Linds

Age: 22
Birthday: 1/7

Siblings: Kristen (27), Brittany (25), Jordan (13)

Occupation:  Forms & Documents Specialist at Ohio Mutual Insurance Company
(Not to mention a full-time college student!!!)

Favorite Music: I also love alot of music, oldies are definitely a fav of mine!!

Favorite Season:  Definitely fall!

Favorie Entree: Grilled Chicken Tenderloins, Sweet Baby Carrots, and Sweet Potato (Cracker Barrel!)
Favorite Snack: Baked Barbeque Lays Chips
Favorite coffee:  Skinny Peppermint Mocha at Starbucks

Favorite Color:  Red
Favorite Store:  Target, hands down.

Favorite Holiday:  Christmas, of course!!!!

Favorite Workout:  Just a nice couple mile run on the street that I live on- which isn't busy at all.  The terrain is great if you want a challenging run, and it's just nice to have a workout time when I'm alone and just running my heart out without worrying about anyone around me.

My boyfriend Seth and me while celebrating my 22nd birthday!

I love Jesus with all of my heart, I love to write- poetry, inspirational pieces, stories, anything, I LOVE to sing and I never, ever stop.  I like to say that I have a passion for, and the talent of- shopping. =) I am always up for a ceramic cup- Starbucks date with my big sis, I am a freak about organization, I am in love with the Hunger Games Series, I LOVE to travel, I use Instagram to document basically every minute of my life, and I just love to hang out with the people that I love- doing pretty much anything!

Back on the Band Wagon

I'm baaaack! hahaha I know I probably sound like a broken record, but I have done nothing but struggle for this entire month it seems! My stress level was turned on to high, and along with stress came some resurfaced bad habits and buried good habits. But when it comes down to it, the Nike slogan says it all- Just Do It! This is the mindset that I have decided to adopt on a daily basis. If I never slow down, take a deep breath, and get back on the band wagon now, I NEVER will.

So! Once again, here's my plan....

1. Re-associate myself with Myfitnesspal.com in order to track everything that I am putting it in my mouth!

2. Get back to my daily breakfast that includes 1 cup of Raisin Bran cereal (Instead of the sugary stuff like Trix that I have been opting out for A LOT lately!) with 1/2 cup of fat free milk, and a cup of coffee from my Keurig machine- 2 tbsp. of flavored creamer and one splenda packet!

3. Start drinking all of my necessary water every day (4 bottles, 8-8oz. cups)- Not only will this give me more energy to deal with all of the busyness that is going on in my life right now, but it will also keep me from eating unnecessary snacks just because I am feeling stressed. My new motto- When you feel the urge to snack, it is water that you lack! hahaha

4. Start moving again!! This one has been extremely difficult for me lately.  My parents just recently purchased a Live Strong elliptical machine- as Britt has mentioned before about my mom being a beast on it!  I, however, can not STAND it! I've never liked using elliptical machines..and I can't really give a good reason for it besides that fact that it smashes my toes when I use it.  But, either way, if I'm trying to exercise with something I hate, I will never stick to it. At the beginning of this month, I started running at the campus gym, but with the times of my classes, the only time that I could go was in the evening- when the guys' basketball team is having practice.  Every night that I went that week, a guy from the team got on the machine next to me and obnoxiously talked to me so that I couldn't even really work out.  So! Needless to say, I'm not going to be running at the campus during that time anymore. BUT! Here's what I AM going to do.

When my Spring quarter starts in about 3 weeks, I will have different classes with earlier times, so I think I will be able to work out on campus during a time that the team is NOT practicing!  But, until then, I have this DVD that is actually a really good work out!  You do a mile for each day, or you can do more.  Since this will be the only thing I am doing for a few weeks, I will probably do about 2-3 miles per day.  I also have a yoga DVD that I am planning to do on Saturday mornings! 

5. Re-form my buddy system with Britt! She left me a quite threatening voicemail about a week and a half ago telling me that I don't ever talk to her anymore..hahaha. But, I wasn't lying when I said having her as a fitness/weight-loss buddy REALLY helps! We're in this together, and keeping each other accountable is a MUST!

