Tag Archives: workout

Fitness Friday – A Brand New Link-Up

Posted on June 13 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

Let’s get ready to PARTY! It’s Friday and that means it’s Fitness Friday time!

Guys! I’m super duper excited because a friend of mine and I have decided to join forces and create a brand-spankin-new fitness/health focused link-up. This is going to be so much fun, and it will be recurring post, happening on Fridays!

Introductions

I’d like to introduce you to Kathy from The Panda Post. Her blog is focused on leading a healthy life, through healthy eating and exercise. She is super active and willing to try just about any workout, which really inspires me to try something new and different (something I struggle with). You can also check her out on Facebook, by clicking here.

Our link-up is going to be a bit different than some link-ups because our posts will not be exactly the same. We will have a common theme between blogs, but what we write about will be entirely different (or possibly the same, if we feel similarly). This week, we decided our theme would be (drum roll please)….

How to fit in workouts while traveling

I honestly don’t travel a lot, hardly ever, actually. Except to my parents for the day, but the few times that I did stay overnight in a hotel, the easiest way for me to get in a workout, was to bring workout DVDs from home. They’re compact (so they pack easily), they don’t require you to leave your hotel room and go workout in the hotel gym (not that there’s anything wrong with doing that), and it requires very little motivation to get started. The most you need to do is convince yourself to get off the couch and put the DVD in. 😉

There are loads of places to get workout DVDs, but my current personal favorite would have to be the Beachbody site. I realize you probably think I’m just saying that because I’m now a Beachbody coach, but I assure you that is not even remotely why. The workouts available through Beachbody consist of P90x, TurboFire, Insanity, 21 day FIX (my current workout, more on this in a second) and plenty more are freakin amazing! They’ve changed people’s lives, made stronger more confident individuals and I’m truly happy to be a part of that bunch.

So yes, I’m a Beachbody coach, but that doesn’t mean that I am biased. I know a good workout, I used to be in amazing shape and the workouts I’ve done through Beachbody are some serious muscle building workouts!

If you’re traveling, there are a few other sites that you can check-out for DVDs, but you can also stream a lot of workouts on your iPad or other tablet, and even some hotels (or if you’re staying with relatives) have ways you can stream them right through their wifi and TV.

One thing I will say, is that you should not let vacations derail any progress that you’ve made!

Onto the Goals

Amount of Weight Lost

I stayed exactly the same as last week, but I am not even remotely upset. I know I worked hard, ate well – so the weight will eventually come up!

Exercise Goals

Last week, I stated that I wanted to complete 7 days of 30 minute workouts, following the 21 day FIX schedule. Well…Success!! I didn’t do 7 days, but that’s simply because I started on Monday, but I’ve worked out every single day since then. I feel amazing, I’m so sore (a good sore), but my mood is soaring!

This week, I’d like to continue to focus on my 21 day FIX workouts and do the scheduled video each night. 30 minute workouts may not seem like much, but when they are as intense as these are, 30 minutes is plenty. Seriously! Such an amazing workout!

Food Goals

Last week I said I wanted to follow the 21 day FIX meal plan, once again, I can report SUCCESS! Man is it fun coming on here and reporting successes.

I ate so well for the entire week, I was drinking my Shakeology, feeling fueled and not stuffed (which is a great feeling), and my cravings were minimal. I can’t wait to continue with this same goal, next week!

Alright, folks, since we’re still hammering out the details on how this blog hop will work, for now, feel free to link-up any of your fitness related posts. You should absolutely try following your hosts on their social media, but also check-out some of the other blogs linked up. Nothing says party, like mingling! 🙂

Kathy at The Panda Post|Bloglovin’|Facebook|Twitter|Instagram

Your turn!

What are the best ways you fit in exercise when you’re traveling for work or pleasure?

An InLinkz Link-up

Filed Under: All About Me, Food & Fitness

Weekly Wishes – Warmth

Posted on November 4 by Jillian416 • 8 Comments

Happy Weekly Wishes – Warmth!

Weekly Wishes is a link-up started by Melyssa from The Nectar Collective. It is a place where you can post and share you wishes and goals for the week ahead on your blog, Facebook page, Twitter account, etc and then link it up on Melyssa’s blog. I LOVE doing this because it holds me accountable for the week ahead. I’ve shared my goals with the world (through my blog) and I know people will read and wonder whether I stuck to my goals. It definitely keeps me honest!

It’s Monday again, can you believe that? It’s so cliche, but I really can’t. It literally seems like I had just woken up on Friday and now it’s Monday again. Oh well, such is life!

We had a really awesome weekend!

