MY FITNESS ROUTINE & FOOD PLAN

Hi everyone! We are 1 week into 2020 & I’ve spent the last 7 days resetting my fitness & food routine. I already feel SO much better (lighter & more energetic). I’m sharing my fitness routine & food plan for the new year below. if you have any questions, recipe recommendations, or suggestions please comment!

FITNESS

I use the SWEAT app for my workouts. I did BBG until I made it to week 80, then I decided to try out PWR At-Home. I’m on week 7 of the program right now. I love BBG & PWR so I can’t recommend one over the other. BBG is a 28 min workout & PWR is more like 35-45 min. It is broken down into 5 strength training workouts per week… Arms & Abs, Back & Shoulders, Chest & Triceps, Legs, & Abs (optional). My goal is to do 4-5 strength training workouts per week.

As for cardio, I alternate between the stair master, elliptical, & brisk walks. I like to switch it up because I get bored so easily. I do HIIT (high intensity interval training) workouts on the stair master & elliptical… 30 seconds of work, 30 seconds of ‘rest’. On the stair master I alternate between double steps, side steps, and sprints for the work intervals. On the elliptical I do sprints & increase the resistance during the work intervals. My goal is to do 4 cardio workouts & 1 brisk walk (either outside, weather-permitting, or on the treadmill) per week.

Most days I do 15-25 minutes of HIIT on the stair master or elliptical + a PWR workout. My typical week looks like this –

• Monday: 15-25 min HIIT stair master + PWR Arms & Abs
• Tuesday: 5-10 min quick warmup (jumping jacks, high knees, jump rope) + PWR Legs
• Wednesday: 15-25 min HIIT elliptical + PWR Chest & Triceps
• Thursday: 15-25 min HIIT stair master + PWR Abs
• Friday: 30 min brisk walk (outdoors or on the treadmill)
• Saturday: REST
• Sunday: 15-25 min HIIT elliptical + PWR Back & Shoulders

FOOD

I’ve tried a lot of diets throughout the years but nothing has ever stuck long term or been as effective for me as clean eating & the motto ‘everything in moderation’. Throughout the holiday season I ate a lot of sweets, fried & processed foods, & heavy carbs. So far this month I’ve returned my focus to healthy, nutritious eating with smaller portion sizes (aka less over-indulgence). Now that I have more time on my hands & things are less chaotic, I’m meal planning & grocery shopping every Sunday for the upcoming week. My fridge is filled with veggies, fruits, healthy grains, & fish. I’ve cut back on heavy carbs (bread, pasta, rice), sugar, packaged & processed food, red meat, & alcohol. Here’s what a typical week of meals looks like for me, including links to my favorite recipes –

• Breakfast
  • Greek yogurt (I like Fage 0%) with berries, granola (my favorite is Bear Naked) or ground flax seeds, almond butter (I love Justin’s & Trade Joe’s), & a drizzle of honey.
  • Overnight Oats
  • Egg Scramble – 3 organic eggs, various veggies (mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, onions, green peppers), topped with avocado & a sprinkle of feta cheese, & turkey bacon
  • Paleo Pancakes (weekend favorite!!)
  • Superfood smoothie
• Lunch
  • Salad – spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, 1/2 avocado, 1 hard boiled egg, a sprinkle of feta cheese, rotisserie chicken or salmon, & homemade dressing (I’ll share recipes below)
  • Rotisserie chicken or salmon with roasted veggies (green beans or asparagus, onion, carrots, mushrooms, butternut squash or sweet potato – toss with olive oil & your favorite spices, cook at 425 for 20-25 min)
  • Mediterranean Quinoa Bowls (I prep everything for these on Sunday – quinoa, red pepper sauce, chop veggies, cut up a rotisserie chicken)
• Dinner
  • BBQ Chicken & Roasted Sweet Potato Bowls
  • Bell Pepper Nachos (I use ground turkey instead of beef)
  • Paleo Pad Thai (I use butternut squash noodles instead of sweet potato)
  • Chicken Pesto Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
  • Kielbasa, Pepper, Onion, & Potato Hash
  • Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
  • Sloppy Joe Bowls
  • Slow Cooker Mango Chicken & Sweet Potatoes
• Snacks
  • Oatmeal Energy Balls
  • Nature Valley Protein Bars
  • Hummus with cucumber or mini peppers
  • Raw, unsalted nuts (pistachios, almonds, cashews)