motivation

Fitness Friday no. 23

| The Bee Life

It’s the first Friday in December! Now that the holidays are right around the corner, I wanted to share 4 simple tips that I’ll be using this month to help maintain and not gain.

fitness-friday-no-23-the-bee-life

  1. Eat Breakfast. Don’t skip out on breakfast. I think it’s human nature to try not eat if we have a party that night, so that we can fully enjoy the snacks and treats – well this will only lead you to overeating, and not the right things.  Eat a good, healthy breakfast and don’t skip out on other meals! Consider eating proteins and healthy fats that will fill you up throughout the day.
  2. Build your Immune System. This should always be part of your daily regime, but especially around the holidays be sure your taking care of your body inside and out. Taking Vitamin C, echinacea and other immune system building antics can help in the season of sneezing, coughing and colds!
  3. Get that Workout In. But don’t stress over it or kill yourself to get there, know the number of workouts you want to get in… no the realistic amount… I’ve gotten to the point where three workouts during the work week is my minimum goal – I don’t always achieve it but I get pretty darn close! And when I beat it, it’s even better!
  4. Limit the Sweets.  Yes three cookies are always better than two.  But when you’re about to pick up that third or fourth cookie, think again and spread out the sweets. This goes for alcohol too, try and limit the number of beers, or stick with vodka or gin mixed with soda water and a fresh garnish!

What’re your tips and tricks to help beat holiday weight gain?  Share them in the comments below or on social @mmariebee.

Happy Holidays!

Fitness Friday no. 22

| The Bee Life

Hello! I took a little bit of a Fitness Friday break – I’ve been trying to get back into a groove to share all the progress I’ve been making!  But it’s been slow progress and I was lacking motivation and inspiration.
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But within this past week I’ve gotten up three mornings in a row to hit up the gym.  After work has been too busy and now that it’s dark when I leave work the motivation is very little… lunches are good but I always feel rushed. Morning workouts have been the trick and I’ve actually been doing them. Another motivator that has helped get these in is having workout buddies to go with me, yay for workout partners at your same gym! After these last three mornings I instantly feel better, I instantly don’t want to stop.

Here are my tips and reminders lately that’re keeping me focused to stay on track this time.

  1. Our Wedding! We are nearly at the year mark to the wedding, and since this past year has been a constant struggle I need to start now to really get motivated and make progress. Although I’m pretty sure once I secure my dress the motivation will kick up a level.  This will be a prom diet on steroids. Don’t have a wedding or big event coming up to look forward too? What about a vacation or a bikini you’ve had your eyes on, it’s never too early to start working on yourself!
  2. My Jeans. I know when my jeans are feeling a bit tighter that I need to get off my butt and get to the gym! I don’t like stepping on the scale, but I know when things aren’t going in the right direction when my clothes aren’t feeling right.  Don’t like the scale either? Read your clothes and pick up the pace if you’re not loving the fit. 
  3. Feeling Better. I haven’t felt overly tired this past week after my early morning workouts,  in fact I’ve felt better all around.  I’ve even started pushing myself to running on the treadmill (which I hate) but doing it in small doses and picking up the speed more than my comfort zone, and knowing I can do it.
  4. Half Marathons. I’ve got my eyes on some upcoming races to end this year strong and even to get ready for, for 2017 to help with wedding prep! I know I would be in no condition to run a half marathon right now, but I really want to run another one since it’s been almost 2-years since our last half. Yikes!

I’m excited about this new progress and thankful for having motivating friends who also want to get back into a routine, it helps so much!

Cheers to progress and motivating friends!

Fitness Friday no. 21

| The Bee Life

Guys & Gals. How are we doing? It’s Friday yet again and we have one more week of September left before it’s October, woah!

