Feverish

Life lately...
Family visits.
Trabajo mucho.
I suck at sleeping.
Head cold + fever.

But I've been painting.

You see...
There's always an upside, my friends.

:)

Fit Tips

Hello Friends!

I'm not one to normally talk about weight, working, out, and all that jazz,
but I've been working hard behind the scenes on getting healthy
and want to share some tips that have helped me along.

First off,
Everyone is different.
Different body,
different metabolism,
different tastes.
SUPER IMPORTANT.


As for my body, I'm 5'4" and more of an hourglass build.
I've never been a stick thin girl; I tend to have a bit more muscle and curves.
(Not complaining.)

Aaaand, I LOVE food. Big fan.

So, when I graduated from high school and ceased running,
my eating habits brought on the infamous "Freshman 15" and then some.
Since then, I've fluctuated over the years in my weight and struggled a bit with poor eating habits.
(Truth be told, I'm sort of a binger.)

About 15 months ago, I decided to rein things in, specifically in my diet.
Enter in MyFitnessPal.

It's a calorie counting app and website.
Crazy easy to use and has made a HUGE difference for me.

First off, I've never tracked my calories before.
Since I started, it's given me a greater consciousness of what I'm actually treating myself to.
Eating out of boredom was suddenly brought to light for me.
And then there's the fast food.
So many calories for something that left me feeling polluted, guilty, and unfulfilled.
True Story.

Lately, I've been using this app every single day and I LOVE it.
You can even scan barcodes with it to enter your food, sync up with other apps like Runtastic to take into account your workouts, and link with friends for support.

So yes, I recommend MyFitnessPal.
Here's my profile if you want to link up - click me.

Second game changer for me:  ISAGENIX.

Isa-WHAT?
Yeah, that's what I thought the first time I heard of it.

The best way I can describe Isagenix is that it's a company that's produces a series of food systems focused on nutrional cleansing.
They have shakes, snack bars, chocolates, and my favorite part - the cleanse systems.

Last year, I tried a 9-Day cleanse for the first time.
It took a lot of discipline for me at first - I was eating fast food a lot prior to it and had virtually no self discipline.
The 9-Day has a structured plan to follow and was sort of a shock initially.
Aaaand, I made it harder on myself by browsing Pinterest in all its food and recipe glory late at night.
Didn't help my with my cravings those first few days...

It was worth it though and became easier over the course of 9 days.
I ended up losing 8.6 pounds and 16.75 inches.

Was I able to keep it off?
Yes.
Did I have to cleanse all the time to maintain it?
Nope.

I did eat healthier from that point on.
I also started getting more active.
Jogging here and there, walking, ballet classes.
My lifestyle was shifting.

Back in December 2012, I gave up fast food entirely.
I drink mostly water (with an occasional beer or glass of wine).
Fruits and veggies, quinoa and flaxseed, chicken and fish - these are more of the norm for me now.

Since January 10, 2012, I've lost 20 pounds.
It kind of blows me away.

What made it doable for me was making a daily effort.
A fail day here and there is fine and not worth giving up over.
Just make the general trend of your eating and activity a healthy one.
Tip: think inches, NOT pounds if you can.
And how do you feel? Well? Healthy? Try to be in tune with your body.

In my perspective, God gave me one body.
Just one.
I need to treat it like a gift.
Don't worship it or make an idol out of fitness.
Simply be a good steward of what you have.
And be realistic.

I'm now on day 2 of another Isagenix cleanse.
(I'm only doing two cleanse days rather than a 9-day system.)
My reason?
I've been breaking out with cystic acne the last few weeks and want to see if losing some toxins will help with it.
So we'll see how that goes!

I have to tell you, cleansing this time around has been so much easier.
I think it's because I have a much more disciplined approach now to eating than I did my first time.

All in all, these have been the two biggest catalysts for change in my health the last year or so.

I also run (jog/shuffle) with a Garmin.

That's my watch/gps/run tracker of greatness.
I love it because I don't have to drain my phone to track my running.
I just wear this and go.
It tells you distance, pace, calories burned, and more.
Big fan over here.
It even records your runs and records and congratulates you when you set a PR.
I love it!

So there you go.
Three things that have significantly impacted my health over the last year.
Feel free to ask questions or contact me.

