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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.

Here we are at the end of yet another year. I feel like I say it every single year but it truly is amazing how fast they seem to fly by. While so many people like to make New Year's Resolutions, I find it just as important to take a look back and reflect on the year you are leaving behind. No matter what happened the previous year, good, bad, or anything in between it helped shape your year and most likely shaped you a bit more as a person as well. If you are new to my blog you won't know that I always dedicate the last post of the year to reflecting on my year and looking toward the next.

First lets talk about my resolution for 2018. As it is for many others my goal for the new year was to get healthier and start eating right and exercising and of course losing weight. This is of course still a work in progress. I need to lose a good amount of weight still so I never expected or pressured myself to fully achieve my goal in just a year with this one. I managed to lose a total of 40 lbs overall. Sure that is not that big of a number in comparison to how much I want to lose in the long run, but I am still very happy with the progress I made. Sure with the holidays and all the obligations that come with them I did gain a little bit of that back, but I was fully anticipating that and fully plan to just get right back on track after 2019 begins. Weight was not the only accomplishment this year in the health topic though. As you probably know I started working out with a personal trainer and did more weight training this year as well. That may not seem like that big of a deal to most people but to me it was huge. Cardio was like a security blanket to me. I never ventured too far into the gym even though all this equipment was available for me to use. By working with a  trainer it helped me gain the confidence I lacked with these exercises and equipment and I am now fully comfortable doing almost anything in the gym. My diet can still use a bit of tweaking of course but I gradually improved a bit during the year. I was able to fully complete a Whole30 for 30 full days back in the fall and I want to do another soon and adapt the habits I learned into everyday life a bit better as well. All of my fitness goals progressed in 2018 in my opinion, and I fully plan on continuing them in the next year. I bought myself a new Fitbit yesterday and look forward to utilizing the new features on this new model I bought. I know I can do it and look forward to the further progress in the following year.

Another big part of my 2018 was learning to let go and cut loose from negative parts in life. I know I probably sound like a broken record at this point, but distancing yourself from people that are only bringing you down or invoke negativity in your life is probably the biggest favor you can do for yourself. I have one very specific person in mind that I had to do this with in 2018. Sure it was sad and hard to do at first, but the more time went by the more I knew it was the best thing for all parties involved. Life is pretty funny sometimes. People can walk into your life and play such a huge and important role only for them to be gone a short time later. Sometimes this is because of one person showing their true colors and the other decides that is not someone they think should be a part of their life. Sometimes loss only opens the door for your relationship with someone else to blossom even further. I came to terms with just that this year and being able to do so makes me pretty thankful.

One more specifically noticeable part of my 2018 was (in my opinion) my blogging. I started off 2018 with a second blog about makeup that I would write on alternating weeks as this page. As weeks went by I realized that I really was just not that interested in writing a makeup blog. Sure I love makeup and even like sharing my looks from time to time, but writing about it is an entirely different story. I decided I would stick with this page on a weekly basis instead since I am more passionate about this one. I was fighting to finish every post for the makeup page where this page is pretty easy for me to write. Last year I was proud of sticking to an every other week posting schedule for this page and I am even more proud to say (with the exception of one missed Sunday when I was recovering from my wisdom teeth surgery) that I posted every single Sunday on this page once I stopped posting to the makeup page. I am just a few posts shy of 100 posts now and could not be more excited to reach that milestone. Pretty crazy to think that a page I decided the summer after college to start up would still be going even stronger more than 4 years later.

Overall 2018 was a pretty great year for me. I am honestly to a point in my life now that I feel like all the right people are in my life right now. Sure there is absolutely room for some others, but they have to be pretty special to fit in that spot next to all the other amazing friends and family I have! I am on the right track as far as my fitness goals and health as well and I look forward to extending that even more in 2019. 2018 was 40 lbs down so maybe 2019 will be 80 lbs down? You never know right? 

I want to end this post by encouraging you all (as I am sure you guessed I would haha) to sit back and reflect on your year. Think of your accomplishments and remember to not to sell yourself short! Think about what new or continued goals you want to reach in the new year as well. Also, try to always be working towards goals to better yourself. Sure the new year is a great time to think of resolutions since it is a pretty common thing to do, but there is no reason you can't also set a new goal for April or July or whenever. You really should always be working to improve yourself and being the best you that you can be. Lastly, I want to wish you all a very Happy New Year! Here is to many more posts together in 2019!
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Christmas is only a few days away and with that comes all the craziness that is preparing for Christmas. There is last minute shopping, baking, food prep, wrapping... so much to get done in so little time. This year I was doing more last minute running around than I usually do and was not happy about it but we pushed through and can enjoy Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. With all the running around and things being crossed off our to-do lists I think it is extremely important to remember why we do all of this in the first place. All of the gifts we give away and kind words we give each other in honor of the holiday season are truly because we appreciate someone and are showing our gratitude.

