In addition to eating healthy- mainly by eating foods at home like homemade salads and sandwiches, i've made some eatout changes as well. although 2 nights ago, i had a cheat night with russ, eating the delicious chinese food that resulted in a very unpleasant moment- it has definitely worked in our favor of helping us realize what a disgusting eating habit we use to be stuck in. 

FALAFEL SALAD @ Falafel Drive-in

BIBIMBAP @ SunnyBowl

& finally, my sores/aches are feeling much better! :) time to go hit the gym tonight~

BEAUTYPRODUCT WISHLIST

hello everyone so besides from the most blogged bout topic-health and fitness, i've been back into the addiction of studying beauty product reviews and such and have found some interest in some products i want to own sometime in the near future when moneys not an issue -_- here are some of the products!

I have owned a herstyle straightener that my mom bought me couple years back at the mall and it worked pretty well for the last couple years but it seems to pull out a lot of my hair recently..getting stuck inbetween the ceramic plates and i know the condition of my hair isnt too great after recently bleaching it but i've noticed that it takes me much more effort, time (to slowly go down holding the hair in place) to achieve a decent straight to my hair. another reason why im interested in a better quality hair straightener is because theres this really aweful funky burning smell and i can't seem to find where its burning inside? well thats not that bad of an issue..but the few things that caught my interest in the GHD straighteners was that they came out with pink limited edition that comes with a bag that zips and has velcro on the bottom to stick onto another slightly larger travel bag with an included mirror. personally i fell in love with the limited edition ($229.00) just because of the white color with pink design on it with a cute matching travel protecting set but the classic black GHD is just as good, just doesnt come with the extra travel goodies. one of the reasons why i like this ghd straightener is because of all the vids i saw on how to make pretty curls using this straightener so its a really good straightener since your really killing two birds with one stone unlike my Herstyler straightener which is almost impossible for me to achieve nice curls effortlessly.
GHD Pink Limited Edition Styler Set / GHD Classic Styler Ceramic Hair straightener in black can be found at www.folica.com

A more different turn on hair curling products, the Enzo Milano Reverse Conico Curling Iron! its basically just a heating wand thats coned shape for your hair to achieve a romantic- volumous loose curl. it doesnt have a clamp like most typical curling irons. i've watched many vids and seen the results of using a wand like curling iron and im so interested in someday owning one for myself. ive heard that using this kind of curling iron "wand" usually cuts down the time of curling hair and it achieves a more "natural" wavy curl look than those typical spiral curls that to me, get kind of played out and looks fake, if that makes sense..the only fall back on this product is that if you dont use the heat glove you can burn your fingers since you have to manually twirl your hair around the wand until you reach the tips of your hair making your fingers get close to the wand to ensure the tips get curled as well..but with caution and a heat glove the results would definitely be well worth it. the price isnt too bad either $129.99 for the results and reviews ive seen.
Enzo Milano Reverse Conico Curling Iron: http://www.folica.com/tools/curling-irons/enzo-milano-reverse-conico-curling-iron 

So enough with the hair styling products and on with the face! =) The Sigma Synthetic Face Kit !!! so many raves about these brushes w/ so many great results for people using these 3 brushes to apply foundation to the face. The sigma 80 flat top kabuki is used for liquid, sigma 82 round top kabuki for powder, and sigma 84 for angled top kabuki for contouring the face. definitely am always looking for the best foundations because i envy those who have a flawless application of foundation. its $42.00 for the kit and is definitely affordable compared to M.A.C brushes..and when people can even admit to preferring the sigmas over mac brushes.
Sigma Synthetic Face Kit: http://www.sigmabeauty.com/Synthetic_Face_Kit_p/smax01.htm

Make Up For Ever- Aqua Creams for the eyes is definitely known to be a great cream shadow that's very pigmented and can hold up to smearing because it is waterproof! i've noticed that cream eye shadows definetely look better on my eyelid when applying shadow to my eyes..idk maybe because i just look better with a sheer coat of shadow on my lids? not sure but definetely would like to try this out in TAUPE and others as i figure out what colors go well on my eyes..

so others listed below are other products that im interested in picking up sometime b/c of the raves and high reviews:
BrushLab Eye Contour Brush - http://www.BrushLove.com 
Estee Lauder Double Wear Liquid Foundation
NARS Sheer Glow Liquid Founation
Make Up Forever Duo Mat Powder Foundation
Terry Hyaluronic Eye Primer
Lancome Hypnose Drama W/P Mascara in Black
Revlon Super Lustrous Gloss in Peach Petal

this is love

its written all over my face

its something id try describing

but its hard to say a thing

this is love

it seems like a world of your own

when you could feel the butterflies

fluttering theyre outgrown.

so when i see your face

it gets harder everytime

to let go of us.

do you recall when i would

tell you

i love us. i cant go. a day without

your sweet lovin

i cant hide. they all know. so lookout

my hearts runnin'

heyyou, i'm tickled up

and i know i

aint picture perfect...

this is real

hearts will start to colide

it feels like we're entwined by all our roots

to grow aligned

said i need you need you.

another way to say

i gotta have yu have you

the sound of your voice

is echoing

whats sweeter than sweeter than sugar, love.

