Phoebe Davis

Hello again!

With only FOUR WEEKS until graduation, we are all feeling the pressure to finish papers and study for finals to finish out our college careers. With the stress from school, nobody wants to put in the extra effort to go to the gym and make healthy meals. However, this is the most crucial time for a healthy lifestyle! Exercising gives you twice the energy to finish assignments, while eating healthy fuels your body and keeps your mind awake.

If you don’t feel like you have time to go to the gym, here is a list of at-home workouts you can do in between a break from classes and/or work.

Duration: 7-10 minutes

50 prisoner squats, 50 jumping jacks, 50 push-ups, 50 mountain climbers, 50 crunches.

This challenge will get your heart rate up and get you nice and warm for a good stretch session afterwards. It targets all areas of the body, and is a nice alternative to one more episode on Netflix.

Duration: 12 minutes

Lower body stretches: sitting hamstring, raised hamstring, bent over back rotation, bridge, standing reach to floor through legs.

This challenge will loosen up your lower body and relieve some of the tightness your body is holding from all of the stress of finals!

Have fun with these at-home workouts and give yourself a 10-15 minute break in your study sessions to revive your mind and body! Have a great rest of the week!

-Phoebe

Happy Easter to all!

Now that lent is over, many of you can now indulge in the sweet and salty delicacies that you gave up for the past 40 days. It is okay to treat yourself, but remember not to binge (my weakness: reese’s peanut butter eggs).

Binge eating is something we have all experienced at one point or another. Candy is one of my major weaknesses for binge eating. I usually try not to have candy and other sugary foods around the house, but when I do, I keep them in a hard to reach place so I really have to work to get to it.

I find myself binge eating when I am really stressed out. Finals week is the worst for me, as I find myself eating bowls of popcorn while I cram for my exams. Here are three tips to help avoid binge eating.

1. Make a schedule of all of the things you need to get done on the Sunday before every week. I find that when I am organized, I am less stressed out and don’t feel the need to stuff my face with snacks because I’m not stressed out rushing to get my assignments done the night before.

2. Don’t eat in your room or on your bed. It is so easy to start out just having a couple of chips and then mindlessly finishing the bag before you know it when you are eating in your bed. Mindless eating because of boredom is something I have struggled with for a long time. I have learned to not bring food into my room, especially when I am just watching Netflix, because I will literally eat anything in sight without paying attention to how full I am.

3. WATER! It is so important to stay hydrated, especially during stressful times when it is easy to forget to drink water. Also, a lot of the time when we feel hungry, we are actually really thirsty. Remember to drink a big glass of water before having a snack. You may find that you weren’t really hungry, just thirsty!

-Phoebe

Hello, all!

I want to tell you about what kind of workout program I have been doing, in case anyone is interested in checking it out. I am currently on week six of a 12-week program called The Bikini Body Guide. It may sound kind of cheesy, but let me tell you how amazing I am feeling in just six weeks.

I have the energy to get up early, I don’t feel drowsy during the day, I’m paying better attention to lectures in my classes, and I’m feeling more confident about myself, both physically and intellectually.

I have already lost 10 pounds and 2 inches around my waist. I no longer have to do push ups from my knees, and my flexibility has improved so much that I can officially touch both of my toes without bending my legs!

With Spring Break in exactly 6 days, I am feeling confident to wear a swimsuit to the pool in Arizona. I am only half way through this workout program, but I am so excited to finish it and celebrate graduating college in Hawaii with my family and my new bikini body.

If you want to check out The Bikini Body Guide and take the challenge, click here!

Thanks everyone, have a great midterms week and enjoy your Spring Break!!

-Phoebe

The struggle to keep healthy foods around the house is not a joke. It is so easy to buy chips, frozen pizzas, ice cream, and all the delicious, salty, sugary goodness. My trick to avoid eating these tempting devils is to not even go down those aisles! Today I will show you guys what my grocery shopping list looks like, and what to do to avoid unhealthy foods.

My shopping list is around $130.00. Healthy foods are more expensive than salty snacks, so be prepared to spend a little more than usual. I am a college student and live on a budget, but I make sure I have enough money for the foods that I need to keep me healthy and energized.

Vegetables:

– Broccoli, Spinach, Carrots, Bell Peppers, Onions, Asparagus

Nuts/Fruit:

– Dry Roasted Almonds (unsalted), Bananas, Strawberries, Pineapple, Avocados, Cherry Tomatoes, Grapes, Lemons

Dairy:

– Almond Milk (unsweetened, vanilla, 30 cal.), Low Fat Cottage Cheese, Activia Greek Yogurt (good for fiber and digestion!), Egg Whites.

Meat:

Chicken Breast, Honey Roasted Ham

Other:

– Black beans, Veggie Chips, Hummus, Brown Rice Cakes, Quinoa/Maple Granola with Chia Seeds, Brown Rice, Luna Protein Bars, Apple Sauce.

To avoid buying all the high calorie, extremely sugary and salty foods out there, avoid going down the frozen meal section, the cereal aisle, the chip/soda aisle, and alcohol section (although sometimes it’s hard to resist).

The best part about having all of these delicious foods around is getting to make fun and healthy meals! Next time, I’ll share with you one of my favorite recipes that can be made with some of the ingredients on my shopping list! Happy shopping everyone!

-Phoebe

Does anybody else think 2015 is the year for change? I know I can’t be the only one.

We all know the cliche New Years resolution. “New Year, New Me.” (Imagine I’m in my yoga pants, UGG boots, Starbucks coffee in hand. Jk I don’t drink coffee.) Well, as cheesy as that sounds, I think we all believe it and we all want it to be true. As January came and went (rather quickly I must admit), New Years resolutions died fast and old habits came back just as quickly as they left. Resolutions to cut out fast food, sugar, shopping habits, etc. rose quickly then went back to a lull. One of the reasons I know this is because of how crowded the gym gets at the beginning of January. I swear, every New Year there’s a 30 minute wait for an open treadmill all day at my gym at the YMCA. Four weeks of crowded bench presses, treadmills, and weight racks, until February 1st comes along and the sea of sweaty bodies seems to lessen more and more. Don’t get me wrong, I love an empty gym. There is nothing better than having all the machines open just for you, with no creepy guys watching your every move or hot ass girls to intimidate you (cue me exchanging 10 lb dumbbells for 15s). Even so, the feeling of 50+ people working out around you is a motivating thing. We are all in it together. From the heavier adults to the skinny minnie teens, we all have the same goal: HEALTH!

I have this wooden sign hanging up in my room with the quote “Yesterday You Said Tomorrow.” I see it every time I wake up and every time I go to bed. Sometimes this sign mocks me, and I laugh it off because hey, let’s face it, sometimes we just need a Netflix and pizza night. However, seeing this quote helps me get my ass out of bed, put on my Nike’s, and just go. As February is moving along and spring break approaches us, I encourage all of us to do something each day that makes the “yesterday you” proud. Walk to school instead of drive, jog around the block, eat a salad, whatever small step you can make that leads you toward a happier, healthier life.

I know I sound a little preachy, and I definitely need to take my own advice sometimes. I’m not a star athlete with a rockin’ bod, I don’t do body building competitions, and I don’t live for “gains.” Instead, I take it one day at a time, trying to reach my goals and be my best self. Will you join me?

After all, yesterday you said tomorrow…

-Phoebe