Today I was working on an assignment for school about animal rights and I was once again horrified at the information I found about mistreated animals in meat factories and farms. I came across this video that brought me to tears and I wanted to share it with you because I think its important that we treat animals with respect and realize that they are beautiful creatures. This has made me want to stop eating meat entirely and I really wish everyone could give up meat as well, but some people just can't live without it I guess. Just as a warning: this video has some very disturbing footage so please be aware of that and maybe grab some tissues. If you feel the need, you may share it with friends and family.
Embed Investigation Video - Mercy For Animals
Thanks for reading!
Melissa
Monday, January 21, 2013
Saturday, December 15, 2012
My First Half Marathon!
Hi everyone!
I know I have not been posting much recently but I knew I had to write about my experience this past Sunday. I ran my first half marathon ever! It was frightening, tiring, painful, fun, long, and amazing all at the same time! I met my goal, and that was to finish. No matter how freaking tired I was, I was going to walk it or crawl it. And yes, I did walk some of it. But it was worth it. My time was 2 hours and 54 minutes which was not as good as I wanted, but at least I can say I finished under 3 hours! I was amazed at how encouraging people were throughout the race. There were people ringing bells, holding up motivating signs, yelling, "you can dot it!" at the top of their lungs. It made me want to run even faster! At the finish line, there was a lady holding all the medals and as I crossed the line, she came up to me, put the medal around my neck and said, "Great job, this is the worst its gonna get, from here on out everything's gonna be a piece of cake!". I didn't believe her because at the moment, all I was thinking in my head was, how am I going to be able to finish a full marathon when I am in excruciating pain and there's blood on my ankle? All I wanted to do was collapse. But, now that I think about it, I think she was right. Not that it will be easy, but my body will be adjusted to long distances like this and I will be more prepared for it.
Another great thing I enjoyed about this race was being able to think while running. I was able to ponder on my goals and how faithful God has been the past year. However, the first time I walked during the race I thought to myself, "don't walk! You're supposed to run this! Walking doesn't count as effort!". I was beating myself up about it, telling myself negative things and then I just looked around me and saw other super fit people walking as well. Then I just thought, "why am I complaining? There are people who can't even walk. I should be thankful that I have the ability to walk AND run". That alone got me through the pain and the hills, oh and the thought of food also got me through the race. I was thinking, "I get food at the end, I get food at the end, I get food at the end!". And yes, I got lots of food: there were bagels, bananas, Luna bars (my favorite!), and some fish tacos (which I did not eat).
Overall, the race was such an amazing accomplishment worth training for and I am SO ready for the many races to come! I'm so thankful that I got to run this race and share my experience with everyone here on the blog. If you ever are thinking about running a race like this one, DO IT! It is so much fun, especially when you do it with friends or family. I did it with my sister and we enjoyed every moment of it. Here are some pictures from the event:
1. My shirt, medal, and race number.
2. At the finish line. Yay for frizzy hair!
3. My sister and I before and after the race!
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Thanks for reading! Merry Christmas!
I know I have not been posting much recently but I knew I had to write about my experience this past Sunday. I ran my first half marathon ever! It was frightening, tiring, painful, fun, long, and amazing all at the same time! I met my goal, and that was to finish. No matter how freaking tired I was, I was going to walk it or crawl it. And yes, I did walk some of it. But it was worth it. My time was 2 hours and 54 minutes which was not as good as I wanted, but at least I can say I finished under 3 hours! I was amazed at how encouraging people were throughout the race. There were people ringing bells, holding up motivating signs, yelling, "you can dot it!" at the top of their lungs. It made me want to run even faster! At the finish line, there was a lady holding all the medals and as I crossed the line, she came up to me, put the medal around my neck and said, "Great job, this is the worst its gonna get, from here on out everything's gonna be a piece of cake!". I didn't believe her because at the moment, all I was thinking in my head was, how am I going to be able to finish a full marathon when I am in excruciating pain and there's blood on my ankle? All I wanted to do was collapse. But, now that I think about it, I think she was right. Not that it will be easy, but my body will be adjusted to long distances like this and I will be more prepared for it.
