Fitness Goals {Let's Make Some...Together!}

Making {and keeping} fitness goals can be challenging. 

Personally, I always make goals and then I never keep them. Most of time, these are weight goals. Lose 35 pounds. Weigh 125 pounds. And most of the time, I want these things to happen INSTANTLY. I'm not patient. When they don't happen right away, I get frustrated and I give up. 

And while goals involving your weight are fine and dandy, they definitely should NOT be the only fitness goals you have. What if you don't eve reach your weight goal because you've built a crap ton muscle while lifting weights? The numbers on the scale don't matter - the numbers on the weights do! The heavier the weights you can lift, the stronger you are becoming. 

Are you able to do more push ups this year than last year? Did you run a mile in six minutes? 

These are the numbers that matter!

I've been learning recently how to stick to my goals, and I'm going to share some of my discoveries with you. After that, I'll share some of my own fitness goals with you. I hope they help you stick to goals like they are helping me!

1. Find Your Motivation

If you don't have something that's motivating you - and I'm talking REAL motivation, not how well you will look in that swimsuit - you will never be able to stick to your goals. For me, it's fear. Fear of surgery. Fear of health problems and illnesses. Fear of pain. I don't want to end up having a heart attack and being rushed to the hospital. EVER. My dad recently had an unplanned quadruple bypass surgery, and I never want that to happen me. So I have started working out more often and eating more healthfully. 

Another thing that motivates me is being a role model to children. I have been interviewing for a position with Boosterthon, a company that serves schools by teaching kids about fitness, leadership, and character. The company has really inspired to be a better person and live how I want others to live. If I'm gonna be teaching kids about health and fitness, then I want to be living that lifestyle and being a good influence.

2. Write Them Down

Even though you think you'll remember your goals in your head....you won't. Trust me. Write them down and put them somewhere you can see them every day. That way you will remember them and strive to accomplish them!

3. Make A Gym Schedule

This is important. Don't wait until you wake up to decide when you want to go to the gym, because you will never go. Get out calendar and write down exact times when you will arrive at the gym. This means to can plan your days off, too! And these rest days are IMPORTANT. Without resting from working out, your muscles won't be able to repair and build stronger muscles. So make sure you schedule gym days, but schedule some rest days, too. 

4. Download A Fitness App For Your Phone

I find these to be really helpful. If you're a runner, check out RunKeeper. If you want to track your calorie intake, try MyFitnessPal. If you want to track how long you spend on the elliptical and how many sets of tricep dips you did, download FitList. There are a billion great health and fitness apps you can get for your phone, so search and find the one that works for you!

Those are four things that really help me stick to my fitness goals. Now, here are some goals I set for myself...

{Goals for This Year}
1. Be able to do at least one pull up
2. Be able to do ten complete, non-modified push ups
3. Have toned biceps and triceps
4. Reach my weight goal of 125 pounds (or a lean, healthy equivalent)
5. Run 3 miles without stopping

{Goals for The Future}
1. Participate in a marathon, preferable the Disney marathon
2. Participate in a half marathon
3. Run a 10k without stopping
4. Run a mile in 6 minutes or less
5. Join a CrossFit gym

Next week, I'm going to try to have a homemade GYM & FITNESS printable for you guys that you can download, print, and use to keep yourself on track. Maybe I'll make a fitness goals printable, too. <3

Now...what are YOUR fitness goals? And what other free printables would you like me to make? 

Weight Training {for women} 101

Ladies, let's talk about the elephant in the gym - weight training. 

It always seems so daunting. Especially when you are in the gym. I mean, come on. You're just doing your cardio on the treadmill, and you look over where the scary weight machines and free weights are. You think, well, someday I'll venture over there. But not today. Mostly because the men intimidate you, is my thought. At least, that's how I feel.

However, there is nothing to be scared about. And who cares if some of the beautiful, really buff men are staring at you while you try to figure out how that scary machine works? [HINT: There are directions on the side of the machine. You can read and look at the diagrams to learn how to use the machine. Easy peasy!]

Today I'm gonna give you FIVE (count 'em!) good reasons why you should take the leap and start lifting weights. But let's step back for a second and boost our self-esteem a bit, first. 

You are beautiful. 

You are strong.

You know (or you will teach yourself) exactly what you are doing. Even if you really don't know what you are doing, just act like you do. No one will notice!

You are confident. 

Okay. Now we can move on to those five reasons why you should begin lifting weights! 

Numero uno: Weight training boosts your metabolism. Like crazy.

According to the December 2013 issue of Women's Health magazine, "two months of resistance training twice a week increases resting metabolic rate by 7 percent." 

Well then. 

And that's only with two days of weight training! 

What this means [to me] is that if you weight train, you will naturally burn more calories when you are sitting around doing absolutely nothing. 

And that, my friends, is a wonderful thing. 

Numero dos: Weight training will help burn more calories. 

A pound of muscle burns FIVE TIMES more calories than a pound of fat. 

So if you want to lose weight, pumping iron is a KEY component to your workout!
{Just remember, it's better to do more reps with less weight than to strain yourself doing more weight with fewer reps}

Numero tres: Weight training builds muscle.

I've already stated this, but I think it's worth reiterating. Muscle is better than fat, and it sticks with you. Lose the fat, build the muscle. Plus, building muscle leads me to my fourth point...

