A new beginning? A bunch of lies? Find out together, shall we?

So I know I'm probably the worst blogger in... probably the entire world. But hey, that counts for something, right? No? Ah well. But I'm saying (yet again) that I want to give this whole blogging thing another shot. I think that part of my problem is that when I started this blog, I was really into health and fitness and I had an unwavering drive and passion for these things. I stopped blogging because life got in the way. But life is always going to find a way to get in the way, and keeping up on your health is never going to stop being a necessity, so I'm trying to reignite my passion. Which brings me back to right now.

So an update? I am still 5'10(ish) (obviously) and am currently about 190 pounds. My goal weight is somewhere around 150 or 160 (I know that is probably heavy to some of you, but I'm tall). I've been pretty ok about getting my workouts in. I love bike rides lately. I've also been into walking. I'm still trying to get to running, but sometimes I'm convinced I'm just not built to run. This is a terrible idea, one that nobody should pick up from me. ha ha. But Rome wasn't built in a day, and this girls ability to run apparently can't be either, so baby steps. We're working at it (which is torture for the instant gratification lovers out there - to all of you, believe me, I can relate!). I've been doing my Pilates with a fair bit of regularity. I know I've talked about this before, but my favorite YouTuber is hands down Cassie from Blogilates.

https://www.youtube.com/user/blogilates

If you're looking for a fun and encouraging (and free!) Pilates instructor, seriously check her out, she's amazing! I typically do three of her videos during my workout. It takes my about a half an hour, plus probably 5-10 extra minutes for some stretching. Who can't squeeze an extra 40 minutes into their day? I like to think of it as a long term investment of time into my health.

So that's all well and good. My problem? I struggle to eat clean. Try as I may, I'm just not in my clean eating groove. What is a clean eating groove (you crazy lady)? Basically its just referring to the mindset I enter into when I start craving healthy foods instead of unhealthy ones. I know, I know, crazy. But no, any of you who've already started losing weight probably know what I'm talking about. The craving for a salad and not always feeling hungry. It's a beautiful thing (like the runners high - which I have understood at fleeting points in my life) but I seem to be lacking it. So I guess that is my goal. I need to stop snacking to much and get back on board with blogging and eating healthy.

So if any of you are left out there and want to continue reading (congrats by the way, you're awesome!) I encourage you to challenge yourself along with me. If you want to lose weight, gain healthy weight, or simply get healthy, come along on this journey with me. Its is going to be a challenge (all you foodies like me out there know I'm right) but I know from first hand that it is a worthwhile challenge. There is nothing like the feeling of having confidence and feeling amazing. I think I'm going to wrap it up here, before this entire thing gets far to cheesy for my liking. Challenge accepted!

XOXO,
Becoming a Babe

Going for a run...

So, today I went for a run. (What?? YOU went for a RUN??) I know, I know, I hate running. Granted, it was a short run, and it was in intervals (which I've gotta say, I actually really enjoyed). But yes, I went for a run. This is mainly the result of 2 things. The first one being I really want to get into running this summer. I've always kind of wanted to do this, but I feel some sort of motivation for some reason this year. I've sucked at running pretty much my whole life, but everyone around me seems to love this running gig, so I figured if I'm going to give into peer pressure anyway, it might as well be good for me, right? And I've had spurts in my life where I'm in slightly better shape and I have to admit the runners high is pretty phenomenal (and you just don't get the same high from a walk) So, that's that. The second reason being that when I got to the gym today (after way too long, but sadly, I've been excessively busy, which is pretty much to be expected as you get toward the end of the semester, only 4 more weeks!) all the cross trainers (which is my cardio machine of choice) were taken. But I figured it was the perfect opportunity to get a jump start on my summer running plans. And when I got to the treadmill, I found someone had left their interval training schedule behind, and I figured meh, why not? ha ha. So that's what I did for the first 10 and a half minutes. I would have done it again, but I was too tired. Which I think is ok for right now because I'm coming out of the hibernation of winter, and guess what... Rome wasn't built in a day, and my running endurance doesn't have to be either (yours doesn't have to be either, just so ya know ;) ). So for the second 10 minutes, I alternated between a light jog and a walk. By then, the cross trainer were open, so I finished up my half hour of cardio on one of those. After that I just stretched and did some abs. So all in all, a pretty good breaking-out-of-winter-hibernation type workout. And yes, the workout was a little grueling during, but the endorphins that followed certainly didn't suck. :) I'm  hoping to keep having time to get my workouts in, but I can't really promise anything, because as I stated earlier, my semester is coming to an end ( T-4 weeks and counting) and professors just love getting in those last minute projects that are worth 90% of your grade (ok, maybe that's a slight exaggeration) but if I don't, not a big deal, I'll just get back into it when summer starts (May 7th!!...I'm a little excited and ready for this semester to be over, if you couldn't tell).

