Flag Nor Fail

Just a quick update before I head to bed to rest up for this crazy busy weekend filled with 5k's, boot camps and work meetings/events. I had spied with my eyes a dress from Flag Nor Fail that I just HAD to have my hands on !! I had saw the release was set for today (June 14th) at 4pm... Now I knew I would be at work at that time and I wasn't really trying to be crazy about it I figured if I was available during the drop I would try and if not ... no biggie... Needless to say everything worked out and I was able to get my hands on this maxi dress! I can not wait to get it in the mail!!  I have NEVER been lucky enough to get anything before (doubt I would have even fit it in before either ...lol) but something about today gave me hope that this is going to be a beautiful weekend and I couldn't be more excited for it to be here! So many good things happening in the next few weeks I am so beyond blessed. I have worked my ass off and I will continue to work my ass off but I feel that some of my hard work is finally paying off! 

Here is a picture of the maxi dress. I don't think that there could have been a more perfect saying for my life. I truly believe in signs and I have received quite a few tonight. Count your blessings and seriously "Love the Process". That is a saying that really influences me so much that I'm thinking about when I get my next tattoo I will try to incorporate that in there. I have been thinking about this for a while and thinking of some type of text but nothing was jumping out at me. I hear a lot of crap all day and get over whelmed very often. Sometimes I take my emotions out on other people and I am trying to learn to appreciate every compliment that I receive and truly just stand proud for all that I've accomplished. Not many people can say they did what I did and what I am about to do. I am just beginning this journey and this new chapter of my life. I have so much I want to accomplish and I am just getting started! :)

It is time to get cleaned up and get my toosh into bed! Goodnight everyone ! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

Stay positive .. stay motivated .. stay beautiful! xoxox

OH .. and P.S. Sorry to be excited about this (but I only am because I have never been able to fit into clothes like this) Got my order from Victoria Secret today (Only because they sent me an email for a tank top they had for the color run I'm doing in July and it was on special) Was able to order and fit into a size L shirt whattt! So excited but I don't plan on shopping there often their clothes are too expensive for me! LOL I'm addicted to Burlington Coat Factory ! Inexpensive clothes are good for a gal like me who changes sizes so often! 

:) Just tried this on with leggings I had on from work. This will be a "before" picture one day! 

P.P.S. Don't mind my faces LOL

Killing Time

So boot camp is cancelled tonight due to a bad storm they are predicting. Now I sit here eating dinner deciding what to do with my life for the night. There is probably some laundry or straightening up I could be doing but I decided to come make a entry on here. Procrastination at its finest! 

I'm very excited because this past week I have tried some new ideas I would like to share .. even if no one reads this thing.  So a few weeks ago I had an incident with my chicken that was cooked and packed for the week. I don't know if it was bad but it was funkyyyyy! Needless to say all those chicken breasts made it into the trash verrry quickly. I wasn't to upset because it gave me a reason to switch things up a bit. I love chicken but I also love ground turkey and I wasn't able to cook it for a while because I was over loaded on chicken. ANYWHO! I then started craving a change in my salad dressing. I was using different packaged dressings which I knew weren't on my diet but in the back of my mind I told myself it was ok. LOL. Tuesday rolls around and I come up with a great idea with the help of a friend and decide to try and make my own paleo friendly salad dressings! So here I am in the supermarket googling different recipes to see what I needed to pick up while I was there. I decided on two different recipes to start out with. 

The first one is a Balsamic Vinaigrette. I wanted to give this a shot because I love balsamic and even though I was sick of my other balsamic I was bringing for lunch this had different spices in it so I knew it would be a different flavor. The best part is how easy it is to make. I conveniently had some empty mason jars in the garage so I went ahead and mixed/stored the dressings in the mason jars. 

I will post the original recipe and I will tell you what I did differently. The recipe calls for:

• 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 crushed clove of garlic
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard, optional
• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

.... Easy enough?

