Healthy, Happy Gifts for Fitness Friends

My favorite time of the year is just around the corner and I have already started Christmas shopping. I have been brainstorming gift ideas for a while now and I have come up with some really great ideas for gifts that promote a healthy lifestyle. I think these gifts are not only good for those fitness junkies but also those who are a little intimated by the thought of getting fit or living healthier.

1. Hamilton Beach Personal Blender with Travel Lid  -  $14.85

A really great gift for those on the go. I love this for making quick and easy smoothies at work or on a road trip in a hotel.

2. Groupon
Don't forget to check Groupon for some really awesome activities that could be given as gifts. There's the typical things such as yoga or kickboxing classes and there's even out-of-the-box ideas like self-defense lessons or backpacking trips.

3. Veggetti Spiral Vegetable Slicer  -  $12.13
My new favorite kitchen tool. Veggetti spins vegetables into long pieces of spaghetti. I've used it for the typical zucchini but also for butternut squash. It makes a really great gift for those trying to cut back the calories or just love experimenting in the kitchen.

4. Fun Gym Tanks
Do you have a bestie that you workout with or just a good gym buddy? Funny and sarcastic tank tops are an awesome gift for any of the above. I am in love with these Mean Girls Quote Tank Tops  It's hard to go wrong with anything Mean Girls related.

5. Nalgene BPA-Free Water Bottle  -  $9.97
Who doesn't love a reusable water bottle? Nalgene water bottles are my favorite because they have the wide mouth that you can fill with ice. They also come in tons of awesome colors! If you want to go the extra mile you can get a vinyl monogram from Etsy ($5) to personalize the gift.

6. Fitbit Zip  -  $47.94

My favorite gift to give or get is a Fitbit. The Zip is the cheapest but does what most of the other Fitbits can; it's not only a pedometer but also tracks calories burned, miles, and distance. It syncs to other fitness apps like MyFitnessPal to help achieve weighloss goals. I love giving the Fitbit as gifts because you can compete with your friends and family to see who walked the most that day or week, turning it into a fun little competition. 

What healthy, active presents are you asking Santa for this year?

Getting Back On Track

I haven't posted in over a month and I have about a million excuses but I still feel really guilty. Back in the beginning of December I had finals that I was studying for and I started stress snacking. I know, I know I could have been snacking on good nutritious things but I sabotaged myself. BUT I will have you know that I did get all A's this past semester :) 

After finals it was the holidays and I love holiday treats. My holidays consisted of a smorgasbord of healthy nutritious foods and homemade sugary treats and of course copious amount of Champagne. My workout schedule dwindled down to nothing and now it's time to get back in the game.

For the past 2 weeks I have slowly been fixing my eating and going to the gym at least 30 minutes each day. 

Here are a couple of things I was eating last week. (top left to bottom right) 1.Cranberry walnut salad with feta, 2. Jimmy Dean's Breakfast Delights with the egg removed and two clementines, 3. grilled chicken and cheese quesadilla with grape tomatoes and cilantro, 4. brown rice with black beans, corn, and grilled chicken topped with guacamole, 5. cucumber and hummus.

It's been difficult to get back on track and I am constantly forgetting my lunch at home and having to improvise with what I have at work but I'm slowly getting back to where I was before. 

It's just a good reminded to always stay focused because it's harder to start back up than to just keep going.

Why Do Celebrations Always Equal Food?

This past weekend was the my birthday! :) I had a blast but I noticed something. Why do celebrations (birthdays, graduations, or anything really) always have to be celebrated with boat loads of food and typically it's junk food and the like.

Friday night we went out to dinner to celebrate and I wanted to order a salad. I like salads but I was told that I should "stop dieting tonight and celebrate" my birthday. After going to dinner on Friday night and then going out and having a couple of drinks all I wanted to do on Saturday morning was have a bowl of Greek Yogurt with berries and then go to the gym. For some reason my family thought this meant I was punishing myself for the night before. They wanted to take me out to a big breakfast and that's awesome, breakfast is my favorite meal. But when I said "No" I was told I was being a "Party Pooper." I felt guilty so of course I caved.

Volcano Chicken at Johnny Garlic's (Spicy BBQ Chicken on a bed of garlic mash potatoes.)

As the day progressed I ended up eating even more junk. Later that evening we had a few people over and ordered pizza and bread sticks. (Mmmm carbs.)

