Branching Out!

I've been trying (as promised) to branch out a little food wise. For the last- oh, I dunno- 21 years? I've been eating pretty much the same thing every day. I switch it up every couple months, but I usually get in a routine and eat all the same foods all the time! Being so busy this semester has actually forced me to not do this, because I'm not at home as often as I used to be.

Like I mentioned in my post Adventures as of Late, I was pretty nervous about spending so much time on campus and having to eat school food. I didn't spend much time on campus last year (EXCEPT FOR CLASSES WHICH I ATTENDED EVERY ONE OF, MOMMY) so I didn't know that there were so many healthy options on campus! Today was another crazy day for me (on campus 9-6) so I actually ate two USC meals today. I had lunch at Colloquium Cafe again and branched out a little more! I did get the chicken ceasar salad with no dressing again, but somewhat begrudgingly. According to their menu, you can order half a chicken breast as a side item! But according to the lovely women working behind the counter, you cannot. So I got the chicken ceasar salad to get some protein and a small cup of corn chowder.

I realize that corn chowder looks pretty disgusting, but it was super yummy! I have never really been a big soup eater, except when I'm sick (which ironically I am now) but I loved it! I could definitely get used to eating it more often!

Now this morning I'll admit I was having a ridiculous craving. You remember that peanut butter cookie Luna bar I talked about in Back on the Grind?! I can't stop thinking about it. Literally. After Zumba this morning I took like a 30 second shower (quite a feat for me) so I could rush to campus and try and find one. I knew I'd seen some in the Russell House somewhere, so I was on a mission. Turns out, the Russell House carries EVERY SINGLE KIND OF LUNA BAR EXCEPT FOR THE ONE I WANTED. -.- Grr. I will have one tomorrow! So I bought a new one to have as my afternoon snack- the Luna protein chocolate peanut butter bar! 

It tasted like candy! Pretty darn yummy. I love being able to eat chocolate for under 200 calories :)

Like I said, today has been a whirlwind! After I got out of class at 5:15 I had a meeting with SGTV. Check out their website- so legit! I can't wait to get more involved! Anywayyy, I was in RuHo still at like 6:30 so I decided to see what they had to eat downstairs. They actually had a lot more healthy options than I anticipated! Some oven roasted potatoes caught my eye (one of my favorite foods!) so I ended up getting cajun catfish, potatoes, and a sauteed zucchini dish! For cafeteria food, it was soo good! I wish I had time to cook for myself, but when food like that is available to me there's no reason not to take advantage of it! 

Doesn't that look awesome?! I love zucchini too, so it was the perfect meal for me! 

I'm continually proud of myself for trying new things in all aspects of my life! I joined the Mountaineering and Whitewater club at school and am starting to work with the PR team for SGTV as well as Relay for Life again! I love being so involved and busy!

Friday marks the last day of boot camp, so y'all will have to keep me accountable and make sure I work out every day even when it's over! It's SO easy (painfully, dreadfully, horrifically easy) to slip back into old bad habits! I just have to keep reminding myself that I have made a permanent lifestyle change and I am simply not that chunky fourth grade girl who HATED to run the mile in gym class anymore! Nor am I the girl who takes shit from guys or tries to make other people happy before myself. That may sound bad, but I have made myself the number one priority in my life and it's liberating. Now making others happy is just a bonus, whereas before it was a necessity. Little adjustments make big changes! 

For exampleee, this may not seem like a big thing to you but I am noticing little changes in my body. All of the fitblogs I follow on tumblr, etc. talk about little things like their hipbones being visible, flat tummies, etc. But something that one of them mentioned several months back has stuck with me. HealthierEveryDay said that with her weight loss she had noticed an indent in her hand that hadn't been there before. I FOUND MINE! 

I acknowledge that it might be slightly ridiculous to be so excited about an indent in my hand, but it's something that is easier for me to notice than the big weight loss goals (like loss of inches). Since I look at myself in the mirror every day, it's easy to not see how drastically my body has really changed. But this is a big stepping stone for me, I'm so excited! Next... flat tummy :)

I hope I am showing y'all that it is 100% possible to do anything you set your mind to. A friend told me yesterday that he admired that I decided to do this and I DID it. I pride myself on that! There is a Fort Minor song that says: 

It's just ten percent luck
Twenty percent skill
Fifteen percent concentrated power of will
Five percent pleasure
Fifty percent pain
And a hundred percent reason to remember the name

While I do love that song, I think it's about 90% willpower! All you have to do is decide to do something and you can. Pushing through mental barriers is far more difficult than pushing through physical ones. Make a positive change. Everyone has room for improvement.

