Hey Fam!

Its been a few months since I’ve written a post. SO much has happened though and I really want to share my experiences! 

Over the summer, work at my new dermatology practice was starting to really pick up, my body was in the best shape it had been in a while, thanks to my amazing coach, Liana & even though my boyfriend was moving to another state for medical school, I was really happy for him. Things had been going great, I was packing to move to Boston from the suburbs. Though all that was going on, I was still upset about not being immediately accepted into a nursing program. I kept in the back of my mind that things would work out with school & just to re apply. Luckily, On August 28th, just 1 week before classes started, I got word that I was off of a wait list & accepted into a Nursing Program in New York. My mind was blown. Not only was I going to be starting a nursing program at my top choice school, but I was going to be close to my boyfriend. After taking in all the excitement of this new beginning, I realized this was a new beginning. I was moving to another state, having very short noticed about leaving my job & was going to be attending a large school. I packed up my car & began my journey. 

On day one, it hit me that I am 25 years old. 25, starting a new life, and starting a new education. Meeting new people was hard because almost all of the students were under 21, had no idea of the real world & was on a completely different page as me. Even though I was older, I felt so behind. I didn’t know anything about the college life, or even how to fit in. I realized though, I had an advantage. Not only did I have years of work and real-life experience under my belt but I wanted this education. I worked hard to get where I am and have known for years I wanted to pursue a career in nursing. When we’re young, most of us can’t decide on a career choice at 17 years old which can affect us in the future. 

As I start my journey now, my new journey, I want to add to my topics of blogging and want to reach out to people who want to re-vamp their life & take a new route. 

When we entered 2019 I didn’t have an high expectations for goals. I wanted to see where the year had brought me. I started off 2019 in a funk for a few weeks. It was a new year and I was trying hard to focus on me and my cat while trying to make everyone around me happy as well. From getting no help around my apartment to studying my ass off while work 40+ hours a week, you could say stress was taking over. What got me through was having the best cat to go home to, the most amazing boyfriend and a great workout plan.

Since January I’ve started this blog, moved in with someone who gets it, and I’ve accepted a new position in my career as well as starting with a new Fitness Coach for lifestyle coaching and the beginnings of contest prep. Also Arya killed the Night King so that was pretty amazing too.

SO happy to say I’ll be working as Skin Bar MD’s Medical Aesthetician in Dedham, MA. I normally don’t like to post about where I work because I like to keep my work and social life separated but since I will be providing care for Patients and improving their overall skin I am happy to talk about it. I will be working under Dr. Joyce Imahiyerobo-Ip, MD who is a cosmetic, surgical, and medical dermatologist doctor. At Skin Bar MD we will be offering Botox, Fillers, Laser Hair Removal as well as Facial and other skin improvement services. If you have known me for a while or just getting to know me, I had obtained my Esthetics License in 2015 and been on the track to get my RN. Though I haven’t practiced in 2 years, I had been continuing my education as well as learning new services.

Besides starting my new job in May 2019, I have hired a new coach and will be working with her to get my body into great shape for myself and for the beginnings of contest prep for 2020. After a grueling 3 years of getting my metabolism back, my hormones in place and looking for a coach that is affordable, has a successful clientele and that will help me with nutrition as well as fitness, I have finally decided to get back on the path. Before I take on anything new that will change part of my life, I need to be mentally and physically ready and I feel like now is the time.

I’m excited to share this journey with you and hope to help others who want to change features in their lives to better themselves mentally and physically.

Hey Guys! Today is Friday which means we are heading into the weekend! We’re coming up on Easter weekend (if you celebrate! Or just want to celebrate for the candy) which means Food, Drinks, and CANDY. Did I mention I love Easter Candy? It can be a hard time especially if you’re trying to realistically hit all your goals or just keep on the right path for your goals.

I am just like everyone else when it comes to goals. We set them. We work hard at them and then we just forget that we even though about setting that goal and BAM goal gone. There’s a lot we want to strive for though. They may be BIG or they might be small or they can be big and you just start off small. In today’s post I wanna talk about differentiationing your goals and how to make them more realistic.

