HUMPDAY!

Happy Hump Day! What hump did you hurdle today? I am over the hump of skipping my workouts. I am over the hump of giving up it seems. I have a routine, I have motivation, I have amazing people surrounding me along the way!

I'm over self-consciousness 

when I'm in public and look like this:  

Do you see this!? I AM A HUMAN WATERFALL!

It is glorious.

There's always a post-workout feeling. It can vary greatly.

No shame.

One thing is for certain. No matter the day, there is always the looming threat of this feeling as I'm attempting to navigate from the locker room to my car.

Triple this on leg day. 

KT knows.

Cheers to 20lb down, cheers to all the support - I couldn't be where I am today if it weren't for some incredible people. I'm itching to post some progress pictures, but Coastie hasn't seen me in a long time - and he won't for several more weeks. I'm going to wait until he gets to see the changes first :) 

Time to keep on keepin' on! 

Overcoming Fears

Not 10 months ago, if you would have asked me to join you in a public gym I would have given you every excuse in the book to avoid going. 

"Oh I'd love to, but I have a killer exam coming up!" 

"I'll have to take a rain check, gotta get my oil changed." 

"The cat needs to be brushed..."

You get the idea.

I adamantly refused to, and I quote, "Jiggle in front of other people." I was mortified that my cardio would terrify others, that everyone's gaze would be drawn to my problem areas, my jiggly bits. I resigned myself to the small apartment gym that no one uses and workout DVDs at home. I was frightened and intimidated by mere thought of crossing the threshold of the rec center. 

Today, I crossed that threshold and I even wore yoga pants in public. That's right, I wore form-fitting, hug-my-butt, most-likely-to-show-the-sweat-of-my-labor pants in view of others. Topping that, I wore them to class! An amazing classmate of mine invited me to the rec center today on the way home for our lunch break. I think she tricked me, you know who you are! There was no time to react, no time to over-think it. "Yeah!" 

So home I went and returned to campus in the aforementioned pants + other gym gear.

Surprisingly enough, those damn pants were what scared me most! I go to school in a program full of healthy and fit people. It can be intimidating at first, but you soon realize how sweet, amazing and supportive they are! Yet that didn't stop me from fearing those stupid pants. I don't own much work out gear, they were my best bet...was I worthy to wear them in the halls of my peers? This sounds ridiculous, but it was my last minor psychological battle. It was those pants, they were my hurdle - and boy did I jump that hurdle!

I've finally had the revelation of not caring what others think. In fact, anyone with any sort of moral compass will only think positively of you while working out. No one cares, they're there for themselves - not you - and I'm there for ME! And you know what? My butt looked gooooood in those pants. 

Thank you KT, for getting me to that Rec Center! Thank you for your support and laughter-filled motivation! Giggles and fitness go hand-in-hand!  

Today: 

-Biceps

-Shoulders

-Abs

-Cardio (20min)

Guess what? Going again tomorrow! 

Lean Mean Omega-3 Machine!

It's been awhile since I've posted a recipe! Who loves fish? (My OT family knows who loves fish...) I'll make this short and sweet.

Steelhead 

A.K.A. Rainbow Trout

I think this is one of the most beautiful (and delicious) fish! 

A member of the salmon family, steelhead is rich in omega-3 fatty acids. It's recognizable by it's pink flesh and rich flavor. Aside from fresh, off-the-boat whitefish, this is my top choice when cooking with fish.

Go ahead and put that fillet on a baking sheet. Put foil down first if you're lazy like me and hate messy clean-up!

Drizzle lightly with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt, broil on LOW! Oven rack should be close to the top, but not all the way up. Broiling on high will cook the fillet too fast, and it will appear cooked, but will be raw on the inside. Ick!

You know it's done when it flakes easily!

*distracted by cat...fish overcooked, but just barely!

I paired this fillet with some fresh-chopped roma tomato, broccoli, and cucumber marinated in Italian dressing. Perfect for this warm night - enjoy!

Michigan Has No Transitions

What is this spring you speak of? We went from solid winter to solid summer weather. Open up the pool and start the barbecue! 

The new semester is about to begin! I'm fearful of losing motivation in my path to better health. I'm notorious for using school and my mental exhaustion as an excuse. So this post is about maintaining that drive to keep going. 

I'm a Pinterest addict. Button on the side bar! Pinterest has a section called "Health & Fitness". 

It's mostly full of crazy exercise fads and phrases like "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels. - Kate Moss"

Thankfully all is not lost. There are actually some pretty decent, and meaningful, things on "Health & Fitness" that I can connect and relate with. 

 

And as a student in occupational therapy, this video hits me the hardest:

Never give up!

If you're still cute at the end of your workout...you're doing it wrong.

Nothing sweeter than a cool breeze through the screen door after cardio.

Today: 2.5 miles in 32 minutes 

Not bad considering I've avoided running for awhile now!

Here's something I'd like to address: My appetite. Guess what? I like food. No, I LOVE food. I love shopping for it, I love cooking and trying new recipes, I absolutely adore the smell of my kitchen at dinnertime! Pinterest is the greatest thing since sliced bread - the possibilities are quite literally endless.

I've always had a fairly healthy diet, improving or lapsing here and there, but never out of control. My biggest problem was eating too much! I never realized how many portions I was eating in one sitting. Even the healthiest fresh prepared meal can be unhealthy if I'm eating enough for two or three people. I started trying all these different methods you hear about from Cosmo or your mother...

"Use a smaller plate, you'll eat less."

"Try eating with chopsticks, it slows you down."

"Chew slower."

1. I'm clumsy by nature. Smaller plate means higher chance of me dropping food off my fork anywhere BUT my plate. Also, my "small" plates are approximately the size of one piece of toast. Not happening. 