Saturday, we had big BIG plans to get Emmett’s haircut. A few weeks back when I had been anticipating his haircut I had done some research on local places that cut children’s hair. I wanted someone that was familiar with how a toddler is and the fact that they don’t sit still. When you’re working with scissors, going to a salon that has only worked on adults or older children, just wouldn’t work. We ended up at Kiddie Cuts & More and the stylist was fantastic! She did a really fantastic job, with Emmett and his hair.

Sunday was filled with chores and family time! Emmett decided he wanted to get up early (because of daylight savings time) and was up at 4:30. Thankfully he dozed off for another 30 minutes or so and then woke up for good around 5. Our bodies thought it was 6, but it was till painful on a Sunday. The only positive of getting up that early, was that I got a ton of stuff done, all of my weekly chores were complete by the time 5 o’clock rolled around and that’s a beautiful thing! Since chores were done early, Emmett and I got to go out on a nice chilly walk to Starbucks for my first red cup! My husband thinks I’m silly because I get so excited for a cardboard cup, but I really truly love red cup season. 🙂

The theme this week for Weekly Wishes is warmth. There a million pictures I could have chosen that showed or signified warmth to me, but I went with my coffee from yesterday. I am a lover of Starbucks, through and through, their coffee just makes me happy. It has the ability to warm me from within as I take those first few sips of hot coffee. Mmmm… You’ll almost always find me drinking a Venti Americano with 2 pumps of vanilla and a splash of milk. There a few other sweeter drinks that I like from Starbucks, but I’ll usually avoid those except for on special occasions, because of the calorie count on all of them.

Now onto this week’s Weekly Wishes – Warmth

Fair warning – I did not do well with my wishes for the week. I just fell flat…

The first goal from last week was to finish my home ‘to-do’ list. I still haven’t completed it and I have absolutely zero excuses as for why, I just didn’t do it. Ugh.

Next up, was getting back into my class Everyday Happy. Once again, I just fell flat here. I am ready, willing and able to work on it, but it always seems to come secondary to one of the other many things that I “need” to complete. I need to stop that and make it a priority. I really liked where the class was going and was learning a lot about myself through it.

Of course, I had workout as one of my goals. And sadly, I once again did not complete this goal. I walked a couple of times but nothing more. I don’t even have an excuse.

I had planned to do a load of wash every night. I didn’t fail completely on this one. I did laundry twice during the week which still knocked down the amount of loads I needed to do on Sunday. I’m pleased with that!

Finally, I planned to work on some of the draft blog posts I have. I didn’t get to this one, I just didn’t have time. Any time I was at my computer to blog, I was working on a post for the current day and unfortunately wasn’t able to get further ahead.

This week’s goals:

This week I’m keeping it simple, only two goals. I am honestly wondering if the reason that I am struggling so much with meeting the goals I make, is because I’m putting too much pressure on myself with too many goals. So we’ll try a lesser amount and see how that goes.

Move my body! I need to. My mood has been pretty great the last week, positive and not so much on the dark side, but I would absolutely still feel better if I broke a sweat. I’d like to move and sweat 4 times this week.
Do a load of laundry every night. This goal truly makes my life SO much easier and allows for much more family time on Sundays, when I only have to do 2 or 3 loads versus 7 or 8. Plus it’s not a difficult one. I come home, throw a load in right after work and then throw it in the drier after Emmett’s bath. I typically will fold it the next day when I go put the next load in. I have a pretty easy cycle, just need to stick with it.

Alrighty folks, that’s it for this week. Here’s hoping a smaller list will help make me feel more successful with my wishes and less like a failure.

Be sure to link-up with Melyssa and The Nectar Collective!

Your turn!

Have you set any goals for yourself for the week ahead?

How do you stick to those goals?

Filed Under: Weekly Wishes

Weekly Wishes – Creativity

Posted on October 21 by Jillian416 • 5 Comments

Happy Weekly Wishes! This week’s theme is Creativity.

Weekly Wishes is a link-up started by Melyssa from The Nectar Collective. It is a place where you can post and share you wishes and goals for the week ahead on your blog, Facebook page, Twitter account, etc and then link it up on Melyssa’s blog. I LOVE doing this because it holds me accountable for the week ahead. I’ve shared my goals with the world (through my blog) and I know people will read and wonder whether I stuck to my goals. It definitely keeps me honest!

Happy Monday everyone!

