For the Right Reasons

Living with a newborn is not the easiest (fun...yes, easy...nay). Sleeping in the same room doesn't make it any easier. Since my sister's mother-in-law, Susan, is staying with her until her husband gets home she gets the guest room, which leaves me sharing a room with Emily and sweet baby Sam. Don't get me wrong this isn't me complaining for a second! I really do love it. It gives me stories and memories I'll have for a lifetime. Not only that, Susan does so much during the day, she deserves a night of sleep. This is also the best form of birth control for myself. Uhhh...true. Lately, we've been going through 1-2 hour sleeps throughout the night so the exhaustion just kinda follows you around. 

In attempts to combat the exhaustion/get me out of the house, I meet with a trainer once a week. This past Wednesday was supposed to be one of those days, however it started rough. That morning I woke up twenty minutes before my session, and ended up being ten minutes late. I'm kind of a freak about being punctual, so this already put me in an aggravated mood. When I got there, my trainer decided to tell me he forgot the gym keys. Well there was that. I woke up late and tired, AND I wasn't gonna get in the workout I wanted. There was only one thing I needed: Target. 

On my way home I stopped there thinking I would just kinda walk around and see if anything caught my eye. I went to the book section and saw that they had "For the Right Reasons" by Sean Lowe. Emily, a huge Bachelor fan, was all about Sean and Catherine. I had seen that the book was out and was interested so I decided, eh, why not?! I have the time, and I want a good read. So I bought it. 

Let me say this, there are few books that I have just sat and read without any distractions. This book was one of them. I started the minute I got home, continued in the car waiting to pick up the little girl I nanny, at the dinner table, in bed. I read it in about two days. Don't get me wrong, the fact that it's not a hard read or a long book helped, but there was also something about Sean's story that was so captivating to me. I honestly think it's because a lot of what his life was is what I feel like I am going through currently. Transition. Oh the dreaded transition.

I never made this known to people, but a main reason I decided to come to California was because I had just gotten out of a complicated relationship. This guy and I had been seeing each other for about a year, but never made anything official. That alone took a really huge emotional toll on me. Then I found out there was another girl in the picture and that didn't help matters. I was ready to go all in with this guy. I always urged him to just believe in us, believe in the love he had for me, and that was it! He spoke sweet nothings to me, and I believed every second of it. Anyways, enough about him. During that year, my relationship with God went from subpar, to a constant conversation. I don't necessarily enjoy the fact that I had to go through heartbreak to really lean on Him, but I believe it is what I needed to reconnect.

Reading Sean's story gave me such a renewed sense of hope. One that had been dwindling, and I wasn't sure how to get it back. He touched on past relationships and why they didn't work out; how he found himself in a super huge lull before going on the Bachelorette; and how Christ was the constant throughout it all. The book helped me to open my eyes on life, and love. Okaaay, I know what you're thinking. It's silly that this girl is learning life lessons from a pretty boy Bachelor. And it's true, I thought the same thing. But this pretty boy bachelor actually has a lot of wisdom if you open yourself up to it. Through his stories, I learned you can't force someone to love you. You can't meet them halfway (which was my number one mistake). You need to be confident in what you want, and not settle for less. I also learned I am doing nothing wrong in the least about putting my confidence and hope in the Lord, knowing that He in the end will provide the desires and happinesses of my heart. My absolute favorite part of the book was the prayer Sean would pray everyday going to work. He would pray, "'God, you know I don't want to live a normal life. If this is your will--if you really want me to sell insurance--I'll do it. But there has to be more.'" There is no doubt Sean found his more. 

When I came to California I thought I would find adventure, and a future, but I truly believe I found something much greater; myself. It's exciting to be able to say I am finally confident in who I am, and it's okay to still be searching for my more. 

Now here's my plug: If you're looking for a fun, easy read; something inspirational; a quirky love story, look no further! For the Right Reasons is all of that in one. 

Honestly, the only time I looked up 

Why Paleo?

Throughout the past couple years, dieting "fads" have been in circulation. There's the whole idea that going gluten-free is good, there's the age old being vegetarian or vegan, and more recently, many people have jumped onto the paleo diet trend. This diet aims to mimics the eating habits of those in the paleolithic era; only the freshest (grassfed) meats, fish/seafood, fruits, and vegetables, nuts, and healthy oils are apart of this way of eating. Foods that are omitted include cereal grains, dairy products, refined sugars and oils, processed foods, potatoes, and certain legumes. Seems pretty drastic, huh?
I remember when I first heard about the paleo lifestyle. I was a sophomore in college, and the student athletic trainer I was assigned to shadow, Nic, had introduced it to me. I really looked up to how healthy and fit he was so I figured it was a pretty legit thing. Then, he told me the rules. HAH! Is this guy serious?! Of course he was. Then he gave me six pounds of qunioa he had at his apartment in attempts to limit temptation. The idea of being paleo was simply that to me, an idea. That was of course before I decided to create a healthier lifestyle for myself.

