Start up and suggestions for life.

Well good people, I am back. I'm sure you're just thrilled :) I'm starting up again after a rough quarter of school. For those who wish to remain sane, never take a research writing class, political science and two lab science classes at the same time. 

This post is just going to be an eclectic gathering of ideas I've had this week. They both are about health (obviously), but are otherwise unrelated.

Idea #1: find a buddy. I know I've touched on it before, but a buddy is good for motivation. People do better when their actions are being monitored by someone else. Your buddy doesn't even need to workout with you. To be honest, I really hate working out with a partner. I call it "I do what I want when I feel like it". Others call it stubborn. I just am not affected by being yelled at or cheered on. For the most part I'm in my own little bubble when I work out. It's ok if you are too. My version of a buddy is my mom saying "you know... that's your second brownie today. Cool it sister." It keeps me honest.

Idea #2: spaghetti squash. This miraculous gourd is quite possibly the best vegetable out there. It looks like angel hair pasta and tastes like pasta. It is also much better for you than pasta. Some people can do the whole wheat noodle thing. Not me. They are an abomination to the word noodle. Spaghetti squash is amazing because you cut it in half, bake it  flesh side down for 40 minutes with a little olive oil and salt, then you can slather it in marinara sauce and it tastes exactly like spaghetti (the good kind). 

Sweet stuff

Sugar. It's what makes food amazing. For last weeks challenge I didn't eat added sugar all week. It. Was. Hard. And let me tell you, unsweetened peanut butter? It's gross. But I did it. And guess what? I survived.

I'm not in anyway implying you have to give up sugar for the rest of forever. It's delicious and those who don't eat it are just sad. I know I could never give up ice cream. I am proposing two things. 

1. Give up most of your added sugar. Normal peanut butter? No. Unless you're deathly allergic or something. An apple instead of that candy bar? Absolutely. Trust me, you will feel a million times better, and you will be getting the most out of the food you eat. No more empty calories.

2. Take one cheat meal a week. No, not a whole day. One meal. This I picked up from one of my moms handy little books by Bob (the guy from the biggest loser). I know my biggest problem is I have a rough day and go on an eating rampage, only to realize I shot my good diet and then give up on it all together. A treat every now and then is not the end of the world.

I wish you luck in your eating endeavors good people of the internet. Hopefully the next few posts will focus on some recipes that I have tried that are delicious and yet good for you :) If you are craving something sweet, here are a few alternatives that are in season or coming up:

Weekly challenge #2

Well guys it's that time again. For this weeks challenge, you have to:

Eat vegetables with at least 2 meals a day.

Let me tell you why. 

1) vegetables contain a lot of vital nutrients for bodily functions such as iron, various vitamins, and antioxidants. 

2) they contain protein without all the fat content. When you are eating protein from animals (milk and meat primarily) or nuts, there is a high protein content, but also a very high fat content. Percentage wise, we want more protein than fat in our diets. Vegetables are a good way to get this. You can get protein from beans, tofu and spinach. 

3) they have the same nutrients as fruit, but without all the sugar. Fruit is good for you and you need to eat it too, but it is very high in natural sugars. To get the some of the same vitamins, you should consider switching to vegetables.  

Good luck this week my internet friends!

Weekly challenge #1

Hello people of social media :) after one week of success in this challenge thingamajig I thought I would report to you the first weekly challenge, and well challenge you to participate with me! Here it is:

Stop eating three hours before bed. (Go to bed at 10 stop eating at 7)

Now this challenge is actually really good for you. Why you might ask? Well here's two reasons.

#1. Stopping eating at least an hour before bed helps you sleep better! If you are consuming food, then while you are sleeping your body has to digest it, which doesn't allow you as deep of sleep. Also, a rush of energy into your system keeps you from falling asleep. 

#2. A lot of people are tempted by the midnight snack. I know I am. I tend to consume more junk food while watching a movie before bed or playing games etc. distracted munching is bad, and so is junk food snacking. If you stop eating before these things happen, you won't be tempted to eat unhealthy things. 

