Birthday Beach Beauty: 30 Day Health Challenge

Every year, about a month before my birthday, I usually tell myself "I'm going to get in the best shape ever this year!" I'll change up my workouts a bit, maybe make a few dietary changes but nothing too revolutionary happens. 

For my husband and I, 2013 ended with quite a bang as we moved cross country. I now have the great pleasure of discounted Herbalife products (thanks to my hubby's job!), unlimited access to the beach and co-hosting a health/fitness YouTube channel! Could there be a better time than this?! This year something is different, though. I don't want any major changes to my body, I don't need to lose any weight, I already eat healthy and I workout consistently. 

So what's the point then? Setting a goal, sticking to it and learning to love yourself because of the accomplishment (not because you like what you see in the mirror) is most important. I just want girls and young women out there to have a love for physically challenging themselves without feeling like a "failure" if they don't meet their idea of aesthetic success. Work hard, exercise, eat healthy and be happy with your own unique healthy body! 

Ok off my soap box! Here are the "rules" for this 30 day health challenge that I'll be working on from January 7th through my birthday on February 7th. There absolutely may be some physical changes from the month and if there is then I'll post some before/after photos but if not, that's ok too. I still set a goal and accomplished it. 

1. Put your spiritual needs before the physical. Physical growth will never be as beneficial as the mental and spiritual. Take time every morning to nurture your beliefs. 

2. Follow the Herbalife diet plan on Monday - Friday. It's pretty easy to follow this Herbalife plan during the week. Saturday and Sunday are harder because schedules often differ on these days. Give yourself a break and healthfully enjoy the weekend.

3. Take your vitamins. I take the Herbalife Formula 2 Multivitamin Complex, Formula 3 Cell Activator and Cell-U-Loss. It's hard to remember to take them all the time, but it takes three weeks to form a habit. Try setting an alarm on your phone and/or getting a cute pill holder until the habit is formed. 

4. Focus less on cardio and more on weights/resistance training. It's easy to be a cardio bunny and I am guilty as charged. Try to limit cardio to 30-45 minutes per day. Instead focus on training those parts of the body that you want to be more sculpted. Here's my current workout schedule. I find it really helpful to add intervals in between sets. It keeps my heart rate up and makes the entire workout feel more intense.

5. Drink more water. Everyone says it, but how many of us really do it? Start off the day with 20 oz of water and then aim to drink a total of half your body weight in ounces by the end of the day. I've found that it helps to try to having most of your water intake "completed" 1-2 hours before sleeping so you don't wake up in the middle of the night searching for the restroom!

Nothing too complicated, right? See ya in 30 days!

Meal Replacements 101

The options for meal replacement shakes are endless and staring at all the tubs and packets in the grocery store makes me nervous! To try  and ease my own stress  (and hopefully yours!) these are some key nutrition items that I check for to eliminate any lemons from the protein powder shelf.

1) Calories - I try to stay within the 90-120 calories (per serving) range for protein powders so I can keep the end product around 300 total calories (1 cup of vanilla almond mlk + 1 banana = 200 calories).

2) Sodium Content - In general, it’s good to try to eat a lower sodium diet. Too much sodium can irritate high blood pressure, but on a lighter note it can just make you hold water. When you’re holding water you’re usually contradicting the entire reason you’re wanting to have a meal replacement shake, which is weight loss or maintenance. I try to keep the sodium per serving in my protein shakes to under 150 mg.

3) Sugar Content - Bottom line, too much sugar isn’t good and will make you crash a few hours after drinking your shake. Try to keep the per serving amount under 10g.

4) and the obvious…. PROTEIN! I know this is pretty obvious, but many times the reason people are drinking meal replacements is to try to up their daily protein intake without dramatically increasing calories. I would say to keep the protein to calorie ratio to one gram per every 10 calories (ie if the protein shake is 90 calories per serving, then try to have around nine grams of protein).

OR if you don’t feel like going through all the work, here are a few of my favorites:

• Anything from Herbalife  (but the Chocolate Mint is pretty epic!)
• Perfect Fit Protein
• Nutiva Organic Hemp Protein
• Garden of Life Raw Protein - Original

Meal Planning: Just Do It!

First off, this is a classic example of "do as I say and not as I do." Not everyone has time to sit down every single Sunday and plan out their meals for the next week. But, use this as another way to apply the 80/20 rule. If you can strive to do this 80% of the time, you'll still be adding some bucks to your pocket book, while saving some serious calories. If you're having trouble getting started, these are a few steps that might help along the way.

1. Pick a date: I work Monday through Friday, so for me it's easiest to do this on a Sunday morning with some coffee. Maybe it would work better for you on a Tuesday night with a nice glass of red wine. The most important thing is to pick a day/time that you can usually commit to.

2. Plot it out: There are so many things that we all juggle throughout the week: school, kids, work... the list is endless. Do your brain a favor and write out your plan. This is an example of what I usually do. You don't have to be as obsessive as I am about serving sizes, this simply helps me know how much to buy when I write out my grocery list.

3. Prepare in advance: Don't beat yourself up if you can't do this all the time, this is another opportunity to practice the 80/20 rule! If you can, take some time to do some advanced preparation after you get back from the grocery store. Hard boil the eggs, cut up the carrots, cook the pasta. Mornings are typically pretty busy, so this will just be another small thing you can do in your free time that will save tons of time throughout the week.

Have fun meal planning! Feel free to let me know if you have any questions or further suggestions.