Fitness is always a priority for me, as is healthy eating, and I generally find it pretty easy to stick to both BUT, man, was 2016 a doozy of a year! It hit me hard for a variety of personal reasons… thus, over the past year I let my health and personal maintenance slide.
I’m not super upset about it, sometimes we just need to give ourselves a break! Breaks are just as important as pushing ourselves when we can. Turns out I needed break for all of 2016 lol, and I feel like many other people did too.
BUT NOW WE ARE IN 2017! Despite being 3 months into the new year I am not as back on track as I want to be. Healthy eating {no processed foods, mostly veggies, light proteins} is pretty good with one glaring issue that has consistently haunted me…
SUGAR
Sweets are a MAJOR weakness for me despite all the documentaries I force myself, Mark and That Fluffy Bitch to watch detailing it’s many harmful effects on the body. Sugar can cause weight gain, early aging, breakouts and even cancer. Ew. Not a good look.
I find that when I’m eating healthfully and working out regularly not only am I immensely happier but I’m WAY more productive. Fitness is not just physical, it’s mental, emotional and spiritual too. When I’m on track with it I get into this zone where I feel unstoppable and very “in-the-flow.”
Two weeks ago, one of my besties and decided that to stay on track for our 2017 life goals we are going to do a monthly accountability meet up. Having someone to hold you accountable for the goals you’ve set for yourself is SO KEY. After our first week went by and we checked in… we both hadn’t accomplished what we set out to. Even though our original accountability goals were work oriented, we realized we were both also having issues controlling our sugar intake and scheduling our workouts. Coincidence? #IThinkNot.
As Tom Waits said, “The way you do anything is the way you do everything,” so you better believe this lack of commitment to health and fitness was reflecting on our other life goals. So we set some guidelines for that area as well.
Below, I’m laying out what I’ll be doing for my Spring fitness goals and I would love to have you join me! Let me know your goals in the comments below or on my Instagram @lostluxe because the more accountability partners the merrier! You definitely do not need to do what I’m doing- focus on whatever you want to held accountable for!
*Please note: I am not a registered dietician or fitness instructor and the below information is not meant to be advice, it’s just what I found works well for me, personally.
So here’s the breakdown of what I’m committing to:
Diet
— Whole, unprocessed foods, focusing on primarily veggies and lean, light proteins —
Basically things that grow naturally- be they plants or animals. I’m really trying to focus on mostly vegetables- can’t go wrong with low calorie and high fiber. I don’t eat much meat, but do go for fish, eggs, nuts and ground chicken or turkey {ALWAYS free range/organic/ cruelty free – best if bought at local farmer’s market if you have one}
— Low Carbs —
I feel best when I minimize my carb intake, and eat only unprocessed or minimally processed carbs.. I also try to focus my carb consumption to be earlier in the day.
— Most importantly {+ most difficultly} ZERO SUGAR for 30 days —
I have to keep it real with you guys : my sugar intake was so out of control that at the moment I’m just focusing on not consuming sweets. Considering I was at event Tuesday with free Sprinkles cupcakes and designer salted caramel chocolates galore, this is no easy feat for me. By tomorrow I will read labels on everything to make sure there is no sugar in them whatsoever. It is shocking what has added sugar– hummus, tomato sauce, bread and more. It’s terrifying. I am not one for eliminating food groups, but for these 30 days I will not be eating fruit either, just so I can minimize my sugar withdrawals and cravings.
Go-To Meals
— Breakfast —
Open Faced Egg Sandwich
— 1-2 Poached Eggs {sounds hard but it’s SUPER easy. Let me know if you want more info. We DO NOT get fancy with it} **Be sure to get certified Cruelty Free eggs- I prefer American Humane Certified. Cage free/free range/organic mean pretty much nothing in the egg dept. The American Humane certified standard is very detailed and rigorously verified. My go to brand is The Happy Egg Co and they are available at most major supermarkets.
— Sautéed sliced Brussels sprouts, mushrooms and onions
—Slice of smoked salmon
— 1/2 slice Sunflower Seed Bread – you guys this is the ONLY bread I eat. It is made by a German company, Mestemacher, has only 7 ingredients and it’s f*&%ing delicious + so filling. I sometimes do their Fitness bread in place of this one, but that has 1g of sugar per slice so for the 30 days I’m sticking to the Sunflower. I get this at Whole Foods but certain Ralph’s and other large grocery chains carry it as well.
