But I'm back, and I'm back on the road to, not just fitness, but having the best lifestyle to make me a happy camper once again.
That being said! I've been using the FMD plan, and holy cats, does it work. On that note, eating as much food as is required is...difficult. But doable, if you prep!
Okay, off I go!
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Thursday, October 27, 2011
World's-Most-Super-Awesome-Amazing Chocolate Milk
Forgive me in advance, for I never use measurements. Ever. I am what my mother refers to as, "a kitchen sink cook". I suppose I am. For the purposes here, I will...guestimate how much I use of each ingredient. But I encourage everyone to always find what works for oneself. Experimentation is, after all, the fun part.
3/4 C. Water
T. Agave Nectar
1 1/2 T. Cocoa Powder
1/4 C. Nonfat/Lowfat milk
The trick is to melt the water, agave and cocoa together or the cocoa will be a positive BEAR to mix in without leaving clumps behind. Either use the stovetop or put it in a microwave safe glass container and heat it that way. Let it cool off, or add ice if you don't mind having icy chocolate milk (I don't).
I know it doesn't seem like a lot of milk, but by using cocoa powder, it tastes so rich and extravagant that you don't really miss it. Even using nonfat, it still tastes amazing. So yeah! Enjoy! <3
3/4 C. Water
T. Agave Nectar
1 1/2 T. Cocoa Powder
1/4 C. Nonfat/Lowfat milk
The trick is to melt the water, agave and cocoa together or the cocoa will be a positive BEAR to mix in without leaving clumps behind. Either use the stovetop or put it in a microwave safe glass container and heat it that way. Let it cool off, or add ice if you don't mind having icy chocolate milk (I don't).
I know it doesn't seem like a lot of milk, but by using cocoa powder, it tastes so rich and extravagant that you don't really miss it. Even using nonfat, it still tastes amazing. So yeah! Enjoy! <3
Egad, what a long day.
I've been consistently running for around two weeks now. Running on and off for a few years, but really dedicating myself to it recently. Yesterday was the first day that I really had a hard time motivating myself to get up and do it. The usual story preceded: worked early (got up at 3:30 am to be there by 4:30), long hours standing on my feet all day, running amok on four hours of sleep etc. etc. etc. My legs were sore, and I was tired.
Normally, running is my (second) favorite time of day, sleep being (of course) the best--I mean, where else can I fly through the air and use telekenesis and create epic landscapes with just a thought? I know. My dreams are awesome. Anyway. Yesterday, I just wanted to curl up in bed and go to sleep. So what did I do?
I took a twenty minute power-nap, ate something to boost my blood sugar and made myself stretch. Putting on my running gear also really helps. I don't know why, but I usually find it really motivating to put on my shorts, tank and running shoes. So I did. And then I went for my run. I was more tired than usual, and my calves were particularly sore, but I pushed through it and I'm so glad I did. A year ago I would have just given up. I would have said to myself, "I didn't sleep well. I worked so hard today at the store. I should rest, recuperate. I'll go tomorrow."
But I didn't! Hah. And if I may quote, "And that has made all the difference."
Seriously. I felt amazing afterwards. Just feeling that sense of pride, of accomplishment, made it so worth it. Not to mention how physically I felt better than I had before hand.
So yeah, I guess the point is, I hope when you all are feeling tired and worn down, that you don't let it stop you from putting in that 25 minutes of cardio. It's easy to stop. It's easy to not go and do that work-out. But at the end of the day, do you want to go to bed knowing that you did what was easy? Or that you really tried, really put in that effort? Because it's worth it--believe me, it is so worth it.
As usual, after my run, I treated myself to my homemade chocolate milk (I'll post the recipe in a following blog--it's super yummy, try it! You will be surprised how delicious it is, considering how not-bad-for-you it is!). I also find other little ways to treat myself after my run. EG, I don't listen to my absolute favorite music until after, so I have that motivation/incentive. During my run, listening to up-tempo music by an artist whom I have a little, baby-crush on is also nicely motivating. No, I'm not saying who. That's embarrassing haha.
