Day 15 check in...

 

Hello Everyone!! I'm sooooo SORRY that it's taken me so long to write a post...well, actually I made a post last week and as soon as I was about click publish EVERYTHING erased -____- lol!!
So let me update you on everything!!

So if you've been reading, or following..esp on instagram...You'll see that I'm counting my days until I hit 90.  I started this 90 day challenge for myself 15 days ago because I wanted to motivate myself all over again with something new...I started my weight loss recordings all over and even started my food diary over with a day 1.  Since I've started my 90 day challenge I've been eating healthy and working out every single day...except one day in the week I have a rest day, so all together I work out 6 days a week.

Recently I've been working out with my friend who's been putting together these insane workouts where we workout for about 3hours and lately we've been burning up to 1,000+ calories in every workout. lol. They're so intense & challenging BUT they're so fun because we literally push ourselves and each other.  When I say intense I MEAN BEYOND INTENSE. Like death type workouts LOL!! but I LOVE THEM!! I love seeing how far I can push my body.. it's beyond amazing to me that your body is stronger than your mind. 
The fact that your physical body can show people how hard you've worked and what kind of diet you eat is beyond mind boggling to me. 

 

 Those are just a couple of gym pictures I take of how much I burn and what type of workouts I invent for myself. lol. I push myself so hard in the gym I love how much stronger I've gotten.

I looked in the mirror one day and honestly couldn't believe how far I've come.  My squats and leg days have DEF worked out for the best of me!! I remember I had NO back side before this transformation process! lol!

My meals have seem to gotten much smaller, I can't eat nearly as much as I used to be able to.  I eat 3 meals a day with a snack in between breakfast and lunch and one in between lunch and dinner.  My snacks are usually any type of fruit or nuts (peanuts mostly).  Here are a couple of my meals that I've taken pictures of...[I post a lot of my meals on instagram on the daily @xxxtinemarie is my name]

 

Here are a couple pics of how breakfast usually looks:

 

This was amazing!! It was banana slices with peanut butter on a whole wheat tortilla toasted on a skillet. =peanut butter & banana quesadilla :)

 

So for breakfast I usually have a boiled egg, fruit (I tend to eat a lot of berry type fruits) and some type of carb (I switch between a slice of toast, cup of cereal or 1/2 cup of oatmeal).

 

Here are some pictures of my lunch meals::

 

For lunch I always try to have some type of protein whether it's a boiled egg (I limit myself to 2 boiled eggs a day) or some baked chicken with a side of veggies. 

 

Here are some pictures of dinner: (dinner usually consists of some type of protein and veggies also...if I ever want dessert, its usually a cup of some fruit)

 

 

SNACKS::

 

 

Changing my diet was the number one thing that changed everything!! Also keeping a food diary kept me accountable for myself.  Being able to visually see what I ate on paper kept myself in check and allowed me to see an estimation of how many calories I was eating a day. (I try to keep my intake around 1200-1600)

 

I remember my logic used to be....if I burn enough calories, I can eat whatever I want and maintain my weight....SIKE, I ended up gaining over 30lbs!

 

 

 

 

These are 2 before and after pictures that are so surreal to me every time I look at them... The before picture in both are taken in August of last year and the after pictures are taken during this past week on my way to workout....

At one point other people were my motivation to change my lifestyle, work out and fix my diet.... NOW, I AM my own motivation. I look at myself in the mirror every morning and it keeps me going.  It pushes me to get to the gym EVERY SINGLE DAY.  I've lost about 45lbs+ and I'm nowhere near finish....I JUST STARTED!!

 

A lot of people have been asking me different types of questions, but the top question I get is..."What keeps you motivated?"

Honestly...what kept me motivated was myself! I had to honestly believe that I was gonna transform my body.  I would look at before and after pictures for a month straight...sometimes until 4 in the morning.  I researched and read fitness articles every single night before bed.  I planned out what I would eat for the next day every night.  I was so determined that I was tired of starting over and saying "Ok, tomorrow I'll start." I said that for over a year and gained 20lbs. So I made my mind up and decided that I would stick to it this time!

 

I honestly believe if YOU want it, then YOU WILL do anything to get it.  You can't be inconsistent. You can't be lazy. You can't do it for 2 weeks and think you're gonna change overnight...It's a process and you HAVE to fall in love with it!

