One to Nothin'

#OperationShakiraBod Day 7

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I promised sweaty selfies and I think I have delivered. First week of Operation Shakira Bod down, three more to go. I did everything from a 5-mile run, to weight training to yoga this week, and I don’t know about you guys, but I feel good. My attitude, energy and maybe even the way my clothes fit have improved. I still have a ways to go, but I like this being held accountable thing. I have officially gone through my entire case of water bottles. In an attempt to be more eco-friendly, I purchase two Brita filter water bottles to use instead. We’ll see how that works out.
Clearly I haven’t completed my workout for the day yet, but for those interested, here are the free online videos I used this week:
How have your workouts been going? Are you drinking at least four bottles of water per day? Be sure to follow me on InstaGram and Twitter for all my fitness/food/sweaty updates–>@mackensieg. Please feel free to tag me in your workout pix and leave any fitness-related blog posts in the comments so I can stalk. I love knowing you guys are doing this too.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a workout to complete and an azz to back up with Ms. Yoga Pants.

Dangerous by Ying Yang Twins on Grooveshark

Oh, and just because it’s Friday..

Raise your glasses, here’s to living out our dreams

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Shirt: PacSun / Shorts: Billabong / Sandals: Ross
These adorable ladies mixed with ultra sunny and warm weather have been making me yearn for sandy beaches, salty air and wavy hair. I may not have a tan, but I do have drawstring shorts and I’ll take any excuse I can get to wear them. I hope you’re all taking advantage of this weather too and getting your June workouts on outdoors. Ziggy and I have been taking some long walks and loving it. I’m ready for watermelon, iced tea, sunscreen and hotdogs. Let’s do this, summer. I’m ready for you.
Linking up here.

I think I’m growing

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I don’t think of myself as an adult. You may have gotten that impression already from my “Why I’m actually a 10 year old..” post, but really. I may come off as an inexperienced baby, spoiled brat or maybe probably just a weirdo, I’ll take it. These are the things I’ve accomplished in the past year (as a 22/23-year-old woman..) that you’ve probably been doing for years, but I’m pretty damn proud of it anyway. So here goes.
1. Flew by myself. I purchased my own plane tickets, found my way around the airport and flew all by myself. I know Jonah does it as an 8 year old in Sleepless in Seattle, but what can I say? I’m a late bloomer. In fact, I think I had only ridden on a plane, like, thrice before this year (years ago) and have already flown on three different occasions this year.
2. Booked a hotel. During my cross-country travels, I called hotels, checked availability, booked rooms and checked in all by myself. Any other hotel room I’ve ever stayed in was booked by a family member, friend, boyfriend, etc. and my money was thrown in there, but I had never actually been the book-er.
3. Drove on the freeway. I’m still terrified, but hey, I did it! It always makes me think of this scene from Clueless.
4. Moved out of state. Sure, I lived about 40 minutes away from home for four years in college, but I had never moved out of Florida before and now I am a 7 hour plane ride away.
5. Used public transit. I have some how learned to use BART and buses after 23 years of driving or being driven anywhere I needed to go (save for a few bus rides to class at UF).
6. Went to the dentist willingly. This year, I kid you not, was the first time I’ve ever made my own dentist appointment and showed up all on my own. I truly hate going to the dentist, so I used to only go when my mom would make the appointment and tell me I had to.
7. Cooked a steak. I know, weird. I don’t think I even knew how to cook any sort of meat before this year. I loved eating it, but I had never bothered learning to cook meat until I did my first Whole30. It still grosses me out though.
8. Went to a pro baseball and basketball game. I never really cared about sports, and let’s be real unless it’s Gator football I still don’t, but these games were beyond fun and I think I may be on to something. Garlic fries, alcohol and high fives? Yes, please.
9. Got my heart broken. 
10. Dated myself. This year is the first time I’ve really managed to embrace being alone. I went out to eat (many times now), went to the beach and went hiking, and realized that I’m pretty good company.

Go Outside by Cults on Grooveshark

It’s almost like I’m growing up or something. It’s just a matter of time before my facade wears off and I’m revealed as a 10-year-old imposter.

My sixth half marathon

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Saturday Emma and I ran the ZombieRunner San Francisco Run.
It was absolutely the hardest, slowest, up-hilliest, sandy-est and most beautiful 13 miles of my life.
There were stairs going up and stairs going down, there was stopping to dump sand castles out of my shoes, there was blood pouring out of Emma’s elbow after crashing on said stairs and there was this view:
This place challenges, terrifies and amazes me every single day. I was so proud to cross that finish line and I am so proud I moved here. I did it. 

