autumn bucket list

happy first day of autumn, aka the best season of the year!  crisp mornings, beautiful colors, and pumpkin-flavored everything -- does it get much better than that!?  today i would like to share with you five of my favorite fall activities:

1. tailgating -- football + team chants + corn hole
2. apple picking -- tall brown boots + apples cider doughnuts + spicy aromas
3. pumpkin carving -- hayrides + pumpkin seeds + the monster mash
4. trail hiking -- colorful leaves + picnics + cozy knit sweaters
5. halloween-ing -- hocus pocus + fake cob webs + creative costumes

what are your favorite autumn activities?

(photo by maria starzyk)

weekly goal - meal tracking

this week i'm going to focus on tracking my meals. i will not be neurotic about this.  anything that enters my mouth, will also enter my food journal. i will not be neurotic about this.  i will simply jot down calorie estimates in this adorable new notepad that i picked up at the vera bradley outlet.  did i mention that i will not be neurotic about this?

p.s. i'm still going strong with operation drink-more-water. i even created game to make drinking “fun.” whenever i take a sip from my giant water bottle, i like to see how long i can go before stopping to take a breath. right now my record is 16 ounces. *insert fist pump emoji*

this post is part of the weekly wishes linkup, hosted by the nectar collective - for people who like to get shit done

last weekend of summer

happy sunday!  how was your weekend?  my grandparents came to visit yesterday, and we spent the entire day exploring my new town.  we discovered the cutest ice cream stand that sold the most delicious, locally made ice cream. i ordered the 'graham central station' (pictured above), which has to be one of the best flavors I've ever tasted. Graham flavored ice cream + a graham cracker variegate + chocolate covered crisp candy = yum!  it was the perfect way to spend the last days of summer.


i decided to link up with dateless in dallas and showered with design for this weekend recap post! yay for my first link up on this blog :)

1 month fitness evaluation

it has been one month since my initial fitness evaluation with my trainer.  i am so excited to share my progress with you!  this one month evaluation was just the pick-me-up that i needed.  i can feel my body getting stronger with each workout, and I've started making healthier choices (almost) instinctively.  it's so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day numbers game.  results like this show the importance of taking a step back to look at the big picture.

the basics
weight: 159 pounds (-2.0 lbs)
body fat: 25.8% (-3.8%)
bmi: 25.4 (overweight)
height: 5' 6"

measurements
neck: 12.5 inches (-0.5)
chest: 38.0 inches (-0.5)
waist:33.5 inches (-2.5)
hips: 40.5 inches (-1.0)
arm: 11.0 inches (0.0)
thigh: 22.0 inches (-1.5)

fitness
pushups: 19 (+2)
wall sit: 120 seconds (+35)
plank: 90 seconds (+2)

onward and downward...

how to drink more water in ten easy steps

1. invest in a brita filter... or a filter for your tap... or a faucet... or learn to harvest rainwater... really, any source of clean drinking water will work here.
2. determine the amount of water your body needs. helpful hint: divide your body weight in half. (i.e. if you weigh 160 pounds, you should drink at least 80 ounces of water per day)
3. buy one or two (...or three?) bottles that will provide the amount of water calculated in step #2.  i use the nalgene bottles pictured above. both were purchased on amazon. The blue one is 48 ounces and the pink one is 32 ounces. together, they provide 80 ounces of liquid awesomeness. important features: no leak, portable, easy to clean
4. high five for saving the environment one reusable bottle of water at a time!
5. Fill bottles with drinking water in the morning before work/school/netflix/etc.  this is key for all the water snobs (like me) that only drink ice cold filtered unicorn tears harvested by whistling leprechauns. this is also key for the lazies (like me) that don't want to waste time & energy refilling the bottles later.
6. keep your friends close and water bottle closer.  if you leave your water bottle in your bag/car/fridge, you will forget about it.  pretend your bottle is your baby; never let it leave your line of sight.
7. enjoy refreshing water throughout the day. set reminders on your phone if you have to.
8. feel good when you finish the last sip; partially because you've met your hydration goal, but mostly because an empty bottle is much easier to carry.
9. before bed, rinse the water bottles and put them on the counter so that they will be ready and waiting in the morning.
10. repeat steps 5 though 9, and in no time at all, you'll be feeling like Queen bey.

please drink responsibly :)

how do you hydrate?

