Yeah, y'all, I ignored the blog for 2 1/2 months. Sorry!!! I'm glad to be back, even for a little bit though.
Slight update on life:
-Got a 3.9 GPA for my first semester of Med Tech school. My transcript says that brings my overall GPA to a 3.49. I'm a smart cookie, sometimes :) And that one class that I got a B in...let's just say that after the first exam, I had a 68% in the class. So I'm MORE THAN HAPPY to end up with an 89% in there.
-Boyfriend and I are still together. Nope, no more exciting news with that. Heh.
-Work is becoming less miserable. I have a really good friend there that's my age, has a good personality, is smart, reminds me a lot of myself, really. So I like the 4 hours a day I get to work with her. The other 4 hours of my day, I tend to spend a lot of it engrossed in Netflix, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. Ya know, getting paid to browse the 'net. Speaking of, it probably wouldn't hurt if I could just update easily from my phone from work. I should look into that. Then again, last semester, if I wasn't working, I was listening to lectures online.
-When I was out doing some stuff for school 3 weeks ago, I weighed myself and I was down 10 pounds from my heaviest weight. I'm still about 10 pounds from my goal, but all considered...I'll totally take it.
-Which, speaking of, I kind of fell off the healthy bandwagon. I just got SO SWAMPED with school. My eating didn't get that horrible, until finals week, but I had to quit working out. I couldn't put aside that hour and a half a day to do Insanity anymore, and all the other workouts were kind of boring me, to be honest. That, and I wasn't getting results from anything else. I'm planning on changing that soon. Like maybe tomorrow. My eating is cleaning back up though, after the week of finals plus the week before Christmas and working 11 days straight. Yeah, I've been back to working overtime.
So, as a result...I'm not sure HOW MUCH of this blog will necessarily be health related anymore :( I'm having the feeling it's just going to go to lifestyle blog...so I may rename it if I come up with something witty.
In the meantime...a nailpolish tutorial will come tomorrow. I did a version of it about 2 weeks ago, and of course it's sad and chipped right now, so I'm planning on redoing it tomorrow. It's just how to do the glitter gradient stuff, but honestly...I had to figure out how to do it correctly because I couldn't find ANYONE who gave a really good description of it anywhere.
Hope y'all had a good holiday season! I'll be back tomorrow :)
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Stress
Labels:
fitness,
health,
healthy eating,
school,
work
I'm just ready for this semester to be over. My body is wearing down from it all...or well, I think it's from school. I've had headaches almost daily for the past week, my stomach is going crazy, I can't figure out my sleep schedule (I feel like I'm constantly sleep too much or too little), and I'm just ready to be able to be NORMAL again.
I know this isn't going to happen for awhile. On the plus side, after Friday, 3 of my classes are done except for on-campus labs and finals. I'll have 2 lecture classes and a lab class left for ~1 month. I'm going to love having time to work out, clean, and cook again. I'm not going to lie, I can't remember the last time I vacuumed, the last time I personally cooked something from scratch (I don't consider freezer meals that I put on the skillet to be cooking), or the last time I had a real workout where I was drenched in sweat and felt relieved afterward.
I've just been...excessively stressed the past month or so. I try to keep my relationship off of here, but it's a definite roller coaster. I also try to keep specifics about work away from here, but it's reached the point to where I'm wanting to change my schedule drastically to a schedule that really DOES NOT WORK for me to avoid certain situations or even just quitting because management can't seem to really help me out. I'm putting a lot of pressure on myself to have a 4.0, work 40 hours a week, look great, eat well, have a cozy apartment, put together good meals, but...I'm breaking down.
Surprisingly, as I'm writing this, I'm nearly ahead for this week ahead, which I've normally been down a few lectures going into each week. I'm figuring out what I'm wanting to do next, what I want to get ahead in, and I'm thinking I might just finish up my body fluids stuff and call it good.
I'm hoping to make this website more useful again in the future, but right now I'm using it as a mini-outlet.
I know this isn't going to happen for awhile. On the plus side, after Friday, 3 of my classes are done except for on-campus labs and finals. I'll have 2 lecture classes and a lab class left for ~1 month. I'm going to love having time to work out, clean, and cook again. I'm not going to lie, I can't remember the last time I vacuumed, the last time I personally cooked something from scratch (I don't consider freezer meals that I put on the skillet to be cooking), or the last time I had a real workout where I was drenched in sweat and felt relieved afterward.
