15 Ways to Drink More Water

While I was at AIT, we had this Platoon Sergeant that was hilarious. Everyone always thought that he was joking, but you never wanted to get on his bad side. He always called me the nerd and the baby of the platoon. He would always listen to our complaints and our problems, but if there was really nothing he could do about it, his answer was always "Drink Water." He simply meant that nothing is going to change so you might as well sit back and wait. He said it at least 15 times every day. He was known for this phrase. If something is going wrong, Drink water.

He wasn't far off. As I did some research for today's blog, I realized that water is one of the most under utilized drinks as well as free and the healthiest. All of the times you should be drinking water, are probably taken over by other substances like pop or coffee.

• Make it available. Don't go anywhere without a glass or bottle of water, even to another room.
• Decorate a cool water bottle. Personalize your water bottle and make it fun. (even if you get made fun of for it a little bit.) 
• Drinking from a straw can help you take bigger gulps at a time without thinking about it. 
• Drink a full glass right away when you wake up. This is a great way to start your day off right.
• One Full glass before every meal will help suppress your appetite and make you eat less.
• Drink at least one glass with every meal, also helping to suppress your appetite, but it will also aid with digestion.
• Carry a big water bottle with you. Keep a cup next to you and continuously refill the cup with the bottle. It will seem like you are drinking it quicker and will actually help you
• Set a timer on your phone for every hour and ensure that you have at least drank 4 ounces of water that hour (more if you are doing something active)
• Add some fruit to it. There are a ton of great recipes out there
• If you just can't seem to drink enough straight water, it is okay to get the low calorie, low sugar crystal light packages to add to your water bottles. Because it is better than pop!
• If you don't think you can make it through the morning without a Diet Coke, for every ounce of Diet Coke you drink, try doubling or tripling it in water. I have also seen people who force themselves to drink 3 or 4 glasses of water before they get the pop. (This can also give you time to realize that you really don't need the pop.)
• Tea can also be a good way of drinking water, but try to make it decaf when possible. (Caffeine is a diuretic, which makes you more dehydrated in the long run.)
• Keep a chart with how many glasses you are drinking every day. This can be a good way to ensure that you are drinking enough, but also to create a habit (it takes 21 days to create a habit, 30 days to officially break it) 
• Free apps like Waterlogged keeps track of how much you have drank on your phone. My Fitness Pal has an input place also. 
• Eating something a little spicy will ensure that you down that glass of water before the meal is over. 

Overall, knowing the benefits of water to your body can help you want to drink water as well! Enjoy your water and the benefits like glowing skin, more energy, and weight loss are just a few reasons to keep drinking up!

Are there other tips that keep you hydrated? Please share!

Check out the other Weigh In Wednesdays! 

Making Fitness Goals

I have always struggled with the motivation to lost weight. I know that I could do it if I actually just focused and put a good amount of effort into it, but every time I start, I seem to lose it pretty quickly. It is super frustrating.

I have decided that by my 20th birthday. I want to be at my goal weight. I want to make these fitness goals.

That gives me 128 days. a little over 18 weeks to accomplish my goals.

I know I am relatively healthy, but I want to be more. I want to be at my optimal goal weight and be able to continue with the things I want to do.

Today, I started my challenge off with a 3 mile run. I got up when Matt was leaving for work instead of sleeping the extra hour that I could have, and went for a run on the path that we typically go on walks. Just as I walked inside from my run, it started down pouring. That just shows that if I were to sleep that extra hour, I wouldn't have gone for a run.

#1500in31

I have done so many of these posts about how I am sick of weighing what I do, but I am struggling to get where I want to be. I am not unhealthy, but I am not as healthy as I could be. To be at my ideal, military weight I need to lose 15 pounds.

    Every time I get frustrated about it at drill, all of the people that I talked to ensure me that the way that military does height and weight is screwed up. They also tell me that the standard isn't really all that healthy.

I know I could stand to lose some weight, but I don't know if I could ever get down 15 pounds. My goal is to get down 10 by October drill. (middle of October.)



So here is my fitness challenge:

All Credits for this image go to
pinkheelspinktruck.com and hairsprayandhighheels.net

Everyday Workout Plan!

