Better watch me shine...

So now it's time to show
I'll prove I'm gonna be
The best I can be
- "Watch Me Shine," Joanna Pacitti

I'm writing this fresh out of my post-workout shower. I actually loved  Gold's Gym. I went in thinking I'd take advantage of the free fitness evaluation and 7-day trial, then leave. I really, really liked it though. I love my personal trainer, Shane. He made me feel VERY comfortable (which is saying a lot, since he had to weigh me and measure me in yoga pants and a sports bra), understands what about fitness is most important to women (spoke about motivating yourself by hanging up your favorite cute shirt or something in a smaller size somewhere you can see it everyday before you work out), and really tailored my experience to what I was there for. We talked a lot about the foot surgery I had in college and how that would play into my fitness regimen. He said that when he makes a membership offer, they are only allowed to let you get that cheap rate for 24 hours, and they're supposed to offer it at the tour. He's letting me do the free trial and will offer it at the end so I'll have time to see if Gold's is really right for me. While I really like it and everything it offers, I won't sign up unless it truly fits into my budget. More on that in another post though...

Today is the first official day of the bHappy Project! Funnily enough, today has been a crummy day. Stressed at work, arguing with the boyfriend, and while I love the rain, it's not fun to run around in it all day in heels and a suit. Ah well. I actually loved being able to go to the gym, plug in my iPod, run for 25 minutes, then come home to a cold shower, tall glass of water, and banana.

Let's review the resolutions, shall we? Organize, Start Blog, and Healthy Body.

- Well, a big CHECK to start blog! I will be blogging daily throughout the project, and really want to be able to get creative with it. Pictures, quotes, different types of posts, etc.

- The second resolution is to organize. I really should have done this BEFORE I moved, but we won't spend time over details. I have too much stuff. Really, I shouldn't talk about how poor I am when I have two closets, an entire room of stuff, my walk-in closet at my parents' still full of stuff, and then about 8-12 boxes in my parents' storage unit. My Oma just told me she is having a garage sale the first weekend in October, so this is perfect for having the entire month to clean out, get rid of stuff, and prepare everything for either Goodwill or the garage sale. Part of organizing is to prepare a to-do list that I will be compiling this week of random things that I keep meaning to do, but just "haven't gotten around to." They get done this month. Period.

- Healthy body! So far, I've been doing great on the inside part of this. I became a vegetarian almost 2 weeks ago, and haven't had meat since. I actually discussed this with my mom, dad, and Matt over dinner this weekend. My mom told me it's ok if I want to permanently give up meat, but it's ok if I change my mind too. That's good to hear, because sometimes when you make a big declaration like "I'm no longer eating meat!" it's hard to come back from that if you change your mind. I still feel a lot of meat is unhealthy, but I also have a condition where I can overload on sugar far too easily and it causes problems with my body. When I start showing symptoms, I go on a no-bread, no-sugar diet. Which excludes fruit too. So basically, all I eat is plain meat and veggies for a week to detox and get my system back in check. You know how hard it will be if this happens and I can only survive on veggies? I'm sure that's healthier, and do-able, but I would be miserable. And I am not going to pretend like I won't be. So yes, I'm trying vegetarianism. Right now, it's working for me. If I decide that eventually, it's not for me, or my body needs something different, I will make changes and there's no reason I cannot still be healthy with those changes. Whole Foods regularly has grass-fed beef on sale. So if I'm going to eat meat every once in a while, I can have humanely grown and killed cows that were fed on grass and not given growth hormones or antibiotics. Much healthier, and I feel like my animal-loving karma is still in tact. Whew, that was a long wind on that. In short, my conversation with my parents just vocalized what I know, but needed someone to tell me: these decisions are mine to make, and just as easily mine to change. Otherwise, I'm eating much better now. Fruit every morning for breakfast, veggies or whole-grain toast with hummus and tomato paste for lunch, similar dinner or eggs, etc. I took my "hot pot" to work so that I can boil water at my desk for green tea...I'm giving up all beverages other than tea and water. If I have something like tea to drink at work, I won't be tempted to go for the free coffee they have freshly brewed all throughout the day. Now to the outside part of healthy body: I hesitate to make a fitness plan this week until I decide what I am doing about Gold's Gym. However, regardless of what I specifically do after that decision, I want three workouts during the week, and at least one kind of exercise on the weekend while I'm visiting my boyfriend/family, i.e., 30-minute walk, run on my parents' treadmill, etc.

So that's the plan folks! I know this first month is going to be a little boring probably since it's just kind of dipping my toe into the project, but hopefully, I can keep posts different and fresh. Believe me, the resolutions I have for other months require a lot more work and a lot more "putting myself out there." I'm excited to get started!