Tag Archives: weight loss

Sprint to Summer Challenge with Mr Shut Up and Train

Recently due some unforeseen circumstances, I had taken a detour from really focusing on losing weight. Now that things have changed, I’m able to get back on track with weight loss and continuing to live a healthy lifestyle. I came across a Facebook post for a FREE 21 day fitness challenge by Rahman Grayson, Mr Shut Up and Train, and I thought this would be a great way to get back in the groove and learn some new tips and tricks along the way. With a name like that, I figured this was what I needed to get serious again.

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How does this challenge work? When you sign up, they’ll send you a daily email by 5am EST each morning detailing that day’s exercise and/or nutritional challenge. You commit to completing each work out, finishing the whole 21 days, and following the rules. The rules include no alcohol, no fried foods, no fast food, drink half your body weight in ounces of water daily, keep a food journal, and commit to eating clean. He did say challenge!!! At least there are 3 cheat day, and I already know what dates I’m using them on. So I’m ready. Will you join the challenge?

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To sign up now, go to http://www.mrshutupandtrain.com/30daycc. There is also a #30DayCC event on Facebook. Go to http://www.facebook.com/events/556209034401342, click “Join” and then invite your Facebook friends. You can post your questions and pictures there as well. I hope to see you there!

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Please use the hashtag #30daycc on Twitter, Instagram, etc

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Healthy Eating Tip: Portion Control

Check out this pictorial guide on portion control from One Medical! If you don’t want to count calories or weigh everything you eat, this guide is a great way to visually ensure you are eating enough of the right things.

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Here’s an example of my typical dinner plate so you can see how I watch my portions. Do you follow this when putting your food on the plate?

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My Go-To Healthy Breakfast

Yesterday marked the start of my 4 week health challenge that I decided to start to refocus on eating clean and increasing my workouts. To help me ensure that I eat well-rounded meals while having some variety and flexibility, I created a list of options for each meal to chose from.

For example, for breakfast I can choose oatmeal or whole wheat toast, an apple, orange or grapes, hard boiled egg whites, whole almonds, peanut butter or almond butter, and Greek yogurt or almond milk. Which ever options I choose, my breakfast should range between 250-350 calories.

Today I chose oatmeal, an orange, two hard boiled egg whites, and 8 oz of almond milk. This came to a total of 340 calories, 55 g carbs, 9 g fat, 16 g protein, and 7 g fiber.

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What is your favorite healthy breakfast?

Eating Clean & Getting Lean: 4 Week Health Challenge

For the last few months I’ve been researching clean eating, and I think it’s something I want to move towards. The idea of eating foods that are not processed or minimally processed at least, and that don’t contain chemical preservatives, is a lifestyle change I’d like to commit to. At the same time, I’m also concerned about ensuring I have a well rounded diet that contains complex carbohydrates, lean proteins, and healthy fats while still in a calorie range that will facilitate weight loss.

Along with this goal of clean eating is increasing my workouts. I’ve barely been working out 3 days a week, so I need to step that up to 5 workouts. Three cardio workouts and two strength workouts a week is the plan. I think that since I have no events or out of town travel planned for March, I should be able to stick with this plan for 4 weeks and see what results I get. From March 4-31, I’m challenging myself to stick to my clean eating plan and workout schedule.

Here is one of my clean dinner options. Stir fry veggies (broccoli, snow peas, carrots) with shrimp.

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Healthy Lifestyle Tip: Pace and Consistency is Key

We’ve just passed the six week mark into the new year, and I’m re-evaluating my health and fitness goals for the next six weeks. I got to thinking about how pace and consistency are two keys that I’ve found helpful in my journey. And how when I didn’t apply these principles, I’ve failed miserably. I’m sure I’m not the only one, so I thought I’d talk about it today.

Pace is so important when starting a healthy lifestyle journey. If you go too fast or set out to do too much in a short period of time, almost always you are setting yourself up to fail. I’m currently doing a push-up challenge for the month of February. The challenge started at 10 push-ups but will end with 100 by the end of the month. Now had it started at 100, I would not be able to complete that. I had a hard time doing the 10 push-ups when I started on Day 1! But now on Day 12, the challenge is 50 push-ups for the day, and I was able to knock out 25 this morning like a breeze. Why? The pace allowed me to build endurance instead of setting the bar to something unattainable. When setting your goals, consider your starting point, and try to raise the bar slightly from that point. As you master that pace, pick it up a bit, and as you meet each small challenge with success you’ll be surprised at how far you’ve come.

If you move at the right pace, the more consistent you will be. As your maintain consistency with your diet and exercise, you will find that your body will adapt and build up endurance and stamina. Your confidence will also improve and motivation will grow as well. Scheduling and planning is also a part of being consistent. It’s very difficult to stick to a meal plan if you don’t PLAN! This is huge for me. If I plan my meals and have healthy food on hand, I can stick to my meal plan like a pro. But if I don’t have it all worked out, which is what got me rebooking at my diet today, I fall by the wayside simply because I’m hungry.

Remember, don’t give up. Just start over if you’ve gotten off track. Choose a pace that works for your lifestyle to set reasonable healthy goals, and then consistently work towards those goal. Once you’ve reached a goal, raise the bar for the next goal to reach.

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