5 Reasons to be Active in the Morning

I did it, y'all. I have become a morning person. I'm not going to lie, it was tough at first. I slept through alarms and hit snooze a dozen times before I finally got it right. But then, I got addicted to how much better it made me feel throughout the day and have come to crave the routine.

There are TONS and TONS of reasons to be active in the morning (and be active in general)--here are a few of my favorites:

1. You'll have more energy throughout the day. 

I know, it sounds counterproductive. The longer you're awake the more tired you are, right? WRONG. Being active in the morning, whether for 15 minutes or an hour, gets your metabolism going. I gave up coffee a few months ago and was only sometimes struggling with being SO TIRED during the afternoon. Since I start incorporating morning walks (with and without my fur child), I've been able to make it through the afternoon without wanting to take a nap.

2. The quietness.

I've been getting up at 6:15 AM almost every morning (which is an ENTIRE hour earlier than I'm used to) and I'm still amazed at how still everything is outside. Getting up early allows you a chance to get a jump on the day when your phone isn't blowing up with emails, texts, and social media notifications.

3. More time in the day.

Getting up an hour earlier actually makes more hours in the day. Technically not. But more "working" hours during the day counts for something. If I can work out in the morning, it's one less thing I have to do during the day or after work. 

4. You'll feel better (see #1).

And not just your metabolism. Being able to clear your mind with a walk/run or whatever kind of activity you prefer is the best feeling. Working out gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people aren't stressed and love life more.

5. You'll be closer to your step goal.

Sorry not sorry that I'm obsessed with hitting my 10k step goal everyday. Getting up early and going for a walk allows me to get a leg up on my goal. My job requires a lot of sitting, so the more steps I can get before work hours, the better!

Are you active in the morning? Or do you prefer working out in the evenings?

Work(out) in Progress

My favorite thing about Mondays is the workout class I attend. It's really hard to love a Monday, but knowing I have Fit Camp's Blacklight Hip Hop class after work, helps me get through the grueling work day--WITHOUT coffee!

Confession: I'm a very awkward person and even more awkward when I try to "booty dance." You don't want to see me try to Whip and Nae Nae. Thus, I am proof that you don't have to be a great dancer or even in great shape to dance--Sidenote: It's way better and way more fun than Zumba! The lights are out which helps and it doesn't seem like you're actually working out. According to my FitBit I walk/dance at least 6000 steps in one class.

Also, I'm literally obsessed with my Fitbit. I like watching the numbers go up throughout the day--even if it's the hardest thing in the world to reach my goals! P.S. I hit my step goal AND my active minutes goal yesterday!

It's basically October and I've set some new fitness goals for the new month. Fall/Winter are the hardest times, for me, to stick with fitness goals. It's not "bikini season" anymore so what's the point, right? Wrong.

My goals mainly include being more consistent with my workout schedule and with what I eat. One day I'll eat nothing but salad and the next day eat three cheeseburgers, a cake, and some tacos. Seriously. I'm all about moderation, but this my friends, is not moderation. 

In order to get more motivated and stay on track, I will continue to wear my FitBit every single day (morning, noon, and night) and jam out to what I labeled "Skinnyminny" playlist (on my phone). Fingers crossed I can stick with my goals this time around. Here's what I'm listening to:

Shop my workout gear below! 

What motivates you? Songs? New workout clothes? Let me know in the comments!

Photography: Captivating Moments Photography

It's not your sticky socks, it's YOU.

This is a follow up post from my thoughts as a Pure Barre first timer.

P.S. I just took 15 Pure Barre classes in 15 days. See what I learned here!

On Monday, I took a breaking down the barre class. In the hour and fifteen minute class, the instructor broke down almost all of the movements that we do in an average pure barre class--and even some I have yet to experience! Oh boy. And most importantly kept us laughing the whole time. It's like I didn't even know I was learning.

Overall, it was a very helpful class and it was good to see that other beginners (and even veterans) struggled with the same moves I did. Also a huge take away was that it's not that my sticky socks don't work, it's that I'm doing it wrong and I'm not strong enough yet. So there's that. But, I'm not alone! Hooray!

