February 2011
259 posts
What was your life like before you were so comitted to losing weight and exercising? How do you feel now that you've made such great changes?
keep up the good work!
This is a funny question to me because I don’t really consider myself “so committed”. I mean, I work out regularly now… so I guess I really am, I’ve just not thought of it that way before.
So what was it like before? Less productive. Lots of movie watching, lots of cooking and beer brewing, lots of drinking and smoking. Lots of “lots”. Days sort of began to merge together and from week to week, month to month, I saw no real change in my body or mind and felt like my life was a bit light on adventure.
Now I feel superb! I went for a great hike today with my most adorable puppy dog-niece (she’s a year and a half old), I still love doing almost all the things I did before (cooking, brewing, and watching movies) but now I feel like I “earned” my downtime more so it’s actually even more relaxing. Does that make sense? Well, to me it does. :)
Thanks for the great questions! And thanks for following, whoever you are!
xxx,
M
January 2011
289 posts
Unexpected Joy!
I’m getting off work now (whoo hoo!)! It’s 3 PM my time, so I’m gonna groove right on over to my sister’s house, pick up my dog-neice, Lola:
And go hike the shit out of a local canyon!
See ya later, alligators!!
“When you believe yourself, anything is possible! Positivity always wins!”
—
I live in LA and for Valentine's Day I want to take my boyfriend for a hike somewhere, either to see the sunset or sunrise. Do you have any recommendations of where we should go? Also, would you suggest going for the sunrise? Or the sunset?
Griffith Park is the obvious choice and I have to go with sunset. There is an observatory with a planetarium show ($7) that is EPIC and wildly romantic, if you’re into the stars (which I most definitely AM). There’s nothing like holding hands with the one you love while you ponder our existence and ultimately life’s meaning.
Top it off with a beautiful view of the city’s sparkling lights below and you’ve just yourself a date!
Good luck!
keep doing what you do every day! You are beautiful inside and out!:)
-a secret follower
A secret follower?! OooOOooOooOO! :) Are you my Fitblr buddy, by chance?
Either way, whoever you are: anonymous supportive messages like this are lovely to receive! Thank you so much!
I like to spread the anonymous love, too. It feels wonderful to make someone’s day!
If you haven’t sent anyone an positive message yet, do it! Send out a few today to some people who you feel are particularly deserving of it. It really is the best feeling to get messages like these! :)
Weekend Roundup
This weekend I made some pretty terrible food choices even though I said I wasn’t going to take a splurge day. Well, I did, darn it, and it wasn’t pretty. I don’t have a history of binging so that wasn’t an issue, however, I did partake in much alcohol and other not-even-close-to-homemade-or-organic snacky-snacks while at a party celebrating a friend’s birthday.
So, to make up for it, Chippy and I went on an EPIC 4 hour hike on Saturday, ran sprints up the mountains and did 60 lunges, saw some incredibly beautiful wildflowers as well as some odd plant decomposition. After our hike, I treated myself to a foam roller (ohmygod, how come I waited so long?!?!) and a brand new sports bra for busty babes, such as myself.
I also found some pictures of me at my heaviest and did a before/after slide-show. I can’t believe that was/is me. My progress is SO noticeable!
Then yesterday I cooked up a storm: The Best Chili Ever (recipe here), a Blueberry Coconut Crumble which came out looking like this (which I will be posting a recipe for later) and I steam bath baked a butternut squash for tonight’s dinner.
I finished up the weekend with a burning ab workout.
And there is your weekend roundup!
AHHHHHHHHHHH!
I just dropped my brand new phone in the toilet!!
Total and full freakout mode. I grabbed it super quickly, took out the battery (which wasn’t wet), dried everything I could, put the battery back in and it still worked for a minute but then went black and now isn’t working.
It’s a brand new phone!!! I’ve had it less than 2 weeks! HELP!!!
ANY SUGGESTIONS to fix it????
*Edit: I’m at work, so suggestions have to be work friendly. No rice in sight!
What's in my fruit and veggie bowl?
Did you guess all the correct fruits and veggies in this picture?
Navel oranges, tangelos, spaghetti squash, pink lady apples (my 2nd favorite after Honeycrisp!), tomatoes, avocados, eggplant and hidden underneath all that and out of eyesight are lemons, limes and clementines.
I get a lot of vitamin c. ;)
i absolutely love your blog :) :)
i have a question, what is your serving size for the steel cut oats? like i was looking at the back of this box and it says it's 1/4 c. but that seems very small, so i was just wondering!
Thank you!! I’ve worked hard to make my blog as “true to me” as possible & I’m glad you are enjoying it!
