Tag: fitness

Life Changes and So Must We

by Ariana Peters, posted in healthy lifestyle, House/dating/life, school/studying, training

Hi!!!!! I originally set this blog up to chronicle my journey hiking the PCT, AT and CDT but plans changed. While that is still a goal for me one day, my foreseeable plans have changed so I thought the blog needed a bit of an updated look.

My life is now about becoming a nurse, getting back into shape and turning our quarter acre plot of land into a little farm, or at least as much of a farm as he will let me hahahahaha!!!!

There will still be hiking, running and food posts plus so much more! I hope you will continue this journey with me!

Transformation

by Ariana Peters, posted in Uncategorized

It’s always scary to post these:

But it’s worth it cause I am changing my life!!

For the past 3ish years I have been steadily gaining weight again. If you have see the beginning of my blog I have struggled with weight for about 10 years. Originally I went vegan and hit the elliptical hard for 1-2 hours a day then went to Costa Rica and Peru and hiked the Andes.

That is so not sustainable.

Then I continued on, found a great workout partner and friend and trained for and ran my first half marathon and did some obstacle races. Everything was going great and I felt great so I decided to hike the PCT, I intentionally put on some fat thinking i was going to lose a bunch of weight while hiking for 6 months, which would have happened…….if I finished the hike. After a week on the trail I realised hiking alone for 6 months wasn’t for me. (One day I will complete the trail with a partner).

Again..not sustainable. And since then my weight has crept back up. For the last 3 years it has been steadily climbing, I might have pushed it down a pound or two here and there or stopped the uptake but I never made really sustainable changes.

Until now, I have found Beachbody and an awesome coach and I am making a lifestyle change!

A shake everyday, 30-60min workout each day and an increase in healthy food in my diet.

The weight is falling off and it doesn’t even feel like I’m doing much! I love it!!

I feel amazing! My energy is increasing! My outlook is getting more upbeat!

I absolutely want to get back to running eventually but thisbis key first, to get a good sustainable routine going.

Life is good!!!!

If you want more details let me know! I am always looking for workout partners to join my Beachbody accountability group!

Monday Motivation**February 19, 2018

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, training

(image from google)

Happy President’s day! I hope that you unlike me have a paid day off today and are enjoying it.

I made it to the gym twice last week!!! Woohoo!!! Sunday and Monday I went after work and got in 2 miles each day for a total of 4 miles!

This coming week might be a little tricker, I got a cold from my roommate so I am fighting that off as well as having 2 tests and a quiz this week. I am not sure how this is going to go. I also want to get a load or 2 of stuff taken to the new house.

My eating has definitely been better this week, I only ate out twice. Once I had an egg McMuffin at McDonalds and immediately regretted it, my stomach did not like it and on Saturday I had subway at the new house which was good.

That was my week. I am so excited to get moved into our new place, then even if I cant make it to the gym or don’t feel 100% I can still do a quick 20 min workout because I will have space and a clean place to do it. I also can’t wait to have a fully functioning kitchen!!!

Mid week run and Artemis’ birthday!!!

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, training

So I of course don’t know if it is actually Artemis’ birthday but I got her 2 years ago in November so I picked a day and called it her birthday because I don’t remember the exact day I got her. We went for a 2 mile run and they I harassed her all night.

Check out that best time!!!! It was only for a few seconds but that is my fastest time ever!! That is probably when I ran across the street before the cars came hahahaha!

After my run, I was a little sweaty but it felt good!

Artemis had a ball, but at this point she was really ready to get back home. She has a leash on your just can’t see it with my awesome quality of photography hahahaha.

Back to trying to have some juice in the morning!!!! Carrot apple is my jam!

So I just finished season 5 of Grimm last night (I know I am behind like always) and I go to press play on season 6 (on amazon prime) and it costs money!!!!! NO!!!!!!!!!! Seasons 1-5 are included with amazing prime but not season 6. I HATE when they do that! Though I guess it makes sense since it just aired this year. But now I either have to buy an episode here and there or wait and see if it drops for free. I will also check the other TV sites we have like Netflix and Hulu. Fingers crossed.

Image result for Grimm(image from Google)

Do you watch Grimm?

What is your fav show right now?