A reoccurring theme, is that I clearly have no upper body strength or abs. None whatsoever. I think I semi established it in the previous post, but on Monday night, it was confirmed. I can barely support myself in a push-up and the abs, well, they are laying dormant under years of flab. I can really only go up from here.

Everything I learned from the breaking down the barre class, I applied to last night's barre class and this morning's and what do you know..it was both harder and easier. Easier because I now know where my leg was supposed to be, but harder because I struggled to hold it there for any substantial period of time. Baby steps right? 

I was able to push myself a little harder and tried to embrace the shake instead of coming out of the pose. Like I said, way harder, but I'm getting better! Plus there are pregnant ladies who take this class. Like if they can hold it with another human inside of them, then my little wimpy self can too.

Regardless, I still think my favorite part of class will forever be stretching. You can't be bad at stretching. Middle split here I come! 

If you are a barre goer, go to this class--because I said so. But for real, I might even go to another one! 

Shop my favorite Pure Barre friendly workout clothes below!

What To Do: When work makes you FAT

I know that "fat" is a touchy subject and that everyone is beautiful in their own way. I, however, am feeling the FAT effects not just physically. By having a horrible diet and not exercising, I've been depressed and unhappy and gaining weight. So I've decided to do what's right for my body and emotional health.

It's no secret that once you start working (or really anything new--they don't call it the Freshman 15 for nothing), your schedule is completely thrown out of whack. It can be hard to juggle work, working out, eating right, and not feeling completely exhausted (or hungry) at the end of the day. After a year, I'm STILL working on it!

I work for a catering and events company. At all times during the day, I am surrounded by food. There are tastings, the fact that my desk is literally right next to the kitchen, and menus of mouth watering food to be typed up and customized. It's so so so hard to not eat everything the kitchen says is up for grabs or taste every cake at the bridal show. So hard, that I don't actually EVER say no. Throw in the booze and goodbye skinny minny, hello cellulite.

It's amazing that I don't weigh 3,000 pounds. I have, however, put on a meaningful, unwanted 5-6 pounds since I graduated college. It's not cute. Maybe it's because I'm getting older (boo), but the weight is settling in all of the most horrible places.

The following tips are not relatively new ideas, but sometimes we (read I) need a refresher course on how to stay healthy.

1. Make a plan. I LOVE my Erin Condren planner. I use it to plan my workouts and meals. I'm addicted to stickers and colorful pens, so that helps!

2. Have someone hold you accountable. I'm lucky to have Joshua keep me on track and "be the mean guy" when I want a brownie 2 hours into my diet lifestyle change? It's helpful to have someone support your goals and encourage you to reach them.

3. Don't drink your calories. i.e. Drink water not soda. This is so hard for me. I LOVE juice. I could drink CranApple juice for every meal and snack and every minute in between. Water is so boring and when you have to FORCE yourself to gulp it down--it makes it even worse. So, jazz it up by adding fresh fruit or mint leaves. My favorite water add on is Lemon. It's so refreshing!

4. Mix it up. When it comes to meal planning AND exercise. I get so extremely bored when I do the SAME thing over and over and eat the same thing over and over (unless it was cake).

5. Exercise! My workout routine looks something like this: Jillian Michael's DVD one day, run the next day, take Laney for a nice long walk, REPEAT. After a week or two, I'll add something new like swim or go to the gym and take a class.

6. Stick with it. Progress doesn't happen over night. I'm the worst at this--I have no patience. If I haven't lost 5 pounds in the first 2 hours, I'm NEVER going to lose it and think I should just quit. So dramatic, I know. But it took more than a day or even a week to put on the weight, so it's going to take awhile for it to come off. Keep at it!

7. Eat your fruits and veggies. Or, if you are picky like me, take a multivitamin at the very least. You have to make a deliberate effort to get the fruits and veggies in. Most likely you aren't going to want to chow down on some cauliflower when you get home from a stressful day at work (if you do, can I be you?). Meal planning along will help you get those fruits and veggies in and again, stick with it!

