Like a Dream Girl

girlvsgym:

Insanity: A Look Back at My 60-Day Journey

Overall:

• I lost less than 5 lbs. since I started back in December. My start weight was around 108.5 lbs. Currently, I stand at between 104.5 and 105.5 lbs. That’s only a difference of 3 lbs. 
• However, I feel so much healthier. I’m not out of breath when I walk across campus, I can run 3 miles without stopping (and at a faster pace than when I used to run just one mile), and my clothes fit better everywhere. Even though I didn’t take any beginning measurements, I can visibly note that my body has been tightened and toned up in the past 60 days.
• All in all, I also feel more energetic and awake during the day. All of my PMS symptoms are gone (this is very important to me, as a female)! I no longer feel like a weak, petite girl… being skinny means nothing if I can’t be strong and healthy too. 

Diet:

• What’s different? I eat breakfast every single day now. I used to skip breakfast all the time and just snack my way through my classes until lunch…bad, bad idea. I wake up 20 minutes earlier just to prepare myself a nutritious breakfast that usually consists of greek yogurt or cereal with soymilk, 2 slices of toast, and a serving of fresh fruit. I don’t snack as often anymore, and when I do, I pay particular attention to the amount of calories in my snacks. I’ve completely cut out potato chips and the like out of snacking regime and strictly snack with Special K granola bars/fruit crisps/multigrain crackers (between 90-110 calories per serving) or fresh fruit (my favorite! I definitely hoard fruit in my room). I haven’t touched french fries or chicken nuggets, I remove 90% of the frosting off of cakes, and I usually opt out of any sauces and dressings. I don’t eat late meals and aim for a 1600-1700 calorie day (this was during Month 2… during Month 1, I ate closer to 1300-1500). Keep in mind that these counts were for “slow weight loss” to “maintenance” level eating… I didn’t think I needed to lose too much weight, so this was more about building strength and getting toned for myself. I eat a LOT of vegetables, and don’t eat too much other meat than chicken. I try very hard not to consume white flour or processed sugar (so I stick to whole wheats and wild grains). I have a no soda and no juice rule. 
• What’s the same? I still eat dessert every day, but my definition of dessert has changed. Before, I would have eaten a few cookies or a slice of cake, or even a scoop or two of ice cream. Now, I treat myself to a small square of chocolate after dinner or one cookie. It’s all about moderation and I definitely still pay attention to my calorie and sugar intake for desserts. I still eat out, though again—I am highly aware of nutrition facts and portion control. Being in a diet doesn’t necessarily mean you have to stop eating everything you love… it just means knowing when to put down the fork. 

Exercise:

• Obviously, Insanity is a high intensity cardio workout and it’s definitely not for everyone. Even as someone who loves cardio, there were days that I seriously wanted to take a baseball bat to my laptop out of my rage for Shaun T. But I keep pushing through. That’s the most important lesson I’ve learned: don’t give up, focus, and dig deeper. There’s a reason why that I was chosen as the Insanity motto and every time I want to take a break, I just tell myself that I’m going to be so much prouder of myself if I just keep going for 10 more seconds. I used to be so lazy and not want to work out… until I realized that hitting the gym actually made me more energetic afterwards. And seeing these results has been 100% worth it.
• Now that Insanity is “done”… I’m starting over! I’m doing another recovery week of Core Cardio and Balance just to let my muscles heal, and then I’ll be back at it again for round 2. This is a lifestyle change, not just a temporary one. Fitness doesn’t stop when the program does. I was actually just starting to enjoy the workouts too ;)
• I still run on my “rest” days. I don’t go all out because you definitely don’t want to over-exert yourself on reserved recovery days, but I do still hit about 2.5 miles at about an 11 minute pace on the treadmill. 

In closing… this has been an amazing journey and I’ve learned so much about the importance of willpower. If I can do it, all of you can too! It only takes 60 days to make this big of a difference in your life. So what’s stopping you?

