PostGrad in Progress

Friday, February 17, 2017

Friday Favorites

TGIF!! Am I right? And for those of us who observe market holidays PTL (praise the lord, Mom), we have a 3 day weekend! I am pretty sure 3 day weekends are my love language. You get a day for fun, a day for rest, and a day for productivity. Sounds pretty great to me!

I'm linking up with Andrea, Narci, and Erika to share our favs.

ONE

I shared a post close to my heart yesterday...I'm working on practicing more self-care in 2017. I want to set my focus on making my life fulfilling with simple pleasures. If you didn't have a chance to read it, I would love to hear your thoughts!

On Tuesday, I put my money where my mouth is and decided to take. a random day off of work. I had a lot of things on my to do list and I knew it would invigorate me to cross them off. I slept in a little, had a good workout, and crossed off lots from my to- do list! But I still managed to fit in time for a pedicure....

...and a long walk with my boo. It was a beautiful day to get outside!

TWO

My parent's are the best. They are coming up to visit on Saturday...whoo hoo! They made my day on Tuesday by sending my little love a Valentine's Day card!

I mean...can you handle the cuteness!?!

Also, my Dad regularly sends me texts like this one:

THREE

I shared with y'all on Monday my favorite types of workouts. I went to Orange Theory this week as normal and it killed me...as normal! I want to prove it to y'all. I wear old workout clothes, I have my hair in a messy bun, I sweat from every surface, and I turn the color of a tomato. Want proof?

Even my eyelids are red! Also, I squatted so hard this week that I ripped my shorts. RIP

What workouts kept you motivated this week?

FOUR

As always, breakfast has been my favorite meal of the day. I could eat breakfast food for every meal! I love trying new recipes for breakfast. I always try to incorporate a lot of protein, some carbs, and veggies cooked in fat. My breakfast is crucial for muscle repair because it is my first meal of the day after a hard workout!

My current breakfast obsessions are pan-fried plantains and chorizo. NOMZ. What should I try in the morning? Any interest in food posts?

What are y'all up to this weekend? See you back here next week! xo

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Bringing Back Self-Care

Today's post is brought to the thoughts weighing heavily on my mind this week. I talked a little bit before about how 2017 is my hear of taking better care of myself.

If I'm being honest with y'all last week had me feeling empty and unfulfilled. I kept telling my friends that I felt unfulfilled but I couldn't really grasp why. I was feeling uninspired with work and my social life and some of my food issues seemed to rear their ugly heads.

I haven't mentioned this yet, but I experimented with Whole 30. I will dedicate a whole post to my thoughts on Whole 30, if y'all have any interest. But my point in bringing it up today is that I think it actually set me back in a lot of ways. It requires you to be super restrictive with your food choices. It also makes it impossible to eat out and/or drink. I felt like I couldn't join in with my friends on any social occasions. Charlotte is full of incredibly diverse and delicious restaurants, which I often frequent with my friends...but Whole 30 took that away from me. I was eating really clean, I was sleeping more than ever, and never eating out but I felt unhealthy socially. I am the poster child for an extrovert. I thrive off of meals with my friends full of laughing and trying new dishes. So I was unfulfilled in that regard. I hated turning down going to a bar with my friends to celebrate birthdays, football games, and long work days, solely because I didn't want to be around the temptation. Whole 30 just wasn't for me.

That was quite the tangent, but a necessary footnote to bringing back self-care. After my tough week, I knew I needed to craft a weekend to bring me back to life. The pieces fell into place. My Mom texted me during the week saying they had free tickets to the Biltmore. After a lot of back and forth we decided to go on Sunday and 2 of my friends could join us. Also, my friends and I decided to try this new delicious brunch spot, Little Spoon, Saturday morning. I planned to preface our brunch with an Orange Theory class. Saturday afternoon, my roomie and I planned on seeing Fifty Shades Darker. I was so excited to have a full weekend that still had some time for restful nights.

Saturday started with a 9:15 am Orange Theory class. Followed by a delicious brunch...the pictures don't even do the meal justice! Their menu is sectioned off to have "snacks" i.e. small bites of deliciousness followed by the appetizers. I have been dreaming about my coconut milk latte everyday since.

I was feeling so FULLfilled. Get it? Okay, that's annoying. But in all seriousness, I was incredibly full and it was a beautiful day. My roomie and I decided to take Gigi on a midday walk, one of my favorite types of self-care. I love getting outside while the sun is shining and I love spending time with my pup.

We then saw Fifty Shades Darker, which was a fantastic excuse to drink an electric blue slushie. Oops!

The next morning we were. up and 'em early to head to Asheville for the day.

My roomie came!

We did the auto tour...such nerds! haha

My girl, Maria, came too!

The wallpaper in this one was so beautiful.