What works for you?

Pomelo?

I've been trying a lot of new foods lately.

You know, attempting to feel good 

on the outside and the inside.

One thing I recently tried was a pomelo

or a pummelo.

It's like a grapefruit, 

only sweeter, bigger, and less bitter.

I love them. 

You should try one sometime and split it with a friend.

Seriously. Do it.

Look for a giant yellow-green citrus.

Detox/Cleanse Results!

Hello my friends!

Yesterday was my final day

of my Isagenix 9-Day cleanse!

And here are the results...

Total Weight Lost:  

8.6 pounds

Total Inches Lost:

16.75

CRAZINESS.

Things I noticed:

1.  I have better muscle definition

2. My abdomen flattened out (WOO!)

3.  My skin has cleared up significantly

4.  I'm sleeping better (more soundly)

5.  My cravings have changed, favoring

healthy options versus processed food

6.  My clothes fit better 

(thanks to losing those inches!)

I should mention that during this cleanse,

I was not working out at a gym.

My physical activity included:

ballet class twice a week

and walking on our local track.

So, nothing crazy.

This was my first time 

trying a cleanse,

and honestly,

I was a little nervous to go for it.

9 days seemed like a long time to me

and I have the tendency to

eat out of boredom

(and for comfort)...

I knew if I were to do this, 

I'd have to truly commit, 

which (thankfully) I did.

Having ordered a kit

which provided all the food,

snacks, shakes, etc.

(excluding lunches)

that I needed for 9 

(technically 11) days

really helped me to practice

self discipline for once

with my eating habits.

So that made it MUCH easier

to complete the cleanse

than I expected!

Now,

I'm feeling great, 

eating healthier portions,

and making wiser choices

in the kitchen!

Oh! 

And my husband told me 

he can totally tell the difference

in me physically!  

Woohoo!

To maintain this new state of health,

I plan on ordering more of the 

"Isalean" shakes (which were in the kit)

and drinking those regularly.

They're pretty good! 

(Get the chocolate flavor!)

I might get a few of their other products too!

In case you're interested in

learning more about the cleanse

I tried...

I made a tab 

at the top of the page

labeled

"Isagenix"

which has information 

on the kit,

a link to the Isagenix website,

and contact information

of a consultant (my friend, Melia!)

(in case you decide to order for yourself!)

Have any of you ever tried 

a cleanse or detox system before?

Cheers to health!

Let's Get Physical!

Me in my more active days

 

I don't know 

what it is about surfing Pinterest

that got me so motivated to 

get into shape,

but I guess all the healthy recipes

and workout ideas 

planted a seed.

Plus, a friend of mine

from high school 

started blogging about

her journey to get healthy...

(Cheer her on!)

So, 

I decided to try 

a detox/cleanse.

Have any of you 

ever done

one of these before?

Well,

I haven't.

My friend, Melia, tried one out

through a company called

Isagenix

about a month ago 

and really enjoyed it.

You order a sort of kit

that will last you 9 days 

(technically 11)

which provides you with

the shakes,

snacks, 

cleanse mix,

and 

all that jazz.

After debating the price

and whether or not

I could commit to a 9-day cleanse,

I decided to give it a shot.

So, 

here I am.

It's day 5 of 9...

and I'm feeling great.

Honestly.

No stomach pain.

No exhaustion.

No diarrhea.

(Sorry!  Just felt like 

throwing that out there!

I always thought a cleanse equated to 

LOTS of time in the bathroom... :P)

Instead, 

I am just 

plain old

feeling good.

I'm thinking about posting 

my results so far...

In case you're interested!

I'll be putting up some numbers 

(and maybe a photo)

tomorrow... 

Yikes :P

Shnnnnah!

Hello Friends!!!

I don't think any of you noticed... 

but I did forget 

to do a Board Game Spotlight post...

Sorry! 

It'll probably be a bit before my next one 

due to 

THESE UPDATES!

1.  We are in the market for a HOUSE!!!!

We've been going through the Pre-approval process

and meeting with a Realtor

(and blah blah blah...)

Source

 Needless to say, 

all our afternoons lately have consisted 

of meetings

and paperwork

and emails

and showings...

alas, no board games.

It's an exciting

and frightening process,

LOTS of big decisions...