Songs to sweat to

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Since we’re doing at least 30 minutes of physical activity erryday in June, I thought maybe you could use some tunes to help motivate you. Sometimes I get pumped up to weird, not-so-upbeat songs, but I tried to avoid those somewhat in this playlist. Besides that, there’s no theme whatsoever. Enjoy this eclectic mix and let me know if you’d like future cardio mixes. (Mixtapes are pretty much my favorite things ever) Comment with some of your favorite workout songs so I can stay motivated too!
There’s an extra 3 minutes and 7 seconds for stretching/cool down/I couldn’t narrow down the playlist any more. Happy sweating and don’t forget to drink your water!

Operation: Shakira Bod

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Lately I’ve been eating like a 13-year-old boy who thinks he can battle pimples with pizza. And coincidentally my skin, energy and jeans are feeling the effects of it. I’ve been exercising more ever since I started my tentative marathon training, but I’m ready to crack down. I dub this month of June my fitness month. Maybe it doesn’t make sense seeing as how June is already summer time, but the thing is I just moved from Florida, where it was bikini weather starting some time in January, to San Francisco, where it’s pretty much sweater weather year round, so the time has come (the walrus said..)

Anywho, I will be challenging myself yet again to do this thing and do it right. The Whole30 was awesome, no doubt about it. I saw and felt results after just 30 days, but it was too restrictive (for my purposes– others who are dedicated would benefit greatly from this program) and I went right back to my old ways as soon as it was over. So now I’m more concerned with just adjusting to new, healthier habits so I can just feel and look good. I’m starting it as a “challenge” for June, but I’d actually just like to carry on excellent habits for–ev–or.
Here’s my plan:
Drink 4 16-oz bottles of water every single day
Do at least 30 minutes of physical activity every single day (this could even just be walking Ziggy)
No fried food
Cut down sugar intake by a lot
Protein and veggies with every meal
No cheating on long runs for marathon training
One “cheat” day per week (low sugar alcoholic drinks/dessert allowed on this day, probably on the weekend, but exercise has to happen even on cheat days)
No soda
Here are my goals:
To lose 4% body fat (for me this is 4.6 lbs of fat — note I will not be upset about not “losing enough weight,” I am more concerned with building muscle and being healthy, and I am fully aware of muscle’s tendency to weigh more than fat)
To blog about it often, even if it’s annoying (I apologize in advance, but I’ve noticed writing about it/updating my workout chart has been extremely helpful in keeping myself motivated and honest)
To get into the habit of working out in the morning (and not 10am, like socially acceptable “morning”)
To have muscle definition
To be comfortable displaying “after” photos here on this blog
To strut my stuff in a new, fabulous bikini on the Fourth of July (I have not purchased a new bikini top or bottom in years now — I will have a goal bikini and once I get where I want to be, I’ll model it proudly)
Here are the links I will be using on a daily basis for recipe, workout and hot bod motivation:
..and on days when I really wanna turn up the heat: prancercise.
Here’s my question, do any of you ladies want to join me in this June fitness business? I don’t expect you all to want to run a marathon with me, but I do love a good excuse to send a sweaty selfie to friends and you can bet your ass that’s what I’ll be doing if you’re down to get fit. I could even turn this bad boy into a linkup if y’all are down to hold me accountable. I would thoroughly enjoy stalking your social media pages for workout updates, healthy meals and excessive water consumption. Please send me a link to that bikini you’ve been dying to squeeze into and let me know if you’re ready to finally look like the VS model you are inside.
And if you’re willing to put money on it, go join the Diet Bet. I haven’t decided if I’m going to or not.. although I only have a few more hours to decide.
Follow my journey on InstaGram and Twitter for sweaty selfie goodness and SnapChat me yours at Mackensieg. Also #OperationShakiraBod and you’ll make my life. Just saying.
Here’s an update on the last four weeks of marathon training:
That Flatter My Abs video killed my core. Like, I’m still sore and it’s Thursday night. Craziness. Here’s the Gentleman video and the thigh challenge. And as you can see I’m starting out this June challenge with a half marathon (Zombie Runner) on the first. Wish me luuuuck.
As for Back that azz up Friday, I’ll be jamming out to my go-to fitness inspiration, Shakira.
Happy Friday!

Why my dog should be a fashion blogger

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I may be a big ball of awkward when it comes to posing in fashion posts, but my dog? She’s got this in the bag. These are the reasons why Ziggy should be a fashion blogger.

She looks great even when she first rolls out of bed.
She’s not afraid to try “out there” looks.
She has perfected the “look away” pose.
She looks amazing in shades..
And in hipster specks.
She knows how to use props.
And she utilizes her surroundings.
She loves working out and staying fit.
And finally, she’s not afraid to show a little skin..
Just saying.