When my mom introduced the Whole30 Paleo Challenge to my sister and I this past January it was indeed a change. When I read the restrictions I knew this would be close to impossible for me. Not because I didn't have the willpower, but because I knew my body well, and I knew it would have a difficult time adapting to the change. The most important part, I believe, in making a dietary change is going about it slowly, yet effectively. You do not want to subject your body to any type of shock or depravation.

The hardest part of the paleo challenge was taking out grains. Unfortunately, the full paleo diet does not include quinoa. Lord, have mercy...what am I going to do?! Not only do I luuuurve my grains, I also know that this is where I get many of my carbohydrates from. Carbs are perhaps the most understood micronutrient in the bunch. We all learned it when Dolly Parton mimicked it on Steel Magnolias, "carbs are the enemy!" FALSE! Carbs are your greatest source of energy. It is essential you learn to love them and appreciate them, however do not abuse them! I could go into a whole nutrition lesson about carbs, but I will instead post a lovely Pinterest chart on the difference between simple "bad" and complex "good" carbs.

And then I saw no beans....okay, okay. Jokes over now, right? Not only do I love beans, my January/February edition of Health Magazine confirmed that beans are indeed good for your heart! They help to lower cholesterol (as do whole grains and legumes, ps). Therefore, I decided to go about this challenge differently. I decided to go about it eating more clean, than paleo. Thus I became "pseduo-paleo" as I like to describe it. I decided to adapt grassfed- produced meats, fresh fish and seafood, and unrefined sugars and healthy oils into my diet, as well as knocking out processed foods. What I did however keep that is not paleo are healthy grains like quinoa and whole-grain bread (very seldom, especially if it includes bananas and nut butter), and beans.

I am not paleo, and until I've decided to make a full change I won't even pretend to be. I do however strive to make healthy and fresh choices with everything I eat; that doesn't include Girl Scout cookies. You're welcome.

About Me

Hello all! Well, I have done it. I have decided to try my hand at blogging. Why, Sophia, why did you decide to do this? Here I am, the girl who cried days and days over her senior thesis paper; the girl who, honestly doesn't know when to use a semicolon; the girl who always leaves out words in so much as Instagram posts has decided to create her own blog. Strange, I know. But do not fret, I do have my reasons. Either I am growing up and am more aware of things around me, or blogging really has become the "in thing." My sister is a Navy wife and is totally in with the military blogging crowd, and it has kind of sparked a bit of a fire in me.

I graduated from St. Edward's University in December of 2014 with a degree in Kinesiology emphasizing in Athletic Training. When I enrolled in college I was the definition of an awkward 18 year-old who had no idea what life had in store. Throughout college, working with different athletic teams and being around a world of fitness, I began to really fall in love with the idea of helping others, and that started with myself. I entered college at 5'5" 135 pounds. Not bad right? Let's not even discuss what my body fat percentage was. I grew up playing basketball but stopped once I hit high school and didn't exactly entertain the idea of working out much. Once my freshman year was over I was tipping the scales at 140 pounds and needed a change, and quick. Being in the athletic training world, I was around constant motivation and inspiration. It forced me to really look at myself and see the changes I wanted to make. 

The summer of 2012 started my "lifestyle change," if you will. However, as a student athletic trainer, traveling with teams and eating like an athlete (when I merely sat on the sidelines) really caught up with me. From May 2012 to January 2015, I hit many bumps. Lemme tell you, the roller coaster of motivation is a real thing. Either way, I continued to push on. I've done two rounds of Sean T's Insanity videos, I pushed myself to workout at hotels while on the road, and have made many dietary changes.

Starting in January, I moved to San Diego to live with my sister who was expecting her first child while her husband was deployed. Since I was newly graduated, I decided this would be the best way to face (or ignore) the dreaded transition phase. On January 7, 2015 nephew number three was born! For the first month of his life, our mom stayed with us. She had just finished a "30 day paleo challenge" and urged us to continue with this dietary change. My sister and I, always looking for challenges and healthier living were all in! Throughout that time, we experimented with the best and healthiest foods, and recipes. With a simple month change (not neglecting exercise that is), I was able to feel way more energized, lighter, and all over healthier. As of this morning, I am weighing in at a happy 122 pounds, and 18% body fat.  

Originally, I wanted this blog to be about health and fitness, but then I decided to create it to be about all around wellness. Follow me as I discuss fun new recipes, products, challenges, but all around life and fun! 

So without further adieu, I present to you the journey of the Pseudo-Paleo Princess. Come along with me! I promise I won't disappoint :)