Sorry I'm Not Sorry Link Up!

Hey friends!

So I'm trying to do this link up with Crystal Michelle's Mess and I'm actually just blogger challenged haha. Ok I think I figured it out. Probably not. Whatever.

First things first, one of my favorite bloggers, the fabulous Holly at Where We Can Live Like Jack & Sally, has posted her final blog post. Can we just talk about the little baby tears that were forming in my eyeballs while reading her post? I was at my desk with this depressed/pathetic look on my face. It's fine. Go on over and read some of her posts, you'll feel sad too. Because Holly is freakin hilarious. She was the first blog I sponsored and I really felt like I was being taken under a mama bird's wing. Le sigh...the blog world is a little less bright today.

On to the link up!

It's with Crystal Michelle's Mess and Hands on Pants Off and I'm excited because I'm slightly crazy as it is, so this just gives me another reason to publicize my crazy. This is the pet peeve edition, so here we gooo:

1. Sorry I'm Not Sorry..but if your hair is lookin all sorts of jacked up in public, I will most likely call you out and I will most likely not be nice about it. I am allll for the messy bun lady friends, don't get me wrong. And I'm all about lookin like a hobo in the confines of your humble abode. But when that messy bun has lint stuck to it or it looks like you took some bizarre ass color that did not grow out of your head and placed it in your head anyways, and you are over the age of 17, you look a hot ass mess. And for my black lady friends, if I see you in your night scarf or hair bonnet, we. will. have. issues. Pleaseeee just don't do it. If you don't know what a hair bonnet is.....

you're welcome.

2. Sorry I'm Not Sorry..but country music makes me want to do mean things to puppies. And you guys know how I feel about puppies/dogs. (Speaking of dogs, my dog, Tiger, got expelled from daycare today hahaha my life is a mess) I just can't do country music. Maybe it's the general theme of it all that just makes me laugh at it..instead of with it. Is that rude? Probably. It all sounds the same to me. Dogs on porches, rebel flags, beer, christmas lights in july....I CAN'T.

3. Sorry I'm Not Sorry..ok this is a really weird pet peeve, but when people don't finish stories I get VERY ANGRY. For example, if we're talking and you're telling me a story/anything and you get distracted, I'll get annoyed. But when I reel your ass back in, and you say, "Oh wait, what was I saying? What were we talking about?", I feel like you've given me permission to light your hair on fire. Why weren't you paying attention!? Now I'm invested in this and you've moved on!!....I literally sound like a psychopath.

4. Sorry I'm Not Sorry..but if you do not know the rules of right-of-way, you don't need a license. You should just take public transportation forever because right now you're in danger of being rear ended by an angry black girl in an SUV who is tired of your shenanigans. You wanna see crazy? Put someone who drives slow, and doesn't know that it's their turn to go through the intersection in front of me. Woooo lawdy.

5. Sorry I'm Not Sorry.. but if you're any kind of instagram fitness/lifestyle account, but you're NOT a certified...anything, CUT THE SHIT with your wack ass meal plans and workout plans. Whooooo in the hell told you that you were qualified to do that? Just because whatever the hell you did worked for you, does NOT mean that you should become SueAnn's personal trainer/coach/guru/bff Jill. Especially when you've never met SueAnn and you're charging her SueAnn precious dollhairs that she could save to buy herself a damn gym membership and some freakin vegetables. Nothing pisses me off more. I don't wanna be that crazy person on instagram who goes around bashing people, so I just keep my opinions to myself and unfollow, but one of these days I'm gonna flip a shit on someone. 

6. Sorry I'm Not Sorry.. but if you judge dogs by their breed I'm gonna go find a really angry chocolate lab and that little sucker run rampant on your ass just to prove you wrong. Crazy dogs are crazy dogs. Yes, my pit bull/jack russell terrier mix is a freakin terrorist and is aggressive towards people and dogs, but I have no doubt that if she were a chihuahua raised in the same environment, she would still be a terrorist. Note: my dog was crazy when I got her, I didn't make her crazy! I'm a hella obsessive good dog mom. 

7. Sorry I'm Not Sorry.. but when bloggers do product review posts for dumb products I get super annoyed. I know your ass is getting paid to do it, so at least make it a good product that I might wanna use and that actually fits into a post. Like gahhhh damn. The best product you could find to review/get paid for was a freakin Bic Pen? Seriously? Yes, everyone uses pens, but your story about your bic pen is completely forced and irrelevant to life. One more time and you lose a follower on bloglovin. And I know that shit is precious to you, because you're writing fuckin bic pen reviews. End rant.