I wanted to double this recipe but I ran out of balsamic (LOL) so I just went with it and I was pleased any way because I feel the balsamic vinegar has such a powerful taste it didn't hurt to cut back on it. So what I used was :

• 1 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 crushed cloves of fresh garlic
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 4 tsp Inglehoffer Mustard - Stone Ground
• 1 1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
• sea salt and black pepper to taste

With this balsamic all you do is add the ingredients into a container with a lid and shake! SO EASY! So delicious as well!

The other recipe I tried was "The classic lemon vinaigrette":

• 3 tbsp fresh lime or lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp dijon mustard (optional)
• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

and again... easy enough?

I can't really give you the exact amount I used for this recipe because I did what they said and then just kept adding more to taste but I did use:

• Lemon juice
• 1 crushed garlic clove
• Inglehoffer Mustard - Stone Ground
• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and Pepper 

Now for this recipe you are supposed to mix all ingredients except the olive oil and then whisk the olive oil in separately. I felt that it tasted very olive oil-y and I wasn't a fan. I started adding and whisking away. I did not have lime juice handy which I think would have helped and I literally just realized as I type this out that the mustard I bought ISN'T even Dijon (hahaha I amaze myself sometimes) so I'm not sure if that affects the taste! The lemon vinaigrette isn't bad but I definitely want to have another go at it. The more I let it sit the more the lemon started to come through. So if you try this please try to be patient! 

Just changing up my salad dressings has made a huge impact on my salads and it's kind of exciting knowing you have something new! They are very simple to make so I will definitely be experimenting more often!

Another new treat I made for myself this week (by accident of course) that I just have to share is my frozen banana, chocolate protein and almond butter "ice cream"! Holy goodness! I have always been an ice cream fanatic! So, now that it's warm out and I have only had my favorite treat once (during my Memorial Day cheat weekend) I'm super excited to know I could make this in place of ice cream. Something about the cold ice cream consistency on a hot summer day! YUM! My protein shakes I make in the morning for breakfast/post workout have 5 or so ice cubes, 4 oz water mixed with 1 scoop chocolate whey isolate protein powder, 2 tbsp all natural chunky almond butter, either 1 or 2 peeled frozen bananas (I peel anywhere from 8-10 bananas in the beginning of the week and break them in half put them in a container and keep them in the freezer for the week) and water or unsweetened almond milk to.  Now, I honestly wasn't too sure as to why I was adding almond milk in my smoothies but it sounded like a good idea. I then had a debate with myself while at the grocery store over the empty calories because I didn't feel like it made a difference in taste. Well the next day when I went to make my breakfast I didn't add water or almond milk and I ended up with a think ice cream like texture protein smoothie and everything just clicked! I just add a wee bit of water to my breakfast to make it a shake and now I can add an extra frozen banana and leave out the water to create a healthy thick sweet ice cream like treat!

That's all I have for now! Time to get some things done so I can get my butt to bed at a decent time. Hope everyone has an awesome rest of the week / weekend! I will be busy running 5k's and doing bootcamp classes. Wish me luck! Something about this fit lifestyle that just keeps me going!

Stay positive .. Stay motivated .. Stay beautiful!

xoxox

I'm Baaaacccckkk!!

Ok... to say I'm slacking is an understatement! I have been on here quite a few times and I started just typing away and something just made me delete it all and move on to my next project. Well now I'm back. Here I am it's June 6, 2013. I am 5 months into my life changing weight loss journey and I have successfully lost over 50 lbs FOR GOOD! I have never been able to achieve this before in my life and it is the best feeling in the world!! 

My sessions with my trainer were finished up over a month ago and I have been taking some time to find my own balance and bearings. Trying to continue this on my own .. easy? not at all. worth it? you betcha! I have had my ups and my downs this past month and I've also had many slip ups. The most important thing is that I never gave up. I might have beat myself up a little bit but never as severe as before. I just had to make sure that even if I allowed myself the day (ehmm.. or weekend) to cheat that I started back up with my diet and working out. I am not who I was so I have to change who I am every single day. I love my new life and I wouldn't want it any other  way. It's still not "easy" like I thought it would be... LOL. The workouts need to continually become more intense to continually challenge your body. The eating part is easier but there is still temptation on a day to say basis. My will power is stronger but I still have my weak moments. I am only human incase you forgot. I see people online who work out 3 times a day and never cheat and this and like GOOD FOR YOU but that is not possible in my life. You need to find a balance and find what works for you and STICK WITH IT!!! 

