One Day Closer

Today's workout taught me something very important:
I am not my body, I am what I put in it.
What I mean by that is I define myself by how I treat myself. By using positive reinforcement and only putting good things in my body, I shape the kind of person I want to be. If I am positive with myself, then I can learn to be positive with others. If I only put good things into myself then I can put only good things into others.
This journey of mine keeps getting better and better. I feel better for every healthy choice I make, which only encourages me to make more.
Today in class I had one of my finals. My professor had asked that we bring snacks to share after we were done with the test, so that we could socialize and end the semester on a happy note. I didn't want to buy anything sweet because I knew that I would be tempted to eat it, and I am off sugar. Instead I bought some chips and a fruit cup for myself. When I went to class, I dropped off my chips and sat back to eat my fruit cup at my desk. Sitting there, watching other people eat the sugary and processed food was not as hard as I thought. In fact, I think...no, I KNOW I enjoyed my fruit more than I would have enjoyed the junk.
I even gave away my bags of chips so I wouldn't have to bring them home. I know myself well enough to know that if the junk is in my possession, I will eat it. If I don't buy it, keep it, or take it from others, I will not have to worry about the temptation.
I feel better about my decision and making it today only made my resolve stronger. Then, I went for a run even when I didn't feel like it and now, I feel wonderful!
ready to take on the world...
except now it is time for bed. I still have to work tomorrow.
but first, SHOWER TIME
Until next time,
H.

Finals, Friends, and Freedom

It has come again.
finals week.
Only this time, it is worse, not only are my days filled with lots of studying and too much stress, people are going to be leaving. My friends are all going and doing things for the summer....away from Provo...
Who do they think they are?! having lives!
It won't be as bad as it sounds...
i hope
But really, I am moving and starting over in a new place with new people, and hopefully a new job.
change is good, and I am going to take full advantage of it.
This move is going to be a chance for me to fine-tune the person I am becoming. A chance to give myself a chance. New beginnings.
I know that this change will be good, but it will also be hard. I love my friends and my life the way it is.
I have fun and I laugh, I play and I grow.
I know that I will look back at this and think about how great it all was...the moving and newness of it all.
But right now it is hard and it hurts.
I went to dinner tonight with a really great friend of mine. He is the one who took me to prom last year...actually a year ago today! We went for burgers and talked about life, what was coming and what had already been.
it was fantastic
He is so incredible and is always able to bring a smile to my face. We had fun talking about the crazies we had interacted with at our last college, and also about how much fun we had had since then. He is leaving on his mission this summer. I will have spring term with him and part of summer.
I will miss him when he goes.
The people of SanFran better appreciate him, because he is
top notch
One of my best friends.
Now, I am getting too sentimental and mushy for my taste.
Other than having this giant change looming ahead, life is fantastic. Classes just finished and now its the down time before the crazy starts. I have been studying like crazy!
I can't wait until the freedom of the long weekend hits me, it will be a fantastic feeling.
I do love the feeling of having absolutely NOTHING to do...it rarely happens for a college student.
I embrace it with a smile and ask no questions. If and when I survive through Wednesday afternoon, my life will be bliss for 5 whole days!
I will love it and I will celebrate it.

That's it for now
H.

Phase One

I decided that in order to achieve my fitness goals, I would need to break it up into phases;I need to make it easier to see results, and hold my self accountable.
So today marks the first day of phase one.
One this day, April 13th 2012, I am committing myself to a work out plan of 6 days a week. I already try for 5, and sometimes fail, so this will be pushing myself. I will not work out on Sunday, but every other day is fair game.
I have already started implementing this, but for every time I work out, I put 1$ into a jar. When I get to my goal, I am going to spend it!
Today is also the first day I will be cutting out refined sugar.
NO MORE!
I am tired of the way it makes me feel, and the five minutes of pleasure are not worth the gross feeling I get after.
I am cutting out all juice, pop, candy, sweet treats, EVERYTHING.
If it has refined sugar in it, I won't eat it.
This is going to teach me how to say no even when I really want it.
This will be one of the harder phases, but I will succeed. I will keep this phase up until I have lost 10lbs.
Phase one will go for this long, and I am hoping that cutting the sugar, along with my lower calorie count, and then working out everyday will help me reach my goals.
During this phase I will not worry too much about the other kinds of processed food, that is for another phase.
Baby steps, baby steps.
I will succeed and it will be a GLORIOUS feeling.

"You cannot climb to the top unless you start at the bottom."

H.

That is IT!

Last week I made a list. 

I made a list of 50+ reasons why I was going to lose weight and get healthy. 

It took a lot of thought and time to sit and think of that many reasons. I wanted to have that many so that on days when cake sounded good  I would have a reason that sounded even better. I knew that the easy "i want to look good in my clothes" wasn't going to cut it on days when the junk food started calling. I know that my goals are going to take a LOT of hard work, but I am going to do them. 

NO EXCUSES. 

I am tired of feeling sluggish, lazy, fat, and less than my best self.  I know that I am a great person and that my body does not define who I am, but I also know that I am not being my best self. 

I know that I could be better. 

