Yes yes I know, another Friday Favorites posted on a Saturday. To be honest I'm not sure where the week went. I thought I had another day to put this post together, but turns out my days were mixed up. Better late than never right? By the way, huge thanks to everyone who shared and read Monday's post about life as a police wife. I had no idea how much of a response I would get with that post, but I am thankful I wrote it and I hope it helps others.
Onto this week's Friday Favorite! My gym buddy and I have been using this workout plan I found on Pinterest for the last two weeks. Let me say...I have been sore. That's a good thing! A lot of times in the gym I can't focus long enough to have a "plan" so having this picture saved in my phone is a start. I can tackle these items and add or take away as needed. Having a plan means I get more out of my workout. There are SO many options out there for fitness plans. Find a few you like and get to it!
Skipping Favorite Pin Friday today. Honestly, I haven't seen much on Pinterest lately that grabs my attention. Today I want to talk about the gym. If you follow me on snapchat (@r8d6g) then you know I go almost every week day. I try to make Friday a rest day, but that is not always the case. Of course there are a ton of benefits to working out like feeling great, sleeping better, increasing strength and endurance, being healthy, stress relief, etc. I go for all those reasons and more.
The gym has become habit. If I skip a day everything feels off. Do I cheat on eating healthy and slack off at the gym? Absolutely, but I'm making a lifestyle change. At 25 I realized my super speedy metabolism was slowing down and in order to stay thin I needed to change. Now it is about challenging myself; heavier weights, longer distances, different types of fitness classes
People ask how I can possibly enjoy working out. Kind of like how I question runners how they enjoy running (I will never understand that one :P). I'll tell you, it wasn't fun at first. Getting out of bed, dragging myself to the gym...that was hard, but the minute I was there I thanked myself for it. If you are new to working out don't expect to run 5 miles in your first week. Continue to go and push yourself. The only person giving up when things get hard is you. Challenge yourself to 10 more minutes of cardio, 5 more reps, extra push ups/crunches/squats. You will thank yourself later I promise.
Go Early
Get up and get moving. Why waste time laying around? Knock out a great workout first thing in the morning. Make it part of your daily routine. Time at the gym is me time, clearing my head and destressing.
Commit
Fitness isn't a "kinda sorta" thing. If you want to look and feel good you have to be dedicated. This "I'll go next week" or "dessert won't kill me" does not keep you focused. Again, I am not perfect (and we all know my love for dessert), but I try to make better choices when it comes to food. On the days I'm not feeling the gym I still go. Might not push myself as hard, but at least I am there.
Make it a Lifestyle Change
Read these words of advice again...I'll wait here while you process that for a moment...Got it now? A diet is only temporary! Lost 30 pounds on a diet? That's awesome! Stop the diet and what happens? Oh it came back? Hmmm because it wasn't a lifestyle change.
Do it, you'll be proud of yourself. Until next post...xoxo Becca
Back again for another edition of Favorite Pin Friday!!! Woohooooo it's Friday! The hubs and I attend an alumni event last night and had a really great time. It's always nice to talk to people who appreciate your alma mater like you do.
Sticking with the spring/summer weather trend (do you see more floral below? I can't get enough of it), get ready to bare those shoulders ladies. Keep scrolling for some cute shoulder baring outfits and as a bonus, arm exercises (which I need to get working on pronto). I've said it before, I get a lot of exercise ideas from Pinterest.
Hi lovely readers! I'm so glad you're still following me and if
you're new to Lexi & Lady, welcome! Today's post is pretty long so sit down, relax, and enjoy the topic of wellness.
As women I feel
we sometimes get bogged down in the daily grind. Not saying men don't
have similar circumstances, but hey most of my reader are women so today
is about you! I categorize
wellness into 3 pieces; food/nutrition, physical
fitness, and mental wellness.
Let's start with food. Ever eat a cookie, piece of cake, bowl
of ice cream and then think WHYYYYYY did I just do that!? I'm guilty,
but every now and then you deserve a treat. I'm always perusing
Pinterest for meal ideas and often times I'm searching for healthy
options because I'm beginning to see food as fuel for my body. Having a
positive relationship with food is key. Emotional and/or boredom eaters
often eat dessert, snack endlessly, indulge in an extra helping of
pasta, and lick the plate clean pretty often. Emotional eaters turn to
food for comfort or as a stress reliever, but the truth is, it doesn't
fix anything. In fact, afterwards emotional eaters feel guilty. Boredom
eaters...well good luck. My suggestion is to find more stimulating
activities! Here are a few "healthy" recipes I ran across this week.
Physical fitness...now I'm not talking about being a body builder or a marathon runner. If you want to do that, more power to you and I salute you because I do not aspire to be either. What I mean by physical fitness in association to wellness is get up and move. Take a walk around the office to clear your mind and get some blood flowing. Sitting at a desk for 8 hours has been proven to be unhealthy. Take the dog for a walk, play with your kids at the park rather than watching them play, go to a yoga or pilates class, stretch at home. There are a million and one ways to stay active. Pinterest can help with this too! Tons of links to workout routines, YouTube videos, and fitness gurus with great websites full of information. Here's a few beginner ideas.
Lastly, mental wellness. This is where I refer back to the "bogged down" feeling. Endless to-do lists, responsibilities, expectations, etc. They all eat away at your soul! Take a minute for you! Especially the moms who are reading today, I know you really need this one. There are several ways I focus on mental wellness for myself. Take time to be alone with your thoughts without distractions. Why not have a lunch date with a good friend who makes you laugh. There is nothing more relaxing than laughter. Have an area near you with antique stores, little boutique shops, why not go explore by yourself. Get a massage or a pedicure. Identify what makes you calm, gives you clarity and a chance to reboot. Do it!
I know this post was long today, but I felt like it was needed. Many of my friends have expressed the overworked and "I'm too busy" feeling to me lately and it made me think taking care of yourself should be priority.