Britt & I this past weekend at my house with our matching Nike shirts!

The Greatest Obstacle of All!

Well, as everyone can probably see just from our blog up-keep for the past few weeks, Britt and I have been pretty busy!!  As she said in her last post, she's finally getting back on track after her trip to Texas.  My busyness, on the other hand, has just begun! 

First of all- My school schedule has been pretty insane the last few weeks, and is only getting worse!  I have a 15 minute proposal presentation tomorrow and a 45 minute presentation on Thursday- and that's just THIS week!  In the weeks following, there are many more big projects and exams to complete, and I've already completed a few big projects in the past two weeks.  But! I can't complain...because I am SO close to being a college graduate! :)

Second of all- I just received some pretty big news!  I am officially going to be traveling to the country of Haiti in about four weeks! I can't even begin to say how excited I am about that! I will be going with 15 other students to complete about four big projects regarding education in Haiti.  I won't be directly working on the projects, but I'm going to be the author or reporter of everything that we do while we are there!  Then, after we return, I will start working with a professor on compiling all the work that I did while I was there, and I will have to present it at a huge conference in front of people from colleges all over the country- talk about nerve-wrecking!  The professor in charge, however, didn't ask me to go until the last minute.  You can imagine how much paperwork and deadlines go into a trip like that! So, basically, I have been filling out paperwork and running to the post office at least once a day to send all of it out- not to mention I had to upgrade my passport.  Everything for the trip is pretty much done now, thank goodness! But I still have a lot to do in preparation for leaving!

Third of all- Of course, the flu bug is flying around like crazy.  And, of course, I caught it! Talk about the worst time to be sick!  It set me back with a lot of the work that I needed to get done, but thankfully, it was pretty much just a 24 hour kind of sickness.

Well, now that you've heard me babble on about everything going on in my personal life, I'm sure you're dying to hear how I relate all of this information to fitness and weight loss.  Well, just like the title of this post, the greatest weight loss obstacle of all is being busy.  I can prove this fact with my own personal life the past few weeks.  Remember the website Britt and I talk about all the time called myfitnesspal.com? Well, one of the girls on my friends list sent me a text the other day and said "My fitness pal says that you might need encouragement because you haven't logged in for a week.  So, keep going! You can do this!" This definitely made me laugh! I thanked her, but I let her know that I haven't given up- I've just been to busy to log everything on the site. I'll be honest, though, when you're always in hurry, you can't really eat the kinds of foods that you should be eating.  Yes, I might skip out on eating a filling meal to make up for the not-so-healthy foods that I was eating in a hurry, but this approach won't last for long. 

My advice to those of you who find yourself in the same busy boat as me is to PRIORITIZE. There is always something that we can cut out and fill with something more important.  How important is your health or weight loss to you?  Is it more important than the 20 minutes of television that you watch before you go to bed? Is it more important than_______________? Just fill in the blank.  Weight loss is never going to fly onto your lap.  You're going to have to make time for it, and if you don't, you will never see results.

But keep going! February is almost over, and I hope we are all still hangin' in there to meet those New Year's Resolutions. I am...who's with me? :)

P.S. Check out the Haiti Empowerment Project that we will be working on!

Keep Holdin' On

Well, I'm with Britt- her last post anyway.  This past week has been pretty bad! I never realized how much of a help Britt was to me until this last week!  Because she was on vacation, we didn't really text back and forth during the day about how we were doing at all.  Plus, we fell behind in our blogging while she was gone!  But, as I've said before, a little set-back isn't going to keep me down! I'm determined to lose those first 35 pounds in 2012! And I am going to keep going no matter what happens along the way! 

My solution for getting back on track after a not so pretty week?

*Drink WATER- this has definitely not been happening this past week...I have been opting out for occasional soda and juices...definitely NOT good things to drink!

*Start exercising regularly again- this is very hard to do when you have been out of your routine for a week.  However, I plan to try to change things up a little bit and do some different things with my work out to give me some fresh motivation!

