Life Lately

My friend's corgi is the cutest! I just can't with the slicked back ears. In all honesty I was never that into corgis until recently when my boyfriend and I were discussing potential pet options in the future. We were hanging out with my "nephew" on a rare Saturday I had off when these photos were taken. Not gonna lie I definitely miss having weekends like normal people.

In other news, it is now day three on the 21-day no sweetened beverage challenge I'm doing. And so far so good surprisingly. I thought Monday would be harder since I work, but it wasn't too bad. I just started my day off with an unsweetened iced tea and I was good to go. (Though I was enviously looking at the boba drinks a few of the students that were checking in were carrying). It was actually a little bit harder on my days off, especially since the fridge was recently stocked with an iced coffee brand I really like. I almost gave in during my study session, but fought against it. While I do love my drinks I'm the type of person who hates to lose. Guess that's working in my favor!

Tomorrow will be the only "slow" surgery day we've had all year. Even though I'll be doing pretty much everything besides assisting, I'll have to go in early to set up the trays. Luckily we only have two patients (when we normally have around 13), so hopefully it'll go smoothly.

I'm pretty excited for the week to be over with since I've actually got fun things planned for the weekend (another rare real weekend). Some of my friends are super excited about the premiere of Fifty Shades (I've read the book...wasn't a fan. Only finished it because I can't stand leaving books unfinished). This will probably be the only time where I'll prefer the movie over the book, but we'll see. I'm also planning to watch Kingsman, a movie I've been looking forward to ever since I've seen the trailer. I don't really watch too many movies in theaters ever since my boyfriend went out of state for his residency. He'll be coming back for the long weekend though so we'll finally be able to spend some quality time together aka eating and watching movies.

Favorite Workout Gear

I will admit that I've never stuck to this resolution before, but I've always said at the beginning of every year that I would start to take better care of my health. This is the first year that I've actually made some real progress on that. While the eating better portion still needs more work (I'm the type of girl who gets excited about what I'm gonna eat the next day), I've been pretty impressed with myself about the fitness portion. 

The main motivator is the fact that I am now paying a monthly fee to get access to a gym. Having some of your hard-earned paycheck automatically paid out to a gym definitely inspires you to go. It also helps that the gym I decided to go to is new and everything is in tip-top shape. (Another reason why I didn't join a gym sooner. If I'm going to be paying for something it better be worth my money!) 

I haven't been too experimental with my workouts so I don't have an expanse collection of workout gear, but I did have a decent selection to start off with. So far my current favorites are pictured above. I would have to say my favorite part are my shoes. I can't live without these. I bought these full price when they first came out (which I was debating about) but am so glad I did since I've definitely gotten my money's worth. On top of wearing these Nikes to workout, I also wear them at work on surgery days and just to run errands sometimes. They are so comfortable and they look pretty darn chic considering. They are the Nike Free Runs though I'm not 100% sure about the model since I was unable to find my exact design online with the model number next to it (I had always assumed it was the Free Runs 5.0?). But you can purchase the most recent version of them (Nike Free Runs 5.0+) in a variety of different colors. 

The first sports bra is from the Forever 21 activewear line. It was inexpensive and had gotten good reviews so I decided to give it a chance and order it online. The Low Impact Seamless Sports Bra comes in a whole bunch of colors as well. The second sports bra is from Cotton On, and is definitely my favorite due to its design. Unfortunately the Attack Yoga Crop bra is not available in this particular pattern online, but they usually have better selections in stores. These C9 Champion leggings, while not as fun, are functional. They're a cropped length and are made well considering the price. I also feel like they do a good job of holding everything in while I do cardio. I purchased these at Target, and you can find similar ones here.

Having a good set of workout gear definitely motivates me to get my butt to the gym. So far I've consistently been going twice a week, though I'm trying to go more often after my schedule lightens up. Even though my endurance still needs to be built up, even working out for 20 minutes vastly improves my energy levels. Although it's unrealistic for me to see any obvious changes in my body at that rate (plus my diet hasn't changed much), I already feel so much better. I've been noticing that I don't rely on caffeine as much as I used to. (Though I still enjoy it on days I don't need to. I'm a sucker for coffee and tea). 

One thing I am nervous, yet excited to start is this 21 day no-sugar challenge that got sent around in an e-mail from where I work. Basically you got to choose which challenge to do, but all of them involved reducing your sugar intake. I decided not to be a wimp and choose the one I for sure have an issue with: sugary drinks. It begins this upcoming Monday and involves going COLD TURKEY on all sugar-sweetened beverages. I will update to see how that goes since I can't live without my iced coffee/tea and boba normally.

My current favorite post-workout drink: Apple 'n Greens from Jamba Juice