Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Bahamas Cruise Part Two

Hey there!
I'm  back with part two of my wonderful Bahamas cruise!
If you missed part one check it out here

The second day of the cruise we went to Royal Caribbean's private island called Cococay.
It was my first step ever in the Caribbean and it was amazing! It was so warm, the sand was so soft and white. We immediately found the shack to rent snorkel gear and went over to hear the orientation before we set out. Unfortunately they didn't tell us it was jellyfish season before we spent $65 on snorkeling gear. We were told the jellyfish sting was more annoying than painful, but I didn't want to take my chances.
There were sunken ships & airplane crashes in the water you could snorkel around so Michael and I set off for the nearest crash. The whole time I was panicking trying to dodge jellyfish and the water was pretty murky so it was actually really hard to see the translucent jellyfish. Michael almost got one in the face and I had saltwater in my eye so it made it extra hard to see the little buggers. We made it to the airplane crash and boy was it creepy looking. It was obviously planted there, but it was really really creepy to see something like that in the water. After Michael explored it for awhile we decided to head back to shore and rest before hunting down the ship's hull. What I didn't take into account with the swim back was the current. Holy cow! I was just exhausted. At one point we got surrounded by jellyfish and I started having a panic attack, not smart in the water! Eventually we made it back to the shore and I just plopped myself down in the lounge chair and rested
Such a beautiful view too!

The sun is just brutal on the island so we packed up and headed for some shade which was the lunch area and I was surprised to see wild roosters just roaming around

After lunch we headed to a different part of the island which seemed like the adults only section because there were barely any kids there. It was definitely prettier than the other part
Michael and I just bobbed around in the water to stay cool

I started seeing a huge storm coming towards the island so I decided it was time for us to pack up and head back to the ship. We got to see some awesome iguanas on our way back
 They were just crawling around on the ground and climbing in all the trees. It was so cool!
I just couldn't get over how beautiful the water is!

After getting back to the ship we showered and then promptly plopped into bed and passed out!
Next is the island of Nassau!
Stay tuned for part three!

Monday, October 20, 2014

A New Mindset

Hey hey everyone!
I know it's been ages since I've posted, let alone posted anything of value.
Things have been chaotic with a capital C, but there was one thing I was thinking about on my morning commute (I have to commute twice a morning now) and just had to blog about it.
Michael and I went on a cruise (more on that later!) and if you've ever been on a cruise you understand the struggle with cruises.
Unlimited food.
And silly ol' me here thought, "Well I'm a trainer so it shouldn't matter." And that was the same mentality I had about exercising. (Yes yes I understand it's a vacation where you relax).
However, this whole "I'm a trainer" mentality has been my downfall.
I haven't been diligent about exercising nor eating right.
It's been a fine line with healthy eating; if I go too far one way my orthorexia kicks right in, if I go too far the other way I eat like crap, feel like crap, and hate how my body looks & feels.
This all really affected me when I looked in the mirror and stepped on the scale. Suddenly my stomach bloated out and I looked pregnant, my jeans were too tight & uncomfortable, and when I stepped on the scale I was suddenly 5 pounds heavier than I had been.
Before anyone freaks out about the 5 pounds, lemme say this: 1. I know it's not fat (there's no way I ate an excess of 17,500 calories on the cruise) 2. I also know it's not muscle as I've lost muscle tone.
It is however a lot of water weight, meaning I ate way WAY too much sodium (not good).
Now that I've boohoo'ed myself enough let's talk about the real issue here.
I see eating healthy & exercising as something I can do when it fits into my schedule. That just does not work.
As a trainer, my body is my brand. How can I advise people to eat healthy when I'm stuffing my face with crap? And why would anyone put the effort into my workouts when I can't even get myself to commit to working out?
All those people that talk about scheduling workouts in so you don't skip them? I used to wave it off thinking "I workout all the time, I don't need to schedule it" Pure denial right there considering I skipped workouts a lot
I've come to realize, they're right
I can't keep thinking of workouts and healthy eating as a side thing that I can do when I have time, I have to start scheduling it like it's work, because it is part of my work.
Putting that effort in is part of my job and I really need to get that through my thick skull.
So here I am, putting it out there to keep accountable!
Anyone else have to schedule their workouts like work?
Any advice?

Bahamas Cruise Part One

Hello hello everyone!
Recently Michael and I went on a cruise to the Bahamas for our anniversary. It was my first cruise and my first time out of the country and I had a blast! 
We sailed out of Port Canaveral and it was my first encounter with humidity. Lemme say, I definitely prefer the dry heat of California. It was a hard adjustment and during the whole cruise I just couldn't get used to it.

The cruise ship was absolutely beautiful! We were on the Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas.
During the whole check-in process at the port I was bouncing up and down in my sit with a ridiculous grin plastered to my face. Once we got on the ship to explore I was just blown away with how big it was inside.
 
Of course we had to find the fitness center while we were there!
 Of course I only used it once, barely.

Once it was lunchtime we wandered into the banquet restaurant and holy crap! There was so much food it was insane! Unfortunately they didn't make any vegetarian dishes that weren't pasta (whomp whomp whomp).
The rest of the day we spent relaxing by the pool, drinking pina coladas, and napping.
Those bartenders really knew how to make a pina colada!

We had a nice surprise when we got to our room from Michael's mom
It was so great to have all of that and so thoughtful!

I think the hardest part of the whole trip was actually relaxing. Isn't that bizarre?! Everytime we stayed still for too long I felt like I had to get up and do something or go somewhere. Michael kept having to tell me to relax and stop being on the go. It was so luxurious to nap during the day because I wanted to. No alarm clock, no deadlines, dishes, obligations, nothing! It was wonderful!

Before I overload you with too many pictures at once I'll end part one here.
I'll be back with part two!