*Get back to recording my meals and snacks on myfitnesspal.com.  This site is a huge help! Sometimes foods and drinks that you consume on a regular basis- that you THINK are just fine and healthy- are actually alot more carb, fat, and calorie-filled than you realize!  Myfitnesspal helps you to keep track of EVERYTHING that you eat so that you don't under-estimate or, most importantly, over-estimate.

*Give my self little goals to reach.  It's very important to set goals for yourself that you will be able to actually SEE. For example, my first goal is to fit into a skirt that I have that I absolutely love, but can't quite fit into yet.  This goal is one that I will be able to actually SEE when I attain it! Setting small goals is extremely important because it allows you to see the results of what you are working hard for outside of just seeing the number on the scale.  It encourages you to keep going!

*Continue to motivate myself.  As simple as it seems, observing different motivating pictures and quotes on Pinterest.com REALLY helps me to stay motivated! Encouraging words always help, and seeing different bodies that are bodies that I want help me to keep pushing so that I will see that end result!

*Lastly, although Britt already mentioned it in her post from yesterday, I also made weight-loss pebble jars. It may seem silly, but being able to put a pebble in the pounds lost jar feels sooooo good and empowering! Like Britt said, it's a great visual tool, and just something fun to do! Here's a picture of my own personal weight-loss jars!

10 pounds down- 25 to go! :)

New Perspective

This past weekend, I gained a whole new perspective of dieting and fitness.

I will admit that in the past, every time I would diet, it was because something had happened concerning my weight and I was really embarrassed, or because I just felt extremely unconfident about myself and knew I had to do something to make myself happy with who I am.  Because this was my perspective, while dieting, I would literally wake up every morning and say to myself- "Well, this is going to be an awful day.  I'm not going to be able to eat what I want. I'm going to be hungry most of the day, and I'm going to have to go through the pain of working out."  Then, I would get out of bed and start my day with this mindset.  When I talked to Brittany about how I felt, she said that it made her want to cry and that she couldn't imagine trying to live every day feeling like that.

So, no wonder I was never really successful with my dieting, right?  No one will ever be successful when that is the kind of mindset that they have.

Well, I admit, I kind of started out this year with a smiliar mindset.  No, I didn't literally wake up every morning and think that anymore, and yes, I had a much better attitude, but it was was still in the back of my head.

Do you want to know the key to losing weight?  Do you finally want to find the magical formula that takes off the pounds? Well, here it is:    BE COMFORTABLE AND CONFIDENT.

I think that people, including myself, have always approached weight loss in the wrong way.  For instance, I always started dieting because I went through something that made me feel very unconfident about myself--that's why I always failed.  You must first be comfortable with your current body and confident in yourself before you ever try to lose weight.

Getting fit and losing weight is NOT for wimps!  I'm sure pretty much everyone who reads this can agree! It takes an extremely tough person to work so hard to get the kind of body that they want- without giving up!  So you can't be weak and uncomfortable with yourself going into it or you'll never achieve the great things that you want to achieve. 

After talking to someone over this past weekend, I realized that I could be confident in the body that I have right now.  Of course it's not the body that I ultimately want, which is why I am working hard right now to change that.  But I can still be comfortable in my own body and have confidence.  If you don't have confidence in yourself, and if you aren't comfortable with your current body- no one else will be.  Realize that you're amazing RIGHT NOW! Before any of the weight comes off.  If you try to have this mindset instead of the kind of depressing, unconfident mindset that I have had in the past, you will feel much more motivated and excited about your weight loss.  You're not trying to completely transform a hideous beast....you're just trying to fine tune someone who is already beautiful! :)

Believe in yourself!!! <3, Linds

Resolution Blues

There's no denying...we all get them! The New Years Resolution Blues.

It's that time of the year- the beginning of February.  The time when people start to forget all of those New Years Resolutions that they made, and they start to get pretty lazy.  This is especially true with resolutions about getting fit or losing weight!  We're all super pumped up for that first month, then it seems to slowly start to fade.  I'm so guilty of this myself! BUT! I told myself that 2012 was going to be different.  No more giving in to the Resolution blues.  Even when I get down, I'm always going to jump right back up! 