8. Sorry I'm Not Sorry... but it really bothers me when people look at other people's food and turn up their noses/say "what is that?" or something to that effect. I don't know why. Probably because I was the kid who actually enjoyed the cafeteria food in highschool and in college #awkward. To this day if someone says that, I look at them with the most serious face, and say, "dog poop". I'm an immature child. I know.

9. Sorry I'm Not Sorry.. but if you're walking slow in the mall, I will be that over dramatic person behind you that all but shoves you out of the way. I understand window shopping, I really do. But get out da way if you're doin that. Another thing with people in the mall is the people who think it's ok to come to a DEAD halt in the middle of the walkway. Like hello, no not ok. Trying to walk here. Love that scene from Ms. Congeniality.

10. Sorry I'm Not Sorry..but if you doubt mine or any woman's ability to lift weights/grow muscles, I will cut your pinky toe off. And you know you need that guy for balance. So just don't do it. Because women are bad ass bitches from hell and we don't take shit from nobody. And it's just common sense that obviously women can grow muscles. So you just sound dumb. This jackass in the gym found it necessary to educate me on the kind of shoes I should wear while lifting and he just made it so easy for me to completely shut him down. He told me I should wear my running shoes instead of converse. YEA OK BRO. Just because I wear cute outfits, make sure my headband/shirts match, and my boobs are on the big side, doesn't mean I don't know what I'm doin homie. Back up off me, or I will get sassy.

This was really fun and I feel like I got a lot off my chest, so thanks for that blog friends.

Got work in the morning because I'm about that part time plus full time work life. Lol jk no I'm not, I'm quitting my part time, hopefully sooner rather than later. But I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

What are some of your pet peeves? Please tell me so I don't feel crazy..

-Crystal

Not much over heeeere

Not much to say over here folks. Life has been all over the fuckin place though. I'm not quite sure I should talk about allllllll my crazy life dramas because ya know, privacy, but who knows. I'm gonna try my hand at a link up tomorrow on Crystal Michelle's Mess because it looks like fun and I've never done one! If you don't see it, well then it's because I couldn't figure out how to do it.

Also good news: Tiger didn't get kicked out of daycare today! This is a monumental moment. She's off her crazy pills because the damn doctor said she's not due for a refill for a couple days. WEIRD, She's already finished the bottle and I gave her prescribed doses! Do not make me come over there and raise hell. I will fight someone for my dog's meds....I sound like I need some of those pills.

Ugh my life. Awkward, fell asleep with the keyboard in my lap. Night amgas.

-Crystal

Last Thursday update? Awkward.

Hey friends. Know how I'm feelin? I;m feelin like I'm walking to the principal's office with a fake note for skipping school for like 4 days in a row. Sorryyyyy. Weird, I actually had things to say last Friday, but I didn't because it was freaking hot out and when it's hot I get crabby. And when I get crabby, I clean. So yea, weird excuse but it is what it is.

What I wanted to talk about was a craaaaazy workout on Thursday. My gym has bootcamp classes twice a week, and I've only been to the Saturday class, which is an older crowd. So I figured the Thursday class would be about the same.

 I WAS WRONG. VERY WRONG.

I don't remember every bit, but let's just chat about the fact that it was the workout from the devil himself.
It was partner style, so I saddled up close to the buffest girl in the room to challenge myself to keep up with her. So the instructor says that every exercise will be a set of 100. We did 100 burpees. While your partner did her 25, 50 however you guys wanna break it up to get 100 done, you have to do wall sits.

After burpees/wall sits, we did jump squats/tricep holds, then pushups/bull dog holds, tuck jumps/more burpees......followed all this with a forever long run around the room.

I burned 730 calories in an hour and I felt AMAZING. Don't get this confused with how I felt during the workout. Because that was hell. But after, I felt quite nice. Also I was major creep and chatted with my partner about what kinds of exercises she does, because girl was BUFF. She had a pretty athletic build, defined muscles, and I was majorly girl crushin. Motivation? Uhh yes. Not in a, I wanna be just like you kinda way. But in a, this girl wears makeup to the gym, wears cute gym clothes, and could probably lift twice as much as half the guys in here. Bad. Ass. Don't judge a girl in the gym by her makeup my friends.

