Pre-Swimsuit Slim-Down

The perfect 60 degree and sunny weather forecast for this weekend

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friends discussing a springtime mini-vaca someplace beach-y 

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its high time for a pre-swimsuit season slim down!

The holiday season (finals weeks, home with family, baked goods galore) were rough on my waistline. Its not that I weigh a whole lot more... I'm just feeling a bit doughy these days! I have made a commitment to myself to eat much healthier, and to make exercising regularly more of a lifestyle than a sporadic activity. Here are some of my goals - which, by making public, I hope to stay on track with now that I'll feel 1) accountable and 2) guilty if I don't!

• Eat GREEN! I'm such a kindergartner when it comes to green veggies. I'll eat them if they're slathered in ranch dressing or breaded and fried... but my goal is to eat more green veggies - you know, the crunchy, nutritious, basically calorie-free kind - and to find delicious ways to prepare them so my hubby will eat them too! So far, we've loved this asparagus recipe and have had it twice in the past week with baked salmon :)

• Run for fun. Fun and running are polar opposites in my book.In fact, I feel like I just typed something dirty by putting the two in the same sentence. But last night, the hubbs and I took a leisurely little jog together and it was (dare I say it...) kind of fun! We went slow enough to chat and laugh and it was just the perfect temp outside. Who would have thunk that we could combine quality husb/wife time with a little calorie burning?! I want to try to do this more often. Hopefully he is on board :)

See? They do it! If we keep it up, maybe we'll both have bods like Fergie and Josh! (*fingers crossed*)

•  Shop smarter. When I hear moms talk about how they get their kids to eat healthy, they always say something to the effect of "they can only eat what I buy" or "I give them fruit as a 'treat' not a punishment" or... whatever. Point is: I don't live with my momma anymore. I buy the groceries that fill our shelves and refrigerator. So, I'm going to employ the same tactics as moms who don't want their kiddos eating junk --- don't buy it!!! Sounds easy enough. This week I strolled right past the frozen food aisles (check ya later, frozen yogurt) and baking aisle (no more boxes of brownies lying around begging to be baked in my pantry) and headed straight for the fresh fish, organic produce, and whole wheat bread and pasta sections. Its amazing how long I can go without sweets when we don't own any!

•  Maintain my wellness. I'm lucky to be a healthy, active 23-year-old whose only health issues consist of the occasional cold or upset stomach. But that doesn't mean I should take it for granted! In addition to my weekly regimen of chiropractic maintenance {which I highly recommend - for reasons I will save for another post} my goal is to incorporate vitamins and healthy supplements into my daily routine. Right now, I'm taking a Women's One-A-Day multivitamin and fish oil... but I admittedly forget to take these on a daily basis. I hope to change this by taking them at a set time each day, adding a few other essential natural supplements, and eventually it will be second nature!

•  Exercise regularly. I tend to work out in spurts. Some weeks, I'll go 5 times. Other weeks, I'm lucky to sqeeze in 30 min of exercise. By scheduling 1-hour workouts into my week, at a set day and time and even writing them in my planner, exercise will become part of my lifestyle. In just a few short weeks of planning regular workouts for 3-5 days per week, I'm already finding that I feel weird not working out for a few days... rather than it feeling strange to work out. I'm also trying to vary my workouts so I don't get bored - if I run one day, I'll do the elliptical or the bike for 30-45 min the next. If I lifted free weights one day, later in the week I'll do some pilates exercises or resistance machines. So far, so good! No results yet - these things take time - but patience is a virtue :)

This is really our apartment gym :) A sneak peak into my workouts I suppose.

•  Pack lunches. This is a no-brainer. Packing a healthy, nutritious lunch for days when we're both at school/work is a way to control our portions and calories. If we only eat what we pack, we avoid the issue of stopping for a quick lunch between classes or ordering delivery food to the office. I am on the hunt for some semi "adult" looking thermal lunch boxes, and have already stocked up on various sizes of Ziplock containers to pack healthy lunches and snacks. Washing and cutting up fruits and veggies before putting away our groceries has been a huge help and makes packing quick, healthy lunches a much less tedious task!

So there you have it! My get-my-butt-in-shape-before-swimsuit-season goals. No tricks. No gimmicks. Just good old fashioned eat less(aka better)/exercise more..... I'll keep you posted with my progress :)