Hello everyone – happy new year! (I say as this post goes up on the last day of January lol) I know many of us are aiming to be healthier and happier, and for some reason, we all pick the new year to make that happen. In solidarity, I thought I would take a little break from the fashion and beauty posts for a minute and share my health and fitness goals, as well as tips, for this year.
I have been working on this post for the entire month of January, so I will go into detail on what I have done so far this month and what I plan to change or implement going forward.
Whenever I go on a diet, or a cleanse, or just attempt a major lifestyle change, I always forget to document where I started. It is a good idea to get numbers on where you are starting so you can accurately document your progress.
Current Info
Height: 5’5”
Weight: (as of January 1st) 210lbs
I haven’t officially done my measurements, but I would like to lose weight in the following areas:
Shoulders
Arms
Waist
Stomach
Back
Thighs
Daily Activity: mostly sedentary, with an average of 3,000 – 4,000 steps.
I think it is best to re-measure every 4-6 weeks, or as often as you would like. Do not be discouraged if you don’t see major change quickly. Remember muscle weighs more than fat and to lose weight in a sustainable way, our mindset and goals have to be in alignment.
Goals
-to lose 40-60 pounds with a focus on toning my arms and thighs, and slimming my waist and shoulders
-to be more active!
-(eventually) get 10,000+ steps daily
Phase 1: Cleanse
So, here is a little back story – I decided to binge watch Khloe Kardashian’s Revenge Body about a month or so ago, and it inspired me to effect more change with my own health. One of the trainers, Harvey Pasternak, puts his clients on a cleanse that I decided to adapt to my lifestyle.
Harvey’s cleanse sounds doable but intense. It is a 30-day program in 3 tiers. The first 10 days, we are required to complete 12,000 steps daily and only consume smoothies with crunchy snacks between. For days 11-20, we would swap one smoothie for a meal, and then the same for days 21-30 where we would have 2 meals per day and one smoothie, all the while still getting the 12,000 steps per day. I liked the idea of Harvey’s cleanse but because I want to graduate into a healthier lifestyle and not crash at some point, I decided to try an “intermediate” level. Disclaimer: I am not a health professional, so please consult your doctor or nutritionist before drastically changing your lifestyle.
My cleanse is very similar to Harvey’s, except I am doing mine in 5-day spurts on weekdays only. I consume 2 smoothies per day and eat a healthy dinner every night. An average weekday of food and fitness for me looks like this:
6AM: wake up, drink water
8AM: mostly fruit smoothie (will insert recipes below)
8-10AM: sip warm lemon water
10AM: crunchy snack time!
10-Noon: sip more warm lemon water
12PM: lunch smoothie
12-2PM: you guessed it – lemon water
2PM: another crunchy snack
2-5PM: sippin’ the syrup (and by syrup, I do mean lemon water)
5-6:30PM: dinner
*I like to drink green tea in the evening and guzzle a bottle of water before bed.
**I noticed that drinking the lemon water makes me feel less hungry but I also feel it helps me with digestion!
As far as fitness goes, I attempt 20 minute walks every day during my lunch. During which time, I’m usually walking about 1.5 miles or 2,500 steps. I do not have a FitBit and I don’t always have my phone on me tracking my steps, but I have figured out a fool-proof way to make sure I get plenty of steps. Every waking hour in the day I force myself to get up and do 100 steps. As I noted above, I get up at 6AM and I typically got to bed sometime between 10:30-11PM. That’s 16 hours (and 1,600 steps) each day! The steps literally take less than 5 minutes, and to be honest, most of us do this already. I never took into account how often I go to the cooler to get more water, or when I go to the bathroom, or when I need a paperclip or stamp for something…it adds up! So, if you, like me, have an office job and feel tied to your chair, untether yourself girl. Even if you are just getting up to do something work-related, make those steps count. I will be bumping up my 100 steps/hour by an extra one hundred steps every two weeks until I hit 300 steps per hour.
You are probably wondering about my weekend eating. I am wondering about that myself – at the time that I am writing this portion of the post, I haven’t had a weekend since starting this cleanse. With that said, I am hoping to maintain a few of the same elements while also enjoying myself, but not over-indulging in any capacity.
Now that I have been on this cleanse for the entire month, I have been approaching my weekends with cautious indulgence. I do typically still have (1-2) smoothies per day. I always have a smoothie for breakfast and depending on my activities during the day, I may also have one for lunch. Dinner historically is where I have always failed with diets, which is why I built dinner into my health plan this time. I would say I have actually been behaving pretty well on my dinners and staying below 1,500 calories for the entire day.
