Mid Week Motivation 9: My favorite strength training DVDs (and plan of action)

Good morning everyone!

Happy Wednesday hump day. Today's post is inspired by the fact that I've been doing a whole lot of cardio since the beginning of the year. Although I absolutely love cardio (endorphins galore!) and I've also been incorporating some strength training (weights) workouts almost every week, i've been feeling that I should be upping up my game a bit (or a lot).

Strength training is a type of physical exercise specializing in the use of resistance to induce muscular contraction which builds the strength, anaerobic endurance, and size of skeletal muscles. -Wikipidia

I may eventually sign up for a serious cross fit class or something similar but as with every goal I ever set for myself, I like to start with the basics (or sometimes not so basic- hello Jillian Michaels the muscle killer) and move my way up. And so, this week I gathered all of my favorite DVDs (the ones that I've actually look forward to doing) and I am ready to set up a plan for myself!

Here is the stellar collection of faves:

I've been a fan of workout DVDs since I was around 15 years old and only Jillian Michaels and Gilad have managed to create workouts that don't bore me to death and that I actually look forward to. And yes, I met Gilad in person a few years back and he autographed my DVD. #DontJudge ;)

I don't know about you, but I've found that setting specific goals and tracking progress as I go along is one of the best way to stay motivated and consistent with every goal we set for ourselves. I've reiterated this over and over again on the blog.

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Simple Three Step Goal Setting:

Target areas: Also known as body parts I look forward to 'tightening' more and see clear progress: Abs, arms, thighs (<--wondering if this is the same for every women in the universe?).

Consistency: My original plan will be fitting in a strength training workout 2-3 times per week on alternating days. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturdays or Monday, Wednesday, Friday, depending on the week. I'll also keep visual track of consistency by writing down each strength training workout completed in my fitness calendar.

Tracking Progress: I will be taking before pictures, which I will post with the after pictures when I see more results feel more comfortable (I love my body dearly but there is something about showing my bare belly on the internet, just a bit weird for me right now). I'll also track my progress by how committed I stay with my consistency plan above.

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And that is all my loves! What fitness goal do you have in mind? How will you stay motivated? Hope this three step goal setting plan helps you in your own endeavors, whatever they may be!

Love,

Belle

Mid Week Motivation 6 (fitness series): To get back on track, get back to basics

Hello my lovely readers,

Happy first day of April! Make sure to watch out for any April fools jokes today. You all know how that goes! Someone already tried to get me with some "pregancy news" those seem to be popular on days like today :).

Before I continue on, just want to share my yummy dinner from last night:

Mushrooms, peppers, onions, steamed mixed vegetables, grilled chicken

So, anyways, I am here with another edition of Mid Week Motivation. I am continuing the fitness series by sharing with you all how I personally get back on my "fitness track" whenever I need that extra boost of motivation.

I dont know about you but whenever I start feeling like things are out of control, bringing myself "back to basics" always helps tremendously. I am not only talking fitness-wise but life in general. Sometimes we need to mentally, emotionally, and physically start from 'scratch' in order to reach new highs and accomplish new breakthroughs.

Today, I'll share the top five "basic" lifestyle adjustments that can help get you back on the "healthy wagon". These are tips I personally incorporate in to my fitness life. Hope they can help you as much as they've helped me through the years:

1. Write out your end goal, and some steps to achieve them: I personally take a piece of paper/journal/notebook and write out my health and fitness goals. I like to focus on the idea that in addition to "looking good" I want to feel better inside and out. I don't necessarily weight myself nor do I set any strict regimes. I simply write out a personal commitment to eat healthier, incorporate at least 30 mins of daily exercise in to my life, drink more water, and snack smarter. As time and days go by I measure my progress by how I feel, how my clothes feel, how my skin improves, how much more energy I have, and the list goes on.

2. Don't go crazy with exercise: One thing I have noticed some people like to do when they are "determined to get fitter or healthier" is that they go from not setting foot inside a gym in 6 months to wanting to work out for 2 hours straight or incorporate ridiculously exhausting exercise routines from one day to the next. In my personal opinion, this is a horrible idea. The only thing that will get accomplished is getting burnt out by the 3rd day and loosing all hopes of motivation. I personally recommend people start walking at least 30-45 minutes per day (speed walks would be best) either on the treadmill or outside. I also recommend breaking out those DVDs from your closet and finding those you feel the most motivated by. I personally gravitate towards my Gilad DVDs. 