I will admit heading into month 10 of 2016; I was hoping to have made better progress and be more consistent with my workout routine. I know for any of you who are keeping up that I am sounding like a BROKEN RECORD, I know.  Anyone want to just shake me and yell, JUST DO IT ALREADY?? Yeah, me too.  But since joining the professional world, finding that balance and continuing the same level of work I used to put towards my body and health has shifted drastically.  And from that perspective I have not been happy.
fitness-friday-no-21-the-bee-lifeI will also be the first to admit I have not been nearly as proactive as I preach or want to be. I could definitely be more proactive… I WILL be more proactive.  The statement above rings true for my mentality lately, I’ve been able to find a million excuses to justify why going home after work or not waking up early and telling myself I’ll do it later. In fact I started off with an excuse of work/life. Being fit, and healthy IS important to me, lazy is just getting in the way. Not to mention, I am pretty sure I am stressing myself out more about not working out than I am actually working out. Not proactive. Not helpful. No good.

Here are ways I plan to be proactive this fall!

Fall 2016 Goals:
– 2-morning workouts a  week
– 2-lunch workouts a week
– Weekend walks/runs/Barre3 on rainy days
– Continue to eat better

Already Planned:
– 5k scheduled for mid-October
– Gym membership purchased
– Weight Loss Challenge with B – starting Oct 1st

Here’s to pushing through, getting off our asses and pushing ourselves to be the people we know we can be and being happy with ourselves at the end of the day in all aspects.

Fitness Friday no. 20

| The Bee Life

TGIF!

With the “final” days of summer coming to a close, we need to soak up as much fresh air and beautiful weather as possible.  One way to do this is putting a twist on the normal workout routine, you’ll be able to be in the gym for the next 5-6 months. Here are some final ways to spread out into your weekends and enjoy that summer sun and have a few last adventures under our belts.
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Kayaking
Don’t have a kayak of your own? Look around for local parks and services that allow hourly rental, hit up the water on an early morning and get a nice arm workout in.

Walking The Dog
Getting out with your pooch as much as possible before the cold snowy days comes is key. Not only are you helping your pup but you’re helping yourself.  If you can pick a spot to take your dog, you can kill two birds with one stone – this past weekend B and I went to Whole Foods with Moz, a little bit of a farther walk for us but we got to sit out and enjoy some breakfast as a rest.

Biking
Biking to a store or restaurants can be a great way over the weekend to get active while you’re checking things off on your to-do list.  Don’t want to deal with the traffic find some trails in local parks to get a more scenic view.

Urban Walking 
We live close to the city, but a smaller city in comparison to NYC or Chicago.  So on the weekends, especially in the mornings it’s quiet and perfect. So getting some extra adventures in and a change of scenery, the urban kind, by exploring new parts of the city can be another way to enjoy the weather, your city and get some extra steps.

Golfing
Without the cart.  Get your steps in and work on that swing all at once, this is a great way to relax enjoy the weather and also get an unconventional workout in, carrying a set of clubs for 18-holes or even 9 will definitely get you tired out.

Corn Hole Tourney
This may not be the most active way, but it’ll get you outside, working your arm muscles and socializing with friends.  Set-up an impromptu corn hole tourney with friends on a sunny afternoon, losers take a lap or have to do a set of push-ups, maybe even put some money on it to make it more competitive!

How are you enjoying the outdoors and getting exercise in too?

Fitness Friday no. 19

| The Bee Life

Happy Friday!! This week flew by, woah! I don’t even know where it went, not to mention a lovely summer cold has also greeted me this week. It’s kinda of the worst especially with this humidity. Anyways! Enough negatives, onto the positives. I wanted to do something different for this FF, especially since the last  Fitness Friday (No. 18) I’m still feeling not so hot about myself. So I wanted to focus on the positives, along with ways to grow and ways to get there.

My Week’s Highlight: Ran a total of 8-miles, B and I got out twice this week and ran together. The mileage and running with B are two things that haven’t happened in a long time and it felt great!

Area to Focus: Continue to eat and plan meals better.

Active Change: I’m going to rearrange some things in my finances and change my spa membership to a gym membership. Body and mind over nails (sorry nails).