Moving on to Memorial Day weekend, I hope you guys had a good one! I had to work Saturday and Sunday, because life is unfair, but I did enjoy time with my family, as well as enjoying a day off on Monday. I'm moving with mom and brother tomorrow, until I move again with the boyfriend in July, so we've been busy packing and whatnot. I've been trying to keep my food in tact as much as possible, but I'm not gonna lie and say its been perfect. If anything, I haven't been eating enough. I know, I know, I should've meal prepped, but of course my mother packed all of the pots and pans. Way to go, mom. I'm tryin. I'm at least keepin up with my workouts, so hopefully there won't be a gain this week!

How was the long weekend for you guys?!
-Crystal

Today has been a day.

I'm no expert. We've established this. What I am, is an ex-fatty. That's all I've got. And ya know what? Today I'm having a crap day. I woke up feelin good, scale showed me a good number, took the stairs instead of the elevator to my office, and theeeen I got inside. Not only was the coffee pot already empty, but I burned my bagel. For the second day in a row. Then my coworker, who I already dislike, started bitchin and whinin about random crap. And theeeen my building had a tenant appreciation BBQ. Did I eat any? NOPE. Did I want some? HELL YES. This resulted in me eating lunch by myself at my desk.

And theeeen my BFF Aunt Flow came to visit, the little bitch. So, naturally, I'm feeling about 15 pounds heavier because I bloat like a preggo beluga whale. True story, my friends. Did I go to the gym? Nope. Ya know why? Because it feels like the devil is clawing at my insides. I know, I know, working out makes cramps feel better, but today, I wanted to moan and roll around in my bed in pain while my dog gives me dirty looks. I will say, that instead of finding the nearest pint of Ben&Jerry's and dunking my head in it, I ate a solid cup of trail mix. Lots of fat, but at least it's healthy fat. Am I right, or am I right?

Now that I'm done complaining about my shitty day, let's chat about the plan of action moving forward.

How I felt at work today.

Tomorrow, I'm not weighing myself, because that is a dumbass thing to do when I'm obviously holding on to a buttload more water weight. I will proceed to drink my gallon of water, because we all know the more water you drink, the less your body holds onto. I will go for a run after work and then go to the gym and work my biceps and triceps, because I'll feel like a beast afterwards.  I will eat my planned meals and not wander off to the snack closet at work that is full of candy, soda, and oreos.

I know one day of being a bum and potentially eating a pop tart won't hurt me (uhhh you didn't hear that part...), but still, picking yourself up after a day of being unmotivated is hard no matter the length of time. What I can say, is that motivation comes in the CRAZIEST forms sometimes. For some people, it's simple, and they just decide to change. For some people it takes time, tears, shame, and embarrassment to get that kick in the ass. For me, it was realizing that I needed to buy a size 18 pants. I will never ever get back to that point, and that is my motivation. Find yours and run with it. If you're still waiting for yours, make small changes daily, and it will come.

This post may be super all over the place, but yea. Emotions are all over the place and I just finished watching 2 season finales so I'm also distracted. And it's 11 pm and I have a headache.

Tiger is also being a jackass today. Not helping my situation. But she's so cuuuuute :)

P.S. I just found the greatest thing and I'm considering buying it because I have no self control when I'm having that time of the month. Ladies, meet the Kitchen Safe. Lock junk food, credit cards, car keys on drunken nights and all that crap in here for any amount of time.

You can buy this sucker/find out more about it HERE. Now, excuse me while I go convince my boyfriend that this is completely necessary. He will most likely say no. It's fine.

Buh-bye now!
-Crystal

Life as of Late

Hey friends, yea I may or may not have not blogged for a week straight. I don't even know what happened haha. Work got really busy. Boss man gave me a project that took up my entire life. ANYWHO. I'm back. Recap on the past week? Yes.

1. The boyfriend and I got approved for our first apartment! We move in July 14!

2. I had this deliciousness on Saturday afternoon. It's from &Pizza on U Street in Washington, D.C.!! I have no idea if they're a franchise or not. The boyfriend suggested it while we were in the city to get his haircut. You pick out your dough, sauce, and all of your toppings and it bakes right in front of you in one of those rotating oven things. Obivously the inner fat girl in me got excited and I put a million toppings on it. Oops! From what I remember, I had multigrain dough, garlic cream sauce instead of marinara, broccoli, mushrooms, artichokes, spicy chicken, mini pepperoni, four cheese blend, aaaaand prosciutto! It. Was. Amazing. I would recommend this over any restaurant ever. Yea, it was that serious. 

