30 Day Harry Potter Challenge - Day 1

Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm a H.U.G.E. Harry Potter buff. No really, it's kind of sad how obsessed I am. I will spend hours rereading the books, rewatching the movies, or pinning Harry Potter pins on pinterest. If you looked up the definition of the ultimate Harry Potter fan, well my name would under be it. No joke. 

A few days ago I ran across a challenged on Pinterest called the 30 Day Harry Potter Challenge and today, I'm starting out on this adventure. Enjoy!

Day 1: Your Favorite of the 7 Books

I had a really tough time choosing this one because Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is also my favorite book. However, I ended up choosing Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix because it is such a central book to the entire story of Harry Potter and his preparation in defeating Lord Voldemort. We learn the history of Harry's prophecy and perhaps my favorite part of the entire book was learning why Harry is "The Chosen One." I loved learning that Neville could have easily been "The Chosen One," and it taught me a great deal about friendship and bravery, even in the face of all consuming despair. It was one of the moments where I truly realized that JK Rowling is a pure genius of story telling and it is why I love her novels and the world of Harry Potter so much!

 

xoxo,

Megan

Life Style Change - Days 2 through 7

I apologize for being such a slacker in the rest of my daily updates and I'm afraid this update won't be much of one. Unfortunately, I failed miserably at my new journey last week. I don't have any excuses because it's all on me; I was lazy. End of story. 

Let me tell you, it is incredibly hard to get up early everyday and be at the gym by 6:45. I've always loved to sleep in and getting out of bed in the mornings has always been difficult for me. The past three years I was a housewife and a full time college student and also during this time Eric was working 3pm to 11pm shifts at work. So, naturally we slept all day and didn't start our days usually until he left for work. This makes my habit of becoming a morning person that much more difficult to break. I've gotten so accustomed to sleeping in that it's something I struggle with. Plus, my big, fully, pillow top mattress is like sleeping on a cloud. Did I mention that when Eric goes to work, I'll have the bed to myself? Yeah..hah.

The good news is, is that I'll hopefully be starting to work soon (not sure what schedule) but regardless, I won't have the luxury of sleeping in everyday. I'll have a part time job and school work to worry about and household duties to fulfill. I expect it will be all the more easier for me to get off my lazy butt and into more of a routine. 

Another thing that's hard for me is keeping a food journal. But I know this is essential to me getting a healthy way of life on track. It's tedious and monotonous and gets old really, really quickly. However, I know as soon as I start seeing results, I'll have the incentive to keep doing it. 

Lastly, the other struggle I've been dealing with is needing to also do strength training. I'm having issues stepping out of my comfort zone and actually doing this at the gym. Until I get to that point, I'm going to do a strength training routine I have done before at our house with the weights we have here. It's got specific exercises for specific days. Hopefully, as I become more confident in it and strength training itself, I'll be willing to do it at the gym...alone...on their weight machines. 

Well, I suppose that's it for tonight. Tomorrow is Day 8. I won't be weighing myself in  because I know I didn't do what I was supposed to last week. Maybe next week. 

xoxo,
Megan

Lifestyle Change - Day 1

I apologize that it's been almost a year since I've posted an actual blog. Unfortunately, things got really busy with us and I just didn't have any time. I promise I will update you on the drastic changes life has fed us in the past few months.

Anyway - most of you know I lived in Alaska for a couple years and while I enjoyed my adventure there with my husband, our two dogs, and the handful of great friends we found there, I do have one thing I loathed more than anything about it: Alaska makes you a very inactive person. The inactivity is mostly due to the 8ish months of winter (snow, sheer cold, and darkness) that we have. It literally makes us want to hibernate and sit on our couches and eat comfort food all the time. Definitely not a recipe for healthy living.

When I moved to Alaska in 2008, I weighed a whopping 115 pounds. I had always been active and I never imagined my weight would increase as drastically as it did. By the time I left Alaska, I weighed 154 pounds. This is something I am not proud of. While 154 is not "fat" persey, it's not healthy for my weight or body shape either. More importantly, I am not happy with me. I lost the self esteem I once had and the love for myself I once had and I am more determined than ever to fix that part about me. I'm determined to live a healthy, active life and get to a place where I am confident and strong and happy with how my body looks. Yes, I want to be toned and yes I want to lose 25 pounds, but I also don't want to be too concerned about getting to a certain number on the weight scale.

