[catching up: my weeks in workouts | eleven and twelve]

Well folks, I seem to have fallen behind. There has been a ton going on in my world, and my body doesn't necessarily know how to deal with it all. So here are the images for my week in workouts that I haven't posted.

[week eleven]

[week twelve]

Frankly, I'm exhausted and only posting this to keep myself accountable. 

"i am almost never sure about what i want, but i am always sure about what i don't want."

- anonymous

[my week in workouts | week 10]

I would like to start by saying I'm having a rather discouraged day. I needed two rest days this past week and it's only Tuesday and my body already wants a rest again. Basically my endurance / stamina is nowhere near what I thought it was. Oh well, at least now I know what to work on?

Well. Last week was my first full week of work at my new 9-5 job, with a new workout routine as well. I'm still adjusting to this new lifestyle, but overall I'm so much happier here and my body feels infinitely better. That said, I weighed myself the other day. That's probably why I'm discouraged today, since my weight has NOT BUDGED. I know it's because as I lose weight, the muscle grows and gets heavier but STILL. It's hard to remind myself of that sometimes. Plus I'm at that awkward stage where my legs and arms are bigger and haven't really started leaning out yet.

Looking at last week's workouts was actually extra helpful today, and I'm going to make adjustments to my routine this week. Let's see how that goes!

"success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."

- winston churchill

[fitbit check-in]

People measure their weight loss / health / fitness in different ways. Pretty much every study ever says you need to set goals to help keep you on track and successful. I'm not a fan of the scale, because when I first start working out, I gain muscle, which means I gain weight on the scale. I go the first while weighing about the same; the noticeable changes are visible in my size and measurements, not on the scale. So instead of setting numerical weight goals, I've set workout and activity goals for myself. One of those is at least 10,000 steps measured by my FitBit daily.

SO. Here is a check in for the past 10 days (a bit off because of course I started this year and not last Monday). I'm going to re-evaluate at the end of January and probably raise my daily goal, but for right now I'm still getting used to my new lifestyle (new job, new workout routine). Here are the first 10 days of the year!

You'll notice I didn't get my goal on Thursday, January 8th, because I was sick that day and basically got home from work and laid down the rest of the day. That day of rest was much needed though and I definitely felt amazingly better afterwards!

"i never dreamed about success. i worked for it."

- estee lauder

[my week in workouts | week nine]

Good Monday morning friends!!! I'm feeling great this morning. So far I've kept to all my resolutions and just generally feel great this morning - healthy, clean, and ready to tackle this week. Last week was the beginning of the new year, and I started a new thing on Instagram. Basically every day i'm going to post my workout or activity of the day to keep myself accountable.

Notes on the above:

* glute pulls: got this idea from Brittany Perrillee on Instagram, she does them here. 

* leg press set: anytime I say this, it means I did narrow, normal, then wide as far as positioning my legs

* bosu ball squats: squats standing on the ball side of a boss ball

* bosu ball sits: where you go from standing to squatting to sitting on a bosu ball and then stand again. You don't sit for long but focus more on squatting.

* isotrak step machine: this is the kind we have at my gym. 

You'll notice on Thursday I didn't have a formal workout, because it was the first! We spent it at my aunt's house as a family so I didn't need to do a real workout, but we had an intense bike ride, so that was a good start to my year. 

"create a life that feels good on the inside, not one that just looks good on the outside."

- anonymous

[my week in workouts | week eight]

How crazy is it that it's week 8 already? Time flies for sure. How crazy is it that it's New Year's Eve? All around time has flown this year. Or maybe I've just been busy. We'll get to my resolutions later, but for now, here's last week's workout. It sucked a bit that I was sick on Christmas and my first day at my new job, [more details on that later too], but I had to not work out those days, I literally couldn't. This week has already been so much better, i'm in such a good place physically and mentally. My motivation is great and i'm on such a roll. I'm so glad to be ending the year this way and to be starting 2015 so well!

My workout:

I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year's Eve!!!

"life is very short. insecurity is a waste of time."

- diane von furstenberg

[my week in workouts | week seven]

Well folks, GET EXCITED. I start my new job Monday!!! More details to come on being a working woman again, but first: this week in workouts. My lack of workout on Monday was because we were traveling 13 hours to get to Miami and Thursday I just didn't have time. Other than that, I'm loving being back at my gym and getting into something of a routine. I'm really excited for this week, since I remembered I got a FitBit Flex a few months ago and never learned to use it. I set it up and will start using it this week to keep track of my steps and hopefully my food and water intake.

You'll see a huge difference between this week and the one before it, and things are only going to improve from here!

Have a good week all! Happy Holidays!

"she believed she could, so she did."

