A few days in...

So, a few days in and I'm feeling good so far. This morning I went to the gym and tried out a class called Strength and Toning. When I got there I asked one of the students about it. She said it's really hard. I was tempted to walk out, but I said to myself, "well, you're here now. No turning back. You're committed to it." So I stayed. Let me tell you, despite her warnings, I had no clue what I was getting myself into. I have never pushed my body as hard as I did this morning. Even with a fan right on me, sweat was trickling down my face into my eyes the whole time. We had to use weights throughout the work out, and at one point I could no longer actually lift my arms. My muscles gave out. But I kept going. I pushed myself and did what I could, trying my best to push through the pain with a smile on your face. I would tell myself, "Keep going because one day you will be strong enough to teach this class."

Despite my weakness, my perseverence did not go unnoticed. Afterwards, the instructor came up to me and told me that I had done an awesome job sticking w the work out. She was amazed by the example I set by keeping a smile on my face and pushing through a work out my body was not ready for. "You rocked it girl and I wanted to tell the whole class to keep their eyes on you and that smile of yours!" Do you have any idea how encouraging that was? When I felt down on myself for not being able to go as hard as everyone else because of my fitness level, she instead saw an accomplishment...someone who stuck with a very difficult workout DESPITE my fitness level. This is what it is all about. It isn't about being defeated by what we can't do, but instead succeeding in pushing the limits of what we can do. Thank God that it is never, ever too late to become disciplined and good stewards of every gift He has given us.

By the way, the diet my friend is doing isn't called HTC. It is called HCG...whoops. Mistake on my part. Apologies.

The before picture!

Here it is...the before picture! :)

HCG vs Nutrition and Exercise

Last night I had some friends over for tacos and it came out that one of them will be trying an HCG challenge of losing 30 lbs in 2 months on the HCG diet. I was skeptical about her trying it out, but felt the perfect opportunity arise.

"You lose 30 lbs on this HCG diet in 2 months and I will lose 30 lbs using nutrition and exercise. By the end of it, we will see who is happiest with their results." Admittedly, having competition is going to help me lose weight and stay on target, but so will the partnership in it. We can encourage one another to stick with our goals and I really like/need that. So in a few minutes I'm off to the gym...how perfect is it that I bought a groupon deal that gives me 2 months worth of a gym membership only last week!? Ironic really. So the journey begins. Don't worry. We will both take before and after photos. ;)

Restaurant recommendation: raw is in fact rawesome!

So if you are anything like me, you have been a sceptic of this raw food diet craze. All I could think was, "how could a raw food diet satisfy my tastebuds? It just sounds so boring!" But while I've been turned off to the idea completely, in light of trying to get healthier, I thought perhaps I could at the very least give a local raw food restaurant, AmeRAWcan Bistro down on St. Helens in Tacoma, a try. So last night a vegetarian and health conscious friend accompanied me on my adventure...or dare I say experiment. My first impressions? The venue itself was really attractive and in an attractive location (near the Broadway theatre district). The menu also looked very attractive with all kinds of colorful renditions of American favorites: a burger, pizza, nachos, tacos, spaghetti, sandwiches, cheesecake, oh my! And...the plus? All gluten free! I was so excited!

We decided to try a plethera of things. First, the nachos. It is important to note that in the raw food diet, nothing is heated above 118 degrees F. This is to preserve their nutritional value. So things like bread and chips are usually various kinds of grains or nuts dehydrated together to form a really yummy crust. It may sound gross, but I learned last night how much more flavorful it is than shelf bread. So these nachos were made w dehydrated flax chips...oh man! I was in heaven. The chef covered these colorful nachos with incredible sauces...I didn't even notice there was no cheese on them, haha. My tastebuds exploded from all the flavor and kick.

Then there was the thai curry soup, which I only briefly sampled. Again...mouth watering. Next was the burger, which was vegan using seasoned walnut meal. May sound gross? Don't knock it until you try it. Yeah, it is nothing like a real burger, but it didn't matter. It was its own thing all together...and perfectly savory and delicious at that. Then came the pizza...which was my favorite part. My friend and I died of happiness with every crunchy bite. Whatever sauce the chef made to substitute cheese was one of the most amazing things I've ever tasted. And it was so vibrant, chalk full of nutritional and flavor packed veggies.

And finally...the banana chocolate pie. Oh man! I was in heaven! It was the perfect combination of sweet, tart and warm flavors. I didn't want it to end.

Now I feel inspired by my raw food experience at AmeRAWcan Bistro. Not only do I want to tell people about it and eat there again, but I also want to incorporate more raw foods into my own diet. I left feeling so energetic, and still feel energetic today! I am a huge fan! Please, before you knock it, try it! You don't just have to eat for nutrition! Nutritional food can still be appetizing! Check them out and download the menu @ http://amerawcanbistro.com. :)

Baby steps to becoming a hiker: Pilates prep work

One thing that was brought to my attention in regards to becoming a hiker is that I need to strengthen my core. Believe me, my core is weak. I stopped working out regularly about a year ago...which is a complete shame because I was making great progress and reaching my fitness goals quickly. I'm excited to take on hiking for health. The Northwest has so much to offer a girl like me!

But first I need to strengthen up. So this week I've taken up pilates. I've gotta be honest. I was not looking forward to it. I've tried yoga in the past and really sucked at it. I figured pilates would be the same story. I wanted to start at as beginner of a level as possible. I found a video on Netflix that allows me to pick between 3 levels of difficulty. This has been a great start...and I wasn't as bad at it as I thought. In fact, I really enjoy it! After just a few days, I'm already feeling my core pulled in, increased firmness and enough soreness (the good kind) to know I'm doing something. I'm really excited about pilates! It is much more my cup of tea than yoga.

The next step is increasing difficulty levels, adding more cardio and working on the diet more seriously (although I have been adding more whole and raw foods to my diet this week and feeling a tremendous amount of more energy). I love this. So in the words of Dr. Steve Brule: for your health!

A Helpful Link

Also, if you are considering getting back in shape for the sake of hiking, here is a good place to start: http://www.livestrong.com/article/6780-shape-hiking/

Welp, friends...here I am...again. Starting over...again. But it isn't so bad. This year I have some good people motivating me. The goal? To become a hiker. It's a great way to get back into shape (and stay in shape), and even more amazing because of where I live! The Northwest is full of so many incredible places to hike, fish, camp and everything else outdoorsy. Feel free to join me on my adventure if you are looking for a hiking buddy. Or a fishing buddy (I'm gonna take that up too!). This is going to be one incredible summer. I will post pictures...I swear! ;)