Inspiration for the Week:
17Ultimately we have to do things that keep us happy and healthy while finding a balance in doing just that and pinpointing what is manageable. I am happy with a lot of things, but I could definitely be happier with the way I feel about myself, mainly because I know what I am capable of vs. what I have actually been doing.

Cheers to an active weekend to work into the upcoming week!

 

Fitness Friday no. 18

| The Bee Life

Hello gems! It’s Friday again, oh sweet, Friday.

I’m writing today feeling defeated, overweight and discouraged.  Which I will admit doesn’t happen too often since I’m pretty darn stubborn and relentlessness when it comes to personal goals and keep pushing forward. It’s not saying I’ve given up, I just need some different… better inspiration, maybe even some tough love… I need to take my fitness from average and inconsistent to kicking ass and not wanting to miss a day of sweat. 16One thing that has been pushing me through, especially this week, is my silly little fitbit. I am new to fitbit’s, and received one at my new company since health and wellness is ingrained into the culture with fitbit challenges and quarterly fitness outings, along with some other cool perks! It wasn’t until I had a fitbit that I realized how little I actually walk throughout the day. Getting to 10,000 steps without consciously making decisions to be active or go for a walk is hard when you’re mostly confined in an office from 8:30 – 5:30. I’ve realized I need to get a walk in the morning, a longer walk at lunch and then a medium-to-long walk in the afternoon/evening to hit 10k. Regardless of how ugly the fitbit is *giggles* it has definitely made me more aware to take advantage of the little opportunities and get up and walk more. I’ve hit 10k steps 3 of the 5 days so far this week! Which is a significant upgrade from my previous weeks.

Although walking isn’t my workout of choice, with busy night plans and hot humid summery days (and nights), small walks throughout the day have been all I’ve been able to squeeze in. Knowing I’ve even been doing more of that, it’s still not enough so here are a few things starting August 1st (Monday) I am going to start doing … I’m hoping B will help me along the way too.

  1. No eating out Monday – Friday
  2. Limit the snacking between meals
  3. Buy spin classes or gym membership
  4. Run 2x a week in the morning
  5. Boot camp 2x a week
  6. Barre 2x a week
  7. No beers with weeknight dinners
  8. No breads/bagels/pastas
  9. Weekend workouts are not an option, they’re a must.
  10. Take 1-hour of me time, work towards goals each weekend

I really need a full makeover of eating, working out, and my health life. August is going to be a big month (news to come) and other milestones in months to come that don’t allow for lazy, average, trying to figure it out attitudes. It’s time to not only start but continuing doing and always doing more!

Wednesday Reminders – Friends

| The Bee Life

One of the hardest parts of starting my new job, one-month in to the date, is not spending the entire day with my best friends. Yes, that’s right, one of the things I am most grateful for from my previous job (besides all of the experience) is the friendships I made. I truly think that was the greater purpose of me working there for the years that I did and starting when I did.
Wednesday Reminders - Friends - the bee lifeIf it weren’t for the amazing people I met,  life would be very different, my career would be very different.  Dramatic? No. These people have inspired me to dream bigger, work harder and fight for what I want.  They’ve also helped me laugh when I did not want to laugh, to take the lunch break to walk and gossip instead of stewing at my desk over an email. Sneak away for impromptu drinks “after work”, doggy play dates and team lunches.  They were my sounding board for life and professionally encouraging me to ask hard questions, dig deeper of myself and want more.

I was so hesitant to leave my job because I loved so many of the people I had gotten to know over three years and spent all my days with.  But I knew I had to make a change for me, and that they would still be up the street (literally).  I was also partially afraid that I would never see some of them again, other people I was close with have moved on or got new jobs and it just wasn’t the same. But since I left, not a whole lot has changed, lunch walks and coffee dates still happen, team lunches and happy hours, group texts and bitmoji’s and now even some snapchat fun.

We help inspire each other, learn and grow from each other, build each other up and laugh at each other, cry with each other and even borrow sneakers.  We help each other to try not to take life so seriously, give the hard truths when it’s needed and just listen to each other.