The road ahead is going to be long, hot, sweaty, and sometimes not so fun, but I WILL get to my destination. I am not weak and I am going to start this journey to prove it to myself.

 I am a POWERFUL woman who can do HARD things.

 I have determination and 50 reasons to get me there. 

I love running, and I am starting to love weight training. Exercising isn't the hard part. Food is. BUT, it is summer time and there is no better time to buy fresh produce and good food. 

I am not going to eat any more junk food. Processed food is a no. 

I will succeed. 

The next 14 weeks are going to be filled with pain and sweat, but I will make it through. I have made it through hard things before, and this time my biggest enemy is myself. Telling myself 'no' is harder than telling other people 'no'. 

I will: 

drink more water

eat less crap

eat whole foods

run harder

lift more

take the stairs

sweat more

weigh less

That is it! I am going to do it and no one, not even myself, will be able to stop me.

Friday Night: Endless Possibilities

The week drags on, the days passing like a monotonous parade and then BAM! Its FRIDAY!!! (yes I know Rebecca Black probably just flashed through your mind...my apologies...)

ANYWAY...

I haven't quite decided what it is about Friday that sparks that level of enthusiasm. But the 24 hours that make up Friday, always seem to bring a smile to my face. 

First of all, Friday, though we still have work and class, holds the promise of a brighter tomorrow...Saturday. Of course, once it gets here its rather anti-climatic, but Friday never fails to hold that promise right in front of my face. 

Then there is the idea that I don't have work in the morning....the night could go on for as long as I want, and I can sleep it off the next day...maybe this is why Saturday isn't quite as exciting...I'm usually asleep.

never the less Fridays are THE BEST.

have a good one!

H.

This One's For The Girls

I bet this song popped into your head huh? Although the song is catchy, her clothes in the video are fun (my favorite is the pair of purple pants), and the message is important, that is not the point of this post.

The point of this post is to inform you of a little project I am about to begin. A project I want YOU to be a part of.

I was speaking to a certain young man this morning at work...*cough* Dave *cough*...and he made a pretty bold claim. He said that if there were more educated girls, when it comes to dating, there would be fewer jerks.  He claimed that it was all the girl's fault when it comes to jerkish guys. I quickly and quite forcefully disagreed. Nevertheless, he stuck to his claim. As the idea sat in my mind, and I went home after work to take a shower (where I get all my best ideas) that seed he planted bloomed, into a wonderfully fantastic idea.

Dave claims that girls are the ones that ruin things, but what about all the boys who never do anything with girls? Whether it be because they are scared, emotionally scarred,  under-knowledge-able, or just plain stupid, they too ruin things for a lot of girls. So, Dave decided that he wants to start educating girls about dating, from his perspective. MY idea, which of course is far superior, is to have a panel of women-from all ages- answer questions about dating, relationships, and what they expect from men; thus giving me the fodder to write blog posts about the results and educate the MEN about what women want.

Now, I don't like making sweeping comments or categorizing individuals into groups, but I feel as though there are some pretty basic ideas that would make the dating game a whole lot more simpler.

To get to the point of this post, it's to ask your help. I need girls who would be willing to be a part of the panel. This would involve answering questions through email, a few times a month. The answers will be completely anonymous and only for the educational benefit of the men in our lives :)

I want this to be a fun upbeat project, without man bashing. Although everyone can get frustrated with relationships, this is only supposed to be a fun and hopefully witty way to get information about what each gender expects from relationships and dating.

***Disclaimer for the men: This is in NO WAY comprehensive of every girl you will ever meet. We are not our gender, and we are individuals who are defined by personal likes and dislikes. SO if you have a question, ask  and we will do the best we can to answer it. But really, the best way to go about things is to ask the girl you are wondering about. She will know better than anyone what she wants.

If the thought of asking her a direct question makes you feel like hurling and your palms get so wet, they drip, use these blogs as a conversation starter to hear her opinions about things. Be Classy and tactful, but straight-forward.

Oh, and ladies, if you are interested in being a part of the panel go ahead and shoot me an email (which you can find on Facebook, or by leaving a comment here!) let me know what you are thinking and let's get this started.

Until next time,

H.

Back with a Bang

This new term has started out marvelously. I had my classes this past week and also started work again. Classes are great, I have wonderful teachers and excellent subject matter. I couldn't be more blessed with my schedule. Friends are great, as usual, and I am blessed there too.

My English classes are going to be a lot of work, but they will be rewarding and enjoyable. I have been working on my resolutions, and I already feel like a better person.

I am currently trying to get caught up on some cleaning as well as sending thank-you's to all my friends and family for their wonderful Christmas gifts.

Love my life.

This past weekend was wonderful. I was able to spend time with my roommates...though we are very sad to say that Becca had to leave us. She is back in Las Vegas.

Other than that tragedy though the weekend turned out great. I was able to get some homework done, spend time with friends, have a date on Saturday and then spend my Sunday resting and being thankful for everything I have been blessed with. We had a CES fireside tonight with Elder J. E. Jensen, about the Holy Ghost. It was SO good!

Until Next time,

H.