Numero quatro: Weight training creates a sculpted body. 

Even though I haven't been lifting weights as often as I should be, I can already tell a difference in my arms from my brief lifting. I love looking in the mirror and flexing my meager arm muscles, watching as a small little "bump" appears where my biceps are located. And touching your muscles makes you feel really proud of what you've accomplished. 

It sounds cheesy, but it does. If you want to see the results of your lifting, all you have to do is look in the mirror and see the toned body you are creating. It feels great!

Numero cinco: Weight training makes you proud. 

This is really a continuation of my fourth point, but once you start to see results, you are immediately proud of what you've accomplished. Who wouldn't be excited about seeing ripped arms and a six pack staring back at you in the mirror?! {OK, maybe not right away, but it's a nice idea!}

Ladies, my point is this: START LIFTING WEIGHTS IN THE GYM. Even if you are intimidated. It's good for you. And if you still don't want to pursue this in the gym, then buy some weights and start working out at home. There are tons of great workout plans you can find online!

Good. Now get out there and kick some booty. 

What's your favorite workout?

WIAW #34: Fitness + Babysitting

Hey ladies and gents! Welcome to another What I Ate Wednesday! So glad to be back to the WIAW party.

Here's a look at what I ate on Tuesday... 

{BREAKFAST} Nature Valley Peanut Butter granola bar // coffee {LUNCH} Archer Farm's Raspberry Creme Brulee granola // Hard boiled egg // Fresh raspberries {SNACKS} Apple // Orange // Dark chocolate square // Half of a Hail Merry persian lime tart {DINNER} Little Caesar's pepperoni pizza // Crazy Bread

All in all, I consider that to be an okay day of eating. To be honest, I didn't really want the pizza, but it was free since I was babysitting tonight and that's what the kiddos ate. Not healthy, but I gotta take each day as it comes. Below are a few pictures - some things from today, others from earlier this week.

Speaking of falling into good habits, I'm heading back to the gym after a long hiatus. This time I think I'll actually stick with it, thanks to my dad's recent quadruple bypass surgery. I never want to end up in a hospital, let alone in surgery. And to avoid both of those things, I need to start eating right and working out consistently. So here's a look at today's trip to the gym:

{FITNESS} Ran .61 miles on treadmill // Walked on treadmill // Elliptical for 30 minutes // Weight training (thighs) 

{CALORIES BURNED} Roughly 320 cal

Also an okay day. Yesterday, I had more intense of a workout...I started working out my arms on the weight machines, which is something I haven't done in, oh, I don't know...a year. Or something ridiculous. And BOY am I STILL feeling that workout! Crazy! I also burned an intense 590 calories between walking on the treadmill and the cross trainer. Tomorrow I will be focusing on cardio + ab workouts. Yikes. Haven't worked my abs in about as long as my arms...

If you are having problems with being bored at the gym (I have this problem all the time!) I recommend that you find a great fiction book and read it. Something that makes time fly by. That's when I work my hardest! I've been reading The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson and it's wonderful. Also, drink coffee an hour before you work out. It makes your workout seem less challenging. No joke - I tried it today and it worked. I read about it in last month's issue of Women's Health!

Remember the kiddos I said I babysat tonight? Their names are Jameson (four years old) and Mac (two years old). Check out their adorable selves:

Cuties, right?!

So, today I am meeting up with local granola maker Christy from Whirly Bird Granola to get some samples and start on a product review! How exciting is that?! I love meeting local foodies and learning about their stuff!

That's all for now. But before I sign off, I have a couple questions for YOU...

How do you stay motivated to get to the gym? [I make a weekly gym schedule + I never want to have health problems]

What exciting plans do you have for Thanksgiving?! 

P.S. - Did you check out my new Holiday Gift Guide series?!

Bittersweet News for a Bittersweet Day

Guys! I have some upsetting news today. 

Today was my weekly weigh in. I gained a pound. I went from 144.6 to 145.8lbs. What happened? 

I've been monitoring my calories the same, working out, still cutting back on sweets... I'm not sure what happened. My only guess is that the weight I've gained is muscle, which is what I'm relying on. I mean, I feel like I've lost more fat this week, and I feel good about the direction I'm headed in, but I'm a little thrown but that gain. It's only a pound, yes, but I was hoping that scale would go down! 

It's time like these where I have to remember this pin: 

I'm only on week 3 of my 4 week challenge, but I can definitely see my body changing and am proud of the muscle that I can see and the flat stomach I know I will one day have. I'm halfway to the 8 week mark.

This is another good pin for me to remember.

And so is this one. I just have to keep myself motivated through all this and keep pushing as hard as I can. 

Can you guys think of any reason that there would be weight gain, or do you think it's muscle? I hope it's muscle!

In other news, today was my last day at my social media internship with Daelia's Biscuits for Cheese & Beer Flats. It's really bittersweet!

Me at the Fancy Food Show in Washington, DC from June 18-20, 2012

I really feel like I've done a lot to help the company expand their social media. I can only hope they feel the same way! 

While with them, we launched our new Beer Flats crackers, made with real beer!

Exciting, right?

More about the food show later. I'm off to the gym. Let me know your thoughts on the weight gain! 

Much love,