Giving and getting gifts is fun no matter who you are. I mean who doesn't like getting a gift? I think the true meaning behind them is extremely important though. This past Friday was my last day of work before the holiday as I am sure it was for most people. I was so surprised to receive a personal gift from one of my bosses' wives, a co-worker, and an extremely generous Christmas bonus from my bosses as well. The gifts themselves I of course loved and appreciated so much, but each one came with a card or note of appreciation. Their words touched me so much. It truly is such a nice feeling when someone appreciates you but also goes out of their way to make sure you know it. Sometimes this is through material things but it doesn't always have to be. Another great example would be when my bosses go out of their way to thank me for getting something done at work. In the simplest way of putting it, they really don't need to do that since they are paying me to get this work done, but getting thanked and told you are doing a great job means so much! I am guessing for most people it is pretty motivating as well.

While you are wrapping up your gifts, running out for some last minute shopping, or filling out your cards take a few moments to really think about what the people in your life mean to you. A lot of appreciation can go without saying, but isn't it nice to say it sometimes anyways? You never know when someone might be having a bad day and your kind words can turn that around. Never take people for granted as well. I would guess that when someone cuts you out of their life it is probably because you took them for granted or did not do your very best to appreciate them and be as much of a friend as they are. Gifts and actions can get that message across for sure but sometimes it is our words that hold the most power. The holidays are a great time of year to do just that.

I wanted to end this blog by wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Take this time to enjoy yourself and though you should not go crazy, try not to be too hard on yourself either! It is so hard to believe that another year is coming to an end. I will do my usual look back on the year post next week and talk about moving forward as well. Thank you as always for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful week!
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I think this time of year is really great for reflecting on your life overall and just over the past year. I think what really shines through is the people in your life during the holidays. Sure this can sometimes mean you are exchanging gifts, going to parties, or even going to dinners with them but I really don't mean just that. Obviously the people that are closest to you are the ones you are checking off your list of people to buy gifts for. Those are going to be the people you spend the most time with or feel the closest to in certain ways. The holidays, however, also remind us of maybe times in the past with people you don't get to see too often anymore. The things all around us are constantly reminding us of people in our lives. Sometimes this can even be when you least expect it.

Just today I was doing a ton of holiday baking. I always like to put together tins of cookies for some people as gifts so we really needed to get to it and crank out our cookies this weekend. I got to decorating our usual sugar cookies which brought back memories of decorating them with friends for a number of years. We haven't done it in a few years now since we are adults and time got the best of us, but it made me reach out to them. We have been messaging back and forth for a little while now and I am so happy I did. It really is so nice reaching out to someone you were so close to at one time but have drifted apart from. Usually it is small things like these that remind us of important people in our lives no matter how often we talk to them. 

Sadly this can work both ways as well. Perhaps there is something about this time of year or something around you that reminds you of a person that negatively impacts your life. Just this week I decided to change up the pictures I have hanging up in my cubical at work because some of them had a person in them that I really just consider a negative person in my life now. I figured it was something that just needed to be done since this person is no longer a positive impact in my life. For my own mental health it just made sense to remove those pictures. I can also think of a gift someone gave me years ago that is no longer in my life. This gift was handmade so there was a certain level of guilt I felt getting rid of it. I recently threw it away since I have no connection with this person anymore and have no reason to keep it. I felt a huge sense of relief when I did this and they guilt was completely gone. Getting rid of these types of things like pictures or gifts gave me a lot of closure. It is almost like, at least for me, that final door that needs to be shut so you can move on with the people in your life that remain to be a positive influence. 

Things and events really do remind us of the people in our lives quite often. I have mentioned both positive and negative examples. I want you to think about the things that remind you of certain people in your life. Maybe you put up a special Christmas ornament on your tree because it reminds you of someone every year and makes you smile. Maybe you will take out an old craft being made by a loved one like my mother did today. She took out an unfinished craft my grandma was working on before she passed, only to find her needle still sticking out of the yarn. Such a small little thing can be such a huge reminder of someone very special in your life. Take that time to think of the negative examples of this as well. I would encourage you to get rid of the things that remind you of negative people. They are only going to tether you to the negative feelings. I can tell you first hand that it is a very big sigh of relief when you do.
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Sometimes ideas for blog posts just completely randomly come to me. This week I decided to write about fear and how it can hold us back. There is no set reason that came to me this week but I figured it would be a great topic to write about and put a positive spin on. 

Sit and think for a few moments about all of the causes of fear in your life. A huge one for me was my fear of learning to drive for a very long time. For years I watched all my friends my age go right out to take their written learner's permit test and then right into the road test to get their official license. I did not take my learner's permit test until I was 19 and I did not take my road test for years following at 24. The only thing holding me back was fear. Looking back now I regret waiting so long. I am so completely comfortable driving now and love the independence of being able to go where I need to go when I need to, and not needing to wait around for someone to take me. Fear held me back from that for a very long time.

