New beginning

I'm sure that some of you can relate to the desire to get fit and healthy. I'm also sure that some of you can relate to the lack of motivation. This is my  problem: physical motivation. I want to get fit and healthy so badly, and I enjoy working out, but actually getting to the gym is where my efforts come to a halt. I'm a commuter, so when I'm done with with classes for the day all I want to do is drive the 30 minutes to get home, not go to the gym. Lousy excuse, I know. Another one of my issues is will power: if I'm craving a large fry and Diet Coke from McDonald's or a crunchwrap from Taco Bell, it's really hard for me to pass it up. Especially if I drive by more than one throughout the day. When I go out to eat, I end up getting at least two glasses of Diet Coke or Pepsi. I don't get a salad, I get a sandwich and fries. The first time I really noticed my weight gain was in 2008, after being on the birth control shot for a few months; I noticed a bunch of stretch marks on my inner and outer thighs and the sides of waist. From that point, the weight kept coming. I would diet and exercise consistently for a couple weeks and then give up because I wouldn't see results. Now I understand that it will take quite a while to see results if I do it the healthy way, which is not to starve myself.

All that said, I have discovered a really awesome blog: Undressed Skeleton. Her name is Taralynn, and she has so many tips on living a fit and healthy lifestyle, from grocery lists to workout regimens to testimonials. Everything. And the best part about it is they are all tips that she uses in her every day life to remain healthy. I've been reading her content for a little over a week now and have found that having that sample grocery list is a huge help. I highly encourage you to check out her blog, it's also to the <left< under "Don't miss these blogs!".

Undressed Skeleton is a huge salad advocate, and she has so many ways to add deliciousness to a salad to prevent boredom. So I decided to make a salad for lunch today, along with some other sides.

About 8 carrot slices, 1 slice of turkey, about 2 tsp of sweet cilantro sauce (posted in "Oomienoomies")

Soup, salad, carrots, hummus. I didn't eat the yogurt because it hadfruit chunks.

Vegan, reduced sodium, no MSG, DELICIOUS

Gluten free

Some other items that were on my grocery list (*=from Undressed Skeleton): truvia sweetener*, 3 avocados, whole pineapple*, apples*, 2 cans peaches (with light syrup), fat-free plain cream cheese, mini babybel cheese (SO GOOD!), organic vegetarian chili, romaine lettuce*, spinach*, FF ranch dressing*, FF French dressing*, balsamic vinaigrette*, almonds, FF cottage cheese, whole wheat mini bagels, strawberries, broccoli, cauliflower, grapes, vanilla chobani green yogurt*, almond milk*, 10 grain waffles, sugar-free syrup, all natural honey, 1 can unsalted corn, 1 lb. chicken breast

One idea that I really liked was to put the salad lettuce and fresh toppings into separate containers, so they're kept fresh longer and always ready to eat. I'm big for organization, so this is great.

Healthily stocked fridge!

Salad stuffs!

Another reason that I like Undressed Skeleton is because Taralynn loves coffee a little too much, just like I do. Since I don't really like the taste of plain coffee, I load it with creamer and therefore fat, sugar and extra calories. She gives a a great alternative to flavored creamer: a little bit of ground cinnamon, almond milk, and truvia sweetener. It's actually really, really good. That's saying something, considering I love my coffee with extra French vanilla. Tomorrow I'm going to try adding pumpkin spice, 'tis the season!

More than likely, I won't frequently post about my fit n' healthy journey because I have Undressed Skeleton linked in this post and to the <left<, and there are so many good health blogs already out there. What I'll probably do is just post about milestones like first pounds lost, new ideas, stuff like that. My next goal is to find an elliptical machine and tv on Craigs List. I can put them in the basement along with my yoga mat and workout videos for the perfect workout room!

 I hope you found these tips as helpful and inspirational as I did, and good
luck!