A perfect example of these blues was this past weekend....

February brings many things besides these blues....and one of those things that it brings is Valentines' Little Debbie Cupcakes! Ahhhh! You all now what I'm talking about! Those little pink and white heart shaped cupcakes that are death in a package! haha...well, Britt came home this past weekend, and we just happened to pass some of those cupcakes in an aisle in Target.  She looked at them, looked at me, looked back at them, grabbed them as fast as she could, and ran toward the check-out line! I had to laugh, and I told her that there was no way that I was eating them.  HA! You all probably already said in your head...yea right, Lindsay...Well, if you did, you're right! I definitely scarfed one down as soon as we got home.

Saturday just led to more bad habits resurfacing.  I was traveling to and from a concert all day, so I had fast food and stadium food as my meal choices.  Needless to say, I didn't eat healthy that entire day. 

I won't lie...the thought did run through my head that I should just give up.  As soon as that thought entered my head, I shoved it out as fast as I could!  When Monday rolled around, I had an AWESOME healthy day!

If you're starting to feel the New Years Resolution blues, or if you feel them coming on soon, DON'T GIVE IN.  DON'T GIVE UP. Give yourself an off day, and shake it off.  It's what makes the difference between a crash diet and a lifestyle.  A lifestyle realizes that you're gonna have off days, or weekends, or weeks- but that doesn't mean you give up. Keep going strong for 2012. :)

Struggle

Well, it's been an extremely rough week for me to say the least! I've really been struggling with sticking to my fitness plan, but I'm not going down without a fight! I'm gonna try to start being a little more strict about my portions, and to drink more water. I've definitely been over-using diet pop! Don't get me wrong, it's a great thing to have when you're craving carbonation! But don't let it replace your water! I'm gonna try to get my water in during my classes...when I'm usually drinking coffee! So, moral of today's post, don't be defeated...but determined. You're gonna have days, weeks, maybe even months that are just a pure struggle. But don't stay down. Always fight to find new ways to improve your fitness plan and ways to get yourself back on your feet! We can do it :)
<3, Linds

Just Do It

Nike couldn't have said it better-

This slogan has been my motto for the past week or so.  Almost every day, I think to myself that I know I realllllly need to workout today, but I'm too this or too that or blah blah blah. Then, I actually think of this saying, JUST DO IT. Don't think about it. Don't think about how tired you are.  Don't think about the work that you need to get done. JUST DO IT.

Today was a prime example of this concept!

I had an absolutely, positively, no good, very bad day!  I spent my ENTIRE morning in the doctor's office- had an appointment at 11, waited for an hour and a half, then finally got out right before my class started at 1.  Not only did they make me wait for so long, but when they went to take a blood sample, they poked me about 3 times because they said that couldn't find a good vein! PSH! I've had tons of blood work done before and they always got it on the first try!

Well, because I had to wait so long at the doctor's, I didn't have time to eat the lunch that I packed.  I ended up eating my ham sandwich and grapes at my computer during my class.

I won't go on about all of the other things that went wrong during the day (including smacking my elbow EXTREMELY hard on a wooden chair, which resulted in me screaming at the top of my lungs), but needless to say, when I got home at 10 PM, I just wanted to crawl into bed, pull the covers over my head, and not wake up for at least 10 hours. 

As I walked in the door, however, I had a little voice in my head saying "Just Do It".  I took a big breath and ran upstairs to get on my workout gear as fast as I could before I changed my mind and just decided to fall into bed.  I successfully got down stairs to the workout room and started on the elliptical. 

Want to know the end result? I ran 2 more miles than I usually do! I was exhausted, yes, but I felt so good about myself!  I didn't let myself give in to my own excuses, but I decided to JUST DO IT. 

I hope everyone can take on this mind-set!  No matter how hard your day is, or no matter how long you think you need to stay in bed for another hour longer.....just get up, and just do it.  It's definitely rewarding, and you'll see the results! :)

Good Luck!! <3, Linds

Keep it Real

So today I want to encourage everyone to Keep it Real!

