We’re a little over halfway through with January, the month of re-dedicating ourselves to be our best selves, usually including healthier habits with diet and exercise.
And January makes me really step it into gear – it’s like the “new week, fresh start” mentality on steroids.
Keep in mind, I am an expert on nothing. NADA.
via my Instagram on January 15th. it seemed the perfect day to post the pillow.
Theres nothing that holds you more accountable,
and similar to how checking off to-do-lists brings satisfaction,
I like seeing all of my workouts and what I’ve done.
To be 25 again and eat and drink my face off without a care in the world would be great…. but despite my wishes, it isn’t happening. (I can still hope…)
My Nutribullet and 21 Day Fix.
This changed my mindset for eating to lose weight entirely.
The principles behind it work, it’s super simple, and nothing is “off limits”.
Healthy right? Sure, but I ate too much of all of those things.
21 Day fix showed me that when I was putting a 1/2 cup of chickpeas and a 1/2 cup of quinoa in my dinner bowl, that was ALL of the carbs (yellow containers) I was allotted for the entire day. Who knew chickpeas were counted the same as bread??
I’d have half an avocado diced in my veggie bowl which was 2x (or more) of the healthy fats I was supposed to be having.
WHAT?! BUT IT’S HEALTHY?!
THIS IS A TRAVESTY.
In all honesty, I WAS PISSED.
And then I realized that if I was going to try to lose weight and not just maintain, I needed to change my meals. No more overnight oats or granola with breakfast if I wanted to have quinoa or chickpeas later.
I also learned that I barely ate any protein whatsoever.
I can do a post on daily eating for 21 Day Fix if you want!
OH. And you don’t even need to order containers, just look for the container counts and the sizes online and you can see if you are allowed 1 cup carbs, 2 cups fruit, 4 cups veggies, etc.
:: EXERCISE ::
I didn’t write about this in my New Year, New Promises post because I wasn’t sure if I would actually be able to do it.
I challenged myself to 31 Days in a row of working out for the month of January.
So far, so good with at least 30 minutes, most days an hour, of exercise per day.
6 days a week I’m doing Tracy Anderson Metamorphosis/Continuity DVD’s.
I do the 30 minute toning video for those 6 days.
I have never been stronger since committing to these – she really knows how to build the teeny, tiny, muscles and tone.
If doing only her program, you are supposed to do 30 minutes of dance 6 days a week, but I like the treadmill, spin, etc, so I only dance on days when I’m not doing another form of cardio.
My sole motivation for working out is my true love television,
so Tracy’s workouts satisfy that 🙂
And I guess my second motivation would be food. Oprah and I have that in common.
Last week, I went and tried Blast !!
one of you emailed me about it when I moved to Atlanta, Thank you!
(and I ran into the sweetest reader Emily who calmed my nerves for the class! I was RULL scared. I don’t run unless being chased after all. Her killer bod was all I needed as motivation to get through it and I hope to go back this week).
I really loved the class. You can make it work for whatever fitness level you are at, and it was a legit hard core workout. I had no idea the incline of a treadmill could go up that high.
They change it up from floor workto treadmill in 5/10/15 minute increments (ours was 10 + 5) so that when you want to lose your mind on the treadmill its time for the floor and vice versa. (seems like Orange Theory, and it was like Shred415 in Chicago).
Only thing I liked better about Shred415 in Chicago is that Shred is in a DARK ROOM. I love me a dark room when working out with others.
I was super sore and felt exhausted in a great way.
PLUS. It’s next to Kale Me Crazy, my favorite healthy food chain here in Atlanta with great smoothies and wraps( again… if not TV…. the food motivates me….)
My goal is 2-3 classes per week, with 2 usually being a spin class. I’ve been trying to change up my cardio when not doing a spin class,
so at home I’ll do intervals on the treadmill {or just walk and then foam roll if I’m tired or sore},
Tone It Up HIIT workout videos,
and I just tried out some Tabata workout videos online.
Popsugar always has great workout videos to do at home.
:: RECIPES ::
I have been cooking dinner pretty much every night which I am pretty proud of!
My weekend staples have included protein pancakes every Saturday and Sunday morning.
I have posted about the Tone It Up Protein Pancakes previously,
and I have been making those regularly, but they definitely don’t have a traditional smooth batter.
Rocco DiSpirito has a Protein Pancake recipe that I tried and LOVE.
Kip loved these two and has eaten them several times already
(he won’t eat the Tone It Up pancakes though…. they taste “too healthy”).
Definitely give these a try – they are absolutely delicious. SO GOOD.
Rocco’s Protein Pancakes
recipe via Today
makes 4 six-inch pancakes.
