motivation

Fitness Friday 10.17

| The Bee Life

It’s been 9-straight months since I set out on my latest fitness journey and committed to my bootcamp classes. And it feels awesome. I’ve recently started trusting and listening to my body more when I need breaks or when I need to push myself, it’s the balance without completely forgoing the routine or workout that has been key to my success lately.
Fitness Friday 10.17 - the bee life
And as much as the half-marathon seemed like a failure based off of how our actual race went, it also felt like a much needed re-boost to this journey.  I think another game-changer is that I’ve finally really started watching what I’m eating and cutting out those damn, delicious carbs! As much as I try and preach everything in moderation, the crap just weighs you down, literally.

So after hustling and not quitting for these 9-months, I am FINALLY seeing significant progress even through the moments of doubt, including the moments of weakness when I was about to start accepting that “this is just the way things are” – and I’m SO glad I didn’t, and kept striving and pushing. It’s all part of the journey!  I realized not everything that worked for me 3-years ago still works today, and I am not nearly as active (or have the time to be) as I was then – and that is OK, so I’ve adjusted and realigned and I love these results.

Fitness Friday 08.17

| The Bee Life

Woah! It’s the last Friday of August <wide-eyed emoji>

With it being the last week of August, that means we are quickly approaching half-marathon month, EEK! We are three-weeks away from breaking our 3-year break from halfs.  I must admit, I am a bit excited to conquer this feat again! Not to mention, a completely new race and course, so it’ll be a fun experience in a different city… and state.

Training has been going pretty well, I was in a good groove of running and bootcamp every other day, even in the summer heat.  I’ve had a few weeks where I haven’t run at all, except for my long run – and those have surprisingly gone well! I’m not stressing out, but I am also not letting myself slack off.

My favorite run so far was seven miles the weekend of my bridal shower – I was up super early, and my stomach grumbly, I wasn’t really feeling so hot, but it was going to be a long morning on top of a long day.  So I decided to go and give seven a try.  Since it was so early, on a Saturday it was quite and peaceful, and the stomach pains and weakness I was feeling eventually went away – I conquered those 7-miles, only stopping to pet a puppy.  It felt so good.  And since I still had time to kill after, I went to yoga for an hour.

Bootcamp has remained a constant these past 7-months, I’m stronger and I’m pushing myself to pick up the heavier weights – plus my trainer got me to write by fitness goal up on the board with the rest of the members, so now I can see it every day I go! And remember what the end goal is, beyond a healthy me.

Happy Training!

 

3-Recipes I’m Dying to Try

| The Bee Life

Since we’ve been in #weddingdiet mode, we’ve been trying to be a bit more conscious with our dinner choices, on top of some recent dietary restrictions I’ve been faced with, the options become extremely limited.  So we’ve had to try a few more options and stick solely to the basics; meat and veggies.  But with this comes prep time and planning which are two crucial items when trying to eat right!
Three Recipes - the bee life
The goal for me, is finding recipes that can easily be tailored to fit within my dietary restrictions, which pretty much means, no cheese and nothing too spicy, among other things that I’ve just learned to stay away from – and even just in general the more plain the food is, sadly the safer it is for me! So although these recipes I’m dying to try will need to be altered – it doesn’t mean you all have to suffer too!

Beef Taco Salad Pizza: This looks so delicious, and very few ingredients too, which makes pulling this one together affordable!  I would have to ditch the cheese and sour cream, but the seasoning and avocado will make up for any lost taste!

Black Bean Quinoa Burger: This plump looking burger calls for some spicy mayo, this would definitely need to be substituted out in addition to the cumin and cayenne called for in the actual burger.  I love the idea of mango and avocado topping this quinoa black bean burger – mouth officially watering.

Greek Grilled Eggplant: This recipe again is super easy and low cost, making it a perfect busy-day dinner!  Ingredients are probably all housed beyond maybe picking up a fresh eggplant to slice up and grill. I think you could probably guess by now, no feta for me! But some fresh basil would be a great topper.

Have any great, easy recipes? Leave a comment below and share them with me!