Setting a Goal: Like I’ve talked about before, I like to set two types of goals or habits. A Fitness Goal and a Self Care Goal.

My fitness goal

Make sure to go to the gym or run outdoors 4-5x per week while keeping up with my macros. It’s not easy but it’s definitely doable especially with my new work schedule. I’ve been finding myself slacking these past two weeks with my fitness and eating and need to get back on track.

My self care goal

Make sure I cleanse, tone, use my serum and moisturize twice a day and do a weekly mask. With my new job, I am going to be working with patients with getting them feeling their best with their skin so I feel like I must stay on top of my skin care.

Setting a “Goal”: A lot of us have the goals of buying a house, landing a great job and getting married. I consider these big goals as “goals.” Not in a bad way but because they’re achievable goals but they take time and sometimes money and its may not always be realistic in the moment. I think it’s always great to have a “goal” set in mind that you wanna accomplish In a year, 5 years or at some point in your life. I find it inspiring to have momentum and an aspiration. Again I have a “goal” for fitness as well as self care.

My fitness “goal”

I want to compete again. My first time around I was clueless, I rushed it and I was young and new to the game. I wanna be able to make myself proud and really give it all I have. When I know the time is right, I’ll jump for it.

My self care goal

Unfortunately, My teenage and early 20’s self thought tanning beds were the best creation. Now at 25, I have some sun spots that were super preventable if I had just used sunscreen and didn’t enter a tanning bed. Saying that, my goal is to slowly remove my sunspots and get my skins healthy and looking fresh!

Now that the amazing Summer weather is upon us, we have more options for date nights or going out! Nothing better that having Oysters and a Corona By the water and ending the day with Ice Cream. With all the great food and drinks available in the summer comes the extra lbs. I tend to gain more weight in the summer because I love a good drink and my boyfriend is an ice cream fiend so I will get a bowl with him as well. After gaining some unnecessary weight last summer, I decided  to take control now and make sure to limit myself while having a good summer.

My Limitations

My boyfriend and I are really good at having each others backs and making a plan and following through with it, which is great when we diet together. Since I’m not much of a drinker anymore, I decided to have 1 night (if any) during the week or weekend where I indulge in a few drinks, but after I get a great workout in. I also plan on only get Ice Cream (insert sad face here) on special days (i.e Traveling on Vacation one night, a day at the beach, etc) instead of ordering Scoop and Scootery on a Wednesday before bed.

If you set a big goal or a mini goal, you can achieve so much and really make yourself proud when you look back on it. It can help you develop good self control, accountability and teaching yourself you can do anything even if it takes time.

Today is April 18, 2019 and we are a few short months away from the sunshine that we love.

Over the past few days I have been sick, spent a day In the hospital, and fell over all exhausted. I stepped into the gym last night, ran for 10 minutes and left. I was so mad at myself because I took a few days off already and honestly didn’t eat well at all. After sleeping a full 12 hours, today I felt AMAZING. I had a great lift and a great cardio session. While I was trying to fall asleep last night I thought about how I can get back on track and start a new habit to better myself.

The other day I was lucky enough to meet this fantastic lady who is looking to get back in shape and have better health. After having serious health issues, she is starting to get strength back and work towards her goals. Though she can’t always make it to the gym, shes tries her best to have a healthy lifestyle with good habits. This is what inspired me to write my next post on. There’s alot going on in our lives and sometimes we can get to the gym or just feel utterly exhausted and have no intent to meal prep.

A healthy habit can be anything from changing what’s in your diet to making sure to floss daily. Working in health care, I am constantly reminded that we are given one body and we need to take care of it, even if its just a little goal. Since Summer is right there I decided on two healthy habits. One that has to do with my body (eating) habits and one with my appearance.

My Healthy Habit: Eating a salad everyday & stay consistent with my skin care routine!