I've just been...excessively stressed the past month or so. I try to keep my relationship off of here, but it's a definite roller coaster. I also try to keep specifics about work away from here, but it's reached the point to where I'm wanting to change my schedule drastically to a schedule that really DOES NOT WORK for me to avoid certain situations or even just quitting because management can't seem to really help me out. I'm putting a lot of pressure on myself to have a 4.0, work 40 hours a week, look great, eat well, have a cozy apartment, put together good meals, but...I'm breaking down.
Surprisingly, as I'm writing this, I'm nearly ahead for this week ahead, which I've normally been down a few lectures going into each week. I'm figuring out what I'm wanting to do next, what I want to get ahead in, and I'm thinking I might just finish up my body fluids stuff and call it good.
I'm hoping to make this website more useful again in the future, but right now I'm using it as a mini-outlet.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Updatin'
Labels:
fitness,
health,
healthy eating,
school,
work
Life has been HEC-TIC y'all.
And I'm not going to lie...I have kind of fallen off the bandwagon, so to speak. And I feel hypocritical trying to be all "GET LOTS OF SLEEP AND WORKOUT AND EAT HEALTHY" when I'm not even doing that.
So, I'm just going to be honest.
I've essentially quit working out. I still am walking for hours a day at work, depending on how busy it is and what I'm doing, sometimes I literally don't stop walking at a fast pace (as fast as I can walk before I break into a job) for 4 hours. I have not been doing Insanity anymore. I DID like how I was looking, and I haven't really "worked out" in about 3 weeks and I have noticed some negative changes. I do want to finish the program, but it's going to be at a much more decelerated rate. For me to do one of those workouts, I need to have a good 2 hours free...an hour to do the workout, some time to cool off, time to shower...and some days I'm not having enough time to SLEEP, so working out got pushed to the side.
I quit tracking my meals, but I am still eating healthfully. However, my liquid intake...I've taken to drinking more often than I was due to work stress, and I've also been downing a few Zero Carb Zero Sugar Rockstars a week.
My sleep quality and amount has also decreased significantly. I've been waking up in dead panics, some nights not getting enough sleep at all, and so on. It's frustrating and makes me a cranky panda, but it's what I'm having to do for school.
I've been having a LOT of work problems, relationship problems, and I've been trying to keep up with school in the midst of it. It's hard sometimes, I'm not going to lie. Today was the first day I felt relief, because I have ONE test on Monday that I feel pretty good about right now (and I haven't even studied yet), then I don't have another test until a week and a half after that. I'm used to having 2-3 tests per WEEK. I also had been called for jury duty, they weren't going to let me off for school, but they finally posted who they're going to need next week and I'm completely off of jury duty (they said I could expect to be checking the website for 5-6 weeks...they said for me to not keep checking back). That is the BIGGEST weight off my shoulders right now.
School is going really well right now. I'm taking 7 classes, and I believe I have 2 Bs and 5 As. One of those Bs is an easy fix to bring it up to an A as well, so hopefully I can manage to pull off a 4.0 if I continue kicking it in gear. That's been my goal for the semester. One of my classes is completely done on Thursday except for finishing a paper I'm writing for the class, and another class is completely done the first week of November. All of my lectures are done before Thanksgiving break, then I have a week and a half of labs and some finals. Some of my finals are actually done before I go out to do the lab portion. I keep telling myself if I can just do this stuff one week at a time, take all of this one week at a time, I'll be fine. And that's what I've been doing. I'm not looking ahead that I still have x number of tests, I'm looking at "Well, I have a test on Monday, a quiz on Wednesday, and 3 assignments due Friday"...beyond that, I have lectures, which I can postpone as need be (I'll often spend a few hours on Saturday knocking some out...sometimes I get ahead for the next week even!)
So that's an update on my life right now. I will be trying my hardest to post more often, but the last 3 weeks have been killer...last week I had 3 tests, 2 quizzes, and 2 assignments due! And that was just one week, not including all of my lectures and the study time I put in!
And I'm not going to lie...I have kind of fallen off the bandwagon, so to speak. And I feel hypocritical trying to be all "GET LOTS OF SLEEP AND WORKOUT AND EAT HEALTHY" when I'm not even doing that.
