The Strawbirdy

Hello there and welcome to Life Like Fruit Salad! I'm Alissa -- a 17-year-old girl with a passion for health and fitness! Aside from blogging, exercising, and eating, I love cooking and experimenting with new foods, listening to music, painting my nails, learning new things, and being happy. I'm a breakfast lover, and I seem to have more recipes for oatmeal and pancakes than anything else! My mom is my number one best friend, along with my little sister, who's Autistic. I want to be a dietitian or nutritionist when I'm older. I love helping people and I love making people happy. I truly believe optimism is the key to success.

I'm also quite obsessed with Instagram! Follow me to see more of my life in pictures! Oh, and while you're at it, you might as well follow me on Twitter, as well! ;)

  

A little about me:

• I love doing OOTDs! Though I mainly live in leggings, I do like to dress up nice every now and then!
• I have my ears pierced (one whole each ear) and my tongue pierced.
  I also had my nose pierced... until a lame job I had made me take it out whenever I worked, claiming they had previously done research on nose piercings and said it wouldn't close up... Andddd it closed up within 8 hours.
• My favorite band is There For Tomorrow.
• I'm 100% Italian!
• I have three tattoos! One under my left shoulder blade... It's a butterfly with puzzle pieces inside for Autism Awareness, for my little sister.

 Right after I got it done! March 24, 2012 

... One on my left wrist, to remind myself to keep pushing and to stay strong no matter what.

During/after getting it done! September 30, 2012

And, my newest one, is on my inner right forearm. It's a symbol for "love yourself". I found this tattoo concept somewhere on the computer, and I really loved it. It was pretty simple and plain at first, but my tattoo artist, who’s fortunately one of my dad’s good friends, put some extra detail into it to make it personal. After struggling with eating too much, being overweight (basically obese at a BMI of 31), being bullied (A LOT) for being that way, eating way too little and becoming obsessed with every little calorie, dropping too much weight and obsessing over a number on a scale, and now looking to find that completely healthy medium again, this is something I continuously need to remind myself to do. To love myself. I struggled too long by myself being too insecure to forever live like that. This is the first time I can honestly say I'm starting to love myself. I've never felt as confident before as I do now. But this tattoo isn’t only a reminder for ME, but for every single person who reads it/this. It’s facing outward for that reason — to spread the word to love yourself. The only person you truly need to love to live, is yourself. The only way to succeed, to be happy, to be healthy, is to LOVE YOURSELF. It’s so important to care about yourself and to love yourself. If you love and believe in yourself, even the slightest bit, you can and WILL get FAR. It’s time to stop caring what others think. It’s time to start loving yourself.

Done January 31, 2013

• I love Insanity!! I love Shaun T so much, haha :) He's an AMAZING motivator and trainer!
• I also really love Blogilates! Cassey Ho is also quite amazing, and SO sweet! But, not too sweet... She is a trainer after all! ;)
• I love me some Zuzana Light and BodyRockTv, as well... Zuzana is easily one of my favorite people on this planet!
• I prefer being at home and doing my own thing than going out.
• Oh, and my birthday is July 23rd, if anyone is wondering! :P
• Like I said earlier, I LOVE breakfast foods! Specifically oatmeal and pancakes, because I can do almost ANYTHING with them! I also LOVE me some eggs! (Hashtag TEAM YOLK FO' LIFE!)
• I eat at least one salad every single day. But, I don't mean just any plain old side salad... I mean a HUGE salad! Like I said for oatmeal and pancakes, I feel like I can do basically anything with salads! So, I take advantage of that factor whenever possible! My salads are NEVER boring or bland, and they're almost always eaten in a serving bowl. Yep.
• I love simple and little things. I prefer them over more complicated and big things.
• I'm obsessed with The Food Network.
• I love Miley Cyrus. No shame.
• I am peanut butter obsessed. I mean, obsessed is putting it lightly at this point... I'm addicted and I will never ever give it up. EVER!

My change/story, summed up: Well, I'd be lying to you if I said I've always been a health and fitness junkie! My entire life, I was the heavier girl. But, I was also the taller one, so it almost equaled out! Haha. But, in October of 2010, my doctor had told me I was nearing obesity... Then something finally clicked. I was 15-years-old, and nearly obese! How could I let that happen to me? How could I let myself continue to ruin my health, and eventually get to the point where I can't fix it anymore? I couldn't let myself live like that anymore! I decided to change. For real this time! I say "for real this time" because, yes, I have tried to lose weight before. By diets. By fad diets, and quick fixes that ended in me gaining all the weight I lost back, plus more. I am literally living proof that diets. don't. work. DON'T DIET! That is my BEST advice to anyone looking to lose weight! DO. NOT. DIET. Don't look for quick fixes. Don't invest in any type of diet pill unless told by a doctor. You don't even need Weight Watchers (WW is the ONLY "diet" I'd recommend because it does work, and it does teach balance and control, but it's just as annoying, unrealistic and frustrating as calorie counting... Which I absolutely DESPISED!), or Slim Fast, or any Jillian Michaels diet plan for $100! Don't waste your money on a diet plan unless you're forced by a registered nutritionist, dietitian, or doctor.