XO- Abigail

I Love Healthy Food!!

Y'all! I did so good today food wise! I will never cease to be amazed at how delicious healthy food can be! I am still recovering from my utterly obscene weekend, so I knew I had some making up to do in the food department. I felt better at boot camp this morning than I did on Monday, but I want to feel even better tomorrow! 

I started my day after boot camp with some yummy special k with a banana! 

It sounds simple, but it's really a great way to get in protein, fruit, and some healthy (organic skim) milk to start off your day! I had cottage cheese for a snack before I headed to my 11 o clock class, and then I was on campus until 3:15! I stopped by the Russell House to pick up some sushi in between classes. I'll admit it wasn't the best sushi I've ever had, but it's still good protein! 

I had a long day today: tons of school work, a trip to the DMV, and babysitting. I knew I wouldn't survive without my favorite thing in the whole wide world- sugar free red bull! Now, I am well aware that red bull is horrible for you. What is it y'all say is in it? Rat poison? Well what-EVER! It is my vice and it gets me through long days and makes me happy so I'm sticking to it! 

I think everyone should have one little vice that they don't give up when making a change in eating habits, and caffeine is mine! If you can get through a day without a skinny latte or a red bull, then more power to you! I cannot. 

I had 6 slices of turkey (50 calories and TONS of protein) and some Yoplait yogurt when I got home from the DMV. I got a new license, woohoo! :) 

I went to babysit at 5:45 and was planning on just eating a Kashi granola bar for supper, but when I got there the mom had eaten a salad for dinner and left the ingredients out for me! I wish I could say I was creative enough to make this beautiful salad, but alas, I stole the idea from a precious mother of two. 

CAN WE JUST TALK ABOUT HOW BEAUTIFUL THAT SALAD IS?!

It consisted of baby arugula, zucchini, marcona almonds, a few pieces of steak, and lemon drizzled on top. Oh. My. Gosh. Delicious! I've never had arugula before and I didn't absolutely love it, but my sweet friend Adam: 

(is he not literally the cutest thing you've ever seen?) recommended I try it with romaine sometime, so I think I shall! The marcona almonds were also super delish, they were olive oil-y with some salt on them! I actually went back for more after I was finished with my salad. The serving size said 23 almonds! I had about 15. Noms :)

I just had a bedtime snack with a little bit of protein in it to get me through boot camp tomorrow! It's one of my very favorite snacks- Kashi waffles! I absolutely love waffles and I know my buttermilk Eggos are not so excellent for me, so I'm glad Kashi has a great alternative! You should try them sometime!

The moral of today's story is that healthy food really can taste delicious! I no longer feel like I am making sacrifices to eat healthy. After this weekend and feeling so crappy afterwards, it is truly a relief to get back to eating foods that are great for my body AND taste good! 

Thank y'all so much for reading this, I'm really enjoying writing for you! Have a great night!

XO- Abigail

Back on the Grind

In an effort to get back on the wagon that I fell so very far off over the weekend, I'm blogging twice today! I ate really well all day, woohoo! I also worked out twice and boy am I feeling it! I had boot camp at 5:45 and Zumba at 9! I am struggling just to keep my eyes open at this point! 

I knew I had to eat well today to attempt to make up for this weekend, so I started out with some granola for breakfast! I had one small serving of low fat cottage cheese around 10:30, and had some yummy Publix sushi for lunch! 

According to the calorie counter I have been using online, this meal has 600 some odd calories! Say whaaat?! That kind of threw me for a loop, but sushi is so full of protein and yumminess that it's worth it to me to be by far the biggest meal of my day!

I went to Publix in the middle of the day to get my sushi and decided to do a little grocery shopping while I was there. Revamp my fridge. If there's nothing unhealthy in your fridge, you're way less likely to go out and get something you shouldn't really be eating. Look at all this yummy fruit Publix had just for me!! 

I was in skinnygirl heaven! I got some bananas, apples, and peaches (my newfound love) to snack on during the week! Nomnomnom.