This leads my into my next topic. Food. (who doesn't love food? I know I do! ...a little too much sometimes. ha ha) But I really need to start eating healthier. This is something I have complete control over and it doesn't take any extra time to eat healthy, so I don't have that excuse. I know full well that I have been eating like crap and it's completely my own fault. I have no excuses. But I not only need to own up to the fact that I'm in complete control of what I put into my body, but I not only need to recognize that I'm not doing it quite right yet and need to fix it and actually follow through, which is where I fall off. So this is the challenge to me and all of you (if you exist. ha ha). Recognize where you're falling off the healthy living train and actually follow through in fixing it. Yes, you will have bad days, but its time to start having more good days than bad ones. Challenge accepted. Ok, I'm going to go before this gets too serious. ha ha Good luck!!

XOXO
Becoming a Babe

Sorry...

Hey all you people (won't you listen to me),
(for everyone who gets that reference, good for you. ha ha).
Anyway,
So, an explanation? Yeah, you can probably guess what I'm going to say. I got busy. I always get busy. But, if anyone out there is a college student, I hope you can understand and we can move forward from here. ha ha.
As far as the health thing is going, I don't have a good report, sadly. The sugary treats and deep fried foods in the dining hall have been winning against my willpower. And as far as the gym goes, its comes last when you've got a mountain of homework (well, let's face it, it doesn't come last. It comes right before all the stuff you really REALLY don't want to do.) But I can honestly say that I'm not skipping the gym because I don't enjoy going. I've actually had no time, and I really love it when I do have the time. Which provides a lovely springboard to my next thing. This is has to change. I'm making my vow, here and now. At the beginning of the year, my willpower was kick butt. I've always felt that the mentality that in order for a meal to be finished, you have to have a sugary treat at the end is a bad thing. This tells your brain that you're not finished until you've gotten your refined sugar fix. While I've always been a believer that you can eat that desert when you REALLY want it, I've fallen into the habit of having a desert with EVERY meal (sadly, I'm not joking). This is bad and it will end. I kind of feel like I've fallen back into my sugary addiction which is what I assume led to the 50 pound weight gain several years back. And the path to getting "clean" is probably going to be a challenge of willpower, but I feel that I can do it.(ok, that may be taking the drug addiction analogy a wee bit too far, but you get the point). So, I can't say that I'm going to have a especially larger amount of free time, and I probably won't, so I'm not going to make any promises as far as that goes. My plan is to just keep doing what I am doing which is basically just go whenever I feel I can afford the time (or whenever I can't handle studying any longer and need a mental break, which - let's face it - happens quite a bit). But I am going to re-harness the willpower I possessed at the beginning of the year. Part of the issue is that my friends all get desert after every meal. Well, I need to be the trendsetter in this case (well, not exactly trendsetter, another friend of mine also skips desert) and refrain from hitting the sweets bar at the end of the meal. And that is basically the plan.