10 things that will help me lose weight

note to self: bookmark this post for future reference.

to help reach my weight-loss goals, i made a list of things to add to my daily/weekly/monthly routine.  i fully understand that habits aren't formed overnight, that rome wasn't built in a day, and that the tortoise beats the hare every. single. time.  blah blah blah, i get it: old habits die hard and new ones are illusive, slippery little suckers.  in order to avoid the trap of too much, too fast, too soon, i will focus on one item at a time.  once something becomes second nature, i will move on to something new. so yeah, here's the list i came up with on my lunch break:

1. drink 80 ounces of water / day
2. sleep more than 7 hours / night
3. take vitamins daily
4. keep a food journal
5. run 15 miles / week
6. strength train 3 times / week
7. meditate every morning
8. journal every night
9. plan meals ahead of time
10. monthly fitness assessments

the body project

confession time:
i am super insecure about my weight.  i hate it, really i do!  i miss out on opportunities, push people away, and spend most of my time wondering how skinny ani would handle different situations as they are presented throughout the day.  it sounds crazy, i know!

i've decided that my first project (after all, this blog is called the ani project) will be to get healthy.  i've already lost some weight this summer (12 pounds to be exact) by joining a running group, but i still have a long way to go.

disclaimer:
I'm absolutely terrible at following through with things (see: running group mentioned above; also see: old blog, older blog, and oldest blog). gah terrible, i know! BUT this time is different! Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say (<-- that's you). no, i really mean it!  this time i will not hide my blog from the awesome people of the interweb *waves frantically at computer screen.* this time i will, however, hide it from my friends and family.

summary:
by staying semi-anonymous, i will be able to post as if no one is reading; because let's be honest, is anyone actually reading this? anyway, Get excited for lots and lots of super boring lame exciting health posts; coming soon to a computer screen near you.

when it comes to goals, how do you stay accountable?

"starting" stats

because who doesn't love a good numbers game!?  please don't get too emotionally attached to these numbers, we're just passing through. oh! and for the record, my goal is 145 pounds and 20% body fat.

the basics
weight: 161 pounds
body fat: 29.6%
bmi: 26.0 (overweight)
height: 5' 6"

measurements
neck: 13.0 inches
chest: 38.5 inches
waist:36.0 inches
hips: 41.5 inches
arm: 11.0 inches
thigh: 23.5 inches

fitness
pushups: 17
wall sit: 85 seconds
plank: 88 seconds

let the games begin...

the daily routines of famous creative people

whether you're the president of the united states or a small town barista, everyone has the same 24 hours in a day.  i love love love seeing how people spend their time.  i'm a slave to routine.  whenever i don't structure my day in a certain way, my productivity levels dip drastically.  as such, you can imagine my giddy excitement when I stumbled on infographic titled the daily routines of famous creative people. so much awesomeness on one page.

i joined a kickball league!

Yesterday was day 1 of kickball. And?  I love love LOVED it!  Everyone was super friendly and welcoming.

We lost.  I don’t even know what the final score was, but I only got up to kick once.  It wasn't that we were terrible, the other team was just THAT good.  I definitely need to practice.

When I was in the outfield, a ball was kicked my way.  Mentally, I was so ready for it.  As it was soaring through the air, I envisioned myself gracefully swooping it up and gently tossing it to second for the out, all in one swift motion.  Unfortunately that is not what happened.  I totally underestimated the bounce, so it completely missed my hands. Instead, the ball grazed my fingertips, hit me in the face, and then bounced behind me.  The next part is hard to recall, but I imagine that I looked like a dog chasing its tail as I spun around trying to get a hold of the ball.  Needless to say, I did not get the out.  And what’s worse, the other team managed to score a run. ugh.

After the game we went all went out to the bar that is sponsoring the league.  It was such a great time (free beer + cornhole + nachos = amazingness).  I drove so I didn't drink too much.  I didn't even mind because after a couple rounds of flip cup, I realized that my drinking-game skills need some work too.  I didn't get back to my apartment until 10:30, which is late for me (oh goodness, i sound old), but I’m definitely glad that I went and can’t wait until next week :)