Fashion and Fitness (My Recommendations!)

For many people, throwing on a pair of old sweats and a ratty t-shirt is the perfect gym outfit. I mean, you're only going to get sweaty and gross anyway so what's the point in looking nice. That's how I used to think. I would throw my hair up in a messy ponytail and throw on an outfit I didn't give two hoots about and would make my way to the gym. When I got there, I found that I really did care about how I looked and looking all grubby did not motivate me at all to work out or push myself to get results.

My mindset began to change when I noticed how awesome fitness apparel was. There were so many options and I was missing out on them completely! Being the fashion lover that I am, I decided to change up what I wore. I threw out my raggedy looking tanks and worn sweatpants and replaced them vivid cutoffs and sweat wick leggings. I found that changing my wardrobe definitely motivated me to go to the gym more. By looking good, I felt good and it only pushed me to get my results to feel even better.

Sometimes wearing motivational things helps me focus

This showed me that I should strive to be the best and in this case, look my best in all aspects of my life. Think about it, when take the time to put yourself together and look your best, you feel like you can conquer the world. This can be applied in everything that you do, including fitness. Now I'm not saying you have to put on a whole face of makeup (though if that makes you comfortable, go for it! Those who judge don't matter), but wear something that is comfortable but also makes you feel good. I enjoy matching my outfit with the shoes I'm wearing or choosing that will add a pop of color, whether it be my socks or top.

 One of my favorite pair of sneakers

Whether you are a gym veteran or noob, think about changing your style once in a while. If you're stumped on what to wear, here are some of my recommendations and favorites!

1-Nike Legendary Tights

2-Under Armour Coldgear Compression Leggings

3-Under Armour Heatgear Sonic 2.5 Shorty

4-Old Navy Printed Compression Capris

5-Old Navy Mesh Bubble Tank

6-Forever 21 Muscle Tanks

7-Aerie Chiffon Back Tank

8-Under Armour Toxic Six Sneakers

9-Nike Free 5.0+

10-Converse Chuck Taylor Classic Colors

I hope this was helpful! If you have any questions please let me know in the comment section, I will try my best to answer it!

Surviving the Holidays

So, let me start by saying that I have tried to write a post multiple times since I've created this blog. For some reason, I've hated each one and those entries are sitting in the draft box looking all sad and lonely until I fix them up. To be honest, I don't know why it's so hard for me to come up with an entry for you all. Perhaps, since it is so personal, I tend to find myself thinking about what to write instead of just letting my thoughts form.

Anyway, enough about my writer's block. We all know the holidays are here. Along with them comes social gatherings and heaping amounts of delicious, but high caloric foods. Like this lovely photo:

And we've all been in the same predicament. You've been good with eating right and exercising. Your palms get sweaty as the absorbent amount of dishes are spread on the table and you have a tough decision to make. Do you offend your hosts and decline to gorge yourself in the deliciousness or do you stuff your face? Now I'm going to tell you something that may surprise some of you. I say that you should eat whatever you want till your little piggy is content. I'm not one to tell people to completely deprive themselves of foods they enjoy, especially during the holidays. I've learned that deprivation often leads to gorging and binge eating.

Before you pick up that fork and stuff your face with twice baked potatoes and cream spinach, know that when I say enjoy yourself, it only means that day. Many people think they can just blow their eating habits the week of Thanksgiving or Christmas because, "hell, I'm only going to stuff my face in a few days anyway, these few days won't hurt." That's the mistake. The week of Thanksgiving, I made sure not to indulge myself and to go the gym to bust out some kick ass workouts. Failure only happens when you don't plan accordingly.

Here I am the morning of Thanksgiving

If you find that you are hosting this year's holiday get together, then you are lucky. There are so many recipes you can find on the internet catered to those who prefer to eat healthier and lighter. You can opt to make a few of those dishes instead of the traditional high calorie dishes. For those of us who can't host or need to travel to different families, plan out your week. Take into account that your favorite Aunt will be making her famous Silk pie you've had a hankering since last year and skip the fast food joint. That way, when the day comes, you can have a big slice of that pie and thoroughly enjoy it knowing you behaved yourself the days before. 

Surviving the holidays isn't really hard. In fact we make it harder for ourselves with the continuous gorging before and after the social gathering. 

My final thoughts on the topic: Put on your stretchy pants and enjoy yourself during dinner. If you want seconds, go for it. This just means that the next day, you hop out of bed and go have a great workout and resume your routine of watching what you eat. You have to remember that life will always throw curve balls (or cupcakes if you prefer) at you. It's how you handle it that will determine the end result.