3. Keep visual track of your daily activities: As you all know from my previous MWM post, I am a huge fan of food diaries/journals and Ive also been keeping track of my daily exercise accomplishments by using a calendar which sits in front of my desk and I see on a daily basis. I place a star each time I go to the Gym or complete a full workout. For the days I dont get to the gym I simply write out what I did-- either miles walked/jogged or whether I completed a workout DVD for the day. As you can see, March was a huge success :)

4. Be careful when grocery shopping, focus on staples: If you have been off the healthy wagon for a while, dont go crazy at the supermarket stacking up on every single healthy item you find. The reason I say this is because is important to start slow and steady in order not to get overwhelmed and end up giving up. So, for instance, do not purchase tons of vegetables, fruits, items that go bad quickly. This may not make sense but what I mean is that you should focus on maybe buying enough healthy items for the first week ahead, rather than the entire month. Buying too much "healthy stuff" at once could 'psychologically' put too much "pressure" on ourselves. You don't want to just throw in the towel and your hard earned money going down the toilet because half the items you bought went bad. 

5. Take it one day at the time, one meal at the time if necessary: Don't overwhelm yourself. Remember that fitness and a healthy lifestyle is a journey not a single destination and there will be ups and downs along the way. However, if you keep your eyes on your end goal, you'll be able to overcome any obstacle that presents itself. 

And there you have it! 

What are some changes YOU personally incorporate in to your life that help get you back on track? Doesnt have to be fitness related.

Thank you for reading.

Love,

Mabelle

Fortunate Fridays {friends, wine, gym and natural beauty, edition}

Good Morning! 

{or afternoon/evening, depending on where you are ;)}

Random though of the day: How awesome would it be wake up in Paris :). One day for sure we will meet again. source

Yet another Friday has arrived. I hope you all had a phenomenal week. As it is the norm each Friday on the blog, I am here to share the top five things that happened this past week which I feel fortunate for.

1. Friday night girl talk {and back to back gym date} with one of my best friends last weekend: 
I've been hanging out with my friend Christina more often the past few months (we went to high school together and pretty much have known each other for over 15 years). Last Friday after work she came over to my apartment and we hung out drinking wine, having some grapes and dark chocolate,  while watching shows off my Roku. We caught up on the week and life events. Always nice to have good friends visiting me.

She ended up sleeping over and the next morning we hit the gym for some cardio (we wanted to make it to a Zumba class but got there too late). On Sunday morning we texted each other and agreed to go work out again. It was pretty awesome. I've been going to the gym by myself for so long that I forgot how truly great it can be to have a gym buddy to keep us accountable and even more motivated than going solo.

2. A spare of the moment 3 mile walk on Monday night (minus getting sick the next day):
I like being open and honest on the blog so I wont lie that on Monday night I was feeling pretty down on myself. As I've mentioned in past posts, I've been going through a phase involving some roller-coaster of emotions. I am well aware that this too shall pass. However, Monday was one of those not so great down evenings (I was okay during the day).

After a good cry I somehow had the motivation to take myself for a nice walk. I made sure a few of my favorite podcast were on my phone and off I went. I have to tell you my mood changed drastically after that walk! I felt so much better and so much more optimistic. I was so incredibly proud of myself that instead of eating everything in sight inside my apartment and going deeper in to the deeps of sadness; I turned it around and did something positive for myself. So incredibly grateful for this. (oh yeah, I ended up catching a bit of a cold, or allergies?, the next day. thankfully I have a kick ass immune system and Im almost back to normal. Definitely learned my lesson.)

3. Getting 90% of my packing completed a week before my trip:
I have news regarding next week which I plan to share with you guys on Sunday. However, something I feel so relieved about is taking the initiative to sort my stuff, find my luggage, purchase things I needed, and run a few related errands way before my trip. Leaving things for the last minute always makes me so anxious and upset. I am so incredibly glad I took it upon myself to do things differently this time around!

4. Finally getting my eyebrows done!
Nothing much to say about this other than the fact that it was wayyyyy over-due! I barely ever wear makeup. I love the natural look. However, I was feeling really unattractive lately with my [overly-overdue for a threading-eyebrows] so glad I finally took care of that. I feel and look so much better! Thank god for low-maintenance beauty :)

5. Being able to keep up my healthy living habits and reaching new 'personally-set' milestones
Sometimes when I am not feeling so great about certain thing(s) in my life I use food to numb my emotions and right after that working out also takes a backseat. However, I am not sure why but for some reason my habits are changing drastically (for the better).