1 Scoop (or 32 Grams) Protein Powder (it’s about 1.5 scoops of Perfect Fit Protein)
2 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Cup Unsweetened Organic Applesauce
Whisk all ingredients in a bowl until well combined.
Heat skillet on medium heat and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Pour about 3 ounces of batter, cook until the edges are just set, and flip to continue cooking about 30 seconds or so.
(They cook pretty fast).
For a sugar free syrup, combine 2 cups of blueberries with 1/4 cup of water and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Blend in a blender and pour over pancakes.
:: MOTIVATION ::
Oh…. and promise you won’t judge me?
I’m a serious sucker for a motivational quote.
I made a motivational quote the lock screen/home screen on my phone,
and then I change it up when I’m used to seeing it to a new quote.
This doesn’t have to be fitness related at all, just something positive.
Think about how many times you look at your phone?
To see a positive uplifting message helps lift my mood and gives me perspective for the day!
….. I feel like these are things I should keep to myself…. but it works.
Attitude is everything.
#QuitLaughingAtMe
So I've been doing TA for years on and off too, but finally got the metamorphosis DVDs and am on day 11. Love it, but don't love the cardio. Do you think doing the different cardio has altered your results somewhat? What kind of results did you see and how long did it take you to see them? Thanks!
Hi Liz! I didn't love the cardio either; doing it daily really hurt my shins big time. I think changing my cardio has made a big difference. I didn't spin until a few months ago and doing that twice a week has helped. I also never jogged/ran (although I only run in sprints because literally I can't run) so changing from walking to jogging/spring intervals I think has helped too. With spinning especially, I was getting my heart rate up way higher/burning more calories. Once I really upped my cardio, and once I finally stuck with the 6 days a week for TA, I saw results in 4 weeks but I could feel more muscle in about 2! Hope that helps.
Great post!!!! Curious, what are you eating for lunch? I am struggling to come up with ideas as to what to pack these days. My office is surrounded by junky fast food!
Thanks Lisa! I'll try to get a post together with lunch foods because I know how the work lunch gets to be impossible. I do a mix of leftovers or make a wrap or a bowl. Some lately: leftover turkey meatballs with spaghetti squash, or the meatballs with a salad, leftover slower cooker chili, a veggie bowl with chicken or quinoa or cauliflower with either balsamic vinegar or a mustard vinaigrette (the mustard vin that goes with Gwyneth's cauliflower), or I'll make a wrap with leftover chicken mixed with some store bought pesto.
Hope this helps!
Love this post! My friend that lives in Atlanta tried to get me to do Blast last time I visited. I'm visiting again in March and might have to try it. Love the tip on the 21 day fix containers and would love to see a post with recipes!
Thanks Sarah! Yes definitely give it a try when you visit in March – my friend says its similar to Orange Theory if you have that where you live. I'll get a post together with some recipes and meals for 21 day fix for everyone.
I'm just getting ready to start 21 day fix so I'd love to see a post on it! And, don't judge, I bought the Country Heat dvds. I just needed something to mix up my regular dvds. I thought it might be fun! Let's hope at least! Also, have you tried the Ballet Beautiful dvds? They're KILLER – in the best way!
I'll definitely do a post with some daily food logs! And no judgement on the Country Heat – I have seen those and think they look really fun 🙂 I have only tried a few of the free isolated Ballet Beautiful workouts on your tube and OMG my abs were about to fall off! Thanks for the reminder about those I haven't done them in at least 6 months!
And thanks for the Grand Cayman post – our family is thinking of going there (or maybe Cabo??) for Christmas this year. Your blog is proving to be a wealth of information lately. Don't even start me on coffee talk! Love it!
Aw thanks! Of course! Happy to help! I love both Cabo and Grand Cayman – just depends what you are looking for! Either way you'll have a great sunny Christmas.
If you make a soup or something that is butternut squash with say coconut milk, then how do you count it for 21 day fix? I am intrigued by the idea but i'm guessing you can't make many recipes?
I haven't made one before, but if you google 21 day fix butternut squash soup several recipes come up and if you look at how they do the container counts you could probably figure out the counts for your recipe! For coconut milk, as long as its not a ton per serving, for myself I would just wouldn't even count it and not even worry about it but thats just me.
I love the pillow HAHA! I love kicking the year off right with healthy eating even if it's taboo.
xx. The Coastal Confidence
http://the-coastalconfidence.com
thanks Aubrey! I love the pillow too I get a kick out of it!
Great post! Would love to hear more about the food, recipes, and ideas for healthy eating/portion control!
Thanks Vanessa! I'll definitely work on a post with recipes and portions to post soon!
um youre going to have a bangin bod for #banditsheadSW2017
In reality, the gym machines can be used for building muscles, and they never harm the joints if used properly.
recumbent bike