I Have a Problem

I (along with the rest of the world) am on a health kick.

Except this isn't a kick, it's actually a lifestyle change - I joined a gym.

Yes that's right.

I figured if I'm paying for something monthly, I'll definitely be making the most use out of it.

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National Women's Health Week

Woohoo!

It's National Women's Health Week, and what better way to celebrate than by empowering women to take control of their health.

And I'm not just saying that as a newly graduated nurse.... ;)

Though this is the week of awareness, it's important to take care of your health each and every day!

So although I'm posting this at the end of the week, the following are ways to take control of your health any week of the year:

Screenings 

including annual breast and pelvic exams

Get active 

heck, join me on this challenge! I just did day 1 yesterday!

Eat healthy

fruits, veggies and lean meats are ideal

Get enough sleep

aka try for at least 7-8 hours

Manage stress

avoid stressful people, learn relaxation techniques

Avoid smoking, drinking (at least not in excess people!) and texting & driving

Wear sunscreen 

seriously do it. you don't want skin cancer

Find out additional information on steps to take to care for your health based on your age here.

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#Happiest5k

I'm so late to the party, but I'm just glad I made it this week! Linking up with the wonderful ladies April, Christina, Darci and Natasha to present my own twist on Five on Friday...

This week my five things include:

1. Running the happiest 5k on the planet

2. Spending a fabulous Easter weekend with my family

3. Getting my tonsils out

4. Seeing my brother for the first time in 4 months

5. Coming back to the blogging world with a vengeance (for now... haha)

But now back to that 5k.

4:30 am on April 4th *cue iPhone alarm*

"You have GOT to be kidding me..." is all I'm thinking. Knowing that I slept horribly and had a race to run just a few hours later, I was tempted to pull the covers back over my head and go back to bed. 

Instead, I slowly got out of bed to go check and see if my sister and niece were up.

I walked into her room to find both of them knocked out, so I gently tried to wake her. You know when someone comes in to wake you up and you wake up startled and in panic mode because now you're running much later than you intended? Yeah... That was happening.

By 5:05 am however, we were out the door and on our way to the Atlanta Motor Speedway for our race. The reason for leaving so early was because 1) Hampton, GA is at least an hour from where we live and 2) we both received emails ALL week about how crazy race day packet pickup would be and we don't do lines very well.

All that to say we were the second car in line at Chick fil A and first in line to pick up my race packet. 

To continue our early morning adventures, it was pouring when we arrived to the Atlanta Motor Speedway and winds were at least 15 mph. When we decided to brave the elements to go get my race day packet, we had to hold our umbrellas sideways to protect against the strong winds and rain. At one point, my sister was trying to be Mary Poppins and her umbrella flipped inside out which I know had to be excellent early morning entertainment for the other runners waiting in their warm cars. 

While waiting for the race to start, we spotted a few other runners with arm warmers so we asked where they got them and decided to go wait in line and pay for some warmth because babyyyy it was cold. 

Well, cold up until the sun came out right as soon as the race started. 

During the 5k, we ran through pink, orange, blue and yellow and as a new feature this year, The Color Run added on a Shine element where they throw glitter. 

These sweet people... 

I had glitter thrown into the side of my face.

As much as I love glitter, y'all probably know as well as I do that it's a pain in the ass to get off, clean up and generally just live with. 

Every pillow I've laid my head on and every shirt I've worn has amassed ridiculous amounts of glitter on it for the past week, despite the number of times I have washed my hair. 

On our way back home, my sister and I talked for a little while but with the drive being over an hour long we both commented on how tired we were and how insane it would be to drive that far very often. I noticed that my niece wasn't saying much but whenever I'd turn back to look at her, she would just be staring out the window.

When we pulled into the driveway, I looked back and this sweet girl was knocked out, not worried about a neck cramp or nothin'. 

I had such a great time at the race with my family! So much so that my sissy and I already registered for The Color Run at Night in Atlanta later on this year!

Have y'all done any fun runs lately or are you signed up for any in the near future?

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What's In Your Bag?

Last Friday night, I decided to stay over at my sister's house since we had a race bright and early the next morning. Now I'm not an avid runner so I don't know exactly what should be in a "race day' bag, but I do know how to throw some things in my purse and manage not to forget a single thing. 

Starting in the lower right corner and going in a counterclockwise spiral:

Bag

Gotta throw all of these "essentials" into something, amirite?

Running pants and shorts

I never know if my body will decide it wants to be freezing or a sauna come race day, so I always throw both into my bag.

Moisturizer and deodorant

These should go without saying.

Contacts, contact solution and contact case

I've tried running in glasses before and failed, epically.

Mini first aid kit

White box; the nurse in me (or maybe it's the klutz) always needs bandaids on standby.

Lotion

Several reasons but mainly I hate being ashy and I like being the color I was born to be.

Pens

It never fails that I always have to sign something and no one EVER has a pen.

Car keys

Well... We aren't going anywhere without these. 

Chapstick

Need kissy face fresh lips all the time.

Mascara

I'm self conscious about wearing contacts and my eyeballs blending in with my face.

Glasses case

Gotta put the glasses away when the contacts come out to play. 

Toothbrush and toothpaste

Minty fresh so I don't scare away the boys my sister.

Socks

Please try running without socks on and let me know how that goes. 

Plastic bags and rubber bands

Honestly, I have no idea how these got in there. 

Candy

Rule #1 as mom-friend of the group is that one must always carry snacks and/or candy.

Melatonin and Advil

I don't know what a normal sleep cycle is, but I know all too well what headaches are.

Earphones

Usually not used when I race since I run with my sister, but I have used them to tune out conversations she's having on the phone. Or watch youtube videos. 

