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3.01.2011

Thoughts on Working Out

I'm curious to ask you ladies, what are your work out/eating secrets to stay in shape?!?
And by that, I mean "normal" ways of staying in shape - because if you are anything like me - you have tried the most ridiculous things in order to try to lose weight.
Hmmm you haven't?! Great - it's just me then!


Last year, I tried the Master Cleanse, and after one day (yes, ONE), I gave in.

First of all, who can last a whole day without eating anything, and only drink lemonade mixed with maple syrup, and a table spoon of cayenne pepper?!

not as good as it looks - believe me!

Let me tell ya, I don't recommend it at ALL. I mean, first of all, my mouth was on fire all day, so I get why you wouldn't want to eat. Oh, and once you've made it through the day, it only gets worse: the saltwater FLUSH. Enough said here. You have to drink 2 liters of water mixed with sea salt - YUCK - and 30 minutes later, here you are 'flushing'. I'm sure your imagination can help you figure this one out. 

Well, I made it through one day, and then ate a banana. Needless to say, Michael laughed at me, and I vowed to never try silly miracle ways to lose weight again. 

The sad part is that I used to be in such great shape in college. I worked out 5 days a week, ate really well (of course, not the most exciting foods), and I was so happy with my body. However, I wasn't truly happy, because I became obsessed with eating well, so I became a pain to everyone around me - and I knew it.

senior year of college

Fast forward 4 years later, and here I am: 27 years old, 13lbs heavier than when I graduated college, and what seems to be completely out of shape. Now I know that most people around me will say that I'm just fine the way I am - but the truth is - I don't feel fine. I'm only 5'3", which means you can see it immediately when I gain weight.

 this year - I made sure to find a pic where I am wearing black too!

I go back and forth, and it is just hard for me to find the energy I used to have. And come on, the age thing is just an excuse, because there are PLENTY of women older than me, and in MUCH better shape. So I won't even use that excuse. The true KILLER here is food - most importantly carbs/sweets. 

I have lost all self-control when it comes to sweets, and there are my biggest downfall. But they are so good!!! Right?! 

OK - before you go onto thinking that I am just throwing myself a little pity party here, I wanted to ask you for suggestions, advice, or for you to share your secrets to staying in shape while enjoying good foods, and mostly importantly - where do you find the ENERGY?!?

I feel like we all go through this at one point or another in our lives, and I'm always interested to hear how other people manage to work, take care of their homes, and still maintain to look great!

I know - not the most fun of posts - but hey, this girl is getting married in 7 months, and I need a rockin' body to fit in my dress - but also the honeymoon ladies!!! 

Hope you are having a GREAT week!!!!

5 comments :

  1. I would definitely advise that you stay away from any diet that cuts out a complete type of food like carbs etc. I feel like those are only temporary fixes and it makes it that much easier to gain the weight after you're off it. As for working out, px90 works if you are really dedicated. I love fitnessmagazine.com you can make personalized workouts!

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  2. Oh, darling! I was right there with you- graduation and then BAM. For the record, you look just fabulous- but I know how it is to need to feel fabulous too

    1) do not ever do the master cleanse. good for you for figuring it out sooner than I did! I made it three days, felt like death warmed over the entire time, and gained that weight right back.

    2) don't cut calories, or count them. I watched my calories for two years and all it made me was stressed out and obsessed with food. Suprise- I gained weight from the stress and was always hungry because I was always thinking about food.
    It took me forever to listen to my body- eat when you are hungry, concentrate on savoring every bite, and stop eating when you are full. Have you seen or read Eat,Pray,Love? There is this one meal of fresh asparagus, egg, and something else delicious that she arranges on a plate and savors like a work of art. I try to think of this when I'm eating.

    3) carbs are wonderful! It cracks me up when they say to cut carbs, because vegetables are carbs! fruits are carbs! All those great things are carbs! What they mean is to cut refined carbs- those yummy bleached white breads and pastas. Just switch to whole grain.
    That being said, I dropped so much weight immediately after I stopped eating bread.

    4) don't make rules for yourself. I'm a big believe that if your body is craving something, you should eat it- just try to do so kindly. For example, if I NEED ice cream, I go for frozen yogurt or sorbet.

    5) with the workouts:
    yoga will change your life, physically and spiritually. It's so wonderful for toning every inch and stretching.
    do you have a zumba or a dance class nearby? those are always fun!
    go for walks or hikes. I hate the gym so much, and find it easier to enjoy a workout when I'm out in nature.
    that being said- hitting the gym really is a must for a little extra cardio and weight training. Weight training really helped me- it builds muscle, which eats up those calories even when resting. And you'll be toned, strong, and fabulous. There was a great article in self magazine a couple months back about working out like a guy...I'll try to find it. But the bottom line was that guys take on this hard-core I'm awesome approach to working out, and they get results.

    5) when you really don't want to go to the gym, that's okay. Put on some awesome music and dance around the house for at least ten minutes. If you still don't want to go, that's okay- dance around for another 10 and call it a day. But most times I've found that all of the sudden I'm ready to go!

    Oh, and when I really need to pscyh myself up, I google nike commercials. Soooo silly, I know...but it works!

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  3. I have tried literally everything from hanging up pictures from my Victoria's secret catalog on my snack cupboard to writing myself threatening notes...so silly. Those things actually kind of work for me because I get a guilty conscious but it's not the most positive way to go about things. What I have found that works best for me is going to sound even sillier... but I made myself a chart that I fill out (the teacher in me coming out in full force) and I fill out what I eat for my three meals, snacks, and what I did for my workout that day. I write it down even if it is bad and once I see it on paper the reality hits and it makes me want to be able to write down something good for the next day. I'm not going to lie..I even give myself stars and smiley faces on my chart when I do good! I also made a list of all the healthy foods that I actually enjoy for each meal time and my favorite work outs so when I'm not feeling so motivated I can go to the list and chose from it and it's all stuff that I like anyways. Maybe it will work for you too :)

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  5. Your blog is adorable and I hope wedding planning is going well! This isn't typical but... I would first of all suggest taking it easy on yourself - the more you love your body, the more you genuinely want to take care of it and do what's right for it. Personally, I started just reading on nutrition and once I understood more about how my body worked, I loved it more and I wanted to try things out to "make it run better". You start to have this huge respect for your body and how you can feed it better and make it last. I also try not to slip into a rut with my clothes, I'm a firm believer that the better I look, the better I feel, the better I try to stay healthy. It's not our bodies that are the battle, it's our silly minds! :) If you want any books I would suggest looking into Robb Wolf or Loren Cordain's work.

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