Guys. Guys. Guys.

I am beyond stressed. It’s actually insane how stressful and complicated this whole transferring schools things is…

Now, I actually feel bad complaining about myself being stressed, because I know that I definitely have it easier than most. I don’t have kids or bills or a full time job.

I woke up this morning and completed Turbo Jam’s Fat Blaster workout for my morning cardio (or as the Tone It Up community would call it, my “bootycall”!). This has been one of my go-to “bootycalls” for over 3 years now. It’s quick, gets my heart rate up without being too difficult, and it’s super fun!

Chalene Johnson is honestly one of my biggest role-models. She’s just fabulous in every way shape and form. Admittedly, one of my goals in life is to meet her/attend a class of hers one day. Her positive attitude is infectious enough just over her social media, I couldn’t imagine how great it would be to be in a room with her!

Fan-girling aside, the rest of the morning, and a large bulk of the day, was spent one the computer/on the phone trying to sort out the million-and-one problems that have arisen with my transferring schools. First, I received notice that my housing deposit hadn’t been received (I sent it in over a week ago), and that I would have to be wait listed for housing if it wasn’t in by today. After hours of sorting that out, I had to take care of holds on my account that prevent my registering for classes (I’m not even sure if it’s all sorted out yet).

Then there was accessing my transfer-evaluation report… It was a nightmare.

According to the report, only 8 of my college credits transferred over to my new college. 

I don’t even know what to do about this! I had 39 credits at the end of my freshman year! I knew that I would lose some… But this is ridiculous! I wasted a year of my life and a sickening amount of money and have absolutely nothing to show for it. After a year of college, I will be entering my new school academically as a first semester freshman. How will I graduate in 4 years?!?!??!!

Ok.. Calming myself down now. So sorry that you all had to experience that little rant.

So, after that whole mess… I needed to de-stress.

De-stressing included:

A wonderful workout of Insanity: Max Interval Sports Training.

(This is my all-time favorite workout in the Insanity program by the way).

Stress-cleaning the kitchen and my bedroom.

(This actually resulted in more stress. Nothing. Is. Ever. Clean. Enough.)

And, of course, some stress baking.

The delectable bread pictured here was actually the result of my being completely experimental in the kitchen. I’m so proud!

I am always hesitant to experiment with my own recipes due to the fact that ingredients are expensive (especially the ones that I want to use, like coconut flour, stevia, etc.)… But I always want to! I find cooking and baking so therapeutic, and I have to say… Creating my own recipe and having it result in something that was actually edible was a great feeling!

What we have here is a gluten-free and low sugar protein pumpkin bread! I will say, the consistency is not exactly perfect (the protein powder in it makes it a mushy kind of consistency)… But I think it’s pretty darn good for my first attempt at something like this!

It’s also under 100 calories per square, but also contains 5 grams of protein per square, so I’m not complaining!

In the mix:

3/4 C Plant-based Protein Powder (I used Rainbow Light Vanilla… I would recommend SunWarrior or Perfect Fit in it’s place. I think the consistency would be better!)

1 C Buckwheat Flour

1/3 C Brown Sugar

1 T Vanilla Extract

1 t Baking Powder

1/2 t Baking Soda

1/3 C Liquid Egg Whites (I’m sure flax eggs would work too!)

1 Can Pumpkin Puree

1 T Pumpkin Pie Spice

Cinnamon to taste

Bake in a 9×12 baking pan at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until you can stick a knife/toothpick in the middle and have it come out clean.

Cut into 12 squares and enjoy!

Aw. Look at me trying to pretend that I’m a food/recipe blogger.

A girl can pretend right?

Hope you all had a less stressful Monday than I did!

 

 

 

Do it because you love it…

Yesterday, I came across what is, probably, one of the best things I have seen on the internet in a long time…

I saw this floating around and I really found it to hold so much truth. There is so much pressure put on people from social media and just society in general to be this super fit person who eats only berries and seeds and works out for hours a day. I see so much of people who live these kinds of lifestyles being judgmental of people who don’t and honestly, it’s ridiculous. Too many times I’ve seen people post on twitter or instagram about how they are, “so grossed out” because they just saw some family eating McDonalds. Who are you to judge people by what they eat? Just because you see someone eating something one time doesn’t give you any right to judge them and make assumptions. Maybe they have little kids and it was all they could think to grab, maybe they haven’t had it in years and they want to treat themselves. There are so many possibilities. That person eating a candy bar on the train could be a marathon runner for all you know.

No one has a right to judge someone based on an assumption they make without even knowing something. Also, yes, being someone who is super into fitness and eating healthy is wonderful, but it doesn’t make you God’s gift to humanity. You need to focus on yourself. Not everyone feels the need to be a paleo crossfitter or a vegan yogi. Some people will just go to the gym to get in their 30 minutes on the elliptical. Not everyone wants to do HIIT or go run a 5 miler.

I work out because I love it. It’s part of my life and it’s what makes me who I am. For some people, working out is just a chore. Yes, it’s important to stay active, but that could be as simple as going for a daily walk. Yes, healthy eating is important but not everyone WANTS to be 100% with their diet. You could easily eat a moderately healthy diet and still be a healthy, happy human being. Not everyone wants a 6 pack and killer quads and standout triceps. Life is too short to try to please others by doing things you hate. If you hate running, DON’T DO IT. If you want to eat a slice of cake one day EAT IT. Life is so short and it’s not worth living a life that you don’t feel the need to.

Judging is judging, you may think that you’re “helping” by pushing someone to live the same lifestyle that you do. But stop, let others live their own lives, you focus on your own.