Another great thing I enjoyed about this race was being able to think while running. I was able to ponder on my goals and how faithful God has been the past year. However, the first time I walked during the race I thought to myself, "don't walk! You're supposed to run this! Walking doesn't count as effort!". I was beating myself up about it, telling myself negative things and then I just looked around me and saw other super fit people walking as well. Then I just thought, "why am I complaining? There are people who can't even walk. I should be thankful that I have the ability to walk AND run". That alone got me through the pain and the hills, oh and the thought of food also got me through the race. I was thinking, "I get food at the end, I get food at the end, I get food at the end!". And yes, I got lots of food: there were bagels, bananas, Luna bars (my favorite!), and some fish tacos (which I did not eat).
Overall, the race was such an amazing accomplishment worth training for and I am SO ready for the many races to come! I'm so thankful that I got to run this race and share my experience with everyone here on the blog. If you ever are thinking about running a race like this one, DO IT! It is so much fun, especially when you do it with friends or family. I did it with my sister and we enjoyed every moment of it. Here are some pictures from the event:
1. My shirt, medal, and race number.
3. My sister and I before and after the race!
Monday, September 10, 2012
New Season is Here!
Hello everyone!
Fall is near but it feels as if it's already here. The weather has cooled down a bit and it feels quite nice. When I stepped out of my house for my run this morning it was 63 degrees. It was SO nice!! I didn't even sweat that much during my run.
School is definitely weighing me down. However, I'm trying to workout everyday and manage my time wisely. My sister and her boyfriend and I are training for our first half marathon in December. I'm scared. Today I was supposed to run 4 miles but I was only able to run 3. I think its because I was running in the afternoon and I was getting really hot. I'm definitely going to keep going though. I feel like giving up, however I have big goals ahead of me. When I get my iPhone at the end of this month, I'm going to get one of those apps that counts how many miles you run. Right now the only way that I can count how many miles I've run is by running the track near my house and that is so BORING! So if you have any suggestions as to what app I should get or shouldn't get, comment below!
Now, eating well has brought its own challenges. I'm working on eating mainly greens, fruits and proteins. I'm going to try to cook my meals for the week on Saturdays or Sundays so that I can be stress free during the week! This past weekend I was not able to make my meals because I had a big test for half the day on Saturday, and Sunday I did all the homework that I would usually do on Saturday. But this weekend I will cook something healthy for the week.
I just read something kind of gross and motivating. "Did you know that fat cells can be created but cannot be destroyed? You gain fat cells when you eat more than you
expend and generally the only way to get rid of them is through lipo!
Exercise reduces the size of the fat cell but it does not make them
disappear! Keep this in mind!"
Yeah...this makes me not want to eat anything processed and unhealthy ever again in my life! So think of this quote whenever you're about to eat that piece of cake or that bag of fries.
Quick tip: Finally the Pumpkin Spice Latte has come out at Starbucks! So to reduce the amount of calories in this amazing drink ask for half the syrup and if you can, ask for nonfat milk or soy milk. :)
Tomorrow I will do Pilates! Have a wonderful week everyone!! Make healthy choices!
Melissa
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Song Obsession
This is my "song of the day" if you will. I just discovered this musician. He isn't very popular. I looked him up on iTunes, YouTube, and Spotify but I couldn't find him ANYWHERE! So I typed in the name of the song and his name on Google and I found this link! (Thanks Google!) His name is Juan Paolo.It's romantic, in case you were wondering. You guys should share this song so that Juan Paolo can become famous and I can buy his music!!! Take a listen and Relax! This guy's voice is beautiful!