Jobs are like dudes

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One of my favorite bloggers of all time, Sarah, already did a post like this, but let’s be honest, it was brilliant. Also, I think I have a few things to add. So go read hers and then bask in my unoriginality. Ready? Okay.
Finding a job is like finding a man for many reasons — none of which have to do with depending on them for money, just to clarify (girl power!).
In this particular analogy, jobs are relationships and depending on how you left the last one directly relates to how desperate (and likely) you are to start the next one.
Let’s say you got dumped and you really, really want to make this loser realize what he’s missing, so you head to the bars to find a hotter, more successful rebound to make the ex jealous. So what happens now? Every decent dude in the place has a wedding ring on, the ones that come up to you are missing teeth and smell like B.O., and even the okay-looking ones are already coupled up or just straight up ignoring you.
In a similar situation, you got fired or “laid off” from your job (or maybe moved across the country? Not naming any names..) and you really need an income, stat. You also want your old workplace to regret letting such a talented and useful employee go, so the  bigger name company you find next, the better. You hit up job fairs and network it on Linkedin and you quickly realize that all of the booths are closing up and/or already hired more experienced, better qualified candidates (except for the telemarketing job booths where you’d have the pleasure of selling Snuggies to people over the phone).
You start to get desperate. You’ve got to make moves. You can’t just go home a cry about your heartbreak/unemployment, this is serious time! So you do the only think you can think of: Match.com/CraigsList scrolling.
In a panicked-glazed-eyed haze you send winks and applications to any and all dudes/jobs you can find — even the ones you have nothing in common with.
You hear nothing back.

Feeling discouraged, you go to the nearest RedBox and rent all the romcoms and clean the Walgreen’s shelves of all their Skittles and Soy Dream ice cream. You then proceed to hate-eat your feelings and text your friends about what a fat loser you think you are. All the while jumping out of your skin every time you hear that little e-mail/text notification on your phone (IS IT A JOB?! IS IT MY EX??).
It’s not.
This could go on for a couple days or weeks depending on the level of self-loathing involved, but eventually you build yourself back up. You know what? I’m good enough, I’m smart enough and doggone it, people like me! You decide that maybe Skittles are not the answer and start ordering salads and going on runs. You start putting on makeup again and drinking water instead of boxed vino. Before you know it, you’re acting like a semi-normal person again and one day you walk into a Starbucks for some caffeine and whatayaknow? A cute guy asks for your number. OR a random person you strike up a convo with mentions they have a job opening for a person with your exact talents.

You do your happy dance, obviously, and you start to feel like things are coming together. You let it sink in. The reassurance washes over you and changes your aura completely. Your confidence is back and not only are you okay, but you’re actually stoked. This dude is not just one to make that loser jealous, but he could actually turn into the real thing. And that job? It’s no longer about making your last workplace regret its decision, but you could actually enjoy this job.

That’s when it happens. You’re comfortable and confident, and magic.
You go out for some celebratory drinks with the ladies and before you know it dudes are drawn to you like moths to a porch light. And in the time it took you to recover from your celebratory drinks, you’ve already had three of those rando job applications/Match.com potentials e-mail you back for interviews/dates.

Maybe it’s just me, but I happen to know Liz Lemon agrees and that’s all the validation I need, dudes want you more when you’re in a relationship and jobs want you more when you think you’ve actually got it figured out. Maybe it’s just the Universe’s practical joke — “HA! You think you know what you want? Well here are three other options just to keep you on your toes. Have fun figuring this one out!”

When it rains, it pours! 

So that’s my analogy of the day. If you read to the end, let me know and I’ll send you a cookie or something because doggone it, you deserve one!

Illustrations by the talented Casey Allen (thank yoooou).

We’re the three best friends that anyone could have..

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As I mentioned on Friday, Liz came to visit SF from Florida this weekend and, as expected, it was magnificent. We covered a lot of ground in a short amount of time. On Saturday we saw sea lions at Pier 39, the Ferry Building, a grueling (and beautiful) bike ride over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito and Irish coffees at Buena Vista (my phone was dead by then). Sunday we had brunch at Venus Restaurant–amazing food and delicious mimosas, played in the Vaillancourt Fountain, saw Lombard Street, attempted to ride the incredibly packed cable cars, rode through Chinatown, got the best burritos ever in the Mission and ate them in Dolores Park (along with some brewskis.. hard ciderskis?). It was wonderful exploring this strange and awesome place with two of my favorite people. I am very lucky to call them my friends. Cheers, ladies, to many more years of friendship and Cardinal photos. I love you.
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