3. This picture makes it look like I went walking. But I assure you, this is a big ass hill in my neighborhood. Today I ran to the hill (1/4 mile),10 rounds of hill sprints and 10 rounds of hill jumps (literally jumping up a hill), followed by 20 minutes of 25 minutes of tabata style cardio, and then I ran home. Google tabata if you don't know what it is, you'll fall in love. I did squat jumps, mountain climbers, switch jump lunges, and burpees. I did it alllll outside because it was just freakin gorgeous. I didn't care if people were looking at me (they most definitely were) because I was the one working out while they were casually walking by yappin on their cell phones. I win. Burned almost 600 calories under an hour!

4. Got my Influenster VoxBox! Influenster is suuuuch a cool website. You sign up (might have to wait on a waiting list, not long though) and then you get started doing surveys, giving feedback on products, and stuff like that. You only do surveys that interest you and give reviews on products you've actually tried, so its not obnoxious. If they're doing a big review on a "genre" of products you've done surveys on, then you may have a chance to get a box in the mail to do a review on! Obviously I'm all about health and staying active, so I did a lot of those surveys. So when they did this round of product reviews, I was selected to get one! I'll be doing a product review once I've tried everything in the box. I got a spa lotion, shaker bottle (that my dog chewed up...little asshole), arch support inserts (I'm so excited for these!! My feet are flatter than pancakes, ugh), meal replacement shakes, tampax sport, aaand a foot scrub thing for calluses. I'm super pumped. *I received these products complimentary for testing purposes from Influenster*

5. Lastly, I tried Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream this weekend! It's from this cool new place called The NiceCream Factory, in Clarendon (little sub sect of Arlington, VA). Weird, right? So this is how it works, from my understanding. I had the nutella ice cream. So they literally put cream, some nutella, and liquid nitrogen, in a mixer and mix that ish up. 60 seconds later you have deeelicious ice cream. It's very cream, almost like a custard. 

I'm sure you're thinkin, hmmm lots of treats it sounds like, Crystal...But I assure you, I worked all of these treats in to my macros. I'm not about that deprivation life. I'm still young, and while I do want to watch what I eat and make sure its 85-90% clean, I'm not gonna be that person bringing my own meals out with me when I'm trying to have a good time with my friends. I'm  I worked out Sunday morning and burned over 1000 calories between running 3 miles and going to body pump. We also had to walk a mile there and back to the ice cream place....aaaand I was wearing heels. So yea, calves were on fire this morning when I woke up. In any case, I'm trying to break out of the 170s in the nearish future, so I am gonna try to keep it closer to 100% clean for a while. I'm still seeing progress so I'm a happy camper!

My sister Rachael gave me more ideas for blogging (basically things she wants me to talk about hahaha) so you'll see more of those this week!

Later friends,

Crystal

Not a Single Macro was Counted..

Well, as my title reads....the whole moderation thing was a big ole bust.

Friday started out so well. I got on the road at 11:30 and I was feeling good about my food options. Before, I would pack all sorts of junk for the trip down to Va Beach, which is around 3 hours from Northern Va. I'm talkin candy, soda, aaaand chips..all for just 3 hours. I would use any excuse to justify eating all the goods. This time, I packed some healthy goodness. Check it outtt!

I picked up a water bottle about 30 minutes into the drive, when I got gas (gas is absurdly priced near my house, because I live near DC) mostly because my A/C is dead. I also packed a little mix of cherries, pineapples, and mangos to keep me happy. I fully realize that sometimes I eat out of boredom, so at least I'm eating healthy instead of stuffing my pie hole with junk. Baby steps, folks. 

Once I got down there, 5 AND A HALF HOURS LATER (Traffic was despicable. I'm still mad about it.), we did some shopping and that was pretty great. This is the outfit I bought for the night out.

This is not the best photo of it, but that skirt is a medium (!!!) and the shirt is also a medium (!!!!) I was pretty excited for both. I think the last time I wore a skirt like that, it was an XL and I had no business wearing it haha. Anyways, we were heading out to a bar near the beach, hence the flip flops. Everything is pretty casual down there.. We did a little (a lot) of drinking aaaand yea. It felt like college all over again, and I have zero regrets! The next day we didn't wake up till 10 (which is super late for me) and then we promptly went back to sleep (aaand cue hangovers for all 3 of us). We got lunch took another nap, ate dinner, and proceeded to lay around the rest of the night just laughing and gossiping. You can check out the picture of me and the amigas on my Instagram! 