- anonymous

[my week in workouts | week six]

Let me start by saying I'm hugely disappointed in myself and my results. My trip to Tennessee ended up being much more of a hiatus than I'd originally intended and the weather definitely meant more coffee, hot chocolate, and hearty (aka caloric) soups. Unlike in the past, I didn't gain weight (YAY ME) but I definitely made ZERO progress. It's crazy to think I'm six weeks in and still not noticing any difference.

That said, I'm not giving up, still working and not letting the bad days make things worse. Here's week six.

Can you tell I tried to overcompensate when I finally got a chance to workout?

"will it be easy? nope. will it be worth it? absolutely."

- anonymous

[my week in workouts | week five]

I will go ahead and say I'm in Nashville right now! Loving it of course, as I knew I would. That being said, this weekend was a rather lethargic weekend. You'll notice there was no workout on Thursday, because I was running errands and driving to Nashville, then Saturday and Sunday were touristing days, so we walked around but I didn't have a formal workout.

Seeing a new city and trying amazing restaurants isn't always conducive to great workouts or healthy meals, but I'm trying to do it all! Now to tackle these holidays and family dinners! Good luck to you all too!

"stay patient and trust your journey."

- anonymous

[my week in workouts | week four]

Full disclosure: I am currently ashamed to be posting this. I hate what it says. BUT. I'm keeping up with my plan and will continue to be accountable in posting my workouts and progress. Obviously, this was a hard week to stick to workouts. My body was adjusting to Tennessee weather [which basically means cold mornings sleeping in] and it was also Thanksgiving week. Regardless, those are not excuses for me only getting 3 days of workout in [insert monkey emoji with hands over his eyes].

Despite my failure to put in the work, I will say that I succeeded in staying healthy so far. It's been hard, but I've been eating healthy ever since I got here. The best part of all is the change in attitude I have at where I am. One month ago, I would've had so much self-hatred for not having a productive or 'fit enough' workout this week. Not today. Today, I'm accepting. I'm realizing that life happens and choosing not to waste my time and energy being mad at myself. Instead, I'm learning and gearing up to adapt and change my behavior so I don't repeat my previous mistakes. So here's my horrible week in workouts from last week. Here's to improvement.

"the temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed."

- chinese proverb

[my week in workouts | week three]

So, saying this past week has been a hiatus from my intense workouts is an understatement. Everything was going fine until Wednesday, when we drove 13 hours from Miami to Knoxville. That didn't exactly leave much time to work out. I got some exercise in on Thursday, but Friday we touristed around all day so I didn't get a chance to work out then either. And then when Sunday came around, it was quite the Sunday, so I was just lounging around.

I WILL make this week a more productive one, even though it's Thanksgiving!

Have a good week all!

"life's under no obligation to give us what we expect."

- margaret mitchell

[my week in workouts]

Something I've been trying to do recently is document my workouts; it keeps me more accountable and helps me gauge my progress. Obviously I pull inspiration and ideas from all kinds of sources, from Instagram accounts to Pinterest workout ideas. This was my week in workouts from last week, and Sunday was my rest day. Here's to seeing some improvement!

"remember the girl who gave up? nobody else does either."

- anonymous

[monday motivation]

Remember when I told you I've been really busy? (If not, here you go). I have this horrible habit of letting my life become a vicious cycle: I get really focused on one or two things and let my other priorities fall by the wayside. For me, the struggle has always been balancing work, living a healthy life, family time and my personal goals (travel, the blog, etc). I can usually manage two extremely well and then it's like I blink and it's been a month since I work out (which is insane). So in this busy, blog-post-less time, I have been working on my time managements, priorities, and goals. The beauty of my timing is that a new L.A. Fitness opened up literally 1.5 miles from my house. Perfect, right? So of course, I signed up a week before so I was ready to go when it opened. Boy, am I glad I did. Anywho, now that I have a gym to work out at, here are some workouts I've pinned and look forward to doing in the coming week.

from SnapFitness.com 

from FitFabCities.com

from PopSugar.com

Have a happy and healthy week everyone!!!

"you never know who needs you. good energy is contagious."

- anonymous

[gettin' back on my grind]

Today is the day I [sort of] launch my blog! Few people knew I blog, and those who knew didn't know how to find it. WELL. Here you go! Today will be the first of many posts giving you a small peek into a day in the life, or, as my mom likes to call it, The World According to Kristina.

The past few weeks have sped by - with a trip home, birthdays, and a crazy work schedule, it's been hard to stick to my routine. Today is me getting back at it though! Back to working out daily, eating better and blogging away my thoughts to the world. Enjoy!

#selfie. You can't tell but I was dripping in sweat and it felt sooooo good!

[tools]: jump rope, 10 pound weights, a mat and stretch band. I did a little bit of everything today.

"you must do the thing you think you cannot do."

