I am SO sorry that it's been so long since I last posted! I've been crazy busy lately, and I was having a hard time figuring out how to tackle this topic...
But here I am, and I'm ready to take you on a journey with me.
Let's go back to September of 2013. I had officially earned all the money that i needed to go on a mission trip to Thailand. And it was time to start preparing. For those of you who don't know, I was a vegan for 10 months. I love being vegan! I think it takes a strong mind and body to do it. However, I was going into a country where eating meat was very central to their culture, and it was rude to not accept food. So for two months before the trip (which took place over Thanksgiving break), I reverted to vegetarianism. I slowly added milk, cheese, eggs, yogurt, and a small amount of fish back into my diet. For the first two weeks, I cried. Because I knew what I was doing to my body, and to the animals that these things were taken from. So I stuck to "free range" and "organic" things. It was a very good thing I started two months in advance, because my health declined severely.
Once I got back from Thailand, I got extremely sick for a week, and then it took another month to get my voice back. I still don't know what happened, but the worst part was that for a month I couldn't sing. I couldn't even hum. Because my throat would fee like it was ripping open, and I would cough blood.
I used that as my excuse to not go vegan again, and that was the dumbest thing I think I have ever done. It is now March of 2014, and I'm just now getting back to that point. VERY slowly, but I'm getting there.
Anyway, moral of the story is that I gained weight. A lot of it. None of my clothes fit me correctly, I couldn't even button my work pants all the way up, and my mother thought I was pregnant (which, obviously, I am not). I hated myself. I could see that my face was rounder, that my thighs were chaffing more than usual, and my tummy bulged way too much. I looked in the mirror, and I hated myself. Yes, I actually let "fat" get to me. I never weighed myself, through the whole thing, so I have no idea how much I actually gained or anything, but like I said, the number doesn't matter. For me, it's the way my clothes fit that matters. And they did NOT fit. I was so uncomfortable in my own skin, and i felt like everyone could see it.
So I took matters into my own hands. I sat down and wrote out a schedule of everything I was currently doing, and then found where I could squeeze in the workouts, and made it a priority to eat healthy again. I'm doing something new, however. I'm following Mandy Ingber's idea, and letting myself have a little something yummy everyday. She has a square of her favourite kind of chocolate, and that's what I'm going to begin this week. As of now, I have been having an oatmeal cream pie every day (only one, and those things are so freaking delicious, I can't even...), and then reserving the weekends for a YOLO meal, which is a single meal (I hate calling it a cheat, because I'm not forcing myself to do any of this- I genuinely enjoy it!) that I eat once a week where I can have anything unhealthy I want. This weekend it was macaroni and cheese! Sooo good...
After only a week and a half, I have already shed the extra weight, and I'm comfortable again. My legs still have a little bit of work, but I am okay with that because I'm HAPPY and COMFORTABLE. So I've decided to share with you what I've been doing! Here's my weekly plan:
Monday: I train my best friend after school for about 2-3 hours doing a one mile run (we're working on her endurance right now) and then a yoga session which can take anywhere from and hour to an hour and a half. This is also my day off work, so I try and make a few meals for the week.
Tuesday: Either a one mile run (because it's quick and I have work in the evening) or some POPpilates videos. I may also do yoga after work, it just depends on my homework schedule. Homework comes first.
Wednesday: A one mile run with my boyfriend (he had knee surgery the day I went to Thailand, and he fell off the endurance wagon as well, so we're just working on his endurance, too), and sometimes a walk after church before he goes home if it's not absolutely freezing.
Thursday: Same as Tuesday! :)
Friday: I work directly after school, but I get off at six, so I'll usually either go for a long run to get my distance and endurance back up, or do an hour yoga session, and sometimes both!
Saturday: Some Saturdays I work first thing in the morning, so I will try to get some activity in with my boyfriend after work, or if we aren't seeing each other, or it's a weekend I don't work, I train for at least and hour and a half, and two hours at most.
Sunday: Either my day off, or a half hour yoga session. It's really important to give my muscles a rest, especially since I am not at the same fitness level I was. Sometimes, though, I just feel antsy and need to get a little work in. Yoga is very healing, and very relaxing, and is great at stretching your muscles while still strengthening them. Right now I am doing a mix of Mandy Ingber's Yogalosophy and Kino MacGregor's Ashtanga Yoga (find the book here and her website here), and I feel amazing! I have been doing yogalosophy since last october (maybe late September?), and she is the one who really made me realize that I LOVE yoga, and I love teaching it.
So there you have it! But doing these workouts won't get you the body you want. Your physique is only about 10% training, 10% heredity, and 80% diet, give or take a bit on all of them because everyone is different. For myself, based on experience, mine is about 10%heredity, 20% training, and 70% diet. I cannot stress to you how important a healthy, clean diet is. And when I say "diet", I do not mean magic pills or shakes or soups or cereals. None of that is going to help. I mean healthy decisions based on what you like. I'm talking whole grains, lots of veggies, lean proteins, nonGMO things, no highfructose corn syrup, no processed and sugary foods, nothing with additives or preservatives. These things just harm your body. Come on guys. You know when you walk around the store what's good for you and what's not. You just have to be painfully honest with yourself, and dedicate your life to health.
