A Decision To Try

Alright, I have sort of been putting this post off for well, a long while now. I wasn't sure what exactly to write or where exactly to start but day after day in the working world I see it time and time again. The unhealthy eating, the pool amount of coffee consumed, the frozen meal lunches, the going out to eat, etc.

Here is the deal. I believe I was blessed with the life I have been given including a well functioning body to live that life in. However, that being said, it is completely my responsibility to take care of it. I was placed on this Earth for a specific reason and though I do not know what that exactly is yet, I don't want anything to keep me from doing that. Meaning, I need to properly nourish my body and do the best I can to take care of what I have been given.

Lets start right now by saying, I have never been overweight BUT in college, my bad eating habits started to catch up to me. I would workout but I was a daily McDonalds diet coke drinker, potato chip lover, and dorm diner. Meaning, my pants were getting a weeeeee bit tight. BUT bigger then that, I wasn't sleeping, I was exhausted all day, the circles under my eyes were as dark as night. I even was asked on numerous occasions, even by a police officer, if someone had punched me in the face and I had black eyes.

This leads me to where a whole new journey started. January 2012, my sister and brother-in-law came over for football Sunday (a regular family feasting event in this house) but this time they came with their own snacks in hand: celery, carrots, etc. I straight up told them they were out of their minds. Who does that healthy diet crap anyways???? Well every time I came home, I somehow ended up with some lovely Spark packets in my bag upon my return. After a while, I was so entirely drained, my energy was at rock bottom and figured I may as well give it a try. Well, needless to say I started drinking it daily. My daily diet coke runs became far less and even few and far in between. That my friends was success #1.

Success #2 is a bit different then most peoples health journeys. College was extremely hard for me, and exams were even worse. With 50% failure rates and test averages being in the 40% range, who in their right mind wouldn't be nervous walking into those exams??? I am talking sweaty hands, turning stomach, and tears rolling down my face when I realized I couldn't fully answer a single question on the test. Well my sister started throwing around the idea of trying one of her other lovely health products: clear mood or oasis. Being desperate, I agreed. I will just tell you I went from a D and C test average to Bs and even As!!!!!!!

Stay tuned for the rest of my story/success later this week.........

"Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try"

 

Plan to Succeed

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

-Benjamin Franklin

You see, growing up, we ALWAYS packed our backpacks and lunches the night before. We almost ALWAYS had our clothes picked out as well. Some of these habits followed me through high school and college but it was never very organized. I tried countless ways to be organized in college and other then my school work, everything else almost always ended up a big flop.

Starting a real career job has been a crazy adventure! There are a lot of things that I don't miss from college, like having homework to do until weeeeee hours of the morning. But, I also discovered that I hate having to take time out of my evenings to get ready for the next day, it makes that precious free time too short. I have opted for using Sunday to get organized for the week. Right now, it takes me most of the day Sunday to clean, do laundry, get organized and everything (probably because I am in no rush to do it). While I had many things I could blog about, I have had a number of people ask me how I organize myself, so here ya go!!

But first, I would like to show off a new pinterest success:

A mason jar holder to free up some bathroom counter space!!! What a cute and fun way to have easy access to the things I use everyday while not leaving it all over the counters!

Anyways.... How do I organize??????

1.Planning out my outfits in advance *Already featured on a blog*

For me, only having to iron once for the entire week is the best thing ever. So Sundays after I do all my laundry, fold it, and put it away, I plan out my work outfits for the week AND iron them. This includes: shirts, slacks/skirts, under garments, shoes, as well as workout clothes and pajamas for that night. For many this may be overkill but for me, it just works.

2. Workbag essentials.

 Most days, (if you work in a field similar to most) you will need the same things every day, so pack your bag so its ready for the week! My necessities are: Spark, a blender bottle, water bottle, lunch, planner, notebook to track meals/food, notebook (you never know when you need to take notes!), chapstick, a pen, a flash-drive, wallet, my glasses, my work computer, and an emergency snack! All packed nicely in a Vera Bradley bag (thanks Doud family- this makes a GREAT graduation gift FYI).