I loved their "gym."

The house was so ornate in the best possible way. Every detail was incredibly intricate and unique from room to room. It is fascinating to think of all the blood, sweat, and tears went into building such a magnificent house.

It was a relatively busy weekend but it was so rewarding. I felt myself come back to life. I am vowing to be intentional with my self-care. I carry around a small notebook that I picked up while in Belgium.

Pssst...if you ever want to hear about my Belgium trip click here and here.

I jot down what's on my mind, blog ideas, lists, etc. when they come to mind so I don't forget them. I'm hoping to jot down ideas for intentional self-care...some examples...

-Talking to my Grandma
-Buying a thoughtful gift for someone
-Reading a book
-Walking Gigi on a pretty day
-Reading my favorite blogs

How do you guys involve self-care into your everyday life? Thanks for listening to me babble.

xo

Monday, February 13, 2017

50 Shades of Workouts

Did that header grab your attention? Who was expecting something a little kinkier early this morning? Sorry to disappoint but that is NOT what this post is about. I wanted to talk a little about my style of workout and what I've found to work best for me.

If there's one word to describe my style of workout it's "punitive." HA! Hence the title. And no, I'm not regressing back to the days of my self-destructive habits but more so I enjoy workouts that leave nothing behind. The satisfaction that I feel when I leave everything I have in the gym is what gets me out of bed in the morning. My workouts usually leave me shaking, sore, flushed, and dripping with sweat and I love it. Is it just me, or is it weird that I like to see sweat drip off my nose onto the floor when I do a push-up? I'm sure I lost some people with that one.

In my opinion, a crucial part to success in health and wellness is to find what makes you tick and running with that. I don't think I've nailed down all my "ticks" but one I'm sure of is that I thrive off of morning workouts and specifically workouts that involve cardio AND weight training. I always joke that I'm like a Lab and need to be run. All jokes aside, it's so true for me! I am very high energy and fast pace so setting the tone for my day with a workout that gets my heart pumping and pushes my muscles is imperative.

Back, around 9 months ago, my friend Sara (HI SARA!) introduced me to Orange Theory Fitness and #thatsallshewrote. Orange Theory has been such a sense of solace for me. It clears my head, lessens my anxiety, pushes me, and makes me stronger. For those of you not familiar, Orange Theory is a 1 hour class that focuses half of class on cardio, mostly running, and half on strength training. I feel that because of Orange Theory, I'm truly in the best shape of my life. I can run a 5k, I can do a push-up , and I finally started seeing more tone in my body. I overall feel mentally and physically stronger.

Here I am after a killer Orange Theory workout...red face and pouring with sweat!

I am by no means a trainer but I wanted to share some of my favorite killer workouts. If you are someone who is very time poor, doing high reps of these workouts will really have you feeling that punitive workout in a short amount of time.

Burpees
Love to hate them but they are a total body workout with no weights required. For an added challenge add a pushup to your sequence.

Jump squats
If you put your weight in your heels and keep your core strong it can be an exhausting movement in no time.

Plank Jacks
Basically, you put yourself in a plank position with your forearms flat on the ground then jump your feet out like a jumping jack.

Hand release push-ups
Everyone knows a general push-up but this one is a doozy! You do a push-up but lower your body all the way to the ground till you can "release your hands," hence the name. Then push yourself back up to complete the rep.

Hopefully those explanations make sense! What have you found works for you in your workouts?

Friday, February 10, 2017

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday! This week has been a doozy for me. My heart wasn't in this week. I'm looking forward to having a restorative weekend! I am trying a yummy new brunch spot with my friends on Saturday morning. For those local to the Charlotte area it's Little Spoon in Selwyn. Then on Sunday I'm heading to Asheville to see the Biltmore with my parents and 2 of my friends. I think this weekend will be just what the doctor ordered. So that being said, I'm linking up with Andrea, Narci, and Erika to share what I'm loving this week!

ONE

My coworker and I have started an afternoon tradition. Every afternoon around 2 or 3 we have tea time! We get excited about it everyday. It's a yummy, warm "treat" to get us through the afternoon slump. I've always loved tea...I remember drinking tea as a little girl. Granted, it was mostly sugar when I was little ha!

I sometimes after dinner have a cup of decaffeinated tea like Chamomile. It's like a hug in a mug! Okay, I hate myself for saying that.

Also, my mug doesn't hurt. Isn't it the cutest? I usually drink Twinings tea...either plain ole black tea or Darjeeling!

TWO

I never thought I would say this, but I've begun to enjoy podcasts. I love listening to one on my way to work or throwing headphones in while I take Gigi on a walk. Of course, the podcasts I enjoy are nutrition and fitness oriented. It really is my passion! Here are the ladies I've been listening to...

Cassy Joy @ Fed+Fed