But, back on topic! In October of 2010, when I decided it's finally time for that much needed change, I didn't put my all into it. I did end up dropping about 10 pounds between October 2010 and January 2011, but all I did was control my portions and eat in moderation. Even though both of those things are essential to a healthy lifestyle, I literally didn't exercise. I hated it. I hated the thought of exercising and doing activity. I liked laying around, and sleeping, and being lazy. Obviously living like this was completely unrealistic, though. I wouldn't keep dropping weight from doing just this. I had to put my all into this, and I had to take it seriously. So, in February 2011, I decided to change my lifestyle. Being a 15-year-old girl without a job, living with a family who doesn't eat anywhere near a "clean" or "healthy" lifestyle (I love 'em, but their eating habits... GAH! At least my mom and dad have changed now...), it was hard. But, it wasn't impossible. Change is ALWAYS possible, and I was determined.

My family, also being tight on money, basically lived on processed food. So, in the beginning of my change, I just went with whatever I had until my mom could get some healthier alternatives for me! The first few months, I dropped weight quickly with minimal exercise (being I was overweight, it was easier for me). My goal weight was 140 pounds at 5'7". I was comfortable at that weight, and all I wanted was to be at least a size 10 (US)! I was a size 16/18 to begin with, and I knew that wasn't me. I have big hips and I'm tall, so being a size 2 seemed unrealistic.

I reached 140 pounds in June of 2011. I was happy now... And I fit into a size 9 comfortably. Now, at this point, I was counting calories still... I started in February to help myself eat healthier, in better portions, etc... And I never stopped. It became a bad habit, and an addiction. I counted everything. I let calories mean more than nutrition. I let myself think a large banana was "bad" because it had over 100 calories. I counted calories in condiments, drinks, fruits, vegetables... Even gum! I let calorie counting control me, honestly, and it developed into something I never wanted.

I started liking exercise more, and I found the workout Insanity. I started doing it a few times a week (not following the actual schedule), with some other workouts here and there... Then, I unintentionally dropped more weight. I stepped on the scale a few months later, and weighed in at 127. Then a few weeks after that, 122. (I'm now 5'8", btw.) Now I knew I wasn't doing something right. I became obsessed with calories, even when I tried to stop counting at the end of summer 2011... I mentally never stopped. I memorized calories in almost everything, so I always tried to round in my head by the end of the day. I wasn't keeping into consideration how much I was also burning. I thought I was eating right, exercising, and maintaining my weight... But I wasn't. I let the scale, and I let calories, control my life for far too long. I self-diagnosed myself with orthorexia, and I knew I needed to change something.

Not too long ago (as of June 2012), my school nurse called me down and weighed me because she seemed "concerned". (My school nurses are really, really dumb, btw... MONTHS after my BIG weight loss and my check up with her, she decides to be "concerned"... Obviously I knew calling me down wasn'ther doing.) A teacher ended up telling my nurses that I lost more weight since the beginning of the year andshe was concerned. So, my nurse questioned me a bit, definitely did not believe when I said I changed my eating habits and started exercising, then called both of my parents, and my doctor. My doctor told my mom that she needs to monitor my weight (and I guess my eating habits?), and if I drop ANYMORE weight before my physical in November, they're gonna have to make me gain weight. And... I don't want that.

Now, I'm here to say I'm ready to find my happy medium with food again. Being a teenager who LOVES nutrition, fitness, and cooking... I know it's possible for me to eat like a "normal" person again. I know it's possible for me to eat balanced, eat healthily, and enjoy the little things in life. I can eat more. I know some days my body will want more food, and some days it will want less. My body knows what it's talking about!It doesn't lie to me. I am determined to find that balance and that medium once again.

I'm here to inspire and help people realize that food is NOT your enemy! No type of food is to be feared! NONE! No food is bad food in moderation... And I know that now. I realize that now. And I'm also here to teach people that eating healthy is NOWHERE near boring, unless you make it so! Have fun with your food! Experiment, learn new things, and enjoy every bite along the way! :)