How can you keep it real while trying to get fit?

1.  Enjoy Yourself!
       *Don't over-deprive yourself! Never letting yourself "cheat" is understandable when you're just trying to lose a certain amount of weight for a special occasion in the near future.  It is not good, however, for trying to establish a healthy LIFESTYLE.  It's pretty obvious that some time or another we're gonna want a cupcake, or a Snickers bar, or some french fries.  If you deprive yourself of everything but salad, fruits, veggies, and beans, then you won't last, and your healthy life-style will fall apart.  Be real with yourself and realize that you can have some of these cravings every once and a while- just don't let yourself over-do it.

2.  Protect Yourself!
       *Eat a healthy amount of food every day. I had to learn this the hard way!  I tend to be a bored eater, so I have been trying my best to keep myself busy so that I don't have time to eat!  However, I have been going over-board.  I always eat breakfast, but breakfast is my smallest meal of the day.  Then, I keep myself busy all morning, and by the time I have to leave for class, I haven't even left myself enough time to grab some lunch.  So, usually, my lunch gets skipped.  When I get home at night, I feel too bad about eating a big dinner because I know my metabolism is going to be slower at night when I'm not really moving around much.  Therefore,  I don't really eat much all day. I decided to change these bad eating habits of mine after I almost passed out during my work-out the other day. THIS IS NOT HEALTHY! When people think about living a healthy life-style, they automatically think that you shouldn't eat very much. This isn't completely true. You have to eat enough to actually keep you healthy while you're getting fit or losing weight!  If you're not sure how many calories you should be eating, Myfitnesspal.com is a GREAT tool to use! You just put in how much you weigh, how much weight you want to lose, and how much you exercise, and it calculates everything for you!  Be real about your health- losing weight isn't worth it if you jeopardize your over-all wellness.

3.  Pace Yourself!
       *You need to realize that getting fit or losing weight is a slow process!  This is very hard for most people to swallow, because we all like to see immediate results for our hard work.  The truth, however, is that slow results will last a lifetime, while fast ones fade away as quickly as they come.  Britt and I were talking the other day, and she told me that on her myfitnesspal account they told her that she would lose 9 pounds in 5 weeks with her current eating plan.  She said "That feels like forever! But I know I just have to be patient."  And that's the key!  As I said before, if you're patient, the pounds that come off eventually will be much more permanent because you lost them in the right way- not by a crash diet or depriving yourself of food.  Be real about the timing of your results, and pace yourself.

 <3, Linds

Results!

Yesterday was the big day!  I weighed myself for the first time since Britt and I started our journey to a fit lifestyle.  I was extremely nervous because, like alot of people, I get very discouraged when I don't see the results that I've been working hard for show up on the scale.  In the past, this discouragement has always led to me giving up.  You can see why I was so nervous, right?!

Well, I took a DEEP breath, and stepped on the scale.  I was almost too afraid to look down! But when I did, I almost screamed! The scale showed that I had lost exactly 6 pounds since I first weighed myself 2 weeks ago!! I was ecstatic!

My 2 main reasons for this post?

1.  Don't give up because results are on their way!  When you do see the results, take them and run with them!  Right after I finished my happy dance over the 6 pound loss, I reminded myself that those first 5-10 pounds are the easiest to lose, and, if I'm not careful, I will gain them right back.  Use your results as a motivater to do more- not to let your guard down and become lax.  I know that there are many more pounds to lose ahead of me.  I have to keep going!

2.  Don't only look to the scale for your results.  Right before I stepped on the scale yesterday, I gave myself a pep talk.  I told myself that no matter what numbers showed up, I was going to keep going strong.  Why? Because results show up in more than just a number form on the scale.  That number is the LEAST important form of results, yet, for some reason, it's the form that we rely on the most.  We have to start looking for results in other places!  Just like Britt said in her post yesterday, she hasn't lost any weight according to the scale, but her body feels great!  And like I said in a previous post, people are noticing that my skin looks clearer!  There are SO many benefits to living healthy.  You can't just look to the scale for encouragement and motivation.  Results are all around you! Find them! Use them to keep you going!