I absolutely love my new eating habits. People are constantly asking if I get sick of what I'm eating. The answer to that is NO. If I was getting sick or bored with what I was eating I wouldn't continue to eat this way. My food is D.E.L.I.S.H!!! There are so many minor things I can switch up in my diet to change the whole meal. I either switch up the type of protein I am eating or the way that I cook my protein. Sometimes I will switch up the dressing that I use on my salads and that really throws it for a loop. My breakfast varies on what day it is, what I have going on and if I worked out in the am. It will either be a protein shake (with frozen bananas, chocolate protein, almond butter, almond milk and a few ice cubes.. and sometimes strawberries.. HOLY DELICIOUSNESS !) or eggs with bacon ( who gets to eat bacon on their "diet" ?!? oh ya thats right.. THIS GIRL :) before you get all "judge-y" just know that I don't eat it often but I am allowed to eat it)  and somedays I resort back to the basics (25 almonds, a protein shake and a piece of fruit.). I have found that this works for me but it doesn't always work for everyone.

My newest goal that I set for myself (besides not dying at the 2 5k's I will be doing next week LOL) is to lose 30 lbs by Labor Day! Don't judge it is TOTALLY possible and as long as I continue what I am doing I already consider it DONE! ;) 

I have come to find that I am constantly talking to people about my journey because there is an obvious change in appearance and attitude. The one thing I want to say is YES, I do eat. Thank you thank you verrrry much for your concerns! HA! I started telling people that I stopped eating in December when I started my weight loss journey and they look a little confused. LIKE DO YOU EAT??!?!? Lmao .. Sometimes it is a lot to take on and I hate to sound like I am bragging but I am constantly hearing people tell me how good I look. I appreciate all the love no doubt but sometimes I just get overwhelmed. I will say thank you and I catch them them just creepily staring at me and I feel so vulnerable! LOL I feel that I need to hide myself or something! Hahaha Maybe it will get easier as time goes on. I guess we will see! 

This post seems to be like all my other posts in the sense that it is all over the place but guess what?! I don't care! I'm no english major I am just a 25 year old hairstylist from jersey who is changing her life one day at a time. My grammar probably sucks and I try too hard to make things sound proper ( which usually just make matters worse, haha) I am literally all over the place in life so it reflects in my ranting on here! I will just leave you with a transformation picture that my trainer posted on facebook last night. 

The picture on the right was me October 2012 in Las Vegas and the picture on the right is me June 5, 2013. 

Make yourself proud!! Stay positive Stay beautiful!! xoxo

April already?!

So here we are April 2, 2013 .. my oh my where has the time gone?! Life has been crazy as usual but I am trying to learn how to deal with it better. I truly believe that if you put your mind to something you have the power to change or achieve it. I am currently trying to learn to mellow out. I get worked up so easily over things and I literally drive myself crazy. I feel that it has been hard but I am definitely seeing a difference and what better time to mellow out. In less than 2 weeks I will be turning 25. Oh...My...Goodness... I know I know it's not that old but seriously who doesn't feel some sort of way about turning 25! I have been thinking about it over and over again and I actually feel pretty good about it. With all the diet and exercising I have been doing I feel that 25 is the start of something new and awesome. I know that I will be looker better with age instead of looking worse and I am OKAY with that!!! :) I honestly feel that I am in the best shape of my life and it's only going to get better.

