a little of life lately.

the drink I will most likely never make

Well its the day after Halloween.  Did anyone else eat enough candy to fill a dump truck?  I went over to a friends to hang out for awhile and ending up eating a good portion of their Halloween candy.  They had three different types of snickers which are the bomb according to this so I had a few samples of each.  Almond snickers=delish.

As you all know I am currently obsessed with Thought Catalog and found this lovely list.  25 things you need to forget about, my close friends will tell you I remember a lot of random, idiotic things from like, middle school that don't matter in the least and will bring them up whenever I feel the need to get a certain point across.  I need to forget.  #2 and #3 are on point.

A nod back to my healthy lifestyle changes, I have been working out a lot lately.  As in, I wake up and feel like an old person every morning. Which gets totally canceled out when you eat loads of candy.  Whatever.

My roommate and I both won gold fish at the state fair a few weeks ago.  I wish I had a video of how hard we tried to win these fish, you would have thought they were dipped in 24 karat gold or swedish fish (nod to my intense sweet tooth these days).  Luckily we had a really nice game worker who gave us about 2.5 buckets instead of the standard one because we sucked so bad at the game and then the  five-year-old kid across from us wins his fish in about 5.6 seconds.  FAIL.

Whats up with everything being motion sensor these days?  At work we just got brand new soap dispensers and paper towel dispensers in the bathrooms.  Fancy motion senor ones.  Why?  I never really found it that hard to turn the knob or push down the soap pump.  I get it, its high tech, blah blah blah.  Working in sales, I often wonder what kind of comebacks those sales reps must have.  One awesome invention is that Dyson hand dryer.  I know everyone has been in the bathroom when that god awful hand dryer comes on and it sounds like a category 5 tornado has just touched down beside you.  Well the Dyson is so much better.  You stick your hands in pull them out slowly and voila!  Dry Hands.

Read please.

xo

healthy eating.

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 Along with my changes in exercise I've tried to make changes to my diet as well.  Not huge I'm eating paleo or no longer eating carbs changes but trying to incorporate more vegetables and proteins into my diet.  I eat very little meat and would love to make the switch to a full blown vegetarian however a change like that is hard, and requires a lot of planning and cooking and...I hate to cook.  That being said small changes are things that stick and many small changes over time will lead to a much healthier lifestyle.  Here is a sample of my old eating habits routine and my new one.

Old Diet:

Breakfast- Reduced Fat Lance Toast Cheese Peanut Butter Crackers, Diet Coke

Snack- Protein Bar, Diet Coke

Lunch- Lean Cuisine of some sort that I have in the fridge or salad from mellow mushroom

Dinner- Egg sandwich with chips, another lean cuisine, or a dinner out where I would most likely get sushi, Mexican, pub food, or a salad of some sort.

As you can see this is bad.  I'm getting no nutrients, no fruits and vegetables, nothing of much substance at all.

New Diet:

Breakfast- Green Smoothie (Spinach, Raspberries, Banana, Greek Yogurt, Fat Free Vanilla Almond Milk, Almond Butter), Instant oatmeal, or waffle with almond butter and a banana sliced on top

Snack- Rice cake with a little bit of peanut butter and a diet coke

Lunch- Lean Cuisine (if I'm rushed), sandwich and chips with carrots, or a take-out salad

Snack- I'll have a pear, grapes, or some string cheese.  If none of that is available I have a few pretzels and a cup of coffee.

Dinner-Choice of one of the following Stir fry with squash, zucchini, and onion with a little brown rice or chicken sausage with half a sandwich thin plus some carrots or a small salad, salad with spinach, almonds, cherry tomatoes, a little cheese, and a lite vinaigrette caesar dressing.

With my new changes I am eating a lot healthier as well as getting a lot more fruit and veggies.  I'm trying to eat out much less and drink at least 96 ounces of water per day.  One of my weaknesses is Diet Coke which I have cut back on a lot but I still have to have at least two per day or I get serious caffeine headaches  I figure two isn't that bad so I'm okay with that.

I like to keep the following in my house so when I'm in a rush I can just grab and go...
~Baby Carrots
~100 Calorie Pack Almonds
~Instant Oatmeal
~Snack Size bags of chips to take for lunch
~Pears
~Raspberries
~Lean Cuisines
~Avacado
~Tortilla Chips
~Fresh Salsa

Having all these things on hand gives me a number of things I can snack on or if need a quick small meal I can throw something together easily.  Do you have any staples you always keep in your house?  Is anyone else trying to change up their diet for the better?

xo  

health kick.

via

I've been on a bit of a health kick lately.  Trying to eat healthier all the time as well as get in at least four days of exercise a week.  It makes me feel so much better but getting to the gym or the pool has always been something I struggle with.  

I grew up as a year round swimmer.  Which means from about the age of 9 until I was 18 I worked out six days a week no matter what.  During Christmas vacation, spring break, and the summer up that count to about nine times a week.  You can now understand how my four times a week seems pretty pitiful compared to what I use to do and it still sometimes feels like an act of god for me to get out the door and go.  Slowly though I'm getting back to a regular routine.  After years and years away from swimming and any sort of steady gym routine I feel like I can finally say that I've found a few things I like and am sticking to them. 

On average I try and swim twice a week.  I belong to the Masters team in my area so they are good workouts that I do with a team.  The other two or three days I squeeze in a class during my lunch hour.  Luckily there is a gym right across the street from where I work so its easy and convenient to get in a workout.  When I swim my day is basically get up, work, swim, bed.  Doing that three or four days a week is fine but makes me feel as if I have no life sometimes I need to squeeze in some time with friends or a dinner out during the week to keep me sane.   

I've also found that I love organized exercise.  I need someone there telling me what to do or I get lazy.  Enter group exercise classes.  I try and go to two or three times a week.  They vary from cycling, cardio/crossfit type classes to yoga and Pilates, basically I show up at the gym and the class that is going on during lunch is the class I do.  No thought needed.

Here is an example of my old habits verses my new ones.

Old Exercise Routine:
Monday- Rest
Tuesday- Swim (1 hour 15 min)
Wednesday Rest
Thursday-  Swim (1 hour 15 min)
Friday- Rest
Saturday- Rest
Sunday- Rest

New Exercise Routine:
Monday- Swim (1 hour 15 min) or Rest
Tuesday- Cardio Class at the gym or Swim (I only swim twice early in the week if I am trying to go three times that week)
Wednesday- Swim (1 hour 15 min)
Thursday- Cardio Class at the gym
Friday- Spinning Class or PiYo (Combination of Yoga & Pilates)
Saturday- Rest
Sunday- Rest

As you can see I simply added a few things in.  I love the cardio classes as they provide cardio as well as a lot of Crossfit type exercises such as push-ups, up downs, and other related exercises that help with weight training as I currently do not do any of that.  I would like eventually to add in weights and some weekend exercise even if it is only walking four or five miles in the morning.  Something is always better than nothing.  Anyone else changed their exercise habits recently?  Or has anyone else out there done Crossfit?  I heard it really does improve your strength and fitness levels.

xo