30 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 1, part deux

It is 11:11 in Austin and I am finally sitting down to journal my day. I am exhausted so I will make this brief:

I downloaded the app FatSecret to chronicle my caloric intake and track my exercises. So far, it has proven to be easy to use and incredibly helpful. I highly recommend downloading it - and the best part, it is free! Below I have taken screen shots of the super yummy and fantastic meals I prepared today; I have also input my a.m run (Town Lake, MoPac/Congress loop, barely under 4 miles).

During the few months that I had my trainer (Petra, the ruthless Ukrainian Barbie doll), I became educated on healthy fats and proper snacking. Hard boiled eggs (sans yolk) and whole wheat English muffins make up 85% of my breakfasts; it is so easy to boil a dozen eggs on Sunday to feast on throughout the following week. I am constantly on the go, quick and efficient meals are essential to my morning. If breakfast requires too much effort, I will skip it. Not good. Also, on a side note, I usually run in the a.m on an empty stomach. A quick 3-4 miles around the lake first thing in the morning is a great way to boost your metabolism. So, I wake up. I run. I come home. I eat. Then, I conquer my day.

I promise I didn't cheat today - surprise! This weekend is going to be difficult.  No beer over Memorial Day? That just seems un-American. Maybe there is a loophole, I will research.

I have to share this fantastic recipe I found for dinner tonight: Spinach and Feta Turkey Burgers. Delicious. Low Carb. Low Calorie. And so easy to make.

Spinach and Feta Turkey Burgers

Ingredients

• 2 (whole) eggs, beaten
• 2 (clove) garlic, minced
• 4 (ounce) feta cheese
• 1 (10 ounce box) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1 1/2 (pound) ground turkey
• 4 (large) hamburger buns*

Directions

1. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil grate.
2. While the grill is preheating, mix together eggs, garlic, feta cheese, spinach, and turkey in a large bowl until well combined; form into 4 patties.
3. Cook on preheated grill until no longer pink in the center, 15 to 20 minutes.
4. *Note: Can be served without buns for a gluten free or low carb recipe.

Check out this recipe at Food on the Table

30 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 1.

Advocare: what the hell is that? And why are so many of my friends hooked on this "lifestyle" like they just discovered crack for the first time? I recently posted an update regarding this diet phenomenon; after sifting through the endless sledge of emails, text messages and phone calls I arrived at one conclusion: I still don't know what the hell Advocare is. Shocking! But I did learn that the definition of "fitness" is open to interpretation. Half of those that reached out to me were gung-ho, cheerleaders for this lifestyle system - the other half, chalked it up to nothing more than overpriced pyramid scheme of vitamins and useless supplements. The pro-Advocare preachers are users themselves, some are even consultants for the brand. The debating side consists of one gym owner, one recent med-school grad, and one gal in her last year of PT school (that is Physical Therapy, in case you didn't know). Interesting, no?

 In the past few years, or at least since I moved to Texas, I have become a lot more conscious about my weight, diet, and overall physique. I turned 26 this year and nearly had a mental breakdown over the thought of growing old and decrepit and turning into a turnip. (Dramatic; I have never claimed to be anything less). Maybe because I am mid-twenties, maybe because I am female, or maybe it is because I moved to Austin and fell in love with BBQ and Beer - who knows! But since my move in 2010 I have embarked on many, short-lived, journeys toward "losing weight" and "staying in shape". As a dancer, I have always had a relatively good handle on my body. I have also had a relatively acute awareness that, one day, my curves may get the best of me. The seven pounds I packed on in Texas are the devil in a Shiner bottle. Atkins was miserable. The Kim Kardashian pill is a complete joke (no, really?) and it is absolutely unrealistic - and crazy - to think you can commit to two-a-days forever. Who the hell did I think I was - Serena Williams!? But, I digress..

 As I continued to procrastinate my column and obsess over this silly Advocare thing, I had a revelation: in my physical prime, just a few short years ago, I was an over-active dancer and exercise fanatic. And you know what? I never once gave two rats booties what I ate. While I didn't over-indulge on twinkies and double cheeseburgers, I had the luxury of being able to metabolize everything I put into my body. Also, my friends (dancers) were incredibly fit and THEY never counted calories or spent hundreds of dollars on cleanses or pills or powders or nonsense. (I am talking about you, Shawna Barnes. Heather King. Ashley Bruton. YOU!)

So, all of these unnecessary chains of thought led me to this one fabulous little idea: hot-body journey documentation! And, I will use my blog as a portal! This is my plan: every day, for 30 days, I will journal my meals, exercise activities, and witty little musings. Not only will I be held accountable for my caloric intake and daily exercise, but forcing myself to blog every day will (hopefully) keep me consistent with my column. Win-win, right? I know my editor will be happy ;)

Below I have listed my starting investments with the dance and fitness classes I am already signed up for, along with my beginning weight and measurements. Wish me luck!

Bar Method: $125 for one month
Ballet Austin: $145 for ten classes
Gold's Gym: $30/month
*All of the above has been pre-purchased. However, I am active in a variety of things that cost little to nothing out of pocket. Such as running, hiking, and chasing after Gabel.

Weight: 136.2
 Bust: 32
Waist: 27
Hips: 39
 Thigh: 20
Bicep: 11

**Photos and food/exercise diary to be uploaded later tonight. Stay tuned!

"Nights like these."

The sunsets in Texas have taken me prisoner.