3. The gym bag!!!

For me, I like to workout after work so its important to have my bag ready to go with me in the morning otherwise it is far to easy to say "I'll come home after work to change" because we all know, I don't go back out then. SO what is in my gym bag you ask??? Workout shoes, shorts, spandex shorts for under my shorts (I like Nike Combat Pro!), a sports bra (Target is my fav), a workout tank, socks, knee brace, a towel, I-pod, arm band for I-pod, Spark and catalyst (pre-workout), notecards for each day with my workout written down, a pen to jot down the weight used or modifications to my original plan, weight lifting gloves (classy girls do NOT have calluses on their hands!) and then an extra pair of shoes to wear on my way home (you shouldn't wear your workout/running shoes for anything BUT that)!!

4. Vitamins/Supplements

If you are like ALMOST everyone else, you fail at remembering to take your vitamins everyday. Guilty as charged. I almost ALWAYS forget. But, if you separate them out and include them on your daily plan (more on that later) then you are much more likely to remember taking them. I divide them out in a bag for each day! *I will blog more specifically about what products I use another time*

5. Tracking System

Reality is, you need a long term organization system to meet goals, regardless what those goals may be. Mine so happen to revolve around fitness and healthy eating. SO if you read through this blog so far, you may have noticed I mentioned that I write my workouts down on a notecard and that I mentioned a daily plan. You read correct, I have a notecard for each day that I write down my workout. That notecard goes with me and I jot down the amount of weight I used or any modifications I made during my workout. Then it gets filed into my workout binder. My workout binder has dividers where I put notes for different workouts for arms, legs, back, etc. Then in the back, I have a plain white sheet of paper for every week and I tape the notecards to that sheet when I am done with my workout. Then I have logged what my plan was, what actually happened, and helps track progress!!

The daily plan refers to exactly that, I plan out for the week what I intend on eating when. Like my workouts, it doesn't always follow so I have a notebook that I carry with me where I write down what exactly I ate, when I ate it and if I don't feel well. The binder contains recipes and healthy eating guidelines! Similarly to the back of the workout binder, I put my weekly plans in the back of my healthy eating binder.

6. Finances

You need to watch your money. You should be watching your income (how much is being taken out in taxes etc). You should be watching how much you spend on bills, clothes, food, entertainment etc. I personally use an excel spreadsheet to track all of this information. But you need to workout a system for you. I have seen premade notebooks for this exact thing!

Bottom line is, you must plan to succeed. Or maybe you don't. But for me, my week goes much much much smoother when I have things planned out and ready for Monday-Friday when I go to bed on Sunday. It allows me time to workout, hang out with my family, and get snuggle time in with my favorite nephew during the week!!

Have a SPARKLING week!! 

As always, if you have questions, need advice, or tips, email me at: thebloomingace@gmail.com

“If you don't know where you are going,
you'll end up someplace else.”

-Yogi Berra

Real Talk: Make the Most of Your Energy

1 day short of completing surviving 6 weeks in the business world. We have already chatted about the various things I have faced: the gallons of coffee consumed, the everyday "lunch goers", the stubborn pastries that always seem to lurk in the kitchen, and more coffee- its EVERYWHERE.

There is a common phrase used at work nearly ALL the time: "Make the most of your energy".

Okay cool. Go get your coffee, your donut, and settle in for a quick lesson. (After all, this may be your last cup of nasty bitter coffee and your last 500 calorie pastry.)

Make the most of your energy huh? What does that even mean? What energy? Do you wake up everyday dragging, hitting snooze 10 times, skipping breakfast, drinking enough coffee in a day to fill a pool??? Is that you??? Yeah, that's what I thought. Listen close, that was me. Well, that still somewhat is me. BUT here is the thing, I have been doing A LOT of reading on healthy eating, balanced eating, how to increase your energy, how to balance everything, and more. Well it all comes down to one thing........ fuel. Do you fill your car with koolaid? Do you give your baby pop? (if you answered yes to that, we need to make an intervention). No, I didn't think so. So let me ask you a question, why are you fueling yourself with things that your body doesn't want or doesn't need???? Lets face it, technology has come SO far but so has the modification of food. Isn't it sad that you have to decide between regular or organic fruit?? Fruit is fruit, well it should be anyways.

