Thursday, January 27, 2011

Stuck in a rut?

Hey there!

I have been severely slacking on videos lately...well actually on everything. I've been in kind of a funk this past month. I"m not feeling the whole fresh start for the new year thing. But I'm trying...

So I only lost a total of two pounds this year. I'm following Weight Watchers except a few choice days when I decided not to track. I've been attending Zumba regularly. I want it, I do.

It's not a matter of lacking knowledge or resources to get to my goal. It's a will power/motivation thing. I have all the knowledge about living a healthy lifestyle and losing all the weight in the world. I know not to eat past 7pm, what foods to stay away from. I know that I have to workout daily and change up my routine. I just need to get my but in motion!

It's a weird feeling really, it's like when you say "If I had a treadmill; I'd use it every day!" No, you wouldn't. You might for a week. Or every once in a while. But having it at your fingertips sometimes isn't enough to make you do things you don't like to do.

I hate exercising. Let me rephrase that...I despise exercising. I only do it because I know I'll get results and it's good for me. I am just not an exercising type of person, I get bored very easily.
Zumba has helped with this a lot, though, because I do love Zumba. Like our instructor, Derrica, says "Ditch the workout, join the party!" It's a blast but it's also very hard and I Zumba about 2-3 times a week now.


Okay, let's talk goals. Missions, destinations, objections, targets...GOALS.
GOAL #1 Writing all goals down. This will help me know that they are on paper, other people will read them...so it will be harder for me to ignore them.
GOAL #2 Make goals that aren't impossible to keep up with and/or achieve.
GOAL #3 As of today, I'm done eating past 7pm. The only exceptions being a) if I'm starving, I'll allow myself fruit or a weight watchers ice cream and b) if I'm out to dinner late one night, which shouldn't be very often. ( And I'll try to be good while I'm there.)
GOAL #4 Lose 2 lbs per week. I'd be ecstatic if I lost 3 per week but I know that is a great feat in itself so I'll be happy with 2. I want to keep losing and get off the "lost a pound, put on two, lost three pounds, put two back on" cycle I'm currently experiencing.
GOAL #5 Track all food i eat. No matter what.
And finally...GOAL #6 WORK OUT. Either do my Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred DVD, Bob Harper DVD, Yoga DVD or Zumba at least 3 days a week.

The reason for the 2-3 lb per week goal is because I'm one of 12 bridesmaids in my good friend's wedding September 10th, 2011. I am hoping to be to my goal weight (135) by then...but I realize that may be extremely difficult. But hey, that's what "goals" are.


Alright...I hope this entertained  or motivated anyone who is in the same boat I'm in, let's do this together!

-Liz

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Review: MFW Mask


So along with my new favorite lotion, my January Birchbox also had a sheet mask to try. I've never tried a sheet mask before so I was pretty excited.

MFW (My Face Works) is a company based in Canada that specializes in face masks. They have several different kinds but the one I received in my Birchbox was called I need to heal and was a water based aloe-vera mask.

The website states that this mask helps sooth and heal irritated skin, enhances the skins glow and luminosity, provides instant hydration to the skin and has concentrated ingredients that are soaked in a non-woven fabric, the most widely-used mask cloth, with good firmness. The two key ingredients are Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice - Skin repairing properties, increasing the resilience of the skin and Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Extract - Moisturizing properties for ultra soft skin with soothing properties.

According to the website this mask is Great for calming stressed skin that has been exposed under extreme weather conditions, has a cooling sensation will tame and hydrate sensitive skin without irritation and is suitable for Sensitive and Normal to Dry Skin. Does this deliver all it claims to? Let's find out!

I know, creepy, right?!

Alright, so just as a preface, I removed my makeup, washed my face thoroughly and exfoliated before I put this mask on and besides the fact that I resemble Michael Myers, it felt amazing on my skin. At this time of year, I need extra hydration, especially around my eyes, nose and mouth so I was anxious to try this out. It's been in the single digits and having the heat on 24/7 really dries out a girl's skin!

