Author: Jenna

With this weeks excessive heat warning and me running all over the place (in & out, in & out), I didn’t get to the gym much at all. I did get in a few short walks while running around for work. I feel bad but this heat is truly affecting me. I know I work out in a gym but being in and out all day, standing in humid buildings has made me completely exhausted. And I feel quite dehydrated today. I think this is the hottest August I’ve had in my six years here. I usually enjoy the summers but this year has been rough.

For the last two weeks or so I have been focusing on my diet. I have worked really hard to start eating right and so far so good! I haven’t been as hungry between meals because I am eating better foods at meals. Who knew that adding two tablespoons of hummus to your sandwich, instead of mustard, would keep you full all afternoon? And I’ve always loved fresh fruit and veggies so eating more of those is not hard. And plain oatmeal with fruit is actually tasty.

Thankfully I haven’t had any temptations to go off or eat badly. I was at training a couple of weeks ago and got a full size milky way (my favorite candy bar) and it is still sitting in my desk drawer. I haven’t wanted to eat it, even though I see it everyday. I am guessing at some point I will have a chocolate emergency and break down but it’s ok once in a while to treat yourself. 🙂

There is also two different things of ice cream in my freezer thanks to J. I couldn’t even tell you the flavor. I don’t even want the ice cream. It doesn’t sound good to me. If I have some extra calories after dinner, I might have a coconut fruit bar from Dreyers. Have you tried those yet? If not, I highly suggest you do. I’ve had the lime also but coconut is my favorite. It is creamy and has actual coconut in it!

Yesterday I broke down and had a diet pepsi. I’d rather not drink pop but I desperately needed a caffeine fix or I was going to crawl under my desk and nap, a la George on Seinfeld. I didn’t want to make hot coffee and had already walked a mile in the heat so wasn’t really feeling another walk. Vending machine here I come. I figured at least diet has no calories, right? And it got me through the rest of the work day. I actually powered through a lot of stuff.

I am working hard to get healthy and lose weight. I’m not sure if it is paying off yet but I feel better, so that is all that matters. I committed to a challenge on my fitness pal to lose 30 pounds by Halloween. Do I think it can be done? Maybe. Do I like the idea of a goal having a deadline? Yes. Will I care if I don’t lose the full 30? No, as long as I lose some weight and feel better I will be happy. I will re-evaluate at Halloween and set a new goal. Maybe I should use holidays as my goal evaluations. By labor day I’d like to be down three pounds (I’m aiming for a pound a week, I tried two but the calories were too low for what my body needed).

What are your healthy lifestyle goals? Are you looking to get in shape, lose weight, fit in that old pair of jeans? How are you going about reaching your goals? Do you find smaller changes help you succeed better? Let’s share because we all need support and if we don’t always get it at home, we can at least get it online. I hope everyone who devotes themselves to changing their bad habits and getting healthy achieves their goal and if we can help each other out on the way, why not?

I had a weird experience at the gym last night. I was doing my normal routine (warm up 5 minutes, run 3 walk 2) and had reached the 18 minute mark. I suddenly started to feel lightheaded/dizzy and it felt like all the heat was trapped in my body. I slowed to a slow walk but had to stop after 2 minutes. I just wasn’t feeling better. I went and sat down for about 10 minutes and felt better. Obviously I went home after that but it was such a strange thing. I have never felt like that before.

I think it is a combination of starting my extremely healthy and the heat/humidity. It’s been over 100 degrees here and super humid. Normally the heat hasn’t bothered me but it just seems like my body is trapping the heat and not letting it out. I noticed when I was walking to the gym tonight my head was getting really warm and slightly lightheaded. Once inside the air conditioned gym, I started to feel normal again. I also have had the same feeling walking from the bus stop to my car.

Tonight I took it easy and did an easy 2.31 miles in 40 minutes. I got warm but I didn’t seem to let out a lot of the heat. I don’t know. It’s very odd.

