Bikini Series 2014!!!

Good morning and happy Monday! Today is no ordinary Monday though, it is the first day of Tone It Up's annual Bikini Series!
 
I've talked about Tone It Up in the past, and how their nutrition plan has helped me shed over 20 pounds over the last several months. The Bikini Series comes around once a year, and is an 8 week health and fitness challenge to get you into shape come summer! The best part is that it is open to everyone, you don't have to purchase their Nutrition Plan to participate (although, I HIGHLY recommend it). Last year I joined Tone It Up right in the middle of the Bikini Series, and although I didn't participate, it looked amazing! I knew this was something I wanted to be apart of in the future, so I'm so happy to dive in head first this year. 
I wanted to share my goals for the Bikini Series to help keep me accountable, and to have a place to look back and motivate myself if need be!

Goals for the Bikini Series 2014:

• Lose at least 10 more pounds
• Complete 100 By Summer (or more!)
• Follow Tone It Up's eating guidelines
• Morning workouts (aka Booty Calls) 3x a week AT LEAST!
• Stay on track through my vacation in Texas
• Limit my processed sugar intake
• Do more yoga

My biggest downfall when it comes to living an active and healthy lifestyle would be consistency. I'm great at starting out, but as time goes by I find myself getting more lenient about what I eat and when I work out.  I'm also notorious for hitting the snooze button one too many times. I want to break this habit and get up in the morning to get in that workout! I know how great I feel when I do, despite the actual process of waking up so early.

How I'm going to improve on these bad habits:

• Plan out a weekly schedule that is relevant to me specifically.
• Reward myself at the end of each week for sticking to all of my planned workouts with a healthy treat or small gift.
• Meal prep! I'm more successful when there is less I have to do in the mornings.
• Sleep in my workout clothes before my Booty Call workouts! This always gets me more excited about hitting the gym in the wee hours of the morning when I'm already dressed for it. 
• Keep my phone  a good distance away. Like I said, notorious snoozer. My boyfriend hates it. So I'm going to keep my phone out of arms reach so that I HAVE to get up to turn it off, and if I'm up, might as well work out!

5 Things I Have Already Accomplished (so far!)

• Lost 20 pounds
• Completed my first cleanse
• Stuck to a vegan diet for 5 months
• Ran 1 mile in under 10 minutes
• Got a raise at work

Listing out my accomplishments actually makes me realize how far I have come and the great things I can do when I set my mind to them. I want to really push myself over the next 8 weeks to complete all of the goals I set, and look fabulous come summertime! They don't call it the BIKINI Series for no good reason!

Today I'll be taking my "before" pictures, weight, and measurements so that I can compare my results at the end of the challenge. 

It is not too late to join me and the thousands of women across the world participating in this challenge. What is stopping you from looking your best this summer?! It is free and they offer so many chances to win amazing prizes. Plus, you'll never find a more loving, supportive, encouraging group of women anywhere else. This is where you want to be! Sign up here: BIKINI SERIES

I'll be doing daily check-ins on Instagram to document my journey. Follow me @plantbasedmelissa

SoulCycle Class and Hiking Mission Peak :)

This week has been full of pushing limits and stepping out of comfort zones. Thursday night Lauren of Lauren Lives Healthy and I drove to Palo Alto to try out SoulCycle. I had done it one other time and was itching to get back on the bike and have another great experience. Between the friendliness of the staff, and the intense, motivating workout you get in the 45 minute class, it is well worth the drive. Lauren and I got there just in time for class to start, and even though it was challenging, we came out feeling more energized (and SWEATY!) than we had before we went in. It is really unlike any cycling class I have been to in the past, and I would highly recommend it for beginners and more experienced cyclers.

As if I didn't get enough of a leg workout the day before, two of my amazing girl friends and I drove over to Fremont to do the popular, very challenging Mission Peak hike on Friday. I love hiking and unfortunately don't do it enough, so this was definitely a treat.  The weather was absolutely beautiful! After a minor detour while trying to navigate our way to the entrance to the trail, we began our hike in high spirits. It was much harder than I was anticipating. I didn't quite know what to expect, and there were times it looked like we would never get to the top, but we made it!!

 Our view was breathtaking; not only because of how hard we just worked to get there! Clear blue sky, city below us, and a perfect view of exactly how far we had come in just 90 minutes. The way down was full of laughs, good talks, and a feeling of accomplishment all around. I would absolutely recommend this trail for an intense workout and beautiful scenery. Each way is around 4 miles, and it took us beginners 2 hours and 45 minutes from start to finish.  When my legs recover I am definitely looking forward to tackling this trail again!

