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Positively Weightless

A healthy life not only means physically healthy, but mentally as well. Healthy eating, healthy exercising habits, and a positive attitude are all important and help maintain balance in life. I decided to combine my love of writing and my positivity to change the world in hopes that any reader can also become positively weightless, and lead them to a healthy life.

I apologize that this post took me so long to finally write. I wanted the part 2 of this entry to go up a week after the first part, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. I have finally gotten past the wall I hit in my progress and my weight is slowly starting to decrease again… but as I have mentioned before the number on the scale isn’t the most important thing to me anymore. Even despite that though it still feels good to see it go down again after weeks at a standstill.

The second half of the “What I am Doing Differently” entry is going to be about my workout schedule and finishing up my day and what I am doing differently in that process this time around. Before I was going to the gym after dinner, usually around 7 pm. As time went on this system slowly began harder and harder to stick to. When I get home from work, a lot of the time the first few things I like to do it change my clothes (usually into my pajamas) and take my makeup off (and remove contacts etc.) I usually eat dinner around then as well. Now after I eat dinner and get all settled in for the night the last thing I want to do is pack myself back up and go to the gym. I would think of a million excuses to blow it off. Here is what I am doing this time around:

My routine starts at work, at the end of the day. I leave work around 4:30 pm on a normal day, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays (for now) I head to the gym directly after work. On those days I usually have some sort of snack before I leave work. I will sometimes have a power bar of some sort, or a piece of fruit of some kind (usually apple slices or a banana). Just something in my stomach to raise my blood sugar a bit, but nothing with too many calories. I am used to eating dinner after work, so by going straight to the gym I eat my dinner an hour or two later. I want to have something small that will hold me over and get me through my workout.
Once I leave work I drive right to the gym. I have been finding that writing down my workouts on my desk calendar at work really helps me stick to going. It seems a little silly, but I just feel like displaying it on my calendar makes it seem more set in stone and I feel less likely to blow it off because of this.
If you are going directly after work or school I highly suggest a gym bag. Seems like a no brainer right? What I did was shop around for an affordable but cute bag that I like to carry. Just another little trick that makes going to the gym more enjoyable if you are like me and (at least right now) it isn’t your favorite thing to do. I found my bag on Etsy and it was right in my price range and also included free monogramming. I honestly love the bag I found and it is just the right size.
Once I get to the gym I head to the locker room and then I go into a changing room. Here is where the gym bag comes in handy. For before my workout I have a lot of useful things in my bag. I will list them now to hopefully pass along some ideas:
Clothes: I of course have my workout clothes in my bag. I have my workout pants, a shirt, a sports bra (honestly they really are just so much more comfortable to exercise in), and of course my sneakers. 

Pre-workout Items: A hairbrush, hair ties, bobby pins, lip balm, gum, and very importantly makeup removing wipes.
Figured I would add a pre-workout selfie!
In my gym clothes and makeup is off.
I go into the changing room and change my clothes first. While I am in there and have a little bit of privacy I usually do around 20 squats and stretch as a little warmup. Stretches are an obvious choice to warm up, and I decided to do squats as well because I was highly recommend doing them. Once I finish these up, I usually head back out to the main locker room. Here I put my hair up in a ponytail, pin back any pieces that may be falling out, and I use a wipe to remove my makeup. I only remove my face makeup and lipstick if I am wearing it that day (hence the lip balm haha). I typically leave my eyebrows and eye makeup on. This really is only because they are a pain to fully remove without fully washing your face. I would look like a raccoon if I tried removing that.
This is honestly a great song to
workout to.
Once I am all ready to workout I lock up the remainder of my things and I only take out a bottle of water, my phone, and earbuds. I then go workout! I usually do about 30 minutes of cardio… this is only until I work my endurance back up a bit and can handle more. My biggest tip would be to listen to music you love and will make the time fly by. I have been really into Fitz and the Tantrums lately, so I have been listening to them a lot while I work out and the times flies by. Find something that will hold your interest and will make the workout a little easier.
Once my 30 minutes is up I head back to the locker room and chill out for a little while. I have a few items in my bag that are specifically for after my workout as well. They are:
Clothes: I have a little bag in my gym bag that I have extra pairs of socks and panties in. We all know it doesn’t hurt to have extras of these especially after a workout.
Post-Workout: Other items for after my workout include body spray, a microfiber towel since my gym does not have towels available anymore, and deodorant wipes.
I personally go right home after the gym so I just change back into my everyday clothes and head home to shower there. I just don’t see the point in showering there when I am going home. The body spray and deodorant wipes really help if I have an errand or two to run before heading home. Just a quick refresh before heading out.
I love getting the power bowl meals from
Wegmans after a workout for dinner.
Once I get home I have a healthy dinner and then shower and settle in for the night. That is pretty much it for the rest of my day. I honestly feel like it is really working out so well for me already. I have honestly gone to the gym more this year already than all of last year and I can already feel my tolerance and endurance building up again slowly.
Now that I have shared what I am doing differently this time around I think at the end of next month or so I will do a follow-up. Share what is working for me and if I have made any changes.
As always, thank you very much for reading it is very much appreciated.

