Working on Fitness

ok. i am not as dedicated as staying healthy as i need to be. i admit that i'm pretty good at finding reasons not to work out and i tend to serve myself that second helping more often than i should. but i have exercised every morning this week!

since it's so dang cold outside, i've had to find ways to get my cardio indoors. one of my favorites is doing sets of jumping jacks while holding light weights. also, boxing while holding weights really works up a sweat.

this morning i tried the circuit workout from Lauren Conrad's  7 Days to Skinny Jeans plan.

• 100 jumping jacks
• 20 crunches
• 20 squats
• 10 pushups 
• 25 bench dips (i couldn't do these because the chair kept sliding on the hardwood floors)
• 60 second wall sit
• 60 second plank 
• and repeat!

this was harder than i thought it would be, but i felt so accomplished afterwards and it only took about 20 minutes!

since the living room is the only area large enough to exercise in, i watched How I Met Your Mother while i worked out, but i generally prefer to listen to music. here are some of my favorite workout songs.

• Hey Boy Hey Girl - The Chemical Brothers
• Nightmare - Avenged Sevenfold
• Hella Good - No Doubt
• The Boys are Back in Town - Thin Lizzy
• Mambo #5 - Lou Bega
• Knockout - Lil Wayne & Nicki Minaj
• Wannabe - Spice Girls
• Dirty Little Secret - The All American Rejects
• Mony Mony - Billy Idol
• What The Hell - Avril Lavigne

i realize that working out is futile without the right diet. i eat a healthy breakfast (and lunch and dinner) most days. dinner is when i mess up and always get seconds when i'm not still hungry; i just want more. starting tonight i'm going to make a conscious effort to stop myself before i get that second helping of noodles. 

i eat dinner with the family every night, but breakfast and lunch i eat alone, so tomorrow morning i think i'll try this breakfast quinoa recipe (also part of the 7 Days To Skinny Jeans plan)!
*a note - this recipe, though delicious, takes quite a bit of time. to boil milk you have to use medium/low heat and stir pretty often to keep it from scorching. the whole process takes me 30-45 minutes. so if you work in the mornings (i don't), this might be a breakfast best saved for the weekend.