They’re not crazy habits  but sometimes I find myself lacking lots of veggies (whoops, it happens!) and falling asleep with my makeup on or not following my 5 step skin care routine (blog post to follow!)

I hope everyone is able to read this and be inspired to choice a healthy habit to bring us into Summer 2019!

I had seen this question on a recent @PtulaActive post and It made me want to know what each person considers an Active Lifestyle. Having an active lifestyle doesn’t mean you’re the fittest person in the room or that you have an incredible body. An Active Lifestyle is making daily choices to keep your body and mind moving. Taking a brisk walk daily can lower body fat, boost your energy & prevent health issues such as cardiovascular and diabetes, but it doesn’t stop there. Something as little and easy as walking can add a positive change to your lifestyle.

Ways to have a more active lifestyle:

• Take the stairs rather than the elevator. If you have an apartment or work elevator, try to use the stairs at least once a day or every other time you leave or come back. It’s also great for your glutes!
• Take a walk around the block. Were heading into Spring and Summer and beginning to have the sun out longer as well as WARM Weather. Take advantage in the mornings or evenings for a brisk walk.
• Park further away. We are ALWAYS in our cars. Try and Park further away in the lot! Not only will there be spots available but it will also give you a few more strides to your destination.
• Go for a hike or stroll with your friends when you hang you. Encourage them to be more active. The more motivation you have and if you have people surrounding you – it will make it easier!

Spreading the words of having an active lifestyle can give someone the idea to take part in it and share it with others. We have so much access now to gyms, recipes, trainers, influencers, medicine and great health care. It’s time to take advantage of what’s out there and add more activeness to our lives!

About every 6 months, I do a social media cleanse to reboot my mind. I usually go 1 month without any social media. I started doing this in about 2016 after leaving a job and just needed to hit the refresh button and focus on me. When I first did this “cleanse” I had a Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. I ended up taking about two months off from social media and it honestly helped my health and mentality. I decided to completely delete my Facebook in 2017 and have since deleted Snapchat as well. I also consolidated my Instagram posts from about 300 to 21.

Were in a time where social media owns us. I see people switch from 1 app to another to make sure they’re up to date on all the ridiculous crap people posts.Besides social media being an addiction to keep us occupied, its filled with content that can really mess with our heads.

I’ve been following fitness accounts since I got my IG in 2011 and have seen people flourish in the fitness industry and have also seen them turn into clones of these “Fitness Models.” Even at my best, I felt like I was constantly comparing myself to these girls on IG. Little did I know, If you work your angles correctly, wear a certain outfit, have great lighting, have full face makeup and your hair perfect- that you too could look like these girls. I wasn’t liking the way social media was messing with my head and after taking time off from social media, I really began to find myself.

Since I was only looking at myself rather than strangers, I began to accept and love certain aspects of my body, I was able to go to the gym and focus on what works best for ME. I also found myself reading more, writing more and really doing well in school. I still have my IG which I frequent daily, but it is mainly geared towards learning new worksout, promoting my business and seeing really cute cat videos! I absolutely advise people to take a break from social media and just let yourself be you, without wondering what people think or comparing yourself to others.

We all have that one goal: To look good and be healthy.

Every January 1st we find the resolutioners enter the gym or go on that big grocery shopping trip finding the healthiest foods. A Lot of people have had a love for fitness at a young age and some start later in life. Even with that one goal in mind, there’s something holding us back: FEAR.

Weather it’s adding more weight to the bar, stepping out of the “Women’s Only” Section or even if we want to run in our sports bra, there is fear in us. When we think of fear, we categorize it as a bad topic. But having fear can ultimately be the best thing for us.

When you’re given an obstacle or choice that can be fearful, we can be reluctant to do it. Fear can come in different shapes and sizes. Take a second to think: “Why am I afraid?.”

Fear of judgement

No one likes to be looked at like the odd one out. Even the most fit people can be self conscious. When you’re scared of being judge at the gym, remember everyone is here for a reason. They want to improve their body, mind and health. We all started off somewhere and had those “First Day of Gym” nerves.

