Kick Butt!!

Today is two months without a cigarette for me! My dear friend Brad sent me these in honor of the occasion. So excited for the next boxing class!!!

Lift Your Spirits!

Sometimes, we all need a little inspiration, a little motivation, a litte help. I need this a lot! Over the past few weeks I've been collecting a lot of quotes, reading a variety of articles, and smiling at many pictures that give me hope and motivation and inspiration and the desire to be better, and sometimes just make me happy. Cheesy? Okay, maybe, but whatever works! Here's some of my favorites--hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

"What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality."
-Plutarch

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit."
-Aristotle

"The world is all gates, all opportunities."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Salty Dog

I just read this great article in my Cooking Light magazine, all about salt! While I have this really bad habit of focusing on the negative, I have lately (okay, for like 3 days..) been trying to focus on things I've done RIGHT! And one of those things is that for 6 weeks now I have totally laid off the extra salt--haven't added any to my food! A big deal for me, a gal who was always pretty liberal with the salt shaker.

This article de-bunked some salt myths and talked a bit about the pros and cons of added salt--check it out if you want! One of the things I found most interesting was the part about whether rinsing canned beans helped lower sodium levels or not. The answer? YES! In fact, the beans they tested lost 40% of their sodium when rinsed. WHOA. Never not rinsing again!!

The Truth About Salt In Your Food

Salad party!

The good news about this program? I am now craving salad everyday!!! And like HARDCORE craving it. Currently really into mixing it up by adding shredded cabbage and fresh basil!

Burn It.

Okay, so, for the most part, I LOVE working out, especially when I go to bootcamp classes--they keep me motivated and are always switching things up so I don't get bored. But sometimes, exercising can be a struggle--I'm tired, I don't feel good, my feet hurt, I don't want to drive to the gym, it's so freakin' early, oh, you know all the excuses.

I think I play this trick on myself where I feel like I HAVE to be at the gym or in a class to be getting a good workout or ditching any of those unwanted calories. FALSE! Recently, I've discovered the joys (yeah, "joy" is pushing it..) of running outdoors, but there are so many other things one can do to burn calories, too!  I started brainstorming this afternoon, thinking about both ways to get a good workout without a gym membership, and also just ways to burn a few extra calories each day, and here's a little list I've compiled, entitled:

OLIVIA'S LIL LIST OF WAYS TO BURN CALORIES WITHOUT EVEN REALIZING YOU'RE WORKING OUT, WHICH IS AWESOME:

1. Dance! Put on some great music and get weird in your living room. I prefer to do this when I am home alone, and just hope and pray the neighbors don't complain about how loudly Whitney Houston is playing.
2. Take the stairs as much as you can. I live on the fourth floor, and it is so much easier to just hop in the elevator, but I try to fight it! Even if I've got two bags to carry, it is manageable!
3. Exercise while watching TV! I like to keep my eight pound free weights handy and do things such as bicep curls while I am watching a show. Or, if you have actual television and not just the Internet like me, do crunches during the commercials! Try it! It takes nothing away from the entertainment--in fact, I like doing this because it makes me forget I'm getting a workout!
4. Walk your dog! Run with your dog! Play with your dog! Or, if you don't have a dog, borrow a friend's! Or go volunteer at a shelter and play with those doggies!
5. See how quickly you can clean the house--and scrub those floors on your hands and knees! I live in a studio, but am surprised how dirty it can get! A good, thorough clean always makes me break a sweat.
6. Challenge some friends to a game of bowling! Yes--it's a sport! It's so funny, but the last time I went bowling, we played two games in a row, and the next day my arm was sore from lobbing that weighted ball!
7. Take a hike! Grab a pal, or significant other, or coworker, and make them go with you. Torching calories is fun in a group!
8. Turn everything into an excuse to workout! I do calf raises while washing the dishes, squats while drying my hair, and lunges while brushing my teeth. Why not?!

Maybe some of these will work for you! Now that I've written this silly little list, I better stay true to them. Okay, NO ELEVATOR FOR ME TOMORROW. I'm off to brush my teeth and do some lunges...I better practice what I preach, right??

I'm a big proponent of the get out there and play with your dog idea. Here's me and my dog, Barkminster Fuller! He still lives in Illinois for now, because I don't know where I'd put a 70 pound pup in our studio. I miss him tons, but my parents are really good dog sitters. Plus, he is such a good exercise buddy--he never stops going!!

Write On!

I stumbled across the interesting article about keeping a food journal today and thought I'd share. While jotting down everything you eat can seem like a tedious task, studies show over and over that it works! Then again, what works for one person may not work for another, but it never hurts to try something new, right? I've logged my calories for years, but I definitely know when I start slacking on it--you know, not measuring things out, just guessing how many calories are in that peanut butter cookie instead of actually looking it up--that's when my pants start fitting a little tighter and my mind starts racing about the weight I've gained. A food journal can be good because it can keep you accountable and honest. Of course, you have to be honest with yourself for it to work! I have had calorie counters on my phone, and sometimes I'd eat, say, a cup and a half of cereal, but only count the calories in a cup. WHAT!?? There was something about it where looking at the lower number made it seem better--but that was just me lying to myself and it was a form of self-sabotage. SO BE HONEST! Sometimes it can be a harsh reality, looking at what you truly are consuming, but the very first time I kept a food diary, and was 100% honest, it was so eye-opening--it changed my entire life.

REMEMBER! I am not advocating anything, and have no formal training in nutrition (aside from many collegiate courses!), these are just some ideas and things that have worked (or not!) for me!

Here's that article. Really neat stuff!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/judith-j-wurtman-phd/food-journal_b_2689087.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living

Exercise Your Ears.

Sometimes my weekend trips to the gym are nearly too much to handle. People are packed in there like sardines, everyone vying for the one open treadmill, gym rats asking you, "How many more reps you got?", it can be a truly stressful and often annoying experience that I endure because I need the exercise. Okay, I'll be fair, sometimes it's not half-bad! But quite often, the only solace I find it escaping into my headphones. Good music really makes a workout WORK for me. It helps me stay motivated when I am feeling tired, pushes me to go a little bit harder when I feel like calling it quits, encourages me to keep a steady pace, and, of course, drowns out the rest of the people!

Recently I looked up exercise and running playlists and found a few good ones, so I thought I'd share!

NPR Ultimate Workout Mix

2012 Huffington Post Running Playlist

The Ultimate Workout Playlist

Good Housekeeping Jogging Playlist

I got a lot of really great song ideas off these and am now working on creating my own amazing playlist! I hosted a radio show for nine years and really miss selecting music for everyone to listen to, so when I finish my own I'll post it and everyone can enjoy!!

This song is the one I ALWAYS put on when I need a good jumpstart. Happy sweating!