Getting Healthy

Happy Friday!
    Today I have something a bit different for you guys! I'd like to share a bit about a health and fitness routine I just started, as I like to hear what other bloggers are doing to stay in shape and be healthy.  At first I was hesitant to post about something like this here because I know most of you are here for more style centric posts, and if thats the case, just skip this one! :)
     As is typical for me in the winter months, I put on some weight while stuck in doors watching more TV and eating junk food.  This happened last year as well, and about a year ago back in April I did a 30 day cleanse similar to the "whole 30", eliminating all wheat, dairy, sugar, and processed foods from my diet.  While weight-loss wise that gave me amazing results as I lost over 10 pounds in the month of doing it, it felt pretty restrictive for me and I'm not sure I was losing the weight in the healthiest way possible.  This time around, I am excited to take a little less restrictive but still super healthy approach to health and fitness.
      I joined a gym about a month ago and started going about 3-4 times a week, and while I felt I was getting a bit stronger, I still was not losing any weight because I was still eating like total crap.  A few weeks ago, I searched online for some free online workout videos, which led me to a site called FitnessBlender.com.  Have you guys ever heard of it? It's run by a husband and wife team, both personal trainers, who wanted everyone to have access to fitness regardless of their income, which I can totally appreciate!  I always liked the idea of working out from home some days, but fancier programs like P90x and Insanity cost a decent amount of money.   You do have to quickly create an account on the Fitness Blender site, but it doesn't cost anything and they haven't sent me a single email. (By the way, this is not a sponsored post whatsoever, I am just sharing my personal thoughts and recommendations about what I have been doing to get healthy!)  Anyway, you can search the huge library of Fitness Blender workout videos by length of time, focus area of the body, difficulty level, etc.  You can also save your favorites to your account so its really easy to find them the next time.  My very favorite when I started was the 25 minute Kickboxing Cardio, because there's nothing better than flailing your legs and punching the air like a ninja in your sports bra in the comfort of your own living room! Hiiiii- ya!
      While all of their online videos are free, I still felt I lacked the motivation to combine the fitness part with healthier eating until I found a part of the Fitness Blender site that had meal plans and workout programs that even I could very affordably purchase.  I purchased the "8 Week Fat Loss Program" (which was $9.99) and "Four Week Vegetarian Meal Plan" (which was $14.99).  Both are basically downloadable PDF booklets that I leave open on my laptop to look at through out the day as guides.  The fitness program basically just lays out a workout plan to do each day using the free videos from their site, so it probably isn't necessary for some to buy, but I am more likely to stick with something if there is a clear to-do list laid out in front of me so its been very helpful for me!  I am four days in and have definitely been challenged each day, but the ever changing routine has kept me motivated and interested.
     As for the Vegetarian Meal plan, I chose it because I am already a vegetarian, but there are also regular or vegan meal plans too.  The meal plan focuses on "clean eating"for 30 days, but like I said, it is not as restrictive as others I have done.  It gives you a grocery list at the start of ever week, and then tells you EXACTLY what to eat for three meals and three light snacks a day and how to prepare each.  I am not an excellent cook, but each meal has been pretty simple to prepare and has actually tasted really good too! I have been snapping a few pictures on my phone along the way this week of what I have been eating to help give you a better feel for the food.

 Breakfast  - Veggie Omelet with a side of fruit.

 Lunch - Spelt Toast with avocado and chick pea mash. (SO good!)

 Dinner - Whole What Penne with Spinach and Brocolli

 Breakfast - Light English Muffin with Peanut Butter and Banana

 Lunch - Brown Rice with Feta

 Dinner - Spaghetti Squash (which I have never had before - it's awesome!)

Snack (Dessert) - Fresh strawberries with .5oz melted Dark Chocolate
   
Anyway, I am only four days into my program for both the meal plan and the workouts, but I can literally already feel and see a bit of a change.  I really love that the meals are interesting and tasty and do not eliminate any food group.  I mean come on, there was a dark chocolate bar on my grocery list this week, which I got to eat 1/6th of last night melted onto my strawberries snack.  And I thought I was eating pasta for dinner which was actually made of squash.  So far so good in my book.  I will also post after I am done with my 30 day healthy eating and workout challenge to let you know my personal results.  And now that I have shared this with the whole wide world internet, I am hopefully going to hold myself even more accountable and make this into a success story!
     If you have any questions whatsoever about either the eating or fitness challenges, I would be happy to answer them in the comments! Have you ever done any sort of clean eating challenge or structured fitness plan in the past? I'd love to hear about your experience!
xo Hannah