrow this should be all cleared up! I hope! So today is a snow day. :) haven’t had one in a while. I think I’ll make some hot cocoa and just chill. Sometimes you just need a day like that.

So today was day 6. 6 straight days of not only going to the gym but getting in at least an hour of high intensity cardio a day. Most days I did more, in fact, I believe I did about an hour and 30 minutes almost everyday. And every day I did some sort or weight lifting or calisthenics afterward. BADASSSS. 

Mainly why I put myself up to this challenge this week is because I went on vacation a couple weeks ago and got minimal activity in. And being on vacation, getting drinks with friends, eating out, celebrating. It really caught up with me. I gained 5 lbs in about 3 weeks. So in the last week I decided to just get back to eating clean and hitting the gym. I plan on doing this again next week too. Tomorrow is my rest day, I’m going to take it I think just because I need to organize our walk in closet before I go insane. 

I’ve eaten so much produce this week it’s ridiculous. My fridge looks like a farmers market. And I love it so much. Today I bought some strawberries, they were actually great for this time of year but I can’t wait for the warm summer months! By far my favorite part of summer? The fruit in season! And outdoor farmers markets. :) and Sun of course. :)

Today on facebook someone posted a picture of this awesome handgun/machete combo and all I could think was “damn, I’d like to have that when the zombies come.”

I mean I don’t SERIOUSLY think there will ever be a Zombie situation…but why not be prepared for one. Shit, this world is crazy…you never know.

This is also another HUGE motivator for fitness. Not necessarily the zombies, but any apocalyptic situation. Whatever it is…I wanna be able to out-run the person next to me, have a stronger immune system than others, and be able to survive in the wilderness. I’m sorry but if you are 400 lbs and/or diabetic, you aren’t going to live long without modern medicine. If you are filling your body with garbage and fast food everyday, you’re gonna get sicker a lot faster than me. 

All I know is being physically fit can only be a positive. 

I believe in survival of the fittest and natural selection. So I strive to be fit and strong.

I think promos are ridiculous. I’m sorry, I’m not following any blog that I click on that doesn’t have a single text post on their first page. I don’t need to see more reblogged photos of the same thing over and over.

Does anyone actually BLOG anymore?  

But I did.

I woke up with a headache. Considering I am against taking pain killers, this blows. I was also just kindda depleted of energy. I just wanted to go back to sleep. Being away from Sean for the last 2 weeks sucks, but it’s manageable. What is less manageable is we still have about a week to go until he gets to come home. It’s weird to go from seeing someone every night after work and making them dinner and falling asleep next to them every night to being on a part time schedule with them. But I have to say, the money he makes is insane and the experience in his field he is gaining is priceless. So I will cope. Nonetheless, it makes me sad to be away from him like this.

Any way, ate some fruit salad, took my vitamins, and I literally dragged my ass to the gym. And I just told myself I would do what I can and call it good. I actually ended up doing 35 on the elliptical, 40 on the recumbent bike both at pretty high speeds with resistance, and then managed to do a nice arm and shoulder dumbbell sequence. Glad I went to the gym. I never regret it. Tomorrow I’m going to make it down there again and then sunday is supposed to be a rest day. I might go for a jog/walk though. I just like doing something active daily. Keeps me happy.

Anyway, I came home and had a nice spinach salad with tri-color mini-bell peppers sliced up, some broccoli slaw and a pre-packed serving of salmon. Topped with caraway seeds and some Newman’s Own light ginger sesame. It was great. I love fresh salmon, but canned/packaged does great in a pinch. When sean isn’t home I can survive off about $30 a week. This is my typical grocery list:

• Vanilla Almond Milk
• canned beans (kidney, black, chickpeas)
• english cucumber
• broccoli
• kale
• red and white onion and garlic
• packaged ready to eat spinach
• Peppers (bell and jalapeno)
• apples
• bananas
• some kind of citrus
• kiwi or grapes or strawberries (which ever is on sale)
• quinoa or brown rice
• canned tuna or salmon (always packed in water)
• Herbal Teas

And that about does it. I sometimes eat completely vegan, sometimes pesca-vegetarian. This isn’t really a problem for me. I don’t really miss meat. I get plenty of whole grain from my quinoa, protein from the beans and fish, and everything in between is fresh plants. I actually kinda love it. But I am not obsessive about it. When Sean comes home I still eat really clean but I might make a steak or chicken stirfry..and I will have some. It’s weird. I don’t really set parameters on food. I just kinda, eat as healthily as I can. 