I have been going and going for the two months it feels like. Where did June go? It seems like May just started.
This being said, my workout plan has been less than fantastic. I have been watching what I eat pretty well, but I have been craving a super great workout for a while. During drill weekends, we get some pretty good ones and I really do enjoy those.

I always have such great motivation until I get busy and then it seems to all go out the window. I need something that isn't going to take a lot of time out of my day, but that is going to target my trouble spots.

This workout is slightly tailored for me because I put push-ups and sit-ups on every day regardless of the target zone so I could really focus on the PT test aspect!

My New Blogging Plan

I have struggled with what this blog is about most of the time that I have had the blog. I have spent hours searching other blog sites and reading all about what they do for their blog to make it work.

I am going to try something new and I hope to keep with it throughout the school year. I may have a few weeks were I struggle to keep up, but I will make sure to at least post every once in a while. I am really excited to start this!

My plan is to have a different theme for every day Monday-Friday. Each day will have a theme but it will be broad enough that I can write about a lot of things that are under that category. Every week will have a different blog post for that day of the week.

Every Woman is Beautiful the Way they Are.

    I am probably the worst one about this. I know that I sit at a relatively healthy weight for my height, even though according to Rush University Medical Center's website, for someone who is 5'3" I am suppose to weigh 104-127. This seems ridiculous to me. According to the BMI, I am slightly overweight. I am okay with this.

     This week in my English class we discussed eating disorders and how apparently fat has "become a feminist issue." No one associated being fat as a problem that men commonly have.
I argue this, mostly because I have seen many men who are worried about their health, or who are dieting, exercising, and just making healthier choices when it comes to their lifestyle. My dad is a great example. First he started exercising.. Then came the juicing, then the smoothies. I am not sure how much weight he has actually lost, but he looks great! He still says he wants to lose a couple more pounds, but who doesn't want to lose weight?
    For our second paper we are writing about "Building Awareness." I am righting about eating disorders in females and males, but with a focus on the media's role in eating disorders. I spent my Friday afternoon was spent watching a documentary found on Netflix called America the Beautiful. It interviewed different people that work in the media such as Seventeen Magazine Editor, US Weekly editor, and some famous fashion photographers.  It also followed a young girl. She was tall for her age and she didn't feel like she really fit in at school. Everyone called her giraffe, until one day when she was at the park, someone told her that she could be a model. Her mom supported this idea because she was a model herself when she was younger. At age 12, Gerren Taylor started modeling. This meant that she was missing precious education to model in NYC and LA for New York Fashion Week. While she had a pretty successful couple of years, it quickly went down hill. At 15, she was told that her hips were too big and she was "obese." At 6 ft tall, probably 120 lbs, sitting at a size 4, the super modeling business considered her obese.   Her school principal had a lot to say about the idea of her becoming a model. She made a comment about how crazy it was that they are now trying to make the perfect, ideal body to be that of a 12 year old. "We are so focused on a beauty that is unattainable. It is so unhealthy and destructive."
    This disgusted me. They are telling kids that they are too fat. All of these media ads and fashion weeks are telling every average person that they are not pretty enough and not skinny enough. Models as young as 15 reported thinking about getting breast enhancement or enlargement.
     There was a study done in Fiji in 1995-1999. It was a very traditional culture in a way that if they were bigger, it meant the village was well taken care of. Being fat was beautiful. In 1995, 3% of the teenage girl population in one area said they had ever in their life induced vomiting as a way to control their weight.
     In 1995, the researchers introduced television to the area. Three short years later, in 1998, researchers went back to this area to talk to the girls. 15% of girls around age 17 had said that they had induced vomiting to control their weight. Many of them made comments like "I am heavy and I often feel depressed because of this." or "I really want to lose weight."
    In three short years, television had taken a country where big is beautiful and they were all proud of their bodies, to a place where everyone was dieting and trying to be skinny.
    Television has been available for the home since the late 1920's. Imagine what television has done to our country in the last 80-90 years.
    The United States holds approximately 5% of the worlds population. In 2012, the Census recorded about 313.9 million people. The world population was estimated to exceed 7 billion in March of 2012.  That being said, the United States sees 40% of the worlds advertisements. All of these advertisements tell little girls and teenagers how they are suppose to look. When fashion trends change, so do advertisements. Michael Levine, a Hollywood publicist, was interviewed in America The Beautiful and said, "Victoria Secrets has saturated the perfect. It has diminished the ability to love the ordinarily beautiful." The Seventeen magazine editor said, "I am not running a non profit organization. It is about profit. I print what sells."
    One study done reported that girls as young as 5 were dieting. It also showed that they were more worried about getting fat than they were about getting cancer or losing a parent.

