Week 4, Day 1

Hey guys! So I am going into week 4 and am proud to say that I got back on track this week!  I made it through the week with no cheats which I was super proud of! I am definitely seeing progress little by little and I am super excited!!! So I am halfway through and I can't wait to see after the six weeks, and of course much beyond this challenge. I am really starting to change my mindset and although it will take a lot of work I know this has to be a lifestyle and not a temporary thing. Thanks for all the support!

Week 3, Day 1

Hey guys!  So tomorrow I am going into week 3, and I have a confession to make - I definitely cheated quite a bit this week and am a bit disappointed in myself...However, this challenge has brought forth several realizations concerning this whole health thing, and I am sure it will bring about even more through the process!  So I thought I would share some of these:

Number 1: The goal of this whole thing is to ultimately lead to a healthy lifestyle in general, and there is more to being healthy then just exercising/eating right - there is also the mental aspect!  Even though I fell off the wagon quite a bit this week I realized that I have to acknowledge it and move on, there is no point in dwelling on the fact that I strayed from my goals a little bit because that is life and it happens!  It is just as bad to unhealthily obsess about eating good food all the time as it is to be eating bad food without thinking about it!  This leads to my next point...

Number 2: How skewed my relationship with food really is.  I realized how many things I associate with food that really have nothing to do with it.  In our culture we use food to celebrate, medicate, respond to different emotions, etc.  My ultimate goal is to see food as what it is supposed to be - nourishment for my body to run as efficiently as possible!  I am starting to feel these mental changes happening and when you start thinking of it like that you realize that you want to eat healthy because that is what your body needs - now the goal is to get my actual habits to start aligning with these new thoughts!

Number 3: I am realizing that I need to cut myself off from junk food for awhile until I can control myself.  I started off saying I would have one cheat meal a week, but clearly that turned into like 4 cheat meals this week hahahha.  I hate to admit it, but this whole process is so new to me that I don't have the self control to stop eating junk food once I start, so my goal is to try to avoid it until I think I can control it (not sure when exactly, but I think it will fall into place naturally).  I am sure I will still have a little bit here and there, but I would like to avoid it for the most part when possible.

So this is certainly a learning experience, but overall a really positive one so far!  I have my good and bad days, but my goal is to on one hand accept where I am at in this process, but at the same time push myself to be in the healthy place I know I can be!  Thanks for listening to my babble, and onto a brand new week, cheers!

P.S. Skipping the progress pictures this week, but they will be back next week ;) 
  

Week 2, Day 1

First of all, I want to congratulate Irina on winning my Lumo necklace giveaway, I emailed you with details, congrats!

 

Now onto reporting about my first week of the fitness challenge which I am happy to say is complete!!  Not surprisingly I don't notice a much of a difference, plus it is kind of hard taking these pictures from the exact same angle every time.  However, I do feel like my stomach looks a little bit flatter which is exciting!

 

It has been a hard transition initially, but I definitely feel really motivated to keep going and I am excited to continue on and see progress!  I am not using any measurements like weight or inches because my main goal with this in general is just to look and feel my best and I don't want to put too much weight on the specifics.  I also decided to allow myself one "cheat" meal a week, because I think it is really important to have balance, and lets face it, I still love my junk food ;)  You can also check out my instagram @jumpintopuddle to see some of the healthy meals I have been eating and some workout/inspiration photos! 

 

Getting Up Close and Personal/Anyone Up For a Little Fitness Challenge?

Hey guys!  I decided to diverge from the usual fashion post to talk a little about fitness.  So let me start by saying that my interest in fitness has only recently come into my life over the past couple of years (pretty much when I started dating my bf).  Before then I was just about the laziest person ever.  I ate like crap and I loathed exercise, I would dabble with the gym or workout videos but never for very long.  In fact, in high school my most dreaded day of the school year was when we had to run the mile, I was always inevitably one of the last ones to cross the finish line walking and panting like a crazy person!

Flash forward to now and I am the most active I have ever been in my whole life.  I take martial arts, do a little bit of yoga, circuit train a couple of mornings a week, and dabble in running (coincedentally I still struggle with this one hahah).  And while I have never really had a big problem with weight per se, I still don't look as fit as I want to, even with all the exercising.

This is where the other portion of fitness comes in - nutrition!  Flashback story: my bf was always telling me how big of a portion diet plays in fitness, but I was never really convinced.  Until we decided to do P90x (without the nutrtion portion) and at the end of the 3 months I was amazed that I hadn't seen more progress.  That was when it really sunk in that my bf was right!  Only one problem, that realization didn't really stick and to this day I still struggle a lot with my diet.  Why is junk food soooo good???  But I am at the point now that I really enjoy working out and I want to take my fitness to the next level by once and for all conquering the nutrition side of things.  

I have been scouring instagram non stop for fitness inspiration and I am finally ready to start trying to make a serious commitment to eating better, and I was wondering if any of you wanted to join along with me?!  I plan on kickstarting this healthy lifestyle change by posting my progress about once a week for six weeks (including bathing suit pictures eeeek) on my blog and on instagram, and I thought it would be really neat to see if anyone else wanted to do the same thing so we can share progress.  I think it is really important to have support when going through a change like this and I would love to connect with you if you are interested in making this change too!  Feel free to email me: jessica@jumpintopuddles.com if you are interested in doing this as well so we can support each other!!  Wish me luck!

P.S. It is quite hard and uncomfortable for me to post pictures of this nature for everyone to see, so I ask that you please be respectful with your comments, thanks!

Here is the first pictures: Week 1, Day 1

 

Lumo Giveaway

Hey guys I am so excited to host this giveaway for LUMO jewelry!  They are a California based company that designs and handcrafts their jewelry with a modern, free spirited style in mind!  Lumo incorporates metal and semi-precious stones and pearls to create one of a kind pieces!  And you have a chance to win one of my favorite pieces from their collection, the 3 quartz necklace!  See below for details!

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The giveaway will last for two weeks, I will email the winner when the giveaway has ended, good luck!
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More Tie Dye

(vest: Fred Meyer, top: PacSun, jeans: ASOS, boots: UO, jewelry: mixed)

I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more...tie dye?  (Christopher Walken reference anyone?)  So I know I already ranted about tie dye, but this is different because it is pants hahah :P  The weather is still kind of going back and forth between chilly and verging on summer so I thought tie dye pants was a perfect way to keep warmer on the cool days, but still give the outfit a spring/summer feel.

In other news I start jogging again and boy is it tough!  Jogging has always been really intimidating for me for some reason.  I guess it is not something that comes naturally to me so I really have this urge to conquer it once and for all.  My goal is to jog three times a week and after a couple of weeks assess how far I am going to take...I really would love to do a 10k or even a half eventually but I don't want to get to ahead myself!  Wish me luck! 

Nectar Clothing

So everyone knows it is music festival season, and since I am unable to actually be at Coachella (one day I WILL go!!) I figured the best alternative would be to give my nod to festival fashion!  I can't think of a better company to help me out then the awesome folks at Nectar Clothing who allowed me to put together a festival inspired look to share with all of you!  Nectar Clothing has such a free spirited, vintage vibe about their clothing that I thought would be absolutely perfect for featuring a festival look, and they really try to focus on domestically made products at an affordable price!  Win win in my book so definitely be sure to check them out! :)

Top/Shorts: c/o Nectar Clothing, Jewelry: Mixed