I have to share this exciting experience that I had on Saturday. This really has never happened to me. I decided it was time to break down and go buy a pair of jeans and a pair of work pants. I was so nervous to go to the store because I had NO IDEA what size I was. I kind of wandered around the store putting off facing the truth. Finally, I gave it ... I picked out a pair of work pants in a size I thought I would be and I picked out a pair of jeans in the same size and decided to bring in a smaller size just for shits and giggles. I tried on the shirts that I brought in which were the smallest shirt sizes in the store and THEY WEREN'T TIGHT. I was AMAZED and could not wait to try on the jeans. So I tried on the first pair in the size I thought I would be and they fit so I just thought let me see how far I am from fitting into the smaller size... It was the most nerve wrecking experience.. I started putting my feet in one at a time and then I pulled them up and I was able to zip and button them and I could still breathe!!! I, of course, was jumping for joy and just never was able to experience that feeling. I always hated trying on clothes. I hated looking at myself in the mirror. I hated clothes shopping. I've never walked out of a dressing room with a smile on my face before. All my hard work is proof right there and motivation to keep on pushing! 

I have started running over the past few weeks. What a sucky thing to do! I have such a love hate relationship with running. My trainer makes me run and I hate him for that but I also make myself run and I hate myself for that as well. LOL j.k. Being a runner has always been my dream and now I am on the pursuit of accomplishing it. I just signed up on Easter for another 5K (that's the 4th one I will be doing this year). I set myself a goal. I want to be able to run the whole race and also finish in 30 minutes. I just need to make sure that I continue to push myself and I have no doubt that I will accomplish it. My first 5K was not what I expected it to be at all but I took it as a learning experience. I will take my time and always strive to do better. I was super ambitious but sat back and decided that I need some sort of order in my life. I started back up on the couch to 5K program that I was doing before. I had gotten myself to week 4 but for some reason running on the treadmill aggravates my knee so I had to stop. I realized the past couple days that if I put the incline on the treadmill up it doesn't bother me as much but I'm trying to mainly focus on running outside. I usually start out running a mile (which is hard but I can do it) then I start the program it's been difficult pushing myself but I have 100% confidence. 

I just got done hanging out with a friend who is also into the fit life and I have always been intimidated by this person. We have been friends for almost 3 or 4 years now I really have lost track and we have been gym buddies and we would both slack off. Now I feel that we both are consistently living fit lives now and I felt kind of awesome when he commented on how all my hard work has been paying off and saying how he is jealous that I can be as disciplined as I am with my eating. I obviously do this for me but when other people notice it makes me smile. I hear a lot from people about my diet and not always necessarily bad comments. People are impressed with the prep that goes into my diet each week and I am always being asked what I do and how I do it. I go to the grocery store with friends or they come with me and see what I buy and whatnot and it is nice to be able to share my knowledge with other people. I'm obviously not a nutritionist but I do plan on becoming a personal trainer within the next year or two. I am so intrigued by this lifestyle and I throughly enjoy reading about it and being able to change other peoples lives even by just offering a little motivation when they are feeling down. I hope that anyone that reads this can benefit by it in some way. 

I just like for people to know that I'm a normal gal who made the decision to change her life. I have my good days and my bad days, my good weeks and my bad weeks. I am currently having a "bad week" or two with my scale. We are battling and its sooooo frustrating but I am not sure if it's the change in my exercise routines or what. On Easter I had a little bit of a cheat session which I am trying to move past but I realized that if the numbers on the scale aren't changing then something else has to change. I am now trying to commit to up-ing my cardio again. I feel that I've been slacking because I have been so focused on running. I feel that I might be building muscle which would be affecting the scale but cardio is important regardless so I am not going to get discouraged or make excuses I am just going to do what I need to do to make things go my way. To sit here and type this out and look at the life I live I realize how different I am and how far I have come in a short amount of time. I am so proud of me and I truly believe that everybody has it in them to conquer any dream. I am also excited with my non-smoking journey. I did it with the help of NOTHING. No electronic cigarette, no gum, no patches and no crazy treatments and it feels amazing. I still get cravings here and there but I am strong enough to talk myself through them.

I will wrap this up with just letting everyone know how amazing they are. If you are on this journey and you are having a bad day don't quit. It gets easier, I promise. It's worth it, I promise. And not only is it worth it YOU are worth it and don't let anyone make you feel like you are not. It is your life you are in control!

Here is me all super excited after getting into the smaller pair of jeans .. :)

Just a little quote I found.. Just think about it! xoxox

Stay positive and stay fabulous!