This is a great Monday for me because I am on vacation. Woohoo! Seamus and I took the week off because our anniversary (our 2nd one) is tomorrow and we just wanted to have a relaxing and enjoyable stay-cation. We have a few things planned as a couple and then as a family and I’m excited about all of them. Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to share! 😉

This weekend was relatively unexciting, but we still had a nice time as a family. We had thought about going to the pumpkin patch, but the weather was just too iffy to get stuck in the middle of open fields and then have it downpour. We ended up just spending a lot of time at home, reading and playing with Emmett, which is definitely a wonderful thing since I never feel like I have enough time with him during the week.

I love just watching him play and then having him switch gears and bring a book over to read. He is so good at curling up in your lap and helping you turn the pages. This weekend, his favorite books were a set of flap books that my mom got him for his birthday. He’d bring the whole box of them over, choose which one he wanted to read, and then have us read through them while he opened the flaps. So much fun!

The theme for Weekly Wishes this week was creativity. I like pretending that I’m a good photographer and can take unique photos, even though I’m average, at best. Anyway, when we went to the apple farm to pick apples, I tried my hand at some creative apple shots, the one above is an example of one of my pictures.

And now, Weekly Wishes!

My first wish for the week was to do 1 load of laundry a night. I did it! I did laundry multiple times all week long leaving me only a few loads to do on Sunday afternoon. It felt so good to stay on top of things, I think I’ll keep this as one of my goals for the next week.

Ugh! I had a goal to make a home “to do” list and sadly, I didn’t do it again. I have no idea why I keep skipping this, it will make things so much easier if I have a list.

Finally I made a goal to workout, I did it! Wooohoo! I didn’t follow the schedule I shared last week, but I worked out 4 times and I was feeling fantastic. I am so pleased with the success of this goal.

This week’s Weekly Wishes

Continue to wash 1 load of laundry a night. This made my life so much easier through the week, to do just one load a night instead of 7 loads on Sunday. I’m going to stick with this goal
Make the home “to do” list. I keep saying I’m going to make it and then I don’t. I need to stop making excuses and just get it done. It will make my life easier, which will in turn keep me happy.
Workout. I need to keep the high intensity momentum of last week and keep working out. I felt so great all week, at peace and low stress, I’d like to keep that going.
Participate more in Everyday Happy. Last week got busy, so my class kind of fell off my plate. I need to get back into it and focus, so that I can actually become Everyday Happy.

Alrighty, those are my wishes for this week.

Be sure to visit our host, Melyssa from The Nectar Collective and link-up.

Your turn!

What are some of your wishes for the week ahead?

Filed Under: Weekly Wishes

Weekly Wishes – Celebrate

Posted on October 14 by Jillian416 • 4 Comments

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It’s time to celebrate with Weekly Wishes!

Weekly Wishes is a link-up started by Melyssa from The Nectar Collective. It is a place where you can post and share you wishes and goals for the week ahead on your blog, Facebook page, Twitter account, etc and then link it up on Melyssa’s blog. I LOVE doing this because it holds me accountable for the week ahead. I’ve shared my goals with the world (through my blog) and I know people will read and wonder whether I stuck to my goals. It definitely keeps me honest!

It has been another perfect Fall weekend in Buffalo, the weather was just beautiful, sunny and warm. Who could ask for more!? We had a pretty laid back, but awesome weekend. Saturday, Emmett and I made our weekly trip to the Elmwood-Bidwell Farmers Market for fruits, veggies and cheese. I got a brand new cheese flavor from First Light Farm & Creamery, it is amazing and I’ll be sharing what it is, later in the week.

We did almost have a small catastrophe, Emmett carries around this small stuffed monkey that Seamus and I bought him when he was brand new, he loves that thing and it goes with us everywhere. Well, it was in the buggy with him and at some point, without me realizing it, he threw it out. When I finally noticed it was gone, I had no idea where he’d dropped it or how long ago it had been. I had only gotten through a couple vendors before I had to turn around retrace our steps. In my head I’m running through how we’d find something similar for Emmett to hold (I mean, he sleeps with this thing and demands it before bed), when I thankfully saw it lying on the ground right on our street, completely unharmed. Phew!! Crisis averted!

Sunday was a day at home, spent tidying up around the house. I did about 7 loads of laundry because I always do everything on Sunday afternoons, we also went grocery shopping and then watched some football. The perfect Fall family day!

This week’s Weekly Wishes theme is celebrate. I chose the picture above because one of the most fun days recently, was the day we celebrated Emmett’s first birthday. We did have a party for Emmett and that was a lot of fun, but we held that a few weeks after his actual birth date, the picture above is from the actual day of birth. We had a really wonderful time that day. Seamus and I both took off from work and spent the day celebrating with Emmett. We did things that interested a 1 year old, not things that interested us. It was such a special day, and when the time of his birth rolled around, I made sure to spend a moment sharing what we had experienced at that very moment. The moment, Emmett took his first breath and made his first cry. Music to my ears! I plan on doing this yearly with him, for as long as he’ll allow it. 🙂

Back to my Weekly Wishes!