So, I'm just going to be honest.
I've essentially quit working out. I still am walking for hours a day at work, depending on how busy it is and what I'm doing, sometimes I literally don't stop walking at a fast pace (as fast as I can walk before I break into a job) for 4 hours. I have not been doing Insanity anymore. I DID like how I was looking, and I haven't really "worked out" in about 3 weeks and I have noticed some negative changes. I do want to finish the program, but it's going to be at a much more decelerated rate. For me to do one of those workouts, I need to have a good 2 hours free...an hour to do the workout, some time to cool off, time to shower...and some days I'm not having enough time to SLEEP, so working out got pushed to the side.
I quit tracking my meals, but I am still eating healthfully. However, my liquid intake...I've taken to drinking more often than I was due to work stress, and I've also been downing a few Zero Carb Zero Sugar Rockstars a week.
My sleep quality and amount has also decreased significantly. I've been waking up in dead panics, some nights not getting enough sleep at all, and so on. It's frustrating and makes me a cranky panda, but it's what I'm having to do for school.
I've been having a LOT of work problems, relationship problems, and I've been trying to keep up with school in the midst of it. It's hard sometimes, I'm not going to lie. Today was the first day I felt relief, because I have ONE test on Monday that I feel pretty good about right now (and I haven't even studied yet), then I don't have another test until a week and a half after that. I'm used to having 2-3 tests per WEEK. I also had been called for jury duty, they weren't going to let me off for school, but they finally posted who they're going to need next week and I'm completely off of jury duty (they said I could expect to be checking the website for 5-6 weeks...they said for me to not keep checking back). That is the BIGGEST weight off my shoulders right now.
School is going really well right now. I'm taking 7 classes, and I believe I have 2 Bs and 5 As. One of those Bs is an easy fix to bring it up to an A as well, so hopefully I can manage to pull off a 4.0 if I continue kicking it in gear. That's been my goal for the semester. One of my classes is completely done on Thursday except for finishing a paper I'm writing for the class, and another class is completely done the first week of November. All of my lectures are done before Thanksgiving break, then I have a week and a half of labs and some finals. Some of my finals are actually done before I go out to do the lab portion. I keep telling myself if I can just do this stuff one week at a time, take all of this one week at a time, I'll be fine. And that's what I've been doing. I'm not looking ahead that I still have x number of tests, I'm looking at "Well, I have a test on Monday, a quiz on Wednesday, and 3 assignments due Friday"...beyond that, I have lectures, which I can postpone as need be (I'll often spend a few hours on Saturday knocking some out...sometimes I get ahead for the next week even!)
So that's an update on my life right now. I will be trying my hardest to post more often, but the last 3 weeks have been killer...last week I had 3 tests, 2 quizzes, and 2 assignments due! And that was just one week, not including all of my lectures and the study time I put in!
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Today's Tip - Water
Labels:
fitness,
health,
healthy eating
I'm so sorry I'm slacking on this website guys. I had no idea that school would take up SO much time lately. I'm going to try to post twice a week, instead of 4-6 times a week, just so that my posts will actually be of quality and not just crap!
So onto today's tip...water.
Are you drinking enough? Probably not, if you're like most of us. I'll admit, the only way I get enough water most days is because I get SO THIRSTY when working out because I sweat up a storm! I don't normally drink anything but water...I just don't drink a lot during the day, normally just with meals.
But water is so helpful! It helps with bloating and flushing out toxins. If you have skin problems, they will likely get better if you drink more water instead of crappy sugary drinks (and I break out if I drink too much milk as well, so I don't drink tons of milk). It will also decrease how much you eat at your meals - the thirst feeling is often mistaken for being hungry, so you're trying to fulfill that biological urge to eat...which also just perpetuates the cycle because you need the water to help balance out all the "stuff" that's floating in your blood from your meal. If you try drinking a glass of water before your meal, it will also help you feel fuller faster, so you'll eat less from just that one simple thing!
I know a lot of people have a hard time keeping track of how much they're drinking, or they truly think that they're drinking enough. Get out your favorite cup. Also get out a measuring cup. Dump 8 oz/1 cup of water in. You should be drinking AROUND 8 servings of that size. Your favorite cup holds 16 ozs? Great, then you only need to drink 4 refills! Please also note that if you're pregnant, breastfeeding, in a dry climate, etc. you WILL need to drink more water. You also get a lot of water from food, but don't calculate that into your 64oz requirement.