There you have it lovely people. Good luck on you challenge this week. I triple dog dare you to do it ;)

Life updates. New challenges. Goals for later.

Hello lovely people! It's been a while but I've got a lot of news. 

#1. I am starting a new competition that my dear mommy is putting on. It's called Bennett's belly busters (fitting because that is my biggest problem). It's technically weight loss, but honestly to lose some fat you gotta lose some pounds too. Basically it's a 15 week challenge, and it's motivation that I currently lack.

#2. For those who are interested, I will be sharing the weekly challenge that comes with the competition. I think it's a great idea for anyone who just wants to try some new healthy ideas. Feel free to participate and keep me updated on your progress! 

#3. Another thing that is working really well for me in the eating right department is to brush my teeth about an hour after dinner. I am very lazy, and brushing my teeth helps me not eat a ton of snack at night because I don't want to re-brush them. All my junk tends to be packed into the after dinner/midnight snack department. This prevents me from eating so much unnessisary food. 

#4.To get me into shape for the thing, I am starting Insanity back up. It's an exercise program that's well, insane. It utilizes what's called interval training, which is actually a great way to get into shape and work on your cardio. Here's a great infographic on interval training, and good luck lovelies! 

What this is all about.

THIS IS NOT A THIGH GAP BLOG. I'm not here to tell you how to conform to unattainable and frankly unhealthy standards of beauty. If that's what you want, check out now. I'm here for me. I want to feel better about myself. Not my looks, but how I feel inside. I am sick of feeling sluggish and lazy and tired all the time. And if that means that I change on the outside too, then that's great. I would post to this blog if it was only myself reading it, and if I happen to motivate others while I do it, that's fantastic.
 You might think that I'm just a skinny girl who doesn't need to lose any weight. Thing number two about this blog. THIS IS NOT A WEIGHT LOSS BLOG. This is a blog about healthy lifestyle choices. I am a typical teenager. I eat like crap and I watch a lot of TV. I am trying to change my lifestyle and I hope you choose to as well. I hope to post cool links, yummy food and exercises that don't make me want to pull my hair out and cry in pain!

Last thing about my blog. I am ridiculously bad at keeping up with journaling type things, so I apologize in advance for bad posting  habits ;)

              I'm the one on the left :)

New goals for this school year

So guys, I'm coming up on my senior year of high school. Fast. That means new hair, new clothes and for me, I've decided to get in shape. I'm not fat, but I realized after sucking wind hiking up the same hill everyday at summer camp while everyone else basically sprinted up it (mind you they are crazy), I needed to start exercising regularly.

So I'm doing it! The new me will not just be a lazy couch potato eating cold pizza while her family is on vacation. 

Technically I started my goal yesterday with a little "interval training". I run with music. If I don't I die inside and get so bored I start doing math in my head. You always see those couch to 5k running plans, which are really good for me. But I don't carry a stop watch with me when I run. So I decided something. I was going to run for the whole song, then take 30 seconds at the beginning of the next song to walk. It worked! The intervals are different sizes, but it gave me the discipline to actually run most of the time instead of only when I saw people (seriously that's true and it's sad). Eventually I'll increase the distance bit by bit and then start shortening the walking sections. Hopefully at some point ill be able to run the whole time and not stop to walk on this giant hill in my neighborhood. If you are a beginning runner like myself, here's a really good training plan to get you back on track that I found on lovely ol' Pinterest.

Healthy eating is also on the agenda for my new life. I've been drinking more water which is really good, but the leftover pizza calls to me. I don't think I could ever totally give up junk food, but I'm going to start back up on my two non-healthy things a day. I've gotten pretty bad over the summer. I think last week I had a frosty from Wendy's and a bowl of ice cream every day. Plus snacks. 