But we're praying for guidance 

and wisdom through it all.

So if you're into it,

would you pray for us too?

UPDATE #2:

Funny story.

Sorta.

So.... Tanner & I started up 

with racquetball again,

which for us is FUN

HIGH ENERGY!!!!

COMPETITIVE INSANITY!!!!

BALSAFSIOHFPNK!!!!!

Anywho,

we were playing on Monday...

our 4th match of the day, 

(and I had yet to win ONE).

So I of course was flying at the ball 

with a vengeance.

Seriously.

Diving.

Slamming into walls.

Rug burn on the knees...

All for the sake of holding my ground

for that beautiful

long awaited

WIN.

This is me. Not really. But imagine. (Source)

Picture this guy with a ponytail. (Source)

This is my game face. (Source)

 Well, I guess I need contacts or something.

Or maybe it was just the weird fluorescent lighting...

but I made quite an error.

I threw myself to the right 

to hit a hard low ball

(which I returned beautifully!!!)

BUT

I never saw my hit.

In fact, 

I didn't see anything for a tiny bit...

because the only SLAM I heard

was my head...

into the wall.

I hit it HARD.

So hard, I saw black 

and realized I was on the ground.

It was hard to move

and my head felt strange...

and of course, Tanner was standing over me

asking, "You okay?!?!"

To which I responded,

"Did I hit it?"

Well... the game was over.

And we went home

while the right side of my head swelled up 

to an impressive size...

Within 30 minutes or so,

I realized how hard it was

to move my right arm.

Not fun.

We stayed up until 11PM

in case I had a concussion

watching Avatar: The Last Airbender episodes,

(don't judge me :P)

taking pain pills,

and eating the cure-all known as 

ICE-CREAM.

So, after a night of ice packs

and barely moving

(I couldn't even clothe myself)

I went to the clinic the next day

for that darn arm of mine

and HOORAY!!!

Nothing's broken.

I just have some deep 

DEEP bruising

and swelling

and I have to wear a sling for a while.

So that was my Monday :P

I've been taking it easy

(and feeling frustrated that all my projects are on hold).

So for now, it's

OPERATION: 

FIND A HOUSE!

And then after that, 

I shall hopefully be finishing up 

my furniture fixer-upper things

and preparing for the visit of 

mi familia!

SO.... that is what I've been up to.

You are all wonderful

and if you read this whole thing,

well,

I guess we really ARE friends!

:D

Have a thurrific Thurthday.

Theriouthly.

P.S. - ever have any head accidents?  

eh?

Making Sense

Hello all

It's been a bit, but with good reason - 

life has been picking up the pace, my friends!!!

UPDATES!

Christmas went well, 

but my mom was in the hospital for a bacterial infection 

and I woke up with some gnarly hives for the first time in my life!

(She's home now and doing much better, by the way!!!)

My arms, 

knees 

and random places all over 

were red and 

SUPER swollen,

super itchy,

and SUPER achy.

It was strange to say the least.

And it lasted 2 days!

So yeah, weird.

Now, my skin is crazy sensitive.

I can't even put a shirt on with busting out with redness and itchy little welts.

Taking off band-aids make my skin look like I got burned by a curling iron 

and punched several times...

I don't get it.

Any thoughts?

The dermatologist told me to take an OTC 

antihistamine through the wedding,

and that stress might be a huge factor for the hives.

But that's all they could offer up.

Also, I got a biopsy for the first time -

just a pesky mole on my shoulder...

but, I discovered I might have an irrational fear of needles...

I had some serious anxiety for the numbing shot

and sort of cried a little.

 Just a little,

but definitely embarrassing.

And finally, I had my last day at work.

It felt weird to end my job.

I enjoyed the time I spent there, which is nice to say.

Now, I have a week to pack my room,

get a marriage license 

and wrap up everything for the wedding!

I'm anxious for it in a good way, 

but a little overwhelmed with moving to another state 

Yeah, 
all of it 
at the same time 
is a tad overwhelming.

But it's all goooooood.

Oh! One more thing:

We found a place to live in Silver City, New Mexico!

We're renting a 3 bedroom/2 bath house!!!!  

I honestly thought we'd be in a one room apartment or a trailer.

But yeah, this is where I'll be living in less than a month!

our future place!