My first wish from last week was to continue to be an active participant in the Everyday Happy e-course. If you read my post yesterday, you can see that I am doing my very best to remain vested in this program. I want to be happy and I want to make an effort in that happening. So this goal is a COMPLETE success! Woohoo!

Next up was to create a “to-do” list of everything that needs to be done around the house. I failed this one, big time. 🙁 I seriously forgot that I had made this one of my goals. Grr! I’m irritated with myself for that. Guess that means I need to check-in with my Weekly Wishes post more frequently this week.

Finally, I gave myself a goal of working out 4 times and even made a schedule of what I should do on each day. This one is a partial fail, I did walk a few times with Emmett, but it was no where near the level of exertion I need to lose weight. And, now that I’m done nursing, I need to be more mindful or the weight that I lost before my wedding, will all come creeping back. Yikes!

And now for this week’s goals –

Do 1 load of laundry a night. I’m so sick of having 6 or 7 loads of laundry to do on Sundays because I was lazy and didn’t do any during the week. There’s no reason why I can’t come home from work and throw a load in the washer. This one will make my weekends less stressful, worrying about how I’m going to get everything done and still find time to relax.
Create that “to-do” list I mentioned last week. This will help with getting things done. If I have a list in front of me of tasks that need completion, when I find that I have 15 spare minutes, I can jump on one and get it checked off. Is there a better feeling than checking off an item on your to-do list?
WORKOUT! Yep, that deserves caps and it needs to happen this week. I’m sick of reporting any failures on this goal to you, so I need to hold myself accountable. I’m going to give the schedule I came up with last week a try. “Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, change clothes at work and come home and either do a wog or ride my bike, with Emmett. Wednesday, change clothes at work and ride my bike. Friday, off. Saturday and Sunday can be any form of cardio, walking, wogging, biking, just as long as I stay active.”

Okay, those my goals for the week. Help hold me accountable, folks!

Please join me in linking-up with The Nectar Collective.

Your turn!

What do you have to celebrate this week? Share in the comments below!

Check out all of my other Weekly Wishes and see what I’ve been working on.

Filed Under: Weekly Wishes

Life is Good!

Posted on July 21 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

Anyone who knows me, knows that I’ve struggled with depression and anxiety for several years. The best way to combat the yucky feelings is to venture outdoors for some exercise and sun, I did exactly that this morning!

Most Sunday mornings start out the same way in our house, Emmett lets us know he’s awake by yelling a little bit, I head in, change his diaper and nurse him and then we head back into our bed for some cuddles. I seriously dread the day when Emmett decides he no longer is interested in the cuddles. This time is one of my absolute favorites! It allows Seamus and I to gradually wake up, plus we get to cuddle our sweet boy. We then usually progress into breakfast, getting Emmett dressed and play time but I wanted to try something different today.

I work full-time outside the home, so I struggle almost daily to find time to workout. Last night, as I’m drifting off, it hit me, why not workout while Emmett is eating breakfast and getting dressed, then I’m not missing out on time with him AND I’m getting a workout in. I let Seamus in on my plans and he was A-OK with it, so out the door I went after, our ultimate cuddle session.

I did about 6 miles on my bike and I made sure that I hit some serious inclines so that I got a good burn. I felt amazing! It was sunny and warm, but not humid, it just felt great to be out there moving.

And in case you’re one of those skeptics that think there is nothing beautiful in Buffalo, then you’ve never ventured into the city. There are gorgeous old homes, lakes, trails, views, etc., to look at while you move along. The picture below doesn’t do the scene justice, we have a beautiful little lake about a mile from my house where they rent out rowboats. At night they chain them all together in the center, every morning I pass it going to work and I just envision the stunning pictures that could be made with a better camera than my iPhone.

I also want to mention, that if you live in Buffalo, or even if you don’t and are looking for somewhere to donate, consider the Buffalo Zoo. They currently have a campaign going on to try and build a new habitat for the Polar Bears and they need the help of our community to do so.

On my way home I swung by Starbucks and grabed an iced coffee, because really, is there anything better in the world than Starbucks iced coffee? I think not.

Venti Iced Americano with a shot of Vanilla and splash of cream, please! Thank you!

I took my water bottle in with me so that I could chug some of that while I waited for my coffee.