I did this all by MYSELF, NO shakes, NO corsets, NO quick/crash diets, and NO gym in the first 3 months....It was ALL will power and DEDICATION.

I usually go to bootcamp every Sunday but today I took a well needed rest day and I KNOW tomorrow is gonna be another CRAZY, INSANE, DEATH workout so I'm resting up for it.

 

 

I hope this post gives you guys some insight on how I've been keeping up with my goals, fitness and lifestyle changes.  I don't consider myself on a diet, I just eat according to my goals and what I honestly want to eat.  I'm beyond happy with the results I have gotten throughout this process and I fall in love with the process more and more EVERY SINGLE DAY!! :)

 

 

 



 









Day 4 of 90....

Hello Everyone!!!

Sorry It's taken so long to write a post... So let me update you on what's new....

 So On Sunday, March 16, 2014 I started a 90 day challenge... [I should have wrote a post on my first day, I'm so sorry I've been so busy trying to get school and work situated.] But the week before that I went on this binge where I was eating everything in sight until I got so full I couldn't breathe lol!

 I even have my days...where I lose it but before I'm too far gone, I catch myself! That's why I started another 90 day challenge for myself and I even asked anyone and everyone to join me on my journey just to show you guys what 90 days can do!  

For these next 90 days all I’m asking is for DEDICATION, DISCIPLINE, PATIENCE, build some WORK ETHICS, show me PASSION and to just try as hard as you can!! No cheating yourself, research when you’re lost about something and CONSISTENCY! You can do so much in 90 Days…. The end date of my 90 days is June 14, 2014. Here is what my Day 1 looks like…

I also started my food diary all over starting at Day 1 for a fresh new start…

Here are some pictures of my meals I’ve ate so far starting at Day 2:

(Breakfast: green pepper, onion & spinach omelette with multigrain toast)

(Also had 1/2 cup of strawberries & grapes with breakfast)

Day 3:

(Breakfast: boiled egg, multigrain toast w/ one tablespoon of peanut butter, cup of grapes, green tea with lemon. Book; The Power of Your Subconscious Mind)

(Postworkout lunch: baked chicken, boiled egg, 2 tablespoons of hummus with 1 carrot stalk)

Day 4 (today) March 19, 2014:

(Breakfast: cup of Cheerios with sliced bananas, 1/2 cup of light vanilla soy milk, boiled egg, green tea with honey & lemon)

(Snack: one celery stalk with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, topped with dried cranberries & a small tangerine)

(Lunch: 1/2 chicken & spinach sandwhich with hummus & mustard, 1/2 grapefruit, carrots & hummus to dip)

(Dinner: cabbage & cannellini bean soup with baked chicken on the side. And I had a cup of grapes for dessert)

On Day 1 I went to bootcamp and did 2 sessions because I was eating so bad the previous day…

I’ve also changed up my workouts a little… last month I was doing 30mins of cardio and about 30-45mins of circuit training with weight lifting with a specific muscle group every day (arms, shoulders, legs, back etc.) 

This month I’ve been doing a lot of interval, HIIT (high intensity interval training), calisthenics, body weight type of exercising. I’m also training for a half marathon (13.1 miles) so I’ve been trying to strengthen my muscles. I’m so happy that the weather is finally breaking in Michigan.  I finally did my first run outside instead of the treadmill and my pace/timing is so off…I was a little disappointed but I’m just gonna work on it.

The main reason I did this 90 days is because I saw myself picking up bad habits again… I basically ate what I wanted for 3 consistent days (I had my reasons) but I knew I couldn’t keep going or else I’d lose myself.  For those 3 days of eating BS I could honestly feel the impact… I got lazy, my mood was shitty, I was angry and I didn’t feel good.  Day 4 (today) I feel so much better! I have more energy and I’m happier! Lol! This 90 day challenge for myself is just another nice way I can motivate myself.  I’m so excited to see what I’ll look like on day 30… (I decided to take pictures every 30 days for progress)

My one year mark of changing my lifestyle is coming up in August and I can’t believe it…. Here’s another progress picture of me from back in August to this month….

 

The difference is amazing and I still can’t believe how much I accomplished! I literally still look at my before pictures every night before I go to bed. I love the fact that once upon a time other people’s before &  after pictures was my motivation but now I AM my own motivation and it feels so good.

