FITNESS: SWOLE LIFE (just kidding, I'm far far far away from swole)

Hello my wonderfuls! So today is my fitness contribution. As a soccer girl who left the field for a few seasons, but kept the same appetite obviously something needed to change. However I didn't and in 2012, I gained about twelve pounds but I didn't think much of it since I had always been able to shed weight easily. Well, then I was about 149 pounds or so (never broke 150 for some reason) and I'm 5'7.5" so I was on the heavier side of borderline overweight. I had terrible eating habits and rarely exercised, since I had the weird mentality that I still had my soccer season metabolism. Truth be told, I had a ton of "problem areas" and I still do now. So in 2012, I vowed to lose weight and ultimately drop down to 135 by the end of the year. 

These were/still are my exercise essentials: 

• hair ties- my hair is literally the most irritating thing when I work out so I make sure to always have a few

• bobby pins/ prewrap/ clips- bangs, need I say more?

• good shoes- I used the Saucony Ignition 2's for the majority of the year and I just got a pair of Saucony Grid Cohesion 6 for my shin splints 

 Bam! 

cool shoes ft. my pajamas 

• headband for outdoors- like one of those that covers your ears and is made of thicker fabric

• earphones- your music is just yours, not everyone's 

• my iPhone and the app RunKeeper (free for basic membership!) 

 it's the blue app with the person running and snaps for you if you understand my background DFTBA 

• YouTube: Blogilates, FitnessBlender, XHIT 

• water- CONSTANT HYDRATION

• journal- write down what I eat and exercise along with my OOTD and good things that happened that day

So I used RunKeeper to set my goal of 135 lbs and set a goal of exercising at least 5x a week (doesn't have to be just running). In the spring, summer, and fall I ran outside, starting with like 0.6 miles and eventually more and more (I also used to run cross country so I was already more used to distance). Everyday I ran, I would also do a few of Blogilates videos, mainly arm, abs, and muffintop ones to target those areas. This summer, I also attended a summer program at Brown University for a few weeks and then I just walked everywhere like class, dorms, dining halls, shopping places (which was around seven miles a day!) and I would visit their student fitness center with my roomies. 

Now in the winter, the Midwest has a lot of snow and gross weather so I don't really like going outside, although I miss running. I now do HIIT videos from FitnessBlender and XHIT 4x a week (these seriously kick your butt, my favorite is the brutal HIIT ladder from FitnessBlender), treadmill cardio, a squat calendar for this month along with tricep triangle pushes (stand in front of a wall, form a triangle with your hands, and push like a push-up!) 

 the days just happened to match up with this January! I do the same number of tricep triangle pushes too for that day.  

My eating habits have also changed for the better: I eat clean (veggies and fruit, protein, less carbs, little to no dairy) and drink water A LOT. I might have to go to the bathroom more but the health benefits are worth it. I still allow myself a few YOLO meals here and there but what you eat in private, you wear in public. 

So my results are in, I did make it down to 135 and I want to continue to be 130 by prom time! I have gained a lot more confidence and seen some changes. I no longer have a poking out tum, but instead the start of abs as well as stronger legs and arms. I'm still working on it but don't give up, even on the days where it hurts like a bitch. You'll never regret working out, you'll only regret sitting there. So yep, that's my fitness explanation, hope you enjoyed and have a great day!