Category Archives: Fitness

Thinking Out Loud: Blizzard of 2015

Thanks everyone for your encouraging comments on Monday’s post! It was really something I had to get out of my mind and onto virtual “paper”. I’m still struggling with those voices today, and that will be part of this post. But I’m also mixing it up, so it calls for my first Thinking Out Loud Thursday in awhile. Always a great excuse to ramble.

Link up with Amanda if you too are rambling, I mean thinking out loud, today!

1. After last week’s satisfying post-sickness gym trips, I am disappointed to say this week has not been as great. First I woke up Saturday extremely unmotivated, so I just did some yoga. The big old blizzard cancelled my favorite Monday 6pm spin class, which I was REALLY looking forward to. I did go to the gym to do the stairs and some legs/abs, but it just didn’t feel as satisfying. Then the blizzard kept the gym closed altogether on Tuesday…and there’s something about a snow day that makes working out at home seem particularly unappealing. So, I just did this She Rocks Fitness workout to tell myself I did something.

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Five Things FriYAY

Man oh MAN I’m so glad it’s Friday. The week felt ridiculously long, probably because I didn’t have Monday off for MLK Day, and I was well aware that many people did (due to the silence that descended over GChat). But now F-day, the day known today as FriYAY, is here. Let’s get to the fun part of it!

Link up with Clare and share your five on Friday!

1. It’s time to announce the winner of my Balance Bar giveaway! You guys seemed so into it and I appreciate all the entries. The randomly selected winner is Jess W…I will be contacting you to get you your prize!

2. Has anyone else fallen in LOVE with the new Fox show Empire? I can’t be the only one, especially since ratings have been climbing with each episode, which is nearly unheard of. I’m digging all of the actors, and the music isn’t bad either. I’m especially liking this song!

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Rest Up, Party Up

I’ve spoken previously about experiencing guilt over not putting the gym first when my schedule gets packed. This past weekend was yet another example of how much I have changed in terms of my priorities. Except this time my schedule was not packed – it was my nose. OK wait, that’s gross, but let me explain.

Firstly, a spontaneous Thursday night dinner at a spot I really enjoy, The Merchant, turned into a Thursday night out at Highball Lounge. Not a huge deal – I took the T home (I only took one Uber this entire weekend and it was just $8 – hooray!) and did not overdo it on food or drink.

Highball is a super cool spot. I would go back in a second, and once again order sparkling rose with a garnish of RUBBER DUCKY.

However I woke up on Friday morning with a stuffy nose and by the time noon hit, it was a full-on cold. I had already decided it was a rest day, since I hadn’t taken a 100% rest day since Christmas (oops…). So missing the gym on Friday wasn’t such a big deal to me. I still went out for a low key dinner and then had a couple of glasses of wine after at one of my favorite bars, Oak Long Bar + Kitchen in the Fairmont Copley Plaza hotel. Jen was kind enough to join me and it was a great quiet Friday. And also involved lots of bread, which I crave when I have a cold. And in the moment, quenching my craving to make myself feel better was more important to me than counting carbs.

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New Year, New Trades

Hope you guys found yesterday’s sponsored post at least semi-relevant. Living in Boston means a tighter budget, and living in Boston in the winter means taking ALL of the Ubers. So bear with me while I try to fund said Ubers with some paid opportunities.

Also must continue to fund my cocktail habit…mine (on the left) is a bellini from Five Horses Tavern, made with Four Roses Bourbon and local balsamic! Don’t be fooled by the rock candy, this was not sweet.

And here I am today with a “real” post, in the form of Trade Em Up Tuesday. This isn’t about what I want to trade or not trade in the New Year. Rather, it’s just my first Trade Em Up Tuesday post of the New Year.

I would not trade…some successful recipes cooked at home! I’m continuing my quest to make some delicious dishes from my Pinterest boards and it’s mostly going great. A few hiccups here and there as I learn some cooking-related lessons, but that’s what living in my first apartment is all about.

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The Most-Needed Trip Ever

Sorry that I’m so late to the game in announcing the winner of my Tuttorosso Tomatoes giveaway! The winner of the prize pack is Amy – thank you for entering and I will be reaching out about getting you your winnings!

tuttorossowinner

It’s been a busy holiday season with no time to blog much…followed by a vacation during which I did not feel like blogging much. Sorry about that! Long-time readers already know that I go to Florida every Christmas season with my family. We use to split our time between my grandma and grandpa’s apartment and hotels, but now we have a condo of our own in the Palm Beach Gardens area.

My grandparents and I

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Marvelous Thanksgiving at Home!

I have to start this post with a quick Cyber Monday plug for 90+ Cellars! We are doing FREE SHIPPING on everything in our online store, so head on over and check out our wine selection! We ship to over 35 states, so click here to find out if yours is one of them!

It’s been quite awhile since I did a Marvelous In My Monday (MIMM) post! It’s been quite a weekend away from Boston, back in Connecticut to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. I certainly ate and drank plenty, but I also didn’t let any bad feelings get me down and keep me from continuing to enjoy myself. Though I weigh more right now than I ever have in the last few years, I also felt happier and more fulfilled over the course of this long holiday weekend than any Thanksgiving I can remember in “recent” history. And that’s certainly marvelous!

Link up with Katie today if you too are sharing the marvelous!

Marvelous is…being able to drive home Tuesday night. Especially given the snow we got on Wednesday! I worked from home that day so was able to beat (a little) traffic by heading out of Boston around 8PM on Tuesday. Plus I had a car buddy – I gave my neighbor Molly a ride too. The 1.5 hour ride took 3 hours, but according to her that wasn’t nearly as much of a delay as she experienced last year. And I was home in time to accompany my dad and Nana Connie (yes she was back!) to get my sister from t he airport at midnight.

