Cheater, Cheater

Now, this title reflects a couple of things. 

1.  I have been cheating on my running with Halloween candy. Ugh. I'm somewhat ashamed of this weakness, but hey - I'm not perfect and won't pretend to be. I have set-backs and walls and crazy high standards for myself. I'm much more in shape now than I was a few weeks ago, so I'm not too terribly disappointed, but I did need to come clean about my pumpkin candy and kit-kat issues. The guilt was racking me!

My weekend has been a lot of studying and lazy eating. Candy was near, so it was snarfed!

2. (and this is immensely more important than the first one) Tomorrow is mine and the beau's 5th year anniversary. 
[That's half a decade, ya'll!]

We've pulled and pushed each other through just about everything over the past several years. He's my best friend, my favorite hello, the one constant thought throughout my entire day and I just don't feel at ease unless he's near me. 

Yes, I do realize that I've got it bad. But hey, isn't this what we all hope for? The kind of love that is comfortable but exciting at the same time? 
It's what I always wished for, and it almost didn't happen. 

You see, we met in highschool - but I broke his heart and friend-zoned him in order to date one of his close friends, some might say his best friend (but they'd be wrong). 

It was very much like Gary Allan's "Man to Man." Seriously. The 'Ex' cheated on me, broke my heart, and my best friend was left to pick up the pieces and put me back together. My best friend, the guy who I'd left for something that was...more exciting?...better?...well, I have no idea why, but I refused to give him the time of day. I was hell-bent on dating the other guy. I was an idiot.

Then one day, after he's finished super-gluing my aorta back on, he says "Well, I'm kind of interested in [a girl who's name I shall not mention, lest she know that she ever had a chance]. What do you think?"

Jesus, I was now in the friend zone and I completely agree with this: 
“It’s amazing the clarity that comes with psychotic jealousy.”

—

George Downes My Best Friend’s Wedding

So I told him how I felt and the rest is history. You can't expect the boy to keep trying, only to get denied over and over.
It was my turn to take that leap of faith, and thank GOD, he caught me.

 It's funny how life works out. The guy I thought would be better off as my friend, was the man meant for me. Who would have guessed!?

Now this boy, whom I got extremely comfortable with (which is the problem that many couples encounter...I call it "The Fluffy Phase"), pushes me to be better, to run harder, do more, push further. He's everything that I expected my other half to be. He even cares enough to pull me into all the things he enjoys, as well as sitting through all the episodes of Vampire Diaries with me. It's a decent trade-off. :]

Except Monopoly. Two Taurus signs playing anything can get dangerously competitive.
Someone may get CUT!

We fight, laugh, cry, play (seriously...this boy games like nobody's business) - we are two halves of a whole. I can only hope that each and every one of you finds the person that makes you want to be better than who you were yesterday. It's a great gift to know that your happiness is someone's priority. To feel loved and cherished is wonderful. I hope you all can experience love because it's the most beautiful, powerful, crazy emotion that envelopes your soul and makes everything catch fire.

Working out together has been so great for us. We interact and are in a much better place with our healthy-fit selves. It's easier to work through sugary cravings and lazy-spells when we're both involved and motivating the other. 

How have you all been making out  (-.o) with your workouts?

<3 DeviantArt!

 
 

Sex, Sweat and Taboos

My large hispanic family shrinks shudders cringes at the thought of talking anything related to health, fitness, sex, partnerships, politics, love, life, and pretty much any topic with opposing views. 

But, what can we all agree on?

FOOD! <--- Click here for some food PRON!


That's right, who would've thought that Hispanics are foodies? 
{eye-roll}

Yes, most of us are foodies. Actually, I've never met a Latina/Latino who doesn't practically worship good food (what type of biped can't appreciate some yummy nummies?). The problem is, just like with the rest of our America, people like to stuff their gobs, but don't want to work those glutes! 
The worst thing about Latin genetics? We gain love handles and boobs! The upped boobage is quite nice, the side rolls for extra butter pats....not so great.

On top of being of Hispanic heritage, I also work an office job at the moment. We lead these unhealthy lives where we eat up everything in the office breakfast bars (for the fancy places that pay for their employees' brekky) and then sit in a chair all day, clicking away on our mice and clackitty keyboards...never realizing that our arses are swelling. 

How sad, right?

(BTW - get yourselves an exercise ball if you have a desk job. It's bouncy, helps with balance and strengthens your lower back...PLUS! You can act like Tigger all day, because bouncing's a wonderful thing!) 

