Sick!

Hello everyone!

I've been away for a week and I apologise. Unfortunately I had the flu and I was in bed delirious most of the time :(

But now I am back, with still a little bit of sore throat but that will get better soon with lots of water and orange juice (I got lots of oranges to use up :D)

***

I'm also planning on doing a 28-day challenge recap very soon, so check back for that.

 ***

I'll leave you with a pic from "surprise Valentine's day"





Most fab pineapple-coconut drink I've ever had!





I was actually going to be in Milan to visit my dad on the 14th so my boyfriend decided to surprise me a few days before with a fluffy stuffed heart stuffed with my favourite chocolates (don't worry I've eaten just 2, the rest I am going to share... I think ;P) and taking me out to dinner.

The plan was to go to my favourite restaurant but when my boyfriend called to make a reservation he found out that it was closed and the same happened with a couple of other restaurant that I love... I mean, what's up with that!

So we decided to go out anyways and see what was open and go from there. We wanted to get out of our town and ended up going to Loano, a very nice nearby town on the coast. As soon as we got there, as it was a little too early for dinner, we decided to look for a place to have drinks first. I could not believe it but 90% of the little cafes were actually gelaterie! Imagine that, eating gelato in the freezing cold, right before dinner! Not going to happen!

Eventually we found a very nice place called Gipsy (too bad it doesn't have a website!), on the beach, with nice music, candles and all that jazz where we could finally have our drinks: bingo!

I got 1 2 drinks (made with fresh pineapple juice and fresh coconut... I was in love!). Lucky while we were there we realized they also served dinner on the 1st floor, which was even nicer, had very comfy wicker chairs (hope I'm saying it right) and overlooking the beach! Wow!

The restaurant made mainly fish but surprisingly they also had a lot of vegetarian dishes (since the chef's wife is vegetarian). I took the veggie lasagna which was to die for (no kidding, I'm still thinking about it!), a nice warm salad with feta cheese and we split a cheesecake (that was the only thing that wasn't that good out of all we ordered). Sorry guys, no pics everything was so good that I completely forgot about my camera taking pics with my phone (the camera is still broken). We definitely splurged coz it was so good but I don't feel guilty one bit, life is also about splurging every once in a while!

All in all our evening went way better than we actually anticipated it. The restaurant turned out to be even better than my favourite one! Plus I was really surprised by the whole thing and you can see that as I was wearing jeans and a top and I was completely makeup-less! lol

Isn't it really nice when life surprises you like that!

A story to me means a plot where there is some surprise. Because that is how life is - full of surprises.

Isaac Bashevis Singer

Love,

Elisa

Feeling The Change

Happy Monday (going on Tuesday... almost!)!

How was everybody's weekend? Mine was actually very nice. I got to go to Milan to visit my dad and my brother and I had a really good time. I so needed the change of scenary even though it was only for a day and a half. Tomorrow morning I'll be going back home (yea, since I work Saturdays and Sunday mornings my weekends have shifted a bit, they start Sunday afternoon and last until Monday evening).

I'm totally pooped right now, I think I walked a total of 6 hours today... got to catch up with the city, you know ;P ? On top of that this morning I did yoga for almost an hour. Dear Lord! Whoever said that yoga is easy or that it doesn't make you sweat, has clearly never tried it! I was dripping within minutes. I took a few videos on youtube from one of my favourite yogi's ever, Sadie Nardini. I did her Weight Loss Yoga part 1, 2, 3 and 4 plus some stretchig. Let me tell you, my arms and legs were shaking by the end of it and it felt awesome!

I love incorporating yoga into my workout routine. Not only does it give me a good workout, it also give me a good stretch.

***

28-Day Challenge Take II Update:

How did my first week go? Not too bad.

Was I perfect? Absolutely not. But you know what? That's ok, if it was ment to be easy, it wouldn't be a challenge.

I did a total of three workouts and I took them all from my girl Zuzana. I did one on Monday, one on Thursday and one on Sunday.

What I learned  from this first week:

* for as hard as you try, things don't always go as planned

* starting back working out after a two-month's break with the hardest workout I know might not be the best idea of all (Note to self: do not ever do that again)... I could barely move for two and a half days!!!

* you can surprise yourself. I did way better than I thought especially "mind wise". I found my motivation back and this is suh a huge thing for me! Two times out of three I fit the workout when I had little to no time because I wouldn't have missed it for nothing in the whole world! The past few months I found every possible excuse not to workout so it's nice to have my old self back!

So you live and learn, right? The best thing about week one is that now I have this great feeling that the weeks to come are going to go way better. I can feel the change :D

***

A couple of days ago someone asked me a few questions about my diet, so I figured it would be a lot more helpful to address this in a post (maybe even more than one, we'll see how it goes). As some of you may know, I struggled with eating disorders for a good 12 years. Recovery was not an easy thing for me and it took a lot of time, help, effort and self growth. Talking about it is not easy either but if sharing my story with you all will help even only one person in the whole world, I will be the happiest person alive. So check back for that!

I better go now, my little Panda (my kitty cat) is sleeping on my laps right now and she is determined to rest her head on my hand which makes the whole writing process a lot more difficult, believe me!

How did the first week of the 28-Day Challenge go? What did you get out of it? Did you struggle with it? And if you weren't in the challenge, did this past week teach you something about yourself? Did it change you in some way?

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.

- Barack Obama

Love,

Elisa

28-Day Challenge Take II

Hope everyone had a fantastic day!

The weather here in Italy has been so lovely these past few days... nothing compared to the last few weeks when it was miserable!