8. Track it! There are so many apps that you can use to track your goals and success! MyFitnessPal is great for tracking calories and showing you the breakdown of carbs vs. protein vs. fat you've had in a day. RunKeeper can help keep you motivated when you run and even map where you've been!



Don't let your work schedule dictate the rest of your life. Some things you can't control, but control the things that you can. You can do it--because I said so!

30 Day Challenge

I'm all about challenges to better myself. Whether it's the challenge to drink more water, or be kinder, or wake up 30 mins earlier every day for a month (that's what the challenge is this month), I'm there. I usually have more than one that I'm working on simultaneously! I follow theeverygirl.com religiously and LOVE all of the posts/ideas. This month they have a thirty day challenge to wake up 30 minutes earlier than you usually do, to do well...whatever it is you want to do. Some people use the thirty minutes to play with their pups, make amazing breakfasts, or workout. It's fun to search the hashtag #teg30daychallenge on Instagram to see what everyone is up to!

I didn't actually work out if there's not a picture to prove it right?

After missing the first two days of the challenge (oops) I decided to tackle it today. I almost didn't make it. It is so hard to get up even earlier than usual when I know I still have to put in eight hours at work. And it's not like I was just relaxing. No. I was sweating my butt off trying to run a mile. But, I made it. 
Currently, I'm very proud of myself for dragging my lazy butt out of bed and accomplishing a mile before work AND before it rained. Talk about perfect timing. However, that pride is mixed with the feeling of ohmygoshimsotired. 
Keeping my eyes open at work is going to be the next 30 day challenge!

Everyday Life

I've been a little absent lately because I just can't seem to find anything exciting to write about.
You know, like "Ten reasons to do this" or "The time I..." or "Look at my awesome outfit."

Seriously, it's just been a normal, ordinary, somewhat boring week. Cue the music--workin' 9-5 what a way to make a livin'. Barely gettin' by....(seriously, especially if my Lilly obsession doesn't simmer down) Dolly Parton knows me so well.

I've been getting back on the healthy train--WOO WOO! Operation "skinny minny/Josh wants to buy a boat/it's almost summer" has commenced once again and THIS time I mean it. For real. It's honestly been taking up most of my time/thought capacity. Planning meals and actually cooking is hard work compared to ordering take out every night (not that I used to do that).

See I ate a salad this week, so you know I'm serious--

Progress.

I even crossed off "run a mile without stopping" from my future goals list. So I guess this week hasn't been a complete wash.

Between eating healthy, going to the gym (most everyday), training the puppy-child to sleep in her own bed, and trying to keep the house clean (housewives everywhere I applaud you) the week has flown by. And I'm exhausted. Can I eat fattening food yet?

Update on the puppy-child training: She is doing great. Other than the occasional whining to try to get on my bed, she's been sleeping in her own bed! Y'all this is a HUGE deal. At three years old, I thought it would be way harder to train her. But so far I have no more doggies sleeping in the bed!

Last night, I did get to do something out of the normal routine I've developed. I got to go observe/take pictures of an event at my company's newest venue. 

It was B-E-A utiful! 

Fancy fancy.

I think I'm obsessed with place settings. It just looks so elegant...and one day I will invited to one of these fancy events not working it!

Because I said so of course.

Is it Summer Yet?

Have you ever had a piece of clothing bring you luck, inspiration/motivation, happiness?

Some people have lucky socks or underwear.

 I have a shirt that motivates and inspires me (normal right?).

Inspiration (this week) comes to me in the form of my
Valentine's present: my Lululemon shirt!

Isn't it beautiful?

Note: I'm not a fashion blogger--so I have no idea how to stage clothes to make them look good while just laying on the bed. Give me a piece of furniture to stage and I got that covered--clothes, not so much. 

Something about me finally owning something Lululemon it being almost summer/boat season, has me motivated to get in the best shape of my life. 

I mean, if not now, then when? 

Plus a brand new workout shirt helps too.

Currently, I've been the gym twice this week and did something other than walk on the treadmill--like I usually do. 

Now, I can't move my arms or legs without lots of pain. 

Soo..that's how that's going. 

Summer body...I'm coming for you. As soon as I can move...