Fitness Friday 07.17

| The Bee Life

Happy Fitness Friday!

So I’m in a funny place with my workout routine, I feel motivated but at the same time am feeling discouraged – which both contradict each other.  Motivate is defined as a stimulate interest in or enthusiasm for doing something and discouraged is defined as having lost confidence or enthusiasm; disheartened.  Complete opposites!
FF 07.17 - the bee life
I was thrown off my normal routine these past two weeks, so I understand that is probably where a lot of the discouraged feeling is coming from.  And I’m motivated knowing that half marathon training is just starting to pick up, and I’ve actually been running! I’ve been making progress with sticking with my workout routine and growing stronger, but admittedly I haven’t seen some of the progress I’d like to see with my weight.

I am also day three into no sweets for 30-days.  It’s going to be tough with a bridal shower and wedding thrown into the mix, but practicing self-control for 30-days is a personal thing I want to challenge myself with, and something I know I can do.  I just need a few extra jumpstarts to accompany the exercise.

How do you push yourself to new limits?  What is standing in the way of your goals?

Fitness Friday 06.17

| The Bee Life

Woah! We’re half way done with 2017, how have your fitness and health goals been treading so far?  I’ve stuck it out for the last 5-months, and I’m not stopping! It feels so good to have the routine of working out, me time to sweat it out and work on myself, to keep myself accountable.  Not to mention half-marathon training is officially starting next week, eek!
Fitness Friday 06.17 - the bee life
Let’s talk about this half marathon training… it’s been a hot second since I’ve trained for a half marathon, the mental preparation is just as hard as the physical. Honestly, I’m not looking forward to it, but I am trying to have a positive outlook and approach to it. I want to do well and stay on top of training, I’m just not feeling very confident about it. My body can’t handle the running like it used too.

But I am also curious and excited, because I have the cross training part nailed down (first time ever in all my half trainings), and I feel like the half training will help me be more accountable for my in between days to get nearly a full week of working out in, #weddingdiet.

Needless to say, there is going to be many runs (especially the hot ones) when I want to stop, not only do I need to train my legs again, but I need to train my brain to get ready for this half!

Happy Training!

Fitness Friday 05.17

| The Bee Life

Happy Friday!  I just wanted to share a quick check-in on my fitness progress this far. Since the beginning of February I’ve been religious with my workout routine, sticking to my 3-days of bootcamp and enjoying every minute of it, well almost every minute of it. It’s hard to think that it’s been almost 4-full months meaning the big day is now only 6-months away.

Since results have been a bit slower, than I was hoping, I’ve started to work to get a few more workout sessions in, including Wednesday doubles. But like clockwork, as soon as I’m getting into a rhythm and groove, it’s going to be thrown off with a trip or a weekend full of parties and places to be.  This is when we are challenged the most, are we going to maintain and stick with our habits that we’ve worked so hard to build? Or are we going to slowly fall off that ladder and fall back into old, easy ways?
Fitness Friday 05.17_the bee lifeAnd this is when we’re reminded, that in order to maintain this healthy lifestyle, to continue to feel good and be healthy – we need to push through the obstacles that face us. We need to wake up early, we need to eat better, we need to pick up that heavier weight, and we need to push ourselves a little harder each workout.  There is not finish line or point when it stops, it might just change.

I’ve gotten to the point where I am tired of the excuses and I’m ready to continually kickass every day so that I have no more excuses.

Happy Lifting!

 

10-Miler Recap – 2017

| The Bee Life

This past weekend, B and I ran and finished our third 10-Miler! This year I was fairly confident going into the race, as I have been the last two years, having minimally trained and relying heavily on my cross training.  The weather was surprisingly perfect for a late April run, all signs were pointing to an easy race, we just needed to get through those ten miles.