Mondays and Wednesdays are my crazy days of classes, so I was on campus for most of the day after my trip to Publix. I needed a snack around 3:45 and had packed a Luna Bar to munch on. I'd never tried this particular kind, but oh-my-gawd, y'all. SO GOOD. 

It literally tasted like I was eating candy! I can't even explain how good it was! Just go get one! Right now! It made me not want to waste calories on a burger ever again- that's how delicious it was.

I mentioned I have been using a calorie counter online- I signed up for myfitnesspal! I have been absolutely loving it so far. You can scan a barcode of any food you eat and it enters it directly into your food diary! You can also enter your weight loss goals and fitness goals, and it helps you keep track of it! I'm loving it! Thanks for the recommendation, Adam and Brittany!

I'm so happy to be eating healthy and feeling good again, although I must admit I'm pretty excited to get in bed in a couple hours! School and workouts are exhausting, especially when your body isn't happy with you!

Get back on the wagon with me!

Get fit!

Get healthy!

XO- Abigail

Lesson learned!

Y'all. I really don't even have anything of validity to say, because truth be told this weekend I ate like CRAP! Total and complete crap. I'm not kidding. Judge me. Yell at me! 

Friday wasn't so bad, but I didn't eat enough! I was in bed until like five, oops. But I went out on my DATE and had some awesome sushi at a cute restaurant in five points! 

My date had never tried sushi (crazy, right!?!) so we split a California Roll and his roommate's recommendation of the rock n roll! The rock n roll was crab, avocado, cucumber, the usual- wrapped in squid and then fried. Pretty tasty, I won't lie!

I went to the lake on Saturday and consumed approximately 814170 calories in beer and APPARENTLY had some really awesome cheeseburger... I'm so ashamed! It was the first time since boot camp started (July 12th I think?) that I've really cheated. We get a "free day" with boot camp but we're still required to write down what we eat so our trainer can scold us appropriately. I wasn't so bad for the rest of the day, I had a subway sandwich for dinner. 6 inch ham on wheat with lettuce, provolone, and lite mayo. In comparison to the burger, it was an upgrade for sure!

We were supposed to come back to Columbia on Saturday night but the lake was so fun we wanted to go out on the water another day! This wasn't the best decision for me food wise though! Since I was a visitor in someone's home, I wasn't really in control of what I ate! (Not to mention we were in the deep south and everything is deep fried!) We went to a hole in the wall restaurant off the lake for breakfast on Sunday morning and I seriously had chicken fingers. Seriously. Chicken fingers. Like WHAT? Where were all of you to yell at me when I was making these poor decisions?!

As if I hadn't eaten badly enough all weekend, we went to Gilligan's for lunch and I had a steak and some steamed oysters. And a few bites (okay, a lot of bites) of the most delicious hush puppies I've ever eaten. Meanwhile, my phone was dead for the duration of the weekend, so I have no pictures to show you of the delicious fattening food I ate all weekend!

While it was all pretty darn yummy, it was NOT WORTH IT. I had boot camp this morning at 5:45 and I have never felt so sluggish or gross! I was dying. My body is so used to eating healthy organic food that this weekend really messed with me! I feel bloated and nasty :/ I need to do a cleanse or something! I probably still have hamburger grease and beer emanating from my pores. Ew. I have Zumba at 9 this morning and I am 100% back on the grind! No more fattening bad foods for me. If you ate like crap this weekend too, don't let it discourage you! You just have to let today be a new day and don't fall completely off the wagon! All is not lost! 

Getting healthy is not about a diet, it's a lifestyle change! We all know it's not easy to cut things out of your life, whether it be a toxic ex, a crappy friend, or fattening food. We are ALL going to fall off the wagon sometimes. But you have to realize that you should be the number one priority in your own life, and whatever is bringing you down has to go. Only allow things, food, and people in your life that make you feel better, and make you want to be better all the time. I know it's easier said than done, but if you make the conscious effort to better yourself every day, the realization will come to you. Be the most important thing in your life! Make yourself happy! 

Happy Monday, y'all. 

XO- Abigail

A Typical Day

So I said this post wouldn't be as long as the first one, but I lied. I eat often throughout the day, so that's a lot of food to post pictures of! For the most part, I probably won't post pictures of all 5-6 of my mini meals during the day, but I thought I should at least once to give you an idea of the kinds of food I eat regularly.

