My Mission

Most Americans find themselves in various dilemmas when it comes to eating and exercise. For me it has been a struggle for most of my life, beginning as an overweight pre-teen and teen. Once I got to college I spent a lot of time running and working out, as I had yet to meet any meaningful friends. As the years progressed (and yes, I did make friends) I tried every combination of diet (low-fat, low-carb), every diet food out there (splenda, a lot of packages foods that claimed to be healthy, Lean Cuisine), and attempted to master several kinds of fitness programs. While I lost about 15 pounds my first year of college (no freshman 15 here!), I was at a standstill for the next three years and would scrutinize everything I put into my mouth. I was giving myself more work than I needed as I was constantly bombarded by fitness and diet information from a variety of sources.

Finally, about a year ago, I started my true destiny towards fitness and being happy and healthy (I may as well add that I have genetically-related high cholesterol and predestined for high blood pressure and degenerative back disease). I watched an infomercial for Beachbody exercise videos and became interested, but not serious because, hello, it was an infomercial product. I did a little more research and decided to give their products a try as they came with a money-back guarantee. I got hooked on Chalene Johnson's Chalean Extreme videos. I was never one to build muscle quickly, but with her I was becoming more defined, but not necessarily as muscular as her product claimed it would make me. Still, I was extremely satisfied with her videos and, doubled with a now balanced diet, free of partially-hydrogenated packaged crap, I lost about another 8 pounds. Although I was healthy and at an ideal weight, I was not at my ideal physique.

Things recently changed again when I came across both Clean Eating and Oxygen magazines. For the past 3 weeks or so I have been reading up on the things both mags had to offer and, although I haven't seen any major results yet (too early), I've revamped my lifestyle to be one of sustainance. The Clean Eating lifestyle that included foods that are as close to nature as possible has given me more energy and I'm no longer bloated from the foods I was eating (I have a very sensitive stomach and easily become bloated or sick). I feel good about myself for the first time, especially because of the workouts I've been following in Oxygen magazine (I modify it with the Chalean strategy of slow, heavy lifting with less reps as that's been the only way for me to tone up). What I appreciate about Oxygen mag is that it has a "tough-love" mentality, as it's geared towards fitness competitors (most fitness magazines geared towards women are not honest and straight-forward about the real work that comes with achieving a lean, toned body and claim their strategies will give you the results you want... I have yet to see that). Now, I'm not planning on competing, but what I need is a kick in the butt to lose my extra belly fat (I carry my weight around the middle) and achieve my goals.

The purpose of this journal will be to share my progress as well as new recipes that I've created based on the clean eating philosophy (and recipes that I find elsewhere). I would love to have those that read this blog share tips and perhaps help both me and each other to understand things we may have questions about and to share personal experiences.

I shall end with a few stats...
Gender: female
Age: 21
Weight (less concerned about than measurements): 117 lb
Height: 5'3"
Measurements in inches: chest (36), waist (27), low waist (32), hips (35.5), arms (about 11.5), right thigh (21.5), left thigh (21)

What I ate and exercised today so far...
Breakfast: egg white omelet (about 1/3 cup) with green peppers and onions, 2 thin slices seeded whole wheat toast, (about) 2 tablespoons of Tofutti cream cheese
Workout: abs, outer thigh, inner thigh, back, chest
Snack (post-workout): pear
Lunch: 3 thin slices soy cheese wrapped with 2 slices of ham and 3 thin slices pastrami total (I know deli meat isn't very clean, but it's all I had today in the house), wedge of cantaloupe
Snack: homemade protein muffin
Dinner: Mexican casserole with organic corn tortillas, salsa, soy cheese, ground beef, black beans, onions, peppers, corn
Snack: 1 cup whole grain cereal (should not have eaten this because cereal is sugary and makes me crave sugar)