Author: Melissa Gonzalez

A Girl’s Gotta Eat

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Continuing on yesterday’s post about my plans for the rest of the year, I should probably figure out what I’m doing with my diet as well.

I recently purchased a program called Lean & Lovely by Neghar Fonooni.  In order to try out the program fully, I intend on following both the dieting and training aspects of her program.  Of course the big elephant in the room is that the end of the year is a bit difficult to stay on any eating plan!  My birthday is in September, Halloween in October, Thanksgiving in November, and of course the winter December Holidays!  So while I know it’ll be hard to make any progress during this time, I’m hoping at least of offset any damage the holidays will do to my waistline!

I plan on using August as a time to fully read up on the Lean & Lovely program so that I can hit the ground running in September.  In the meantime, I’m using John Berardi’s Precision Nutrition system as my guideline for August.  Honestly, I wouldn’t be too shocked if the two eating plans were very similar, so I’m not expecting a huge change in habits between August and September. Continue reading →

Just Another Manic Monday

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Happy Monday!  Today was pretty hectic for me, but I was able to hit the grocery store during my lunch break and buy food for the week. This’ll definitely make it easier to stay on track with a fridge full of fruits and veggies at work!

In any case, here’s my day for August 4:

Breakfast: 1 egg & 1/2 cup eggbeaters and veggies
Lunch: huge lunch salad and papaya
Afternoon Snack: Greek yogurt w/honey & blueberries
Exercise: Lifting (NROL-SC)
Post-workout: Protein shake
Dinner: Gardein Chik’n Scallopine & leftover veggie stir fry

Things I’m grateful for today:
1.  Fresh papaya with my lunch.  Reminds me of being on vacation in Hawaii!  Of course, it was much better there.  I guess I’ll have to go back!!
2.  Working in an environment where doing a grocery run of healthy foods for the week is the norm! Everyone at work is pretty health conscious so I’m not the only weirdo with fruits and veggies filling up the fridge!
3.  Deadlifts.  They make me feel awesome.

On Tap for 2014

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No, this isn’t a New Year’s Resolution- type post.  But for future reference, I want to outline my training plan for the rest of the year so that it’s out there.

But first, I should back up and give some details of where I am currently.  The last few months, I’ve been following the workout plan from the book New Rules of Lifting: Supercharged.  I did the first 3 phases of their Basic Training programs, but then went on vacation to Hawaii.  The workout room in the hotel I stayed was basically non-existent (besides a few treadmills), so I wasn’t able to continue with the program while I was away.  When I came back from my trip, I brought a pretty nasty head cold with me, which I’m only just now getting over.  And then last weekend, I tripped over a crack in the sidewalk and twisted my ankle, which made it an even worse idea to try continuing my routine. Continue reading →

My First Sundaily

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In keeping with the idea of accountability, my goal for this week will be to post what I’m doing each day for my meals, exercise, and a note about the day.  The note can be plans or a challenge (if I post in the morning), or reflections/ gratitude for the day’s events (if I post in the evening).  

I’m actually hoping to blog daily so I can stay on track, especially during the fall and winter. . . But I know myself well enough that if I set my goals too high, it’s too easy to fall.  Baby steps first, then I can re-assess after a week!

In any case, here’s my plan for today:

Breakfast: black bean burger w/cheese & avocado
Lunch: Gardein Chik’n Scallopine & okra, tomatoes, and onions
Snack: Greek yogurt w/honey & blueberries
Exercise: Swim 3400m
Post-Workout: protein shake
Dinner: veggie duck & stir fry veggies

Things I’m grateful for today:

  1. Days off on Sundays so I can spend my time blogging and planning my week.
  2. Music.  Currently learning how to play the guitar, and I’m loving it!
  3. My dog Linus.  His fun and playful spirit reminds me not to take things too seriously and enjoy the day!

I do have to go in to work for a bit later this afternoon, but I’m excited to start my new blogging journey on the right foot!  If I deviate from today’s plan, I’ll edit this post tonight 🙂

Reborn Blogger?

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Hello WordPress!  I’ve decided it’s time to start blogging again, but neither of my previous blogs seemed to fit the bill.

I wanted to be a bit more accountable about dieting and exercise, but my previous blogs are more about recipe experimentation and racing triathlons.  I haven’t been cooking all that much, and my current exercise goals are fat loss rather than tri training.  So I figured it might be time for a fresh start with a new blog!

If I get back into tri training or trying out new recipes, I’ll definitely make sure to post in the old blogs!  But this one will be more free-form, and I plan to use it to keep myself a bit more accountable.  I left the title of the blog pretty general since I may also go a bit more off-topic in this blog while I figure out what exactly I want to get out of my blogging!

In the spirit of starting fresh, I also decided I’d give WordPress a whirl.  Both my previous blogs (as well as a few other group blogs I’m a part of) are on Blogger.  I figured I’d try out a new platform and see if I like it!

I named my blog “riversmiles”, a play on River’s Miles and River Smiles. . . I’d like the theme to focus on my (happy?) journey through life.  River Smiles for Miles?  This hopefully will also serve as a reminder to myself to enjoy the journey instead of always be focusing on the end result.  This blog will help with that, if I remember to stop and write about the steps along the way!