My New Supplement: Garcinia Cambogia

trying to lose weight with pros can be really difficult and frustrating at times, so i’ve been doing some research on what can help me spark a little weight loss and i came around a fruit called garcinia cambogia. Dr. oz, who i follow when it comes to health advice, had a segment on this fruit and the health benefits of it.

The fruit extract helps inhibit fat loss while retaining muscle without any extra work at the gym. the extract is called hydroxycitric acid (HCA) and it does two things: suppress your appetite and block fat from being made.

It blocks fat by inhibiting the enzyme Citrate lyase, halting the fat making process and stopping the bad cholesterol [LDL] from being made as well.

HCA suppresses your appetite by creating more serotonin, which is a neurotransmitter in the brain. many people hear of serotonin when talking about people who are depressed — those people have low levels of serotonin and doctors usually prescribe something that will enhance levels of serotonin. though you may not be depressed, low levels of serotonin also leads to emotional eating, something i am extremely guilty of and has been a problem my whole life. whenever i get stressed out or upset, i turn to food and binge. By increasing serotonin levels, HCA improves your mood and stops you from reacting to stressful situations with food.

I know, something this good must cost a fortune because its too good to be true, however, its not that expensive at all [depending on where you buy it of course]. since garcinia cambogia is so abundant and simply comes from a fruit, its extract can be found for a good price, but beware of certain vitamin stores who will try and charge you $60 for the same product you could get for $15 at a walmart or cvs.

I started taking my supplement about 4 days ago, and im going to give it two weeks to start looking for results, as i know it takes time to get into your system and start working, but so far i can say that my appetite is definitely under much better control, and having 3 midterms coming up on thursday, i am very stressed but have not once turned to food as i usually would have. my exercise and diet has not been as good as it should be so going into week two, im going to work really hard to eat right and get in a good workout 5x a week to really get the best results possible

 

source/more info: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/garcinia-cambogia-hca

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My First Hike

                 

 

so i dont really come from an outdoorsy family, but one of my friends and i joined an outing club at school, and while she’s experienced with hiking, yesterday i had my first hike on greylock mountain in massachusetts. while the five hours we were on the trails were challenging and tested my endurance, the scenery and how i felt after was totally worth the burn.

being the only one in the group that had never hiked before, i went at a somewhat slower pace, but im glad to say i stayed in the middle of the pack and didn’t fall behind. yes, at times i thought i was going to need an inhaler i was breathing so hard, but once i got to the summit, i felt amazing.

i would definitely reccommend hiking to anyone who loves being outside, it is an amazing workout..just dont go when its wet..the rocks were extremely slippery and i saw my life flash before my eyes a few times hahaha.

the hike up was pretty steading, but getting back down was a whole nother story. the group leader decided to take a different path home, and let me tell you..it was 10x more challenging than the one going up. trying to go down the mountain i found myself climbing up a lot..including a basically vertical climb which i was not prepared for but worked through it..and it made me think how sometimes to go down, you have to go up. me gaining weight and going up in the scale has made me realize that yes, ive gone up, but thats just on my trail to go down. its a mere hill on the mountain im climbing down, and while things may be slippery and hard to hold onto, the feeling you get when you reach the bottom again is priceless.

trying to lose weight is going to be like my hike..there are going to be times when i want to head in one direction, but i end up doing the complete opposite. what’s important to remember is that its just a little hill, and as long as you dont give up going around that hill, your success will continue.

The Challenge begins: September 1, 2013

so i did as i said i would and took my measurements today and came in at a whopping 165lbs..the heaviest I’ve been since i was diagnosed with pcos. i really need to start getting myself back on track and keeping myself motivated so i can be happy with the way i look again. when i was diagnosed with pcos, i was 138 pounds..so ive come a long ways up, and i know its going to take a long time to get back down.

since i know its going to be hard, instead of trying to lose 2 lbs a week, ill be doing 1lb a week, just so i stay on track and have an easier time reaching my goals. though i am embarrassed by them, i will be uploading progress pictures on the first of every month to see what progress i have made.

