Gettin' Healthy

Remember when I talked about my "bride workout" and making healthier eating choices after the New Year? I do, and I am sad to admit that I haven't exactly been following either one. Well let me rephrase that in order to not sound like a total giver-upper. I changed the routine a bit. Instead of doing my fave exercise video Tae-Bo, I switched to weight-lifting. I found an Android app that takes me through a few different exercises, and it's been working pretty well. Let me tell you that I have always lacked upper arm strength and definition. And when you think about yourself in your wedding dress, what is the one thing that everyone sees? Your upper arm flab. I just want to tighten enough to look good in pics, K?

What I wouldn't give for these upper arms. Here's another workout option I think I'll try! Image courtesy Shape.com

Now about my eating habits...I was doing really good. Then the Little Noodle came home selling candy bars for little league. Then work got stressful. Then (insert excuse here). So here I am, at my desk, with a little smear of chocolate on my keyboard as I type. I am becoming more and more aware of the fact that I'm running out of time before the wedding to really get into a healthier routine. I'm even thinking about trying one of those raw food diets. You know, eating just foods that are natural and unprocessed? Wonder if I could stick to that one...

I also started taking a multi-vitamin every morning. I've always had a hard time with those, because I can't swallow pills. If you don't know, vitamins are HUGE. Then I found Nature Made Multi-Mini's. They aren't what I would call "small", but they are definitely smaller than other vitamins I've tried. So if anyone out there is looking for a multi-vitamin that doesn't choke you on the way down, I'd highly recommend them! I compared the ingredients to regular sized vitamins and all the goodies are still there.

My new vitamins! Image courtesy Naturemade.com

In conclusion, it's really hard to exercise when there's a foot of snow on the sidewalks, and it's hard to eat healthy when there is no supply of fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables and the ones in the store are too wilty from sitting for days in a truck. But I'm finding ways to do it all little by little. Anyone have a routine or diet that has really worked for them?

Happy planning!
Miss Spaghetti

Day 2 of No Chocolate

I don't consider it a New Year's resolution, because those things never work out. But the start of a new year is a good time to start over. And for me, that means healthier eating. Plus, the fact that we are now a mere 5 MONTHS away from our wedding gives me enough cause to make some changes.

My name is Miss Spaghetti, and I'm a choco-holic. Between the dates of December 23rd and January 1st, I must have consumed my weight in it. I blame it on my mother and her over-the-top stockings (full of Reese's Trees, Peanut Butter M&M's, and theater-boxes of Reese's Pieces). I also blame it on the fact that I had that whole week and a half off work for vacay. And I realized something-I eat much much MUCH healthier while I'm at work. This may not surprise anyone out there, but it was a surprise to me. Probably because when I think of eating at work, I think of food days and people having little bowls of snacks on their desks that are all too easy to grab from.

I start the day religiously with a bowl of Fiber Plus cereal. Laugh if you want, that shiz is awesome. Then throughout the morning I eat some combination of yogurt, a banana, or crackers and peanut butter, all before lunch. Lunch normally ends up being a salad, turkey sandwich, or tomato soup. Then, I have one or two more snacks before the clock strikes the glorious 5 p.m., which are usually chips and salsa, oatmeal, or whatever I didn't eat for one of my many breakfasts. I'm sure it isn't the most extremely health-nut healthy stuff to eat, but I always buy low-sodium, low-fat whatever I can, and my body feels it when I stray from this "diet".

Now I'll let you all in on another little secret...remember when I wrote about my fitness plan a while back? Ya, the one that I haven't done whatsoever? Yep, that's it. Well, I am starting the new year off with a bang, or should I say "kick", because I've done my Tae-Bo workout every morning so far. I hope I didn't jinx it by telling you. But I need some accountability! So hold me to it folks. I am bound and determined to have the least flabbiest arms of anyone at our wedding.

Speaking of flabby arms, mine won't quite be toned yet for MOH K's bachelorette party, which is in just over 2 weeks. Invitations have been sent (I will share with you once I know they have been received), and I'm going to try to make some cute little cake pops that I'll discuss in another post. But for now I'm signing off, and not eating chocolate. For real, I promise.

Happy planning!
Miss Spaghetti

The "Bride Workout"

I've been a Tae-Bo fan since high school gym class, where we did the workout two mornings every week. Ok, so I wasn't much of a fan back then. But in my post-high-school life, I've come to really enjoy the workouts, and Billy Blanks yelling for me to "control my punch" and "lift my knees". Despite the goofy moves, I've found that Tae-Bo really has helped to give me energy, and to feel more toned.

I go through phases of being a very good Tae-Bo-er, and then things get busy or I just miss a couple days, and I'm off again. Of all fitness videos I've tried though, I've been most loyal to Billy. Therefore, I've decided my official "Bride Workout" will be Tae-Bo. I've got a DVD that has 8 short but challenging workouts on it.

Billy-Courtesy of Amazon

 

 

I've also found that if I don't do my workout in the morning, I won't do it at all. So doing one or two of the 10-minute workouts before work is my best option for success. I'm starting with a goal of 3 days a week. This also includes daily stretching, which is one of my favorite parts of working out. And, my to-and-from work walk 5 days a week (about 15 minutes a day total of power-walking).

So watch out Billy, I'll be joining your fitness gang again soon!

Do you plan to do some kind of "bride workout"? If so, what is it?

Happy planning!
Miss Spaghetti