Fear of not knowing

This is a big one. Most people who has no idea what they’re doing in the gym tend to flock to cardio. Cardio machines are a great way to start. Sometimes you need to get comfortable with one thing. There is so much more to the gym then cardio though and that’s where people have difficulties. My secret when I wanna try something new or don’t know how to do something: while I’m doing cardio (bike, stairmaster, incline walk) I’ll look up different workouts for the muscle group i’m hitting that day and I’ll YouTube how to do them if I’m unsure. That way I go over to the weights and have an idea of what to do. Most gyms also offer a free personal training sessions- always use it! It might only be one time but it will give you that extra push to try something new.

Fear of Failure

No one like to fail. If we don’t try though, it’s like an automatic fail. We might not always succeed the first time, or even the second, but that isn’t a reason to give up. When it comes to fitness, there is also failure, that’s what makes it fun and exciting. When I started lifting- 5 lbs was very heavy for me, I had troubles with lifting the 15lb bar and was winded after 3 minutes on the stair master. I knew I was capable of so much more and never gave up. When I’m shoulder pressing 25-30lb dumbbells, I can’t help but be proud because all those months of improving with the 5lbs I struggled with, really paid off.

Fear of Failure Part II

When we have a goal- we want to crush it and when we have a deadline for it we really want to crush it. Getting in shape takes time and there have been many summers that was supposed to be “the fit summer,” which didn’t happen. Life can get in the way and we can fall off track so easily. This is our body though and drastic changes can hurt us. We may not have the abs we were striving for at the beginning, but now people have the knowledge and new habits that can keep going towards those goals. We never truly fail- we learn from our mistakes and we push ourselves to keep going.

Each time you’re getting ready to go to the gym, just think to yourself “I’m going to do great.” If you keep second guessing yourself or put yourself down, it’s going to be hard to find that passion and motivation. The gym isn’t a danger zone, everyone is there to improve. Fitness and health are extremely popular and beneficial and so many people are out there willing to help. Pick one thing you fear in the fitness world and go after it each week.

Fear an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.

Overcome succeed in dealing with (a problem or difficulty).

Succeed achieve the desired aim or result.

For the past few days getting to the gym has been a struggle. Yes, I ate off of my plan and drank a little bit on St. Patty’s day but I’ve been mentally and physically drained. Between school, my TEAS exam and work my body and brain have had enough. I haven’t let it stop me though. No I haven’t put 120% into my work outs like I normally like to do but I worked out to what felt good for me. I usually start my lifts with 10-20 minutes of hard cardio because it amps me up and I get it out of the way. Yesterday and today I started with stretching and lifting because I knew my energy was limited. The first ten minutes all I wanted to do was walk right back to my car and crawl into bed, but as I continued to lift I started getting more energy and had an AMAZING shoulder workout. I didn’t end up doing cardio because I needed to get studying In but I was totally okay with it.

Some days we really do need to give our body a rest but some days our bodies can be playing tricks On us and if we go and do a small work out we can feel really good going to bed after. The days we have 0 motivation can we fuel for having some of our BEST workouts

When we get a new job, it can be super intimidating at first. New People, New Surrounds, New Equipment that you haven’t used in the past, and even a whole new environment. The first day is always overwhelming and you spend the day contemplating “Is this the right place for me?” But then you get acclimated and comfortable, you make new friends and become a pro at the equipment you were afraid to use at first. You start to feel that work is like a second home. This is the same with new gyms! We’re not born with a gym membership (except for Katy Hearns adorable son) so we need to find the right place for us to work out. Many of us start off with a Work Out World or a Planet Fitness. Judgement free, mainly filled with moms and highschoolers so it’s pretty easy to get comfortable! Some of us are even lucky enough to have a gym in our apartments! What do we do though if we move, or our gym shuts down, or even if we want to branch off to a different gym? Gyms are like work- some are great and will be with you for years and some just don’t work out and you don’t spend more than 6 months there. Its can be such a process and you might have to put it work, but it will be worth it when you walk in everyday and feeling like you belong there.

