Sometimes you just need a good challenge to get your butt in gear for Spring/Summa time! About 16 days ago Kelly, Lonnie, and I decided it was that time again after his recent visit. I mean... We had way too much Mexican food and wine in a two week span. Dang those breakfast tacos! Who am I kidding, I still think about them. haha.
The 30 Day Challenge started Feb 21st ///
No booze. Only Water, Tea, or Coffee
No Sugar. Except fruit.
Eat 3-5 small meals a day.
Get some exercise in at least 3 times a week.
Protein, Greens, and Fruit.
One Cheat meal per week.
No Cheese!!!
2% Fage Greek Yogurt unsweetened/unflavored (only Kelly)
As soon as we started the challenge, I made us a private facebook, yup that's right... PRIVATE. On our Facebook page we posted our before pictures so there is no turning back. Each day we take photo's of what we eat and post them on the wall so we can keep each other accountable. We also post inspiring video's on our wall that have nothing to do with fitness or food, just for fun and to keep our spirits up during this butt kicking. Lonnie had a little more difficult time part of this challenge when he was in Argentina because there is so much delicious wine. We felt bad so we gave him the OK because WINE NOT? (Yes I just said that!)
This week I wanted to make my food a little more interesting and since I don't normally cook, my friend Ashley told me to check out The Betty Rocker. We purchased a 30 day meal plan and it has everything we could possibly need. It comes with the grocery list for each week, how to prep the food and store it, and it lists the meals I eat for the whole week. I spent a good portion of my day Monday meal prepping but I really enjoyed it. There were times when I felt like a joke and things would go wrong like the quinoa bag melting as I was pulling chicken bites out of the oven and at the same time uncooked quinoa spills all over the kitchen floor and inside the stove causing the fire alarm to go off. Since this was my first time multitasking in the kitchen, I just laughed because what else could I do?
Biggest challenge for Brandi // Drinking enough water and finding a new fun workout, Monday I started p90x again. Another challenge is eating 5 times a day with my crazy schedule at the salon. I write out the times that I have to eat (every 3 hours) so I don't forget.
What keeps me motivated // Surf trip to Costa Rica next month! But really what is keeping me motivated is how I feel and seeing results. Did I mention that our Dad is on his own challenge so it's really fun sharing recipes and getting texts with each others results. It really helps having people to hold you accountable.
Biggest challenge for Kelly // Finding the right balance of calories and eating enough proteins during that first week. Something around day 3/4 hit me hard and I had to re think my daily intake and ratios. I had cut so much out of my diet originally that I wasn't getting enough calories and getting enough proteins. I've been a vegetarian for ten or so years, so I thought I had this and I did NOT. I downloaded the MyFitnessPal app on my phone and started logging everything. I LOVE this app. It's not just a calorie record, it also give you your nutrition breakdown of fats, proteins, carbohydrates, and vitamins.
What keeps me motivated // I want to be my reach my healthiest self this year and hold on to her. I want to be out running, surfing, camping, hiking, biking, whatever the next adventure, I want to be able to tackle it and feel good. I'm dedicated to creating/practicing healthy habits now so that by the end of the year my lifestyle has evolved. My favorite part of the day is breakfast. I wake up with an hour and a half to myself. I toss on a record, prep ingredients, make coffee and cook. Having that time to ease into the day, fill my body with good grub, and feed my soul with good vibes sets the tone for my day. As long as I have a strong morning, I find it easier to make better decisions through out the rest of the day. I'm loving how I feel these days and am so grateful for all the motivation I've received from friends and family. A few of my friends and our Pops have also been on their own fitness journey and talking to them about new recipes, juices, workouts, struggles and success has really been the lead motivation for me.
For those of you in Houston working on your fitness // Lululemon just opened up their First Colony store today! We love their stuff. Not sure if it's a personality thing or a human thing, but for us, we gotta feel good going into a workout and their pants... man. The rumors are true when it comes to their magical pants AND they are comfortable. Since today is day 16 (we made it to the middle!) of our challenge, Kelly and I picked up a few things from them as a little reward/motivation.
If you are just new to working on your fitness and want to know what kind of classes are available in your area, Lululemon stores have community boards and their employees usually have the scoop on rad workouts nearby.
What kind of workout gear do you like? What do you look for when shopping for athletic apparel?