Sometimes I even buy breakfast for my office peeps, like I did yesterday. While they were eating muffins, bagels and frosted goodness....I ate 2 cups of black grapes and half a cup of cottage cheese. Guess what? I lurved my breakfast, but all I could think about was how evil I was being for fueling their bad habits. And yet...

As funny (and wishful) as that is, please don't do this:

Being judgy toward someone else is not cool. Get off your high horse. 
Remember that eating pizza or ice cream or chocolate or pie, every now and then will keep your sweet tooth happy, and keep you on track. Denying yourself any and all of life's little food temptations can sometimes lead to binge-eating, which will set you back - and you don't want that!

Moral of this story?
Encourage others to be healthy and make good food choices, don't be a Judgy Janice just because you're cravings are on lock-down. Rude!

Eating one cupcake, ok.
Snarfing all the cupcakes in a 10 mile radius....not cool dude.

Did I catch your attention?
AWESOME!

 

I have a few fun ideas to help get you motivated!
{Stay with me, now! I promise, you'll LOVE these!}

You see, we're getting closer and closer to the holidays. They're creeping up on us and while we're worried about Thanksgiving plans, who's baking what and what presents we need to buy....we're forgetting to keep our healthy habits in check. 

As much as we love to have Auntie Anne shove sugar-coated pretzels (a.k.a. - warm pieces of love-nuggets --- OR a mini delivery package to clog my arteries),  we need to remember that moderation is key. 
Also, that sample pretzel, will cost about 250 calories and that's about 2.5 miles worth of running to get rid of that damn delicious pretzel. 


So, without further ado...here are my ideas:


1. Work out with your husband/wife/significant other/sexbuddy 
(Yes, it must be someone you're intimately involved with.)

WHY?

Well, if you motivate each other to work out, then your treat can be some steamy shower action after your dirty/grimy workout. What better treat after a hard workout than a nice massage in the shower? You are more than welcome to add in your own post-workout coital activities. BUT...you only get the cookie, if you actually put the work in - so don't phone in your workout! Really push yourself and your partner. 
Now, I'm not saying you can't workout with a friend or bestie, but if you're attracted to them, then you need to ask for permission (and be granted it) BEFORE you jump their bones, ok?


2. Earn an ooey-gooey healthy treat!
There are some very yummy treats to be found on several healthy-fit sites. A few of my favorites can be found here:

Tara's Treats!   <----- Some seriously delicious oatmeal and breakfast recipes. YUM!
Fit Foodies. Get some!  <--- I really want to try the Paleo Pumpkin Bars, ASAP! 
Baking Goodies!  <--- I sometimes have to tweak these recipes, but I <3 this cute blog!


Now that you have some treat ideas...work your butt off and then come back home to a healthy sweet (and good for your abs!) delight. You'll still get toned while you get to eat some yummy stuff (and it's healthy for you!). Remember, everything in moderation. We're trying to get INTO shape (preferably a sexy hourglass, IMO), not STAY a round shape. Agreed?

Every minute, every inch, every bit of effort counts.
Put all you have into this and you'll get the results you want.

3.  Earn Moo-LAH!

Set a monetary goal for yourself. Right now, I want to lose 50 more pounds. So I am setting aside $50 for every 10lbs I lose. Feel free to set an amount per pound, if you'd like. As a college student on a tight budget, any steeper and I'd go for broke. :(
Either way, I'm motivated for an awesome (whatever I decide to buy) gift to myself at the end of this journey. 

Don't worry about the sweat, that's just fat crying.

4. Running into the "Ex"

What an ASS-HAT!
If he/she broke up with you for a few pounds, then you really need to bust your hump and get to your ideal "sexy."
ASAP!

There is truly very little worse than running into an ex-boyfriend and realizing that he's gotten better looking, while you're now the "XXX"- large gf. UGH. How embarrassing. 
So, every time you think that you just can't go running today (because you're being a lazy-bum!) or you start listing the "I think I'm kinda sore, maybe, maybe, blah, blah, blah!...remember how good it will feel to run into your ex, looking every inch the sexy beast that he or she doesn't have anymore. 

[Insert evil laugh HERE]



5. Make it FUN!

I run with my beau (who also happens to be my bestie and trainer), so we race each other through our three miles and joke through a portion of our workout. 
I'm thinking that the next time we decide to go biking, I'll do something like this:

You jelly?