Come Sunday I wasn't feel well at all. My stomach was upset from all the garbage and the total lack of any exercise. Now it's Monday and I'm still a bit sluggish and I actually do feel guilty for my behavior. But it really does make me wonder. Why do we have to eat poorly to celebrate an occasion? Isn't feeding our body properly a better way to celebrate, especially on a birthday.

Get Happy

I'll admit I have been a bit of a grump lately. I'm sorry everybody that has had to put up with my Negative Nancy behavior. I've just been in such a bad mood that I couldn't seem to shake it. So I sat down and wrote a couple things that always make me happy. I feel like I'm perking back up.

 Thank heavens! 

1. Listen to music.
This is always my number one go-to feel better trick. I even have a playlist on Spotify specialy made for cheering me up. My Happy Playlist

2. Take a walk around the block.
Some days at work can be so stressful that I just want to cry or scream or a combination of both. Those are the days that I find it especially important to take a walk during lunch. There is a nice little loop that I can walk around the buildings that clocks in at about a little over a mile and it's the perfect way to calm down and take a break.

3. Do a quick exercise routine.
Elle Woods said it best "Exercise gives you endorphins.  Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands" A quick little workout sometimes is all it takes to turn that frown upside down. My favorite quick workout is this one from thinfithot.tumblr.com

4. Phone a friend.
Sometimes all it takes to cheer me up is a familiar loving voice. That's when I call my best friend or my mom. They both know exactly what to say to make me feel better. Or as my mom sometimes says "wake up and stop feeling sorry for yourself."

5. Count your blessings.
When I'm in a really terrible mood I don't want to sit down and think about all the good in my life. I just want to dwell on what's making me mad. But it's always so much better to think about the positive. Even better if I write down a couple things that are particularly great at the moment and realize that life is pretty great.

6. Take a nap.
Other times I just want to give up. When things are that bad it's best if I just take a nap. My bad mood is probably coming from a lack of sleep anyways. I'm not normally one who can take a mid-day nap but when I do you'll know it was because of a particularly terrible day.

7. Drink a cup of tea.
I'm not really all that crazy about tea but I do have to give some credit to Sheldon Cooper when he said "Social protocol states when a friend is upset, you offer them a hot beverage, such as tea." It really does a bit of cheering up when I'm down.

8. Go outside.
Just being outside feels good when the sun is shining. Take a blanket and a good book and just sit outside in the sunshine and read.

9. Take a hot shower.
Pretty self explanatory. Showers are awesome.

10. Take a deep breath.
When I don't have any time to actually do any of these little tricks all I can do is take a deep breath. In through the nose out through the mouth. Just a couple of times and I'm a little calmer and can think a little straighter.

What do you do to cheer up, get happy, or get rid of stress?

New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful, wild & crazy New Year's Eve!

I know that everyone is talking about what they are doing for their resolutions. Weight loss, quit smoking, walk more, they're all common resolutions people make every year. What I need this year is a complete shake up. A total 180 overhaul. As I mentioned in my last post, I've been reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. It has inspired me to start my own Happiness Project as my resolution.

I am in desperate need for a Happiness Project. I am rapidly approaching a quarter life crisis. I am terminally single and all of my friends are getting married and having kids (on purpose). I swear if I see one more engagement announcement I might go lose it. 

Having recently moved 3,000 miles from my hometown, I don't know anyone and working 8+ hours a day (realistically it's more like 9.5 hours) I hardly have time to go out and meet new people.

(For a better explanation of a quarter life crisis check this out. He's hilarious and completely spot on. In fact, I just recently bought myself a new Jeep without having any idea that it had anything to do with the fact that I am experiencing a quarter life crisis.)

Isn't she beautiful? I can't wait to take her to Lake Tahoe.

Gretchen Rubin outlined The Happiness Project by using each month as a different goal. January is probably the easiest month to follow, at least I think so.  

            

Go to sleep earlier.

Exercise better.
Toss, restore, organize.
Tackle a nagging task.
Act more energetic.

 I started by tackling my sleep process. There are far too many things that light up my room at night so I've started using an eye mask.  

I feel so very Audrey.

As for exercising, I'm off to Zumba tonight. I absolutely love Zumba and kick myself every week for skipping it but I resolve to make at least one class a week. As for organizing I will post all my pictures of the crazy OCD organizing that I've begun this week. The only negative I've had so far is that when I tried to accomplish the "Act more energetic" resolution I decided to down an extra large coffee this morning and now I'm all jittery and hyper. 

Are you planning on using some of Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project Resolutions this year? Is anyone else feeling the crash of a quarter life crisis? Girl, keep me posted and maybe we can get through it together.