*With all of that being said, I encourage everyone to limit your weigh-ins.  Yes, it's nice to see how you're doing, but there is such a thing as over-kill when it comes to weighing yourself.  To avoid the possibility of getting discouraged when you don't see the weight-loss results that you want to see every single week, I suggest only weighing yourself every two weeks at the least.  My best friend would always try to diet in high school, and she weighed herself almost every other day.  When she didn't really see results, she got discouraged.  When she went to college, however, she didn't even have a scale!  She came back home during her Christmas break and she had lost 20 pounds within a couple months, and she didn't even know it!  She said that she did notice her clothes getting kind of big but that she had no idea the results were that drastic.  Her examples just proves that most of the time the scale does a lot more bad than good. 

Keep going!  Don't spend so much time looking down-but forward.  You'll be glad that you did. :)

Believe it!!! ---->

<3, Linds

Another Day in the Life of a Healthy Girl

Today I made an amazing new discovery.....TURKEY BACON!  I bought a pack of it about a month ago, and never even opened it because, as I said in my last post, I'm not the type of person to spend any amount of time on cooking a meal!  This morning, however, I had extra time so I decided to try it out.  I had 1/3 cup of egg whites scrambled, 2 pieced of whole wheat toast with spray butter, and a couple pieces of turkey bacon.  IT WAS DELICIOUS.  I am one of those people who loves bacon!  So I was a little nervous when I went to try the turkey version..but I highly recommend it to anyone who loves bacon but is trying to eat healthier!

Halfway into my day I had my daily cup of coffee with 1 splenda and 2 Tbsp. of creamer.  Besides that, however, I didn't even eat lunch!  Now, I don't suggest skipping meals, but, because I had a good sized breakfast meal, (not to mention it was a later breakfast- about 9:30) I wasn't really hungry when lunch rolled around.  I also suggest that you DON'T eat unless your hungry!  It definitely creates bad habits like eating when you're bored...which, trust me, is an extremely difficult habit to break! But when 5:30 rolled around and I got out of class, I was definitely ready to eat!  My parents were going to O' Charleys and asked me to come, so I joined them.  Now, when some people mention "eating out" when they are on a diet, they FREAK OUT. As for myself, however, I have become very well-accustomed to eating out while I'm trying to eat healthy.  My family does it A LOT.  Therefore, I'm pretty good at finding good substitutions and key words for healthy meals at restaurants.  For dinner at O' Charleys, I ordered the grilled chicken breast meal but told them to put nothing on it and just give me a side of barbeque sauce.  For my ONE side, I ordered plain mashed potatoes.  I DID have a roll also! Which is also fine- in moderation.  The problem is that they're so good and right in front of you, so you eat 10 before you know it!  But I ended up eating all of my chicken and just half of my potatoes.  I was completely satisfied!

Here are some words to look for and to avoid when eating out!

After dinner, I quickly came home to get on our elliptical and lift some weights.  I hadn't worked out all day, and I knew the elliptical was callin' my name!  I'm not used to the elliptical because I usually just run on a treadmill...and it was alot harder than I thought it would be! I did 2 miles, and I did 3 sets of 12 on leg lifting, arm lifting, and back lifting.  I felt pretty accomplished!

Overall, it was a good, fit day!  It's getting easier to ALWAYS do some kind of exercise during the day and to opt for healthy food instead of junk.  It's amazing to see the results of just 2 weeks of eating and living healthy!  Not only do I feel better, but at dinner, my dad even said "Lindsay, your skin looks really clear!" ha! It's a big deal for him to notice something like that! Living healthy is my favorite. :)

Diversity

I believe that one of the hardest parts of trying to lose weight or trying to get in shape or anything of the sort is realizing that everyone's bodies are different.  Not everyone has the perfect Barbie body, nor is everyone capable of attaining the perfect Barbie body.  I am one of those people.  No matter how much I work out and no matter how many fruits and veggies I fill my diet with, it's just never going to happen.  I am 5'8 and naturally built with an insane amount of muscle in my legs.  Granted, right now I have way too much fat around all that muscle! But the fact is, I'm never gonna have the stick legs that are considered to be attractive.  It's very hard to swallow, but I believe that once you get to a healthy weight, you're going to feel good about yourself no matter what.  The fact that everyone's bodies are different is what inspired my sister and I to name our blog the title that we did- "Sisters come in all different shapes and sizes".  We want to convey to everyone the message that not everyone has the same body types- just like my sister and I do not.  That does not mean, however, that there is a selection of who can get fit and who can not.  No matter what body type you are, you can be healthy and fit. 