Yay for a day off yesterday! I haven't had a free day in so long (except for last Wednesday) I was beside myself with joy when I knew I was off!

As you might have figured out, the 28-Day Challenge did not go as planned. Lately things have not been going so great for me and probably I picked the worst moment to start a challenge as I couldn't commit to it at all.

Anyways, I'm not giving up and I'm ready to get back on track. I feel way better and I plan on succeeding this time around.

So, as of yesterday I'm giving the challenge another go! It will be slightly different this time around though:

* I will have only one goal aka exercising at least 4 days a week.

Exercising is my biggest issue when it comes to slacking. When I miss a couple of workouts, it's really hard for me to get back on track. On the other hand, I find that when I exercise consistently, everything else in my life automatically falls into place. I eat better, drink more water, I'm a lot happier...

My ultimate goal is to be able to exercise 5 to 6 times per week but I know too well this is not going to happen overnight and I do need an achievable goal.

***

So to kick this challenge right in the booty yesterday I had an awesome workout!

I went back to three of my favourite ladies on the web: Zuzana from bodyrock.tv, Angela from ohsheglows and the lovely lady from YouTips4U on YouTube. I'm sure you already know them but in case you don't, go check them out because they are amazing!

If you are familiar with Zuzana's workouts, you know they are not for the faint hearted. They are mostly bodyweight HIIT (high intensity interval training).

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) or sprint interval training is an exercise strategy that is intended to improve performance with short training sessions. HIIT is a form of cardiovascular exercise which is beneficial to burning fat in a short and intense workout. [Source] 

Here are some of the benefits of HIIT:

* Maximum Cardio Benefit in Minimal Time

* Turns Your Body Into a Fat Burning Furnace

* Improve Your Endurance and Stamina

For the whole article click here.

Anyway this girl is truly amazing! She has you sweat like no other in very little time, so that even if you don't have time, you can fit in one of her workouts. She also has tips and modifications for beginners, which is great otherwise I would have never had the courage to even try her workouts!!! So even if you are just starting out, do not get discouraged, give your body a chance to surprise you. I sure was surprised and I still am every time I complete one of her workouts (modified of course :P )! Plus you can't get bored of them since every workout is different and fun in... a masochist kinda way. No, really they are fun ;)

So to start off the workout, I chose probably the most brutal of all her workouts (and man am I feeling it right now!), the Swimming In My Own Sweat Workout. Let me tell you, I almost drown but I felt awesome afterwards.

Note: if it's the first time trying her workouts, you might want to start with one of her shorter workouts. And anyways do not get discouraged, you will improve over time. I'm still a beginner myself but I'm waaay better than the first time I tried doing her workouts!

After that (I seriously don't know what got into me yesterday...) I did this video from YouTips4U.

And then I did attempted doing some core exercises that I took from OhSheGlows but after the first three exercises I had to admit defeat!

This workout really kicked my butt. I have to say though, I felt like a million dollars afterwards!

I didn't know if I wanted to show you all my sweaty face after the workout. But then I thought, I must not be the only one looking like a hot mess after a workout but that's what makes it real!

Warning: sweaty, make-up free and sleepy face!!! Keep reading at your own risk :P

That's what I'm talking about!

The good thing about this is that you know a shower will be in your immediate future.

Much better!

Sorry about the make-up free face, I really was in a hurry.

So here you have it, my first workout for the 28-Day Challenge, I do have a good feeling about this one!

***

What are your favourite workouts? Do you look like a mess after it or do you keep your cool?

 

Love,

Elisa

When Starting Is The Most Difficult Part

Good evening everyone!

If yesterday I thought I was busy, today gave busy a whole new meaning! From this morning at 7.30a.m. I didn't get the chance to sit down until 1p.m. and then again I was running around for the whole afternoon!

The weather wasn't as helpful as yesterday to improve my mood... it went:

from this

to this!!!

Come on!

***

So, beside the crappy weather, how did my 1st day of my 28-Day Challenge go?

Well, let me just say that I'll have to work a lot harder than I thought but I am not giving up!

* Exercise didn't happen, yet, but I might try to squeeze in some core exercises before bed but I'm not all that sure, I'm pretty tired already.

Note to self: it is not a good idea to stay up till 12a.m. if you are planning a 6a.m. workout, especially if you are desperately trying to get back into the habit of working out!

* Eating 5 meals today was quite hard too. I had my snack all planned out for mid a.m. but I was out with some clients (I currently work for a real estate agency) from 10a.m. to 1p.m. . I mean, seriously?! Needless to say I was going to eat my arm off by the time I got home. Anyway I did get a chance to have a snack between lunch and dinner and it was yogurt, a huge apple (I can't get over how huge it was! And it was from the farmer's market) and 10 almonds. Quite satisfying! I love this combo, it has the tartness of the yogurt, the sweetness of the apple and a lovely crunch from the almonds.

* Water was a challenge too. I didn't have my water while I was out with the clients this morning so as soon as I got home I gulped down almost 1liter of water, I was so thirsty! The afternoon got better though and eventually I ended up drinking just about two liters of water plus a cup of tea.

* On a brighter note I did a little bit of cleaning after dinner, so I guess this went better.

All in all, there's still a lot to improve but at least I know I am going in the right direction. I do know I would have done a lot worse if it wasn't for the 28-Day Challenge.

Off to bed in a bit, I need proper sleep if I want to avoid going nuts!

***

How was your day? Do you find it easy to stick to a challenge once you put your mind to it? Or do you need a few days to adjust?

Love,

Elisa