     All of this information made me question, "Is America really this superficial?" How can we be so focused on our weight that things like our health and family don't matter anymore. One mom that had lost her daughter to an eating disorder said, "Mom's are perfect in a kids eyes. So when kids hear their mom say they hate a certain part of their body, kids quickly realize that they have the same body as their mom's do. This causes them to hate that part of their body at a young age"

     I know this is a lot of facts, and it is a little overwhelming, but when I woke up this morning, and I looked in the mirror in the bathroom. I did my daily routine of pulling my shirt up and looking at my stomach in the mirror, but I didn't feel fat anymore. I know that I still need to get in better shape and lose a couple pounds for the military standards, but it wasn't overwhelming to the point of me thinking "I am so fat."
    One of my pinterest motivation pins says, "You are not fat. You have fat. You're weight does not define you." Marilyn Monroe said, "To all of you girls who think you're fat because you're not a size zero. You're the beautiful ones, it's society who's ugly."
     This gave me a lot of motivation to love who I am for me, not for what I look like. Sure, dressing up with make-up and your hair done is fun and looks good, but it shouldn't be a necessity for you to think you are beautiful.

You, whoever is reading this. You are beautiful. Society is UGLY and corrupt. 

If you are struggling with an eating disorder, or need help, find the help you need. Trust in a friend, a doctor, but most importantly, if you have them, your mother. I know mine would be there for me if I ever need her to and I am sure yours will too if you call and tell her that you are struggling. Please, get the help that you need because you are beautiful and you deserve better for yourself.

Weigh In Wednesday!

Another Weigh in Wednesday is here, even though I haven't been posting them most weeks! I have something to write about this week!

At the highest point over Christmas break, I was weighing in at 160. WAYY too high for me. It was because there was a million sweets and goodies for me to eat and my grandma tends to be someone who pushes food from the kitchen, to your plate, to your mouth. Easy way to put on some pounds.

I have been working out regularly since I got back from Christmas break, but there wasn't a lot of success because I was constantly rewarding myself for working out with food like cookies, ice cream and chocolate.

I was also struggling with working at McDonalds and trying to not eat there.

I was averaging a weigh in of about 156 since I started working out.

This week, on Saturday. I started counting my calories before I eat anything on my plate. I figure out exactly how many calories are on my plate, and then I eat until I am full. When I am done I subtract what is still on my plate from my calorie count.

I have also been drinking shakes with the Body by Vi Nutritional Powder in them for 2 meals a day. I am still making sure that I am getting enough calories for my body, but I have found that I am not that hungry until it is time for me to eat again.

I have started eating snacks in between my meals. about 2 1/2 hours after I eat, which has been great.

After doing all of this.

Since Saturday...

I have lost...

Two and a Half Pounds!!

What a great start to this!

I have a lot more motivation to keep going than I did just a few short weeks ago!

Weigh In Wednesday

Every Wednesday I will check in with what I have been eating and whether I have success or not for that week.

This week I have been trying to eat 6 smaller meals instead of just 2-3 meals. It's been a little rough because of the holidays finishing up. With all the goodies in the house, sometimes I sneak a treat. But the goodies are pretty much gone and I am pretty sick of chocolate for right now.

I haven't eaten as good as I could have. I have been drinking a ton of water though. When I eat lunch or supper, I have been cutting whatever is on my plate into bites. Then I will take one bite and drink some water. Then another bite. 

This is a great way to eat something a little more unhealthy for you, but feel full from barely anything.  This is also a great way from discouraging yourself from going back for seconds.

Drum Roll Please..

My Weight Last Week:155

My Weight This Week: 155

So.. This week wasn't quite successful. With all of the goodies around the house and spending most of my time on the couch I didn't expect too much from this week. I will be spending a lot of time in the gym and a more time walking around.

Things I will do this coming week: 

• Spend more time at the gym/ being physical
• Get some new music for the gym
• Eat Less chocolate/goodies. More fruit.
• Don't Reward myself for working out with food.