I really had all intentions of working out, but they went right out the window after that 6th shot...ugh the college girl in me was just begging to come out, so I let her! I rarely go out and rarely drink, and I've been super stressed lately, so hey, I had some fun. No regrets here! Although I definitely did realize that while me and college girl Crystal were having fun, my body was getting more and more mad by the second. By Sunday morning I felt so ridiculously bloated from all the junk and I had a killer headache from lack of water all weekend. As much as that sucked, I did like that my body had finally changed and realized that it enjoyed healthy food. So I'm back to the healthy eating now, allllll better. I'm not weighing myself till Friday, because there's no point in frustrating myself when I know most of it is water weight and bloat. Yea no thanks, I'd like to keep my sanity. 

I went home Sunday morning after having breakfast with my gorgeous grand little in my sorority, Beckie. I've missed her so so much and it was so good to see her and catch up. She's kickin ass and taking names as our chapter President, and I'm so proud of her!! Sorry had to brag; anywho, I was fallin asleep at the wheel because driving sucks, so I stopped at Starbucks for a venti skinny frappucino with 2 shots of espresso. Could I have made a better decision? Probably. Did I? Nope. Do I have an excuse? Not really. But ya know what? Shit happens and it's a new week and I'm not holding on to it. Because that's dumb and I have the rest of my life to get it right. Also I refuse to lie to you guys and act like my life is all rainbows and unicorns because that's not fun and if I were you, I would virtually punch me in the throat for being happy and perfect all the time. Ahem, stepping off of my lifestyle soap box now.

Back to the story! When I was literally 2 minutes from my house, I got pulled over for speeding. I wasn't even mad because 1) I was definitely speeding, mostly because I was jammin out to Sara Bareilles (sidebar: I got tickets to her summer tour and I'm PUMPED) and not paying attention and 2) I literally get pulled over all the time, so it doesn't even phase me anymore. Seriously, this is my 5th ticket my friends. He was super nice though! I told him I had no reason for speeding, I was just tired from driving all day, and he reduced my "you're going too fuckin fast speeding ticket" (50 in a 35, GET IT TOGETHER CRYSTAL) to "disregarding a highway sign". I'm probably the only person in America who thanks cops for a ticket, but yea that happened too. Such a friendly fella who was lookin out for ya girl.

Saw the boyfriend, celebrated Mother's Day with my mama bear, harassed the boyfriend for not getting me a Mother's Day gift (Tiger is my child, duh) and called it a night. 

My little drama queen wouldn't leave my side once I got home!

How were you guys weekends? How do you deal with weekend mess-ups in your diet/working out?

-Crystal

10 choses sur moi (10 things about me, folks)

Hey so I'm following the lead of one of new faves, Lolo, over at Life With Lolo! She posted a "10 Things About Me" kinda jam, so I'm following suit, mostly because I have nothing to say, and also because you folks know the weight loss Crystal, and also that I talk about my dog a lot...but not much else! So here we goooo!

Gotta document good hair days. I know you understand.

1. My biggest pet peeve is when people don't finish stories/lose their train of thought when they get distracted. I don't know what it is...but I lose my shit when people say, "wait, what was I saying?" OMG JUST REMEMBER AND FINISH THE STORY.

2. I actually went to school and majored in both English Literature and French Studies. I wanted to go into book publishing, buuuut I quickly realized how absurdly competitive that field is. Unless you know someone who knows someone, or had an internship, you're screwed. I majored in French just because I like it haha. I'd say I'm conversationally fluent?

3. I met my boyfriend in college, in the fall of my freshmen year, at one of our campus traditions, called Mud Games. It's basically a bunch of relay races and competitive games in a big mud pit they make every year. I was talking to a friend, and this weirdo comes up to me and says, "Hey I saw you from over there, and you're beautiful. Can I have your phone number?" I gave it to him, because I thought I was hot shit, but we didn't really talk (besides when I was drunk at parties and he ignored me) until the next semester. It was like a lightbulb went off and I was like WAIT, HE'S HOT. We've gone through more bullshit than most couples (trust me on this one) but we've only come out stronger, 4 years later! I love that turd

4. I went to Europe with People to People Student Ambassadors in high school and I loooved it. We went to Italy, Greece, and France, and I even got to do a home-stay for a couple days in France. I wish I hadn't gone with a program because the rules for the program were a little on the obnoxious side, but whatever. Now that I'm older, I'd love to go back with the boyfriend so we can explore!

5. My guilty pleasure is drama. I'm literally the nosiest person in the world, and if I smell drama you will most likely find me peeking around the corner. I'm sure you guys already knew this if you read my post about creepin on people in the gym. Gimme a juicy rumor or gossip! I won't tell anyone or spread it, or add to it, I just wanna know!

