Fashion and Fitness - My cheap therapy

Lately, if you have been following me on Instagram, you have been probably hearing about how I've been really stressed out. Partly the reason why I hadn't been posting as much in the recent months, because life got really out of hand. I got really stressed out, anxious, my project completely changed direction and I thought I would be ready to defend my thesis by the end of the summer, walked at graduation, and now my plans are completely different (or at least delayed).
I guess everything happens for a reason. I didn't get the job I interviewed for (the one that I thought was my perfect match, guess it wasn't so perfect after all), I started getting contradicting (but good I guess) results, I got a dissertation year fellowship, so the fact that all of my Plan A's didn't work out, my Plan B is coming in handy now, even though I didn't appreciate it at first; so now I don't have to worry about TAing while trying to figure out the jumble of confusion that is my life right now.
And while things haven't been working the way I planned (Oh science, that's how you must be, right?), the one thing I HAVE been able to control is my exercise and health routine. I gained some weight from losing my work out momentum, stress, eating whatever I wanted, and I fell back into the stress and anxiety routine I worked so hard to get over. I referred back to my health and fitness community over on facebook and I refound my inspiration. I started a workout program that's available for free on the Beachbody On Demand that I subscribe to, and with the help of 2 other amazing ladies, we are keeping ourselves accountable for getting the workouts done - as in, we have a group chat going and we each message the others when we are pressing play on our workouts and get it done! It has really helped me manage my stress and anxiety and really helped me make time for myself. I have started regarding working out as "Me" time, and a meeting I make with myself, and I'm not allowed to skip it, just as I wouldn't skip a work meeting, etc. While I have been struggling a little still, I am doing a lot better with managing my stress. I am obsessed with my new life style, when I have a rest day, I am just itching to get back to working out!

Fun fitness Ideas

As a busy grad student, I don't always have the chance to go to the gym, especially here at UCLA where, now that the academic quarter has started, it is very busy and crowded.

When I'm done working a 12 hr day where I have just been running around all day, the last thing on my mind sometimes is working out (although I do feel guilty and wish I would just go to the gym), but dinner and sleep sound more appealing since I have to be up and about early the next day to continue my experiments. 

How to fit in working out?

Here is what I do (and I wear cute gym clothes to help me feel fabulous and stylish while working out, I have posted about these before):

I try to work out on the weekends. Since I hope that I wont be in lab on the weekend (unless needed), I tend to go to a fitness class on Saturday Mornings or, if I would like to sleep in (as is the case now), I will go for a run around the UCLA campus or go lift some weights (some type of upper body combination, either biceps and back, or shoulders and abs, or triceps and chest; I pick a combination that I feel like working out and go with it! I add about 20-30 min of cardio at the end.

On Sundays, I tend to work on legs (my fav day of workout), where I go in the early afternoon where it isn't as busy, and I can easily find a squat rack. I do weighted squats, wide squats, lunges, deadlifts, hamstring curls, and other various leg exercises. And then I get on the stairmaster and do that for 15 minutes. Man, is it a workout, you are sweating within 10 minutes and already feeling sore! 

If I decide I want to be outside, the boyfriend and I have recently started biking to Santa Monica by the beach - we rented bikes last week and it was so fun, that we decided we were going to buy our own bikes! I ended up buying a bike on Saturday and I am in love! Went and took it for a test drive yesterday, rode a total of 20 miles round trip from my apartment down to Santa Monica by the beach down to Manhattan beach and back to my apartment in West LA. It was awesome, fun, and I was able to be out in the sun. And its a hidden workout, since it works your legs and gives you a serious calorie burn!!! I am so sore this morning!