Think up ways to change up your routine. Maybe take a different route, or make a game out of the workout. Our office has a challenge going to keep everyone on a healthy track over the holidays. We all put in some cash and the person who loses the largest percentage of weight, wins a majority of the $$$. Who doesn't like money?
My wallet definitely wants me to stay motivated!


What say you?



Lastly - always, always, ALWAYS remember that:

True Story.

Alright...now that you all have the motivation...get your butt in gear!

Have an awesome workout today.

<3

More Skinny, Less Bitch

Holy freaking bio-balls, Batman!

There is so much to update you all on.
I'll keep it short, and do my best to add some juicy tidbits throughout.
Sound fair?

Great, let's get going!

Here's my past week, in a nutshell.
[Oh yes, I brought my crap-ass allergy ridden issues into this mess]

I flipped off my boss last week by giving him the Peace sign backwards.
{note: a peace sign facing you - palm toward body - means "PEACE" but palm-out means "F-U!"}
This was rather unfortunate, and pretty funny, as only he and I knew this little European nugget of knowledge. I was forgiven.



I also had a couple of incidents where my face nearly blew up. I'd post a picture, but it was far too hideous and embarrassing. I was still puffy a few days after the reaction and contemplated whether or not I was still swollen or if maybe I'd gained back some weight. EEEK!
For some reason, these allergies are getting worse. So bad, in fact, that I'm now having severe facial swelling reactions to just about anything, including dishes that I cook myself.
Don't fret, I've got an appointment with my allergist this week and hope to nip this mess in the legume.

It's like everything is going wrong.

This is totes my life right now.
:|

On a slightly related thought bubble - Why must peanut butter cups be so yummmmy???
I really wish I could still eat peanuts. Sadly, they're perfectly packaged in little death capsules. Evil bastards.







Other news:
I applied to graduate school and am daily checking my status with the university. Let's cross our fingers for admission, ASAP! :]

I've been kind of a smarty-pants lately.
Working on this though.
It's an awful habit!

As if I didn't have enough on my plate, I decided to commit to two new health changes.
I started my 90 mile challenge and was all "OH YEAH!"

I'm still sore, but the run today nearly put me out of commission.
Remember to listen to your body...especially when it's screaming!

Sadly, I got hurt today. [insert loud booing here]
Hopefully I can stretch this calf+ankle out and take it slow tomorrow.
I don't want to fall off this healthy bandwagon, stop working out and slide back into my fat pants.

Ugh. A fate worse than a world without coffee, for SURE!

I'm down 17 pounds!
GTFO, fat pants.  


Hellllloooooo, gorgeous glutes and biceps. 
Mhhm!



I also became a part of the Advocare team. I'm so very excited to set out on this path!
Please visit my site and check out all the awesome products that can help you kick-start or continue your own healthy-fit journey.

The Spark Energy Drink is my favorite! <3

Be sure to check this out! [CLICK HERE!]

Until tomorrow, friends.

Slow Your Roll!

I had a very long chat with my bestie last night. Unfortunately, her words stuck with me and very much interfered with my studying/cramming review time. She told me how she worries that I am always too busy to just sit back and enjoy the day. I guess that, for the most part, she's right. 

My idea of relaxing is going for a 30 minute run or reading a chapter from a fun book, or lounging to watch a television show. Sadly, I don't really have a ton of free time. This all led me to think about how the countless hours of stressing over work and school and volunteer hours and family and, and, AND! 

It NEVER ends. 

So maybe I do need to learn to say no and make a better effort to embrace some "me" time. 
That's not so bad, right? 

I hope not, because I'm already feeling gobs of guilt for trying to squeeze in some time for myself. Stupid-sounding, sure...but that's just how I feel.

It goes against my nature and every time that I try to put myself first, it makes someone else angry. Since I'd rather not deal with caustic peeps, I endeavor to please everyone. Which is also another nearly impossible task. Ugh. Story of my life. 


All that aside, I spent my time doing three things today:
1. Studied (in fact, this is probably my 8th study break today...it seems I rather enjoy distracting myself when it comes to important things)
2. Contemplated ways to do nothing:
- A spa day
- Retail Therapy
- Nap on the beach
- Make snow angels
- Run in the rain
- Arts and Crafts
- hours on Pinterest (I never get to do this!)
- buy more books
- work on my novel
- Ponder (which will only lead to thinking - then vision-boarding - then "POOF!" I'm back to stressing about the degrees I need to earn in order to accomplish what I want out of life...which, consequently, deals with saving children all over the world.) 