I have a couple of extra tips...buy some water bottles that will hold 32 oz of water. Then you only need to drink 2 per day. I like to fill them up and leave them in the fridge, making them nice and chilled when I'm ready to get to them. It's easier for me to only have to drink 2 bottles of water versus 4 or 8 refills of my cups.
Try additives to your water. I personally like mine plain, but I have seen people add everything from lemons and limes to strawberries and melons, as well as mint and cucumber! Many people like to add Crystal Light or MiO to their water, however these both contain chemicals which have been known to be harmful to your health in large amounts, so use these sparingly. The real thing is best!
I'll also admit, I did not drinking water for a long time. I would be doing good to drink 1 glass a WEEK. I stopped buying sodas/juices for awhile, and subsisted off of Gatorade until I ran out, then I would not allow myself to go to the store to buy anything else until it was time for me to actually go grocery shopping. I've also found that using my Brita filter helps with the taste a lot. Also, depending on my mood/level of hydration, I like my water either chilled in the fridge or at room temp...making water more appetizing helps me drink more of it!
So onto today's tip...water.
Are you drinking enough? Probably not, if you're like most of us. I'll admit, the only way I get enough water most days is because I get SO THIRSTY when working out because I sweat up a storm! I don't normally drink anything but water...I just don't drink a lot during the day, normally just with meals.
But water is so helpful! It helps with bloating and flushing out toxins. If you have skin problems, they will likely get better if you drink more water instead of crappy sugary drinks (and I break out if I drink too much milk as well, so I don't drink tons of milk). It will also decrease how much you eat at your meals - the thirst feeling is often mistaken for being hungry, so you're trying to fulfill that biological urge to eat...which also just perpetuates the cycle because you need the water to help balance out all the "stuff" that's floating in your blood from your meal. If you try drinking a glass of water before your meal, it will also help you feel fuller faster, so you'll eat less from just that one simple thing!
I know a lot of people have a hard time keeping track of how much they're drinking, or they truly think that they're drinking enough. Get out your favorite cup. Also get out a measuring cup. Dump 8 oz/1 cup of water in. You should be drinking AROUND 8 servings of that size. Your favorite cup holds 16 ozs? Great, then you only need to drink 4 refills! Please also note that if you're pregnant, breastfeeding, in a dry climate, etc. you WILL need to drink more water. You also get a lot of water from food, but don't calculate that into your 64oz requirement.
I have a couple of extra tips...buy some water bottles that will hold 32 oz of water. Then you only need to drink 2 per day. I like to fill them up and leave them in the fridge, making them nice and chilled when I'm ready to get to them. It's easier for me to only have to drink 2 bottles of water versus 4 or 8 refills of my cups.
Try additives to your water. I personally like mine plain, but I have seen people add everything from lemons and limes to strawberries and melons, as well as mint and cucumber! Many people like to add Crystal Light or MiO to their water, however these both contain chemicals which have been known to be harmful to your health in large amounts, so use these sparingly. The real thing is best!
I'll also admit, I did not drinking water for a long time. I would be doing good to drink 1 glass a WEEK. I stopped buying sodas/juices for awhile, and subsisted off of Gatorade until I ran out, then I would not allow myself to go to the store to buy anything else until it was time for me to actually go grocery shopping. I've also found that using my Brita filter helps with the taste a lot. Also, depending on my mood/level of hydration, I like my water either chilled in the fridge or at room temp...making water more appetizing helps me drink more of it!
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Personal Post
Labels:
fitness,
health,
healthy eating,
school
Hoo boy. This is a crazy week! I'm ready for it to be over already, and due to Labor Day (which I would have had off anyway), it's barely even started!
Sorry, for those of you looking for a "tips" post today...You get a personal post again.
I did Insanity yesterday. I'm really ready to switch over to the more "intense" ones. I ended up skipping about a week and a half's worth of working out when I was out of town/messing with school stuff. I also don't work out if it's the weekend and my boyfriend is off work...so I normally pack 6 workouts into a 5 day timespan. So I'm a bit behind where I'd like to be, but next week or week after next, I'll be hitting the amped-up version of Insanity.
