Catching up from Thanksgiving: A Variety of Thoughts

Thanksgiving break caused me to accidentally take a break from blogging. I would love to say I did it on purpose because I was eating so terribly, but that's only a half truth. ;) I did do really well for the most part though, more on that later.

I weighed in Friday morning before I went out for breakfast. I made a point because I was at the exact one month mark from when I began being more intentional about what I eat. And in that month I lost 11 pounds! So crazy! And I can definitely tell too, I really just feel much better than before. It's hard to explain, but it is a really good feeling.

Traveling home, I was really good about what I ate. And it got downright painful because of an awful toothache that made me want something soft like a burger and milkshake instead of the Chickfila salad I stopped for and carrots to snack on. Not a good time to be me. But I packed my little box of fruits and veggies and just munched on that while I drove and drank water and some lightly sweetened iced coffee. Besides my mouth yelling at me, it was a very good experience. I think I will pack ahead for the remainder of my trips because I was less tempted to get a candy bar when there was perfectly good (and more nutritious) food waiting for me in the car. The only thing I would change would be to put the apples in a different container than the grapes and carrots. Everything tasted like apple. Poor grapes.

And then I got home. The whole gym situation was difficult because I did not want to pay for a day pass at the Y and it was cold out. Honestly, I was just making excuses for myself. I did my core workout for a few days during break, so that was pretty good. Christmas break will be different because I can buy a month membership to a gym close to home that I researched over this break.

And food. Again, only myself to blame. I went grocery shopping with my mom so I was there to pick food out. As a result of this toothache, I am on some fun antibiotics that mess with my stomach. So, it was suggested that I have yogurt to combat that. Which is how I discovered Greek yogurt. So good. And healthy. The beginning of the week was very healthy for me, smart choices for lunch by me and my parents have been attempting to eat healthy too so overall I didn't mess up at all.

The second part of the week was crazier. My whole fam traveled a couple hours north so it was fast food and then we were baking for Thanksgiving so there were some sundaes (My first ice cream in a long time!) and some pizza. Not a shining moment. Thanksgiving itself was good. I got smaller portions than I usually do for Thanksgiving dinner and only filled my plate once. It wasn't even that intentional, I just get full faster now. Of course, I did have a little of everything, it was so good! I still have not had soda, which was incredibly tempting over break. I think the most sugary drink I had was a cappuccino, otherwise it was water or coffee.

I did get some clothes shopping in on Saturday with my mom! We were waiting in Albany for a friend of mine to arrive, so I got to hit up the mall. I'm down to a size 5 in pants, which is incredible. I have never been smaller than a 7/8. So that was a really good moment for me, especially because I have been wearing these size 10 A&F jeans that are huge on me (originally I could not fit into them only a few months ago, so weird to think about now). And all the tops I got were a good deal smaller than normal too. I'm happy to have clothes that fit me now! And yes, that picture to the left is of me in the fitting room being excited that I'm finally a "5" haha.

I did go back to the gym today-no more excuses. I did continue on the path my routine was going which involved pushing myself a little harder. I hadn't run in a week and a half so I'm pretty sore tonight. But oh well, back on track for me!

Hopefully all of your breaks were well and you didn't hit too many troubles on the way home. That picture on the right was one my brother took in southern New York yesterday afternoon. My drive was kinda crazy as it was quiet and snowy for the first couple of hours, then full of traffic with much less snow for nearly the whole rest of the drive. It was pretty though!

Until next time-keep positive and take action! Don't use the excuse of "I'll get healthy after the holidays." Start now, you'll be surprised how much you can accomplish between now and Christmas.

Traveling

In a day and a half I will make the drive from Virginia back home to New York for the first time in over three months. This is the longest I have been from home since this time freshman year, so I’m pretty excited.

One thing I have been contemplating though is how to try to make healthy choices during such a long drive. I can normally do the whole drive as long as I have a cup of coffee in my hand. And something to snack on, like chips, usually helps too. So, I was nervous about how I’m going to eat right come Friday while I’m traveling. I was able to manage a few good ideas though and they’re very budget friendly too.

