“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.” – Vidal Sassoon, Vince Lomardi, Mark Twain

As the world returns to work the Monday after the New Year, I thought it fitting to start off with a fitness post. I bet there is a large percentage of people across the globe who have something to do with fitness as a goal for the year, so I wanted to share my current thoughts and ideas on fitness along with a few goals.

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Nutrition

As of this posting, I am not counting calories or tracking macros. My goal for the first couple of weeks, maybe months of the year, is to get a better grasp on preparing food at home and trying to eat more fruits, veggies, and lean protein. I got into a bad habit at the end of last year of swinging by Chick-Fil-A, McDonald’s, Starbucks, and MOD Pizza on the way home from work. Eating meals prepared at home typically means you are consuming less amount of calories, sodium, and fat….oh and spending less! Because of my very busy schedule – work, twin mom, blogger, etc., meal prepping on the weekends is VITAL for me to stay on track with my nutrition goals. A typical day of eating looks like this for me:

Wake up: Coffee

Breakfast: Whole wheat English muffin with a laughing cow cheese wedge and a hard boiled egg with Everything But the Bagel Sesame Seasoning or oatmeal with 2 slices turkey bacon + fruit of choice

Snack: one of the following – Protein Shake, Boom Chicka Pop, Luna Bar

Lunch: Peanut butter and honey sandwich on Ezekial bread with a side spinach salad OR 3 oz shredded chicken with a mix of Frank’s hot sauce and Stubb’s BBQ sauce on a sandwich round with arugula

Snack: see above, or carrots and hummus, apple and pb or baked apple with cinnamon

Dinner: 3 oz shredded chicken with broccoli, brown rice, avocado, and low sodium Soy sauce OR switch out the chicken for two eggs over easy

Dessert: if I’m having any, either Enlightened ice cream or Greek yogurt with strawberries and chocolate chips or baked apple with cinnamon

Exercise

I’ve been an athlete my entire life. I was in gymnastics for as long as I can remember (my mom says it was to get out the energy.) I started playing softball when I was 10, ran summer track and swim team until junior high years when I played pretty much every sport available – volleyball, basketball, cheerleading, track, and softball. I also did competitive cheer outside of school cheerleading and took private tumbling and stunting lessons. I did the same for most of high school, too, and even competed in a weight lifting competition. As you can tell, I was busy and active. Exercise has always been important to my family and me. At some point along the way, I had to make a decision to continue to stay active. I took up running around 2012 (like not forced running due to whatever sport was in season, but, “Oh, I’m choosing to run this half marathon and need to train for it running.”) I was immediately hooked, which is still kind of off because throughout high school and college I thought running was horrible…maybe because it was always forced running. To me, running clears my mind. I think about SO MUCH STUFF and compose the best blog posts when I’m running – maybe I should start trying to record them. I pray, admire nature, watch the animals, look at houses and front yard decorations, sometimes sing out loud, and so on.

At some point along the way, I realized I needed to pick up strength training. For someone who has worked out her entire life, gyms terrify me. I like working with a trainer when they can tell me exactly what to do and how many reps, but on my own, nope. I know this is something I need to get over, but it isn’t happening today. I found a work out program that uses mostly body weight and very few other pieces of gym equipment called Bikini Body Guide, or BBG, by Kayla Itsines. The first program is a 16 week program that includes 4 beginner weeks and it will help you become fitter, stronger, and more confident. And it works. You can either purchase the plan from the website, or subscribe to it through the SWEAT app.

Fitness Goals

My fitness goals for the year do not include necessarily hitting a target weight on the scale, but instead includes finishing the BBG program and running a half marathon. I’ve never finished BBG. I’ve started it and gotten SO FAR, but never finished! It’s crazy and I truly have no clue why I never finished. I’m done with the first pre-week and will start pre-week 2 tomorrow. I also plan on getting back into running half marathons and running at least one this year.

Here are a few tips to help you achieve your fitness goals:

1. Plan out your workouts for the week. Add them to your calendar and make it part of your day.
2. Pack all of your workout clothes the night before. If you are working out first thing in the morning, lay them out in your bathroom where they are easy to get to. They say the hardest part is getting out the door, so just force yourself up and out!
3. New work out clothes always motivate me to work out – here, here, here, here, and here.
4. Plan out your meals, go grocery shopping, and meal prep during the weekend. Start small and don’t overwhelm yourself. This should take MAX a few hours to do all of these things – not your entire Sunday.
5. Join a group or workout class.
6. Have your playlist ready to go – this always gets me pumped up.
7. Do crunches, push ups, hold a plank, squats, tricep dips, or stretch during commercial breaks – ok, yes, I understand most people don’t watch live TV, but you can’t stream live football games or basketball games……and there’s a lot of that right now.

Well, friends, that is all for today. If today is your first day back at work, GOOD LUCK. Stay strong and drink plenty of coffee – but don’t drink too much or too late or else you won’t be able to go to sleep tonight and it will make tomorrow even worse. Something else we will chat about soon is developing a bedtime routine (and sticking to it!)

Cheers – MP