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Preparation!

Jan 03 Diet, eat, planning, Resolutions, volleyball Blog, Uncategorized

Planning out my meals for the next week or so and making grocery lists to go along with it…actually kinda fun. #nerd

My basic plan looks like this:

For breakfast- greek yogurt with berries, dried & chopped dates, and walnut pieces- pretty much everyday. If I eat clean all week I give myself pancakes at my favorite breakfast place (Haute Cakes) on Sunday morning 🙂

For lunch- usually a salad with all the fixin’s, my base is baby spinach and romaine lettuce with balsamic vinegar & extra virgin olive oil for dressing, then I add all the veggies I can find (leftovers are good!), a little gorgonzola cheese and some pine nuts- bam!

I usually need a snack post afternoon cardio before dinner so that’ll consist of egg whites with 1/2 an english muffin, an apple with natural peanut butter, a protein shake, or veggies and hummus.

For dinner- I want to get creative and make new things from all the cook books I received for Christmas, I’m going to keep things simple for the rest of this week, especially since I’m doing a juice cleanse tomorrow. Planning on making grilled salmon with sweet potatoes on Friday, but next week my big challenge will be a healthier version of the Barefoot Contessa’s Jambalaya!

I’m fired up, hope it stays this way!
Resolution support!

Jan 02 Blog, Uncategorized

Resolution support!

Some more detailed and scientific reading about sticking to your New Year’s Resolutions if you’re interested. Most of it seems a bit excessive, but I agree with the basic message for sure, mental and physical preparation is necessary! Also, I love the part about framing and self talk, so helpful!!
Resolute.

Jan 02 Diet, Nice, Resolutions Uncategorized

January 2nd, 2013. This is my beginning. January 1st is for nursing hangovers, January 2nd is for resolutions. Yes, I had a pretty good 2012, but there are LOTS of things I can improve upon. Number one- diet. AGGGHHH, how I hate being disciplined with my food. I LOVE pastries and wine and cheese and bread (especially pretzel bread), I should just go live in France. And apparently my “moderation” isn’t really moderation, because when I allow myself to eat those things, even in small amounts, I gain weight. So those are out! Along with dessert, hash browns, and chips. Just writing it is painful. Number two- learn. I have gone so long now without really learning something new. I want to challenge my brain, keep it in good working shape, and hopefully stave off decline for as long as possible and in order to do that all research says you need to keep learning. So, at the top of my list I have master Spanish and tackle the guitar. And stick with it! I tend to start extracurricular activities and not see them through…that can actually be another resolution…Number three- see things through. Like this blog, for example, I would love to be able to say I will post once a week at least, but based on history that would be a risky statement. So this year I am going to stick with it, stick with the blog, stick with Spanish or guitar lessons, stick with eating healthy!

That sounds like a lot for now so I’m going to just go with those resolutions for 2013.

Now how do I set myself up to succeed? It’s not just enough to say I want to do these things and try with all my might to see them though. No, I have to prepare my butt off. Eating healthy requires me to make sure I grocery shop every week and keep my fridge stocked with healthy options. Before I go to practice I need to get up a little earlier and pack healthy snacks and a lunch. On Sundays I need to plan dinners for the week so that when the time comes I can’t use not knowing what to cook as an excuse to go out. For my second resolution I’m going to have to do some research, find out where there are lessons around where I live and create a concrete schedule where I’m expected to show up to classes. And as far as sticking with things goes….I’m not sure yet, maybe being more organized throughout my day. I’m really great about scheduling volleyball stuff, practice and gym time, but then I leave everything else on my to-do list for “whenever I can get to it”. I will try to create a more structured daily schedule for myself with time to blog, time to grocery shop, time to clean the house, time to write emails, time to nap…. 😉

The good thing is that I can see how worth it it will be to follow through on my resolutions. Motivation is key, so I think if I can stay focused on how my resolutions will enhance my life it will be easier to stick with them. And I don’t think they’re unmanageable, I didn’t say I want to be supermodel skinny by May or Taylor Swift by the end of the year.

Writing this was therapeutic for me so I hope you were able to take something from it as well and I just want to say good luck with your resolutions this year and I hope you succeed because we can ALL be better versions of ourselves and we should never stop striving to grow! One last thing! I think we can all resolve to be nicer to each other, when you want to honk or yell at someone or say something bitchy, let’s just not. It won’t hurt you and it will preserve someone else’s entire day or even week. Cheers to 2013!!

#PLAYWITH<3

Welcome to the Official Website of

April Ross

Pro Beach Volleyball Player and Two-Time Olympic Medalist

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Preparation!

Resolution support!

Resolute.