Buy your snacks beforehand.

I think I’m going to be less tempted at convenience stores along the way if I already have my stuff packed up ahead of time. I have some leftover grapes and carrots from grocery shopping last week so I’m going to put a handful of those in a container as well as some cut up apples that I got from the dining hall these past couple of days as well. I have already paid for all of this food, so it will be a cheap snack that is better than digging into a bag of chips.

Avoid the soda by planning your drinks ahead of time.

Bring your water with you instead of buying it. That saves money and also it relieves the temptation of buying soda. For my caffeine fix, I’m actually bringing some Starbucks Via packets. Normally, I absolutely despise coffee but this is actually some really good stuff. It has three packets for around three dollars and it’s yummy iced coffee. It’s already pre-sweetened so I'm not adding a bunch of junk on it and the calories in it are very reasonable. Saving money and cutting calories. It’s all good.

So that’s my thoughts on snacking on the road. I’m still quite leery about lunch/dinner since it will definitely be fast food. Most fast food salads are full of sugar and lots of unnecessary stuff, but I may just have to bite the bullet.

Happy and safe travels this week!

Progress Update and Interval Workouts

       So I did my weigh in on Saturday and I was down another 3 pounds, which puts me on the other side of the halfway point of my weight loss goal! I know this last half is going to be harder than the first half, but I’m gonna stay positive and power through it.

        Today I want to share some good workouts and what I have benefited from up to this point. Starting out, I wasn’t really sure what to do. As a result, I kinda fumbled through my first few workouts until I really learned what was best in pursuing my goal. Hopefully my experience will save you some of that effort.

        I started off trying the Couch to 5K program. Several of my friends have used it and it’s worked well for them, plus I really want to become a longer distance runner. At the moment, my goal is to be in my first 5K during the spring semester. Here’s hoping!

     At the end of week 2 of the program, I was in bad shape. I’ve had really bad asthma since I could remember and I did have a few small attacks at the end of some of my workouts. So, I had to slow it down and repeat week one several times. I began increasing the speed and the incline on the treadmill as I was working out and eventually increased the length of the runs and length of the overall workout too. What I didn’t realize was that I was training myself using interval workouts. And once I read up on them, I became a strong believer. Here’s why:

       

         1. No asthma attacks! The break in between jogs gives my lungs a chance to catch up, so short bursts of intensity seem to be better for them than longer runs. Granted, over time it is getting better as I increase the length of my interval, but it has been better for my lungs to slowly become stronger in this way.

         

        2. They are so beneficial! I have read several studies that say that interval workouts burn 2-3 times more calories after the workout because of an “afterburn” effect that your body experiences. And I totally believe it because I am usually dripping with sweat by the end of interval 2 and I can normally feel some of the effects for a couple hours afterwards. It's intense.

Here’s a link to an interval workout, although I really just modify week 1 of the Couch to 5K program to an intensity that works for me. So modify and find out what works best for you! Especially if you're a beginner runner, start out slow and add intensity as you get better. I do this about 3 or 4 times a week and another couple of days are spent doing another modified interval workout on either a bicycle or elliptical. I like to keep workouts interesting so I do change it up quite a lot.

Also, I was pretty bad about toning as I lost weight. So, I buckled down these past couple weeks and began toning my stomach muscles so that I won’t look silly. I found this workout over the summer and I did it sporadically. Now I’m doing it about 3x/week and I’m noticing a difference! It isn't too difficult, really works my abs, and it doesn’t only target one area.

Hopefully these exercises will be helpful to you! Like I’ve said before- I really don’t spend much time at the gym because I can’t afford that much time out of my day. I only spend 25-40 minutes on cardio and the ab workout really only takes 15-20 minutes at the very most. All of this gives really good results as cardio is what is always suggested for weightloss, followed by some exercises to tone as well. As I start toning my legs, etc… I'll post workouts that I find beneficial.