6. I'm a sorority girrrrl. I went to a small college so I was in a relatively small chapter (only 50 members!) and I loved every single second of it. I'm still super close with my sisters; alumnae, and members still in college, and I still try to help out any way I can. I was an officer basically the whole time I was in college, so I'm obviously having a hard time letting go. Sorry bout it.

7. My favorite foods are rotisserie chicken and popcorn. I could eat these 2 things forever an ever and I would be completely satisfied with life I think. Ok but also I really love Mexican food, it's the inner fatty in me.

8. My favorite book is A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. I know a lot of people don't like it because he claimed it was true and then came out and said a lot of it wasn't, but I don't see the big deal. It's still beautifully written and it makes me cry every single time I read it. Ugh, it just breaks my heart and makes me feel whole all over again.

9. I've had the same group of friends since 6th grade, and I can honestly say we're all still true friends to this day. It's not even because we're just older and don't want to make more friends, because we all have other friends outside of the group. But these people are my crew. We do Secret Santa every year, celebrate birthdays together, and have seen each other through the good and bad times. Also, we've had a message chain on Facebook between all of us since the day before started college (Fall 2009), so we could all keep in touch since we all went to different schools for the most part. We had to start a new one halfway through college when we overused it!

10. I'm terrified that one day I'll gain all my weight back. I mean, realistically, I know I've made some serious changes and that I won't let that happen. But still, the thought sits in the back of my mind. It literally took me until uhhhh a couple days ago, to get rid of clothes that are 4-5 sizes too big.

That was actually a lot harder than I thought it would be.. weird.

Goodnight folks!
-Crystal

New Workout Idea and Weekend Plans!

Today was just a big load of blahhhh. Apparently I missed the memo about calling out of work today, because there was literally 4 of us in the office today. Usually there around 15. So I talked to myself, answered the phone, and drank a lot of water so I could walk to the bathroom to stay busy. Yea, it was that sort of day.

Needless to say, I was not in the mood to work out at ALL this evening. I texted one of my sorority sisters, Crista and asked if I should workout or sleep, and her answer was, "get your ass up". Such a good friend. So I got my ass up and ran a super quick 3 miles. My logic was, faster you run faster you're done. I think it worked out pretty well. My ran my first mile in 9:08! Hot damn! Also, lost my hair tie mid run and it's definitely weird running with your hair down. I've also discovered that running through neighborhoods means you're going to smell fresh laundry sometimes. Along with this, I've discovered that the smell of super fresh laundry makes me nauseous. So there's that. Random, I know. When I got back I felt like I still had a lot of energy, so I did a 20 minute strength workout from the app "Sworkit" for iphone (maybe droids too?). Have you guys heard of this little gem?! I shall show you.

When you open the app it looks like this. Then it asks what part of the body you want to work; upper body, lower body, full body workout, random, or custom. Then it asks how long you're tryin to sweat. It even has an option just to stretch! All the workouts are in 30 second blocks so you're not doing the same move forever. 

You can pause it if you're dying mid workout, and it has some moves I'd never seen before! And I broke a serious sweat following my run - it's worth it my friends. And depending on how long you choose to workout, you get a bunch of 30 second breaks. Last but not least, you get a prize at the end of the workout! YESSS. They're usually small, but hey, beggars can't be choosers. I've gotten a free mp3 download and a crystal light pack hahaha. Download it, try it, tell me what ya think! (I was not paid to say anything about Sworkit and I wasn't given any more free mp3's to say nice things, I just genuinely like it and think it works. All of my opinions are own.)

Moving on, this weekend I'm going to visit some sisters in Va Beach for a little fun. I've been super stressed lately with life at home so I just need to get away. I'm going to be working out both Friday and Saturday, but my eating will be a little off I'm sure. I'll be drinking most likely, as well as eating out at some of my favorite restaurants. I'm not holding back because I only eat at these places a couple times a year and I only see these people a few times a year. Howeverrrrr, I do not plan to go apeshit while I'm down there. Moderation, my friends. I plan to eat a healthy breakfast and at least lunch or dinner as well. This will be a sure test of my willpower, but I think it'll be ok.

And now a little transformation Wednesday, because I do what I want.

The picture on the right is from last year when I first started this whole weight loss thang. Probably around 220? The one on the right is a couple days ago. Let's imagine it's a bikini instead of my underpants and a bra, mmmkay? My boobs are not the same size as before, I'm just wearing a bra that's way too big for me on the right, because I'm poor/cheap.

