Hot Bod: No Gym Necessary

Here at Organoblondes, we are two crazy busy chicks!  I generally clock around 60 hours a week between two jobs, while Lauren has a full-time career, a hubby, and a darling little babe to chase after.  Needless to say, I've become that girl who says she doesn't have time to work out.  Currently, I am only going to the gym on Saturdays and Sundays, and that's only if the night before didn't kill me.  Surprisingly, my weight hasn't changed much except my weird 8-pound weight gain in a week while on vacation (a few days of detox does wonders).  And let me brag a little bit here about my smokin' sister.  She had a sweet little baby less than a year ago and looks hot as balls!!  I'm pretty sure she is at or below her pre-pregnancy weight.  Say what?!?!

Here's the deal.  I'm not willing to give up my favorite foods, because frankly, will power is boring, and life is short.  But there are simple changes that anyone can make so that you can keep (or get) a hot bod without depriving yourself of the good stuff.  We've also linked up with the lovely ladies of I Don't Go To The Gym who have great tips on looking amazeballs without slaving away on the stupid elliptical.  Check them out!

I've put together a list of simple things that Lauren and I like to incorporate into our day to keep the lbs. away!

1. THE 80/20 RULE IS KEY.  Your bod is a result of 80% what you eat and 20% what you do in the gym.  Let me give you a little analogy.  A large Big Mac combo meal (what I used to order) has 1330 calories.  A chick my weight burns about 300 calories per hour walking.  I would have to walk for 4.5 hours to burn that off!  What the eff!?  You can slam a small cheeseburger, a side salad, and a bottled water for under five hundo.  I'll take the latter.  If you pound some bacon at breakfast, down some greens at dinner.  It's all about moderation, friends.  
2. DON'T DRINK YOUR CALORIES.  In a perfect world, my liquids would consist of vodka red bulll, wine, and sprite.  However, last time I checked, beer guts and rotten teeth were not in style.  The average American drinks 45 gallons of soda a year.  That's 39 pounds of sugar!  That's like, the size of a small child!  I only drink water, tea, and coffee throughout the day.  When it comes to booze I try to stick to low-cal options like vodka and soda water (or on the rocks with a splash of lime juice) or my typical vodka with sugar free red bull (I know, I know, it's chem filled, but that's my 20%).  I'll never give up my wine, but I stick to one or two glasses.  Our other sister Mindi sips on tequila straight up and alternates with water.  What a rock star! 
3. COOK AT HOME.  During the week I make breakfast and a ton of java at home, pack my lunch and snacks for the day, and prepare a healthy meal for dinner.  You'll not only have a few extra bones in your pocket at the end of the week, but you can control your portions, and know exactly what's in your food.  If you want to relax a little on the weekends and eat out, go for it.  Just take half home for leftovers!                
4. UTILIZE UNINTENTIONAL EXERCISE.  I work on the 5th floor, so I take the stairs.  I take a 15-minute walk around the building twice a day on my breaks (yep, I'm that girl with the dress clothes and tennis shoes).  I park in the back of the parking lot.  I walk wherever I can, whether it's the grocery, the pharmacy, or the bar.  Lauren takes nightly walks with the hubs and Dyl.  She also did throughout her whole pregnancy. 
5. KEEP A FOOD AND EXERCISE JOURNAL.  I've been doing this for a long time.  I started doing this because I was suffering from severe stomach pain and wanted to track what foods were causing it.  Holding yourself accountable is important.  Having to document that you pounded 12 beers and consumed an entire pizza is not fun.
6. FIND A WORKOUT THAT YOU ENJOY.  I happen to love hiking and walking.  When I lived in Hollywood I would hike everyday.  Back in Ohio, I take long walks as much as I can.  Find something you like and it won't feel like a chore for you.  Any and all activity is good activity.  
7. STICK TO THE PERIMETER OF THE GROCERY STORE.  90% of what you need is on the perimeter of the grocery.  You've got produce, dairy, and meats.  Keep processed foods to an absolute minimum.  Generally the only things I buy in the center isles are oats, coffee, tea, and a few condiments.
8. SLEEP.  I cannot stress this enough as this is the one thing I struggle with the most.  Sleep is key to a well functioning metabolism.  Lack of sleep really effs with your bod.  Chronic sleep deprivation has been linked to heart attack, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, and low libido (eeeeekkk!!).  It also ages your skin, so all the SPF in the world won't do you any good.  Muscles also recover at night, so if you are one who hits the weights often, sleep is crucial.  Lastly, sleep deprivation is associated with depression and lack of motivation.  In other words, you will definitely not be acting like a boss man at work!  Yikes.
9. DON'T OBSESS ABOUT CALORIES.  I used to count calories like a mad man.  That 'ish is way too time consuming.  Eat clean most of the time, eat until you are comfortably full, make good choices.  If one day you have ice cream for breakfast, pizza for lunch, and chinese for dinner, don't obsess.  Get back on track the next day.  You'll be fine! 
10. FOOD IS MEANT TO BE ENJOYED.  Have you ever heard of the expression "eat well and travel often"?  Over the past few years, Lauren and I have had the pleasure of traveling to some pretty amazing places.  Lauren has sipped wine in Napa Valley and dined on seafood in San Francisco, while I've enjoyed shrimp and grits in Charleston and lunched on authentic barbecue in Texas.  Food is a huge part of our lives.  Enjoy those times when you can try something new.  Experiment with exotic foods whenever you can.  These times can sometimes be few and far between, so relish in them.  Get back to your routine when you get home.                   




Hiking in the Hollywood Hills

 

You can still catch me on the weekends feeding my red bull addiction, or on any given Tuesday night for that matter.  Life is meant to be fun, filled with good food, strong drinks, and great company.  If you don't think you can have these things and still have a bangin' bod, you've got another thing coming!

I'm truly convinced it is possible to "have your cake and eat it too".  Just not the whole cake. Gotcha? 


Cheers ya'll.

Pole Dancing: Work The Pole, Work Your Core?

As of late, I've been clocking 60 hours of work between two jobs.  Working 10-15 hour days does not leave much time for exercise, and the first thing on my mind come 6:00pm Friday is hitting the bottle, NOT the treadmill.  Nevertheless, when the girls and I took a pole dancing class at Urban Studio in Nashville during my best friend's bachelorette weekend, I figured it'd be a fun, boozy activity to do with the gang.  Yes, boozy...they literally provide champagne while you swing around poles and dance on chairs.

I'm just going to cut to the chase.  I have a new appreciation for ummm...exotic dancers.  Well, their fitness skills, at least.  The chick who taught the class had legs of steel and energy for days.  Maybe this wasn't just going to be a little boozyballs skankercise sesh.  We were all a little hung from the night before but we rallied on, guzzled down some bubbly, and got down to biz.

We started off with chair exercises.  Ten minutes in, my legs were on fire and I was gasping for breath.  We basically did "sexy" squats, lunges, back bends, and yoga poses on and around a card table chair.  I was literally dying.  This stuff is no joke.




The Bachelorette's priceless reaction!

  


Back bends galore!

 During the second half of the class we got in some bonafide pole time.  You need some major upper body strength, core strength, or simply good coordination to be good at this stuff.  Unfortunately, all the spinach smoothies in the world have not given me Popeye biceps and this was an epic failure for me.  Not only do you have to hold up your own body weight, you have to manage to twist around the pole at the same time, all while trying to look hot?!  Gah!




Shake what ya mama gave ya!


All in all, we left the studio sweaty and tipsy.  Score!  The next day I could barely lift my arms to drink my vodka red bulls and bending my legs was pure torture.  I think you call that a successful workout!

Cheers.