Getting Back Into It..

Yesterday was a complete fail in regards to posting what I ate. Basically, the night before last night I took a NyQuil to help me feel better. It was a slow start yesterday; I pretty much slept until I had to get up, got ready for work, worked, and went home to rest some more. Not very eventful, but I think I needed that rest to help me get back up on my feet.

I woke up feeling much better today. I decided to take it easy at the gym; I only spent 40 minutes doing cardio at not that much of an intensity either. Tomorrow I'll definitely be ready to take on the weights and start getting back into the habit. It was great knowing that I was sweating out the sickness today at the gym. I love being able to burn between the 400-500 calorie range during cardio days, even if it's just for 40 minutes.

There are so many times in a day where I contemplate going on a "cleanse" or a diet. But in reality, I know it's not going to happen. The most I'll ever try is the detox or cleansing teas. I'm also thinking about starting taking green coffee bean supplements and/or raspberry keytones. Both help with burning maximum fat which I definitely need! Both are quite affordable at the drugstore so I'll make sure to take a look at those soon. Have any of you tried either of them? My boyfriend and I also got some samples of fat burning pills at a supplement store. What we have are samples so at most, I'll try each pill for a day. We'll see how that goes.

Breakfast of champions! ;) Corn Pops with almond milk.

Lunch is served! Veggies and protein. LOVES IT!

My snack before work! Hard boiled egg, half a banana and a peanut butter and banana smoothie (ice, almond milk, half a banana and a teaspoon peanut butter). 

Had two sips of this and I was done. This was way too salty for me!

A classic, turkey and avocado sandwich from Demitri's in Alameda.

I just HAD TO! I always need some crunch with my sandwiches.

And if you're wondering, I do take protein powder shakes before and after my workouts. I'm also considering taking pre-workouts for the days where I weight train. I also take my daily dose of vitamins (cranberry, biotin, fish oil omega-3 and calcium)!

I Love Colorful Vegetables!

Today was definitely NOT the best day for me. What I thought was allergies this weekend, I think has unfortunately turned into somewhat of a cold. I woke up feeling extremely groggy and ended up sleeping in until almost 11:00am. My throat is pretty sore, my allergies are off the chain, my nose is stuffy and I just feel generally sick overall. So, I decided to take a DayQuil which I'm not sure helped. I also decided to take a 12 hour decongestant to help my sinuses, which worked for about an hour.

Of course, I decided to be a trooper and worked my five hour shift today. The last time I did this, I woke up the next day feeling even worse which made me call out of work. I'm hoping this doesn't happen to me again.. I can't afford to miss more days of work!

I know some people say to go workout and break a sweat; it'll help me sweat the sickness out. But I definitely feel there's a fine line. If you feel like you're weak and the cold is starting to get the best of you, I don't even try to go near a gym. I know my body, and I know when I'll be ready to get back into my routine. Of course, it's such a disappointment that I'm not working out at the gym (I always feel so productive when I'm working out!), but I need to remember to take care of myself first.

My 11:00am breakfast; cheese bagel with lowfat cream cheese.

Breakfast was accompanied by half an avocado with some lemon juice.

Chicken breast, half of an avocado and veggies (zucchini, bell peppers and mushrooms) all drizzled with some lemon juice.

My sweet snack: A super soft, moist Madeline cookie. :)

Dinner is served! I finished half of the chicken, half of the macaroni and maybe two spoonfuls of rice. Saved the rest for later.

I didn't drink any kind of soda or juices today. Strictly just water and some tea. I definitely need to get better ASAP!

Not a Great Start...

I promised myself I would photograph everything I eat, whether or not it's a cheat meal, or a healthy day. Well, the boyfriend and I went out to eat and I'm not proud that a sushi buffet was technically our first meal of the day, but it was delicious! This means I have to work extra hard this week.

One thing I hate feeling is being super full after a meal to the point where I can't move, or breathe! I've never felt so full like I did this after our outing at Tomi Sushi Buffet. It's been quite a long time since I've eaten like that. When I do feel that full, it reminds me how much I never want to eat like that again.