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I am a bit behind here with my posting, and I will be posting part 2 of my last entry very soon, but since I mentioned that I have been making my lunches for the week on Sundays  I figured I would share my meal prep for this week. This recipe is something I have been making for myself in single servings for a while now for dinners. I decided to make this for my lunches this week,and document it so I could create my next recipe post.

Sunday Meal Prep: Turkey Shepard's Pie Filling

Ingredients:
- 1 lb of lean ground turkey (you can use extra lean if you'd like, but I feel it gets a bit too dry using that for my personal taste)
- 1 container of low sodium chicken broth (you will be adding salt, so low sodium is best)
- Carrots (About 3 large)
- Celery (I used one small bunch)
- 1 Large Vidalia Onion
- Potatoes (I used about 4 small potatoes)
- 2-4 Tbsp Flour
- Cooking Spray
- Salt & Pepper (I used garlic salt)

I used rainbow carrots and a colored potato medley...
that's why the vegetables are so colorful!
First: Chop all of the vegetables except the potatoes into small dices. Put them in a skillet, sprayed with cooking spray, over medium heat. Let the vegetables saute for a few minutes.

Second: While the vegetables are cooking, chop your potatoes in a similar size to the other vegetables. Set them aside for a few moments to allow the other vegetables to cook and get soft.If you add the potatoes too soon they will get too soft and the other vegetables will still be a bit hard.

Third: Add the potatoes to the skillet. Salt and pepper the vegetables to taste. Stir everything together and stir again occasionally to prevent burning. Cook until the vegetables are soft. I will sometimes add a little of my stock to the pan and cover the pan to cook them and soften them, but you can simply saute as well. It is your choice.

Fourth: Move the vegetables aside in the pan to make room to put the ground turkey in. Allow the turkey to cook, and stir everything together once it does.

Fifth: When everything in the pan is cooked and mixed together, sprinkle your flour on top. You shouldn't need more than 4 Tbsps. I used 3 when I made mine. Mix the flour in until everything looks coated and is a thicker consistency. 


Sixth: Add chicken broth to the pan and stir immediately. The pan should seem a bit looser at first when you first mix it. Allow the pan to bubble on the stove for a few minutes, it should thicken up into a gravy. If it is too loose, add more flour. Too thick, more stock. This is really all done by eye and personal taste. There are no exact measurements.



Seventh: Allow the filling to cool completely. Once the mixture is cooled, measure equally into 4 separate containers. These will be for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday's lunches. Store in the fridge and take one with you in the morning before you leave for work or school.

I know Shepard's pie traditionally has mashed potatoes on top and is baked, but this is my healthier version. Fat and calories are cut from the dish this way making it a lot healthier. I added the potatoes into the filling instead of mashed potatoes on top to in a way make up for that. This isn't a traditional recipe because a lot of it is not done by measurements, but instead by eyeballing and personal tastes. This recipe ends up being between 350-400 calories per serving (when divided by 4 servings), not too bad for lunch!


As always, thank you very much for reading! I hope you enjoyed :-)

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I have had this blog entry and the next entry planned for quite a while now. I said in my last post of 2016 that I was going to make up an entirely new system for myself with my weight-loss journey. I did just that over the first weeks of the new year, however, I was putting off writing about it as I haven’t quite seen the results I was hoping for. Last Friday was originally when I wanted to post this particular entry (and then part 2 the following Friday), but when I was going on my third consecutive week of my weight not budging one bit, quite honestly it was frustrating me beyond belief. I felt maybe I shouldn’t share this new system just yet since I haven’t had the results I have hoped for at this point… but a month is far too early for me to just throw in the towel and give up. In many ways my new system is helping me out a lot and I do feel a lot better, even if the number on the scale doesn’t reflect that yet.

I have completely changed around the way I do things this time around. From eating plans, to water consumption, even to my gym schedule. Over the next two entries I want to take you on a typical day for me now. The first section, is going to explain how I start my day and go all the way until the end of the work day for me. The following entry (I may post by the end of the week, if not then next week for sure!) will be from when I leave work, to the gym, and then onto dinner for that evening. So here is how I start my day and continue throughout the day through work.

