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Being

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Eat like you love yourself. Move like you love yourself. Speak like you love yourself. Act like you love yourself.

Tara Stiles (via thatrefinedwoman)

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Honestly I’m so sick of seeing rich-girl fitness. Don’t show me pretty vegan smoothies in mason jars held by a girl with perfect makeup, a manicure, and a color-coordinated running outfit. Show me diets and workouts that I can manage when I’m working 13 hours days and living on a budget. Show me how to eat healthy when I have 5 minutes for lunch. Show me small things I can do to help my body. Show me workout plans that I can do outside of a gym when I can’t afford a membership. I don’t have time. I don’t have money. Half the time I don’t have the motivation to get up in the morning. But I have a body. I want to be healthy.

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I’m trying to drink more and more green tea lately I’m glad I found one I like.

Emmy and I are trying to, respectively, gain and lose weight and it gets hard because I’m like always looking for food and he doesn’t eat when he’s not hungee. So anyway I made some green tea and put a loaaad of ice in it it’s cold and nice and only 2 calories I’m already ahead of him for today because I had like a small sammich of pork patty and cheese and iced tea aside from my breakfast and he’s only had breakfast 0.0 but i’m the one who’s already hungry!!!

it’s a bit much to really change the food i eat right now so i’m just trying to eat less and less instead (but not crazy less, just less than before, because I normally eat A LOT) like i still eat fast food, sausage, sweets, etc. just less, because having Emmy here gives me other things to amuse myself with other than food.

When we move then there’ll be a more progressive change, but for now dis is cool.

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Alright, a real update this time.

So I’ve been putting off saying anything about my journey to health lately, because to be honest, I’ve all but abandoned the physical part of it somewhat. And the parts that I constantly do good on, like sleep, hydration and avoidance of harmful substances, well, they’re just not that interesting enough to write about.

1) The sneakers I bought earlier this year, I use them alright, but it’s to feel comfy and funky when I go out and walk around. I’m currently 162 pounds, which is the highest I’ve been, but I’ve stayed here for a bit so it’s not getting worse or anything. 

2) Recently I’ve found a way to consume Apple Cider Vinegar that isn’t horrible. My family all swear by the benefits when it comes to blood pressure, but since I don’t have any problems with mine, then I didn’t feel motivated. Plus, stocks have been flying off the shelves here and I figured it’s best that it’s taken by those who need it than me. But there are other benefits that I’ve read about, and one night after having a really painful case of PMS gas (sexy..) I had no choice but to drink it, after Googling what works and reading that ACV had instant burping powers. Well, I diluted the mixture that the members of my family drink straight ( ACV, honey, loads of cinnamon powder) with water and it actually... tasted ....good? Like a weird sour apple cocktail. I was put off by the smell which smells like actual people sweat, but it doesn’t taste bad at all. And apparently this is how normal people take it. I don’t know why my mom and uncle insist on drinking it straight. It burns the fuck out of my esophagus, and the article I read warned about that too! Anyway, gas pains subsided, and I acquired a taste for this stinky sour apple juice cocktail. The article also claimed that it can help with weight loss, albeit gradually, which was fine because that’s what I’m after, so I’ve been drinking it daily. My uncle took it for 6 months and has stayed thin from then on. He credited it to the ACV but he credits all medical benefits ever to ACV so I wasn’t sure until I read it in the article. 

3) I read a bit more about Set Point Theory, which I first got a vague idea about in Mindless Eating. It’s basically the theory that you can only lose so much weight at a time before your own body will sabotage you because you’ve gone past what it thinks is a normal weight. This set point (but really more of a range apparently and not a point) goes up pretty easily but is really hard to rein back down. Well, I wanted to know how long it would take for the body to adjust its set point if a person wanted to lose weight and I found that it’s six months maintenance for each 10 percent body weight lost before it’s advisable to lose weight again, if one wanted to keep it off for long. So that gives me a clearer idea of where my goals need to be considering all important factors. I’ve tried stuff like “lose a pound a week” or “eat the amount of calories for your ideal weight” but they seem too vulnerable to demotivation. because they relied on constancy or daily vigilance and had no sense of completion until the end, unless I simply divide the time and put the corresponding weight I should be at at the time, which felt arbitrary and forced. This time I gave myself very attainable goals. More or less I’m to try to lose 10 percent of myself gradually for 3-4 months then maintain the new weight for 6 before losing more. I’m still planning to do the a pound a week thing, but now there’s always a goal nearby instead of “lose a pound a week forever and ever until goal weight”.. a pit stop before my goal weight where I could just rest and focus on staying at the weight, which is a lot easier and motivating. If all goes to plan I’ll be at my goal range in a year and goal weight in two years, which is fine by me! It’s really great that I don’t care that much about appearances in a way that makes me insecure and impatient about change. I know I’ll love it every time I lose a couple of pounds because of how long I’ve stayed the same weight. 

