January 25th is My New Year

As I said yesterday, wanting to change and improve yourself is a wonderful and positive thing to do. Wanting to do it...its just an excuse to put off things that you may ultimately struggle with. I'm tired of it and want to change from now on. So naturally I sat myself down and didn't half ass my resolutions/goals. They might seem really specific but with my mind having clear directions for myself gives me a high chance of succeeding.

Goals for the next 365 days

1. Write something every day. Whether it be working on my story, poetry or completing writing prompts. I will be starting with the Qwiklit Challenge today!
2. Create something artsy at least once a week. Whether it be a drawing, painting or a voice recording. Creativity is something that I have been shoving to the side for the sake of others but it is something that I enjoy and of course, want to get better at.
3. Update my blog 3 times a week (besides the writing challenge), and my Youtube once a week, even if no one reads or watches. Be selfish and do the things you love for yourself...myself. 
4. Read all the books in my house before buying new ones! Or at least read most of them. I have books in every possible corner and most of them remain unread.
5. Be in good academic standing.
6. Put myself out there! Go apply, audition and volunteer. The internet will remain in my comfy bedroom but experiences are out there and I don't want to miss any of it.
7. Remain in contact with my friends from my old college.
8. Learn a new song once a month on my piano/guitar. Learn a dance too maybe? Youtube has so many tutorials so this should go well! Record my progress it will be funny to look back on!
9. Learn how to manage my money.
10. Cook a new healthy meal once a week ( I may blog these). 
11. Get fit and healthier. It doesn't matter if I keep failing as long as I don't give up.

All these things might seem to specific or like I'm trying to hard to reach many goals but 365 days is a long time and I'm pretty sure I can make time to do the things I love and do it well.

My before stats for getting healthier!! (Will update these once a month but I will restart )

• Weight: 230ish? Still afraid to look
• Height: 5 and 3/4
• Bust: 51.2 cm
• Chest: 47.5 cm
• Waist: 50.1 cm
• Hips: 51.6 cm
• Thigh: 34.5 cm
• Calves: 19cm
• Upper arm: 15.5 cm
• Forearm: 12.1 cm
• Neck: 19 cm

I'm excited for these next few weeks, I can't wait for the changes my body will make. And if I fail I swear I will pick myself and keep on trying. 

xoxo

Cielo

Any tips or tricks for a healthier more creative life? Leave me a comment down below! 

Sunday: Monday Check In: Week 2/3

In case you didn't know, I took a break from blogging and Youtube this week because I needed to spend some time with friends and family. Sadly this break also happened to damage my commitment to stop eating certain foods. Upon reflection, it kind of sucks because I was doing so wellResults

           

                                                              Reflection

Chips

I succumbed to the yummy but deadly chips when my mother incorporated them into dinner. My mom never buys chips, I didn't think I was going to have to face them while I was at home. In a very sarcastic and "the universe is against me" sort of way, I found it funny that suddenly there are chips everywhere I turn to at home. But starting on Sunday I am going to restart my journey to eliminate chips from my diet for 21 days. But during those 6 days I noticed that I did not crave the chips that I ate so often. This gives me hope that this time I can go 21 days straight.

Coke

Coke was a challenge to go without for those 10 days. I don't know if I am just really emotionally linked to this soft drink, or if it is really that addicting but I did miss it. I generally just crave coke, but that can be replaced by any soft drink to an extent. For example I might be really craving Coke one day and I'll have a Sprite and it will fade. But then a few hours later I will want it again. But when I crave coke, if I have it I won't really think about it until the next day. I've noticed that when I drink it my body calms down and I have no anxiety, which is really odd to me. Is this what a real addiction feels like?

This week I'll be adding....

Coffee. Why give up the nectar of the gods? Mostly because coffee can produce a hormone called cortisol. Apparently this hormone is produced naturally by the body when we are stressed or scared, which increases blood sugar levels and can turn that into fat. Coffee also contains caffeine which is a diuretic meaning that it can cause your body to lose more water than it needs to. As I don't drink that much water on a daily basis, I hope that this can help my skin clear up.  

Fried Chicken is also on the list. It is just unhealthy and I turn to it as a comfort food way too often.By eliminating this I hope that I can also save myself some money to be put towards a camera!

Also for the next 21 days I want to run outside every other day starting monday. I just found out that my rugby lost one of our best runner and player. This means everyone is going to have to step up to the plate. Including me.

Thanks for reading and I hope that everyone has an awesome and fantastic week! 

<3 Cielo

Monday Check in!- Week 1/June 07, 2014

As many of you know, I am trying to lose weight and become a generally fitter person. Although this blog isn't completely focused on that, it will bleed in every once in awhile. Specifically every Monday and Sunday where I will check my stats and update my Tumblr daily with it. I will also be making goals for myself and reflecting on how I did that week. That is why I am starting this new segment on my blog which will be know as MONDAY CHECK INS and SUNDAY SUMMARY. Hopefully I can come up with a catchy name for it later. Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments below.

Knowing that I have lost 5 lbs in the last week I want to challenge myself to not eat certain foods. I

1. Every week I will add a new food to this list and will not eat it for 21 days because I've been told that is how you break or start a new habit.
2.  After the 21 day period  I will have it occasionally if I want to. The idea is to detox my body of all that nasty processed food. 
3. Each week that passes a new food item will be added to the list. This is to keep a cycle going. 
4.  If I mess up and cave and eat it the cycle will restart until I do not have it for 21 days. 
5. For every 5 items that I vanish the first time around. I will get to select something from my wishlist. That way I don't have to wait to lose a certain amount of weight to get it and I get extra motivation. 

I know I am addicted to soda. But my mom only buys Coca-Cola so that is what I end up drinking. I also love love chips and tend to buy those frequently when I'm out because it is the cheapest thing and I can buy it with my spare change, no problem. So this week, I will say no to my baby coke and to my lovely yummy chips that were probably gonna clog my arteries one day.

As for working out, my goal is to run for 30 mins straight 3 times a week. And I want one of those days to be outside at my near by reservoir. I get really self conscious and anxious when I run outside because of some really bad experiences that I've had so this is a challenge for me. But because I like the idea of  a game I will make this a four week challenge. If I don't do it, I will just have two challenges to juggle along with everything else that I want to do.

So let me know if you guys want to join me. I am sure it will be lots of fun. Lets get fit and healthy together!

<3 Cielo aka Building The Confidence