How I'm Getting Fit

So, I promised in my last post to share what fitness and nutrition plan I'm following to get healthy and shed the excess 70+ pounds I'm carrying.

Nutrition

For my nutrition, I'm following the principles of "eating clean" a la "The Eat Clean Diet" by Tosca Reno.  Basically that means I avoid processed junk and focus my meals around lean proteins, complex carbs, and healthy fats.  I eat five properly portioned meals a day, spaced out every 2.5 - 3 hours.  Like I've said before, I believe you can eat healthy and still enjoy your meals.  Below are collages of my daily meals since Sunday:

As you can see, each day includes five delicious and healthy meals.  I will note that I only eat one of the yolks with the eggs I have for breakfast and toss the rest.  The pink shake is a blend of Tropical Shakeology (which includes a whole days worth of fruits and veggie nutrition) with some fresh strawberries to enhance the flavor.  Shakeology is an important part of healthy eating because it is jam packed with so much amazing nutrition.  You can google it for more detailed information.  I also have hidden veggies in the spaghetti and the homemade soup.  I puréed steamed broccoli and added that to my meat sauce and I puréed a steam bag of mixed veggies for my soup.  That way, I get my veggies without having to chew them!

Workouts

My workout routine will combine weight training, intense cardio, and flexibility work.  I hate the gym so I am using DVD workout programs from Beachbody.  I created a hybrid schedule of Les Mills Pump (weight training) and TurboFire (cardio) doing each three days per week.  To work on my flexibility and mobility, I am adding Tai Cheng (a combo of Tai Chi and mobility training/stretching) in the evenings.  

In addition to the formal workouts, I will do what I can to add extra movement to my day.  Cleaning the apartment, parking further away at the store, playing tennis or frisbee with the bf, etc.  Because this is a lifestyle change, and not some temporary diet, it's important to make being active just a daily part of life in a way that is sustainable year after year, decade after decade!

Rest!

I am a firm believer in the importance of getting a solid 8 hours of sleep each night.  The last five years of college and grad school I have made sleeping enough a priority and I know I benefit from that commitment.  So even when school starts up again at the end of August, I will make sure I give myself enough time to sleep each night.

And that's it!  That's my recipe for success!