Healthy = happy

I feel better when I take excellent care of myself. Simplistic, but it's always harder than it sounds, right? In the next six weeks (eek) leading up the wedding, I am trying to be really conscious of the following:

1. Drinking lots of water (a no-brainer but also harder than it sounds. I keep a 32 oz water bottle on my desk at work and try to drink two full bottles each day.)

2. Drinking green tea. Yogi is my favorite brand ever - you can get it at Trader Joe's and a lot of regular grocery stores, too.

3. Taking my vitamins (I have a whole regime - fish oil capsules, calcium + vitamin D pills, antioxidants, multi-vitamin) - and I keep them in an egg carton to remind me to take them.)

4. Working out, mindfully (watching my form when I lift, not getting lazy or sloppy or working out just to get it over with.)

5. Lots of sleep - I like to get at least 9 hours a night (!)


There are also a few other things that I've added to my routine that are more about vanity than health, but still:

1. Twice weekly glycolic peels. My skin is usually pretty decent but I want it to be amazing for the wedding. And I'm really seeing a difference after only a month of doing the peels. I'm using L'Oreal Acne Intensive Peel, which I found at Big Lots for $4!

2. Teeth whitening strips. I usually do these for big occasions, and I guess my own wedding counts. I'll be ordering a box for myself and FH, who I'm hoping will wear them, despite the fact that the protests have already begun.

0 to 1650 + 30 Day Shred = Fit Meglette

I mentioned yesterday that I'm getting organized. Along with that comes a concrete workout plan. I'm not looking to lose weight, but I want to feel good and look toned on my wedding day (and forever). I used to be really dedicated when it came to working out, but things have definitely fell by the wayside lately.

I came across the 0 to 1650 swim plan, which is perfect because I hate doing cardio but I love to swim. I bought a rec pass last week so I can swim on campus after work and I just completed my first workout on Monday.

The plan calls for swimming three days a week, and at the end of six weeks, you'll be swimming a mile (1,650 yards). It felt great to be back in the water, albeit a bit awkward. Lots of hitting the lane lines while doing backstroke. But swimming is one of those things that once you start doing regularly, you'll see a lot of results right away.

I'm going to combine the swimming with Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred workout.


Yes, I would like abs like that, please. And arms, and shoulders, and well, everything.

I'm thinking I'll do the Shred twice a week, on the non-swimming days. That will be five days of workouts a week, which seems reasonable for the first month or so. Once I get closer to the wedding, I'll kick everything up a few notches.

I tried the first Shred workout on Tuesday morning and well, it kicked my butt. It's only a twenty minute circuit (3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio and 1 minute of ab work, repeat) but Jillian keeps you going the whole time so it gets pretty tough by the end. I would definitely recommend it to anybody looking to tone up. It's not annoying, like most workout videos, and she keeps it pretty simple and old-school (jumping jacks, squats, etc) which in the end, is always the most effective way to exercise.

Time to get organized...

Although, it's not like I'm currently unorganized. After all, I am the girl that hangs her clothes up in rainbow order.

See what I mean? ROYGBIV, baby. It's a thing of beauty, isn't it?

But lately, people have been asking me, with breathless anticipation, "what are you working on right now for the wedding?"

And my answer is something along the lines of ... "meh, not much. I felt like I got a lot done up front, now there is kind of a lull, I'm sure they'll be a rush on stuff when it gets closer to the date."

Then they nod sympathetically with an alarmed look in their eyes.

Hmmm. I suppose I could get cracking on certain things. For starters, a fitness routine. No more messing around. I printed out monthly calendars that count down to the big day and will track my workouts, wedding projects and other such goings-on.

I even sacrificed my entire fridge-front to the cause:

[before]

[after]

Even seemingly tiny things like cleaning up my messy fridge and writing down a concrete plan of action makes me feel much better. So, onward and upwards!

More about my fitness plan tomorrow. I'm on day two and already feeling like semi-rock-hard abs are within my reach.