SexyBack Challenge - Week 2

I’ve had a strange week and haven’t been as dedicated to the sexyback challenge as I should or could be. Shame on me. Besides Friday night, at the Relay For Life, I haven’t pushed myself to get any physical activity in. I need to MAKE time in my days because otherwise it’s not going to happen. My goal next week is at least 4 days of 30-45 minutes of physical activity. I’ve been in somewhat of a haze and I think that physical activity will definitely help to clear my head.

What do you do to keep your workout and fitness motivation?

Besides basically failing on that part of the sexyback challenge, I did much better on food this week. I’m not consistently drinking 3 miir bottles a day, but I’m drinking much more than in the past. I still want to step it up to hit at least 3 a day.

I’ve been eating more vegetables, including salads which lettuce from the garden! Some of my favorite meals this week includes: chickpea tacos, fajita bowls [aka peppers, onions, pinto beans & quinoa], black bean & veggie burgers, zucchini quinoa lasagna, broccoli quinoa casserole, steamed broccoli, tex-mex veggie salad [see picture], and homemade strawberry rhubarb smoothies.

I've included the recipe for this because it's one of my favorites! It's super easy and makes enough for lunches, snacks or dinners for a week. See variations at the bottom of the recipe!

Tex-Mex Veggie Salad
1 can (14 oz) black beans, drained & rinsed
2 tomatoes chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 can Mexicorn
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1 jicama, peeled and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, minced

Dressing
1 1/2 tsp Garlic Galore (Wildtree Herbs)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup Roasted Garlic Grapeseed Oil (Wildtree Herbs)

Place salad ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat. Chill overnight.

Variations:
Add chicken (if you're a meat-eater) with Chipotle Lime Rub and Roasted Garlic Grapeseed Oil (Wildtree Herbs)
Add to cooked, chilled quinoa for a heartier salad

SexyBack Challenge - Week 1

I was excited when I saw these posts [ONE. TWO.] by Carlos Whittaker last week. I finally got the chance to watch this video on Sunday.

I think this SexyBack challenge is perfect for me. I’ve been slacking on my fitness and don’t remember the last time I worked out. My eating habits aren’t horrible, but there’s definitely room for improvement.

Every Thursday during this challenge [12 weeks] I’ll be posting my weekly update and how I’ve done on my goals. Most of them are general because I don’t need to lose a lot of weight or anything. I really just want to focus on eating healthier and making better choices. I also want to get back into a great workout routine and get toned [where are you abs?].

Here’s a list of my goals for SexyBack:
- 45 minutes minimum of physical activity or exercise 5-7 days of the week
- Utilize workout dvds (30 Day Shred, 6 Week six-pack, BL Cardio)
- Nightly walks/runs
- Use RunKeeper app
- MORE water (3+ miir bottles/day)
- Eat healthier
- MORE veggies, utilize the garden
- Less processed food and more fresh food
- Homemade meals
- Less pop and coffee, green monsters, fresh fruit smoothies or tea instead
- Use MyFitness app & website to track calories & exercise

In addition to my update I’ll include a photo each week that's related to my #sexyback11 journey.

Here’s my picture for the week.

My recap for this week is pretty general, but it might get more specific in the weeks to come. Since I started on Sunday I've done the 30 day shred twice and gone on two 1.5 mile walks. I've made better choices as far as food goes. I'm definitely eating more fruits and veggies and snacking less. I've done really great on drinking more water, especially with working out more & it's been getting hotter here too. I'm struggling with drinking pop and I'm slowly working on cutting it out.

I'll be picking up Jillian Michaels' 6 week six-pack levels 1& 2 workouts from the library tomorrow and will hopefully be doing [almost] everyday for the two weeks I have it checked out. Tomorrow night I'll be participating in the Relay for Life and will definitely be getting some walking in. It's not too late if you want to join the challenge. I'd love if you'd join me, whether you're looking to lose weight or get back on track. You can search #sexyback11 on twitter to see what other people in the challenge are doing.

5 Things I Love: Workouts

I am not a gym girl. I've been to the gym like one time in my life. I don't know what to do there. Besides the fact I don't have money for a membership, I find it pretty intimidating. In my journey to be healthier and more toned, I've come across these gym-alternatives. These are my absolute favorites and they don't take much time. I come home from my 10 hours at work and try and do one of these things. If I can do it then so can you! NO EXCUSES (gotta love Jillian Michaels). :) I've seen results (aka more definition) in less than two weeks.

1. The Biggest Loser: Cardio Max (approx. 30 min): INTENSE! This dvd is crazy and amazing. It has so many options for workouts. You can choose warm-up, cool-down and 3 levels of workouts or there are 3 separate workouts for the 6 week maximum results program. I like that this pushes me beyond what I think I'm capable of. Plus, nobody's as motivating as Bob and Jillian.

2. The Girls Next Door Workout (approx. 15 min): Laugh all you want, but it works. Senior year of college I became a GND fan. I was extremely excited and curious as to what the workout dvd would be like. Each of the girls have their own 15 minute workouts. This is my go-to workout. I start with Bridget's warm-up and leg routines and end with Holly's arms, abs and cool-down routines. It still ends up being around 15 minutes. I've only attempted Kendra's twice. It's not as easy to follow, but I'm sure if I did it more frequently I'd be able to catch on.

3. Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred (approx. 20 min): Unfortunately I don't have my own copy of this, but my local library does. I love her 3-2-1 interval system. This workout is simple and very effective. My goal is to get my own copy and consistently do it for 30 days for maximum results.

4. From Couch to 5k (approx. 12-30 min): Anyone love a free workout? I know I've mentioned this before. Heather and I got through week two and then life (and bad weather) happened. We're planning to get back into it next week.

5. Winsor Pilates (approx. 20 min): This workout is not strenuous, in fact I find it very relaxing. I usually just do the 20 minute workout and haven't ventured much into the accelerated. This is a good option to do in between the more intense cardio workouts.

If you cannot afford to purchase any or all of these, check your local library. Check outs for dvds are between one and two weeks long (at least at mine they are). If the library doesn't have it, you can always check youtube for snippets of the different workouts. I got my copy of BL Cardio from the used section of Hastings. I'm pretty sure I'll go there to get Jillian's too. The one thing I love about Hastings is that they guarantee their used dvds, so if it doesn't work you can always exchange it for one that does. I think the most important thing is to stay active, whether it's working out or even just going on a walk. Like Bob says on BL Cardio, "Just keep moving." Also, when looking for a workout (or a way to stay active) find something that you enjoy doing. Working out is much more bearable when you're having fun. I'd love to hear your favorite workouts or workout motivations.