Thursday Check In- Fitness for the New Year

I,like everyone else in the universe, have decided to get 'fit' this year. I find that although my calorie intake is very low and I remain pretty active, this simply isnt enough anymore to keep the inches away. I have gained inches since my 'detox cleanse' post and it's most disconcerting. Mostly, I think this is due to a high-stress busy lifestyle that makes taking regular meal breaks 'inconvenient' and therefore I tend to push all of my calories in, at the end of the day. Even if you are keeping your calories down, this is never a good thing, and prevents your body from recovering and using those nutrients as it should.

So my new goal for the year is eat smaller meals and make healthier choices, in addition to exercising in a more focused manner.

When it comes to diet, I don't necessarily feel that a drastic lifestyle change is in order, nor do I feel inclined to start eating Vegan or Gluten Free. I do my research, I buy organic when I can, I make balanced meals, and I try to do all of this on a tiny little budget. I have started incorporating Kale Smoothies in my diet, which give me tons of energy, and are an excellent way to get my veggies since I'll admit to being lazy bout expanding this part of my meal planning. Every week, we have a grill night, a taco night, and a soup night. This makes menu arranging much easier and Pinterest comes in very handy for finding recipes that meet these categorical requirements but also feature new and interesting veggies. It's how I discovered how much I loved grilled brussel sprouts and homemade fish tacos. So I do feel that this part of our health is headed in the right direction and as long as I don't keep candy and chips around the house, I think I can keep things under control. My main issue, like I said, is pushing eating to the side until I'm famished, which will naturally result in my eating far too much and too quickly.

photo by Celeste Giuliano

When it comes to exercise, I have not been as focused as I should be. I allow things to get in my way far too often and I don't have specific goals. Therefore, I think keeping my goals small and my workouts more 'pointed' when it comes to reaching that goal, will be the key. I will be continuing to utilize the 100's workouts, which boast excellent results, alternating them with my favorite trainer, Cathe Friedrich's, fitness videos.

Every Thursday, I'm going to try to check in here, to report changes in inches, weight, or routine. Hopefully I can stay on track and not lose steam, especially since Viva Las Vegas is in April and provides a really good 'checkpoint' to work towards.

Right now, my weight is 130 lbs.
My bust measures 34 inches
My waist is 30 (the largest it has been since my children were born)
And my hips are 39.

I don't have much faith that my bust measurement is likely to change much, so I use a padded bra and inserts to bump it up to 36. But the waist and hips are more manageable and hopefully can be whittled a bit.

My goal is to get my waist down to 28 and my hips to 38. I'd like my weight to stay the same; around 128-130 is fine with me. This definitely isnt a journey of weight loss. Just inches.

Til next time,

So Long, Dearies!!
xxoo,
Ashley