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Toast the bread {I don’t use butter or anything because the flavors of everything + the runny egg are enough for me, but you do you.} Layer a small slice of smoked salmon and the sautéed veggies on the toast, then top it off with a juicy poached egg. This will keep me full for several hours and is full of healthy fats which help cut sugar cravings! #win
— Lunch —
Chicken, brown rice and veggie bowl with hummus
— 4oz Ground Organic Smart Chicken – this is the ONLY chicken I will eat besides chicken bought at the farmer’s market. They are certified humane and have very high standards for feed and care. Be sure to get the organic variety {green packages} to get this certification. No benefit to the ground chicken over chicken breasts, I just prefer the texture.
— 1/4c Brown Rice – I do this the easy way- Trader Joe’s frozen microwave brown rice for the win. I also love their frozen quinoa.
— Chopped bell peppers, onions, broccoli – sautéed or not, depends on my mood. Sometimes I really like the crunch of raw veggies.
— 1-2 tbs Hummus – I like a bit of a kick in my hummus so I go for Supremely Spicy by Sabra or Cayenne by Majestic Garlic both are DELISH, but I recommend only doing the Majestic Garlic one if you don’t have to talk to anyone for 12ish hours. The garlic is INTENSE but sooooo good!
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I love this for lunch because it’s super easy to prep and just throw in the microwave at work. I sautée the chicken & veggies the night before and throw it in a tupperware- then just heat and stir for lunch. So easy.
— Dinner —
Veggie Stir Fry
— Brussels Sprouts – these are my current fav veggie. If you think you hate them from childhood, give them another try! Sautéed with some coconut oil and garlic they are TO DIE FOR.
— Bell Peppers – I go for yellow/ orange and red to get some color in.
— Spinach – gotta love those leafy greens
— Black beans – I add these for protein, esp if I’m not doing fish or chicken with this
— Onions – I’m super lazy with cooking and pay exorbitant amounts of money to buy the pre-chopped onions. But the best veggie is the one you’ll use, and this makes it easy to throw in. If I buy a whole onion it will rot.
— Sweet Potato Ribbons – Ok, a whole sweet potato has about 6g of sugar, but I buy the ribbons at Trader Joe’s and they are so thin and I use so few I think I’m not getting more than 1g of sugar and it is naturally occurring, obviously. That said, I will probably omit this for the next 30 days, but the stir fry is so good with it I wanted to include on this list for reference.
— Spicy or Garlic Hummus – same ones listed in the lunch meal. I use this sh*t in everything. LOVE.
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This meal is SO EASY . Start with the Brussels sprouts + onions because they take the longest to cook. Throw them in a pan with a little coconut or avocado oil and a splash of water. Cover and steam for about 5-8 mins. By then your water splash is gone and you can add a bit more coconut oil + all other veggies. I cover again and steam for a few mins to soften the spinach and sweet potatoes, then uncover and stir until everything looks soft/edible. {I obviously have strict standards for cooking lol} The key is: EASY! I always try to make a bunch of this because it’s easy to just reheat the next day for lunch too.
— Snacks —
— Handful of almonds
— Raw, sliced bell pepper with hummus {clearly hummus obsessed}
— Half an avocado with a little salt + pepper
— 1/2 slice toast of one of these breads + almond butter {make sure you get one with ONLY almonds + oil; no sugar or other additives}
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Fitness
For fitness I am starting Kayla Itsines’ 12 week Better Body Guide workouts. If you’re not familiar with Kayla she is gorgeous Aussie {aren’t they all? lol} who focuses on creating a strong and lean body type through 28 minute circuit workouts. You read that right folks, 28 minutes. Even better, she breaks them into 4 rounds of 7 minutes! You can pretty much do anything for 7 minutes, right?
I love her guides 1- because they’re so short each day 2- because you can do it anywhere, no equipment needed. I’ve done it in my living room, at a park and on the beach. 3- she focuses on holistic health: healthy eating and workouts but also getting your mind into a positive space.
Let’s be real here- I have had this BBG for 2 years now and have started it a handful of times only to quit after 2 weeks. This stuff is not easy, which is why I’m so excited to be doing it with my bestie this time so we can hold each other accountable for the full 12 weeks. I already saw great results with Kayla each time after only 2 weeks, so I’m v excited to see where 12 weeks takes me! I’m beginning this next Monday. I would love to know if you have done Kayla before or want to try it! We can be in this together!
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I’ll keep you posted as I go along my journey. Let me know in the comments below or on my Instagram @lostluxe if you want to join in on the 30 day no-sugar challenge or what your current health and fitness goals are!
Xx,
C
Image Credits: 1 Jason Burns .// 2 Lauren Conrad .// 3 Karen Wise .// 4 Another Root .// 5. Pinterest//