I really cant wait to see what my body will look like 85 days from now!! So I’m asking anyone and everyone to join me! Just watch what hard work can do! You wont regret it, you’ll only regret that you didn’t do it!

Vampire status...

Good Morning Everyone! :)

So.... I actually have not been to sleep yet.... I got in the bed at about 1:30am and read a couple articles on my phone and attempted to go to sleep at about 2 but I literally was tossing and turning from 2-4am. OMG!!! I don't have any idea on why I was so restless either!

So guess what I did...

YUP!! I got dressed and went to the gym at 4am... lol!!! and honestly... it felt amazing! I ran 2miles and I kinda did some meditation while running, and did some self awareness exercises so it was pretty refreshing. I also did some lunges with a 30lb straight bar, some arm exercises and in between my circuit training I added a lot of HIIT exercises (high intense interval training). I intended to go light and easy since I haven't been to sleep yet but I ended up going extra hard. lol

I ended up burning 862 calories!! I couldn't believe it! lol. I've honestly been pushing and challenging myself in my workouts.  I try to maintain a heart rate over 150 throughout my workout, and on the last set of each exercise I go until I cant go anymore.  "If it doesn't challenge you, it won't change you!"

Well after my workout, of course I had my protein shake. I then took a shower and an hour later I made breakfast which was one boiled egg, a slice of multigrain toast with about half a tablespoon of peanut butter and about 5 sliced up strawberries. Soooooo YUMMY! :)

So I came across this quote and it made me think of the growth I've gone through throughout this lifestyle change I've made...

Before I really became serious about my lifestyle changes, I had so much doubt about myself and I could never stick to my goals, my diets or my workouts.  I would constantly be in and out of it.  I'd eat a slice of pizza and instead of having a "cheat meal", I would have a "cheat day" which turned into "cheat weeks" and then before I knew it, I was back to my old habits.  I would buy all the healthy foods and as soon as a slice of dessert was in my face I had no will power.  Months would pass and suddenly I looked at the scale and I gained over 20lbs.  I would get dressed to go out and couldn't fit any of my clothes and if I did, I didn't feel comfortable in them and was insecure about how I looked the whole night and couldn't even enjoy myself or the moment. 

I always felt like a failure and that it would take me forever to lose all the weight but in the back of my mind I always knew I would do it! Then one day I literally stayed up until 4am looking at people's before and after pictures of their healthy lifestyle transformations and read what they had to say, and they all had one thing in common....they became happier, positive  people.  Them losing weight was just a plus to them growing internally as a person!

I can't stress enough how much this lifestyle change has taught me.  This journey has been eye-opening, spiritually, mentally, internally and externally.  I encourage you to fully embrace this process and realize how strong of a person it is making you. Not everyone can do it!  And of course it's gonna be hard, if it was easy...EVERYBODY would do it! Don't be part of the 70% that gives up!! You got this!!!

Okk... I think I MIGHT be getting sleepy now, Hope you guys have a good day!
Remember to keep your thoughts positive!!

"Every experience begins with a thought and our experience changes when we change the thought."

You ARE what YOU think!!! Be positive. Have faith. Think God loving thoughts and all the miracles that you are supposed to receive will fall into your lap!

.....one more before & after picture for some inspiration ;)

Goodnight! or Goodmorning! lol

 

 

In my Zen :)

Hey guys!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful beautiful day! I sure did!! :) 

Today went really smooth. I started my day with my morning meditation. I try to meditate for at least 10-15mins. I honestly feel like meditation is necessary for the body as water is necessary for life. You must get in touch with your soul, rid all of your external thoughts and allow yourself to just be. It will allow you to change your thoughts from negativity to positivity & you will exuberate positivity in all aspects of life. 

I've been reading this book & it has gave me so much insight on my thoughts and on life. Basically it talks about how every thought is a cause that produces an effect. So you must keep your mind in a loving place so that you can experience loving effects. 

This is the ONE thing that stuck out to me... If we are all God's children, He created us to be God loving and innocent. So you must remember that God dwells within your mind & there are NO forces over which He has no control. So...through His power within you, there are NO mortal conditions over which you are powerless. You must thing Loving thoughts internally to feel the universe give you love externally. [idk if that makes am sense to you but you guys gotta read this book!! Lol. I'm on my 2nd time reading it. This time I'm taking notes. And I legit read the whole book in one day.] 