Has winter hit where you are? How are your workouts fairing if it has?

I have a feeling this winter is going to be very difficult for me training wise if I don’t find a cheap gym. I can run in the cold (I don’t love it but I can) but when its cold AND raining its hard for me to get my butt out the door.

Back home

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, training

I had an amazing time, obviously hahaha, but it is so good to be home. But I am not going to lie it took a few weeks for me to get back into my normal rhythm. Even now I am just starting to get a running regimen back down. And even with taking melatonin and not sleeping on the flight back, it took a good week to get back to a normal sleep pattern.

I am taking all the puppy cuddles I can get. I missed my little girl so much but she did pretty good which is awesome.

I am taking all the cuddles and fun I can get from my man as well. I missed him a lot. I can’t wait to travel with him.

We had a fun fall day of taking a country drive, picked out pumpkins, ate some caramel corn, and carved pumpkins while watching “Pet Cemetery”. Oh and the boyfriend made an AMAZING roast that I have been living on for the past week. Finally finished the last bit for lunch today.

He makes me pretty happy.

Trying to get back to smoothies or juice for breakfast. Been using the bits and pieces that I have to make it all though, I need to get a good grocery shopping trip in soon.

Got my run on. The days right now are pretty nice. I anticipate another run tomorrow.

Using C25k (couch to 5k) to get my butt moving and in the groove again. Fun fact: this is how I started running in the first place! It is a free app, you should try it!!! Thankfully it isn’t as hard this time as it was my first time hahahaha, but now instead of struggling to finish 60 seconds of jogging I am struggling by making myself run a few minutes faster than I normally would so I am still winded by the 3rd interval hahaha and never quite recover completely until the end.

Enjoying the foliage here in Oregon………or should I say the death of the trees. It’s so pretty!!!!!

And yes, I am enjoying my fair share of pumpkin spice coffee!!!!!

Monday Motivation **October 2, 2017

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, school/studying, training

Bye, Bye Europe! It’s back to the states I go! I doubt I will look like this upon my return but one can hope hahahahaha! Get ready for some blog posts. Anything I didn’t get posted overseas will start showing up over the next few days.

(Image from google)

Goodbye September and Hello October!!

Yay we are entering my favorite part of the year!!! All the best holidays are ahead of us. 

School: haven’t gotten anything done for my CNA class since I’ve been on vacation so my goal this month is to get some Dr. Appts set up to get up tp date on vaccines and up to date on all normal check-ups so i can enter school with a clean bill of health. 

Food and fitness:

What’s been going on over here

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, school/studying, training, travel

I have been on a serious sweet tooth kick over here. Made my coffee a mocha.

Always fun to study something that no one knows what it does

Salad and something with cheese has been a big lunch time ritual for me lately.

pork roast with veggies and rice. I love using the slow cooker

Artemis and I enjoyed the eclipse by going for a run. It was pretty eerie. People looking at the sun with glasses while it got dark then as a group would turn and look at us run by, very pod people-esque. I kept waiting for zombies to jump out at us.

Smoothies are still a big thing over here.

More salad and cheese.

Mmmmm breakfast sandwich from the coffee shop near work.

Life has been food, running, work and starting to freak out about Europe hahaha. Talk to you soon!!!!!

Ariana’s travel tips

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, training, travel

 