Another great example that I know a lot of people will relate to was fear of joining and going to a gym. Being someone at a visibly high weight I absolutely had no desire to ever start going to a gym. When I first started making sure I was exercising I started out with the Wii Fit and other home workouts. Those are and were of course great and I lost a good amount of weight doing that, but eventually it was no longer challenging to me. I was letting my fear of funny looks and judgements keep me from going to the gym. As you all probably know I now go to the gym on a very frequent basis and work with a personal trainer. I started off slow and went with Steph but when our schedules started clashing I had to be responsible to go on my own. I soon came to realize that most people at the gym are not concerned with the people around them at all, myself included. I go to the gym and get my workout done and leave. Sure I interact with people here and there but for the most part I keep to myself. Fear of people's judgements should not be holding you back from the gym because chances are they are not paying much attention to you.

Those were just a few specific examples in my life but I think fear holds all of us back to some degree. Sure there are more obvious ways such as not wanting to take a public speaking class in college because you fear presentations, or the fear of sky diving etc. but there are so many not as obvious reasons as well. Maybe you have been worried about putting yourself out there more in search or a new relationship. Maybe you are scared to open yourself up more to the world. Maybe you a nervous to speak to your boss about a well deserved raise. I could go on and on. I am sure if you look deep inside of yourself you can think of plenty of things in your life that fear is holding you back from.

My advice would be to try and put fear aside and jump into something new. I personally need to take this advice a little head on myself sometimes. I write for this page to share the journey I am on both in my weight-loss and my positivity. I never claimed to be perfect and to be living a purely positive life every single day. We are all works in progress, but I digress. Try not to let fear hold you back. Ask those fearful questions to the people around us. Try out a new activity you were worried about trying before. Tell somebody exactly how you feel about them. Do your very best to live without fear. It will always be in our lives, but we can do our very best to not allow it to control us.
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This past Monday I finally went back to the gym. It had been three weeks exactly since the last workout I had and I decided to jump right in and schedule a training session with my personal trainer. I honestly struggled through the entire thing and couldn't even finish the entire workout. To say I was sore the following days would be a huge understatement. It was honestly insane to me how much my body changed just in those three weeks. Now I understand that three weeks is a big chunk of time on one hand, but on the other it really isn't. I have been doing training sessions for months now and gaining muscle and such during those months. All that time dedicated to progress and a wisdom teeth surgery knocked me back down a couple of pegs. Pretty crazy right?

Fast forward to Thursday when I had my next session. I honesty was not expecting a whole lot. I had been fairly busy at work this past week so I was a little stressed, Christmas shopping and budgeting usually stresses anyone out, and my legs were still a bit sore from the session on Monday. I pushed through and was able to complete the entire workout and even do a couple extra rounds of kettlebell swings and kettlebell high pulls at the end. The funny part is I left that workout in an amazing mood. All week prior I was in a funk from everything around me. Nothing major, just a bit more tired than usual and not as much pep in my step. As soon as I pushed through and was determined to finish my workout I got myself right out of that. 

Moving forward I am absolutely determined to never go that long without working out again. I was honestly amazed at how difficult that first workout was when I finally got back. Sure there will be weeks where I don't make it every day I plan to and I am sure there will be weeks here and there that I don't make it at all. Life happens, of course some things are unavoidable but I will most definitely do what I can as often as I can in the future. 

I am going to sound a bit out of character for my page for a second here, but bringing this up has a very good tie in. Last summer when I was unemployed I used to watch live streams on Twitch during the day. I came across someone playing a game named Undertale and instantly fell in love. Maybe the fact that I have never actually played the game is problematic in calling myself a fan, but to be honest I have not played too many video games since I was a teenager. Even then I was never really good at them and lacked the patience I needed to succeed in a lot of them. I have always been more interested in the storylines rather than the gameplay which is why I will watch streams. Undertale is no different. It really is such an intricate story with very charming characters. There are a ton of secrets involved and even multiple ways to play the game. The reason I bring this game up, however, is because of the theme that runs through the game no matter how you play it: Determination. 

Determination is not only mentioned at the save points in the game with little messages such as "playfully crinkling through the leaves fills you with determination," but is a constant theme throughout the entire game. There is even a song on the soundtrack named "Determination" as well. Now why do I bring this up you may be wondering. Well in order to finish any angle of the game the player must have determination to finish. That can be said about really any goal in your life. Just like the save point in the games anything can be filling you with determination. If I had checked in at a save point at one point last week it probably would have read "the intense soreness in your legs fills you with determination." I am now very determined to get right back onto my gym schedule that I was in before because of how much a break changed my body. My pain only offered me more of a drive to push through. Find a goal that is worth your time and desire and you too will be filled with determination! 

If you have a passion for something, you probably have some determination to reach a certain goal involving this passion. Find that determination and let it guide you to that goal. We should all be determined to reach something in our lives. Find your save point and see what fills you with determination and move forward! I always sign off on my posts by encouraging my readers to take action in their lives. You may have a gym related goal like me, you may have a career goal, a hobby goal, etc. but you will never reach these goals without determination!
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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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