The smell of this mask was just ok. It had a bit of a fresh smell but it was kind of strong and not my favorite type. It wasn't offensive though. The mask is wet when you take it out of the package and it was pretty cold which felt fantastic. I have pretty acne-prone and sensitive skin. The website says not to use the mask if you have severe acne-which I don't-but I'm hoping it doesn't break me out like the website promises.

The website adhered to my face pretty well and about 15 minutes after putting it on, began to dry out and not stick as well to my face. The package says to wear this for mask for 15-20 minutes. When I took it off my skin felt very hydrated and not tight at all. Almost like my skin but better! There's no need to rinse after this mask, you just massage the extra liquid into your skin.

I'd have to give this mask an A! The whole experience was very soothing and relaxing. My face has never felt smoother! I'm very glad I got to try one out! I'll update if I experience any sort of irritation from this MFW Mask. :)

Thanks for reading! Have you ever tried a MFW Mask?

-Liz

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Ace or Disgrace 2, Items I'm Lusting Over, Trashy TV and more.

Wow, December 20th was the last time I posted a blog. Bad Biz, Bad.


Now that the scolding is over, I have a few things to write down.


First off, let me just say that just because it isn't Christmas anymore, doesn't mean I haven't stopped making wishlists. In fact, more and more things I want keep popping up on my windows desktop post-it note.


1. A pair of Nude Coach heels. 


2. A webcam
3. Flowerbomb Perfume
4. I'm really wanting Facebook to create the "Dislike" button and for text messages to have bold, italics and underline text options. Sometimes I need to make more of a point than capitalizing an entire word.

5. And of course, every new makeup item that happens to come out in 2011. But that's it.

Alright, it's time for another In's and Out's...or as I like to call them, Aces or Disgraces.

Ace
  • Flowy duvet covers that have you dreaming about the next time you can lay down in bed all day.
  • All the new drugstore makeup that's coming out this winter/spring. I'm super excited for the new Wet n Wild palettes and the Natural Neutrogena skincare line.
  • The Trashy TV! We are T-37 minutes until the season premiere of Teen Mom 2. I can't wait. I'm also excited for Tosh.0 :)
  • This blog. Writing always makes me feel better, I need to do it more often.
Disgrace
  • Not getting that job I was really hoping for. I wanted it so bad I barely even told anyone about my quest. Oh well, that must mean there are other opportunities ahead!
  • The freakin' weather in Michigan.
  • Forgetting absolutely everything lately. I don't know what's wrong with me. I'll have to remember to take more B12. Oh, wait...
  • My skin being extremely dry and itchy...I think I can blame the weather for this one as well.
  • People who won't make decisions for themselves. This is obviously coming from a hurting place inside me...I won't get into it...I just wish people could think for themselves and not let others sway them as much.
  • The next door neighbor kids who do nothing but leave their house and come back to their house. Seriously, they leave for no more than 90 seconds. And they leave like every hour on the hour! I'm not exaggerating. Where are they going? Why does one person have to shut four car doors as loud as they can? Sit still! End rant.
  • And finally...when commercials are louder than the show. Seriously, I thought someone was on this?!
So we now have 28 minutes until Teen Mom (a.k.a the highlight of my night week) so maybe I can give y'all a little update? With Weight Watchers, they overhauled their system and now have a new PointsPlus Program. The same concept just with a different formula. I lost another 2 pounds since I last talked at you guys...which still only puts me at a total weight loss of 9.5 lbs. I was happy that I only gained two during the holidays ( I hear the average is 7) but upset that I haven't lost more. I do Zumba about once a week...but I really need to step it up. And I need to force myself to write down everything I eat on WW so I can keep better track. I have been eating healthy though lately, and I'm proud of that. My ultimate goal is to lose all my weight by September, which is my friend's wedding. I know it can be done, I've seen the kids on "I Used to be Fat" do it...I just need to push harder and workout wayyyy more often.

Well, that is all. I hope you guys enjoy reading and I will leave you with my favorite commercial of the moment. See you soon, promise!

-Liz