Along with the diverstiy of body types comes the diversity of personalites, backgrounds, styles, and many more!  Brittany and I are definitely different in these areas also!  You can probably already tell just from our separate posts!  Britt is someone who likes to cook and does alot of it.  Me on the other hand? Not so much. I personally don't like to cook, and I'm not very good at it! This is something that has been very discouraging to me in the past when I have tried to start eating healthy.  For a while, I thought that it was impossible for me since I didn't really do much cooking.  That statement is actually so far from the truth!  It is very important to find YOUR individual way of living a healthy life style.  No matter what kind of person you are, there is a way. 

Britt has shared her recipes and a few things that she has tried.  Well, now it's time for those of us who aren't cooks and would rather just have something quick and easy!  So, I have come up with some great ideas that have really been working for me!

Breakfast- My 2 favorites are Waffles and Peanut Butter:

*I use Eggo Whole Wheat Waffles and Smart Balance Peanut Butter- Takes about 5 min. total
               
                 And an Egg Sandwich and Fruit:

*I use toasted whole wheat bread (which I use a couple sprays of spray butter on), scrambled egg whites (easiest to just buy a carton of egg whites), and Fat-free cheese.  Add a banana or a cup of grapes and you're good to go!- Takes about 7 min. total

Lunch-  My 2 favorites are Ham&Cheese Sandwich with carrot chips or baked potato chips:

*I use whole what bread, Low sodium ham, fat free cheese, and mustard for the sandwich.  For a side, I have a handful of carrot chips (which are normal raw carrots but in a chip-like shape- you can find them in the lettuce sections of most stores) with some Fat Free Veggie Dill dip- a nice change from ordinary ranch dip.- Takes about 5 min. total

             And, for those days when you're really on the go for lunch, a Fresco Bean burrito from Taco Bell.  Make sure you specifically order the Fresco version.  It's very filling and made with alot more healthy ingredients compared to the original bean burrito!- Time depends on the drive-thru line :)

Dinner- My 2 favorites are a Chicken & Cheese Quesadilla:

*This one is my new favorite!  It's SO easy and delicious!  I use Low Carb Banderita tortillas (there are a few options with the brand- they have fat free, low carb, and whole wheat), fat free shredded cheddar cheese, and grilled chicken strips-already cooked! (You can find these at pretty much any grocery store, even Aldi's! But I find it most helpful to get a large bag from Sams Club.  Of course it depends on how many quesadillas you think you may eat!), and then I dip the quesadillas in Fat Free sour cream.  The only catch is that I have a quesadilla maker, so it only takes about 1 minute for the quesadilla to cook! If you think this is a meal idea that you will use many times, I suggest in investing in one of these quesadilla makers! They're awesome!- Takes about 7 min. total

             And, a bowl (8 oz.) of Special K Protein Plus Cereal with a cup of 50% less sugar Orange Juice:

*Now, you might think I'm crazy for this one, but hear me out!  First of all, nothing can be easier to make than cereal.  Second of all, I find it very helpful to eat a small dinner, and a big breakfast.  Unfortunately, alot of the common breakfast foods, like cereal, aren't the most filling meals.  So! I find it useful to just eat "breakfast" for dinner!  It will be satisfying enough to get you through until you go to bed, but it won't be too much to just lay in the stomach all night while you sleep.- Takes about 5 min. total

**My family is also known for eating out alot, which can be a healthy lifestyle's worst enemy!  I have learned some tricks, however, and I've also found some very tasty but healthy meals at alot of big restaurants.  If you need advice regarding eating out, or if you would like to ask me about a good, healthy meal at a certain restaurant, E-mail me! @ Martin.2132@aol.com

Good Luck!