Well, that's kind of where I stopped. Did you notice that half of these things require me to delve into my pocketbook and the other half just seem lazy? This is my dilemma. I simply do not know (or grasp the concept) of how to "relax."

I guess I can see Laura's point of view...directly stated, [I] "make her head hurt."
Booh.


Oh! The third thing I did?

EAT!

I tried a few of my favorite things and then opened up my advocare box. 
Thinking about all the studying I have to do, I went ahead a reached for the V-16 Energy drink. 
Let me say... GROSS!

It's effervescent, which I thought was pretty cool...but it's citrus flavored and sugar-free (this I wouldn't normally mind, but it's waaaaaay too noticeable). This product gets a thumbs down from moi. I was really hoping that I'd love it, like I do everything else I've tried (aside from the MNS pill packets and their somewhat-jumbo size) from the Advocare line. 

Color me disappointed. 

I'll let you know what I think about the SLIM shots later this week, as well as the Catalyst and Nighttime Recovery.

For now...I'm going to work on slowing down, while still maintaining my workouts. 
This "Work-Life" Balance thing...it's quite difficult to perfect. 

Lord help me.

The Challenge!

It's over!

24 days. Done!
Hallelujah!

I've lost 9 pounds and I am damn proud of myself. 
So proud, in fact - that I'm purchasing myself a LBD (little black dress - a sexy one, to celebrate our 5 year anniversary in chicness!)
Plus, a pair of bootines and an awesome pair of running shoes ::cough, underarmour, cough::

Oh darling, the choices!

These booties caught my eye. They come in black and green. Hmmm...

Sadly, I'm now in between sizes...even with SHOES!
My new Clarks [which I was raving about earlier this week] don't fit properly.  :| They were rubbing my achilles raw. UGH! 
The diva in me hates to see a great pair of shoes go to waste, so I gave them to my Mom and....she loves them! She actually switched shoes during the work day. Bahaha! 

The question now is...do I buy a size bigger and get them altered, or buy a size smaller and fit into the clothes in a few weeks? 

Thoughts?

I'm kinda torn but leaning toward the smaller size, it'll give me an extra punch of inspiration! Don't ya think so?

No girl ever wants to hear "Umm...we don't carry your size."

On to new business!

As promised, I'm continuing this self-inflicted health torture and starting a 90 mile challenge. 
90 miles, 30 days. 

When I start to wane, I'll picture this:

 

It starts today. I will, quite literally, run my ass off.
My goal is to run 3 miles every day, in order to clear my mind and sweat out my worries.
There's just something about running that makes me feel giddy inside! 
:}

Tee-hee. 

Would anyone like to join this challenge with me? 
I'd love to have a partner in crime (and someone to keep me in check!)
Let's see where we are in 30 days!  




 

Love your Booty!

Here's one for you to remember:

Pamper yourself!

I am always forgetting this. Between work, studying and volunteer work - I tend to put my needs last and all others first. This is the fastest way to run yourself into the ground!

AVOID! AVOID! AVOID!

I've been seriously forgetting to spend any time on myself, especially since I still feel phat. Ugh.

Yes, I'm losing weight - but I'm not where I want to be yet. That said, I'm in between sizes, so buying new clothes is simply out of the damn option. Why spend money on clothes, when I'll need to buy more in a few weeks? 

#phatgirlproblems

Funnily enough (only because she doesn't get to see me too often, as she lives far away), my boyfriend's mom is the one who reminded me about this key notion. 

She came up for a quick visit and took us shopping.  More like, she wanted to go shopping, so we went along. :]

It was a bit heartbreaking to walk into a Michael Kors and drool on love everything, but I couldn't just splurge. I mean, I'm still a broke college kid. I'd have to eat a whole helluva lot of ramen to be styling high-end designers. I guess then I'd be skinny due to lack of nutrients/starving, but I'd be swagging along. Hmm...possibilities?

My beau's mom is a diva though, so she was very much like this:

She pulled me aside and reminded me that I should get a little something - regardless of whether it was in that store or not. Why? Because I deserve it!

Though I wanted to get a Kate Spade wallet, they didn't have any I liked - so I purchased a very comfy, cute and totes functional pair of Clarks Bostonians. They are awesomely comfy and not disgustingly out of my price range (like the $300+ purse that I must now break out of that white-walled prison at the Kors store)!

I got these in black! they're so freaking comfy!

Damnit, was she right! I loved the splurge.

I almost went bezerkely at the Under Armor store though. 

OHMYGAWD! 

