Project 365: Day 2 of 365

So for day 2, I decided to find a picture of my hair color because the picture I kept taking was not coming out right. So basically I just like my hair color more when I do it myself. My hair also feels better when I do it myself because I use a demi-permanent color. This time I used 28G-Golden Cappuccino.

Hope you all enjoy! See you tomorrow for day 3!

xoxo,

Mercedes

Project 365: Day 1 of 365

Wow, so I totally decided to commit to Project 365! This is day one of 365! This will be tons of fun, and I hope you can all get to know me better through this! I encourage you all to start this project with me and leave me links to your blog so I can get to know you better also :)

So basically this photo represents my favorite food! I usually just eat this when there are birthday parties and gatherings. Today my fiance and I decided that we would buy the stuff to make it! This is a traditional Mexican dish and in my case this is a traditional, Mexican-American dish. All we did was buy thin steak and we soaked it in a lime based marinade for a few hours. We then grilled it, wrapped it in corn tortillas and enjoyed!

Hope you enjoyed reading this post :)

xoxo,
Mercedes

Project 365?

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to give you a little intro to my new blog project; Project 365!

Project 365 will consist of 1 picture a day for 365 days! Yes, I know, that is a full year! Hopefully I can keep up! Basically each picture will just have to be about me, or my life, or something that interests me! No limits. This is a way to really get creative while also updating my blog. I heard about this on twitter and so far I know of two other YouTube beauty guru's/bloggers: 0MsNaz0 and cutiegingerbread. Here is a link to 0MsNaz0's blog: http://www.beautybynaz.com/ Here is a link to cutiegingerbread's blog: http://www.cutiegingerbread.blogspot.com/ Please check these two ladies out, they are amazing.

I hope you all enjoy and I hope that you do it too!

xoxo,
Mercedes

Update!

Hey everyone,

Sorry I have not updated you all with the bikini bootcamp thing. I can tell you that it ended very well and all of my numbers for sit ups, push ups, squats, lunges, etc all increased and I got a lot stronger. As for weight, I actually gained which really was discouraging but I figured I had probably gained muscle. I felt really good about it and I am going to do the next four week session which starts soon.

As for keeping it up my workout routine and eating right I feel like I have majorly failed. I really have to get myself back on track so I can get healthy. It just seems like when school gets stressful I start eating very unhealthily and I stop working out. Do you have any tips for me?

Also, I think I am going to start the 365 picture thing. Some other beauty gurus are doing it and I thought it would be fun. Anyways, it's basically like you take a picture everyday for one year and upload it to your blog. The picture just has to represent you or your life so it allows you to get creative. 

Love you all,

Mercedes

P.S. Please share any weight-loss tips for me in the comment section :) Thank you

Bikini Bootcamp (continued again)!

Day 4 (04/01/10): Alright so I quit, no more working out for me!

Hahaha April Fools!

Anyway, today felt really good. We did a little bit of cardio to get our hearts pumping, did some squats, some chest and arm exercises with weights and some ab and leg stuff laying down. It seemed so short. 

I didn't feel like I was going to die today though.... I told my instructor after that I just didn't feel like I was going to die. I asked if I just was not working hard enough. She said that I was slacking a little bit and it is because I am doing the same amount of work that I am used to doing but my body is getting used to it. Since my body is getting used to it, I really need to pick it up and really push my self more and more each time. I asked the instructor to call me out if she really sees that I am slacking because I guess at the time I am doing it I really don't notice. 

I honestly do feel like my endurance is really getting better! I'm not dead after a little bit of running! I really, really want to keep up with this working out think after my bootcamp is done. I am really looooooooving this healthy lifestyle :) It feels sooo good! I really hope by this time next year I am at least 9 sizes smaller! If I calculate that right... Alright, I'm gonna put myself out there. Currently I am a size 18 in American Eagle brand jeans. I hope to be a size 9 by this time next year! I really hope I can do this! I'm also gonna put myself out there and tell you my weight! The last time I weighed myself (about a week or two ago) I weighed between 217 and 215, the scale kept changing. My goal weight is 150! As of right now I don't really care about losing pounds, right now I am just concerned with shedding the fat (GROSS)! I am hoping to gain sexy muscle and not man muscle. I hope look good in a swimsuit (it doesn't have to be a bikini) around next summer because I think I am going to start saving up with the FH to go on a CRUISE! It is something I have always wanted to do and I think that will be my big reward for getting healthy and looking good! I really feel like I am on a great track to the rest of my life!

I can't wait for the day that I can wear shorts and a tank top and not feel like a flubber whale! I know that one day I will be the person I want to be and I will be healthy for my children (when I decide if I will even have any or not) and I will live my exquisite life to the fullest!