is the taste of us x3

go jenny!! <3 not surprised at all...always said you had the voice of an angel! T_T jealous**

2 slices whole wheat w/ flax
3 mini carrot sticks
1 hard boiled egg sliced
mini spinach mixed greens w/ 1 tsp sesame soy ginger
This sums up my DEERICIOUS breakfast of this morning :)

I've also been interested bringing in jump roping as part of my dieting routine. i found so many inputs online by individuals such as professionals claiming that jump roping is a overall beneficial workout for the whole body and effective for belly fat loss (just what i need) hehe. Last night i started to begin this routine and roughly went on for 6 minutes which felt pretty good but strangely either from possibly kicking my knee against a wall in my sleep? or it might have just been from the sudden jump roping, my knee feels medium sharp pain after extending it out a certain angle..not fun =/ but i'll just be taking it easy today and just do some weights instead of jump roping and harsh movement of the legs. so proud of myself for accomplishing each day rejecting all those fatty delicious foods out there, but to be honest..its not as hard anymore and i dont feel like im missing out on too much in the end since my healthy foods make me feel a whole lot better overall afterward. =)

things are lookin' good.

although there are no signs of physical change so far along my diet, there are definitely a visible increase in weightloss and im SOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited and proud of myself of making healthy choices to lose weight. here is the progress:
2/28- 151.6
1/3- 150.6
1/4- 149.0
gotta keep myself in check and continue with the hard work to get closer to reaching the gold >.< wooot
 
oh and here's a picture of a very yummy and healthy snack i've been pretty addicted to: Low fat Yogurt w/ Frozen Organic Blueberries w/ a little honey
Before mixed around

and after mixed around... YUMMMM<33333

back FOR REALS.

Back! and okay, I know I kinda failed after not blogging in who knows how long and not sticking to what I last blogged about..and I'm not gonna lie bout it, I did screwed up but I don't regret any of it cause at least I was finally able to pick my self up and totally do a 180 and seriously start making some REAL changes(FINALLY). For example: couple weeks ago before the change, a going out meal would look a little something like this:

 WOW ok, I wasn't eating this all by myself but still.. this is definitely a breath taker from how I've changed my eating habits to- which looks a little more like this:

Soba noodles yummm...

and this- My dinner for today :) which consisted of :
1-1/2 cups Mixed greens including Spinich
1-1/2 cups Italian mix of Romain Lettuce
3 chopped baby carrots
1 chopped apple
1 sliced hard boiled egg
few thinly sliced grilled chicken
2 tbsp seasoned soy ginger vinaigrette

Food4Thought : Basically I knew that all the ingredients inside were pretty low in calories and didn't really have anything to be too careful of. I even took out the yolk inside the hard boiled egg and didn't even finish all the slices of chicken. Although the plate looked full, I knew it would fill me up just right and I didn't feel bad for eating a relatively large plate of salad because of the low amount of calories in total. The sauce I bought from Trader Joes was very delicious! It reminded me of the sauces given out in those fast food "asian chicken salads" that I've previously ate before at Togos or Jackinthebox. With only about 35 calories for 2 tablespoons of the Trader Joes Soy Ginger Vinaigrette, I'm almost 100% guaranteed that  this homemade "asian" chicken salad is MUCH less on fats and much more fresh while being just as tasty! :)

Along with the huge change on eating healthier foods, my boyfriend Russ and I try to hit the gym after he gets off work and we try to do a very light cardio or "fat burn" along with some weight training. He told me a couple days ago that my only issue on working out is just physically getting me there. lol. which is true, and Im sure it's not just me..but once I'm there I'm usually open and looking forward towards a nice sweaty workout. mmm..I've noticed that the more I go workout the less physically painful it is next time I go. Also at the end of every workout im usually pouring with happiness or relief of stress, definitely a plus +

A note to self after reading some information online and in a magazine:
-Try to drink 5 cups of green tea daily: before workout/after meals
-Instead of protein shakes (if i ever wind up drinking them in the future) replace with chickpea salad that has enough protein,fiber,and is a healthier alternative

weight training update

thought id share my recent accomplishment on my weight training i started today.

i ran straight down my house street for 5 minutes straight and walked the way back to get my muscles warmed up. afterward, i completed 3 sets of 8 reps of dumbell bench press, 3 sets of 9 reps of dumbell bent over row, 3 sets of 10 reps of dumbell shoulder press, and 3 sets of 11 reps of dumbell skull crushers.

feelings: the bench press was pretty easy going, started to feel more of a workout towards the 2nd set of my bent over rows in my arms, shoulder press were kind of painful but it might just be because i wasn't performing the exercise correctly..., and skull crushers made me feel like my overall workout finished great.

overall: felt really good after, felt like air was really refreshing.(if that makes any sense)? lol.. after walking downstairs to get a glass of water and sat down for a bit i started to feel some mild sore/pain in my muscles which is probably good.

going to keep going at my cardio and weight training..havnt been really on top with my self on the whole low carb diet but its never too late to catch myself and put myself back on track. =] hoping to keep up the good work and see some visual progress soon..