1. Google gyms near your house or work. See what you’re working with. Most gyms have websites or Facebook pages you can check out before you go and try it out.
2. Figure out a price. We all know Lifetime and Equinox aren’t in everyone’s budget but there’s so much more out there. I recommend $20-$45 max. * Remember most gyms come with fees too. A lot of gyms will over specials and deals for joining their gyms or switching from another gym to theirs.
3. Make sure to sign up for their FREE Trial Memberships! Gyms LOVE when you try out their gyms because they know you’ll really get to try out their equipment and that now they’ll be able to call you on a daily basis until you join (** If you work at a gym, please only call twice, but we appreciate your work ethic.” You want to make sure you

• Like the weights
• Have a variety of machines
• Are CLEAN
• How busy it gets
• Is there traffic around it?
• Was the staff welcoming?

1. Once you find a gym that could be “the one,” check out what they have to offer. Look at their classes and if they have saunas or steam rooms.
2. The part that gets people can be the other members there. “I Can’t go there, everyone is so BIG.” This is something I constantly hear. At my last gym, I was definitely one of the more “fit” people there. I was putting up weight that a lot of the girls there weren’t doing and of course I felt great. I decided to change gyms though because that one didn’t feel like home. When I chose my new gym, I knew it was going to be more intimidating. It was filled with fitness competitors, coaches and peoples who are just massive and STRONG. I was completely out of my zone. The first week I felt like I needed to get bigger and stronger to fit in. Then I realized, this was the motivation and the surroundings I needed. Everyone there was there for one purpose- to improve themselves and to like this fit and healthy lifestyle. Each time I go there I know i’m not the most fit but there so much motivation around me and great influencers.
3. Don’t settle unless you have to. Sometimes you have limited options for gyms around you and you need to take the best fit-even if its not exactly what you’re looking for. If you have options make sure to explore them! You want to make sure you’re not overpaying for a gym and that it has the things you like!

Sometimes pulling ourselves out of our warm bed or going to the gym after a hard day of work can be difficult so you want to make it enjoyable and have it be something to look forward to. Your main goal is to improve so make sure to find a gym that you love and that works best for YOU!

Hey guys! Thank you for checking out my blog! I wanna take a minute to tell you a little bit about who I am and my background in Fitness and Health.

My name is Chloè Hallion and I am 25 years old from Massachusetts. I am a licensed Esthetician and Makeup Artist And I am currently going to college for my Bachelors In Nursing.

I grew up in an Italian household surrounded by homemade Italian food. I was a dancer for 15 years and ran track and cross country in High School. I never considered myself to be a great athlete or have an athletic body. I never focused on eating to fuel my body just focused on eating to eat. I began having body dysmorphia in early high school which affected me mentally and physically. I started hating myself and the way I looked but never did anything healthy to change it. When I graduated high school, I was 5’2 and 130lbs without muscle. I began going to the gym and took kickboxing and got myself down to 118lbs within one summer. I was skinny for sure but still didn’t love myself and didn’t feel good. I began binge eating and then would eat nothing. Not only was my mental and physical state effected but so were my hormones. I started getting really serious about my health in 2014. I learned different ways to workout, what foods and supplements work well and what doesn’t for my body. I’ve gone through ALOT of trial and error. It’s now 2019 and of course from time to time I will go back to when I was struggling mentally with my body and I continue to work on getting out of that mind set but I’ll realize I’ve come so far and feel so good. I wish I knew then what I know now but it’s never too late to change your life. Fitness and Nutrition go hand in hand and sometimes you really need to take the time to focus on both. We only get one body which we need to nurture and take care of.

I know we live in a world of Instagram and we see all these fitness models and how IG thinks we should look and how guys think we should look and it can be scary. My goals in this blog is to help people reach their goals and feel amazing inside and out. I want all different people from different backgrounds to be able to feel they can relate and want to share their stories.

Thank you again for taking time to read these journals, and always feel free to contact me!

Love,

Chloè

IG: c_hallion