Back again, I must be Insane in the Membrane

Hello world,
I'm back and ready to move forward. As you may have noticed I have been MIA for the past 3 weeks or so. To be honest, everything that I said I would like to avoid getting in the way, got in the way. Commitments, lack of sleep, energy, and quite frankly time, were all factors in my lack of exercise and healthy food choices for the past few weeks. However, with everything calming down I should be able to re-enter the world of health and fitness, and give you all the posts you have been anxiously awaiting. To my surprise, although I have been a horrible example of how to lose weight, I have done just that. If anyone has a logical explanation as to why this happens, please let me know, because somehow I have managed to lose about 2.5 lb. without any effort from my part. I have mixed emotions about this because it seems like the more I try to lose weight the less I actually do, and vice-versa. Should I just be happy that there is some progress? Or should this be a lesson about not paying attention to the lb. and more to just having a healthy lifestyle?

Again moving forward, and without further ado, let me present you with this weeks exercise, it will surely drive me insane, Insanity. Although I have done it before, I will actually follow the videos in order and not by preference. For those of you who do not know what I am talking about, Insanity is an at home workout set for 60 days of intense cardio, plyometrics, and a whole bunch of "fun" workouts. It is led by fitness guru Sean T, and is a series by the company Beachbody, that has many resources for their participants. The exercises vary by level and duration, and it allows you to track your progress as you have to take a fitness test during the first video, which is also revisited throughout the series. I've never actually kept track of my progress, but for you all, I'll do just that. To  see actual results I will be doing Insanity for two weeks, which is the entire video collection, instead of one.

For this post I'll leave you without a song lyric as quite frankly I am not excited for the next two weeks. Wish me luck!!

Review Bicycle Week

Cycling is fun and really helped me be alone with my thoughts. It took a while to get used to the small seat as I used a road bike for my endeavor. Once the pain subsides, you actually start to enjoy the ride. The fresh air blowing in my face, made it so much better. I felt really accomplished as well, cause with a bike you can do two, to three times as much with less effort. When I walk/run I am lucky if I can do 2-3 miles, however when I use the bike I do 8-10 miles in the same amount of time.

Mama Chia I'm a Bicycle Queen in Training

So I almost gave up before I even started, the sweet comfort of my sheets in a cold dark room were begging me to stay in all day, but after 45 min. of stalling, I got up and got ready. The entire pedal of the way I was sure I would turn back home, but I made it. In an hour I was able to complete 8 miles and according to my Fitbit app, burn 244 calories. When they said slow and steady wins the race, I definitely felt like a winner after my ride. I was able to get over that ever-present lazy feeling that likes to take over and officially start my journey. At the end of the week I'll give you my full thoughts and effects of 1 week of cycling. My starting weight this week was an ugly 170 lbs, we'll see where I end up in a week. 

Today I stopped by Sprouts to do a little a shopping and decided to try the Mama Chia juices and give you all a little review. Let me just say it such a great alternative to soda. They have different flavors of juices that are mixed with chia seeds. Don't ask me about what the benefits are because I wouldn't know. It does however seem like a healthy choice. I will say that chia seeds are high in Omega-3s which I'm sure is good for us, and the flavors are all some type of sweet fruit. I will say the only downside to buying this juice is the price tag, each one is a little more than $3, which is pretty steep if you ask me. It is however worth it if you want to fork out the money every time. I recommend these 100%!!!

As I continue this week I hope you'll join me in singing along to Queen's Bicycle Race...

"I want to ride my bicycle

I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride it where I like"

"The Rest is Still Unwritten"

To preface this blog, I would like to start by stating that I have never written a blog before, and despite being a Mass Comm. major, I hate writing and grammar. There is something about sitting down to type that really sends me into a world full of distractions, and to be honest I'm really not that good at it, but for the sake of my grade, and the sake of committing to a project like this, I would like to attempt weekly posts, and possibly even alternating days in which I update you about the events of the week.

I won't start at the beginning, but I'll start at the point in which I realized I was 19 years old and rapidly gaining weight. Throughout my teenage life, the constant struggle with weight and living an unhealthy lifestyle was a thought I had almost 30 times a day. I've tried what seems like over 100 different ways to try and lose weight. I've even gone as far as going to a nutritionist with hopes of stopping this weight gain at a relatively early age. Each attempt has ended in failure, and I know it isn't anyone else's fault but myself, but I like most people love to make excuses, and turn blame on everyone, and everything that doesn't point towards me. Now I am 20 and 55 pounds overweight, based on my short stature (5'0), I am actually considered obese, and have had a multitude of back problems as a result. At such a young age, I look to my future and know I don't want that kind of lifestyle. In a society that struggles to stay fit, being fat is a trend that I don't want to have to accept. This isn't for vanity purposes, but I simply cannot accept being unhealthy, and struggling with unnecessary health issues. My most recent attempt to lose weight has been my most successful to date, I ate relatively healthy and worked out twice a day, for two months, and lost a grand total of 5 lbs. Of course, I was hit with vacation, and returned to my usual habits (and weight), and to be honest it has been really difficult to get back to this routine. I am currently only walking about 3 times a week, and eating healthy has been #100 on my list of priorities. My usual routine starts at 5 a.m. when my first of 30 alarms goes off, I actually don't wake up till about 7 when I determine whether or not I work out that day. Then the rest of my day follows, in which I skip breakfast eat some sort of fast lunch, sit for about 7 hours in classrooms, then at about 6ish I'll eat dinner, then a snack, and then do whatever needs to be done, then bed at around 12 if I am lucky. Of course this varies based on whether or not I have extracurriculars, and work.

So before I bore you further, I'll let you know what this blog is really about. Every week I will try a different form of exercise, in hopes of staying interested in working out, such activities include, but are not limited to, running,yoga, Zumba, Insanity, cycling, cross fit, and any other suggestions. If possible I will do the exercise for a maximum of 7 days, and a minimum of 4 days. I will try to be as honest as possible with my experiance, in hopes of being honest with myself and you the reader. With my new job, (Sprouts Farmers Market), I will also document my attempt at healthy eating, with meals, snacks, beverages, and an overall realistic meal plan. At the end of this, course will I be successful, in all hopes yes. Success isn't just about the lbs. but an overall healthier outlook, that is still realistic in a busy lifestyle.

This week I will start with cycling, and as the once famous Natasha Bedingfield, once said
"Live your life with arms wide open, today is where your book begins, the rest is still unwritten"