Where has the time gone?!

I decided I would do a little update as I sit here and back and sync my iPhone to my computer this morning. I forced myself to wake up earlier and it just feels so nice to have some extra time to just BREATHE. ahhh. Life has been absolutely CRAZY. I guess I'm used (or getting used) to it being this way. The most important part has been keeping on track with my diet and exercise. I am training to run a 5k on SATURDAY... YIKES! It's going to be tough but I know I will finish. Being a runner has always been a dream of mine and I'm doing it!!!! 

I had a little "preview" of my "old" life this weekend when a friend came in town to visit. It was one of the hardest things to deal with but I came out of the situation "cheat free" and feeling strong and loving my new life! Being around smokers and junk food eaters made me realize how good I feel being strong and healthy. Then I get giddy thinking about just how awesome I am! Okayyyyyy, I'm done tooting my own horn.

A little update on my diet... 

Now that it has been a few weeks I feel that I am in a routine. Tuesdays are my prep days. I always would hear about other people food prepping and what not and it never sparked my interest but now I could not imagine my life without my prep days. There is such a sense of relief knowing that I don't have to think about what I will be eating for the week and whatnot. Food shopping has become an enjoyed hobby of mine. I look forward to Tuesdays knowing I will stock up on all my favorite foods and fresh fruits and veggies! 

I have realized on this journey is that probably one of the most important parts of being healthy and staying on track is being prepared. I look back on the decisions I used to make while trying to lose weight and I just laugh at myself thinking of how wrong I was. I rarely buy food out anymore. Pretty much everything that goes in my mouth is made or prepared in my kitchen. I'm okay with that as well. I do save a lot of money but I also do have to spend money on actual groceries to be able to eat like this. I always hear people say oh its expensive to eat healthy yadda yadda yadda ... WELL FOLKS .. I want you to sit there and think about NOT grocery shopping and trying to feed yourself for the week. I know from my previous experiences that I would pretty much be spending on average $10 a meal (minimum) and maybe even more if I go to "Dinner" ... now lets think if you work 5 days a week and just order lunch theres $50 for the week. FOR JUST LUNCH! Now when I go to the grocery store I spend anywhere between $50-$70 on groceries to feed myself for the week. What a big difference. 

I am feeling scatterbrained now since this has taken me over 2 hours to write while trying to start my day. I am hopping off here and I need to get my butt outside and run!!!! I have goals to meet! Hope everyone has a WONDERFUL day! xoxox

I'm only human.

Here I am back again for round two. As I lay here in bed I am more than well aware that I should not be here. I really should be prepping my meals for the day and hitting the gym before work. There is just a lot on my mind that I need to get out. Over the past few months I have worked my ass off day in and day out. The results that I am getting are phenomenal! At times its hard for me to see them but I hear people rant and rave all day. The "compliments" are great just depending on who you receive them from. There is always the good that comes with the bad. I know that to become who I want to be I need to change who I used to be. The hardest part of changing who I used to be is dealing with the people who I used to deal with. I continually allowed people to walk all over me and I'm dealing with the consequences now. Every time I turn around I feel that I am being attacked by someone. Sometimes these "attacks" are in person yet a lot of times they happen through the phone. It has been hard to deal with this on a daily basis but I am trying to stand my ground. A question that I have is what is an appropriate way to stand up for yourself?!?!?! I feel that anything that I might want to say in return would be inappropriate. I'm sick of negative people and I'm absolutely sick of people who just feel that they can say whatever the hell they want without ever thinking for one second how the words that come of their puny brain could affect someone else. Where the hell is the love....? 

