A Year of Group Exercise!

This semester will mark my first complete year of teaching group exercise classes and turning into a health junkie / foodie!

This is my Katie friend and I earlier today at our group fitness meeting / demo this morning. It was hard to get up (late Saturday night) let me tell ya. 

It is an awesome feeling completing my group exercise certified through ACE, first aid and CPR certified through American Red Cross, and becoming Spinning certified through Mad Dogg this Saturday! 

I can't tell you it is a perfectly easy transition to a complete healthy lifestyle of eating right and exercising daily; there's always that little thing called life that happens. 

Whenever I feel like I haven't been putting in my best effort to myself and my body, there are a few tricks I like to do and really focus on until I get back on track to a place I want to be. 

#1. Drink water. Lots of it. If you are feeling hungry, drink a glass of water before having that snack. If you aren't a fan of pure water, I sometimes add drops of MIO or make a cup of tea in the microwave. 

Tea is AMAZINGGGG <3

#2. Load up on veggies, veggies, and more veggies. The more you can fit into your omelet, salad, and plate at dinner the better. Fruits and veggies work miracles. 

#3. Put post-it notes on your mirror, or where you want to see them most. Put up inspirational quotes to keep you on track or your specific goal you are trying to reach to. Just a little reminder for those tough moments!

Pretty soon the habits will stick and you will be a healthier and happier you! Scouts honor. 

How Fitness Changed my Life

Now I'm not one of those people who tried every thing to lose weight, or dropped 100+ pounds or anything like that (those of you who did are absolutely amazing), but I have changed my life for fitness and health.

Being an active child and playing sports through high school (soccer, basketball, and track), I never had to think about what I ate or provide myself with any sort of limit. My mother is from the south so she used about 3 sticks of butter and 2 cups of bacon grease with every entree also. I went on to get a scholarship to play soccer at a small school in North Carolina in college for my freshman and sophomore year. Not the all-star I was in high school on my state championship team, I didn't see much of the field and still didn't think anything of my eating habits. None the less the college fast food and drinking didn't help my figure and I had put on the infamous freshman 15 come Christmas break.

I began to research about health and weight management more and more with my free time, following Twitter profiles devoted to a healthy lifestyle, "eat this not that", and finding easy and healthy recipes on Pinterest.

By the fall of my sophomore year, I was looking into what I wanted to do next with my life, now that I had lost my passion for playing soccer (very sad I know). I had taken group fitness classes at the gym with my good friend and loved every minute of the boot camp, Body Pump, and Spinning classes and thought, "Why couldn't I teach and get paid for working out, something I'd already be doing?" By spring of 2012 I was teaching group exercise classes of boot camp intervals and ab classes, loving every minute of it.

In Fall of 2012, I had transferred schools and became a step aerobics instructor (haha). Dancing is never my thing, but I took the opening and made the class my own interval based strength class with an added step. I love being open to new things. Next semester, spring of 2013 I will be teaching Spinning, Ab Attack, and Boot Camp.

I love to cook new things and come up with new ideas and creations. A simple way to start your day and overall lifestyle healthier is to ALWAYS EAT BREAKFAST! Shown below is one of my favorite breakfast meals that keeps me full until lunch.

Breakfast: Veggie Omelet

• One egg, two egg whites
• Chopped Onions, Spinach, Avocado, Tomatoes 
• (basically any veggies you want to throw in there)
• One Orange - sliced

 Approximately 254 Calories

** If you like it spicy, top with your favorite salsa**
(not pictured here, but I smothered this baby with Salsa Verde for that extra kick)

Beginning

So I've tried to start a blog on many occassions, and realized now I'm going to stick to it. There is so much wasted time out in the world and I want to put my effort into something that is mine, original, and that others can relate to.

I'm not really sure how this blog is going to go, whether it be a blog of my relationship with my wonderful boyfriend of two years, Ryan. A blog on fitness and health because I have been a group fitness instructor for 2 years and absolutely love the feeling of eating and cooking healthy creations. And then again it may just be a blog of my many random thoughts. We'll see!

One quote I love to live by is by is:

"What more is there than to feel alive."

And that's all folks

Rachel

P.S. - I LOVE Giraffes :D

They're just so adorable and calming :)