Anyway! Tonight, I'm really looking forward to my run. It's so freeing. My stress levels drop so, so much afterwards. So wish me luck, dear Reader! As soon as the sun goes down (it's still hot in SoCal, and I am on the paler side--and I think we all know sun + fair skin = tragedy), I'll be off!
Good luck to you, on your journey! Remember that each day is a new beginning to be explored.
Normally, running is my (second) favorite time of day, sleep being (of course) the best--I mean, where else can I fly through the air and use telekenesis and create epic landscapes with just a thought? I know. My dreams are awesome. Anyway. Yesterday, I just wanted to curl up in bed and go to sleep. So what did I do?
I took a twenty minute power-nap, ate something to boost my blood sugar and made myself stretch. Putting on my running gear also really helps. I don't know why, but I usually find it really motivating to put on my shorts, tank and running shoes. So I did. And then I went for my run. I was more tired than usual, and my calves were particularly sore, but I pushed through it and I'm so glad I did. A year ago I would have just given up. I would have said to myself, "I didn't sleep well. I worked so hard today at the store. I should rest, recuperate. I'll go tomorrow."
But I didn't! Hah. And if I may quote, "And that has made all the difference."
Seriously. I felt amazing afterwards. Just feeling that sense of pride, of accomplishment, made it so worth it. Not to mention how physically I felt better than I had before hand.
So yeah, I guess the point is, I hope when you all are feeling tired and worn down, that you don't let it stop you from putting in that 25 minutes of cardio. It's easy to stop. It's easy to not go and do that work-out. But at the end of the day, do you want to go to bed knowing that you did what was easy? Or that you really tried, really put in that effort? Because it's worth it--believe me, it is so worth it.
As usual, after my run, I treated myself to my homemade chocolate milk (I'll post the recipe in a following blog--it's super yummy, try it! You will be surprised how delicious it is, considering how not-bad-for-you it is!). I also find other little ways to treat myself after my run. EG, I don't listen to my absolute favorite music until after, so I have that motivation/incentive. During my run, listening to up-tempo music by an artist whom I have a little, baby-crush on is also nicely motivating. No, I'm not saying who. That's embarrassing haha.
Anyway! Tonight, I'm really looking forward to my run. It's so freeing. My stress levels drop so, so much afterwards. So wish me luck, dear Reader! As soon as the sun goes down (it's still hot in SoCal, and I am on the paler side--and I think we all know sun + fair skin = tragedy), I'll be off!
Good luck to you, on your journey! Remember that each day is a new beginning to be explored.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Phew!
This is your basic hello!
I'm starting something, and for the first time, I really feel like I can do it.
Introductions are in order, I think. Hello! My name is Audrey. I'm twenty-four (eek!), a college graduate and at the beginning of a really big adventure. There's no easy way to say this. Deep breath. I've been over-weight nearly my entire life. The story behind that is complicated, but not all that unique. I was abused as a little girl by someone I couldn't really get away from, and my best defense was to put on weight. So I did. And the abuse stopped. And it made me feel safe. And for a long time I was afraid that if I lost the weight, that even though that man was long gone, some other man would come along and hurt me the same way. So I stayed heavy, and I felt safe--safe and sad and scared, all at the same time.
It took me a long time to come to this point. A lot of soul-searching, a lot of false starts and stops. Back-sliding. Not taking care of myself, because there was always someone else who needed my time, my energy, my everything MORE. Something so common, I think, in a lot of people. We feel it's better to invest our time in other people. That it makes us selfless and that that's the best way to be. Being giving is great, don't stop that.
But I guess what it comes down to is that no one needs me more than I do. I need me. I need me to be happy, to be healthy. To feel well about myself. To look myself in the mirror each morning and like the person staring back at me.