Water

Stave off the thirst.

Gum

This is actually rare because I never buy gum. Easter egg gum was a gift from my professor.  

Alcohol/Sani wipes 

Nurse/Mom-friend of group. Must be sanitary.

Wallet

Money, ID, debit card, life... No biggie.

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Let's Get Down to Business

So it's been 6 days since I started my workout program and so far, I'm truly loving it. 

I feel like I have more energy, and when I hit the bed now? No more tossing and turning. I'm literally out like a lightbulb. It's amazing. 

My diet is also going fairly well. I'm doing a mostly veggie and fruit diet, with some form of protein once a day. I had to kinda break this diet yesterday though. Why?

Because it was PI(E) DAY!

I'm such a nerd.

Your Pie offers pizza for $3.14 on pi(e) day and I just couldn't resist when I was invited by a good friend of mine. 

Today though? 

Back to the ol' grind. I worked out this morning, so I feel refreshed. 

Oh and I weighed myself and I'm down 4 pounds! Yay! (SN: I realized that I never told you where my dad took Momma for her birthday... ARUBA! She had a great time, told me she loved it! She also took pictures of these mannequins in the stores because they had such big butts and boobs LOL.)

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12 weeks.

12 weeks.
84 days.

I have exactly 12 weeks until I leave for Playa del Carmen.

That's right, this girl is going to Mexico!

With that being said, this girl needs to get into Mexican-sunshine-beating-down-my-back/face/stomach shape.

So yesterday, I began my journey to fitness. I walked 1.5 miles (not anything to holler about if you're a fitness buff, but for me, the most I walk is around the hospital for work). Today, I have a whole circuit to do.

I'll get back to you on how that goes, but I'm trying to remain positive about this whole journey. I would love to get into shape, become active and enjoy working out and just live a healthier life overall. My trouble? Motivation. After working 12 hour shifts and desperately needing to study for upcoming tests, I would rather spend 30 minutes vegging out on my couch than running or working out. Yes, I know - lazy. 

I own it.

But I would love to be beach body ready, so I have to change something. The foods I eat aren't going to be the easiest thing to change because eating healthy, or organic like my mother, is not that cheap. At. All. And your girl here is on a strict budget. One that has me saying "I just bought clothes with my food money, so I guess it's Ramen noodles for the rest of the month." (True story. Multiple times.)

I started the Bikini Body Program by Muffin Topless as recommended by my sister who is also doing it with me and she had fantastic results last summer. I'm praying that I have similar results, but I know that by not following her strict 1500 calorie diet to a T (hello, college budget again and I don't eat seafood), my results may be a little different. Yesterday was technically a day for rest on this program, but I felt kind of lazy about starting a new workout plan and resting on the first day. 

Today is day 2 of 84. 

Wish me luck!

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It's Friday!

If only the weather were as glorious as how I feel about it being the weekend. I finished another painting, this time of a frame and I am less than a month away from moving into my new place!!

This month is chock full of things I need to do before I leave: emissions, brother's graduation, Padre's birthday, nannying, jury duty (le sigh...), shopping for my new place, going to visit that new place to make sure everything's been built and sign my new lease with my actual address on it, etc.

I'm so excited for everything this month holds and I cannot wait to see it all unfold!

A quick update about those Raspberry ketones I talked about in June, maybe I'm doing it wrong. Maybe they don't work. I don't know. I fell off the exercise bandwagon though (I know, I know...) BUT I will continue to take them until the bottle is empty, which is about 3 more days, and I'm going to the gym in the fall since I will have one close to me again since I haven't had one nearby all summer.

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Sweating Our Hearts Out

A few days ago I mentioned my friend and I "Sweating for the Wedding." I just recently found out that she gave herself 5 months to lose a certain amount of weight, and whatever I can do to help her shed those pounds (and help me shed mine), I'd be happy to help! I sent her these shirts and said we're getting some in the fall. I told her to download the apps Lose It and My Fitness Pal to keep track of food intake and exercise. 

So far, I'm down 2 pounds and 2 inches off my waist. Yesterday I ran for 15 minutes and for the most part, I'm eating about 200 calories less than my budget each night (which isn't ideal, but I'm working on it). I'm also doing the 30 Day Abs workout and swimming when I can.

You can do it too! Join us for the rest of our journey! Remember, the wedding is in May. We have time, but not too much. It'll be here before you know it!

Keep in mind: You bite it, you write it.

Writing what I eat really has changed the way I eat. I don't like seeing that I'm over by X number of calories or that I ate a whole pack of Lifesaver gummies (yes, this happened.. three times). While I know counting calories will not become my lifestyle, it's nice to see what I'm putting into my mouth and how it's affecting my daily caloric intake.

Something to consider.

You can pick up this amazing shirt here!

And this one here!

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Raspberry Ketones

Raspberry ketones are slated by Dr. Oz to be a pill that helps you lose weight by tightening/shrinking the fat cells in your body (see here). Dr. Oz mentions that this pill should be taken in conjunction to diet and exercise for optimal results. After hearing that and having thought about losing weight for a little while, I thought I would give this a try.

I started taking the pill on June 4th after picking up a bottle from Walmart for $4.48. One before breakfast and one before lunch. After just 11 days, I've lost 2 inches off of my natural waist (measured just about the belly button) and that was with minimal exercise and adjusting some of my eating.

This past Monday, my friend and I began a "Sweating til the Wedding" countdown for her May wedding (!!) and that's when I started counting calories via two apps: My Fitness Pal and Lose It.

If you wish to lose weight the natural way but are seeking an all natural boost to jumpstart your weight loss, I definitely suggest raspberry ketones.

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