If anyone else is on a super weight loss journey let me know and we can share ideas! 

Good luck this week!

Little Bit of Motivation

The Holidays are finally over. No more excuses for just eating one more cookie, or one more piece of pie because I can definitely tell you that I did my fair share of that.
   I have been eating a lot better today than I was the week of finals. I have been snacking often and eating better balanced meals. (finally on track again.)
   Matt has been a sweetheart and has been holding my feet while I time myself doing situps. I forgot what it feels like to be sore from a workout. (Because I have been majorly slacking off lately, but it is time to get back in the game.)
   I did two minutes of sit ups. a minute plank and a minute of pushups. I need to go for a run, but it is miserably cold outside so I am saving it for the gym at school. For now, I will do pushups, situps and other body exercises like that.


I have been working on collages for motivation to hang up in my dorm room and a collage with workouts from pinterest to take to the gym. I am pretty excited about the new semester and what it will bring for me. I am determined to get skinny because spring break is in less than 80 days. If I am going to lay on the beach with my roommate who weighs about 104 lbs. That is my simple motivation.

There is my completed collage of pinterest workouts to take to the gym with me. I am excited to workout hard soon, but since I am currently in Beatrice, I don't have a gym. Cannot wait to get into the gym. For now, it is just push-ups and sit-ups.

I have been snacking every 2-3 hours between meals. I am eating more balanced meals. I am going to get fit for spring break!

Thank you for all of the support.
Keep on reading with how I am doing it. (:

Portion Control to the Max!

   

The other day Sean and I were talking about why were weren't losing any weight, even though we eat pretty health and live pretty active lifestyles. (It seems like we are always on the go..)

     Sean said that his biggest problems was portion control. After he said that, I thought he might be on to something. Knowing HOW much you are eating is just as important as to WHAT you are eating!! (I always forget this...)

      My biggest problem (just so all of my loyal readers are up to date..) is that I don't eat enough. I talked with my recruiter early next week and we talked about what I am eating on a day to day basis. He told me that he wants to see me try to eat at least 6 times a day. (including 3-100 calorie snacks). I am regularly suppose to eat every 2-3 hours during my day. 

          So after I talked with my recruiter, I was on my way to walmart to get snack baggies, pretzels, wheat thins, and prepackaged 100 calorie snacks. 50 bucks later, I came out with everything I needed to make my own snack packs to take with me when I am at work, or on the go during that 2-3 hour window. At work, I just run to the back, eat it really quick when I get a chance and get back up on the floor. I haven't really ran into much of a problem when I couldn't grab my snackage at work before heading back, which is great. 

       My recruiter told me that for the first few days, I was going to feel like I was eating so much food. I was going to be extremely full, but after those few days. I was going to be starving for the next food that was going into my body. I would get to the point that at about 2 hours, I was extremely hungry already. This is my metabolism kicking in and working better than it did before. 

      Well, he was right. I'm pretty much always starving right now, except right after my meals.. Then I am extremely full. 

All of this sparked my creativity side of thinking and I started thinking about how I could so easily prepackage a lot of my foods.


So I started off with the wheat thins and the pretzels. 

      I pre-proportioned my wheat thins, pretzels, almonds, banana chips, raisins, marshmallows, and (bought for an extra extra treat) dark chocolate covered raisins.. they are all packaged in approximately 100 calorie proportions.
   This is great for when I am on the go at work, and doing other errands. It saves me from having to count everything out and worry about over eating. It also keeps me from eating straight out of the boxes/bags, which I have been known to do once or twice.
       I did end up buy pre-packaged cookie 100 calorie snacks for my sweet tooth cravings. I have an awful sweet tooth around 9:30-10 at night. I just want a something sweet and a lot of it. Well I got these cookies specifically for that time period. Although, I don't think I will be buying them again because I have found that I can replace the cookies with marshmallows or raisins and my cravings are just as satisfied because with those snacks I get a lot more of them than just 6 tiny little cookies. 

Then I moved on to my oatmeal that I eat every morning...