I go to boot camp at 5:45 (yep, you read that correctly. 5:45) every morning! We work out with high intensity cardio and strength exercises for 45 minutes to an hour each morning. This usually puts me back at my apartment around 7, which is when I get to eat my very favorite meal of the day! I have become certifiably addicted to my granola cereal!

You'll see that I have a measuring cup to make sure I don't go over the allotted serving size! Portion control is SO SO SO important. If you actually read the nutritional information on the foods you eat, you'd be amazed to see that the serving size is significantly smaller than you've been eating. For example, I picked up a small carton of instant cook rice in Food Lion the other day. It was about the size of a child's microwave friendly Chef Boyardee cup. There were TWO servings in that tiny package! And each serving had 250 calories and 150 from fat! Not only is this deceitful, but it WORKS! People simply don't pay attention to the nutrition labels and they are SO valuable!

More important than the calorie number, though, is the amount of protein, fiber, sugar, sodium, etc. you consume. If you go to mypyramidtracker, you can enter your height and weight and it will tell you how much of each of these you should be eating every day. If you're anything like me, you'll likely find that you have been consuming far more than your allotted amounts of sugar and sodium. I love Naked fruit smoothies, and drink them often, but it has 23 grams of sugar in one serving, so I can't drink them on days when I indulge myself with a Starbucks skinny caramel latte (only 130 calories, how can you go wrong?!).

I'll get off my soapbox about nutrition labels now and get back to my typical day! I usually have class at 11 so I have a snack around 10 or 10:30. Yesterday I had a super yummy and healthy snack- 6 pieces of Deli Fresh Honey Smoked turkey and some sugar free applesauce! Sometimes I'll have a serving of low fat cottage cheese cottage cheese and mixed fruit too! Always have protein! 

Lunch is up in the air most days, sometimes I have sushi, sometimes just a Kashi peanut peanut butter granola bar. Yesterday, though, I went to a Britney Spears concert in Charlotte (YEAH I DID) so I ate for lunch what I usually have for supper- a Lean Cuisine! While Lean Cuisines may not be the most healthy option (cooking for yourself is always healthiest), it's quick and sometimes I just need a 4 1/2 minute lunch! I get the alfredo pasta with chicken and broccoli so that I get some more protein and veggies in for the day! 

For a precooked meal, it's pretty darn delicious! I was super hungry around lunch time yesterday, and after 20 minutes of finishing my lean cuisine, I was still pretty ravenous so I decided to indulge myself with one of my very favorite low calorie desserts- SKINNY COW! If you haven't heard of/tried these, I absolutely insist that you go buy some immediately. They're literally amazing. Only 140 calories and 3 grams of fat in an ice cream sandwich? What could possibly be better?

Before I walked out the door to drive to Charlotte and see Britney I had a green apple and some reduced fat Jif peanut butter! Again, protein at every meal! I forgot to take a picture, but I'm pretty sure you can imagine what an apple and peanut butter might look like ;)

I knew that Ashley and I would have to get supper in Charlotte, but was afraid that all the restaurants around the Time Warner Cable Arena would be fast food or fattening. I was correct. We got out of the car and the first two restaurants I saw were Burger King and a Chinese food place. -.- Not happy about it! We stopped some friendly cops (er, police officers) and asked if there was anywhere not fast food around, and they directed us up to the epicentre. There was a sushi restaurant that I would have loved to try, but there was a 30 minute wait! So I bravely went in to a pizza place and ordered their house salad. NOT an easy task! The pizza looked so good! But I'm going to Vegas in two weeks and that pizza was just not worth it! The house salad ended up being pretty delicious! 

And that was my day food wise! I'm pretty sure I burned off at least half of those calories dancing with Britney and DJ Pauly D last night! What a great day! 

I know this post is probably already longer than the first one, but I absolutely can't forget the most important thing I consumed yesterday and every day- WATER. Water water water water water water water. DRINK WATER. Not only is water good for you and refreshing, but if you work out frequently it helps hydrate you for your next workout and for the rest of your day. Drinking tons of water can also serve to make you less hungry throughout the day, and flushes out bad toxins in your body. I can't stress it enough. Drink water! Right now!!