- eleanor roosevelt

[it is sooooo hump day]

Today feels like the most hump day-ish of hump days. I'm so over this week and basically just need my two days off. I have SO MUCH TO DO. Plus I hate how irregular my workout schedule has been. PLUS: there is a candy conference happening at my work and I've been snacking on jelly beans and Twix all week [believe me, I hate myself for it].

SO. As some inspiration for myself, I'm going to online shop for workout clothes. Here are some picks I may have to pick up for myself.

[from Old Navy]

[from JC Penney]

[from Forever21]

[from Forever21]

[from Old Navy]






"who says you can't look good while you're sweating?"
 - a friend.

[it's a new week]

Happy Monday all! I hope everyone had a great weekend and I hope you're all geared up and ready to take on the week - I know I am!!!

This week is kind of wobbly for me: my work schedule fluctuates daily and I'm working overtime so I didn't really get my normal allotted time to meal plan and prepare. That being the case, I was feeling overwhelmed last night. BUT I got everything handled and now I'm ready to tackle Monday and the rest of the week.

I'm doing my best to try and work out every day, even though I can't really get in a routine this week. But for a little inspiration, here's what today's workout looks like. It'll be post work, on the beach.

Warm - up: Walk 1/4 Mile.

Jog 2 miles

Cool - down: Walk 1/4 Mile.

Insert the following fun cross fit-ish workout:

from Popsugar.com

"by starting the week off right, you're not allowing yourself mistakes therefore preventing future ones."

- kristina carrodeguas

[running & how i do it]

So, in keeping with my recent set of posts centered around my new lifestyle, I think it's a good idea to talk about how I'm able to actually walk and jog now. I say this because even walking a mile used to cause the absolute worst shin splints ever. Applying some knowledge and tips I've learned over the years, I am now [albeit slowly but surely] increasing my running distance and shortening my average times.

A few important things:

• A good playlist. I will never understand how people can just run without listening to anything. Maybe if I loved it more or something, I could understand, but right now my music is a large part of what sets the pace of my run and what keeps me going. Here are a few songs I absolutely have to listen to:

• I Need Your Love - Calvin Harris ft. Ellie Goulding
• Levels - Avicii
• Clarity -  Zedd
• You Used to Hold Me - Calvin Harris
• All Night - Icona Pop
• Live for the Night - Krewella

• Stretching. I usually like to do a little warm up first, which I usually do by walking 1/4 mile. Then, I stop and stretch my lower body really well. The extra stretching helps prevent any pain in my calves or shins and helps limber me up to start jogging. I also make sure to stretch for at least 10 minutes after my walk to avoid cramping. 
• Ankle strengthening exercises. I typically do these after I stretch, before I start to jog. Depending on how i'm feeling, I may do more during my jog. It very much depends on how my legs are feeling. These exercises are basically calf raises. I do regular calf raises, inner v calf raises (toes pointed in) and outer v calf raises (toes pointed out). 

Basically, if I can do this, so can you!

"if you do what you've always done, you'l get what you've always gotten."

- anthony robbins

[last week's routine]

I started a new job last week [YAYYY!!!] and with that new job came a new lifestyle; a more organized one. I had to wake up at 4:30 am all week and wouldn’t get home again until about 7 pm so planning was a MUST. Basically if I didn’t plan I knew my eating habits were going to be horrible and my exercise routine was going to be nonexistent. So I made a plan from Sunday until Thursday and let me tell you, I can already tell a difference in my body from that week. I tried new recipes, pushed myself to run more than I felt I could, AND got sick and I still think the plan I was on helped me. Here’s how I was able to accomplish those things:

1.      Meal Planning. I pre-planned my entire week; I planned breakfasts, mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks, lunches and dinners. (Well, by dinner time I usually wasn’t very hungry so I usually had a snack again.)

2.      Exercise Planning: Basically I set myself up for success by packing my workout clothes and 5 pound weights the night before work. Immediately after work I would change into my workout clothes and go for a walk / jog on the boardwalk (I work on the beach). This was the only way to do it, because if I drove home after work I would’ve gotten tired and gone straight to bed (I know, it's happened before). 

3.   Rest. Especially since I got sick, staying rested was a must. I wasn't going to let a cold break me! I went to bed at about 9:30 each night and took NyQuil the nights I needed help sleeping through the sinus pressure. 

Here are some photos!

[I posted this on the side of my refrigerator so I wouldn't have any excuses in the mornings. I prepared my lunches and snacks the day before]

[This is an example of 'dinner' I had one night. I wasn't very hungry so I had some cherry tomatoes, a cucumber and some hummus!]

[me after a 2 mile walk / jog on the boardwalk]

"discipline is just choosing between what you want now and what you want most."

-anonymous