2. I tried chopsticks, but trust me when I say - you will look ridiculous eating majority of your food. Chopsticks are strictly reserved for that once in a blue moon guilty pleasure take-out you get from Thai Cuisine. (Go get the curry pad thai. You will thank me later. You're welcome.)

3. Chewing slower makes me feel like a cow. Trust me, I grew up next to this place: 

             

    (Go get the Tractor Trails ice cream. You will thank me later. You're welcome.) 

Though all of the above failed, I did find a few things that work. 

- Don't eat in front of the TV. You might not realize it, but with all your focus on the screen in front of the couch, you're eating far more than you need. This also counts during Netflix/Hulu time on the laptop. 

-Snacks are totally cool. No one ever got fat from too many fruits and vegetables. Throw an apple in your backpack. Carrot sticks? Go for it! My favorite? Plain air-pop popcorn. 

-Try to eat with other people! Conversation is going to slow you down, giving your brain time to realize that there is food in your stomach and small intestine being digested. Don't have anyone to converse with? Talk to your cat. 

He totally gets me.

When you eat alone and shovel food as fast as you can (Trust me - I get it. Woke up on more than one occasion late for class), those chemical signals that tell you how full you are don't have enough time to fire and register with your poor cerebrum. This science also applies to the reasoning behind not eating while watching TV. Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself - tons of evidence based articles out there. 

Long story short, I'm not eating nearly as much as I was a year or two ago. One well-balance and proportioned plate fills me up, I don't need to go back for seconds, and I feel full and energized! 

Living true to my blog's name.

I'm not giving up.

School has been beyond overwhelming. As soon as it began last September, all I could do was think, eat, breathe, and sleep occupational therapy. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but I completely plateaued in regards to my health and fitness. 

Though I was solid in not gaining any weight, I certainly didn't lose any. Though, you know what? I'm not too upset about that. I remember reading somewhere recently, not sure where (probably Reddit...addicted) that  weighing yourself on the scale only measures your body's impact against the force of gravity. It's not helpful in the very least. I'm not setting foot on that scale again. 

Instead, I'm forcing myself to make time for better life choices.

My diet is healthy. No where near a super-vegan, calorie-counting, crazy keep-track of each percentage of nutrition I put in my mouth everyday type diet, but more of a "I'm going to cook and eat my food fresh, drink a ton of water, and make good life choices when I eat out or snack". I give you example #1: This past semester we had to teach our classmates how to do something. It didn't matter what, as long as you were teaching. An amazing classmate of mine taught us how to cut a pineapple. Sure, I could have googled it, but for some reason watching her dice up an entire fresh pineapple has inspired me to buy one every week for about a month now. Yum! Why wasn't I doing this sooner? Love me some fresh fruit and natural sugar! 

My workout routines are becoming, for lack of a better work, routine. So many people have told me they get up early and get that workout done in the morning. Me? I'm nearly cheating on my boyfriend I love my pillow so much. I ride the struggle-bus getting up any earlier than 7, so that's out. Some of my classmates are super-motivated awesome people, and workout during our break between morning and afternoon classes. Me? I love to give myself cognitive detox time and munch on my apple and salad while staring off into nothingness until I have to turn my brain on again in a few hours.

The boyfriend has been on leave these last few weeks before he has to report to his next station. He is super-fit, super-motivated, and always moving. Seriously, he's pretty awesome. What wasn't so awesome what having him drag me to the gym everyday to lift while he was here, and it just so happened that dinner-time workouts totally fit into my schedule. 

It was painful, it sucked. I walked like I had just gotten off of a horse after "leg day"....for THREE DAYS. 

Guess what? I just went...by myself...and did LEGS! I feel GREAT! And I love the boyfriend to bits and pieces for getting me moving again. Sorry I got super-grumpy on "arm day" sweetie. Love you! 

I'm back, I'm motivated, and after a couple weeks of on/off lifting I really think I can do this. I have to do this. I won't be updating frequently, but I'm still here and busting my rear end. I promise!! ;) 

Long time no see!

I've had several friends ask me in the past few weeks if I've stopped blogging. Well, short term answer, yes! Long term? Dear god I hope not... My first reaction was, "People are actually reading this thing?!" 

Life has been chaotic lately. I've been accepted into a graduate program for occupational therapy, so the past month has been planning, packing, and relocating to a big new city! No one was joking when they say graduate studies are stressful. The semester hasn't even started and I've panicked a grand total of 4 times. Between immunizations, background checks, $600 worth of books, and innumerable expenses, it's fair to say I've isolated myself from this blog for quite some time. 

Keeping up with my healthy habits has been difficult, especially when I'm crunched for time and fast food sounds sooooo good. Sometimes it feels like there's no energy left for cooking or thinking healthy. But I stick  to what I know, which is FRESH not FAST. I've been able to maintain my weight without much hassle. 

My workouts have been sporadic. I supplemented running for yard-work when I was at my folks. Moving wheelbarrow loads of gravel are killer, but an amazing back and shoulder workout! My new apartment complex has a fitness room across the parking lot, so there's really no good excuse to not work out. My new addiction is the elliptical. It's very low impact but incredibly effective! Just don't think you're going to bounce like a gazelle at warp speed and actually reap some sort of benefit. Bump the difficult up at least halfway. You might be going slow, but give it a minute and you're sweating buckets. It's like trying to run your way up the Sleeping Bear Dunes in northern Michigan. 

Feel the burn...

My semester starts after Labor Day. I'd like to try and post at least once a week if I'm able...if not, I'll do my best with what I can. 

Weight: 151.2lb