    Since I was told that I need to eat more.. I have been aiming for a breakfast consisting of anywhere between 300 and 450 calories. I try to aim pretty close to 380 for most mornings. Since then I have been trying to eat oatmeal for breakfast. It is low in calories, but high enough for me to get what I need without having to eat a TON! I have found that stirring in the brown sugar after it is cooked helps make a little bit go a lot farther. I only use about a tablespoon of brown sugar total (about 35 calories). My mornings can get really hectic. On Saturdays and Sundays, I have to be to work by 7am. For those who know me, they know I am NOT a morning person (still trying to figure out why I joined the military for that reason...lol) All of my portions are already measured out, so I can just dump the bag into a bowl and add a cup of water. Perfect for mornings..
    For those with kids, this is perfect for them to get going in the morning. Oatmeal is known to keep a person fuller longer, but it is also great for cold winter mornings. Having it portioned out makes it extremely easy for kids to make their own in the morning. When bagging them, you can add brown sugar for convenience, but I prefer not to, just because I am calorie counting.

Then to my frozen vegetables...

     This was probably the most helpful thing out of all of them. I pre-proportioned out my frozen veggies so I don't have to worry about that when I am making them as sides for lunch/supper. I LOVE veggies. These are proportioned out according to serving size on the bags. Most of these bags contain anywhere from 30-70 calories, which makes them great sides to go along with a chicken breast, pork chop, or even a burger. I am really excited about these because I think it will help us eat more of our veggies and think of them more as a convenience and not a hassle to deal with.

So... My organization...

I bought 4 or 5 of these cute little baskets for our freezer and cabinets to hold the baggies. I got the baskets at Family Dollar for $1.50 a piece, which was crazy cheaper than walmart's prices for like items.  I also bought my Aunt Lisa's cabinet from her to hold ALL of our snackage. This way it is all in one place and we don't go looking through the other food in order to find snacks. This has been working out great!!

I started out writing on EVER SINGLE BAGGIE.. but that ended quickly. Instead I have two post-it notes with the amount in each baggie. It made everything go by so much quicker when it came down to bagging it.

     So.. This has been a huge success for me and I am every excited about the entire thing. I have everything ready for when I need to eat and when I am on the go.

      So, I bet my faithful readers are wondering how much this has helped me lose... *Drum roll please* I am sitting at a solid- Non fluctuating. 150. Which is great. I have drill next weekend and I am hoping to be down to 145-147 by then. I would really like to be close. I have accepted that I will not make my goal of losing the weight by graduation because that gives me 30 days to lose almost 20 pounds (crazy unrealistic. So my new goal is to be at 140 or high 130's by graduation. Then down to my goal weight before I leave for AIT on May 30. I am really hoping to be able to do this, but the next few weeks are absolutely crazy when it comes to my schedule.

Weight Loss results week 2&3&4

I've spent so much time working out this week, I have been at the gym almost every day. I bought 7 new workout videos this week from a website that I am really excited about.

But its still not enough. I am really bloated, but I am still sitting at 152. UGH! I definitely thought this was going to be easier when I started this. I AM going to work out hard!
I have been to Zumba at the YMCA two times. I have been to Cori's Cardio.

I have been to the gym every day minus 2 or 3 since I started this. I have been there and worked out for 30+ every single time. I have varied my workouts from Zumba, bike, walking, running, swimming, step aerobics,

My foods have been decently healthy other than a few days that I have been out with family (Easter, Trip to Minnesota, a few days at work.)

I am so beyond frustrated. I haven't even lost inches since I was taped at drill. Nothing. I don't get it. I am stressed and frustrated and I don't know what to do anymore.

Tonight, I texted my recruiter to find out what he thought. I told him that I have been eating healthy, working out and I have lost give or take 2-3 lbs depending on the time of the day at most.

Oh, best yet. If I was a male, weight at exactly the same (height and weight) my body fat would be at 15 percent, but because I am a female, my body fat is at 34% DOUBLE STANDARD! ugh!

So there is my update, I am frustrated to heck and I don't know what I am going to do for drill in 18 days..

Week 1 Results

Week 1: This was a stressful week because I knew I had drill on Saturday and I just wanted the weight gone. It is so frustrating to listen to my cadre call me fat because I'm over military weight requirement.

Workouts: I bought a $3 workout video at Walmart a while back and I had never tried it. Today was a good day to try it since I am still avoiding wearing shoes when I don't have to. (I also can't swim. dumb tattoo..)