  1. plan, plan, plan- I know some people like to fly by the seat of their pants and that is great but in some cases you need to plan. If you are not on a budget then you might have a little more room to play with this but if you are on a budget, as I always am, planning is your best friend. Also if you only have a limited amount of time planning ahead can save you hours of wasted time standing in line.
  2. research- Groupon is international if you didn’t know. For most places if you do a little research you can find inexpensive skip the line passes, semi-guided tours, activities and so much more at reduced costs and it definitely saves you on those hours in line.
    1. planning and research also help you squeeze in as much as possible in a short time period. For example we are packing Venice into a day and a half then on our last day in Venice which would have been a 3/4 day anyways we are instead taking the train and spending a few hours each in Verona, Florence and Pisa before laying our heads down in our AirBnB accommodations in Rome.
  3. Think outside the box when it comes to lodging- you don’t have to stay in a nice hotel to feel luxurious when traveling. If you once again research you can find nice places for a lot less expensive. I have stayed in some seriously nice hostels and and used AirBnB several times when I have travelled. If you are traveling with friends AirBnB is a great choice. We have accommodations in the heart of Venice, Rome and Barcelona through AirBnB that are less than $150/night,  whole apartment in each place, split the cost between everyone and you are looking at $20-30/night for each person in a nice place. and having and entire apartment means you have a kitchen so you can hit the market and make a few meals to save some money. You are still eating locally!!!
  4. Do a few things that aren’t overrun by tourists- on my first morning in Venice after some coffee and a pastry I plan on walking the opposite direction of the crowds and will continue to do this. That is how I will explore Venice, going the opposite direction of the crowds (obviously do a little research on places you should avoid and use common sense, if you turn down a street and it feels sketchy, backtrack quickly).
  5. Safety!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!- Be safe, research the places you are going, know the areas to avoid, know the laws and customs. Pay attention to the dress code. If something or someone doesn’t feel right get out of that situation and place ASAP. Think before you act. If you are alone, don’t get so drunk that you are impaired. That movie TAKEN with Liam Neeson is a fun thriller but it is also real, people are kidnapped and murdered every day, enjoy your vacation but be smart and be aware.
  6. common sense should see you through-if you wouldn’t do it at home don’t do it abroad. Again take 10 minutes and learn about the place that your are going, I would sunbath topless in Ibiza, I would cover all tattoos and most skin in the middle east, different place different experience.
  7. Check in. Give someone at least a vague itinerary of where you will be and when you will be there and when you will be home so someone will know if you don’t arrive. Try and check in at least ever 72 hours (I tend to check in at least once every 24 hours) you can find a free or very cheap internet café almost anywhere. And most cell phones have international coverage if you check. It will cost me $.55 every day to send 1 text message to my mom and get one back from her both acknowledging we know I am alive. $.55/day is not much to ensure piece of mind.
  8. Be a dork. Take selfies and make stupid faces and journal and take videos. Who cares what the people around you think, in 5, 10, 15 years you are going to be so glad you can look back on those memories.
  9. Be respectful. It may not be your culture, religion or favorite food but it is theirs. You wouldn’t want someone to bad mouth your way of life so don’t do that to anyone else. You don’t have to believe in it or even accept it but don’t be mean about it. Step to the side, quietly leave the church, discreetly bow out of the ceremony, say thank you and try the tiniest bite you can manage.
  10. lastly HAVE FUN!!!!! You may never be back, you may never experience something like this again so drink it all in. Take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way and truly live this experience.

Huckleberry half**Race Review

by Ariana Peters, posted in healthy lifestyle, training

This last Saturday my boyfriend and I ran our first race together. We didn’t have high hopes going in since neither of us had trained enough and there were going to be some hills.

We are not fans of getting up early.

What can I say about this race except that it was small which was nice and off the main road so we didn’t worry too much about cars. Their fuel stations were just ok in my opinion but I am used to bigger races with bigger sponsors so in the future I would just need to plan better.

The race was on sort of back mountain roads so trail running shoes would have been better because the roads were all chewed up from snow. I got blisters on my blisters.

The course was beautiful and shaded which made all the difference.

Our pace was ok, not great but not horrible for a hilly run for me.

As you can see I started off strong and really faded toward the end hahaha

Oh the hills!!!!!!! The entire race was a series of ups and downs. There was no flat, this race just wiped me out.

Fun wood carved medals, though Brandon is disappointed we didn’t get t-shirts, he likes those more than the medals.

Overall it was fun and I am glad we did it but I wanted to cry the last 3 miles because I was so tired and my body hurt so bad.

We know to train better for the next one!

Oh and if you are a slow runner and don’t like being at the back of the pack don’t run this race, We crossed the finish line with only 4 people behind us….yes only 4. This was a small race of fast runners hahaha.

Day 2 of 28 day cleanse

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle

Hi!!! Thought I’d start the morning with a quick video

Juice after lemon water

Midafternoon check-in

Who knew salad and soup could taste so amazing!!!


I feel like my stomach might be shrinking too. I am getting full faster which is nice. Leads to less over eating. 

See you tomorrow!!!!