So, as you can tell from the blog… I have been working out. I got off track for about a week and a half due to vacation. But I am back and on track. I also went to the store and bought a whole bunch of healthy foods again. I love fruits and veggies but I didn’t have any in the house for a few weeks. My schedule doesn’t always work with the BF’s to get us both to the store. LOL

I have been eating my fruits and veggies, based off a recommended menu from the gym. I feel fuller and sometimes don’t eat at all the same times I used to. Snacks aren’t every two hours now. Now I just wait patiently for the weight to start to come off. 🙂

I have also decided the gym I am currently using has the most disgusting members. I have never seen a locker room be so gross. One day there was a pair of underwear just laying on the floor. And it stayed there for like two days. Today? I went to use a bathroom stall and I saw a small puddle near the door. I avoided it and sat on the toilet. Then I realized the puddle was yellow. The only thing I can figure is they thought the stall was out of toilet paper (but if you slid the little door over, there was a whole other roll) and got up to go get toilet paper?? It was so gross. I have belonged to several gyms and have never seen anything as gross as here. So glad I wore flip-flops the one time I used the shower. And bring my own towels. Ewwww.

I tried this new Bic razor out last week and let me just say, wow! I was impressed. So impressed I yelled out to the BF, “THIS RAZOR IS SO SMOOTH!”. His reaction wasn’t quite as enthusiastic as mine. He basically asked, “Aren’t all new razors smooth?” Men, they just don’t get it. 😉

This was the smoothest, new razor I have ever used. It also didn’t feel like I would nick my skin as happens sometimes with new razors. It glided over all areas smoothly, including the knee and bikini line. I am sure you know how difficult those areas can be to de-hair. I was pretty much as happy as the lady in the above picture.

Click above to purchase on Amazon. 

The razor felt comfortable in my hand. I didn’t feel like I need a tight grip. It seemed to be fairly ergonomically correct (although I am not an ergo expert). I also liked the slight bend in the head (you can see it in the side view in the above picture). I feel like the angle made it easier to hold and go over the knees and bikini area. Apparently the angle is the pivoting head. I guess I didn’t realize it was pivoting. Either way, I like it.

The Bic Soleil Savvy is a disposable razor. It comes with a set of blades that you can change out once you wear one down. They do not sell just the blades. Once you use all your blades, you just buy a new razor and blades set. It is a hybrid of reusable blades and disposable razors. Is this the best of both worlds? Sometimes the reusable razors get grungy from leaving them in the shower. With the Soleil Savvy, you use the razor for a while and by the time it starts to get gross, you can toss it and buy a new one. Interesting concept.

Other features: two lubricating strips on the razor with vitamin E and three flexible blades. Overall, I will continue to use this razor. It is replacing the Target brand disposables that I currently use, which funnily enough are the “copy” of the original Bic Soleil razor, which I also like. I think Bic got it right with the Soleil brand.

Disclaimer: I received a free Bic Soleil Savvy razor from BzzAgent. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I would not promote a product if I didn’t believe in it. If I didn’t like it, I would tell you. Since I do like this product, I will Bzz positively about it and to everyone I know. 🙂

This week I took a step in the right direction. I haven’t been feeling fully happy with myself lately and realized I haven’t worked out seriously and consistently in about a year. A gym will be opening up across the street from my house but not until fall/winter.

I kept contemplating what to do until then. I thought about working out outside but where I live you pretty much need to go at 4am to avoid the heat. Me? Get up at 4am? AHAHAHAHAHA. Then I thought what about work out dvds at home? Great idea, right? Well I did that for a couple of days and it drove the dogs crazy and was not a conducive environment for working out. Ok then, what else…?

Work was starting a discount with the local Y’s. $24 a month. Not bad. So I look at the locations, nothing close to home. There is one close to work that I could walk to. I mentioned my contemplation on Facebook and someone recommend I check out Gold’s Gym, also within walking distance from work.

After looking into both options, I have decided to go with Gold’s. It is about a 5 minute walk and there is a bus stop right outside it. The Y would mean I would have to walk back to work to get to the bus stop and the area isn’t necessarily the best.

