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!