Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Detox

I have(had) been doing a pretty decent job of watching what I eat and working out 1-2x/day. As of Thursday, this all went to shit.

I left NC for DE on Thurs afternoon. I had Bojangles for breakfast, and a salad at ChikFilA for dinner (so delish!). The next morning, I DID do a sweet workout in the hotel gym, but that was followed by a tuna melt and fries at a diner and later followed by a portabello burger and fries @ Firefly.

We spent 7 hours in the car on Friday trying to get into the festival fairgrounds. Walked around a bit, saw 2.5 shows and peaced out.

On Saturday, we had McDonald's for breakfast and then spent about 10 hours walking the fairgrounds. I pretended to be healthy and got a spinach salad w/ strawberries for lunch. Then we went to Chipotle for dinner. At least I perspired all day and drank a ton of water?

Sunday was much of the same. McDonald's for breakfast, mango sorbet for a snack, and one pancake at 12 a.m. before heading out on the longest overnight drive of my lifeeee and drinking any coffee I came across. I danced my tailfeather off that day (even dancing in the rain/mud), so I'm pretty sure I got a good "work out" in. Proceeded to spend the next 10 hours in the car and got home around 11a.m. on Sunday, slept for 3 hours and actually had a semi-productive day!

Now, I'm trying jump back in to good diet and exercise. First, I must catch up on sleep. Tonight I think I'll do some 30DS and pretend to eat healthy.

IML Update:

1) Do what needs to be done: Got my license in the mail! Now I just need to register my car and get new plates and I am officially a resident! Transferred my insurance and health insurance over last week and the to-do list is dwindling! Go me.

2) Maintain exercise goal of 3x/wk: Despite a crappy ending to my week, I did manage to get in 4 workouts (3 30 DS days and 1 day @ the gym).

3) Make more conscious food choices: I know I made some really bad food choices, but I also tried not to pig out TOO much. In the scheme of things, I didn't eat as terribly as I could have.

4) Enjoy my hobbies: finally baked a loaf of bread! Taking my puppy on nightly walks, went to Firefly festival, reading, writing, piano-ing....life is good! Now I just need to get back into biking/find somewhere to hike and I'll be even better!

5) Keep my close friends: g-chatting, skyping, texting the days away! My goal is definitely to make some more friends in this area. My roommate is gone until Thursday and if I weren't so exhausted, I would definitely be bored. Good thing I got a dog? She can be my friend.

6) Do what I can for my health: In the process of recovering from a crazy long weekend. Need to catch up on sleep, get back in my normal routine. I have to get back on the exercise train for a few days before I post my 15 day 30DS results (not as big of an impact after 5 days of doing nothing, I'm afraid!).

Stay tuned...


Monday, June 17, 2013

a better version of me

I have now officially been a Tarheel for 3 weeks.

I am still so happy and thankful for the positive changes in my lifestyle.

IML Update:

1) Reduce stress: Honestly, I might as well remove this category from my updates. I have never been a very high stress person and I continue to not be stressed whatsoever. I DID have to take the NC Driver's test this week and took Nala for her first vet's visit, so I'm getting things accomplished, which is good! I make daily to-do lists and I love crossing things off. Maybe I should change this category to: "Do what needs to be done" -- this might make more sense for me!

2) Maintain exercise goal of 3x/wk: In the last 7 days, I have worked out 6 days (1 day of rest) and done a total of 13 workouts. http://www.dailymile.com/people/MeganG148#ref=tophd

Today will mark Day 8 of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred, though it is more of a "Shred every day for the rest of my days" than a measured workout. The roomie and I are graduating to Level 2 tonight and I am upping my weights from 3 to 5. It is going very well and I think I am starting to see some results! Too bad I'm going away from Thursday thru Sunday...definitely going to disrupt my routine. Might take my laptop to the hotel with me and do it in the mornings....

In addition, I've been biking and trying to get back into running. Last night I ran two miles on the treadmill only to be haunted by my arch nemesis, the shin splint. Today I am ordering some compression socks that will hopefully protect my shins a bit and optimize my blood flow.

3) Make more conscious food choices: I've been pretty good since I moved down here! High protein diet with lots of veggies and fruit, minimal simple carbs, only drinking coffee (1cup/day) and water the rest of the time (SO much water!). I've been cooking like crazy, which is super fun. On tonight's menu, I am making eggplant stuffed chicken breast in truffle oil and garlic asparagus. Probably to be followed by angel food cake with strawberries and cool whip...yum!