I have realized (especially) lately how lucky I am to have so many strong fierce women around me, (you all know who you are!) thank you!

XO

Fitness Friday no. 17

| The Bee Life

Food.

What you eat is a huge part of your fitness and how successful you are… or aren’t. Maintaining a good, balanced diet will not only help you flourish with your workouts and overall goals but will also come in huge when your workouts aren’t happening as much as you’d like. 15So while you might not be hitting the pavement or working up a sweat as much as you’d like to be, remember these things;

  1. Always have breakfast – this will help you from snacking or overeating at other meals throughout the day.
  2. Drink water – drinking water throughout the day will help you stay hydrated and is also tied to a number of other benefits including skin health, maintaining calories, and even energizes muscles!
  3. Eat greens – But be careful, overloading your salads with extra goodies and cheese and quickly make this not healthy! Even watch that salad dressing. Eating greens have lasting health benefits including reducing the risk of heart disease and cancer while fueling your body.
  4. Remember Protein – Fish, Chicken, Avocados, those are the good proteins that contain the good fats for your body, make sure to maintain balance when eating these!
  5. Get to the grocery store – This will help you pick the good foods while also saving you from those last minute pizza orders when the fridge and cupboards are empty! Stock up on frozen foods too; it will save you in the long run.
  6. Limit lunches/dinners out – Hopefully if you’ve grocery shopped your house should be stocked, now just pack a lunch! The less we eat out, the more control we have over how our food is prepared and what we’re knowingly putting in our bodies.

Eating crap tastes good in the moment, but will have bad effects not only overall but on that workout you’re trying to accomplish.  It’s good to maintain balance and enjoy the good with the bad, but if you’re not counteracting the bad with exercise and other balanced meals, the cons will ultimately outweigh the pros.

Happy Friday!!

 

Fitness Friday no. 16

| The Bee Life

So two weeks ago, I was feeling a bit discouraged with my fitness progress as I had quickly fallen into a slump, which seems to be the routine and pattern lately.  Not to mention some life changing events have gotten in the way, i.e. new job. New job, means new stresses, and new stresses (for me) means, no time, a messy house, eating junk food, not working out, breaking out, and being worried and sick to my stomach. Even just putting my 2-weeks in was stressful, and the weird limbo period you’re in while your still at your job, people seem to look at you different and treat you different. It was a weird thing! People who had been so friendly just the few days before they knew I was leaving. Strange, strange. Can anyone else relate?

The point I’m trying to make is, in those stressful, life changing moments, it’s hard to focus on ourselves and take care of ourselves, especially if we don’t realize we need it.  And everyday might not be a routine, more or less the routine becomes more of a roller-coaster. 14Here are my tips for those stressful/busy times and ways to take a moment for yourself, since it’s often really hard to just do that.

  1. Get a mani or pedi, or both! This is only an hour or so, of dedicated YOU time. It’s relaxing and a time to take care of yourself and it’s also something that can easily be pushed. So take the time and do it!
  2. Take a walk. Sometimes the most we can get in the day is a quick 15-30 minute walk, if that. So take the time in the middle of the day or right when you get home to go for a walk – having a dog is an extra excuse because you’re not just helping yourself, your getting your pooch some extra fitness time too!
  3. Let loose. In whatever way that means to you.  It might not necessarily be the healthiest, but it’s all about balance! So whether it be a night out with friends, sleeping in, head banging to your favorite song, staying up a little later than normal, or a day of partying (to celebrate the Cavs first NBA Championship) – it’s OK to let loose and have a little fun to distract from everything else going on in life.
  4. Just breathe. And remember that everything is going to work out. Change is scary, and if we were all OK with change then nothing would ever stay the same and nothing would be challenging for us.
  5. Sweat it out. Sometimes the best distraction is a kick ass workout or a long run, focusing in the moment on what’s trying to be accomplished and pushing your self physically through a challenge can be what your mind and body really need.

It’s all about balance. But first we need to realize that we need to take a moment and relax, breathe and take care of ourselves.

Cheers to Friday and a long weekend!