That’s just some stuff I’ve learned and has helped so far, I’m sure my knowledge will increase on this stuff as I become more experienced, but this is a wonderful place for anyone to start in an effort for a healthier lifestyle. 

Eating Right

While getting exercise is a good idea when losing weight, eating right is even more important. What really made the difference for me was when I realized that I could not just eat whatever I wanted and expect to lose weight because of 30 minutes spent at the gym. 

Such a silly thought, but it’s a very common one.

So, how do you eat right on a college meal plan? I'll give you a run down of what has been working for me.

Breakfast

For breakfast, I typically have a piece of fruit and a piece of toast or oatmeal. The natural sugar in a piece of fruit in the morning really helps curb sugar cravings throughout the day. And of course fruit is good for you too. I also only stick to whole wheat bread and have a piece of toast in the morning. It stores energy and that’s useful for long days that are common in college. Or I’ll sometimes have one serving of oatmeal with my piece of fruit mixed in. And only real oatmeal, not the prepackaged stuff that’s full of sugar. And of course my cup of coffee—gotta have it!

If you don’t want to be lazy like me and buy all of this so that you can eat it in the quiet of your room in the morning, most dining halls do offer fruit and whole wheat options as well. But don’t skip breakfast! Skipping breakfast causes your body to think that you are not going to feed it, and it stores fat just in case. Not a good plan.

Lunch

I love vegetables. I can eat a bag of carrots the same way I can eat a bag of chips. So, it just clicked for me to make most of my meals vegetable based. Not all places on campus have good tasting vegetables; it really takes an effort to figure out where they cook them well and where they don’t so much. A lot of my lunches incorporate my main entrée as a salad with a little bit of oil as a dressing. Of course, protein is important too so I normally include some grilled chicken or almonds in the salad as well. Lean meat is definitely a good choice when trying to eat right. Most dining halls have salad options and I definitely am blessed to be at a school that has delicious salads at most of the dining locations.

Dinner

Again, I try to make my dinner pretty vegetable based with some protein mixed in. Sometimes it will be another salad or there’s nights like this one where I scrambled an egg and had some carrots and grapes. It’s all about finding balance and eating what your body needs. It is also important to have red meat of course so once a week I try to have some hamburg or some other red meat in place of my lean meat. 

Again, I reiterate the fact that it is never a good idea to skip meals because all that will do is confuse your body and counteract all of the work you are trying to do. From my experience, I can fully sympathize with how difficult it is to really focus and be honest with what you eat. I'd suggest keeping a food journal and writing everything down from what you ate to how much you ate. Food journals really help you evaluate where you are making bad decisions and help you stick to your commitment. 

I really hope this helped, it is good to look around and see where your school offers the best healthy options and really take advantage of those! 

Don't drink your calories!

              I live by this. Seriously. First order of business last month was to cut out soda. I know, it’s delicious and on most college campuses it’s everywhere. It is offered with pretty much any meal at any dining location on campus. But soda has absolutely zero nutritional effects. Of course, I’m sure you already knew that. It’s addicting though, so drinking seltzer water for the first couple of days to get over it isn't a terrible idea.

            

             What about the caffeine?! I know caffeine is vital to college life as it definitely still is to mine. The only thing I drink besides water is coffee or tea. And that doesn't mean coffee hyped up on sugar. Tea with some honey does have some nutritional value and coffee with a little bit of nonfat creamer isn't half bad.

            While juice does have some nutritional effects, some juices have more sugar in them than coffee. So, I try to steer clear of them too.  Occasionally I’ll have a glass of juice but it’s definitely not a habit.

            So I have water as a way of cutting out some unnecessary calories. I know water isn't everyone’s thing, but putting a lemon in water does make it extra tasty and it does help to think of the weight that it will help you lose.  

It just makes sense, cutting out unnecessary calories in what you drink alone will put you on the right track to a healthier lifestyle!

Enough with the Excuses

I was on my way to the gym today and all I could think about was how much I didn’t want to go. Real encouraging, right? My head filled with excuses:

1. “I’m tired” When I’m going on 5-6 hours of sleep, a nap is way more appealing than working out.