Instead of wanting to eat my life away as a recovering emotional eater, I find joy and solace in physical activity and healthy eating. To be fair, I think it also has to do with the fact that for the past several months I have been able to keep up a healthier lifestyle and I have been able to keep those habits going in good and not so good times. I've come a long way.

...I'll leave you with an awesome quote I came across while reading my digital edition of Oprah Magazine as I worked out at the gym this week:

I take my Ipad to the gym and its such a great motivator! I usually do mostly cardio at the gym-- a combination of speed walking and running on the treadmill plus the elliptical. I like to read stuff off my ipad during my speed walks. Makes me want to keep going and going. I like to do my strength training work at home. 

..And that's all folks. Thank you for reading. 

Any plans for this Friday evening or the weekend?

Love,

Mabelle

Dinner at MamaJuana Cafe (and other weekend happenings)

I had a nice and relaxing weekend--- a combination of family and friends quality time. Cant go wrong with that. Despite a overly-exaggerated snow warning for Saturday morning, I was pleasantly surprise when my Wall Street Journal paper still showed up at my front door. I received a gift card for Christmas from one of my aunts and I used part of it to get me a subscription to the WSJ (*nerd alert*).

I gotta' tell you, this newspaper makes my mornings just  a little brighter everyday. I am a fanatic of business and investing news (as you may or may not already be aware of from reading the blog) so, this paper definitely falls in to the list of "things that make me happy".

I spent half of Saturday doing massive amounts of laundry. I say massive because I pretty much washed everything I could find in my apartment, including clothes (obviously), heavy blankets and kitchen towels-- everything! I actually woke up pretty early so decided to take advantage of the semi-empty laundry room in my building. I also cleaned my entire apartment in the process. There is something very refreshing about a clean apartment and clean clothes.

As of a week ago, I declared Saturdays my "work-out video" day where instead of going to the gym, I work out to one of my DVDs. I bought this Jillian DVD about a year ago but just gave it a try for the first time on Saturday:

I loved it. As always, she is hard core. She ain't playing any games. Is do or die with this woman, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Both of my leg calfs are in pain today. I think is fair to assume she's responsible.

One of my very good friends was in town for the weekend. She recently moved to Staten Island but comes to the city to visit family from time to time. We decided on an impromptu dinner at MamaJuana cafe. Ive been to a couple of MamaJuana's in the past-- in Washington heights and the Upper West Side. This particular new location is in Bronx, NY (a brand new location). And here is my honest, no chaser opinion on this place. This review is specific for the Bronx location. 

Drinks were pretty affordable for a Saturday night dinner, my friend had a white-wine sangria which she loved for $7. I had a glass of Pinot Grigio (decent taste) for $8. 

We skipped appetizers and went straight for the main course.

I had the "Salmon con Salsa Latina" (salmon with Latin Salsa) over grilled veggies. The salmon was one of the best I've had in a long time. Price tag for this meal was $22.

My friend has the "Red Snapper with Mofongo" a delicious-looking fish stuffed with mofongo which is a Latin dish made up of mashed plantains. She raved about her meal as well. Price tag for this "masterpiece", however, was kind of steep at $28.

I have been on this "health kick" lately so I skipped dessert. I did watch my friend enjoy this Tres-leches, for which two thumbs up were given. Price: $7.

I have to be honest that we were a little disappointed with the menu options. The locations i've visited in the past have a lot to choose from, including a section for "lighter meals" and things of the sort. This particular location only provided us with one single page listing what was available. I dont know if its because the location is new and they are still getting things together but I would have liked to have seen more choices. I felt like they just narrowed down the main dish section to the most expensive dishes they could find. The branch is not yet online so I had to rely on the menu from other locations only to find out that I wouldn't find any of those dishes in the menu handed to me that night.

Our bill was over $72 not including tax and tip which I feel is a little high for two people. I ended up paying $38 and my friend $45. This place is amazing for someone not in a budget or for a hot date. I do have to admit that the food was delicious. All in all a great dinner and great conversation with a great friend. 

The rest of my weekend was spent running a few errands and visiting my parents where I ran in to this gem, perfect for a "throw back Thursday" on instagram:

I remember I used to love this movie! Sadly I have no VHS where to play it. I know I may be aging myself with this but I am an 80s baby, what can I say ;)

That's all folks. Stay warm and thank you for reading <3

TELL ME: Do you have a favorite Latin dish? Have you ever seen Pollyanna?