Don’t get me wrong. I fully intend on having a double movie day with Sean where we get popcorn and m&ms and maybe get some Froyo afterward. I don’t think about it much because I know if 90% of the time I am clean and green, One movie date night and endless popcorn won’t do me any harm. Might make me bloated the next day, but that’s nothing a gym sweat session and tons of water can’t fix.

It’s all about the choices you make each day. Just doing the best YOU can, not the best someone else can do. Go at everything knowing you will give it your all, and you will. And remember, there is more to life than what’s going on in your own head. 

until I joined tumblr.

My entire life I always suffered from low self esteem, I think it was due to my abusive childhood. But since I’ve been making my own life and growing up, I believe I now suffer from high self esteem. I feel like I’m getting better with age, making wise choices and moves for my life, and I continue to only allow healthy relationships to take presidence in my life, and that includes a healthy relationship with my body and mind.

I hope those of you that have low self esteem because you are a product of your environment decide that when you grow up and start living a life on your own and creating your own environment, that you choose to be happy and build yourself up, instead of breaking yourself down.

I am eating well, working out everyday, I am in a good place.

I even got a job offer today at the tanning salon I go to. The owner and I talk a lot while I’m in there and she said come closer to late spring/summer she will be looking for someone to work parttime. I told her I’d do it! :) So in a little bit I’ll have a nice, fun, relaxing job. That’s exactly what I wanted.

The nice thing about not having to work is having zero stress associated with pay, hours, finding a better job for growth. Honestly, I just need something to pass the time. It will be nice having the extra income too but it’s not at all necessary meaning, if I don’t like it, I don’t have to stay there. But I’m sure I will. This salon is right next door to my gym which is beyond awesome. It’s actually a spa and tanning salon. Very nice, updated…the people there know what they are talking about. 

My workout today was phenomenal! 45 minutes intense elliptical, 25 minutes moderate recumbent biking, 20 minutes speed-walking on an incline. I did some leg work, squats, core training on the awesome ab glider, threw 40 lbs on there…woo…it was awesome. Now I’m home and just finished an mexi-inspired salad. Just some romaine, peppers, red onion, black beans, avocado, threw some of my leftover quinoa from yesterday on there and topped it with some salsa. Perfect lunch. Healthy fats, whole grains, protein, tons of colorful veg. And I am so full now! :)

I have to say, if you are like me and eat a lot of fresh produce, one thing you should definitely try out is the food saver. I own a Food saver mini. It was a great gift from my aunt janel. If you have money to invest in one kitchen appliance this year, buy one! The mini is just the right size. I feel like the full size one is more for vacuum sealing large quantities of meat which we don’t buy meat in bulk in my house.  But if you like to prep ahead (pre-chop onions, pre-slice peppers, carrot sticks, celery) or you only use half of something (avocado is a huge one for me), vacuum sealing it makes it stay fresh for like a week. like super fresh. and the great thing is, you can open the sealed bag, take a portion out and re-vacuum and seal it. Just awesome. I used half a small avocado in my salad today, and tomorrow or friday I will have the rest without it turning brown and mushy in the fridge! <3 Love the foodsaver! Invest.

Going home, getting married, seeing my family and friends, Eating, drinking, CELEBRATING…It was all fun while it lasted! Now I’m back to my healthy habits that keep me happy and focused. :)

So I’ve made it a goal to go to the gym mon-sat for the next two weeks. Possibly sundays but I’ve kinda decided if I need a rest day, Sunday it is. Sean come home from work 2 weeks from today, and while he’s home I have a hard time getting to the gym as often as I would like. We just get busy. But we did manage to go together before we left for WA which was fun. I realized I do less cardio and more weight training while he’s there. Which is actually a nice change of pace. It will be good.

Now that the weather is getting nicer I am determined to buy a bike sometime soon! There are awesome trails and lots of hill-y backroads to ride on out here!

I love the outdoors and I’m totally dying to go camping but I think it’s still a little too cool at night. But my goal this summer is to camp out at yellowstone at least once. 

So I’ve gotten back to my vegan way of eating since Sean left. Feels good. As a comparison because I just went from eating anything and whatever while we were on vacation…and now. When I eat vegan, my mind is clearer. I feel refreshed and lighter. It’s weird, I don’t get stomach aches, I’m not bloated, and I feel alive. I will say I do still get headaches but i think that has more to do with my hydration. I have a hard time buckling down and drinking more water. I know all the tricks (adding lemon or lime, cucumber, carrying a waterbottle at all times, using bracelets to count glasses/day) but I really just can’t seem to drink enough. So now I am drinking 2 cups of tea before bed instead of one. And trying to get a smoothie in every day. 

Well, that’s all for me. Gonna go stretch before winding down! Goodnight tumblr!