I will be keeping track of my progress here on my blog, but I post a lot of my smoothie and fitness stuff on my Instagram story (@taylorbird___). I will be keeping a running blog like this one for the entire month, and then on the last day of the month, I will post it with details on my successes, opportunities to improve and adjustments. At my last weigh in on Sunday, January 28th, I weighed just under 209lbs. which isn’t a whole lot of progress for a month’s worth of healthier choices so I have decided to ramp up in some areas.
Phase 2: Fitness
-I am going to work in more fitness into my week; I am planning to go (3) times a week, most likely Monday, Wednesday, and Friday or Saturday. I also plan to continue my daily walks and (100-200) steps per hour. And on top of that, I’d like to incorporate hikes on the weekends but this may be implemented later down the line in March.
-I am also going to start counting calories just so I can get an idea of how many I am consuming. I don’t necessarily think I am over-eating, but my lack of progress does alarm me enough to see if that is a contributing factor.
If you have any tips on what has worked for you, please leave that in the comments section!
Smoothie Recipes & Snack Ideas
I am still figuring out what I like in smoothies, what is lacking, and how I can make them more “green” but here are examples of some of the smoothies I’ve been enjoying or dreaming up. A couple things. First, I made up these names and recipes myself. Secondly, sorry but I don’t measure anything, so the measurements will be estimates and you may need to adjust for your ideal viscosity.
Tropical Trip
-watermelon, 3-4 chunks
-banana, half, sliced
-frozen mango, ¼ cup
-frozen peaches, ¼ cup (you can swap for pineapple)
-strawberries, 2-3 whole (don’t cut the tops)
-dragon fruit, 2-3 cubes
-citrus juice of choice, ½ cup (feel free to substitute coconut milk, I used grapefruit and orange juices)
-apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon
Emerald City
-cucumber, sliced, ¼ cup
-spinach, ¼ cup
-kale, ¼ cup
-avocado, 1 ½ tablespoons
-green apple, chopped, ¼ cup
-banana, half, sliced
-citrus juices, ½ cup (I used lime and grapefruit)
-apple cider vinegar, 2 teaspoons
Berry Ombre
(this one has a beautiful ombre color before you blend it, if you add the milk in last)
-frozen mixed berries, 1 cup
-fresh whole berries, ½ cup (I used black, blue and strawberries)
-pomegranate blueberry juice, ¼ cup
-frozen banana, ¼ cup
-chia seeds, 1 tablespoon
-vanilla extract, splash
-almond milk, ¼ cup
Beach Body
-spinach, handful
-kale, handful
-frozen mango, ¼ cup
-citrus juices, ½ cup (lime & grapefruit again)
-carrot juice, (less than) ¼ cup
-grated ginger, 2 teaspoons
-sprinkle of cayenne pepper
Time for Dessert
-nut butter of choice, ¼ cup
-coconut oil, ½ to 1 tablespoon,
-protein powder, 1 scoop (I am using chocolate)
-cacao nibs or dark chocolate chips, 1-2 tablespoons
-almond milk, 1/3 cup
-banana, half, sliced
Green Machine
(a version of this already exists online; this is how I like mine)
-cucumber, chunks, about ¼ cup
-kale, handful
-spinach, handful
-mint, (5) leaves
-green apple, 1/3 cup
-lime, ¼
-apple juice, ¼ cup
-apple cider vinegar, splash
Dark Night
-fresh blackberries, ¼ cup
-fresh blueberries, ¼ cup
-grated ginger, 1.5 teaspoons
-pomegranate blueberry juice, ¼ cup
-kale, handful
-spinach, handful
Red & Orange
-fresh mango, 3-4 chunks
-whole strawberries, 2-3
-frozen cherries, (less than) ¼ cup
-shredded carrots, 1/3 cup
-flax seeds, 2 tablespoons
-carrot juice, ¼ cup
-beet juice, ¼ cup
Snacks
-pretzels
-raw almonds
-roasted, seasoned cashews
-boiled eggs
-popcorn
-string cheese
-dried mango
-rice cakes
-veggie chips
-beef jerky
Again, I am no professional so some of this stuff may not be all that healthy/good for you. For me, I can definitely tell a difference in my metabolism and energy and my skin does look more radiant as well. I do feel that I am getting enough protein but if you feel like you need a little more, make a lunch salad with baked chicken or tuna or your protein of choice. For me, I eat plenty of boiled eggs and have beef jerky but there is also protein in green veggies and nuts.
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