P90X: I tried the first part of a couple of the videos to see what they are like, they sound great for when I have the time.


I did take Rocco on a walk one day for 2 miles, but with the snow, I wasn't too excited about that.
Saturday and Sunday I did have drill, which means I ran every where I went and worked out a ton.

After drill, I also decided that I need to work on my sit ups and push ups as well as losing weight. 

So I rethought my original workout plans and decided that I would be changing it since I can't swim right now.



1 day a week I will walk Rocco (my pain in a butt dog) (for at least an hour, or go run and play 
       with him at the dog park.)
2 days a week I will do workout videos that I find either online or that I already own
2 days a week I will weight lift
6 days a week I will do 3 reps of increasing sit-ups and push ups.
1 day a week I will rest.

     Yes, some days I will do more than one workout. I would like to combine cardio with weight lifting because you are said to get better results, but we'll see.

    For right now, I am going to do a workout in the morning, and then a short quick ab or leg workout when I get off work/ before bed. (On the days I don't do two of the workouts.)

Water: I took on of the water bottles I already had and marked it to monitor how much water I actually drink in an hour. It is marked for in hour increments between 7am and 10pm, and for every hour there are 8 oz. In one day I should ultimately be drinking 4 of these bottles.




























All of the writing on the water bottles ended up coming off, but that water bottle is still a great jug to carry with me.

I am now sitting at 153. 

I wish it could have been lower when I weighed in this morning, but that's fine. Some progress is better than none. I have 6 weeks until my next drill weekend, so I really want to try to get in way better shape for my next drill.

This week I have been eating string cheese and apples for snacks, but I want to get into yogurts and other simple snacks like that. Work makes it really hard to snack when I have to be on the floor all the time, but it is getting easier to be motivated.

Weight Loss

       I know how much of a dreaded topic this is, but I have been trying so hard to work on it and lose weight. Over Christmas and now that I am out of school and my parents house, I have been focusing more on eating cheap than eating healthy. Well, since I graduated high school, I have gained 10 pounds. My military cadre isn't happy about that and I have drill on Saturday. UGH! I know I am not the only one out there who struggles with losing weight or being healthy, but I need to write this post so I can put it out there, because let's face it. Losing weight is next to impossible to do when you are trying to hide it from everyone else.

Goal weight: 130

Current weight: 155.

Weight to lose: 25 lbs. 

When: March 18th, 2013

(The day of my graduation party and the 5k 

race my mom and I are doing together)

 There. Now everyone can see what I have to go for.

      Okay. So from the time I was young, I always weighed a little bit more than most of the people in my class. I was always a little heavier. It never really bothered me until about my freshman year. I am sick of hiding it. 

Here is how I'm going to do it:

Eat breakfast. 

That is the most over stated diet tip EVER, but whether it helps a lot or not weight wise, it does help you stay focused until meals. 

Snack.

6 small meals a day. I will find pinterest snacks that I can make at home. Other snacks to include: Peanuts, Yogurt, String Cheese, and Produce

Workout:

I will run 3 times a week (whether at the Y or when it warms up), I will swim (at the y) at least 2 times a week (After my tattoo is healed). And I will weight lift at least two times a week. But I will have one day off a week from working out. 

Rewards:

I saw this on a blog today. 

For the weight you lose, you create rewards. As you get closer to your goal weight, the rewards go up in price until you hit your goal weight.

My rewards/ Weights:

150- New $5 Movie

145- Night out to the movies (With Sean of course)

140- New Zumba Video/Game

135- Hair professionally dyed/ eye brows done

130-1 full new outfit

Pinterest:

Some detox things on pinterest make me wonder if they really work, so I will try them, but only if I feel like they might actually work.

Low Carb ( PROCESSED CARBS)

    Out of all of the diets/health styles I have ever tried, Low carbs proved to show great results. (Other than me being a vegetarian, but I couldn't do that again). In the next few weeks I will spend my time looking over low carb websites and cook books. I am going to put together a cookbook file for anyone interested in downloading/printing themselves. With this I want to create an entire cookbook so I won't go back to the easy meals that I already know. If I already have a book of recipes waiting for me, I can slowly implement them. This way I won't have to spend hours searching for recipes while trying to plan out groceries.