You are all that I Dream of by jp_productions
You are all that I Dream of by jp_productions
Monday, July 30, 2012
An Olympian's Diet
Check out this article. It's pretty intense. But there is some good info on pre and post workout foods. Enjoy!
http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/eat-food-secrets-olympic-athletes-123408989--abc-news-health.html
http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/eat-food-secrets-olympic-athletes-123408989--abc-news-health.html
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Saying good-bye and Eating Clean
Hey everyone!
Yesterday was a bitter-sweet day. It was Phyllis' last day in the U.S. So we took her to downtown Houston. The first half of the day was exciting because we got to walk through the city and we actually got to go up the tallest building to get an aerial view of Houston. It was beautiful! After that, we had vegetarian burgers for lunch made by my sweet mom. :) We had lunch at a small Starbucks in one of the buildings. It's kind of funny because we were all dressed in casual clothing and everyone else was walking around in their business suits, skirts, dresses and high heels. Phyllis was nervous that she might end up getting lost in the airport and miss her flight. But we just kept telling her that it was going to run smoothly and we would stay with her until she knew where to go. Once she was ready to go through security and we had to leave, it was time to say our good-byes. My mom and I cried and so did Phyllis. :( It was a very heartbreaking moment but it made me realize the wonderful friendship that had flourished during the last two weeks. I am so thankful to God for the friendships he has placed in my life all over the world.
Anyway, the rest of the day felt so lonely without Phyllis. I just kept going back to memorable moments we had together. I hope I get to see her again soon. :)
Now on a less serious note, I'm reading through one of Tosca Reno's books. If you get the chance to read any of her books, you should read them! They are very motivating and she has great, clean recipes. Anyway, I started eating clean when I was a freshman in high school but recently I've kind of fallen off track. So I printed a copy of the eating clean principles in order to get me started. Tomorrow I would like to make some of her recipes, if not, maybe start picking out some recipes for next week. I want to start now before the school year begins. I also want to clarify that this is not a diet, it is a lifestyle and that goes for me too. Sometimes you just need a little push especially when you have cupcakes and cookies staring at you at a party or grocery store. Nutrition is definitely key in the way your body looks and feels. 80% nutrition, 10% training, 10% genetics.
Yesterday was a bitter-sweet day. It was Phyllis' last day in the U.S. So we took her to downtown Houston. The first half of the day was exciting because we got to walk through the city and we actually got to go up the tallest building to get an aerial view of Houston. It was beautiful! After that, we had vegetarian burgers for lunch made by my sweet mom. :) We had lunch at a small Starbucks in one of the buildings. It's kind of funny because we were all dressed in casual clothing and everyone else was walking around in their business suits, skirts, dresses and high heels. Phyllis was nervous that she might end up getting lost in the airport and miss her flight. But we just kept telling her that it was going to run smoothly and we would stay with her until she knew where to go. Once she was ready to go through security and we had to leave, it was time to say our good-byes. My mom and I cried and so did Phyllis. :( It was a very heartbreaking moment but it made me realize the wonderful friendship that had flourished during the last two weeks. I am so thankful to God for the friendships he has placed in my life all over the world.
Anyway, the rest of the day felt so lonely without Phyllis. I just kept going back to memorable moments we had together. I hope I get to see her again soon. :)
Now on a less serious note, I'm reading through one of Tosca Reno's books. If you get the chance to read any of her books, you should read them! They are very motivating and she has great, clean recipes. Anyway, I started eating clean when I was a freshman in high school but recently I've kind of fallen off track. So I printed a copy of the eating clean principles in order to get me started. Tomorrow I would like to make some of her recipes, if not, maybe start picking out some recipes for next week. I want to start now before the school year begins. I also want to clarify that this is not a diet, it is a lifestyle and that goes for me too. Sometimes you just need a little push especially when you have cupcakes and cookies staring at you at a party or grocery store. Nutrition is definitely key in the way your body looks and feels. 80% nutrition, 10% training, 10% genetics.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
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