Skinny

My weekday morning routine is always the same...

Step 1: Hit Snooze
Step 2: Sleep for 8 more minutes (I'm always paranoid that I accidently turned the alarm off so I never make it the entire time)
Step 3: Check emails
Step 4: Respond to any emails from my boss's boss who likes to send emails at 5 AM (so basically I pretend that I've been up working since 5 AM too)
Step 5: Forward good shopping related emails to my mom
Step 6: Get out of bed (15 minutes later...good thing I set my alarm to go off early...I have an additional alarm set to remind me to get in the shower)

Yes. This my actual alarm...and no it still never seems to get me out the house on time!

Usually I don't pay attention to models much further than what they have on and how I can make it work on my not-so modelesque body. But then I opened up an email (from one of my favorite retailers...one I actually used to work for) and I saw this...

 Is it me or is she WAY skinny? I understand that she is on the runway but she does NOT represent the majority of real life women. I don't knock skinny girls ever, but what about the strong, healthy girl? What about the girl that hits the gym up and has the muscles to prove it? What about the girl that has thunder thighs because she can leg press 325 lbs?

No worries model girl...I'll do some extra squats for you when I hit the gym at 6 AM.

The Job

I'm baccckkkkk!!! I'm so sorry for my extended absence. Work has been kicking me in the butt repeatedly but its paid off. Literally. I ended last week with a raise!! Praise the Lord. I'm so happy because I was honestly feeling underpaid and that does work on a girls motivation.

Speaking of motivation, I had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine last week. She is incredibly smart, she just finished her Ph.D and is someone that I've looked up to my entire life. She also does marathons, half-marathons, 5ks, 10ks, half ironmans, etc. Needless to say we could totally nickname her superwoman.

(note to self, never google images "superwoman" unprepared to see some things that can never be unseen)

Anyway we were talking about all the things that we've been disciplined enough to accomplish in life. We can make sure the bills are paid, go to work everyday, keep tabs on our friends and families, study hard enough to get good educations, yet somehow we have issues disciplining ourselves enough to eat right and work out.

Doesn't make sense. I can turn in every work assignment in on time, make all the necessary phone calls, and return every email in my inbox inbetween 8 million distractions in 8 hours or less but I can't make healthly eating decisions or workout consistently? It shouldn't be THAT hard?

It kind of got me thinking. What do I need to help keep me going? What motivates me at work...a paycheck. What motivated me to finish school...graduating so I could get a paycheck. Clearly I'm motivated by money. So why am I not paying myself?

I always say that I'm going to pay myself as I lose pounds, but that isn't promoting healthy weightloss. At work, I get paid as long as I show up and put effort towards my projects and then get extra when my projects succeed.

I'm applying this same principle to weight loss. Everytime I spend an entire day withing my calorie range...cha-ching. When I complete workouts...cha-ching. When I actually lose weight double cha-ching. The thing is, I have to figure a way to pay myself extra...its kind of silly if I'm just going to spend the money on stuff I want whether I pay myself or not. Since I'm in desperate need of a tight budget, any money that is not paid to me as a result of healthy eating and working out goes to neccessities and gas. Thats it.

So there...two problems are solved in one. Here we go!

Obsessions

Happy Tuesday!!

I have two obsessions this week.

I am all about some Hunger Games. The previews for the movie looked good but I have a horrible habit of seeing movies without reading the book first (i.e. Twilight...yes I've seen all the movies so far and LOVED them...don't hate). The first book is AMAZING. I finished it in 2 days and so this week I'll be getting the next book. If you haven't read it...do it.

Okay, maybe work isn't that bad...but close enough.



This is true. I would so be the first to die. Thank goodness I don't live in Panem.

Okay, enough being a Hunger Games Geek. My next obsession is the fact that I have signed up for the Peachtree Road Race which is a huge ATL 10k held every year on the 4th of July.

Once upon a time, when I was 15, I ran the PTRR. I remember it being fun and easy. I don't remember the hills or or the heat and I pretty sure it went by fairly quickly. However, I was 15. At 15 you have the ability to just pick up and run 6.2 miles without any training beforehand. But things are so different now....

So now i'm on a pretty serious training schedule. My personal trainer and I are working on getting my stronger and I'm working on my running and endurance. I'm doing a short version on C25K for the next 4 weeks and the bridge to 10K following that.

Obviously my plan is to run the whole way but who knows what will happen. I just want to finish the 6.2 miles...run, walk, or crawl!

What are your obsessions this week?

Obsession

There are always things that I discover and become obsessed with pretty quickly (and then a few weeks later I forget about them and move on to new obsessions). Here are some things that I'm obsessed with this week

1. Frye Melissa Button Boots

These were my amazing Christmas present from my mom (I didn't think I was going to get them because of the price) so imagine my surprise when my mom ordered them for me the day after Christmas. They were on backorder so I just got them in the mail last week. Needless to say I've already worn them 3 times. Oh and did I mention they feel like butta!

2. Strawberries

This is the second week in a row that I've bought them and can I say they are good with everything! I've been putting them on salads, putting them in smoothies, eating them for dessert. I'm definitely obsessed!

3. Almonds

This one is funny because growing up I always used to lie about being allergic to nuts because I didn't like them. The other day someone at work had almonds and was being extra pushy about offering them in a meeting. I tried them and instantly fell in love! I bought some in bulk and divided them up into little baggies. They have been the perfect mid-day snack and I don't know how I lived 25 years without them.

4. My own running abilities

Okay I'm not THAT into myself but I amazed myself yesterday on the treadmill. I traveled (I say that because I ran some and walked some) 3.5 miles. What amazed me was that I ran for 39 minutes total...about 2.5 miles. Now, some may read that and be like "pfft...nothing to brag about" but the most I had run before yesterday was 25 minutes...so to make it that long for me is a HUGE deal. Can I call myself a runner now?

5. ZARA

I used to shop at Zara before I gained too much weight to fit in their largest size (and had to move to the dreaded LB for clothes). Now that I'm slimming up, there are some stores that are reopened to my shopping trips. Saturday while I was at the mall I decided that I would just go in and see what I could find. To my surprise there were a ton of things that fit me! I got an awesome striped tee, a kelly green cardi, and a black off the shoulder tee that zips in the back. Wooo!!! I'll try to pretend that my closet isn't overflowing right now...

So what are you obsessed with this week?