So I started on my journey today and I'm going to keep going for the rest of my life. Here's to a happy, healthy, fit, strong, and capable me. I know I can do this and to help keep myself on track I am keeping a food journal and counting calories like a madman. I'm also going to be going to the gym for about two hours every morning and making better eating choices. Lastly, I'll be blogging about my journey and showing you my pitfalls and my successes. I hope you follow on this journey with me and I hope I can, in some way, become an inspiration to you to be fit and healthy and happy. After all, we only live once, why not embrace every part of it by being the best we can be and, to me, that starts with fitness.

Day 1

Today was Day 1 of my new journey. Unfortunately, I woke up at 5am unable to fall back to sleep. So after laying in bed until 5:30 or so I got up and decided to make myself breakfast. Although I saw my early rising as an unfortunate thing, looking back, it honestly wasn't that bad. I was more than ready to hit the gym at 6:30am than I thought I would be because I am the exact opposite of a morning person. Once I got to the gym I rolled out and then hit the elliptical for 60 minutes. After the elliptical, I worked my way over to the stairmaster for 10 minutes. Then I walked for a 15 minute cooldown. Not to shabby if you ask me. 

I did have a couple of obstacles while working out. There were so many times today where I wanted to quit and give in to the mentality that my body just couldn't take anymore. The brain is a mighty powerful thing and sometimes it's hard to overcome the thought processes of it and what it thinks you should be doing. However, will power is the single most essence of a human being that is more powerful than thinking and the brain. If you have the will power to do something, nothing can stand in your way. I see this every day in life and more importantly, I see this in watching the transformations on Biggest Loser. If those contestants can do it, SO CAN I! I pushed through the pain and the self-doubt and I came out strong today in my workout. I know some days will be harder than others, but that's how fights are won; by pushing through and never quitting. 

Another misstep I had today was getting a sausage biscuit and Dr. Pepper from McDonald's. Like I said, my brain's sneaky thought processes found a way to beat my willpower. After seeing how those two simple meals really threw off my caloric intake for the day, I will no longer be giving into those dirty, creepy, demon caloric thoughts. In order to change to a healthy, fit, and happy lifestyle, I have to stick with my willpower. It will get me through anything. 

Daily Food Journal - Day 1

I'm posting my daily food journal so I can personally be held accountable for what I put into my body. In order to lose weight, it was suggested by a healthy professional to keep my caloric intake at 1839 calories a day. As I said early, I made a poor choice today, and therefore, even after my workout, I was over the recommended intake amount. Tomorrow I will do better and hopefully, before I know it, I'll see results!

Breakfast:

1. 2 scrambled eggs in 1 tablespoon of olive oil: 260 calories; 12 grams of protein
2. toast with less than a tablespoon of butter: 75 calories; 3 grams of protein
3. 1 cup of V8 juice: 140 calories
4. A small banana: 90 calories; 1 gram of protein

Misc.

1. Sausage biscuit: 430 calories; 11 grams of protein (OH MY LANTA NEVER AGAIN!)
2. Medium dr. pepper: 210 calories (HOLY CRAPOLY! I'm really kicking myself now!) 

Snack:

1. Small banana: 90 calories; 1 gram of protein. 

Lunch:

1. Turkey Breast Sandwich: 170 calories; 11 grams of protein.
2. Tortilla Chips: 280 calories; 2 grams of protein.
3. Picante Salsa: 60 calories 

Dinner:

1. 2 Small slices of pepperoni pizza: 780 calories; 32 grams of protein.

Water Intake:

1. 4 twenty-four ounce water bottles 

 Calories Burned During Workout:

1. 702 Calories

  Grand Total (counting the subtraction of the calories burned at the gym): 1883 calories; 86 grams of protein.

Long story short: I will do SO much better tomorrow! Just you wait and see! My daily caloric intake will not exceed 1839 calories (not including the calories burned at the gym). I'll make better choices tomorrow, are you?!

~Megan