6:00 A.M: Well… to be perfectly honest I usually don’t get out of bed until about 6:10 a.m. every work morning. I do all the normal morning routines… cleanse my face and moisturize, brush my teeth, do my hair, and spend way too much time doing my makeup. But once all of that is done I head downstairs and always make sure I have something for breakfast. Whether it is a protein bar, quick bowl of cereal, or something along those lines I always make sure I have something. I have been making smoothies/protein shakes a lot lately for breakfast. The reason I like doing this is it is easy to bring with you (especially if you have one of the single serving sized blenders… if you don’t have one I highly recommend it. They are pretty inexpensive) and depending on what goes in, it is fairly filling and keeps me full throughout the morning. The one pictured I made with 1 cup of frozen cherries, 1 cup of plain 0% fat Greek yogurt, ½ cup of unflavored/unsweetened almond milk (I sometimes use soy), and 2 scoops of vanilla protein powder. This smoothie ends up being about 370 calories which really isn’t bad for breakfast. You need to start your day out right to power through it.

With my breakfast I always take my vitamins and supplements. Now, that is a personal choice. Quite frankly I probably take too many vitamins but they are all for different purposes. I take omega pills (I take these mainly for my skin, but they have so many other great benefits as well), I take a multivitamin, a hair, skin, and nails vitamin, along with an Olly pre & probiotic gummy. I also take a vitamin C tablet, but I really only do that around this time of year to boost my immune system a bit. It may be over kill at this point, but truthfully I just went a little vitamin happy when my wellness card from my health insurance was reimbursed and purchased a bunch.


Don't you just love my motivational/positive desk décor?
Once I get to work and settled in for the day I usually decide to have a cup of green tea. Green tea is supposed to be great for metabolism and giving you a boost. Typically I make my cup with 2 tea bags and I leave the tea bags in the cup the entire time I am drinking it, just to make it a bit stronger. I do not add any sweeteners or anything to it, just plain green tea. I have been considering looking into and researching green tea extract to maybe just put into my water because quite honestly I can’t stand the taste of green tea, but until then this is how I do it.
I find it really funny that you can see me
taking this in the reflection of the pencil sharpener.
Next is staying hydrated. This is SO IMPORTANT. I know I have preached about drinking enough water so many times but with good reason. Your body is made up of a certain percentage of water, so it is important to keep water coming in to replenish the water that is naturally lost throughout the day. Look, I know how hard it is for many people to drink water. I personally have no problems with drinking water, however, I do find it harder in the colder months of the year and have to make myself get in my eight glasses, but honestly 64 oz. is not that much water to consume. I take my reusable water bottle with the built in filter to work with me every day. This bottle holds 32 oz. of water and I try my best to make sure I drink one full bottle by lunch time, then I usually finish the second before I leave work, but essentially I have the rest of the day to finish the second up.
12:00 P.M: Lunch time!! To be completely honest once 10:00 or 11:00 hits I am ready for lunch, but I always wait until noon to eat so I am not counting down the hours until dinner. What I have been doing is making all my lunches on Sunday so everything is ready to go in the morning and I can just grab a container from the fridge and go. My biggest problem before would be either forgetting to make my lunch the night before or just being too rushed in the morning that I wouldn’t have a lunch to bring to work, resulting in getting take out or something just not very healthy. By making everything up for the week on Sunday, it eliminates that issue all together. I shared a picture here of a little collage of the many different meal prep lunches I have done so far. Helpful hint: Check Pinterest for ideas! A lot of these were ideas and/or recipes I got from there.

My main focus over these first few weeks of the brand new year have been dedicated to figuring out the best system and process that will work for me. I reinvented the wheel in a sense for myself. After lunch comes that is pretty much it (at least for as far as this blog goes). I have been going to the gym again as well, but I am saving that for my next post. I want to share my second half of the day for that post as well as share what I have in my gym bag.
Although I haven’t seen the numbers on the scale go drastically down, I still have lost about 5 lbs over these last few weeks and have kept it off. Sure that has been a tiny bit disheartening and frustrating, but the main goal for myself during all of this is to get and feel healthy again, and I already do to a certain degree. The most important thing to me is to have more energy again and just all around feel healthier. Overtime the weight-loss will just come hand in hand with that. So far so good!
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About me




29 years old. Graduate from Buffalo State College with my B.A. in English. I am just looking to hopefully change the world through my love of writing and my positive attitude.

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