I could buy everything in there!

They make working out look so damn guuuuud!

 Agree?

These are what I need:

Can't you just hear the "swoosh, swoosh" of my awesome stride?

 

The girls would be mega-happy in this snazzy top!

I'm splurging on these ASAP! They will be my new squishies!

Under Armor Love!
<3

If Under Armor sponsored me, I'd be so freaking fit so I could make their products shine!

Mhmmm! 

[hint, hint!]

I'm still working through the last few days of this diet.

I'll start the 90 mile challenge in 30 days this week too!

Friday's gonna be a game-changer.

I'm so excited though!

Why?

Because soon I'll feel like this:

Getting some swag on!

 69 more days to go!

Much love and inspiration for you to find your inner fitness-goddess!

<3

Bundle of Crazy

Still working on the diet thing, while dealing with girlisms. UGH.

For those who don't know, today is yesterday was (I just missed posting this by a few minutes, drat!) October 3rd! 

Mean Girls Day! :] 

There was so much crazy-drama-bat-crud-randomness today, that this simple little notion was able to bring a smile to my face. 

I used this multiple times today. Oh yeah!

I blame my hormones for all the crazy emotions I've been feeling lately. I don't think that the Advocare line is affecting me negatively, but I am so much more in tune with my body (do to committing to the challenge) lately - so that might have something to do with all this mess. 

Anyhow...

Day 16 - DONE!

I must admit, my body is trying to revert to the lazy-days. My inner anorexic (who is really my same size, but doesn't have to go out in public and shop for real-girl clothes, so she feels that stuffing her face is completely acceptable) begged me for these today:

Thankfully, I ignored her and opted for a CLIF bar instead.

Only 7 days to go...I'm feeling great! Sadly, I've been missing out on much-needed sleep, but once my exams are over and out of the way in a week or so, I'll hop right back on that snooze-fest bandwagon. Lord knows I need me some zzz's!

My lesson for you today? 

I'm so glad you asked!

Be kind, gentle and always altruistic. 

Some people will hate you for it, that's probably because they choose to see the bad in people. I prefer to believe that everyone has goodness within them, they only need the opportunity to express it. 

Naive? Possibly, but I'm an optimist - remember?

Now, with that said - let me tell you just how much my patience was tested today! It was awful enough to make me question whether or not I wanted children. The people I interacted with today made me think of how embarrassed I am for their parents...to have raised such disrespectful and horrific adults! How sad, right?

UGH.

So, even though I was met with many challenging people and small-mindedness today - I kept a smile on my face and continued to chug on my SPARK (today's flavor? Mango-Strawberry...AKA - awesomeness in a bottle! Get some!). 

The end of my day looked alot like this:

Despite the turd-like behavior from people today, I got home and did my "You're Super Awesome" Dance.
It goes a little something like this ^^. Tee-hee!

I sincerely hope that you all had a better day than I did. Remember to keep your chin up, walk tall, smile and be kind to everyone. Even though I'm tired, grumpy and my brain feels like it cannot possibly retain any more information...I do my best to wish love on everyone - this way, I can never have regrets. 

Do your own happy dance and put a little pip in that step. 

Run an extra few feet, cut back on the sugar-intake or just do something positive to keep a smile on your face. It will amaze you how great your health and outlook on life will be. 

The weekend is almost here, friends!

Salud!

For the love of Sharpies!

I have been working my butt off all day! 

In the past week I've gone through 3 highlighters and a whole mess of Sharpie pens - this studying business is no joke!

That said, my diet has been a little wishy-washy as of late. Thank goodness for the meal replacement shakes I have for the 24-Day challenge! They taste so yummy! I now blend the chocolate shake with a banana, and my breakfast is a success! Throw in a CLIF bar mid day, with some scattered fruit and veggies...and my day is fantastic! I do need to tack on a few more miles in my workout regime this week, but other than that - life is good!

NOM NOM NOM!

My favorites are White Chocolate Macadamia Nut & Carrot Cake! :]

I'm seeing improvements daily and am loving this plan! This week I ordered the Nighttime Recovery and a few extra packs of SPARK to keep me focused throughout the day, without adding in any sugar. I can hardly wait to taste the new flavors! EEEP!

I'll be sure to keep you all posted!

Right now I've got to get back to my studies. I've got three exams coming up, the first being on Thursday. Midway through the semester, it's time to put the pedal down and rock my rest of the way through!

I hope you all are keeping your workout promise!

Nerd-life!