(via overcoming-obstacles)

(via startthechange2day-deactivated2)

healthysexyhappy:

1.) As long as I exercise, I can eat anything I want. Exercise doesn’t constitute a free pass to excessively binge on unhealthy foods. You’ll be undoing all of the hard work that you put into your workout. Just encase you haven’t gotten the message yet; abs are also made in the kitchen. Think of your body as a car. You need to put fuel into your body just as you’d put fuel into a car. You wouldn’t put mud, garbage, and other yucky things into your car’s gas tank, would you? No, it wouldn’t run. So, don’t fill your body’s tank with poor food choices. Treat your body with the respect it deserves.

2.) Salads are always the safest choice. Just because it has lettuce and vegetables doesn’t make it healthy! As long as you make the right choices, then yes, salads can be very nutritional. But, if you’re loading your salads with fried chicken, high fat cheeses and dressings, and mountains of croutons, then you might as well go for the burger and fries instead. In fact, some salads pack more calories than a burger and fries. Read about “The Worst Salads in America.” I rest my case.

3.) Eating several mini meals is always better than eating a few larger meals. For some people, this is true, but everyone is different. The more meals you have, the more opportunities you have to lose self-control. Choose a plan that fits your needs and lifestyle. If you choose to have 3 meals per day, choose a small, healthy snack in between each meal to sufficiently hold you over. Try fruit and Greek yogurt, a small bowl of whole grain cereal, or carrots with a serving of hummus and whole grain crackers.

4.) As long as it’s healthy, I can eat as much of it as I want. Calories still count no matter what you eat. Regardless, your caloric consumption should come from healthy foods, but this doesn’t constitute the excuse to eat larger quantities of these foods. A serving size is a serving size for a reason. For some people, they may need more, but we should all still be aware of what we’re putting into our bodies. For instance, all-natural nut butters are healthy, but it’s also a food that is high in fat (good fats) and calories. Therefore, you shouldn’t grab a spoon and eat the entire jar within one sitting or day.

5.) Eating late at night will cause weight gain. A calorie is a calorie. It really doesn’t matter what time you consume them. What matters is how many calories you take in for the entire day. Just be careful because people tend to have snack attacks while watching prime time TV shows or a late night movie. Avoid mindless eating and portion your snack before you sit down.

6.) Skipping meals is beneficial. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for a reason. It jump starts your metabolism and provides your body with sustained energy. So if you skip meals, you’re going to slow down your metabolism, feel sluggish, and more than likely, you may binge on more food later on in the day. And, if you begin the day with a healthy choices, you’ll probably want to continuously make healthy choices for each subsequent meal.

7.) Carbohydrates are fattening. They will be if your carbohydrates primarily come from donuts, cake, white bread, mountains of pasta, and so forth. Carbs give us energy, but it’s all about choosing the best carbs available (ie. whole grains and fruit) and consuming the appropriate amount. Carbs should come from whole grains, beans, fruit, and veggies. With good carbs comes fiber and fiber has been known to aid in weight loss. Benefits of carbs.

8.) Fast food and dining out should be avoided. Yes, this is true if you have the willpower of an ant, but all you really have to do is make the right choices. If you want success badly enough, you’ll make better choices. Plain and simple. Just plan ahead. Many restaurants post nutritional information and display healthier options on their websites. Don’t arrive overly hungry, nor skip every meal that day until you head out. That’s a recipe for disaster. Skip the fries and opt for fruit or veggies instead. Portions are typically huge, so split a meal or take half home to have for lunch the next day.

9.) The sooner the success, the better. Of course it sounds great, but it’s not healthy. Answer this. Have you have gained all of your excess weight in 1 night? Chances are, your answer is no. Rome wasn’t built in a day. If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is. Besides, most quick fixes are nearly impossible to stick with for your entire life. You’ll gain back the 10 lbs faster than you can say “10 lbs” once you begin eating normal again. Make sensible changes that you’ll be able to stick with from now until forever. Take it from me. I’ve tried taking the easy-way-out, but it completely backfired. It’s not worth the cost or miserableness of cutting out too much at once.

(via health-heaven)