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Five Days Friday

I’ve done the whole using Five Things Friday to talk about my week thing before. But that’s OK as long as I give the post a different title, right? Today I’m breaking down my Monday through Friday – five things, five days!

Link up with Clare if you’re joining the Five Things Friday trend today!

Monday

I was so so so ready on Monday to stay in after my favorite spin class with Danielle Dee at the BSC. But work had other plans, and by the time I got to the gym (ten minutes late), all the bikes were full. It’s getting to be that time of year again! But there are a couple of bikes outside the classroom so I hopped on one of those for thirty minutes and pushed as hard as I could, followed by some abs and my latest round of PT exercises. Oh and another thing – I woke up Monday with a cold coming on. So by the time I got home post-gym – at almost 8PM – I was exhausted and SO glad I had meal prepped the day before!

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Trade Em Up Tuesday: Halloween Weekend

I look at Marvelous In My Monday as super positive and Trade Em Up Tuesday as more honest about the good and bad. I certainly did not feel super positive about my Halloween weekend (not due to lack of fun though, that’s for sure) so I decided to wait and participate in Trade Em Up instead. I’m just still really struggling with being okay with the changes in my lifestyle that have happened since I moved to Boston. This was a big weekend for me and I’ve been feeling pretty crappy about it, but also thankful for the fun I had with family and friends.

I would not trade…starting Halloween weekend early with the WeWork Boston Halloween party. OK, so this (free!) event was really awesome. Jeannie has a WeWork office space so she brought me has her guest, and then I found out Emily was going to attend too, so I was looking forward to this party allllll week. I found out last minute it was space-themed so I turned my pre-planned cat costume into a last-minute laser cat costume. (Has anyone seen that SNL skit?!)

Such a last minute costume that I was building my laser cat glasses on the way to the party. Note: crafting on the T makes you look like a crazy person.

Such a last minute costume that I was building my laser cat glasses on the way to the party. Note: crafting on the T makes you look like a crazy person.

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Fitness Friday: Injury Update

I mentioned in Monday’s post that on Tuesday I would be finally headed to an initial assessment with a physical therapist to solve my right IT band “woes”. Thankfully since I go to Harvard Vanguard (big ups to all of you who recommended that as a doctor’s office back when I moved here and asked for recs) it was so easy to get a referral. That place literally has EVERY medical need under one roof, so I just called my PCP and was able to get a referral for their physical therapy services without even being seen first. Hurrah efficiency! AAAAAND Harvard Vanguard is in my insurance network, so PT with them is SO much more affordable than options I’d previously considered.

The first appointment was both informative and reassuring. The therapist said the problem isn’t actually my IT band, but a connecting muscle at my knee that often gets blamed for IT band problems. Now I don’t remember what the name of it is, but the casual name is “runner’s knee”. The PT said it’s a super common problem and we can totally fix it with some exercises that strengthen my hips. He said that I need to get more of that pull and push forward movement in my running that I use when I spin, so that I can propel myself forward that way, which will be easier on my knees.

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Ch-Ch-Changes

Usually reflecting on how you and your life have changed is something that’s reserved for special occasions, like a birthday or the start of a new year. But I’ve been feeling pretty reflective lately. I’ve spent the last few weekend mornings waking up and laying in bed for awhile, thinking (often OVER thinking). I’ve been noticing how different my life is now than it was a year ago, and am having a hard time digesting, accepting, and being OK with it. I can’t even figure out if I SHOULD be accepting or OK with it. Maybe these changes need to be changed. Maybe not. My mind certainly spends enough time telling me they need to be.

Source

For example…going out. I love going out. Since moving to Boston there has barely been a Friday or Saturday that I stayed in. I did start going out more back when I was still living in CT, but now I stay out later and have more beverages because I don’t have to drive, and the city is just so alive. I attribute much of the weight I’ve gained since moving here to my love for going out. Alcohol has calories – a fact I know all too well. I go out more now, I weigh more now. So naturally my mind constantly berates me for how I spend my Fridays and Saturdays. I wake up most Saturday and Sunday mornings with anxiety and terrible body image. I’ve had a few really rough ones lately. I’ve woken up and wanted to do nothing but curl into a ball and lay in bed hating myself all day. Thankfully texts to friends and family have motivated me to get out of bed and go on with my life. The “easy” solution is to just, well, not go out. But…that’s not fun. That’s not what I WANT to do. This whole recovery thing has been about letting myself do what I want to do. But when does that stop being OK?

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Meet Caitlin

I’m a 28 year old full-time working girl living in Boston (previously lived in Connecticut). I’m passionate about food/drink, restaurants, self-love, fitness, and the ever-present search for balance. I write about that journey on this blog – I hope you enjoy!

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Design Credit

My header was originally designed by Mai Le and later tweaked by Chris Roggi to match this theme, which he helped me customize. He also moved me over to self-hosting! Both can be contacted through their sites for design & development work!

Disclaimer

I am not an RD and do not have any official training, certifications, or degrees in nutrition or fitness. This blog is a way to write about my life. Any views I express are mine alone, based on what works for me, and should never be taken as medical advice. Always talk to your doctor or a trained professional before starting a new diet or fitness plan. In addition, this blog and its content are in no way affiliated with Kate Gosselin, “Kate Plus 8”, TLC, or any related affiliates.

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