4) Enjoy my hobbies: Puppy time, biking, piano playing, reading, socializing, cooking..what more could a girl ask for? (I should be doing more crafting and less shopping).

5) Keep my close friends: Still in pretty constant contact with several friends. Making concerted effort to text people and talk on the phone and send emails. So excited that my sister and friend Kelly are coming to visit for 4th of July weekend (17 days and counting!!). I'm also going up to Delware for the Firefly Music Festival this coming weekend and will be reunited with two friends, as well!

I am trying to make friends here, but it's definitely tough. I have mainly been meeting people through my roommate, which is great. I'm hoping to forge some new friendships with coworkers and break out into the dating scene and make some friends that way, as well. It is really easy to talk to people down here, so any time I go out, I make it a point to strike up conversation with strangers. You never know who you might meet!

6) Do what I can for my health: I feel (and apparently look - based on reactions to a recent photo I posted) so much healthier! I have been spending a lot of time outside, religiously working on my fitness, eating healthier, sleeping well, enjoying a lot of "me" time, and (surprisingly!) maintaining a pre-bedtime routine that includes flossing. Who am I?! As Fiona Apple would say "Here it comes, a better version of me."

Monday, June 10, 2013

Shred

I am so happy to be moved and settled into a perfectly balanced life between structured routine and chaos. So far, I am LOVING living in N.C. And my roommate is fabulous!

Prior to the move, my workouts became infrequent as I struggled to cram in as much of my CT "bucket list" as possible. A few bike rides and hikes made their way into my life, but I certainly wasn't keeping up with the fitness routine I had been maintaining for several weeks before that.

Now that my life is coming together, I am making it a priority to take good care of myself, which is much easier when you have a) a puppy to take care of who requires a somewhat strict schedule b) less late nights spent hanging out with friends and resulting in sleep deprivation c) a much longer commute requiring that I wake up earlier.

IML updates, N.C. style!

1) Reduce Stress: I think I will fit right in in the south. I have always been a pretty low-stress person and am even more laid back now that I am amongst my kind of people. Peace out, New England anxiety-ridden folk!

2) Maintain exercise goal of 3x/wk: I have definitely been active every single day since I moved here. Having a puppy ensures I take at least 3 walks a day. I have also been biking a few times with my roommate or to run errands, have run on the treadmill, done some lifting, and started a new workout routine as of yesterday. As far as biking goes, I definitely need to find some nice long stretches of less-populated roads to take longer rides on and also want to explore some "greenways" -- which are the equivalent of the Rails to Trails in N.E.

In other news, my roommate and I are powering through Jillian Michael's 30 day shred! Last time I started it, I was doing pretty well until I re-sprained my bad ankle, so womp womp to that. Now that I am waking up at 6 every weekday to get ready for work, doing a nice 20 minute workout first thing in the morning is a great way to jump start the day. I am going to do all three levels of the shred, so it will technically be a 90 day shred. I'm looking forward to seeing some results!

3) Make more conscious food choices: I am eating way more healthily than I have in a while. Long gone are the days of traveling every weekend and eating out 3x +/wk. I have been having yogurt or oatmeal with fruit and nuts for breakfast, packing healthy lunches, and eating dinner at a more reasonable hour. I've also totally cut out snacking, mostly because I'm too busy to be sitting around getting hungry. I have been drinking approx 3x the amt of water since moving here, mostly because it's so hot/humid and I need to stay hydrated.

I am already seeing some results and think I have probably shed about 5 lbs already since I moved here, all thanks to my shift in lifestyle.

4) Enjoy my hobbies: I seriously love it here. All of the people I've met are super nice. I've been swimming and biking and reading and decorating and shopping and cooking and playing with my puppy/neighborhood children (can you believe I actually like these kids. Who am I?!). I've been busy and active and social and this is pretty much the life I have always wanted for myself. Next on the docket: make more friends!

5) Keep my close friends close: I have been making a concerted effort to keep in touch with my "home friends." I've had several long phone calls with my family and friends and sent many a text. Now if only I can convince all of you to come visit me...

6) Do what I can for my health: I feel GREAT. I am getting the perfect amount of sleep, exercise, and food intake. I am keeping up with a good dental routine. And, as always - creating happiness is the best thing you can do for your body. And right now I am overflowing with happy.

Stay tuned for some 30 DS shred results...took my Day 1 pictures and will post progress @ Day 15.

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