   My goal is to eventually ease into a clean eating diet. I am being realistic by saying that your taste buds aren't going to change over night. I am going to ease Sean and I into it, but I want it to become a lifestyle.

     I will try to do a weekly post about what I have been doing and records of my weekly weigh in.., but I am always looking for tips. My goal is to change the way Sean and I eat, so when (A LOONGG time from now) we have kids, our kids won't have to face the struggle. I want our kids to be active and healthy like I was when I was younger, but I truly hope they never face this like Sean and I both have. My ultimate goal is to completely retrain our taste buds into wanting healthy food, but the sooner we get out of McDonald's, the better for our health. 

    Now, I know I am not the fattest person ever. But I am SICK of being fat, and I am sick of hating to wear dresses/shorts because I don't like the way I look. My goal is that when I leave for AIT, I will be in the best shape of my life. I am sick of always coming back to trying to find ways to lose weight right before drill. I simply don't want to have to worry about stepping on the scale every day.

This is me. I AM going to change and I am going to be different.

Workout From Home

      There are definitely days that I just don't want to get all the way dressed just to go to the gym. Some days I would rather just stay in my shorts and workout from my bedroom/living room. Especially on the days like this week with snow on the ground and it being so cold outside.
     Because I am in the military, I attempt to do SOMETHING physical everyday. Plus I would really love to get to my goal weight! I'm pretty close, but not quite there.

     These are some of my favorite online workouts that I have found through pinterest mostly. A lot of them are quick and easy target workouts and most take no more than 10 minutes.

    This is my rating scale for workouts: 

• 1- It was easy, fast, and I kind of felt it, 
• 2- It was fast, but I was feeling it where I should, and felt it the next day.
• 3- It took a little more time, but it was worth it!
• 4- It was a full work out, but not the most challenging thing I've done
• 5- It was a full work out and it was worth every second.

Legs:

This is such a great leg/butt workout. I have done it a few times and you can really feel it half way thru it. I would recommend doing this as a warm up before a run or some cardio even. I would up the reps or do the entire workout 2x a day (morning and night) to see results. It is good because it works every muscle in your legs with 5 or 6 quick exercises.
I would rate this a 1. I felt it in my legs, but it didn't leave me sore or stiff.
http://backonpointe.tumblr.com/post/24907237515


Abs:
This workout is intense. Even one round of this would be a good start to getting your abs back to where you want them to be after a huge meal. I like this because it keeps it varied. There are no boring crunches and you aren't just laying on the floor. I hate floor workouts because it is so easy to just lay down and stop for a while instead of keeping the intensity up.
I would rate this a 1 if you are only doing one round, but a 3 if you are doing 3 or 4 rounds like the video suggests.
http://blondeponytail.com/2012/07/gnc-summer-series-ab-attack/

This is a standing ab workout. I haven't actually done this one yet, but it is 10 minutes and it looks really good. It is multiple exercises and the video talks you thru it.
I would rate this a 3 based on watching just the video. It is a little longer, but it is worth the time because it is multiple exercises and the best part. NO CRUNCHES! and NO FLOOR WORKOUTS!
/http://toriteachesfitness.com/2012/06/03/standing-abs/



Full Body Workout:
This 4 minute workout is suppose to burn as many calories as a 40-60 minute run. While I personally have doubts that it is THAT great. The workout is good for 4 minutes. It left me winded, but not sore and tired. I would probably do it a couple times a day to burn a sufficient amount of calories. It does get your heart rate up and it is good for the days when you don't have a ton of time to workout but you still want to get your heart rate up..
I would rate this a 2. It was super short, but I was actually feeling it the next day.
http://eatright-staybright.tumblr.com/post/7188718242/worlds-fastest-workout-burns-as-many



      I also enjoy my wii fit or rough housing with my dog for just something. There are also really great zumba videos on youtube that are good for a quick workout. While this is all said, I still LOVE going to the gym. I am a big fan of the Y to go swimming. Just the other day Sean and I swam back and forth in the pool for an hour and fifteen minutes! Crazy! But I also love racquetball and shooting hoops with the occasional weight session! But I am going stir crazy to just get outside and run. These are just a few things that are worth checking out. Good Luck and Have Fun!