So you're probably wondering, so what's the fantastic lesson we are supposed to glean from you stumbling a bit? Well, I'll tell you. The lesson is this: You can stumble. You probably will stumble. (or you won't, if you're amazing) But you CAN get back on track. You have to want to get back on track, but you can do it.

Also, I'm going to try to keep posting a bit more, but once again, no promises. College is no cake walk, but I'll do my best.

As a final (excited) word, guess what guys!!! It's almost spring!!! March 20th marks the first official day of spring. And despite the several inches of fresh snow that fell this morning, I'm very excited. And we all know what spring means...summer is coming soon!!! Which is even more exciting. Summer means shorts and tank top season. What begs for toned arms and legs more than shorts and tank tops? Nothing I can think of. So let's work together and get fit for summer!! (and enjoy this incredibly cheesy picture of a woman with toned arms) Ok, that's enough of this long, rambley blogging. Until next time,
XOXO
Becoming a Babe

P.S. Also enjoy this picture of a tulip because its almost SPRING!!!! :)

Won't you kiss my on my tulips? 

College... dun dun dun

I know I haven't posted in a while, but if any of you have recently made the transition to college, you know that it can get pretty hectic. So you're going to have to bear with me on this one. But now that I'm pretty well settled, I'm hoping to get posting things more regularly. Anywho, on to what I actually want to talk about today.

So, as I mentioned before, I recently made the journey into collegiate life. Everyone in the English speaking culture ought to know about the dreaded freshman 15. For those of you who are living under a rock, it is basically just saying that freshman year of college, you are likely to gain 15 pounds. The idea behind it is that you are leaving your wonderfully healthy home cooked meals (um, ok, not exactly, at least for me in my case, but just go with it) and are eating high carb, high fat, high sugar diet of junk food and soda. Obviously, I would like to avoid this. (shocker, I know) Luckily, my school offers fitness classes through the local YMCA. But all (or most) of that is kind of beside the point. The real point of this post is to profess my undying love for Zumba (which is one of the classes offered by the YMCA). I had always heard of Zumba as a fitness thing and wanted to try it, but never really got around to it. This, admittedly, was a mistake. It is so much fun! You are moving and shaking your bum for an hour and you never even realize that you are working out. The music is all really upbeat and fun to dance too. You leave dripping in sweat, feeling amazing and energized. As far how well its keeping the freshman 15 at bay, we'll have to see about that one. I haven't been home in a while to check, but I'll do an update to let you guys know how the weight situation is doing. So the moral of the story is go and find some place that offers Zumba. If you can't find that, look on Youtube or something. I'm sure you could find something out there.

Well that's all for now. I will do my best to keep posting things as regularly as I can, but I can't make any promises, as college level academia is slightly more demanding and rigorous that high school was. But my goal is still to look hot in a bikini by the end of the year! I feel like this goal is fairly realistic and doable, just as long as I stay on track and keep my goal in mind. :)

Becoming a Babe

No Sweets Week 2012!

