Pilot blog: The one with the introduction

My name is Erin, I am an individual striving to be as fit as I can. AND have fun. Taking life or ANYTHING too seriously generally results in more stress than is necessary. Am I right? SO... I have decided to write about my life, my strengths and weaknesses when it comes to matters of life, fitness and FUN. I love wine, I am as Irish as they come and generally no meal comes with out a glass, or bottle of wine. In fact people ask me what kind of wine I like and I think, "are there some not to like?" SO now I am figuring out a balance between fun and being fit. First, let's begin with my fitness background:

As a kid I was NOT an athlete. Far from it in fact. I was the kid that took 15 minutes to get through the mile run, mostly walking and talking to my girl friends and hating EVERY minute of it. As I got older this was a similar story. In college, I moved to a more active community that forced me to get off my butt. I got into a little hiking, light running, and tried various hype workouts and diets. I have never been very big, but I was bigger than I wanted to be. For years I would go up and down in weight due to phases of being more active and crash dieting. I had a very negative body image because of it. In my late 20's I got sick, now that I look back on it I realize how long I wasn't feeling great. It was close to 3 years. At 29, I was really sick, dizzy and weak was having mouth and intestinal issues and I could not workout at all. After a series of tests and a variety of "maybe it's this diagnoses" I found out I had Celiac disease. Celiac is an autoimmune disease that is basically an extreme gluten allergy. Watching what I put into my body to this level can suck but it has also helped me to become the better version of myself that I am today. After I began feeling better, and believe me I hadn't felt like that in YEARS, I wanted to get back into shape. It is hard to be in that place, believe me I know. I was REALLY out of shape, weak and scared shitless of the gym. So I started on my own, I bought a treadmill. Sold it. I bought an elliptical, sold that guy too. I was at a loss. Besides hiking I really had no clue what to do. I decided to join a friend on a kettle bell weight class for women. I was so nervous, I wanted to vomit the whole way there. I drove with my friend so I didn't have the ability to chicken out. The class was great and it was awful. I felt great and I felt like an idiot. I hit myself in the knees countless times. That day, began my journey. I committed to going twice a week, and this quickly turned into three times a week. I began to fall in love with weight lifting, with the way it made my body feel and mostly the way it made my mind feel. I was more clear, more energetic and stronger! I started to see a change in my body also in a way I had never seen before! Six months in I decided to take it up a notch, I got a trainer who got me into heavier lifting and strength training. This brings me to where I am now... I am over a year into weight training. In that year, I ran my first 10k and half marathon. I have lifted over my body weight and I have lost over 8 percent body fat. I have thrown away my scale! (It doesn't matter in weight lifting!)

                                                            I am a better me. 

So this brings me to the purpose of this blog: I want to inspire others to change their lives! To set goals, and accomplish them. It feels amazing to be proud of what you have accomplished. I am currently a week into a new routine. I have altered my diet. While I always have been a healthy eater, and much more so due to the Celiac disease, I still needed to take a look at my habits and make some changes in order to bring myself to the next level.

Diet AND exercise are the keys to success no matter what level you are at! This girl still wants to have her cake and eat it too so this is what my new plan looks like:
Monday-Friday (one hour strength workout, plus 2-3 runs)
NO BOOZE (UGH... boo)
40% protein
30% veggie
30% carbs/fat

I also have to eat every 3-4 hours... I thought this would be tough but with all of the workouts I am STARVING! I usually have two main meals and then shakes or snacks in the in between hours.

Saturday and Sunday are for fun.. I have realized that I can have fun without going too crazy but I do have my wine, a cheat meal or two... These are what I like to call "sanity days."

My hope through this blog is to share my story, my day to day struggles and at the same time help you all out with your journey. I will also share workouts, recipes and other fun things that will get us to our goals and through our days! I will be sharing photos of my journey as well, but for now a little FUN!

                                                                What are your goals?

WORKOUT OF THE DAY!

THE "100"

Cardio: 25 minute interval run

(this is great for beginners and experienced runners) 

Run 2 minutes, walk 1 minute

Don't stop! You can do anything for 25 minutes. 

25 jumping jacks

25 air squats 

25 lunges (each leg) 

AND YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE 100! 

I recommend repeating.. should take  little over an hour! 

                                    Please feel free to ask questions and share your stories!