The Military Diet

I hosted a birthday party for my man this past weekend. I ordered way too much food and I hate wasting food. Between him and I, we tried to take it upon ourselves to eat as much of the excess as possible, which consisted of buffalo chicken tenders, pizza and cupcakes. Needless to say, I needed a quick fix/detox if you will to remove the few pounds that I gained. I turned to the Military Diet http://themilitarydiet.com/military-diet-plan/. I tried it once years ago and didn’t follow the rules, i.e. I made the tuna into tuna salad and snuck in a few extra snacks. This time, I am committed! I am on day 3, and have already consumed the breakfast and lunch allotments. I am very hungry and extremely low energy. I have been drinking lots of water and herbal tea with one cup of green tea in the morning. I have lost a total of 3 pounds since day 1. One thing to note about this diet is that I have been sleeping phenomenal but have had very crazy dreams which I attribute to the ice cream before bed. It’s mostly a mental challenge. I’ve been day dreaming about wings since I awoke this morning and thought during these three rigorous days I have yet to cheat, tonight, the final meal, may just have to be that. Wish me luck!

While reading Wolf's speech one famous saying that came to me was mind over matter. Wolf used her mind to accomplish great things and that was all that she needed.:

Image from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/11/mantras-morning-inspiration-affirmation_n_1956296.html

2016

  
As 2015 comes to a close, I’ve been trying to think about the things I want to accomplish in 2016.

  • Buy an easel and begin working on my Sir Charles series of portraits of which I’ve been keeping in my mind for some time.
  • Follow my training schedule for my upcoming half marathon (NOLA) more rigidly in hopes of decreasing my time to under 2 hours.
  • Stop planning and learn to let go of the need to control everything.
  • Purchase a car.
  • Don’t sweat the small stuff, don’t stress the little things, live for today, not tomorrow.
  • Continue eating healthy with the “food is only fuel” mentality.
  • Don’t be hard on myself if I miss a day of running,  have a cheat day, or something doesn’t go according to plan.
  • Be kind.

Mostly, I want to live life and love life. Stop worrying about the day to day grind and enjoy every minute by finding ways to make the grind fun.

~ Blogged while snuggling with Charlie ~

Here is the link to purchase the above print: https://www.etsy.com/listing/212513157/life-is-rare

Written Commitment 

I, Brittany Heitz, promise the following starting Monday, November 9th:

  • To give up cheese, grains and popcorn during the week.
  • To limit all sugar intake to natural sugars, dark chocolate and red wine.
  • To allow myself whole grains, popcorn and cheese on the weekend but all other lifestyle choices hold constant, i.e. cheat meals are pretty much off the table.
  • To not buy myself anything other than a necessity, food or wine until Dec 1st.

  
I can honestly say since my last year in high school, when I first started working in a restaurant and realized what made certain foods bad, I’ve consistently maintained a healthy diet. I ate predominantly vegetarian for the majority of my time spent living in Manhattan, until I joined a crossfit gym, at which point I switched to Paleo. I admit though that I follow my version of paleo, because there are just some things that are too difficult and too much of a sacrifice to do. I have been stretching it lately though, abusing popcorn, cheese and weekend cheat meals. I get home from a long day of commuting, working, and going to the gym and just want to unwind by putting something tasty in my mouth. I’m starting to see how this new routine I’ve developed is hurting me. I’ve said many times that I’m giving it up but telling myself obviously hasn’t proved successful. My workout regimen is about to kick it up a notch so there is no better time to buckle down and get serious. Therefore, I’m putting it in writing. In order to achieve the level of fitness I desire, I also must be mentally strong in every way. Mind over matter when it comes to spending my money is also something I’m struggling with lately, and therefore belongs in my goal list above. So cheers to the path of a stronger me and hopes that blogging my commitments will help to keep me accountable. Bring on the results baby!

Blogged while attempting to fall asleep early.

Morning Commute Tunes

As some may know, I now commute from the Jersey Shore to Manhattan every week day for work. Afternoons are easy, though yes, I do have playlists for that. Usually getting home takes an hour to an hour in the half. Traffic in the morning is rough. Lately it’s been a two hour bus ride. This playlist gets me through every morning. I sleep to it, or relax to it depending on how restless I am. I was very creative by naming it Bon Iver, who happened to be the first artist I added to the list. A few other artists you will find are Of Monsters and Men, Ben Howard and Lord Huron just to name a few. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! Happy Thursday 🙂

Winter is here…


Going into my 8th winter (I say winter because anything less than 70 degrees is classified as such) and I may finally, fingers crossed, be appreciating it and able to enjoy it. Things to love about the season changing:

Boots

Sweaters 

Layers

Apple cider

Hot tea

Holiday themed movies 

Fireplaces

Lots of red wine

Positive thinking is the key to fighting seasonal depression once and for all! Here’s to hoping that having a career without a four month long busy season, living in a town where I can get in a car instead of walking in the cold, and possessing a condo with central heat instead of an apartment with a radiator will help me appreciate the seasons for what they are worth. 🙂 

– Blogged while commuting –

El Fajardo

  

Amongst all of the craziness of the past 6 months, Mike and I managed to find the time to squeeze in a much deserved vacation. For anyone who knows me, traveling is a passion of mine, and planning where to go and where to stay is one of the best parts about it. I pride myself on being pretty technologically advanced, however, when it comes to planning trips, I always go to the bookstore and buy a travel guide for the destination of choice. I love bookmarking the pages with my top choices of hotels, restaurants and activities. 

Mike does not yet have a passport, and considering our demanding work schedule, there was no time to apply for one. I knew I wanted to go to the Caribbean and I quickly decided that San Juan was the perfect place for us. Turns out we are both pretty adventurous and active when we vacation, and El Fajardo ended up being ideal. We went to the bioluminescent bay, jet skied, kayaked, and paddle boarded. We even snuck in to a Penn Mutual retreat party, and met some cool people in the process! Not to mention, the local restaurants right outside of the hotel have food that is toooo diiie for. I still dream about the mofongo. Our choice hotel was El Conquistador and it was everything we wanted plus more…outside of the fact that my bookstore bought travel guide assured me that there was a casino in the hotel, and there wasn’t (dare I say it might be time for me to stop this particular trip planning tradition of mine?), everything went off without a hitch. Needless to say we can’t wait for our next trip!