220 to 170

42 F bra to 36 D

size 18 to size 8-10

loved myself to loving myself more

Nighty night friends!

-Crystal

P.S. The boyfriend and I are applying for our first apartment together tomorrow. If you could say a prayer for us (if that's your thang) or think some happy thoughts (if its not your thang) that'd be super! 

What are you guys plans for the weekend?! Do you use any apps to workout when you're out of ideas?

Cleanse Results and Weekend wrap up!

It's Sunday afternoon and I'd say I had a pretty solid weekend. Let's get a little recap goin for ya:

I ended the cleanse on Thursday! I loved it. Only super great things to say about it. I know when people think cleanse, they think starvation, but I'm not about that life. I like to eat, obviously. I never once felt tired or drained, in fact I ate the normal amount of calories that I usually do and worked out the same as usual. Now that it's over, I think I'm going to try to keep the dairy and bread to a minimum since I didn't really miss it anyways. So! Moving on to the results, because let's be real, that's the good stuff.

Starting weight: 175

Ending weight: 169!

I didn't eat bread, dairy, coffee, or add sugar to anything I ate/drank. So I'm sure some of that is just bloat, but I really look and feel better. Ya know how I know the cleanse worked? Because I looked like a hobo at work on Friday. I live for casual Friday, so I wore a maxi skirt, cami, and cardigan. Bad news: They were all too big. While this is a great problem to have, I'm too poor for this shit. I cannot afford to not have clothes that fit!

Ugh.. I guess you can't tell in the picture, but that belt is holding that skirt up for dear life.

On Saturday I went to work at the dog daycare, begrudgingly. I really do enjoy working there, but working 7 days a week is starting to take its toll on ya girl. I'm hoping that once I get a couple months worth of paychecks now that I'm full time at my other job, that I won't need the part time..I don't know. Guess we'll see. After work I took demon dog for a 3 mile run since I was planning on going out for a friend's birthday that night. I'm always reluctant to take Tiger, because she's so small and keep up for long. But she kept up, and I was a proud momma. Only needed to stop 4 times to pee, and once for a little break to lay down in the grass, which is a record for her little bladder and little legs. It was pretty warm out too, so I'm glad she made it!

Tiger, post run. hahaha 

After the running extravaganza, I got ready for the night, curled my hair (this took FOREVER.. I have zero hand/eye/mirror coordination), and met up with my friend Becca and her boyfriend to go into DC. Our friend Erin was celebrating her birthday at a bar called The Science Club, and it had a pretty hipster/swanky/cool vibe. It was a lot of fun, even though I think the waitress thought I was an alcoholic. I just drink my drinks really fast (it's the college girl fighting to stay alive in me), and whenever I asked for another she gave me this wide eyed look and said, "did you not get the one I brought up? Or did you already finish it..." Awkward. Ma'am, just gimme another gin & tonic! 

Some of the girls! We've been friends since 6th grade!

I slept over at Becca's and we got some drunk food at 1 am at a local diner called Bob & Edith's! It reminded me of college and it was delicious. I had a steak & cheese and I have zero regrets. I did resist the reese's eggs that Becca had on her coffee table, so I feel like that's a win. Am I right? I know I'm right.

Moving on to today - I'm obviously a psychopath because I woke up this morning, only slightly hungover, and I decided that I should still go to the gym. So I grabbed a banana and went to back-to-back Body Combat and Body Pump classes and burned 922 calories. Afterwards I picked the boyfriend up from the train station (he had to go out of town for a death in the family) and we got some pho for lunch and caught up. I hadn't seen him since Wednesday! After lunch we went back to my house for a much needed nap. Followed by froyo; y'all know how I feel about some froyo. I haven't had it in over 3 weeks, I think. I got a small size and inhaled it. So freakin delicious. I stayed on track working out wise, and I fit the pho into my macros for the day. I haven't had a treat in a while so I was perfectly fine with the drinks, steak&cheese and froyo!

How were you guys weekends? Did you stay on track for the most part?!

Get Out of Your Head!

Oh my goodness gracious, you guys are so friendly and leave such sweet comments! Thank you guys for the support on my last post. Unfortunately, baby brother didn't get off so easy, but whatever, kid's gotta learn.

Moving on! My super sassy/fabulous sorority sister, Rachael, suggested I talk about some hints on how to not get mentally bored or frustrated while working out. Also my random thoughts while running. Because I do have a lot of those.