No, I am not a doctor, No I didn't study nutrition. I am just like you, I have the ability to use the internet and the local library to research about healthy eating. Nearly a year ago, I made a BIG change and dropped 10lbs and an overall 10 inches, wowzers! Since then, I lightened the floor load a total of 18lbs and a lot of inches.... More important than the weight was the way I felt. I said it before and I will say it again, what college kid do you know that gets up to workout at 5:30/6 am?? Yeah, not very many (if any). I am not perfect, I ate too many twizzlers on my roadtrip this summer (Cori and I like to refer to our lack of ab definition as "them twizzler abs" from our roadtrip). I went from eating almost no processed food to being a muncher. My body noticed... a lot. I am back to working out and on the road to eating what my body NEEDS. Don't get me wrong, I love a lot of things that aren't persay "fuel" but the key is moderation. I don't need chips everyday, simple as that.

You have to be the one to make the decision. You have to want it. It probably won't be easy. You probably will stumble and fall, but you can get back up. I can't want it more then you, YOU have to want it for yourself. Once you make that decision, IT'S GO TIME!!!!!!!!!!!

Ready to make some changes?? Email me at thebloomingace@gmail.com and lets chat.

“We can't be afraid of change. You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea. Holding onto something that is good for you now, may be the very reason why you don't have something better.”
-C. JoyBell C


I have been asked to share how I plan out my weekly meals/eating along with workouts, I am currently working on how exactly I want to roll out all of that so stay tuned for blog posts coming soon!!!

What is success?

"I worked 80 hours this week!" 

"I worked 60!"

 "I traveled ALL week"

Chances are, if you work in the business world, you have heard at least one of these statements, if not all of them. Lets take a minute and ponder something....

What does success mean to you?

Does success mean spending 80 hours at work? Does it mean going in early and staying late? Does it mean working your Saturday and Sunday away? If so, well I guess you can stop reading now. If the things that came to mind include spending time outside of work on yourself, family, friends, your spouse, your kids etc then maybe you should read on.... 

As if summer wasn't crazy enough in everyone's life, this summer was ESPECIALLY crazy in my life. Between graduating college, going on a roadtrip with friends, a trip with my parents, a volunteer mission trip, moving, starting a REAL career job, and welcoming my nephew into the world, it has been quite the whirlwind! However, this weekend I took some time and spent most of my Saturday at the zoo!! We had a LOT of fun watching all the animals, laughing at all the exhibits, and taking 350 pictures (okay maybe that was just me). Having a day outside in the sun, walking around, and doing something I enjoy was such a good way to enjoy my time away from the working world.

But really, my point is work life balance. My parents always taught us that if you work hard, you can play hard. Both of my parents have always worked extremely hard but have always made a point to spend time with us growing up. We ALWAYS had family dinners around the table. We ALWAYS spent the weekends together: at home, camping, boating, hunting, etc. Owning their own business, they obviously put in more then 40 hours a week but they always make sure to balance family life with work.

Don't get me wrong. You, especially as a new employee, need to put your time in. You must work hard, be early, and even stay a little late. But you have to keep yourself healthy too. Working 80 hours a week is going to run your body into the ground and FAST! But hey, if that is your thang, don't let me stop you.

In college, I wasn't always the best at balancing school work with a social life but senior year, I finally found what worked for me. I have always been pretty active. Working out always seemed appealing but I was guilty of the "I don't have time for that" the first 3 years of college. But senior year of college, something changed for me. I guess maybe the fact my fast metabolism started to slow down and I gained a few pounds may have been a bit of a turning point but more then that, I was tired of feeling tired. I started getting myself out of bed at 5:40am and to the gym by 6:00am. For a college kid, that is nearly unheard of. But it made a HUGE difference in my day. I was on a schedule, I went to bed consistently, I ate healthier, and I felt SO much better. I have a lot of thanks to my sister and brother-in-law for sparking that change for me.