So, not only have I been a bad blogger, but I've been a bad eater too. Like, I'm not even joking, I've been horrendous. My portion control is terrible, I've had zero self-control when it comes to eating sweets, and I've been snacking like a fiend recently. Thus, I've gained weight. (dur) I'm kind of ashamed to tell you guys how much it is, because its bad. So, my solution, a No Sweets Week 2012! This time it's not just a no sweets week. I'm working on setting up different days to have different themes so to speak to help me get back on track with eating right and exercising. So far, I've got Monday through Saturday. Monday is the straight up no sweets. I just can't eat any sweets. Sweets are definitely one of my major weaknesses. But I just can't keep up this current eating pattern. Tuesday is portion control. I mentioned earlier that my portion control has been out of wack. I just keep stuffing myself to the point beyond full and I have no idea why I'm even doing it. So Tuesday is dedicated to keeping my portions in check. (And in case you were wondering, these do stack. I.e. Tuesday, I can't eat sweets and I need to watch my portions.) Wednesday I wanted to make no snacks, but I get hungry between meals, its kind of a problem for me. ha ha. So instead I made Wednesday healthy snacks only. And I mean truly healthy and nutritious snacks. Not like grab a sugary granola bar and think, eh, its kinda healthy, good enough. I mean like fresh fruit and veggies kind of healthy. Thursday is find a new healthy activity day. I kind of have a tendency to get stuck in a rut when it comes to exercise. I always seem to stick to the same old, same old, and it gets boring... duh! When exercise gets boring, you just don't want to do it. So on Thursday, in addition to eating right and stuff, I need to find a new healthy activity. Friday is focused on eating only when I'm hungry. This one kind of goes along with the portion control on Tuesday. I've been eating when I am hungry, when I'm not hungry, and when I'm really full (which is completely ridiculous!). That behavior needs to end, hence Fridays theme. Saturday is no eating past 9:00pm. Another of my problems is eating really late and then sleeping, which everyone knows is an excellent way to gain weight. I do want this to go through the whole weekend, but I haven't thought of a theme for Sunday yet. So what I did with these were wrote them down on piece of paper and kind of made it into a poster. I'm hoping that will keep me motivated and keep me from forgetting (I regret to say that that has happened before). I like this idea (not to toot my own horn or anything, he he) because it addresses each of my bad habits and hopefully gets rid of them and helps remind me what eating correctly is supposed to be like. I know I have to make a change because I've worked far too hard to get to this point and just turn back to my old habits again. I'm really excited about this, and if any of you (if there are any of you, ha ha) want to do this with me, let me know in the comments. I'd love to know how it works for you. You may have to adjust your themes a little bit to suit your bad habits, but completely ok! Just write them down and STICK to them! It won't work if you don't, and it won't work for me if I don't. I'm hopefully going to be updating you guys regularly to let you know how it is going for me. Hopefully this will help me get back on track and lose some of my weight before I go off to school. I still want to rock a bikini! lol :)

Becoming a babe

Fair Food!

So, today we went to a fair. And as everyone knows, fairs are notorious for bad food. I'd like to say that I powered through and fought temptation, but I didn't. Yeah, yeah, shame on me. However, I don't go to the fair very often. (like maybe once every 5+ years or so). Part of my whole weight loss idea is to not deprive myself. When you deprive yourself, when you do allow yourself to eat unhealthy, you have a better chance of going crazy. I walked past a stand selling fudge and I really wanted fudge. I got one little square, ate it, and my sweets appetite was satiated for a long time. So I didn't eat very well today. But I was walking around all day. So that helped cut down on the feeling that I had just blown all my work. As far as exercise, all I did today was walking around at the fair. I'm not going to lie, my abs still hurt from the night I did Pilates (which I have to say is kind of embarrassing).  So I haven't wanted to do that much in the way of exercise. But I really shouldn't use that as an excuse. The fact that my abs are still sore a few days later give me motivation to get them back in shape and keep working toward my goal of rocking a bikini!

Becoming a Babe

New Start!

So, it's been forever. However, I now need some motivation to keep myself pushing towards my goal. So, I'm going to try to start posting on here again. Right now, I'm sitting at around 181 pounds, and I've gone up and down by about 5 pounds. I kind of wander, but seem to always stick around 180. I'm kind of thinking that that is where my body wants to keep me. But I want to go lower because my ultimate goal is to rock a bikini. I think that now I could get away with a bikini, but I don't want to just get away with it, I want to ROCK it. I bought a bikini as sort of a motivation tool, but I think that I need to perhaps put it on display to keep myself in the right mindset to eat healthy and get my exercise in. I started up my cardio kickboxing/Pilates/yoga routine up again yesterday, and I have the sore abs to prove it today. ha ha. But yeah, that's about all I have today, but I'm going to try to start posting regularly.