2. “I’m too sore” I pushed myself so hard yesterday when I went to the gym. And I was really     feeling it this morning.

3. “I’m too busy” I had a long list of stuff to do today and it’s Election Day so there was waiting in a long line to vote. That half an hour could have been used to get some of that done..

But I powered thru and went to the gym because I knew I would regret not going way more than going.

So for all of you insanely busy college students, here’s some tips for making time to be intentionally active. 

Go after class

That makes sense for me because the gym I go to is right on campus and much closer to my classes than my room. It prevents me from making the excuse later that I do not want to go all the way to the gym because I am already mostly there. I really think it is a good idea to bring your gym clothes with you to class and go right from there. That way you are taking a nice break between classes and homework.

Go at a time of day that is right for you

If for some reason right after classes does not work for you, then find a time of day that is right and commit to it. Many studies show that it is more effective to exercise in the morning and not okay to work out within four hours of going to sleep. So, go at a time of day when you will be the most motivated to go and stick to it.

Social Media

So I know by now you’re probably thinking that you simply don’t have time during the day to go between sleep, classes, homework, studying, work, group meetings, meals, and having a social life. Trust me, I’m well aware. But stop and think for a minute. How long are you on social media during the afternoon? Be honest with yourself. This includes Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc…Some college students are on any combination of social media for multiple hours a day. I’m not saying that’s wrong, but what if you took half an hour of that time to be active? Social media will still be there when you get done, but limiting how much time spent on them will really open up a block of time to be more active.

Feels more energized and more focused

Consciously making the time to be more active can also help improve your grades. Getting exercise helps you feel more energized and helps you focus more. So that little bit of time lost on going to the gym or running around campus will be made up for in productivity. Think of it as an investment in your grades.

Go for short, but intense periods

With a limited schedule, it makes sense to go for shorter periods of time. But make sure they are intense. I’m a strong believer in interval training. I feel like I have just about died afterwards and it is usually only 25-40 minutes. Also, it is more effective to do a short intense workout than a long workout at a moderate pace. Challenge yourself, but keep it within your time constraints.

Reasonable number of days per week
Do as many days as you can during the week. Starting out, just commit to every other day or something like that. I began doing three days a week until I managed my schedule to open up for more days. Everyone is different though, maybe for now you can do one day during the week and one day on the weekend, that’s completely fine. Again, be honest with yourself and don’t make excuses for how many days you can do.

Accountability

Try to find some friends to workout with you and hold you accountable. That has been when I am the most consistent. A majority of my workouts during the week are with my friends. It’s just good to have someone to go with and someone who is counting on you to be there. You are so much more likely to go if that’s the case.

Hope these little tips helped! It is definitely a lot easier said than done but it is also so incredibly worth it to commit to being more active and making room in a crazy college schedule. Also, remember that working out is only half the battle to a balanced life, eating right is also key.

Freshman Year til Now

I decided before I get too far into this, that I should explain what I've done and how it has worked so far.