I started this at my heaviest. At 5'9", I weighed 242 pounds. Two hundred and forty-two pounds. That's nearly 100 pounds OVER what I should weigh, at my height and skeletal structure.
As of today, I'm down to 202.5 pounds. Now, I'm not doing this to obsess over a number. I want to be healthy, not see myself as a number. That being said, I cannot begin to say how encouraging it is to go to the scale and see that this week, I lost 2.5 pounds.
How did I do it? How did I lose almost forty pounds?
Running. Running, and, of course, improving my diet. No, not dieting. I don't believe in cutting out carbs or limiting starches or not eating whatever the latest fad is. Just improving what I do eat, while still eating what I enjoy.
But those are stories for another day. For tonight, I guess all I have left to say is that I thought I was one of those people who couldn't. I couldn't lose weight, I couldn't do the things I really wanted to do (more on this later) because people would look at me and judge me. I was one big STOP sign.
But I'm not. Not anymore. I can. I can do whatever I put my mind to--and the best part is, anyone can. Even you. Especially you. We all can realize our potential. We just need to start trying. Even if we don't believe it yet, taking the first steps--pretending to believe, even if we do second guess ourselves--is the hardest hurdle over which to leap. You can do it. I'm doing it now.
So on that note, Hello. I'm Audrey. I'm hoping I can get to know you, and together we can make this journey. Big breath. That's where it really starts. With one deep, big breath.
I'm starting something, and for the first time, I really feel like I can do it.
Introductions are in order, I think. Hello! My name is Audrey. I'm twenty-four (eek!), a college graduate and at the beginning of a really big adventure. There's no easy way to say this. Deep breath. I've been over-weight nearly my entire life. The story behind that is complicated, but not all that unique. I was abused as a little girl by someone I couldn't really get away from, and my best defense was to put on weight. So I did. And the abuse stopped. And it made me feel safe. And for a long time I was afraid that if I lost the weight, that even though that man was long gone, some other man would come along and hurt me the same way. So I stayed heavy, and I felt safe--safe and sad and scared, all at the same time.
It took me a long time to come to this point. A lot of soul-searching, a lot of false starts and stops. Back-sliding. Not taking care of myself, because there was always someone else who needed my time, my energy, my everything MORE. Something so common, I think, in a lot of people. We feel it's better to invest our time in other people. That it makes us selfless and that that's the best way to be. Being giving is great, don't stop that.
But I guess what it comes down to is that no one needs me more than I do. I need me. I need me to be happy, to be healthy. To feel well about myself. To look myself in the mirror each morning and like the person staring back at me.
I started this at my heaviest. At 5'9", I weighed 242 pounds. Two hundred and forty-two pounds. That's nearly 100 pounds OVER what I should weigh, at my height and skeletal structure.
As of today, I'm down to 202.5 pounds. Now, I'm not doing this to obsess over a number. I want to be healthy, not see myself as a number. That being said, I cannot begin to say how encouraging it is to go to the scale and see that this week, I lost 2.5 pounds.
How did I do it? How did I lose almost forty pounds?
Running. Running, and, of course, improving my diet. No, not dieting. I don't believe in cutting out carbs or limiting starches or not eating whatever the latest fad is. Just improving what I do eat, while still eating what I enjoy.
But those are stories for another day. For tonight, I guess all I have left to say is that I thought I was one of those people who couldn't. I couldn't lose weight, I couldn't do the things I really wanted to do (more on this later) because people would look at me and judge me. I was one big STOP sign.
But I'm not. Not anymore. I can. I can do whatever I put my mind to--and the best part is, anyone can. Even you. Especially you. We all can realize our potential. We just need to start trying. Even if we don't believe it yet, taking the first steps--pretending to believe, even if we do second guess ourselves--is the hardest hurdle over which to leap. You can do it. I'm doing it now.
So on that note, Hello. I'm Audrey. I'm hoping I can get to know you, and together we can make this journey. Big breath. That's where it really starts. With one deep, big breath.
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