The western windows of my highrise have become my summer roost - wine bottles and cigarette butts litter the balcony, resonating evidence of my nightly presence. From 25 floors up, Texas Hill Country stretches beyond the horizon. The view is testing to the eye, challenging its ability to scan treetops for miles. Those trees drop into the sunset at the very edge of the distance; this picture is breathtaking, and guilty of holding me hostage into the late hours of the evening. I still can't believe I live here.

saving all my love for a rainy day..

The city lights in Austin are seductive...

Her siren coaxes the inhibition buried deep beneath the surface of my morals. The skyline resembles christmas lights, tossed carelessly against the star-kissed backdrop that is the Texas sky. And just as soothing as a light's flicker against a pine, downtown Austin elicits a calmness in me that I have never felt before. Human nature? Call it whatever tickles your tongue. The songs of sixth street and south congress draw me from bed and into their bass filled bars; dress me in heels and silk or toss me to the streets in cutoffs and chucks - the scene is set for either. I have become hypnotized by the eclectic mix of electric music and LoneStar cans.


I came to this city to end my search for love. Fame. Success...all of the above. I came here hungry for change. I had exhausted all previous options of advancement in Phoenix - that city is dead to me. It was there that I found, and then lost, all of the pieces that I thought individualized me. It was there that I lost love, logic, and sanity. For the sake of saving the only thing I had left - my soul - I ran as far from the desert as my heart would take me. Like a stone, I tossed myself into the distance, skipped twice, and landed in Lady Bird Lake. The internal battle I was waging against myself very closely resembled teenage angst, I am well aware of this. But this war carried on nonetheless. Then, I found Austin.

It wouldn't be a stretch to say that I was looking for a honkey-tonk serenade to cure the apathy that became my life. Like all of those before me, I came to Austin to shed the skin of the boring, and lifeless person I had become. I don't know if it was the music, the beer, or the Texas sunsets - but Austin healed me. Taking my hand into hers, she filled me with the desire and the inspiration to tackle my life with verocity.

I have said it before, and I will say it again: Austin, you are my lover.

oceanfront property in Arizona.

I love using adjectives - I love painting pictures with words for my readers to claim. I have the imagination of a child, and it usually works to my benefit :) I started the below piece as an exercise to use my creativity - there are so many places I can take this idea. Please enjoy what I have created so far, but know there is much more to come.



I look to the east, and catch the first rays of sunlight exploding from the horizon. The desert is beautiful when blanketed under the brilliance of the sun. Saguaros rise and scatter the earth, standing tall against the blue backdrop of morning. Their presence is breath taking; enormous, yet statuesque and magnificent. It is the kind of beauty that only residents of the desert have learned to appreciate. The valley is quiet, tranquil. The skies are bright, and painted with the orange hue of sunshine - cloudless, and clear. Night has slipped away, allowing this radiance of color to rent its space. The morning is crisp, and resonates through me. It is the start of a perfect day.

Further south, the city is waking. This morning is alive long before the first patron begins his dance with the snooze button. The occasional runner awakens the streets as he takes advantage of the early morning dew - it will be mid morning before the infamous 100 degree heat sets in. For now, the emptiness is comforting. Soon, the bustle of Monday morning traffic and crowded drive-thru coffee joints will consume the peacefulness of this day. From now until the last time card is punched, the blurred commotion of life in the city will dominate the attention of Arizona residents. It is in the hush of a late evening sunset, or stillness of the an early morning run that her beauty is found. It is here that the quirks of nature find solice and display the fruits of their charasmatic beauty.

The patchwork beauty of desert living is just that: individual and unique. And when sewn together these pieces create a larger scale elegance - clay infused earth meets a clear azure sky onset with the bursting brilliance of the sun. These elements of nature are separate, and defined, yet their distinct qualities collate into a beauty unmatched by any of creation of man. In her finest, and most desolate form, Arizona is beautiful and unique from any of the surrounding Southwestern states. The skies are bluer here; close your eyes, open your minds, and breathe.

butterflies.

I have spent my life chasing dreams. I build my life from fantasy; from childhood fairy tales to frivolous teenage years spent wishing on stars - imagination has become my business. It is the strongest aspect of my character.

When I was a little girl, I ran the alfalfa fields of my father's farm - chasing butterflies. Armed with a makeshift net I captured my beloved creatures and secured their captivity in a mason jars beside my bed. Over the course of the evening their wings would wilt and become powder at the base of these jars and though I understood death, I was never heartbroken over the demise of my beloved creatures. Their failure to survive in captivity only fed my understanding that the following day would bring more fluttering flies for me to chase. So I would wake up each morning and set off on another adventure to catch butterflies. After an afternoon under the running beneath the sun, I would place my new friends in clean mason jars and set them on the ground outside of our Tack shed. It was beneath this shaded building that I would bury the deceased from the previous day. Looking back, I see this practice as almost sacrificial. I was showing the living a flash of their awaiting future. I always wished that one, just one, would make it through the night; but even if one did, just one, I wouldn’t have stopped my hunt. One victory would not have ceased any of my future attempts at success, not then and certainly not now.

This imagination of mine runs rampant – I have built queens upon kings and constructed the success of my future from the fruit of my dreams. Though impulsive at times, and not necessarily known for making the best decisions, I have spent the last 24 years chasing butterflies. My fearlessness of the unknown, coupled with my unshakable optimism, has created a shield of invincibility between myself and failure. Though always an option, and sometimes an unavoidable outcome, I have never allowed the possibility of defeat to dampen my desire to succeed. There will always be another afternoon to chase ambition under the summer sun – dreaming doesn’t stop after a single success - it continues. What stops is the desire to dream, and the motivation to run.

broken wings.