By the way, this is my post workout snack: 

 These are soooo delicious! They are an enhanced protein shake and they come in all different flavors. They have 15g of whey protein isolate, 23 vitamins and minerals, 3 servings of fruits and veggies from antioxidants, antioxidant = to 4 cups of green tea and they are free of lactose, gluten, soy and caffeine! They are 200 calories a bottle and they are all naturally. You can find more info at www.mix1life.com. Also they are made here in Colorado, in Boulder actually :)

I started drinking these because my instructor said for us to drink something with carbs or protein to replenish our muscles :) They are so yummy and not even chalky!

Love you all!

Thanks for reading,
Mercedes

Bikini Bootcamp (continued)!

Day 3 (03/30/10): Alright, so today seemed as if bootcamp slightly flew by! Since it was such a beautiful day outside today on campus, we did all of our activities outside :) Of course today we did some crazy stair running and hill running. We also did some dips on the stadium benches, running with a partner with the resistance of a stretchy band, and also some random squats and ab toning. I still couldn't keep up all the way though, but I think my endurance is getting better! I felt really great after class except for the pain in my left thigh. During the last couple of minutes of bootcamp we sprinted in groups of 3 and 4 for about 100 or 200 meters (or something like that, I'm not great with estimating my distances), and I pulled something in my thigh. But I always say, better my thigh than my groin, because I always would injure my groin in soccer and for me, it hurts 5x more! Hopefully it will stretch out by next bootcamp which is on Thursday. My instructor said that next class we will be doing more strength training and toning rather than doing cardio and agility. For now I will sit back and drink my Protein Zone Naked Juice Smoothie (which is rather chalky I might add) before I go take a shower and continue on to some homework :)

So my goal for the week is to really cut down on my food intake, maybe like cut out 1/3 of what I am eating now and really just stick with my snacking throughout the day. If you have any tips for me, please feel free to leave them in the comment section below :) I really need all the help I can get because I really want a bikini body by the time I go on my honeymoon (3-4years from now)!
Hope you all enjoyed reading this and I hope I have inspired you to start your own weight-loss journey! Let me know if you are on one of your own, and we can do this together :)

Thanks for reading,
Mercedes

Bikini Bootcamp!

Day 1 (03/23/10): So I'll be referring to "Bikini Bootcamp" as just "bootcamp". So for today we started off with an initial assessment. We did push ups, sit ups, wall sits, lunges, squats and jumping jacks. We would do each of these for a certain amount of time and count how many we could do within that time or how long we could last, for example, the wall sits. After each of these, we would each tell the instructor our time or numbers so she could write it down. We will do another assessment in two weeks. 


After doing the initial assessment we RAN STAIRS! These weren't your normal stairs, these were stadium stairs! Stadium stairs=endless and steep. Endless + Steep=DEATH (not really but close). Anyways after a long time of being the last one at the end of the line of stair running the bootcamp was finally over for the day, or at least I thought it was. After running stairs, we returned to the spot where we did our initial assessment. We then did things such as slight stretching as well as leg lifts and slight muscle toning. Finally it was over. 


After class I approached the instructor and asked if it was bad that I was the slowest straggler during the bootcamp. She replied with "You are not here to compete.  You are here for you."  This was inspired me to attend the next class. The only problem I have is that most (majority) of the people in the class really do not need the class to look great in a bikini. I definitely know that I won't be in a bikini by the end of this but I will be on a great track to a better me! Overall I feel really great about it and I can't wait to be a better me :)


Day 2 (03/25/10): I thought today would be horrible. After sitting around all day doing homework and watching movies for my snow day, I was realllllllly sore! I could barely walk down stairs (going up was the easy part). After waking up I could barely move. I stretched before a shower and the heat from the shower really loosened me up! I cannot believe I am this sore, and after two days.


In class today we just did a lot of cardio to get our hearts pumping before moving into toning and agility. We did a small part with some weights, in which we worked our arms (ahh those will be sore tomorrow). We also did a lot of leg lifts and such using our lower abdominal and glutes to do a lot of the work. We did a lot of jumps with lunges and squats. This bootcamp was very fun today because we had some music :) 


Overall, I really felt much better after today's class and I really feel like I can do this. I don't like that I sweat like a man though (not kidding). I feel alive after todays class. Maybe it's all of the endorphins making me a happier person! Wonderful, just wonderful! Tomorrow will definitely be a sore day but maybe not as bad as the rest of the days. 


I really think I am going to buy some meal replacement protein shakes for during the week. I have such a busy schedule that I don't really have time to eat anything healthy so I would much rather have a nice low-cal, super nutritious, protein shake to fill me up rather than eating junk filled with a gazillion calories! I also think I might go to target to buy some cute workout clothes! Excited :)