This is a picture of me about halfway thru my first semester at LU. Honestly, I did not gain the typical "freshman fifteen." . Of course, I wasn't the smallest then. I was probably somewhere around 150, and at 5'4" that's outside of the healthy weight category in most definitions. But I've always been okay with it and just wrote it off that I am just going to be who I am. I think I lost somewhere around five pounds first semester because I was walking all the time and I was going to a zumba class a couple days a week with some friends. I probably gained it all back second semester though as I became busier and things got really crazy. Sophomore year is about when I gained all the weight. And I don't mean that in an awful way, I just got super busy and there were many more takeout options available on campus that I took advantage of. I did go the gym, but it was more like once a week if I had time and I definitely did not push myself as hard as I should of. So I was eating all of this takeout food but not taking advantage of the gym we have on campus. Never a good idea. It was not a healthy and balanced life as it should be. I was stressing myself out, not sleeping as much, and eating terribly. It was not a good way to lead my life.
         I came to that realization this summer. I began attempting to diet. Unfortunately, I failed way more times than I succeeded. I would start a diet and swear to only have a salad for dinner (which was full of dressings that were doing more harm than good) but then someone would order pizza at work and of course I would have a slice or two. Or garlic knots. Or I would visit my friend on my way home at McDonalds and order a McFlurry because I knew she was closing. Just bad habits like that. Even exercising was scarce because I would not consistently leave time in my day to bike or do crunches or something to be active. Instead I would wake up, go to work, and then come home and go to bed. Again, full of bad choices for someone who was trying to lose weight. I probably lost a couple of pounds in the long run, but not as a result of consistency. The picture to the right is on my birthday this year. I probably weighed somewhere between 157 and 160 at this point. Not my proudest moment. Honestly, when I found this picture and compared it to freshman year I was wondering how the heck weight can just creep up on you like that. I didn't even notice it! But it's pretty obvious when I look at it now, my face was a lot rounder and my stomach is too a little. I'm not ashamed nor do I have a bad image of myself, I'm just saying I wish I would of taken the time to take care of myself in the midst of all that was going on with my life. It would of been the responsible thing to do. 
            So, this semester I woke up. First, it was going to the gym more consistently. I started going to the gym three times a week as a part of a competition at school. But it grew on me and became something I wanted to do instead of a part of a school-wide competition. Soon I learned I liked going to the gym, something I never thought possible. I was going 4-5 times a week. 3 days on the treadmill and 2 days on the bike (sometimes I would miss a day). After I lost about 3 or 4 pounds doing that, I realized how good I felt. So I started eating better about a month or so ago. I don't think of it as a diet, instead it is a lifestyle change. When I get to my goal, I will probably adjust a little bit while still staying quite healthy and balanced. Once I adjusted my diet the way really started just falling off. At the beginning of this semester I was between 160 and 162. I only weigh myself once a week and on Saturday morning I was somewhere around 146, which is much closer to the healthy weight range than I have been since probably the beginning of high school. Not too shabby for only a month or so of change!  And yes, that picture is from shopping over the weekend, my face is less round and my stomach has become much less noticeable. I'm all for that. I went out and bought my first ever pair of yoga pants this Saturday as a reward. I'm all about rewarding myself, but I don't feel too terrible about having cheat days either. If I slip up, it's not the end of the world. I just have to do better next time, and I do. I'm actually smaller than when I started college, which is pretty incredible for an accounting major that is constantly studying for the next test. 

I hope this post was of inspiration to people who have gone through a similar struggle as me! My next posts are going to include what I do at the gym and how I eat right on a campus meal plan. I know it's difficult for you to do, but it can be done! And of course, I'll keep posting about my progress as time goes on. 

Also: I know all three pics are mirror shots. For the first two, I did it for comparability. The third was just a coincidence. 

Leading a Healthy Life

I am a junior in at Liberty University and like most students, I have been struggling with weight over the past few years. When I finally made the serious effort to work on that this fall, I found that reading about other people's journeys really inspired me to work harder. I also realized that there are very few motivational blogs for college students. So I'm determined to fix that.

Being in college and leading a busy life does not excuse me from taking care of myself. And I honestly believe that culture has allowed college students to fall into that stigma. The "Freshman  Fifteen" is a good example of that. It is important to live a balanced life as the actions we take in college are likely to become habits in the future. 

A couple of months ago I became really serious about living a balanced life and losing weight. Since then, I have lost fifteen pounds and I feel great! Some weeks are better than others though. Some weeks I lose four pounds and then there are weeks like this one where I lost about half a pound. And it's discouraging but it is important to move on and try harder the next week.

I am a very self-motivated person and my wish is to spread this motivation to others, so that they can be uplifted and encouraged in their efforts to become more healthy.

I'm also going to include different tips to losing weight in college. It's not easy to eat right when mostly everything on campus is grab and go, so it is important to look into what is a smart option and what is the right option.

It is important to lead a healthy lifestyle so I hope you'll join this journey with me!