Show and Tell: Introduction

It’s the first Show and Tell Tuesday of 2016…for those of you who don’t participate already, I recommend it! These are fun posts to write and read of other people. You simply write on the topic, find the link-up at the bottom of Andrea‘s post and go through everyone else’s. Do it! 🙂

So today’s topic is a little about myself…hmmm. A whole post to telling you about me. Oh boy 😉

Where to start?

I’m a daughter…

…and a sister.

I will choose my family first before anything.

A friend…

A Starbucks enthusiast…

…but only because McDonald’s doesn’t have Soy milk.

Which leads me to food allergies…if you want to know what life is like without gluten and lactose you’ve come to the right place!

I am an exercise fanatic. I’ve recently found a passion for health and fitness and i’m looking at possibly doing something in the future within that field.

I’m turning 22 in a couple of days and graduating college in August (FINALLY!). I’m pretty much an open book.

I’ve been a Red Sox fan since a young, young age and would choose baseball as my favorite sport. I am a total left-brain and find a lot of joy in planning and organizing.

And most importantly, I find my identity in Jesus and try as hard as I can to live my life like He would. I’ve had a few struggles in life so far, but I feel like it’s taught me so much at the same time. I consider everything in my life a blessing and do my best to find the positive part of everything.

I’m just your average girl.

As for my resolutions this year…i’m doing them a little differently. This year I decided to make a 2016 Bucket List. I sat down on New Years Eve-yes my New Years Eve as a 21 year old was spent at home. That’s another thing about me. I’m fine hanging at home on the biggest party night of the year. Maybe i’m not just the average girl 😉 And New Years Eve night was spent writing down 3 things under the 4 categories that I think are most important for any individual. It’s my 2016 bucket list.

This year, i’m focusing on fitness.

Physical:

*Be able to look at myself in the mirror and be proud of what I see.
*Get my group exercise certification. I’m still contemplating this one to be honest, it’s been on my mind a lot lately, but i’m not sure if i’m wanting to put in the time and work for it yet.
*Work out 5 times/week no matter what is going on. I think this goal and healthy eating will help my fitness goals and i’ll be able to take progress pictures. Hopefully, then i’ll achieve physical goal #1 above.
*Finally get a gym membership. For the past couple months i’ve been testing out gyms across our area to see which one fits me the best. I think I have found one, so I need to sign up!

This year, i’m focusing on contentment.

Spiritual:

*Go on a mission trip. I haven’t been on a trip since 2011 and it’s now 2016. That’s five years…it’s time for another mission trip!
*Spend each morning in Quiet Time. I’m going to do my veeerrrryyy best to spend the first 30 minutes of every day with Jesus. I think it will make a difference for me in how the rest of my day goes.
*Join a small group. Whether it’s another Bible study, a group of young adults, a group of women, or something. I want to find a small group to get connected with.

This year, i’m focusing on independence.

Social:

*Graduate college. August, August, August!
*Find a (full-time) job. Boo. This is bittersweet. Right now i’m loving the free time i’ve been having so it will be sad when I have to go work full-time again.
*Say yes this year. This is self-explanatory.

This year, i’m focusing on happiness.

Mental:

*Do something i’m uncomfortable with. I want to do something that’s going to push me mentally.
*Find happiness with something. Happiness comes from within, which is why I made it a mental goal. I want to find something that I wake up every morning excited for!
*Be in my room at 10:30PM. This has already been hard and it obviously won’t be possible EVERY night but I think it will be a good time for me to relax and reflect on the day. During this time i’m writing down something i’m thankful/grateful for every day. (Got that idea from Reeana, thanks Ree!)
*Work on being satisfied. I think this will be hard because it’s difficult for me to be satisfied, i’ve already figured that out. But i’m working on it this year i’m going to start by writing a list of 15 good things about me and keeping it somewhere that i’ll look at it.

So that’s me. And that’s what 2016 will hopefully look like for me. I hope if this is your first time here you come back, and if it’s your 320957238 time to read all of that, bless you.

Happy 2016!!!

Fitness Goals (for Friday Favorites)

My favorites this Friday are going to be a little different.

You know, close to once a month I end up texting Jonathan about his fitness goals and then ask him how I can do it too. I know i’m not overweight by any means, but this is just something I want to do for myself. And for this reason right here…

It’s the truth. I am dying to see that day where I can stand in front of the mirror and be happy with what i’m looking at. Like I said, it’s just something I want to do for me. To prove that I can do it. And not only that, but one of my guilty pleasures is looking through people’s health and fitness posts/pictures/stories…I just get so much joy from people seeing their goals have been reached. And I find it interesting too because you can really learn a lot!

Jonathan and I met in middle school and he still wanted to be my friend through all of my awkward phases. You can’t get rid of those people 😉 Well i’m always texting him about what i’m doing wrong fitness wise, what he’s done that works, what some good pointers are, etc. Jonathan is really into cross-fit and I think if anyone asked him he would say it’s changed his life.

I’m tired of texting him complaining about whatever and i’m sure he’s tired of it too. If I want change, I have to make it happen. I’m young and I need to take care of my body too. On Wednesday, we were texting about fitness goals and we both came to the conclusion that I should write down my fitness goals just like I do my monthly goals and make it a blog post. So starting yesterday, 11/5/15 these are the 5 goals I want to accomplish in one month. On 12/5/15 (well that’s Saturday so actually 12/4/15) I am going to re-post these goals with my progress. And what i’ve learned through the process.

1. No eating after 8:00 p.m. I have been trying to follow this goal for a while now, but sometimes it’s not always easy depending on what I have going on that day. Like Wednesdays, I volunteer right in the middle of dinner time. So what do I do? I researched this yesterday and studies have shown that it’s not necessarily eating late at night as much as it is what those people are eating that late. If it’s not an every day thing I don’t think it’s a huge issue.
2. Meal prep every Sunday for the week ahead following the 21 day fix plan. The 21 day fix has a set amount of each food group to eat in a day depending upon your calorie intake. I want to really focus on that and divide out the right amount of fruits, veggies, proteins, and carbs in a day.
3. Eat 5 small meals without snacking in between those. Every 2.5 to 3 hours I need to fuel my body with some type of food (including eating breakfast!!). What I mean by no snacking in between is not eating right after I finish a meal. Maybe a meal is a snack (like a Quest Bar or LaraBar or some yogurt), but I have a tendency to eat right after breakfast if I still feel hungry when i’m really probably not.
4. Work-out 5 days a week. I go back and forth with this one. I want to work out to get toned, but I don’t want to gain a ton of muscle because I don’t want my legs getting huge and making my pants tight. You know what I mean? But I think switching up my workouts and using light weights will be okay.
5. Cut down on the carbs. To be honest, I don’t eat many carbs as it is because of my gluten issue. But sometimes I make a loaf of homemade bread, or some pancakes, or i’ll eat some cookie dough, etc. I eat a ton of fruits, but it is high in sugar. I just need to be mindful about what i’m putting into my body in a given day. This is why i’m saying don’t cut them out, just cut back on my intake.

I know it takes longer than a month to really get/see changes, but if I set the goal for 3 months out (which i’ve done for a 12 week program) it just seems so far away that I lose interest. I think a month is very attainable.

Wish me luck!!! Ha, just kidding. Have a great weekend!

And don’t forget to link-up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci fellow bloggers 🙂