this being said, by october 1st, i plan to be at the bare minimum 4 pounds less putting me at 161. i know i can push myself to lose more in one month, but thats my goal for now, but I’m going to do what i can to crush it and lose even more.

id say i was off to a good start today, as i went hiking for 5 hours on a mountain in massachusetts [blog post with pics to come]. if i can stay this active and get a hold of good eating habits, i should be losing weight and feeling better in no time.

doing the 1 pound a week calculation, if i stick with it and work hard, by new years i should be down at least 16.5 lbs, putting me at 148.5, which would be spectacular. though my plan is to return to my original weight of 138, having an end of the year goal of 148.5 is a great way to start and ill work from there

July 8, 2013

the holiday weekend really killed my routine and it was pretty rough trying to get back into the swing of things today. im not happy with how i ate at all!! it was allll carbs and sugar..the two things im supposed to stay away from, but i did manage to get in a pretty good workout. however, losing weight is only 30% exercise while the rest is how you eat and treat your body..clearly today i did not treat my body like i should have so you better believe i have 3 alarms set for tomorrow morning to get my morning workout in before work, and then i have plans for the gym later on. ive been making a lot of progress lately and i would hate to throw it all away by continuing the holiday eating/being lazy habits.

June 2, 2013

I’m really happy with myself for how well I treated my body today. I ate well, getting plenty of fruits, veges, and protein, and worked out twice!! I did insanity in the morning before work and then after work I did some cardio and took a class called xtreme training at the gym..which was extremely difficult but so worth it. I ended up biting over 1300 calories for the day, something I’ve never done before.
I’ve been weighing myself often as my weight keeps fluctuating, but I weighed myself today and I’m back down to 157!! if I can keep this pattern going I’ll hopefully reach my goal..just 17 pounds left. It won’t be easy, but I’m gunna do it!

Say Yes to the Dress

yesterday some of my friends and i were watching say yes to the dress where a few girls were looking for brides maid’s dresses and one of them had pros. it was really sad watching her struggle as she had been diagnosed a year earlier and gained 100 lbs. she didnt like what she saw in the mirror and wished she looked like she had before.

i could completely relate to her story as i look in the mirror, all i can see is a fat girl who used to be in great shape with a nice body. however, she did also make me feel better about myself as she gained 100 lbs in a year while ive gained 20 in two. it gave me motivation to really get a hold of my pros, because in a few years, i dont want to be the unhappy bridesmaid trying to find a dress that fits and looks good.

My Workout Playlist

i would hate working out if it werent for my music keeping me focused and entertained, so here is my gym/workout playlist that i listen to every time i workout [on shuffle so there’s no specific order – i always update my playlist to keep things new and interesting]

1. between the raindrops – lifehouse
2. birthday cake – rihanna
3. danza kuduro – don omar
4. dont you worry child – swedish house mafia
5. hall of fame – the script
6. i knew you were trouble – taylor swift
7. i made it – kevin rudolf
8. imma shine – young bloodz
9. kids – mgmt
10. levels – avicii
11. like a g6 – far east movement
12. make it nasty – tyga
13. make me proud- drake
14. numb/encore – jay-z/linkin park
15. princess of china – coldplay
16. promises – nero
17. say aah – trey songz
18. scream & shout – will.i.am
19. the show goes on – lupe fiasco
20. show me the money – petey pablo
21. silhouettes – avicii
22. slight work – wale
23. sweet nothing – calvin harris
24. titanium – david guetta
25. up up & away – kid cudi
26. work out – j. cole
27. 300 violin orchestra – jorge quintero
28. f*cking problems – a$ap rocky
29. forever now – ne-yo
30. i love it – icona pop
31. feel this moment – pitbull
32. all around the world – justin bieber
33. chillin – wale
34. please dont judge me – chris brown
35. cant hold us – macklemore
36. remember when – chris wallace
37. alive – krewella
38. clarity – zedd
39. glowing – nikki williams
40. next to me – emeli sande
41. pursuit of happiness [steve aoki remix] – kid cudi
42. if i lose myself – one republic
43. radioactive – imagine dragons
44. fall down – will.i.am
45. muthaf**ka up – tyga
46. heres to never gowing up – avril lavigne
47. i need your love – calvin harris
48. the other side – jason derulo
49. stereo hearts – gym class heroes
50. we own it – 2 chainz & wiz khalifa
51. safe and sound – capital cities
52. battle scares – lupe fiasco
53. cruise [nelly remix] – florida georgia line
54. too close – alex clare
55. rock that body – black eyed peas
56. want u back – cher lloyd
57. gangnam style – psy
58. demons – imagine dragons
59. sail – awolnation
60. we cant stop – miley cyrus

