Routine

Assalaam Alakium ladies!

Good morning! How's your morning been? It's just another Tuesday over here. The Writer and I were slow getting out of bed so no after fajr workout for us. Instead, I got up and made him breakfast, dropped him off at work then went to go workout. 

When I pulled into the parking lot of the gym I noticed it was packed full of people! The gym I go to is never like that and I have to admit that for a second I thought about just turning around and going home. I have no idea why that thought crossed my mind maybe I just wanted to give myself an excuse not to workout. I went in anyway and completed 45 minutes on this cross trainer type of machine. It's awesome because it's kind of a like an elliptical but the arm handles don't move leaving me with a perfect chance to read The Hunger Games. Can you tell I like love this book! I'm about 3/4 of the way through it and can't wait for the movie to come out later next month. Watching the trailer totally pumped me up!

As for the rest of my day it's going to be pretty routine. Nothing exciting over here. The Writer and I live by routine. We like to come home from work at night, eat dinner, talk and lounge around until bedtime. Weekends are spent catching up on sleep, reading and family time. I thrive on routine. When something is thrown out of whack in our schedule it's hard for me to overcome. I often get upset when something pops up out of the blue changing my day around. Structure is my middle name. I know this is something I need to work on and become more flexible especially if we ever have kids inshAllah. 

As for now though, I'll try to be less annoyed when the little things change and thank Allah for everything He has given me. I really have nothing to complain about and when I do, I need to "gut punch" myself and think of all of those people out there who don't have what I have.

A man plans his course, but Allah (swt) guides his steps.


Below is a great video on avoiding extravagance and living simply. Please share any thoughts you have on the video in the comments below.

I'll see you later with another post inshAllah!

Wasalaam,

~Hijabi Butterfly~

Workout Distractions

Assalaam Alakium and good afternoon!

InshAllah my last post didn't scare some of you off. I just wanted to share my experience with death and remind us all that our time is near. On to a brighter subject. =)

Let's talk exercise! Last night, I intended on staying up after fajr to workout. No such luck though. Since I had a hard time falling asleep last night I was too tired to get up. Even so, I still worked out. I dropped the Writer off at work and went straight to the gym! I was only there for 45 minutes but I feel amazing! 

At times, I can get bored while working out, especially if I'm on the elliptical or something similar. I need to keep my mind occupied or I'll dread the entire workout. Today, I read The Hunger Games and my workout flew by! I looked down at the machine the first time and realized I had been on for 20 minutes! It felt like five minutes. I think I've found my new workout distraction since I'm trying to break the habit of listening to music. 

After working out, I went to the grocery store to pick up a few random things. I came home and made myself a  smoothie with my new blender. 

I've used it twice now and I have to say, for $15 it's great. It crushes ice and frozen fruit really well. For this mornings smoothie I used:

• 3/4 cup unsweetended Almond Milk
• 2 Scoops of protein powder
• 2 tablespoons of ground flax seed
• 1 cup of frozen blueberries, blackberries and strawberries

If you're into smoothies try this one out. The one above was 280 calories and had 14 grams of protein! Awesome! I need to start prepping the meatloaf for tonight's dinner. I'm trying out a new recipe for Mediterranean meatloaf, it has a ton of veggies in it! I'll let you know how it turns out. =)

Have a great rest of the day!

Wasalaam,

~Hijabi Butterfly~

Working out...hijabi style!

Assalaam Alakium!

Good morning, it's almost lunch time around here though! I've spent my morning looking for a good photography book. I plan on buying the new Canon Rebel T3i inshAllah, I'm so excited! Any photographers out there?

This morning I got a quick 30 minute workout in at the gym and it occurred to me that I should write a blog about working out as a hijabi. I know some sisters struggle with keeping up the dress code of the hijab and being comfortable working out. I usually wear something like this:

Just a comfortable Al-Amira hijab (two pieces that slip right on), loose pants and a long shirt. The above picture was taken at the park with my adorable sister in law. Love her! For sisters who wouldn't feel comfortable with this style, I would try wearing loose pants and a really long tunic that goes down to the knees so you can still jog or go on the elliptical. I wouldn't recommend going super stylish with the hijab though, keep it simple. You don't want to keep adjusting it, that will ruin your workout for sure!

Another thing I do to be more comfortable at the gym is I pick times when the gym is the least crowded. Alhamdulliah, my gym rarely ever gets crowded, but if yours does, choose a time that works with you as well as a time where you won't have to go to battle for an available treadmill. 

Whatever it is, just find something that makes YOU comfortable. When you're comfortable you'll have a great workout. It's no fun worrying about what others think of you or if your clothing is appropriate. I want to add that if you see a hijabi at the gym SAY SALAAMS and possibly get to know her, she could become your new workout buddy! Also, don't ever judge another Muslimah on what she is wearing, we are all at different stages and can often get discouraged if someone confronts us in a inappropriate way. We need to give our fellow Muslimahs some credit. We were all "there" once. 

Have a good afternoon, inshAllah I'll be back with another post later. 

Do you go to the gym? If so, what clothing do you wear?

Are there "sisters only" gyms in your area? 

What tips do you have to make the gym a more comfortable place?

Wasalaam, 

~Hijabi Butterfly~