BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

www.workweekfitness.com

I realize I've had quite the hiatus from this blog, but wait til you hear why. I had great reactions to my health/fitness posts and I've had a lot of people in real life (you know, face to face), asking about what I do - how I workout, what I eat, etc.

I absolutely HATE seeing my friends and family try unsuccessful diets and exercise programs only to leave them more frustrated and discouraged. I’m so sick of the boring, bland, intense from the start programs that aren’t sustainable and don’t produce real results that stick. Most of us are average, busy people who just want to feel confident and be comfortable wearing shorts.

Coming very soon, I’ll be launching a website and blog with tons of useful information (not just top 5 fluff) to help guide you through the process of incorporating variety, balance and real food into a motivating lifestyle that creates sustainable results. 

Over the past 10+ years, I’ve been combining my own experience, research and trial and error into a sustainable lifestyle I love. Now my goal is to help you learn how to establish sustainable eating and exercise habits on your own so you can stop spending money on trainers and diets.

Head over to workweekfitness.com to check it out - and don't forget to get your free resource guide while you're there. See you on the other side :)

Quick, Cheap & HEALTHY

I honestly go back and forth on how I want to eat healthy and what that means. Sometimes I want all natural ingredients - only things you can read. But, I think you have to be practical too. Sometimes it's a big struggle to buy affordable food that's quick and easy to eat but ALSO healthy. I'll be honest, I do A LOT of label reading and sometimes my shopping trips take a little longer now, but I end up eating healthier at a good price and I've been able to find food to make quick meals or snacks. I thought I'd share a few tips from my last grocery store run.

Everything I bought:

I bought chopped, frozen onions. Fruits and vegetables like this that don't have any added ingredients are healthy, cheap and last a long time because they'll live in your freezer. The same is true of canned fruits and vegetables - I just happen to prefer the taste of frozen over canned when it comes to my veggies. I love this because it makes the prep faster and I don't ever end up with a partially wasted onion.

A friend gave me a tip that if you freeze spinach, or in this case buy frozen, cut spinach (I prefer when the only ingredient is spinach - no preservatives or anything else), it's easier to add to smoothies if that's something you like. I'm not a salad person so the only reason I really buy spinach is to add it to my smoothies - and when I do that, it seems like the bag always goes bad before I can finish it. This is an easy solution and is again cheap. I think the bag was $1.

I try to find quick, easy, HEALTHY snacks. These are some of my favorite. Nuts - I prefer cashews but whatever you prefer is fine. I try to buy in bulk from the bins so I can get them without additives. I also avoid peanuts because after I did Whole 30 and couldn't eat them (since they're technically a legume), I try to avoid them. But I'm not trying to claim that they're bad for you. Applesauce - No, I'm not a child, but it's a classic treat. Obviously a fresh apple would also be a good choice, but a fresh apple won't stay fresh that long. I also buy unsweetened apple sauce and look again for one that has as few additives as possible. Fruit leather - sometimes you just really need something sweet. Having a snack like fruit leathers around is a good way to satisfy that sweet craving with a healthy choice. Fruits are naturally high in sugar, so look for one without any added sugar, and again with as few preservatives/additives as possible. The one pictured here uses lemon juice as a preservative. 

Happy shopping!

20-30 Minute At-Home Cardio

Hi all -- remember me? So sorry I left you stranded pretty much all of February - but I'm back :) again.

Pardon the lack of posts! Guess what? In February, I was determined to get back to my early morning workouts and I'm back!! I did it. I started slowly and I stayed determined. Some days were better than others. But, slowly, I started working out earlier and earlier and I forced myself to get up every morning. It's honestly so hard to start, but once you do, each day is a little easier than the previous one because you start to create a habit. Even on the days I have early morning meetings, I decided it was important for me to get in a good workout.

So, for the days you're in a rush, here's something you can do at home. Do between 3 and 5 sets for a quick 20-30 minute workout (Click on the links for examples of the exercises). And as always, you can adjust as needed to make these easier or more difficult:

Do each for 30 seconds (if you can, don't rest in between):

Jumping jacks

Wacky jacks

High knees

Butt kickers 

Squat w/ Single Leg Kick Back

Grape vines/Karaokes

Single leg butt kickers

Air squats

Air Jump rope

Burpees 

Break:

Walk 3 sets of stairs up and back

Walk around for about 30 seconds - a minute

Goals Aren't Accomplished Overnight

How do you accomplish goals? By constantly thinking about them, re-adjusting where needed and working toward them. So, even though it's the second week of February, here are the ways I'm going to focus on and work toward my 2016 goals:

Be Charitable: I've really enjoyed being more involved in my ward and callings, but I feel like I'm just barely chipping the surface. So for February, I'm going to keep the same focus as January. I've already seen that as I do this, I find more people who need to talk, need help or I've felt more inclined to offer help where I may not have done so before.

Be Healthy: I'm back to working out at least 3x a week. My goal is to get up to at least 5x a week, but for this month, my goal is to two-fold: get at least 8 hours of sleep at night and wake up by 5am. I know this will be a process. But, I know that I'm happiest and most productive when my I'm sleeping well. It all starts with going to bed early!

Be Disciplined: Last month, it was make and stick to a budget. I made my budget and I did fairly well, but could still be better. My goal this month (and probably for a few months) is to not go over my budget AT ALL. I think I really need to do this at least 3 months in a row to make a habit of it.

Be Positive/Grateful: I've really like the Thankful Thursdays I've been doing. It makes me think long and hard about meaningful things that I'm thankful for. The things top of mind aren't always meaningful, but I manage to find things that truly do matter. I'm going to continue doing Thankful Thursday but I'm also going to make a more concentrated effort to tell people how much I appreciate them and what they do. Everyone likes to know they're appreciated.

Turn To The Temple (Thankful Thursday)

It's no secret that I love temples, but today I got to go to the temple and I was reminded of how truly grateful I am for temples. I love going to different temples when I travel - just to see how unique they all are.. Knowing full well that all ordinances and teachings found inside are the exact same. Both of my parents are converts to the LDS church. Temples are places where families can be sealed together for time and all eternity. My grandfather passed away the day after his family was sealed together and I get chills almost every time I think about that. For me, aside from this very significant reason, I love temples because they're places of peace. You can escape the world. For a few hours when I go inside, I turn off my phone, cut out socializing and I just try to listen. Listen for promptings, inspiration or any knowledge that I might be able to gain while I'm there. When I don't know what else to do, I know I can always turn to the temple. It holds such a serene stillness and in this world filled with commotion. I'm extremely grateful that I can turn to the temple and feel particularly close to God and my Savior.