I feel like if I keep reading this book it will keep my thoughts in check. 

Anyways....back to my day! Lol. Today for breakfast I had some yogurt with a little granola, sliced almonds, strawberries topped with some chia seeds and a boiled egg. I also had a nice hot cup of green tea with honey & lemon. 

It was so yummy! And healthy!!! :) 

For lunch I made a chicken wrap with romain, green pepper, onions, tomatoes, a little cheese and mustard. The wrap was of course whole wheat. I also had celery with peanut butter and dried cranberries on the side. The celery was suprisingly so good!!! I think I'm gonna eat some again tomorrow! 

For my snack I had a small green apple, a boiled egg & some peanuts. 

Then for dinner I had a 4inch turkey sub from jimmy johns that's brother had, a side of sliced chicken breast and a cup of carrot cake yogurt. (The yogurt was actually really good, only 60calories & 3g of sugar!! I think I'm gonna go get some more tomorrow!) 

Then I waited about 2 1/2 hours before going to the gym. Today I wanted to go hard and my goal was to burn at least 800 calories. So I made up a nice HIIT workout. I am falling in love with them!! They're basically a group of exercises that keep your heart rate up. 

That's what I did at the gym today after running 2miles. And guess what!....

I burned 950 calories!!!! I was so happy!! I burned off more than half of what I ate today! 

Tomorrow is weigh in day for me as is every Friday and I'm scared because I feel like I didn't lose any weight. But I honestly feel like I've gained some muscle. So we'll see...as long as I didn't gain any weight I'll be ok but I'm so scared!! 

Anyways...today is throwback Thursday, so let me take you guys back to 7 months ago to an unhappy girl...

...and look at me NOW!!! My goodness when they say hard work, works...it WORKS!!! I will be a testimony to that!!! I worked my ass off for this body! And I'm still nowhere near where I wanna be! If I did this in 7 months wait until another 7 months pass!!! I'm destined to be GREAT!!! 

It's amazing that I can be MY OWN MOTIVATION now. I remember staying up till 4 o'clock in the morning for so many nights looking at people's transformation pictures...now, I stare at own MY PROGRESS!!! I fuckin love it!!! 

Also yesterday was Ash Wednesday...the start of Lent. Remember that He sacrificed his life for us, so keep your thoughts as God would want you to, be kind, merciful, gracious and grateful. If you're ever lost...take a moment and talk to God...he always knows the answers, you just have to listen. 

"Know God,

Know peace. 

No God. 

No peace."

Me & mommy at mass yesterday. :)

Hope everyone has a beautiful night. Sorry for the late post. 

Night! :)

Thoughts...

Hello everyone!!

 

In this post I want to share a lot of different thoughts and things that I’ve been practicing and doing…

 

I haven’t been this happy in such a long time.  The happiness I feel now is even different; I have a legitimate internal happiness with myself that is full of joy, love and gratefulness.  I’ve felt happiness when I graduated college, when I’m with friends, when I travel out of town for a vacation but now I am truly happy with life, myself and every moment that passes.

 

I’ve been put in a situation where I’m not exactly happy with the turn out but if this situation never happened I truly believe I would have never found this new happiness I have now.  I have evolved and grown into a much better person inside and out.  The struggles I have been facing have only made me stronger and have created a story for myself that I have embraced.

At one point in my life I was disgusted with myself, hated how I looked, lived everyday as yesterday and couldn’t even allow the present or future to become of anything because of my thoughts and resentments with myself and people.  Everyday was a struggle for me and every thought was pure negativity and I couldn’t fix it.

 

When I first started my healthy lifestyle changes it was the hardest thing I ever made myself do…besides nursing school lol.  But changing my lifestyle made me such a better person, it taught me will power, perseverance and dedication.  Changing your lifestyle to a healthier one is something that will change you completely.  It’s hard in the beginning but in the end it is so worth it.  Every cliché quote about fitness and clean eating is beyond true and hard work shows results.  It shows the world that you didn’t give up, that you worked your ass off for the body you wanted.  When you rid your body of all the toxins all the fake foods and replace it with nutritional foods you feel better, your skin glows, you add years onto your life, you rid disease processes from happening to your body.