While I AM still getting results, I'm not sore after all of the workouts anymore. I'm still modifying a few of the workouts, as they don't work for my wrists (I had problems in yoga with wrist placement...I have small bones anyway and I don't think my wrists were made to hold up my weight at certain angles)...mostly those in the push-up/plank arena. Yesterday I switched out the push-ups for some planks (which I hold for the entirety of the time that I should be doing push-ups) and some inner thigh work (laying on my side and lifting my legs, once again done for the entirety of the time I should be doing push-ups)...I feel like I can't get the area targeted and it was an exercise recommended to me.
Like I said, I'm still getting results from Insanity, I can tell that I'm losing inches (when I'm finished with the program, I might post before and after pictures, which aren't SUPER exciting...it's not like I'm losing 50 pounds doing the program, I'm mostly toning up, which is what I wanted!)...I'm just ready for some more Intensity. And maybe that's why I feel more apt to skip workouts...yeah, I know, bad Ashley. The other day my back was a bit sore, but that was more likely due to cramps and not from muscle building.
I've been doing really well with my eating lately, and also with getting my schoolwork done. I'm finally starting to find a balance with everything. I had to get up early to take a test for body fluids, and I really need to quit second-guessing myself and just submit the exam when I have the questions answered! On both the body fluids and hematology exams that I took, when I went back through and changed answers, while I corrected one answer today, I changed two more and missed them! A similar thing happened in Hematology, so I just really need to be going with my first instinct, which is proving to be right more often than not :) I'm finally starting to get myself into a routine though...yesterday and today will be completely thrown off, but I'm also ahead for the week...and I'd like to stay that way for the semester. It's nice to be ahead with whatever you're doing, so if you have an off day (you get sick, you have computer malfunctions, or you just aren't in the mood for doing what you SHOULD be doing), it'll be okay. And you also aren't stressed out by the 11:00 deadline that you have because you already have it done and submitted :)
Sorry, for those of you looking for a "tips" post today...You get a personal post again.
I did Insanity yesterday. I'm really ready to switch over to the more "intense" ones. I ended up skipping about a week and a half's worth of working out when I was out of town/messing with school stuff. I also don't work out if it's the weekend and my boyfriend is off work...so I normally pack 6 workouts into a 5 day timespan. So I'm a bit behind where I'd like to be, but next week or week after next, I'll be hitting the amped-up version of Insanity.
While I AM still getting results, I'm not sore after all of the workouts anymore. I'm still modifying a few of the workouts, as they don't work for my wrists (I had problems in yoga with wrist placement...I have small bones anyway and I don't think my wrists were made to hold up my weight at certain angles)...mostly those in the push-up/plank arena. Yesterday I switched out the push-ups for some planks (which I hold for the entirety of the time that I should be doing push-ups) and some inner thigh work (laying on my side and lifting my legs, once again done for the entirety of the time I should be doing push-ups)...I feel like I can't get the area targeted and it was an exercise recommended to me.
Like I said, I'm still getting results from Insanity, I can tell that I'm losing inches (when I'm finished with the program, I might post before and after pictures, which aren't SUPER exciting...it's not like I'm losing 50 pounds doing the program, I'm mostly toning up, which is what I wanted!)...I'm just ready for some more Intensity. And maybe that's why I feel more apt to skip workouts...yeah, I know, bad Ashley. The other day my back was a bit sore, but that was more likely due to cramps and not from muscle building.
I've been doing really well with my eating lately, and also with getting my schoolwork done. I'm finally starting to find a balance with everything. I had to get up early to take a test for body fluids, and I really need to quit second-guessing myself and just submit the exam when I have the questions answered! On both the body fluids and hematology exams that I took, when I went back through and changed answers, while I corrected one answer today, I changed two more and missed them! A similar thing happened in Hematology, so I just really need to be going with my first instinct, which is proving to be right more often than not :) I'm finally starting to get myself into a routine though...yesterday and today will be completely thrown off, but I'm also ahead for the week...and I'd like to stay that way for the semester. It's nice to be ahead with whatever you're doing, so if you have an off day (you get sick, you have computer malfunctions, or you just aren't in the mood for doing what you SHOULD be doing), it'll be okay. And you also aren't stressed out by the 11:00 deadline that you have because you already have it done and submitted :)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)