Last week I started talking fitness, nutrition, and activewear on my stories and was overwhelmed by the positive response that I got from you guys! This is actually a topic that I’ve been wanting to get into for some time now, so I was excited to find that the majority of you all are really interested in this type of content as well! As a full-time blogger I do a lot of traveling, and I am also a huge foodie. I enjoy trying out new restaurants and different types of cuisines, but at the end of the day I definitely try to lead a very balanced and healthy lifestyle. I want to stress that I am NOT a certified personal trainer or a registered dietician. I’m going my tips and tricks and things that work for me in this post, but I am definitely not an expert! With that being said, let’s get to it:
Fitness Routine
I try to work out 5-6 days a week. On a normal week I usually do end up getting 6 days in, but if I’m traveling it oftentimes will end up at 5. I don’t have a certain program or routine per se because I get really bored! I mix it up a lot, but these are some of my favorite programs/ways to work out:
-weightlifting at the gym
If I can get to a gym, that is usually my preference. My favorite way to work out is hands down lifting weights. I isolate a certain muscle group and I try to mix in some cardio but I honestly don’t enjoy it as much. You’ll find me on the Stair Master, sprinting on an incline, or walking on the treadmill, but I’m personally not that into long distance running or slaving away on the elliptical. My only hang up with the gym is that it’s definitely much more of a process because I have to include extra time to get there and get back home. By the time I get there, get back, and shower a one hour workout easily turns into a two hour ordeal or more. Plus, once I get to a gym I have a hard time leaving! I legitimately do enjoy working out and at a gym there are so many different choices of machines and exercises you can do.
On days when I am running low on time I LOVE doing BeachBody videos. They are usually my go-to because I know they’re going to get me sweating. I’ve been using various BeachBody products since I was in high school and I’ve always had good results. My favorite programs to keep in rotation at the moment are 21 Day Fix Extreme and Insanity. I do a few workouts from The Brazilian Butt Lift as well! I also recently downloaded the Sweat App so I could try out BBG by Kayla Itsines. The thing I love about these workouts is that they’re 1. only 28 minutes long and 2. you need minimal equipment so I can easily do them at home or while traveling. Plus they’re a major burner! I tried to fully commit to the BBG program, but it just got too repetitive for me. I like mixing it in throughout the week on a busy day, but doing the same moves over and over again day after day got a little boring to me.
Normally I end up going to the gym at least 2-3 days a week, then the rest of the days I’ll fill in with a BeachBody video or BBG. My main focus each day is to just get something in that gets my heart rate up and makes me sweat! I do like the idea of completing a program start to finish, so I am currently looking into doing 80 Day Obsession because I’m a big fan of Autumn Calabrese and it is more focused on weight training. I’ll keep y’all posted!
What I Eat
There are so many diets floating around out there, but I keep it pretty simple. I do try to be mindful of carb intake (i.e. pasta, rice, bread) dairy, and refined sugar but I don’t have any restrictions or allergies. Here’s a list of what I normally eat:
Breakfast
one of the following:
–RX Bar (my favorite flavors are mint and chocolate coconut!)
-2 eggs (boiled or fried)
-egg scramble with veggies
*with black coffee (I don’t drink it every day)
Lunch
one of the following:
-Hummus and assorted raw veggies with a boiled egg
-Spinach and/or kale salad with assorted raw veggies and lean protein (i.e. can of tuna, leftover chicken, or even leftover meat from turkey tacos)
Snacks
-pistachios
-fruit
-RX bar (if I didn’t have one for breakfast)
-boiled eggs (if I didn’t eat them for breakfast)
Dinner
*I mix things up quite a bit when it comes to dinner, but these are a few of my favorite and most frequently consumed meals:
-Salmon with asparagus or green beans
-Boneless skinless chicken thighs with roasted baby potatoes and crispy kale
-Black bean burgers (no bun) with crispy kale and/or roasted squash
Dessert
-dark chocolate (I get these because they’re individually wrapped, only 60 calories per square, and don’t contain any high fructose corn syrup)
–Justin’s peanut butter cups
This is what I eat on a normal day-to-day basis, but when I go to events or travel I tend to splurge more as y’all can probably tell from my Instagram account! I just try to balance it out and make sure I hit it hard at the gym and don’t overdo it. Not gonna lie, it’s especially difficult when I travel… but I’m getting a lot better at being mindful of when I am truly full which has also been helpful. Overall, if you want to see your results from the gym eating right is half the battle. I truly just feel better mentally and physically when I eat healthy as well, so that’s another bonus for me. Furthermore, if I eat this way the majority of the time, when I do get a really bad craving I can have a little cheat without feeling too guilty. This keeps me from going on any major binges! I also subscribe to the out of sight out of mind notion… If I don’t buy unhealthy stuff, I won’t eat it.
For me fitness and nutrition are more about my overall health than looking a certain way. We’ve all heard it before, but it really is a lifestyle choice. In future posts I hope to go more in depth on specific workouts, meal ideas, recipes and other tips and tricks. Like I mentioned, I am by no means an expert! These are just things that work for my lifestyle and help me feel my best. Stay tuned for more! And of course I had to add in a little touch of fashion in this post, so I’m linking some of my favorite activewear pieces down below for y’all to shop.