Hope you all have a great start to your week! :)

A juice a day...

As many of you know, I was able to make the trip to Connecticut over the weekend to say goodbye to my Grandma as well as meet most of my Dad's side of the family. I knew that my Grandma had been living with diabetes for quite some time, but I had no idea how prominent it was within the rest of the family as well. Come to find out, several other family members are also living with Type 2 Diabetes.  Not only that, my Mother's side of the family also has a history of diabetes.
 
Finding out this information brought me back to when I was in elementary school. I can't recall exactly how old I was, but I remember this one particular doctor's visit well. I was in for a routine check up, and it was no secret that I was overweight. I could hear the doctor telling my mom that I was on the borderline for developing diabetes. The weight of that statement did not have the effect on me then as it would today. Shortly after, we met with a dietician who gave us guidelines as to what I should be eating on a daily basis. I can remember logging everything I ate for the next couple of weeks to show my doctor on my next visit. Apparently, after a while of doing this I was in the clear because nothing ever came of it even though I was still overweight.

Fast forward to the beginning of 2012. At 22 years old I was at my heaviest, weighing 243 lbs. I noticed my left foot had become swollen, and I developed a dull ache in my entire leg up to my thigh. I hadn't injured myself so I was completely baffled as to why this was happening. The internet was my worst enemy because when I Googled my symptoms, it pointed to terrifying outcomes like a blood clot, or I'm sure you can guess it, diabetes. After a few doctor's visits and an ultrasound in my leg, I was diagnosed with a peripheral venous insufficiency.

What that means is:
"Your arteries carry blood from your heart out to the rest of your body. Your veins carry blood back to the heart, and valves in the veins stop the blood from flowing back. When your veins have trouble sending blood from your limbs back to the heart, it is called venous insufficiency (VI). In this condition, blood does not flow back properly to the heart, causing blood to pool in your legs."

The pooling of blood in my leg is what was causing the swelling and pain. I was told my options were to lose weight which would help the symptoms, or surgically block off that vein. This was my rock bottom. I knew right then and there things had to change. I started a diet program and successfully lost 40lbs. When I found Tone It Up in May of 2013, I was inspired to not only lose the rest of my weight, but to do it in the most healthy way I can.

This weekend was a huge reminder to me of one of the most important reasons that I need to stay healthy. I absolutely have no plans for developing diabetes, and I am going to do everything in my power to avoid it. I decided I want to challenge myself by drinking one green juice every day. Juicing is such a fantastic and delicious way to deliver a megadose of vitamins and minerals to your body. It combats illness and is a great way to facilitate weight loss as well. However, juicing isn't a quick fix-all solution to any problem. I fully believe that juicing combined with a plant-based diet and regular exercise will provide me with the health benefits that I seek.

What is your story? What kinds of ailments have you been able to overcome, or are on your way to overcoming with a healthy diet?

Love Your Body

New Years Day marks the beginning of Tone It Up's annual "Love Your Body" series. It is a 6 week fitness challenge designed by Karena and Katrina of Tone It Up to inspire you to strive for your goals of getting lean and healthy. This is actually the first year that I am participating in this particular series, and it strikes a chord with me more now than I ever think it would have before. We are given these choices and opportunities in our lives for a reason; to either teach you something, or remind you of what you already know (even if you didn't want to admit it yet!) . This challenge for me is the latter.
Loving my body is not something I have ever done. I have always managed to point out everything I hated about it when I looked in the mirror. (As many girls do, unfortunately). With the help of the constant and amazing support from Tone It Up, the girls I have met through the program, and deciding to pursue a vegan diet, I can say that I have truly learned to love my body. I'm not even at my goal weight or where I want to be yet, but I have learned to appreciate myself on a whole new level.
My life has changed for the better. I'm happier with the way my body is looking, the sharpness and clarity of my mind, and simply for knowing that I'm consuming the best possible foods for my health. While prior to deciding to eat vegan I was still eating "healthy" as far as I was concerned but didn't realize there was a much better option out there for me. It was something I had never even considered. Now, with nearly 6 weeks of vegan eating under my belt, I truly do have a greater appreciation for my body. Within those 6 weeks, I ran my first 5k and 10k both! I've lost a good deal of weight, and I've realized how amazing our bodies truly can be when you treat them right.
So this challenge really couldn't have come at a better time. Loving my body is a whole new concept to me, but I feel more beautiful and confident than I ever have. I know now that I CAN push myself, and I CAN absolutely love myself no matter what that damn scale says. I have the diet portion of it under control at this point, so with the challenge my goal is to stick to the workouts as best as I can.
I can't wait to see what this series, and this year will bring :)