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Mile One. Photo credit: Hermes Road Racing

Well… even with all the confidence and perfect weather conditions, this just wasn’t my race.  I started out strong within the first five miles, but it quickly went down hill from there. The mental game was strong and I couldn’t fight it. By the time mile eight rolled around I was over it *smiles* and ready to be done and at the finish line.  I went from being well paced with 9-minute miles, slowing down to 11-minute miles with my intermittent walking.  But I made myself finish strong and ran that last mile with all of my might, and crossed the finish line with sore, angry legs!

Bentley and his brother, of course killed it and ran most of the race together (leaving me in the dust!)  Another friend didn’t finish too far behind me and we were all feeling the weight of those miles.  It was great finishing the race, but definitely one of the harder ones I’ve ran.  Training for our upcoming half-marathon will definitely be happening if I want to make it 3.1 more miles!

Here’s to finishing!

Fitness Friday 03.17

| The Bee Life

Happy Friday!!

I am nearly 2-full months back into the grind; that’s 28 workouts in the last 7-weeks; which is just about 4 workouts a week, whereas I was virtually doing zero before. Within those 7-weeks, I’ve been able to do a 4-week assessment, meaning I’ve started to actually see payoff and results in number form! Woo!! Although it’s been small progress, I’ve dropped measurements across the board, I can’t wait to see the results kicked up as the time continues and I continue to incorporate more cross-training between my cross-training.

The biggest eye opener and progress was my BMI number; when I first got that assessed my number was 24, still considered in the “healthy” zone; but the last notch on the “healthy” zone.  Yikes, that was definitely a red flag and hurt a bit. Well after 4-weeks my number was down to 19!  My trainer said that was the most impressive part of all the progress to date. That was a definite victory!
Fitness Friday 03.17I know I still have a lot of work to do, but I’ve been picking up the pace, working to make workouts fit even when plans might question it. I’ve even been incorporating some runs in on my off days from boot camp!  The main area I need to keep working on is FOOD. I’ve been meal prepping the last few weeks and really buckled down on my breakfast choices (switched from bagels/toast to eggs/chicken/tomatoes).

Every workout is progress, even if its a few inches. And it’s important to remember that and keep pushing yourself harder and stronger. Because it will pay off and you will reach your goals! *muscle emoji*

Cheers to hitting goals and making progress!

My 2017 Goals!

| The Bee Life

I am a firm believer in writing down your goals, whether they be short term or long term! I generally make goals at the beginning of each year to help keep me focused and plan of the course of the year. My 2016 goals were all accomplished except one that has truly been an ongoing struggle these last few years – my workout routine, but since it’s officially my wedding year, I’ve got a lot of added motivation!

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  • B and I are already signed up for a half marathon, so as long as I train like I need too, this should be an easy check off the list, however it’s been 3-years since we’ve done a half! Ouch.
  • I had an epiphany over the holiday break about what I need to be successful in my workout, and it’s a challenging group class with strong instructors – which is my beloved boot camp, I’ve gone in spurts these last few years but always stop because of the cost.  But I’m going to make an investment in my health, because I need it and I love the class.
  • One thing I miss about my old job is being down the hall from some of my best friends. We’ve made it a point to see each other for lunches, coffee dates and weekends but it’s easy to get busy and not make time. Going to continue to make it a point, along with making trips and weekends with my BFF.
  • I don’t want our wedding planning to get in the way of getting out of town and taking a trip even if it’s a quick weekend getaway! Although I wouldn’t mind a longer trip… or two *winks*
  • I want to continue to challenge myself in the workplace, work at personal challenges I face and also continue to be creative at work and at home by prioritizing what is important and ultimately helping in my number one priority of being healthy and happy.
  • Hoping that I remain level-headed during the wedding planning, especially when it comes to things like the bride shower and bachelorette party… but also choosing which decisions to stand-by and what things to let go of. It’s all about the detail!

As I have mentioned recently, 2016 was unexpectedly AMAZING. I am trying not to have as high expectations for 2017 and hoping it has an opposite affect, but that is kind of hard when it’s the year of your wedding *smiles*

If you’ve never written your goals down, try it! Even if it’s just on a post-it or notes in your phone.  Put it someplace you’ll see it often to be reminded, you may be surprised at how successful you are!