I went and spoke to Gold’s on Friday and took a tour. It is a really nice gym and I can run on the treadmill and look over downtown. I then activated my free 7 day trial membership and went yesterday to work out. I will go this week after work and then purchase the basic membership. I was debating which membership level and realized I don’t do enough classes to justify paying more. I will get the basic just to run and lift. Besides, they don’t offer cardio kickboxing which is my fav class.

I also don’t plan to stay at this gym once the one by my house opens. I may use it for about 6 months so why pay for more than I need? But, I am going to purchase the overnight locker use ($15/month) because I don’t want to always be toting my stuff on the bus. I think that is an amazing option! I have never belonged to a gym that allowed overnight use.

After working out yesterday, I felt so much more like myself. I felt happy and strong and like I had accomplished something. I forget how good working out feels. I would love to lose some weight. I feel I could fit better in my clothes, be happier and, most importantly, healthy. I have other goals too. I want to be in shape so when I eventually get pregnant, I can remain active throughout and after. It is what would be best for me and baby.

Have you made any major life changes recently? Do you feel you need to get back into something you love and miss? Speaking of getting back into something, I know I have been absent from blogging for a while. I haven’t felt inspired or creative lately and I think that also has been weighing on me. I am going to try to get better. Exercise and creativity help reduce the stress in my life. 🙂

Quite a bit has happened since I said goodbye a few weeks ago. I’d love for you to grab a cup of coffee, settle in and catch up.

I finally got a job in my chosen field. It is still technically with my current employer but a different department. I love it so far. I feel so much more like myself. I have more energy. I get done at 4:30 instead of 5. I am slowly getting more and more responsibility. It sounds like eventually I will be doing everything (currently some tasks are taken care of by another department).

And with that being said… I am getting a new car in June/July. I told myself no new car until I got a job. I could get it now but the summer model will have 10 airbags (instead of 8) for the same price. Why not wait?

My new car, the 2013 Malibu Eco. I want it in this color or black.

I have also decided to join a gym. I want to start running and lifting weights again. I am going to check out LA Fitness. It is fairly close to the house/park and ride. It is also the least expensive; Lifetime is the other close gym. I also started playing my playstation move game The Fight. It’s not marketed as a workout game but my god! I was sweating, breathing heavy and my arms are like rubber now. I only did the intro moves, three fights and two training tasks. Wowzers. I also want to get the UFC trainer game for another workout idea.

I have read one of my books (a Dean Kontz novel) and one kindle book (the Help). Yes, I gave in and bought a kindle. I got a $50 amazon gift card and couldn’t resist. I am currently reading some magazines and then I will go back to another book, then a kindle book etc.

I have done a few sketches and set up my painting. Soon I will actually do more on the painting. I bought new brushes to help motivate me. I also have done some new things in town but nothing on my list so I guess you can say I have half worked on these goals.

I have not done anything with the backyard. I got a book of low water plants that I need to look at. The backyard seems like a huge undertaking. I have broken it down into smaller goals but still some of those are large projects. The first is to put in a drip system which is probably going to be the most work which might be why I am pushing it off. :

So far, I have pretty much failed on all my resolutions. I have walked the dogs a few times but nothing consistent. I have started watching what I eat and eating smaller portions. It appears a little bit has helped. The pants I wore on Thursday were not as tight as they used to be. I am also trying to get back into using myplate on livestrong.com to watch my calorie/food intake. I’ve done about two days so far this month.

I have applied for a few more jobs and have an interview on Monday. Other then applying and going to interviews, there is not much more I can do here.

I have been trying to get through my magazine stack so I can start my books but I am just so far behind. And the magazines just keep coming. Every month. What are they thinking?!? 😉

The BF and I have made plans to go look at landscaping stuff but have yet to follow through. I plan to start this when I get my tax returns so we need to get on this!

I have bought some new art supplies (last weekend) but haven’t gotten around to them yet. I am looking into a dslr also. I think I have decided on what Canon to get and only the body since I have a lens on my regular slr. I have been updating my blogs a little more regularly.

So maybe I have started everything but I haven’t finished anything. But at least I am trying, right?

How are you coming on your resolutions? Did you actually make any? Have you broken them already? It’s never to late to get back on track if you have!

Yours,