So I know I rambled forever. Point of the story! Be healthy, be happy, make good choices.
But here I am, and I'm ready to take you on a journey with me.
Let's go back to September of 2013. I had officially earned all the money that i needed to go on a mission trip to Thailand. And it was time to start preparing. For those of you who don't know, I was a vegan for 10 months. I love being vegan! I think it takes a strong mind and body to do it. However, I was going into a country where eating meat was very central to their culture, and it was rude to not accept food. So for two months before the trip (which took place over Thanksgiving break), I reverted to vegetarianism. I slowly added milk, cheese, eggs, yogurt, and a small amount of fish back into my diet. For the first two weeks, I cried. Because I knew what I was doing to my body, and to the animals that these things were taken from. So I stuck to "free range" and "organic" things. It was a very good thing I started two months in advance, because my health declined severely.
Once I got back from Thailand, I got extremely sick for a week, and then it took another month to get my voice back. I still don't know what happened, but the worst part was that for a month I couldn't sing. I couldn't even hum. Because my throat would fee like it was ripping open, and I would cough blood.
I used that as my excuse to not go vegan again, and that was the dumbest thing I think I have ever done. It is now March of 2014, and I'm just now getting back to that point. VERY slowly, but I'm getting there.
Anyway, moral of the story is that I gained weight. A lot of it. None of my clothes fit me correctly, I couldn't even button my work pants all the way up, and my mother thought I was pregnant (which, obviously, I am not). I hated myself. I could see that my face was rounder, that my thighs were chaffing more than usual, and my tummy bulged way too much. I looked in the mirror, and I hated myself. Yes, I actually let "fat" get to me. I never weighed myself, through the whole thing, so I have no idea how much I actually gained or anything, but like I said, the number doesn't matter. For me, it's the way my clothes fit that matters. And they did NOT fit. I was so uncomfortable in my own skin, and i felt like everyone could see it.
So I took matters into my own hands. I sat down and wrote out a schedule of everything I was currently doing, and then found where I could squeeze in the workouts, and made it a priority to eat healthy again. I'm doing something new, however. I'm following Mandy Ingber's idea, and letting myself have a little something yummy everyday. She has a square of her favourite kind of chocolate, and that's what I'm going to begin this week. As of now, I have been having an oatmeal cream pie every day (only one, and those things are so freaking delicious, I can't even...), and then reserving the weekends for a YOLO meal, which is a single meal (I hate calling it a cheat, because I'm not forcing myself to do any of this- I genuinely enjoy it!) that I eat once a week where I can have anything unhealthy I want. This weekend it was macaroni and cheese! Sooo good...
After only a week and a half, I have already shed the extra weight, and I'm comfortable again. My legs still have a little bit of work, but I am okay with that because I'm HAPPY and COMFORTABLE. So I've decided to share with you what I've been doing! Here's my weekly plan:
Monday: I train my best friend after school for about 2-3 hours doing a one mile run (we're working on her endurance right now) and then a yoga session which can take anywhere from and hour to an hour and a half. This is also my day off work, so I try and make a few meals for the week.
Tuesday: Either a one mile run (because it's quick and I have work in the evening) or some POPpilates videos. I may also do yoga after work, it just depends on my homework schedule. Homework comes first.
Wednesday: A one mile run with my boyfriend (he had knee surgery the day I went to Thailand, and he fell off the endurance wagon as well, so we're just working on his endurance, too), and sometimes a walk after church before he goes home if it's not absolutely freezing.
Thursday: Same as Tuesday! :)
Friday: I work directly after school, but I get off at six, so I'll usually either go for a long run to get my distance and endurance back up, or do an hour yoga session, and sometimes both!
Saturday: Some Saturdays I work first thing in the morning, so I will try to get some activity in with my boyfriend after work, or if we aren't seeing each other, or it's a weekend I don't work, I train for at least and hour and a half, and two hours at most.
Sunday: Either my day off, or a half hour yoga session. It's really important to give my muscles a rest, especially since I am not at the same fitness level I was. Sometimes, though, I just feel antsy and need to get a little work in. Yoga is very healing, and very relaxing, and is great at stretching your muscles while still strengthening them. Right now I am doing a mix of Mandy Ingber's Yogalosophy and Kino MacGregor's Ashtanga Yoga (find the book here and her website here), and I feel amazing! I have been doing yogalosophy since last october (maybe late September?), and she is the one who really made me realize that I LOVE yoga, and I love teaching it.
So there you have it! But doing these workouts won't get you the body you want. Your physique is only about 10% training, 10% heredity, and 80% diet, give or take a bit on all of them because everyone is different. For myself, based on experience, mine is about 10%heredity, 20% training, and 70% diet. I cannot stress to you how important a healthy, clean diet is. And when I say "diet", I do not mean magic pills or shakes or soups or cereals. None of that is going to help. I mean healthy decisions based on what you like. I'm talking whole grains, lots of veggies, lean proteins, nonGMO things, no highfructose corn syrup, no processed and sugary foods, nothing with additives or preservatives. These things just harm your body. Come on guys. You know when you walk around the store what's good for you and what's not. You just have to be painfully honest with yourself, and dedicate your life to health.
So I know I rambled forever. Point of the story! Be healthy, be happy, make good choices.