Adjusting to a full time working schedule without homework at night and a whole different set of challenges have been things I needed to hurdle (you can read my past blogs for some of those). I can confidently say going into week 6 of the working world, I seem to have a handle on my new schedule. I am planning out my meals, my workouts, and my clothes for the week on Sunday afternoons. I get up and make myself a real breakfast, I track my food throughout the day, and I workout after work. Some days it doesn't work out as I plan but for the most part, it seems to be the key. Okay so maybe you aren't as organized as I am BUT I can assure you that a little planning goes a LONG way in having a better week.

You have to find something that works for you. I have noticed that a lot of people watch TV to unwind at night. My Mom likes to sew at night, my coworkers watch TV, some people are internet surfers. I am a gym goer. I like to work of some stress from the day. I like to push myself. I like to be up and moving from sitting at a desk all day. But like I said, you have to do what works for you!!!!! But maybe consider something that betters yourself....

Questions for me?? Email me at thebloomingace@gmail.com

Have a SPARKLING week!!!

“Make the most of yourself....for that is all there is of you.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

What do you mean you DON'T drink coffee?!

This week marks the 1 month (5th week) of working in the professional world for me. Let me tell you, I have learned more lessons then I can even tell you. There are some things that people just don't tell you about!! If you read my update last week, you know that I experienced my first "being late" traumatic event. It seems as though my Mondays are, well, cursed. I'm not talking about the "everyone hates Monday" kick, I really do mean that my Mondays always come with an extra surprise. This time I wasn't late, I was 7 days early for a meeting at another office. Talk about awkward. You learn to take these things in stride. But today I would like to share some other things with you....

One of the BIGGEST things I have noticed since I started working is that EVERYONE and their brother has a coffee mug on their desk. I have only seen one person with a water bottle. How do these people even survive????? Did you know 60% of your body is water?! Are these people made of 60% coffee?? I get asked single day if I want coffee and I always reply "no thank you". I don't even like coffee. Apparently this is NOT normal in the business world. Someone even told me to force myself to drink it until I like it. Um.... No thanks. #1 I save a lot of money by not going to starbucks, not having to buy a coffee pot, not having to buy coffee! #2 Unless you drink straight black coffee, it simply isn't healthy for your body. Need the caffeine? There are a ton of other ways to up your energy (I will blog about that another day). But, seriously, all day and these people don't drink a single glass of water. Here I am, downing over 60oz of water at work. If you drink a lot of water, you know how often you have to use the restroom. Yeah, annoying. But alas, everyday I stare at them in amazement that they can sit there and drink coffee for 9 hours.

That brings me to the next point, as if filling themselves with coffee isn't bad enough, the food is a whole different ball game. I don't know about anyone else but I have always been active. In college, I was a 6am gym goer and walked A LOT between classes and throughout the day. Having to sit at a desk all day is definitely a change for me. Having to build a new schedule with the gym AFTER work is really hard but I am getting use to it. I am really trying to eat a well balanced diet to try to get my energy levels on track (without coffee that is). But every single day, I have to turn down some kind of food at work. People in the business world like to eat out for lunch.... all the time. I packed my lunch from kindergarten all the way through senior year of high school. In college I rarely ate out. I felt rude the first few weeks turning down lunch invitations but in order to benefit my health and well being, I have limited my eating out. Hey, a "no thanks I brought my lunch" really isn't frowned upon most days. But worse then the eating out is the cupcakes, cake, cookies, white bread sandwiches, etc all brought in to the office. Let me tell you turning down that cupcake isn't easy. But if I ate everything everyone offered to me, my pants surely wouldn't fit anymore. You learn to balance being polite and watching out for your personal well being.... well I have.

You have to do what works for YOU!