I have been trying to stay as positive as possible throughout this whole situation and I just have to acknowledge that I really do have some of the greatest friends I could ever imagine. Nothing but supportive, motivating, encouraging, loving and loyal friends. They help me stay strong through out this nonsense. I am a little upset that I have let these other people affect me as much as I have but this is all a learning process. I feel that with each situation I have tried to stand up for myself a little bit more then I would have before. Now I have lost clients over this but I feel that sometimes that is for the better. I will not allow myself to get thrown off because I have been having a serious off week. I never made it to the gym on Monday and my gym routine yesterday was interrupted by my career which I seriously was not happy about. I missed out on my boxing class and I was being verbally attacked about my body, my diet and my choices that I make during that time. It still makes me so upset thinking about what happened last night. Today I just haven't had it in me to get my butt out of bed(It is also rainy cold and the wind is blowing around out there which is no excuse but it adds to my mood right now). This week will just have to be an off week for me. I have been sticking to my "diet" though which makes me feel better and I will get into that in a little. For anyone who might read this who is going through what I'm going through I just need to say stay positive, stand your ground and KEEP IT MOVING!!! The advice I give I'm still learning to use myself but everyday is a new day and if i can be better today than I was yesterday than I am happy!

Now that I have gotten all that out I do feel a little better. I think I might actually bring my gym clothes with me to work and hit the gym when I get done. The gym is my thing it's what makes me feel better. I am able to release my frustrations through my workouts. I will finish up with a little about my new "diet" then I need to get my butt out of bed and prep myself for my day!!!! So the new "diet" I have been doing is a little like the paleo diet that is the newest craze. Mine is just a little more modified. I do not have the money to buy all organic fruits, vegetables or meat. Here is what a typical day consists of:

Breakfast:

1/4 cup almonds

1 whey protein isolate shake with water

1 piece of fruit

Snack ( I combine both in a back and pack 2 of these for the day and usually just pick when I'm hungry ) :

1/4 cup almonds

1/3 cup wasabi peas

fruit

Lunch :
Spinach salad
half baked boneless skinless chicken breast
green peppers, cucumbers, carrots and onions or whatever else I can find in my fridge
2 tbsp fat free balsamic dressing

Snack
Another snack baggie or another protein shake
piece of fruit

Dinner:
Another salad
another piece of fruit

A protein shake after working out

(Sidenote: I do still drink coffee I just stopped using creamer and cut back on the splenda I use. Besides the cup or two of coffee I drink throughout the day I drink ALL WATER!! There is no need to be drinking anything else and if you need to spark it up flavor it with a lemon or cucumber or an orange.)

Now there isn't much that is involved but it really is not as bad as everyone has been making it out to be. I can switch salmon tilapia tuna or any type of fish for the chicken in my salads. I just pack a bunch of different types of fruit and choose throughout the day. The almond and wasabi pea snack is to die for. YUM! I have been receiving a lot of questions about this since it is new and my friends are curious as to what I'm doing. If you ask me can I do this or can I do that my answer to you will be I can do whatever I want. My trainer isn't tying me down with a gun to my head forcing me to eat like this. I do this because I want to do this and I am just a little more locked in than I was before. Even if I can't stick with this for the whole month I know that I will just go back to eating healthy like I was doing before I started this which is also eating healthy. There is nothing wrong with trying new things and throwing your body for a loop. I could easily cook up a piece of salmon have some asparagus and have a mini spinach salad on the side or add tuna to one of my salads. Changing one or two ingredients of a recipe changes the whole taste and I enjoy that. I'm sure that when the month is up I will see some results but that is not what this is all about. I would more proud of myself for eating like this the whole month rather than loosing a certain amount of weight.

You may wonder why I keep putting diet in quotations. I say my new diet because it's easier but I'm really just changing my eating habits around. I hate to use the word diet but yet again it is just easier. This whole process is not about new fad diets or diets to make you drop 100 lbs in 2 months it is about changing everything that you used to do to everything that you want to do. It is not easy but just think about it ... If you don't change what you aren't happy about how do you expect to see any results that are different than what you are seeing now? Luckily this off weeks comes during a month that I took a pledge not to weigh myself. Even though I have been doing this for over two months I still have to constantly step my game up and change my ways. It is not an easy process but it is worth it! Find ways to keep yourself motivated. It could be through taking pictures of yourself or reading different articles in magazines or online or even just reading different motivational quotes. Find a buddy someone who might be interested in the same things as you. Someone you can rant on your bad days and boast on your great days! You just have to make sure that you hold yourself accountable because everything that you're doing you shouldn't be doing it for anyone besides yourself! :)

Time to get a move on my day! Hope everyone has a great one themselves! 
Stay positive. xoxox

Lets give this thing a shot.