I do better with motivation, so if anyone wants to join me on my quest to be fit I would love it! For awhile this will probably be updates on my goals and a few cool things I may learn in various health classes I'm taking this year for my degree. Bear with me as I get going again! I took a vacation hiatus but I should be posting a lot more frequently as school starts up again. Here's to senior year!

Smoothies. The ambrosia of life.

Because it has been so very hot lately, I would like to address a healthy and delicious alternative to ice cream.  They are also a good breakfast for those (like me) who are not a big food eater in the morning. SMOOTHIES.
They are delicious. They are fruity. And they can be healthy if you do them right!
Fruit is a good source of carbohydrates, natural sugars, and vitamins, and when combined with ice and some milk, they are pretty tasty too.
This handy guide that I got off Pinterest highlights some of the things you can put in smoothies to make them both good and healthy.

I am a fan of adding strawberries to pretty much anything, frozen or fresh they are probably my favorite fruit. Here is my favorite smoothie recipe:
usually makes about 2-3 servings
1 cup frozen (or fresh) strawberries. If you use them fresh you will have to add ice.
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1/2 cup milk OR water
1 banana
1 tbsp. of orange juice concentrate OR 1/2 cup fresh squeezed oranges (in the late summer they aren't in season so that is why I use orange juice concentrate)
*optional* 1/2 cup spinach.  I like to add spinach because you can't taste it but its packed with vitamins, iron, proteins and omega 3 fatty acids (which are good)! However it does turn your smoothie green :)

Smoothies are pretty hard to mess up, so go ahead and add whatever you like. You can include protein powder to make them more filling as well, but go out and enjoy a delicious and healthy smoothie.

Exercise... Fun or foul?

A lot of people often look on exercise with a sense of dread and downright hatred. I know I usually do. But it doesn't have to be horrible! 

I know you must be thinking I am crazy for even suggesting that exercise can be fun. But it can. 

As my wise father told me the other day... "All you have to do is move." Obviously the worst way to get in shape is to sit in the couch eating popcorn and binge watching netflix. But any kind of activity can count as exercise. 

Mowing the lawn? Counts. Playing high intensity ping pong? You betcha! 

Find something that you like to do and get moving! Whether it's hiking, dancing or swimming, there is something out there for you. 

I happen to enjoy water activities. I got into an all out splash war with my cousins a few days ago, and I tell you I felt it in my arms. Swimming, kayaking, throwing your squealing cousins into the lake repeatedly because they love it.... All up my alley, and all can count towards exercise.

Incorporate regular activities into your exercise routine. If you spend a lot of time walking (to work, chasing kids, doing chores etc) don't feel like you have to exercise on top of that every day. Just pick up the pace a bit and it can count as an aerobic activity for the day. 

Good luck with your exercise! If you have any suggestions for ways to incorporate exercise Into daily activities I would love to hear them!

Let's talk about water.

 WATER! Water water water! It's good for you. I hate drinking it but I need to, as I'm always dehydrated. Plus it helps with a million other things besides preventing headaches. Which is pretty helpful for me The headache queen. 

If you're like me, you struggle with constantly drinking water. So I have to get creative with finding ways to consume it. You can flavor your water with fruit, drink fresh juice or... You can eat it! Here is a nice little picture that shows you some water rich foods to help with hydration. 

Something I've decided to try

I've been trying something new for the past few days. I call it "think before you snack". Recently I've decided I can't cut out junk completely. After all, I work at a Fro Yo place. I graze at the toppings constantly; I also lack major self control when it comes to food. So I'm trying something new. I am trying to limit myself to 2 junkish foods a day. Take today for example. I had some BBQ chips for lunch and a small bowl of yogurt at work. 

Some people may be able to cut out junk food completely. I envy you and your self control. 

I found this article that I think really helps out in the eating "empty calories" department. It's worth a read. Basically what it says is you can some empty calories a day, but not a lot. And if you exercise more, you can eat more junk and it won't matter. Hurrah for exercise!

http://www.livestrong.com/article/479487-is-junk-food-ok-in-moderation/#page=1