In this process I have also became a lot closer to my higher power.  I finally came to believe that a Power greater than myself could restore me to sanity.  I made a decision to turn my will and my life over to the care of God as I understood him.  I wouldn’t have been able to do this without the fellowship I have joined and belong to which has given me new direction on how to live life as God would want me to. I finally gave it up to God and realized that he has a plan for me and the struggles he has been dishing out to me are something I needed to go through.  I am nothing but thankful for everything I have been through and willing to see what the next day is going to bring.  

I have also started meditating… Meditation might sound so hippie lol but I feel like it is very necessary and essential to learn yourself inside.  

“Meditation is not to escape from society, but to come back to ourselves and see what is going on.  Once there is seeing, there must be acting. With mindfulness we know what to do and what not to do.”

-The word LISTEN contains the same letters as the word SILENT.

-The soul always knows what to do to heal itself.  The challenge is to silence the mind.

After I meditate, I reflect on my thoughts and write them down in my journal, I practice meditation in the morning before I start my day so I can set a good mood for the day with positive thoughts.  I have also been reading books that fully explain our thoughts.  Your thoughts become you, with every single little thought an action is provoked from it.  So if you think loving and positive thoughts, love and positivity will bestow to you from the universe, this is the law of compensation/”the secret” they speak of. "An undisciplined mind, easily tempted into faithless and unloving thoughts, is a huge deterrent to success." You must exercise your thoughts in your mind. Your brain is like a muscle, if you don’t use it and exercise it, then it gets weak.  

I know I rambled in this post but I’ve been so full of positivity and love that I wanted to share it with you guys.  When changing your lifestyle don’t get stuck in negativity, if you ate a cookie, so what don’t eat another one, work it off and tomorrow is another day to do better.  If you only lost 1lb this week, so what! Its 1lb lighter than what you used to be…everything adds up.  Make changes to see changes, read to gain knowledge, experiment to learn different things, pray for guidance and be happy with yourself.  

Hope you guys have a blessed, beautiful day! :)

 

 

 

5.38 miles... #beastMode

Hi guys,

I know it's been a long time since I've posted but I've been so busy. 

I hope everyone has been pushing and striving on their health journey & in fitness. I've def been pushing myself and even testing myself...

Today at the gym I ran 5+ miles for my first time ever & ran for an hour straight for my first time ever. I wanted to stop at 3 miles but I had to literally remind myself that it's all mind over matter. My mind is giving up before my body will. I wasn't tired at all at 3 miles but my mind wanted to stop. So I pushed onto 4 miles & the next thing I knew I pushed out 5 miles. I wanted to keep going but I had a meeting to attend so I had to stop running. 

My timing for how I run is not where I want it to be but I'm so proud of myself. 6 months ago I would have never been able to do that. I would have never even thought I could run that! But I pushed myself & got results!

Today I felt bad because I ate half of a chocolate muffin my niece had and I couldn't stop snacking on my homemade granola. Lol. So that's another reason why I pushed myself at the gym. 

I've written everything I plan on eating tomorrow so I can stay on track. I'm just hoping I don't gain any weight this week. 

Today I made a healthy pizza which was AMAZING!! I made homemade sauce from tomato sauce & topped it with light cheese, onions, green peppers, mushrooms & turkey pepperoni. I used a whole wheat tortilla & it definitely satisfied my pizza craving!

Lately this has been my fav snack (yogurt, strawberries, granola, chia seeds). & I finally bought some chia seeds & they are amazing! It's like they heighten the taste of whatever food you put them in and they're a great source of fiber!!

Lately I've been feeling blah about working out & I kinda think I may be overdoing myself. I need to take rest days but I've became so addicted to the gym I don't rest too often. And yes, too much of something even if it is working out can be harmful. It can harm muscles, joints and tire your body. 

I even have problems with my right knee and I continue to stress it, I need to do better but I'm learning. Lol. 

Here are some progress pictures of myself... Progress pictures are what motivated me in the beginning so hopefully these pictures will motivate you.  I continue to impress myself everyday with what I do, what I learn & how I perform. Keep pushing, don't stop, be patient. 

Since I've transformed my body I've gotten so many compliments & it feels good to know that people can see my progress. It keeps me pushing & it only makes me want to get better. 

Sorry it took so long to write a post. I'll let you guys know how tomorrow goes. 

Goodnight. :)