So, it's kind of weird figuring out how to start this blog.  I guess I will just give a little background of myself. My name is Elyse I am a (almost) 25 yr old single girl. I live in the wonderful state of New Jersey and I am embarked in the greatest journey of my life. I have always had a weight issue through out my life but I became committed almost 15 weeks ago to start a new journey for myself. One day I just decided to quit smoking, start eating healthier (more seriously) and start working out (more seriously). I was referred from a friend to a man who became my trainer and has helped me tremendously throughout my journey. Without him I would not be here 15 weeks later smoke free, over 20 lbs lighter and getting in the best shape of my life. I really want to blog because I want to share my journey with other people who might be in the same place that I was.  I want to inspire others and let others know that this is something that is possible! Every day is a battle but learning how to be strong and have patience is something that I'm still figuring out. I have my good days and I have my bad days but one of the most important things is figuring out how to deal with the bad days and not letting them completely throw you off track.  I am also learning how to have more self confidence and appreciate myself.

I am a hairstylist for a living. I absolutely love what I do and where I work. I really could not imagine myself doing anything else (besides being able to have some opportunity to just work out all day!!). I have been in the industry for over 5 years and just recently moved to a more upscale salon and I'm learning everyday to believe in myself and know that I am worth it. It has been hard for me to balance my emotions between switching salons, continuing building a different clientele, quitting smoking, changing my eating habits, making time to work out, trying to juggle a "social life" annnnnd making time for ME (or trying!)! I have to constantly remind myself to not let my career get pushed to the back burner. Is it obvious that I am that busy body who is always running around like a nutcase! 

I have been blessed with some of the best friends and family that a girl could ask for. I have a great support system that is  always there for me on my best & worst days! Something that I have learned along the way is that the decisions we make start and end with ourselves! That is something that has been very important for me to learn and remember every day! I grew up always wanting to please everyone else and most of my decisions were made in fear of hurting or disappointing another person. I am learning to stay no to anything that won't benefit me or anything that does not fit in with my goals.  Granted, I have not mastered that skill yet BUT everyday is a new day and if I can be a little bit stronger than I was the day before I am happy with that! 

I know that I am probably ranting a little to much right now which is something I have a tendency to do very often! For that I am sorry.... just kidding I don't care this is my blog and if you don't like my ranting tendencies then you do not have to read. ;) 

Tomorrow starts a new strict diet that I will be giving my all to follow for the month of March! I have decided to have a personal March fitness challenge with myself! I weighed and took pictures of myself on March 1st and I will not be weighing or taking pictures until the end of the month! I would have started on the first of the month but I was away at a wedding for the weekend with my cousin. I have absolutely no idea what is going to be harder.... the diet part or not weighing myself for a month (LOL). I will elaborate more about my "diet" on my next entry. This is going to take a lot of preparation and discipline! It is definitely going to take some time for me to get used to. Wish me luck!! I am also going to try and go a little bit harder in the gym. As of right now I have gotten myself to working out between 5-6 days a week.  I train and get my butt whooped 3 days a week and 2 of those days I also participate in boxing class. The other days 2-3 days I go to my own gym and try to get in 90 minutes of cardio. My cardio sessions usually consist of time spent on the treadmill doing a lot of incline workouts and time spent on the arc trainer doing different interval training. Sometimes I will do 45 minutes of each or an hour of one and a half hour of the other. It all depends on the day and my mood and so on and so forth. As I said before I have my good days and my bad days and they definitely spill over into my gym sessions. 

I can not believe how much I was able to write! I think I should try and get my butt to sleep so I can try to wake up early and get some gym time and meal preps in before my day starts! Here is just a little motivational progress picture. This was about 9 weeks of hard work and dedication! 

^ December 2102 ^               ^ February 2103 ^

On that note! Goodnight! Don't ever forget the control you have over yourself! Anything you put your mind to you can accomplish! Stay positive and stay beautiful!