Monday, August 20, 2012

motivation monday!

Hello, sweet people! Oh, and HAPPY MONDAY!!! No, I'm not crazy, I'm aware that for 99% of the world Monday is death......

But I happen to fall into that 1% of people who find Monday's to be oddly motivating. This may also be largely due to the fact that I only work a half day on Monday's....but even so! I have decided that Monday is going to be fitness/health/motivation post day. Weeee!! Each Monday I'm going to talk a little bit about my diet and exercise regimen, as well as share a fitness and/ or nutrition tip of the week. I'm really excited about this! Staying active and having a balanced diet are two things I've always been passionate about, but even I am human and haven't always found it easy to maintain these passions. Going to college and living on my own for the first time, without a mom or dad cooking me fresh, healthy meals every day plus 6-8 hours of dance class a week to keep my figure up to par, I found myself with a bit of a challenge. I had to find my own ways to stay fit and healthy. Eight years later, at the age of 26, I'm still facing that same challenge. But now the challenge isn't so much to stay healthy and active, it's keeping myself motivated by figuring out how I can change up my workout routine and find different yummy, healthy and fresh (and easy....) meals I can make at home. You'd think I would have mastered it by now but with all of the new information that comes out in magazines, books, news reports and online, the advice of what's good and what's actually not is ever-changing! So as you all probably know, it's hard to stay motivated. That is why I've decided to dedicate Monday's to motivation for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. And keeping a log as something I can refer back to is going to aid in said motivation, for me AND for all of you! Ya know, if you want :)

Enough of my rambling! Today's post is about what I eat/how I try to eat on a daily basis. I'll also touch on my workout routine on days that I'm not taking a class at my gym (favorites are Zumba, boxing, spinning, and yoga). So, a typical day meal-wise for my goes a little something like this:

Breakfast: 1 egg + 1 egg white with spinach, multigrain English Muffin, and a glass of lemon water with ice (trying it, not as easy to down as it seems....).
 
 
Can't forget your vitamins!!
 
 
Snack at work: trailmix with cranberries, dried pineapple, almonds, walnuts and raisins, a banana, and a bottle of water.
 
 
Lunch: Cold pasta salad with grilled chicken, mango, bell peppers and squash from Trader Joe's. I ditched the spicy mango dressing it came with and opted for 2 tbsp. of olive oil instead. I ate around 12:30 and was full well past 5:00!
 
 
Snack post-work/pre-workout: about 8-10 chips with 1/4 cup of hummus.
 
 
Dinner: Lemon Pepper grilled chicken lettuce wraps with a small bowl of sweet potato fries and a bottle of water (so filling I could only eat two wraps and half the fries!).
 
 
 
Well, there you have it, friends. This is what a typical day of eating looks like for me. Obviously things cut in which prevent me from sticking to such a balanced meal plan - birthdays, baseball games (Go Cards!!), dates with the man-friend, etc., but I do my best to make good decisions wherever I am (not always easy.....or successful).
As far as my workout on a non-class day, it consists of about 30-45 minutes of cardio and about 25-30 minutes of strength training. Obviously I don't always have all the time in the world for a lengthy workout, so I adapt when needed. Monday's, however, are my "free" days so I have time to hit all of the areas that I need to. Today's workout looked a little something like this:
  • 30 minutes total of walking/jogging (I live within walking distance from my gym so I try to run or walk there whenever I can - 15 minutes there, 15 minutes back)
  • 20 minutes on the elliptical trainer
  • Tricep dips, front shoulder raises, upper back rows - 3 sets of 15 reps each with 10-15 lb. weights
  • Core series: crunches on a Swiss ball holding an 8 lb. medicine ball, twists on the Swiss ball with 8 lb. medicine ball, bicycle crunches, crunches in upright position bringing knees and chest into each other - 3 sets of 40 reps each
  • Three 60-second planks
I've also recently started doing 50 crunches and a one-minute plank hold before I go to bed and as soon as I wake up. I tried documenting this in photos but SOMEONE had a bad attitude about playing photog:

 

(Don't give me that look.......)
 
That's all for the first edition of Motivation Monday! Check back next Monday for more tips, tricks, and that kick in the pants you've been looking for.
 
Speaking of....what do YOU do to stay motivated???
 

2 comments:

  1. Awesome. I think this may be your best blog post ever, woman-friend! One question though, do I take the Tussin PRE or POST workout?? ;) .......oh, and where'd you get that snazzy olive oil you've got sittin on your counter over there?

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    Replies
    1. Somebody's FUNNY!! Be sure to take the Tussin post work-out, nobody likes falling asleep on the treadmill....and that Olive Oil comes only from the BEST ; )

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