<3, Linds

Compromise.

Compromise:  an agreement reached by adjustment of conflicting or opposing claims.  This word completely describes my whole day today!  My healthy day started off extremely well with 2 whole wheat blueberry Eggo waffles, a banana, and a cup of coffee.  Later, I added a few chopped celery sticks with Smart Balance peanut butter as a filling snack.  However, I never got a good chance to eat a healthy, filling lunch like I wanted to, because I just got simply busy- something that happens to ALL of us, and also something that is one of the biggest enemies of a fit and healthy lifestyle.  That's where compromise comes into play.  Since I didn't get a good lunch, I compromised by deciding on just having a larger, but even more healthy than usual dinner.  On a normal basis it's not a good idea to have a large dinner- since you will be less likely to work off those calories while you're sleeping!- but this is the huge difference between a healthy LIFESTYLE and a diet.  Things happen, and people get busy.  You can't let this fact discourage you when it happens.  Just COMPROMISE.  Not only did I have to compromise about my dinner, but I also had to compromise about today's workout.  My plans were to run 2 miles in the campus gym, and then do some weight lifting.  I found out, however, that my little brother had a basketball game tonight- which started RIGHT after I finished my last class for the day- my normal workout time.  Not only will just being busy effect your journey to a healthy lifestyle, but so will things such as saving time for friends and family.  Many people try to say that you need to put yourself first and others second when it comes to getting in shape or losing weight.  Sometimes this statement is true, but personally, I believe that most of the time it is false.  You aren't going to live your whole life denying time with your friends and family because you need to workout.  That philosophy may last for a little while, but eventually, it will cause you to completely give up on exercising.  Solution? COMPROMISE.  I wanted to go to my little brother's basketball game, so I skipped running at the gym.  I did NOT, however, skip out on working out for the day.  When I got home from the game around 9:30, I put in the one Leslie Sansone DVD workout that I have, and I did a 2 mile workout.  I still felt great about my achievement, and I didn't have to miss out on family time for it.  There is always a way around the difficulties or obstacles that get in the way of your healthy lifestyle.  Don't get discouraged and give up because of it, just find a COMPROMISE.  If you need specific advice on how to find a compromise for your specific situation, just ask me or Britt! We would be happy to help you out.  You can email us at Martingirls3234@gmail.com.

Happy Compromising!
<3, Linds

No Excuses.

Talk about having an excuse!  I woke up this morning to a lot of snow on the ground and a chilling 13 degree temperature.  I didn't even want to get out of bed, let alone go outside for a run!  I didn't worry about the cold weather, however, since I was planning on just going to the campus gym to run INSIDE.  As I was comforting myself with this thought, that's when it hit me.  I had forgotten that I needed a special sticker of some sort to get into the campus gym- which I did not get, and couldn't get today.  I had every notion to just say "I'll just start running tomorrow."  But I didn't let myself!  I got out of bed, ate a bowl of Special K cereal, and suited up for my run- with a lot of WARM clothing.  As soon as I stepped out of the house, I was FREEZING- but I kept going anyway.  About 5 minutes into my run, I slipped on the icy road and fell.  My knee practically bruised immediately! Excuse opportunity #2!  But, once again, I stood up and kept running.  End result of not giving in to my excuse opportunity?  The most amazing feeling of accomplishment I have ever had!  Fitness advice from this post?  #1- Be safe and cautious when you're running outside in harsh weather conditions!  Wear warm enough clothing, and be aware of the dangers that you may come across- such as icy terrain.  Luckily, I just hurt myself enough to discourage the rest of my run and laugh at myself for looking like an idiot! but such accidents can be very harmful, and may result in not being able to run or exercise for a while.  #2- Don't let ANY excuse that you come across or come up with get in your way.  Trust me, there will be PLENTY of them.  Be so determined that you do what you know you have to do no matter what.  Because, when it's all said and done, you will feel amazing about yourself.  It's worth it.

<3, Linds