i know 60 songs is a lot, but i get to listen to something different every time i work out, and having a variety is better than listening to the same songs over and over again. enjoy!

NEW TOY: heart rate watch

 

 

a couple days ago i made an order on amazon for a watch that keeps track of your heart rate and the calories you burn during your workouts and it came in!! for only $25 i think it was a good investment. my sister has one like it, but she has to strap a heart rate monitor around her in order for it to work, and mine [they were both the same price] only requires you to hold the silver ring for a couple seconds to record your heart rate.

the screen where the time is is a touch screen where you can switch between the time, your user info [male/female, hight, weight, age, etc. to make sure its readings are accurate], as well as memory from previous workouts! i cant wait to take it to the gym later and test it out.

for those of you that are curious, it is a Gaiam Oregon Scientific watch called the G2 Fitness Trainer and you can find it on amazon as well as the Oregon Scientific website.

ill be sure to let everyone know how it works!

May 30, 2013

im happy to say i started to get my act together today and im setting myself up for a good and finally successful month in june. instead of eating whatever i wanted when i came home from work, i decided to stay away from the house and kitchen where there is an unlimited amount of food for me to eat and decided to try something new, so a co-worker and i went to a small place called Naked Greens. as you can tell by the name, its all about salads and the green food that is good for you. so instead of divulging at home, i had an awesome salad, and also convinced myself i was not hungry any more when i got home and therefore did not need to eat any of the cookies i saw on the counter.

on top of that, i also woke up this morning for a successful 6am insanity workout, and it was literally insane. insanity has got to be one of the hardest workouts ive ever done and while i did take some breaks, i finished the whole thing [not before almost passing out a couple times]. you really do feel accomplished after one of these workouts, and i think that’s why the rest of my day was so successful.

breakfast: 3 egg white & turkey muffins, green tea, high density green drink

lunch: 3 oz chicken breast, carrots, celery, lentil chips

dinner: salad [ mesclun – type of lettuce – cucumber, carrots, chickpeas, sunflower seeds, grilled chicken, balsamic vinaigrette]

exercise: insanity [40 minute workout]

i also managed to drink water throughout the day [more than usual because i was constantly peeing] which is really good for the body and i am going to try and continue to do every day.

im working out a june calendar that i will be posting as soon as i finish up, and I’m basically trying to keep my schedule busy to stop any chance i would get to over eat, as well as adding more exercise to really start seeing some results. im making the full calendar now, but i know plans change, so im going to repost a weekly schedule on sundays to edit any changes

Day fifty: May 20th, 2013

I’m happy to say I went completely paleo today and I feel great. I know I haven’t posted my meals in a while, but I’m starting back up today:
Breakfast: omelet (1 egg, 1 egg white, spinach); apple; green tea
Lunch: chicken breast (cold cuts 3 oz.); carrots; celery
Snack: trail mix (raw, organic sunflower kernels, raisins, craisins)
Dinner: lean turkey meat sautéed with spinach and onions; 1 cup organic frozen raspberries; green tea
What I didn’t realize before is that the reason I crave processed carbs is because I eat them..not because my body wants them. I didn’t eat any today and I had no cravings whatsoever which is awesome. I’m thinking paleo is the right and easy way to go

While I did have a long day at work and I’m exhausted..I’m still going to the gym later to get in a good workout. For today I have planned elliptical intervals, ab exercises and leg exercises