Fab Feb

Okay, I realize I'm a few days late in getting started (with my posting) but hey, I've been busy!

So far, the healthier part of my February is basically going well. What does that include?

1. Always eat breakfast.
In general, I've been trying to do banana + cereal.
2. 3 Fruits a day. 
I've mostly got this one down. My favorite fruits to use for this is my bananas, grapes and apples. However, sometimes I go with a homemade smoothie.
3. No buying sweets.
 Okay, no lying- I have completely failed at this one! From here on out, however, I will not buy sweets. What does this mean exactly? Well for me: no candy, no stopping at Publix to buy cookies, no Walmart cupcakes... I'm fighting an addiction here! That being said, any sweets I already had, I am allowed to finish (which I shall try to do slowly so it lasts longer). In reality, I don't have very much of that laying around, mostly a bag or two of M&Ms. What "Sweets" does NOT include, however, is Semi-sweet chocolate chips! These are a healthier option, in controlled quantities, for those of us who just need that chocolate fix!

These are the 3 main rules I am trying to stick to at least for this week. In general, I've also been trying to eat more of the veggies and eggs, and less of the bready foods.

Wondering about the FITNESS part of the Fitness Fest? Okay, okay... also a little lacking. I worked straight through the 1st 3 days of the month, so no hardcore exercise took place (though more to come on a work-time workout later). Yesterday, I did some Cardio and weights in the form of my own personal Zumba sesh at home (perhaps a separate post on a diy Zumba class later).

One of my main goals this week is to bump up the calisthenics and weights to develop more muscle. Why is this important? Well, muscle burns more calories than fat does, so the more muscle you develop, the more calories you are likely to burn. Plus let's face it, right now I'm a bit of a weakling. Thankfully, muscles, in my opinion, are areas where you can see results much faster than, say, weight loss. For one thing, you can feel it the next day when you work out weaker muscles. For another, you build up and use heavier weights.

Again, one of my main goals this week is weight training, but I'm going to be adding Cardio back into my schedule as well.In expectation of my obviously looming success, I have signed up for the Color Me Rad run in April! I missed the Color Run back in January, so I'm really excited about this... guess I better get back on those 5ks!

More posts to come, I promise! Stay fit :)

February Fitness Fest

Welcome to the very first posting on "Fitness Fest" by yours truly, Christy.

First things first: Hi, I'm Christy. I'm not new to blogging, but I'm no pro either. I currently live in Orlando and am a student at UCF. Thankfully (and terrifyingly) I am about to graduate this May.

What is the purpose of this blog? Accountability.

What am I blogging about? The pathway to a healthier me! That's right, this is an exercise/healthy lifestyle blog (or hopefully will be).

The theme of this blog is "Fitness Fest" and I want to kick it off with a "February Fitness Festival" to jump start the fun!

Here is a little bit of background: I have generally had problems throughout the past years keeping control of my weight. In the summer of 2011, I spent 6 months living in Singapore with my family (for more on that, check out my other blog!). During that time, one of my core goals was to lose weight. The results? Huge success! I weighed myself at 186 pounds before/upon arrival in Singapore, and by the time I left 6 months later, I was consistently between 135/140. Amazing, right? Let me be clear that this weight lose was no experimental treatment or anything, it was a lot of exercise and some healthier eating choices. Unfortunately, in the almost 2 years since Singapore, I have been unable to maintain the weight lose. Slowly, I have crept back upwards, and now I want to make a change again.

To kick off the newer and better me, my goal is to buckle down in February and get some good results. Hopefully by May, I will have dropped significant weight and inches! I haven't decided on my goals exactly yet, but I figure I have 3 months to work on it, so a conservative goal would hopefully be around 8 lbs lost, and a more intense goal would be 22 lbs... my goal will probably fall somewhere in between that.

Over the next day or two, I will be hashing out some plans, as well as taking my measurements. I might even try to get some friends involved, not to mention changing up some features on this sight.

I'm looking forward to the journey ahead!
- Christy