13 4 / 2013
The holy grail of hair products. The hairspray never makes your hair sticky or stiff, and the mask works MIRACLES after one use. I get my hair done every six weeks and curl/style it almost daily for my job. It’s had been a life saver. And it smells beyond amazing!
16 2 / 2013
My first time ever making soup! Ingredients:
Vegetable broth
Tomato paste
Celery
Squash
Zucchini
Red pepper
Carrots
Onion
Garlic
Basil
Oregano
Cabbage
Tofu
And cayenne pepper
All organic! :)
30 1 / 2013
If you’re looking for something quick and healthy, Amy’s organic soups are great! This one is 70 calories per serving (2 servings per can). The only reason I want to make my own soup is because of the sodium content of canned foods. However, this is great if you need a healthy option in a pinch! I keep a can of it in my desk drawer at work for an emergency lunch! Way healthier than ordering take out!
28 1 / 2013
Current Workout Plan
I recently got asked to post my current workout plan. My workout and diet changes every so often, in response to my crazy schedule. Sometimes I will change it because I simply get bored. Right now it is the middle of the winter, so my outdoor running has been rudely interrupted. Unfortunately, I am not one of those people who can just bundle up and cope; I’m a freaking baby when it comes to the cold. So that’s that.
Let’s start off with my workout. Due to the fact that I am weirdly antisocial, I joined a gym that is open 24 hours. This ensures that I can maintain super creep stealth mode and go at hours that no other human being would think of working out. (You’re allowed to judge….it’s weird.)
I found an AMAZING machine that I am OBSESSED with. It’s made by Precor, and it is an adaptive motion trainer (AMT). It’s everything. It resembles an elliptical, but you can do stair step motions, short running strides, or long thigh burning running strides. It also works your arms. It burns mass amounts of calories and engages so much more of your body and core than a normal elliptical. Did I mention it is zero impact?! Having bad ankles and knees, this aspect is super important for me. I am never hurting when I am done on this machine like I would the treadmill. So, I spend 30 minutes on this machine daily to start my workout.
I realize cardio isn’t everyone’s favorite. However, it is SUPER important. Here’s why: when your blood is oxygenated, it flushes out lactic acid. If you have knots in your neck or shoulders, lactic acid is the reason and stress is the cause. Cardio will help loosen them up and flush them out of your system, so that makes cardio essential to stress and pain relief! Also it will not only help you build muscle, but it will allow for your muscle tone to show through. Why do all of the hard work if you can’t even see it!? Lesson of the day: do your cardio!
I then alternate between arm days and leg days. My gym has weight machines, and if it is arm day, I will use all of their arm machines. If it is leg day, I will go down and use all of their leg machines. Instead of doing a million reps at a medium weight, I aim to max out at a weight that I can only physically do sets of 8-10. Studies have shown that women who do two sessions a week of heavy weight lifting a week actually lose 3% more body fat. More importantly, women who lift weights loss more belly fat than women who only do cardio!
Don’t be scared of the weight because it won’t bulk you up as a female…..unless you are actively ingesting testosterone (I sure hope that’s not the case). Our bodies don’t respond the same way that men’s do, and if you want a toned beautiful beach body, lifting weights is a MUST. It will also keep your metabolism going through the day to burn even more calories.
Next on the agenda is abs. I do ab exercises daily, but I alternate exercises. One day I will do 25 normal crunches, 25 crunches with my knees bent and to the right, 25 crunches with my knees bent and to the left, 25 crunches on my back/legs in butterfly position, normal crunch position and alternating reaching for my right heel and my left heel (it targets the sides) I do 50 of those, then I do 25 bicycles. I repeat this three times. The next day I will do planks and lower ab exercises. (If you have any questions about my ab exercises, let me know. I realize this breakdown may be hard for some to understand.)
Lastly, the most important thing for achieving the body you want is DIET. You can work out all day long, but if you continue to live off of cheeseburgers and fast food, you will never see your results. It sucks, but it’s true. If you decide to commit, commit 100%. Up your protein and cut your carbs and sugar. It’s really as simple as that. Try to minimize processed food. One of best things I discovered was protein shakes. My favorite is the chocolate Muscle Milk brand. I just add it to cold water, and it tastes just like chocolate milk. It isn’t disgusting at all.