I hope y'all enjoyed getting a little taste (hehehehe) of what I eat every day! I'm going out to dinner tonight (a date, can you believe it?!) and I don't know where I'm going yet! I hope this nice guy won't be weirded out by me taking pictures of my food for y'all! Hahaha! Happy Friday y'all, enjoy your day!

XO- Abigail

Adventures as of Late

As some of you may know, I've made some drastic changes in my life lately. A month and a half ago I began working with a program called Operation Boot Camp to improve my health and fitness. Let's just say improvement is an understatement. I have completely revamped my eating habits and am hoping to use this blog to help hold myself accountable for what I eat when boot camp ends in two weeks! :( Part of the process with OBC is to write down every single thing you eat and at what time, etc. We have a check list to see if we've gotten enough protein, fruits, veggies, etc. 

Writing down every single thing I consume has helped me SO much to not eat junk! Who really wants to write down "big mac- 7 pm"... "Then I fell asleep and felt disgusting for 2 days," right?! 


You will notice I talk a lot about big macs... The truth is, I love them. I feel like if I tell myself constantly how awful they are for me and how gross they make me feel, it will make me want them less. It's not working. 


I'm hoping this blog will work for me as a pseudo- food journal! Not to mention, I love photography and constantly take pictures of my food. I think food is BEAUTIFUL. I think everything is beautiful. If you don't find beauty in the simple things in life, it's just not worth living. I want to share my love for food and life with you! 


I'm also an aspiring journalist and love to write. Chances are, I will frequently add some "Abby advice" (as I like to call it) to my blog posts! I am learning more about myself with every passing day, and I'm loving it! It is so rewarding to fall in love with yourself after 21 years of consistently trying to impress and please others. Boot camp was the first thing I have done truly for myself in quite some time, and the results mentally are far more impressive than my physical results. If I can make anyone smile with my posts or advice, my job here is done. 


That being said, let's get to the FOOD! You should know that for the last month and a half I have been eating pretty simple, basic (and often bland) foods. Granola, cottage cheese, fruit, grilled chicken, peas. I'm gonna try to spice it up for y'all! In lieu of spicing it up, I splurged a little bit last night (translation: I ate like crap last night). I went to Zoes last night for dinner and had steak rollups and rice pilaf!

Dee-lish! The steak rollups tasted somewhat like a philly cheesesteak, and had the first cheese (aside from parmesan and feta) that I've eaten in a month and a half in it! It was awesome, but I'll admit I felt a little crappy afterwards! My friend got a chicken salad sandwich and fruit, but dug into it before she'd let me take a picture. I guess that means it was good!

Today I had class on campus from 9-5:15 (INSANE!), so I had to eat lunch on campus. I was slightly wary of this, because Russell House boasts restaurants like Chick Fil A, Sbarro, etc. It is so hard for me to go to Chick Fil A and not get those delicious waffle fries! So I decided to go to the Colloquium Cafe right next to my class building. I was pleasantly surprised by the plethora of healthy options they had! They had soups, salads, healthy sandwiches, healthy EVERYTHING! Plus they have Starbucks, so I was basically in heaven. I decided on a half chicken ceasar salad (no dressing!) and a side of fruit. 

Y'ALL. It was so good! I'm a big fan of the Instagram app on my iphone, and use it to edit pictures often, but this yumminess needed no enhancements! It was just that beautiful. I was so happy that there's healthy options on campus! The freshman fifteen IS avoidable, little ones! 

I have noticed as of late that there are far more healthy options than people either notice or would care to admit. I'm not sure if it's ignorance or if they're content with being unhealthy, but so many people consume unnecessary calories, sugar, sodium, etc. There is a healthy version of EVERYTHING. I'm not saying that people should give up their monthly Five Guys burger- everyone needs to indulge and reward themselves sometimes. But food gives you energy for the day! And food that is bad for you just kind of makes you feel icky. So tomorrow, instead of getting that Chick Fil A sandwich and french fries, just get a grilled chicken sandwich on a whole wheat bun, and get water instead of soda! Cutting back on little things like this will make big changes eventually!

Sorry for the length of this post, I'll try and keep it shorter next time! Hope you enjoyed, friends! I'm so excited about this new venture!

XO- Abigail