I woke up with a sore throat and some allergies; I hope it's because my boyfriend keeps his ceiling fan on and his window open at night when we sleep.

My only plate at Tomi Sushi Buffet in Concord, CA. Sake Salmon sashimi is my favorite.

One bowl of hot & sour soup (my favorite!)

As bad as it is, I can't go to a buffet without going to the dessert table. Green tea ice cream, flakey cracker with buttercream frosting, chocolate mousse, green tea mousse.

My favorite carbonated drink at Lucky's. Zero calories, zero grams of sugar.

My boyfriend and I finished a pack of seaweed. It's a great crunchy snack without being too salty. 

Tried an instant mix of Thai Iced tea.

Our take at homemade, Japanese style Ramen. Poached egg, chicken, green onions, corn, green beans, and of course, Ramen noodles.

Who remembers these jellies?! Ended my meal with three of these.

I'm not afraid to admit that today wasn't the healthiest day at all; I only ate two times during the day (when you're supposed to eat between four and six times) and I had a ton of sweets. Slowly but surely, I'll be making progress. :)

New Approach

Five months ago I decided to finally make a change to my lifestyle and eating habits. I've had my phases of being all about working out and staying fit. January 2012 to April 2012 was the last time I've been consistent with the gym. I went to Las Vegas that April 2012 and after that, it all went downhill from there. I've visited the gym every so often after that, but I was never consistent. Like I said, it was more of a "phase" that I thought would stay with me for the long run.

It wasn't until after Thanksgiving of 2012 that I got tired of what I saw in the mirror. I was so bloated from eating anything I wanted (trust me, sucking in your tummy works wonders, which is why people don't believe me when I say I have a five month old food baby in my tummy). I hated looking like I was expecting a baby, I was tired of seeing those love handles pooch over my pants; it's NOT CUTE!

I've been very consistent about going to the gym ever since the beginning of December 2012. I try to workout between four and six times a week. For the longest time, all I've done was cardio (elliptical trainer, Stairmaster, treadmill), but it wasn't until one gym session with my boyfriend that I opened the doors to the weights and weight machines. I do the basic weight machines; the bicep curls, rowing, etc. It wasn't until I started doing these weight machines that my goals shifted to another direction.

After following so many fitness users on Instagram, I realized that strong is so sexy. Yes, I've gained about fifteen pounds from what I once was and I'm definitely trying to get back to the weight I was before. But I feel like toned legs, toned arms and a toned stomach is so much more sexier than being skinny. Forget being skinny! I want to be strong! Every other day, I spend about 40 minutes doing weight training and working on my abs, and only 20 minutes working on cardio. The other days I just do straight cardio for a whole hour. I do a combination of the Stairmaster, elliptical trainer and the treadmill.

Along with working out, my boyfriend introduced me to protein powders which I feel is helping me reach my weight loss goals! I've only lost two pounds according to the scale, but it's okay; muscle weighs more than fat!

I'm already starting to see a difference, especially in my legs and stomach. My tummy is NOWHERE near where I want it to me; my food baby has just shrunken down from five months to three months. :) I can't wait to post all of my progress shots on this itty bitty blog of mine.

Something new I want to try is to keep track of my food intake. I got a really great idea from a YouTube user I watch occasionally. She recommends to take pictures of everything you eat and drink (whether it's healthy or not!). This way, you can visually see what you are putting into your body instead of writing it down. This is definitely something I am going to try to post here, so watch for that! I'll admit, I've watched my eating habits, but I haven't gone cold turkey. I still have cheat meals (more often than I should), and I'm not TOO strict on everything. I'm not an avid health nut and not everything I eat is organic or 100% healthy. But I'm okay with that. I'm making progress slowly but surely, and I know I'll reach my goals. :)

My next project: the 30 Day Squat Challenge! Can't wait to say I can do 250 squats! Toned booty here I come!