Stylish, Stealthy & Healthy.

Category Archives: Fitness


by 17 Comments

Spoiled

Well now I’ve gone and done it.  I’ve tasted the forbidden fruit.  Little did I know, that with one little clickety-clack of my mouse just a few short days ago, that my life would be forever changed.

I am, of course, referring to buying a Groupon to a real life yoga studio.

Do you know what they do in there?? They burn incense.  And candles!  And it smells of eucalyptus and dreams.  They use props, I tell you!  Blocks and straps and bolsters (oh my!).  It’s like this whole little community that I’ve always been destined to be a part of.  You guys know that I’ve done yoga before (many times, in fact) but this is different.  My distractions are lesser, my poses are deeper and my awareness of breath is heightened beyond any other yoga experience I’ve had before.  Something happened to me when I first stretched out on my little turquoise rubber mat, in that dimly lit room, and it can only be described as magical.

So what really hurts is the realization that in just 8 short classes, this magnificent experience will be ripped, nay, wrestled away from my grasp and I’ll be faced with a very expensive decision.  One that I think I know the answer to and my purse strings clench just at the mere thought.  I’m still not totally sure why a membership to a yoga studio costs a year’s salary and your first-born child…  But what it comes down to is that I am less of a psycho-emotional-anxiety-ridden-best of a human with a little more om in my life, and can you really put a price tag on that?

Also it smells like angel kisses in there.

Do you guys pay to go to a yoga studio?  Do you think it’s worth the hefty price tag?


by 13 Comments

Bad Rap?

Thanks for all your input on my post yesterday, I always do feel much better about my plethora of issues once I get your feedback.  Apparently one of the other perks of blogging is maintaining one’s sanity.  Who knew?

But as I started to reply to a few comments, I decided instead that I wanted to get into one of the topics from yesterday just a little deeper.  Basically I wanted to ask the question: do cleanses get a bad rap?  I mean, I know they tend to be kind of a “fad” (see: SkinnyGirl) and a lot of times are the way people turn for a quick weight loss.  But for me, I look at cleanses like a facial for my insides.  I know that it’s just a little deep cleaning, but I don’t expect any major changes.  I did a cleanse a few years ago where I cut out basically everything I love (caffeine, booze, all meat/dairy products, gluten and sugar).  Not as a way to drop a few lbs, but I wanted a challenge and was actually really intrigued by the book that went along with it.  I read all about the benefits your body can get by giving it a rest from the aforementioned items, and I have to tell you, it was actually pretty accurate.  I felt amazing.  I lost zero weight, but I had more energy, my skin was better than it had been in years and I was really proud of the fact that I demonstrated such control over the things that often times get the best of me.  Ever since then, I have always been open to trying other cleanses and giving my body a little spa trip.

So I say this not at all from a place of being upset by any of the comments yesterday (hearing your feedback is my favorite part of blogging!) but to shed a little more light on the topic.  Again, I am not a believer in crash diets or crazy and restrictive eating just for the sake of dropping a few quick pounds.  I know firsthand what it takes to lose weight the “right” way (for me at least) and I know that short-term solutions just aren’t the right path.   Although I can’t deny my immediate temptation to try the old Slim Fast plan the first time I try on a bikini every year…  but I know it’s just a quick fix, and not at all realistic.  Also it makes me ravenous and on the verge of homicidal.

So I really want you guys to be honest: do you think all cleanses are bad?  I feel like maybe they get a negative connotation from being abused as a means to lose a lot of weight quickly.  Have you ever done one, and if so, did you have a good or bad experience?  Spill it!


by 13 Comments

Get It Together

I think I’ve actually forgotten what self-control feels like.  I say this because after almost two weeks of not working out, having a glass or three of wine (pretty much every night) and carb-loading like I’m training for a marathon (see point A), I need to get it together.   I love my friends and family who dull my concerns with things like “Oh, you’re just adjusting to the new job, things will even out soon!” but at some point you have to stop the excuses and ninja kick the rampant laziness and gluttony fest in the face.

Damn you, $3 Trader Joe’s wine!

I also still haven’t really decided what to do about my gym membership. So the plan is starting next Monday, I’m going to force myself to go every single day for a week and see how it goes (a week meaning M-F).   I accepted a long time ago that if I go straight home from work, there is a 99% chance that I’ll be in flannel pajama pants and no bra instead of yoga pants and a sports bra within seconds.

As far as my diet, well I’m not expecting too much to change.  The usual cutting back on the boozing, and I know I have a propensity to overdo it on the portion sizes, so that needs remedied ASAP.   The main point is that I need to eat more fruits and veggies.  I started this morning by making a smoothie for breakfast, but I think I overdosed on the kale, and so basically I just drank a salad through a straw.  TASTY.  I may have also felt my arteries revolting and heard tiny screams come from my small intestine…  whatevs.  I’m also toying with the idea of doing a cleanse.  Not as a weight-loss thing, more as a challenge that I like to do at least once a year.    Also not really sure what that’s going to look like, so I’m open to suggestions!  But if you say anything involving “going vegan” I may slap you.  Salad drinks for breakfast are one thing, but if you try and take away my cheese then you, my friend, are crazy.

Or maybe I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing and use all my bathing suits to fashion and old-timey quilt.  At this point it’s really a waiting game.

 

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