First up: Not getting bored/frustrated

I usually start with cardio to get my blood movin. I lift weights in converse shoes (you should lift in flat shoes. Running shoes have a built in slant, so if you wear those you're messin with form/working different muscles then intended) so if I forget my running shoes, I just do cardio on the stairmaster/bike. On those machines I usually snag a magazine and catch up on some gossip in Hollywood/pray to baby Jesus that time is almost up (I usually do 15 of each).

My gym needs new magazines...this is from January. #firstworldproblems

If I'm on the treadmill, there's a TV attached to the thing so you bet your ass I'm watching Food Network on that sucker. I just really like that channel, not just because food is my savior, but everyone is always so happy and I like happy people ...and it doesn't hurt that Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives is usually on when I'm at the gym...drool fest. I may or may not get judging looks from other runners. I mean hey, at least I'm on the treadmill while I watch it, instead of chompin on some Ben & Jerrys. Am I right, or am I right? What I have learned though about not getting frustrated is that you need to do something/anything besides watching the timer to see how much longer/how long you've been going. Unless you're doing something for time, don't look at it. Cover it up with a towel, magazine, book, watch tv, talk to yourself whatever. Even when I only intend to do 15 minutes of the stairmaster I cover it up and tell myself to go as long as I possibly can, and then I can look. Usually I'm close to the finish or over my time! 

My "I just checked, and time is NOT almost up" face.

If I'm not doing one of these things, I'm people watchin like a hawk. I highly recommend this. I don't usually wear headphones to the gym, mostly because I usually forget my armband, so I can hear everyone and see all the things! I don't mean that I watch people in a mean way, like making fun of people. That's for assholes. But if you do something funny or are wearing something absurd, I'm lookin at you European man in tight capris, then I will laugh to myself in my head, because it keeps me entertained while I kill my muscles. Do not forget that you're there for you, though! Get your workout in while you're perusing. As time passes and you actually know what you're doing, it becomes easier to shut your brain off and just do work. This is when my mind wanders to other people. Folks do some weird shit when they think people aren't watching/listening, so just watch and stay entertained my friends. 

Here is a list of weird people/things I've seen:

-A man literally hanging upside down from the bar in a squat rack. Not sure what he was doing..

-A little old Asian lady full on jamming out on the treadmill, swinging arms in the air and everything

-European man wearing very tight and short capris. shudder.

-A man doing some kind of dance/fighting combo in the mirror (it actually was interesting to watch)

-A man who was at least 80, doing very fast sprints on the treadmill. Terrifying to watch, but he was fine!

Some of these people are regulars, so it's always a good day when I see them while I'm at the gym. Pinky promise I'm not a creep/stalker, nor should you be! I'm just very observant. And then I move on. I hope this didn't come off as creepy...if it did, well..this is awkward then.

Random Thoughts while I run: We're gonna do this stream of consciousness style. All of these things are actual things I've seen/thought. 

"(Begin running) Wow this actually sucks a lot, why am I running again?...This was a horrible idea. I want to go home now, but I also don't want to be fat..Has it been a mile yet? Haha definitely not. Is that pizza I smell? Who the hell is eating pizza? What an asshole. (when a car is coming) Oh my god you better fucking stop. I sure hope this man sees me, because I'm not stopping...make eye contact with you me, you jerk. Ok hi, hello, I'm gonna keep running across the street now thaaaanks. (If I see a dog) Oh my goodness that thing is precious. Hello sweet babyyyy! Your owner looks mean.. I guess I won't try to pet you. (Another runner passing me) Ohhh are they gonna give me the runner nod? Come on, do it do it.. YESSS runners nod! I'm in the club! I should stop smiling like an idiot now. I look dumb, I'm sure. Speaking of dumb, I'm so freakin tired of this dumb ass run. (Running in kind of empty part of neighborhood) Is that man seriously peeing right now? On the sidewalk? Is he drunk? Oh my god what if he's drunk and dangerous and he kills me? I cannot die like this. Must run faster. I will not be a Law&Order victim. Hmm Law & Order...I wonder if I'll find a dead body, runners always find those. I've never seen a dead body though. I'd probably miss it on accident. That's probably for the best. Am I done yet? Sweet Jesus it's been forever. Aaaand that's a condom I'm stepping over. Stay classy, Alexandria. Could've sworn this was a nice area. I can't wait to move..then where will I run? Whatever I don't care. Just make it down the street and we're done. And then I'm never running again." 

Needless to say, there is never a dull moment in my brain. 

-Crystal

What do you guys think about/do while you workout to keep sane!?

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