You are correct! 1/4 cup of DRIED steel cut Irish oats is a serving size. Cooked, it looks muuuuch larger, more like a cup or so. It’s a lot, honestly. I couldn’t eat it all this morning. I hope that helps!
Keep the love and questions coming! I like my followers to be interactive! ;)
Thanks, Pat! That makes sense. I hadn’t thought of it that way. :)
Measurements: I lost 13.75 inches in 3 months edition!
Starting measurements: 11/05/10
- Bicep: 9 3/4 inches
- Thigh: 19 3/4 inches
- Waist: 31 inches
- Hips: 41 inches
- Bust/chest: 39 inches
- Weight: 140.2 lbs
- Height: 5 foot 2 1/2 inches
- Weight: 140.2 lbs
11/29/10
- Bicep: 10 inches (+.25 inch - of which I am PROUD!)
- Calf: 14 3/4 (this is a starting measurement)
- Mid-Thigh: 19 inches (-.75 inch)
- Upper Thigh: 23 inches (this is a starting measurement)
- Waist: 29.5 inches (-1.5 inch)
- Across hipbones: 37.5 inches (this is a starting measurement)
- Across widest part of hips: 40 inches (-1 inch)
- Across lower hips, under tooshie: 39 1/4 inches (this is a starting measurement)
- Bust: 37.5 inches (-1.5 inch)
- Weight: 137 lbs (-3.2 lbs)
- TOTAL LOSS: 4.5 inches & 3.2 lbs
12/31/10
- Bicep: 10.5 inches (+.5 inch - of which I am PROUD!)
- Mid-Thigh: 18 1/2 inches (-.5 inch)
- Upper Thigh: 22 3/4 inches (-.25 inch)
- Waist: 28 inches (-1.5 inch)
- Across hipbones: 37 inches (-.5)
- Across widest part of hips: 39 inches (-1 inch)
- Across lower hips, under tooshie: 39 inches (-.25)
- Bust: 36.5 inches (-1 inch)
- Weight: 133.4 lbs
- LOSS since 11/29/10: 4.5 inches & 3.6 lbs
01/31/10
- Bicep: 10.75 inches (+.25 inch - Building muscle is a win!)
- Mid-Thigh: 17 inches (-1.5 inches)
- Upper thigh: 21.25 inches (-1.5 inches) Okay, THAT’s why my legs “suddenly” look so different!
- Waist: 27.5 inches (-.5 inches)
- Across hipbones: same
- Across widest part of hips: 38.75 inches (-.25 inches)
- Across lower hips, under tooshie: 38.25 inches (-.75 inches)
- Bust:36 1/4 inches (-.25 inches)
- Weight: 130.4 lbs
- LOSS since 12/31/10: 4.75 inches and 3 lbs
TOTAL LOSS SINCE BEGINNING: 13.75 Inches & 9.8 lbs
I’m incredibly proud of my progress! At the same time, though, 3 lbs lost in a month isn’t all that much. Sure, it is slowly going down, but I feel like it should have been lower. This past week I gave myself too many splurges and it’s time to buckle down this week! Meals are cooked, lunch is packed, no plans to go out for dinner at ALL this week (thank goodness!!!!) and fitness regime is in place.
I’m rip-roaring to go!!
Ab Workout
To get the maximum results from each move, I do them slowly; exhaling on the way up, inhaling on the way down. The slower I go, the stronger I get. So although these numbers aren’t high, my abs were burning like CRAZY when I finished!
20 sit ups
20 oblique sit ups (10 each side)
20 crunches
20 bicycle crunches
20 lower ab lifts
20 leg lifts
That’s 120 moves. Not shabby. Not shabby at all. I’m not sure how, but I’ve got to fit in some cardio tomorrow. Jump-rope at home in the evening will probably be my best bet. I haven’t done it in a number of months now, probably 2. I bet I can go longer than my last longest time, 15 minutes.
Yes, that’s what I’ll do… jump rope tomorrow. :)
For now, though… rest. Sleep tight!
you are doing so great!!! i wish i could go hiking with you!!!
Thank you! I’m assuming you’re referring to my progress pics I posted this weekend (?). It’s been a long and winding road but SO worth every single step. Seeing that photographic evidence is… well… it’s jaw-dropping even for me… and that’s me!
I’m not sure where you’re located but hiking is free everywhere so get out there! It’s beautiful in California right now because the wildflowers are in full bloom due to the rain we have gotten in recent weeks, like in this picture from my hike this weekend.
If you live in an area that has been inundated with snow, like most of the US right now, I hear that snowshoeing is an outstanding way to work out, be in nature and break a sweat. Having never done it myself, I can’t say, but no matter where you live there is exploring to be had. :)
Get to it!