4) Now the hard part is the game plan, of course. I’m not dreaming of getting a gym membership or whatever but I do need to move a little each day. Once Emmy comes, I’m going to try and see if we can go on a walk every night or something, and on my own I want to find time during the day to stretch and dance a bit and even do some yoga. I’ve also started a cutesy food diary, just because it seems excel files really work for me. I use them for budgets and tracking my menstrual cycles and I actually manage to get back to them, so I’m going to try and use a spreadsheet for weightloss too. 

So yeah, little tiny baby steps! Cos I’m 25 now and not going to fool myself heheh.

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a quick check in! not much progress to report. in fact i’m probably heavier and less physically active than the last time i did an update. but i recently did a short fast and have rebooted by appetite. so i highly recommend that! also i’ve been drinking apple cider vinegar with water, cinnamon and honey to aid digestion and prevent pootess. i read it has long-term weightloss effects (in fact my uncle took it everyday for six months and he’s lost a lot of weight he still hasn’t gained back!) so since it’s a staple now in our house i think i’ll drink it every day. :) i still don’t know when i’ll start exercising but i think i’ll work on losing just a bit more weight through diet first. i have been improving my hip situation (mild joint pain/discomfort) by stretching, massage, and fish oil, so that’s another good thing. 

psychologically, i’ve been feeling very well. i’m not very anxious lately and i’m able to engage in social situations. i’m able to apply myself once again artistically and the blocks have been less daunting. it’s easier to start writing songs, and to draw.

Baby elephants suck their trunk the same way humans suck their thumbs http://cute-overload.tumblr.com source: http://imgur.com/r/aww/yLCfE5l

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Working out

Some girls:

Me:

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Eat like you love yourself. Move like you love yourself. Speak like you love yourself. Act like you love yourself.

Tara Stiles  (via healthyandgraceful)

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Inward calm cannot be maintained unless physical strength is constantly and intelligently replenished.

(via sarahmeier)

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sixpenceee:

A baby elephant’s first time on the beach!

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I need expert advice about exercising shoes!!! Help please.

Shopping can be nice but it surely has a tendency to give me an emotional roller coaster when I do it without preparation. I usually do a lot of research before "big" purchases, like my pc and ukulele, but today I did something a bit spontaneous.

I recently made a mental note to get training shoes and walking/running ones, because I want to get fit this year. Walking into a Skechers shop today though, I didn't know I'd find something I really like, not to mention that they would be on sale andddd that I'd find both things I needed there.

I passed by a pair of "Flex" ones that were super cute, but I didn't really get to ask about them, I was looking at shoes in a different aisle and asked about those, and found GObionic ones that were like half off, but it didn't exactly have my favorite colors in it, but it seemed like such an awesome pair so I had the guy put it aside as I wait for my brother to pick something.

But then I took a second look at these ones, and maybe something about how plain the ones I chose looked made them really call out to me even stronger with their vibrant colors, so I took a pair of my size to test out side by side with the other pair. The guy said they were both suitable for running and training, so I felt like I needed to choose just one. And I picked this one because it felt more stable and it's cuter!

It also had extra pink laces, which after taking it home I realised there were THREE in the box and not two, no idea how that happened. They look nice with either color but I obviously lean towards green. I might put the pinks on if I felt like they might get dirty.

They make me think of the early 2000's when I put the pinks on. I feel like I belong in a Britney Spears music video, or maybe a Bratz Doll commercial. Or in a Lisa Frank sticker set.

Anyway, I'm still debating with myself on whether I should go and get the GObionics anyway because I realised they had a much larger discount (made me freak out a bit, tbh) and were, as I'd felt, a more technology-advanced model, despite having orange soles. I'm thinking I could use these to train and to dance, and those to run and walk, since, after Googling, I now see that this one fits more of a trainer shoe description while that one is obviously a running shoe. But I might be just grasping at straws here wanting to justify an expense. Maybe these shoes can serve both purposes, and the distinction between the types aren't that important for beginners like me?

Can anyone help me with this?

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I need a serious change in my everyday setup

Something that would stir things up so that I don't keep doing the same thing all over again. As I grow older it gets harder and harder to change old habits and create new ones. I'm going to move in with my boyfriend soon and I'm sure that will do it for me, but I kiiinda want to start earlier than mid-2015. My plan is to plan my whole day tomorrow and start from there. Wish me luck.