Fortunate Fridays

Hey everyone!! Ugh! another busy week. Although it was a short week (thank god) I barely had time to come on the blog (as usual). However, cant miss Fortunate Fridays, can I?! So here goes...this week I feel fortunate for:

1. My sister and the fact that she loves to run and is motivating me to sign up for several races! I have a goal in terms of the number of races I want to run this year and I have several super fun ones on my radar which I will be signing up for within the next week. So excited! 

2. Jillian Michaels DVDs! I swear her workouts WORK! I feel so much stronger and although she kicks your butt she gives you results. Plus- I cant mention enough how much I love the fact that the workouts are only 20-3 minutes. Amazing.

3. The text message I got from one of my friends today thanking me because she was able to raise her credit score significantly, save on her 401k, get out of debt and started investing. About a year and a half ago I wrote up a financial plan for her and she followed it to the T!!! I always tell her that it was her focus and hard work that has gotten her to this point. My plan may have been a blue print but it was all up to HER because SHE wanted to improve her life. Either way, that text made my day and made me feel incredibly grateful that I was able to help her. The greatest satisfaction is simply to see her reach her goals and I cant wait to see how much further she goes.

4. Living in America! Okay this is going to sound random but I LOVE this country and I feel incredibly blessed to live here. So many opportunities to do some many things I probably would have never been able to do had I never moved here. I feel really, REALLY blessed. 

5. On that same "I Love America Note" I feel fortunate for the Stock Market and for being able to participate in it. This is another random fact about me-- I LOVE investing. Is one of the things that I am super passionate about. I follow market news, listen to podcasts, read the books, etc. etc. Such an exciting world. If you arent in to stuff like that you may think I am crazy. But everyone has a passion or two, right?! I may share more about this stuff on the blog. What do you think? Would you be interested? I dont see enough females excited about the market and I feel that this is a skill everyone should have! Is often known as a "mans world" but it should not be! I would love to change that.

6. BONUS FORTUNATE: Cant forget the blogger award I got this week!! I get so happy when people find my blog and enjoy my posts. Thank you!! I am still finalizing my list of 11 bloggers I will nominate so, cant wait to share it with others.

Okay this is it for today! Its been snowing in NYC but I want to see if I can run tomorrow. With my work schedule I can usually only run on weekends. When he weather gets better I hope to be able to run outside more often.

Cheers to the weekend!!!

Question: Any plans for the weekend? anything great happened this week that you are feeling grateful/fortunate for?

Hello 2013 and Hello January

Hey everyone! Hope you all had an amazing and safe new years eve celebration last night and that you're all hitting the ground running with this amazing year that has been numbered 2013. Something I didn't share yesterday on my post is that I actually spent a few hours of the morning at my local Barnes and Noble writing out a 2013 "action  plan". I was inspired by a Facebook post by an acquaintance that I really admire and he encouraged an action plan broken down in to quarterly, monthly and weekly goals. I am not quite finished yet but is looking good and is serving as a source of inspiration for me. I also completed my own "Happiness Concept Map" which I came across on this blog post. Erica is great and I actually derived my 2013 action plan from the concept map. I encourage you all to check it out. I first heard about the post on Clare's Blog.

I want to completely finish the action plan with set deadlines by the end of the week. Wish me luck! I have several things I want to accomplish by the end of January but here are a few of the "fun" stuff:

1.. Read an entire book of choice. This month's book:

I bought this book while vacationing in London back in 2011 (actually during my layover between London and Paris). I was going through a serious transition in my life and the book was absolutely perfect for the occasion.  I only ended up reading a couple of chapters because of my vacationing and then other stuff took focus when I came back but I cant wait to finish it. 

2. Get started on my new Jillian Michaels DVD. 30 day shred was amazing so I am excited about this one:

3. Look at the NY Road Runners schedule and map out a few races for the year or next 6 months. My sister got me a membership for Christmas (gotta love her!) so I cant wait to put it t use.

So now I leave you with a couple of photos from last nights celebration. Cheers to an amazing 2013!

Side note: I felt so amazing wearing that blue dress last night! I have never been "naturally skinny". I am one of those people that has to work for it and make a conscious effort each day to maintain a healthy life style and stay active. My hard work in 2012 paid off!!! It all started with getting rid of about 175 pounds (in terms of getting rid of a loser I was dating) which was just causing me to eat and be anxious. That was around February of 2012 and then I decided to take complete control of myself and my life-- began to race (Spartan), did a 5K, a 10K, remained constant with the Jillian Michael 30 day shred and other workouts. Ate healthy most of the time and come December I felt AMAZING and that how I felt last night. Sacrifices do pay off :)

Question: How was your new years eve? Are you making any plans for January or for the year? Thanks for reading!