That’s a breakdown of my current workout plan. I will post more about my diet later! If you have any questions, just let me know!!
xoxo
24 1 / 2013
A Moment of Honesty
The struggle is real ya’ll. Dieting is NOT easy, and a Victoria’s secret model body does not come overnight. I realize most of the time I demonstrate stupid amounts of self control, and a lot of you tell me you wish you had the willpower that I do. Here’s the thing though, when I started dieting, I didn’t even have an ounce of self control. I didn’t even know what that term meant. I ate what I wanted, when I wanted, and how I wanted every day. (For example, my breakfast every morning use to be 8 pirogues smothered in hot sauce and butter with a Pepsi….yeah…gross)
An event that happened today reminded me of all of the struggles I had in the beginning of my health junkie journey. Today I was the victim of the ever dreaded chocolate craving from hell. Let me tell you about MY chocolate cravings….they are as real as it gets. It consumes me and takes over every single thought in my head. I literally lose all self control, and I could easily eat six candy bars in one sitting. It’s disgusting.
I had to run to the store to grab a Lean Cuisine for lunch, since I’ve been irresponsible and haven’t grocery shopped in too long. As you well know, stores have candy aisles. Let’s just say that the candy aisle won this battle. I bought Reeses cups, Milk Duds, AND Milky Way bars (I clearly couldn’t make up my mind….but whatever). I ate two Reeses cups as soon as I got in my car, like some kind of wild savage animal. It was ridiculous.
At any rate, when I finally got back to work, I took a look at my pile of candy and realized how absurd I was being. It was almost as if I had completely lost my mind and blacked out temporarily. I haven’t worked this hard to blow my entire day by eating thousands of calories of chocolate in ONE sitting (which I fully intended to do prior to this epiphany). So, I did what I always do in a time of crisis: I Googled. “What causes chocolate cravings” “How to stop chocolate cravings” etc. One website suggested something spicy. I happen to conveniently carry around Cayenne pepper in my purse (weird but get on my level….it is AMAZING for you), so I decided to add a stupid amount to my Lean Cuisine. GUESS WHAT?! It actually WORKED! Not only do I have completely clear sinuses, but I no longer have my chocolate craving!!
I realize that I have a tendency to ramble, but here are my takeaways from my seemingly pointless post. 1. Spicy conquers chocolate cravings 2. Everyone has their vices….there will be good days along with bad days on your journey to a healthier and fitter you 3. Everyone started feeling hopeless and struggling to make changes, but today I was reminded that no matter how bad you want something, you CAN fight it. It just takes a little will power and common sense. Whenever you are about to do something that will wreck your diet and exercise plan for the day, take a step back and really evaluate if you are being rational. 4. If all else fails….just Google it. :-P
xoxo
18 1 / 2013
I HIGHLY recommend this tea! It is phenomenal! It smells like big red gum, and has the perfect cinnamon taste. You don’t even need to add sugar. It has black tea, three types of cinnamon, orange peel, and clove. What is more perfect or than healthy tea that tastes amazing?! Nothing.
18 1 / 2013
Cayenne pepper...your new best friend!
If you haven’t checked out the health benefits of cayenne pepper, I urge you to check out this article! It’s amazing for detox, weight loss, and SO many more reasons!
14 1 / 2013
A great website to bookmark!
This website has a fantastic (and practical) detox plan, and so many healthy tips and recipes!
07 12 / 2012
Anonymous asked: I'm currently in a rut. I lost motivation to do anything, I'm going thru a shitty break-up you can say, I haven't worked out for about a week, and I already feel like I gained all the weight I lost. Can you say Debbie Downer? Your posts are always so inspiring, I guess my question is, what motivates you? How do you deal when times get tough?
Everyone goes through a fitness slump every once in a while! I actually just got out of one. It’s natural to fluctuate in habits, and it’s going to happen at some point…we’re only human! The important thing is to remember the core reason why you want to be healthy in the first place. It may be temporarily gratifying to eat junk food and skip your workout and be lazy instead, but the fact of the matter is, you’ll feel that empty void at the end of the day because those things don’t really satisfy you. Nothing feels better than feeling great about your body! Usually when I’m in a rut, it’s because I’ve burned out on my current fitness routine. So, that means it’s time to switch it up! I’ll try to find a new healthy staple food in my diet that gets me excited to eat again, and I will switch up my exercises to re-ignite my interest! Maybe try a new fitness class that you’ve never done before! I feel like working out after a breakup is the best time. You have a lot of extra time on your hands, and you already naturally lose weight after a breakup anyway. So you might as well maximize that with some exercise. Besides….the best revenge for a breakup is looking fabulous! ;) Good luck love!!! :) <3