Once home, I walk in the door and get the biggest smile from my little boy. Whether he missed me or not, I have no idea, but there is no doubt of the love he has towards me. It makes me so so blissfully happy seeing him smile! I had some breakfast while I cooled down and hung out with E-dog.

Chobani with slivered raw almonds and a banana.

Then after my shower it was time for Emmett’s nap, so he and I hunkered in for a bit more nursing and then lots more cuddles.

You tell me, is there anything sweeter than a sleeping, cuddly baby?

The day is only half way over and it has been perfect! Now to keep this positive momentum going into the stressful week I have ahead.

How do you start your Sundays?

Filed Under: Daily Updates, Family, Food & Fitness

Review: Active by Old Navy

Posted on May 19 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

It’s no secret that I’ve been trying to workout and get into shape, pretty much forever, but more immediately since having Emmett. It’s also no secret, to those who know me well, that I love shopping and clothes. So it makes sense that when it comes to working out, just like with anything else, I like to be clothed well.

Since I am considered plus sized, finding workout clothes that fit the way they should and that are made out of wicking materials, is hard. Most items in my size are just essentially big bags that cover you but offer no style or comfort when sweating hard, and when I workout I workout hard, sweat is typically dripping off of me.

With that said, I had heard really good things about Old Navy’s Active line and decided to try it for myself. I can’t say I was surprised (because Old Navy has served me well through the years), but I was seriously impressed with how well everything fit. I bought, Women’s Plus Active by Old Navy Tanks (in black), Women’s Plus Active by Old Navy GoDRY Tanks (in neon green, which is sadly no longer offered), Women’s Plus Cropped Wide-Leg Yoga Pants (in black), and Women’s Plus Active by Old Navy Compression Shorts (9″) (in black) and I loved each and every piece.

Since Old Navy no longer carries their plus sized line in stores, I placed my order online and excitedly waited for everything to be delivered. Once it arrived I immediately tried everything on and was so pleasantly surprised to find that everything fit perfectly and had the look that I desired while working out (which is not a big giant t-shirt). I have to be honest, I read the reviews for each I item I bought because I knew that some of the items were considered “compression” and would be tight. I wanted to ensure I gave myself enough leeway, so as to be comfortable.

The Women’s Plus Active by Old Navy Tanks (image above), fits tightly and has compression support but because of the reviews, I ordered a size up and it fit perfectly. The first time I wore the top, it was tight under my arms but it has since loosened up and literally fits perfectly. It does not roll up around my waste and it covers well too. The first time I worked out in it, I was anxious to see whether it would wick the sweat away like it says it will in the description and it absolutely did!

The Women’s Plus Active by Old Navy GoDRY Tanks, is one of my all time favorite workout tops. It was so soft and so comfortable from the moment I put it on. I’ve worn this shirt a bunch of times and the quality of it hasn’t changed. I got my normal size in this item because it is not considered compression and it fit perfectly.

Love the Women’s Plus Cropped Wide-Leg Yoga Pants! They are so comfortable and I wear them constantly. They are perfect for working out, for anything from jogging, to spinning, to yoga but are also great for just lounging and relaxing around the house, I use them for both.

Women’s Plus Active by Old Navy Compression Shorts are another compression support item, because of that I paid close attention to the reviews again and decided to go with a size larger than my normal one. This was the right decision, the shorts fit perfectly and aren’t so tight that they feel restricting. I love these alone or underneath another pair of shorts and do a really great job of keeping the sweat away from your body.

There are several more pieces from the Active line that I want but for now, what I have is, is doing a really good job of motivating me to workout because I get to look cute and feel comfortable while doing it.

**This is NOT a sponsored review, I just really REALLY love Old Navy’s Active line and want any plus sized woman out there to know that they can be comfortabl, while working out.

Filed Under: Reviews

My Journey

Posted on April 2 by Jillian416 • 1 Comment

Hi blog readers!

I’ve been posting so sporadically lately and I’m sorry about that. Life has gotten so busy and unfortunately the first thing to suffer is my blog since there is no one forcing me to write. I need to stop this because I enjoy sharing my stories with you and often times when I’m posting regularly it becomes a routine.

As you’ve known throughout my many posts about myself, I struggle with my weight and have done so pretty much for my entire life. I am considering sharing more about my journey on this blog but I want your opinions about whether this is something that would interest my readers. I realize my primary focus has been on Emmett and it will continue to be, but since I want to post all about what a first time moms (and repeat moms) go through, I thought hearing about my struggles and successes would interest you.

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So what do you think? Would you continue to find my blog interesting if I started sharing more about me and my weight loss adventures?

Filed Under: All About Me, Food & Fitness