Health & Fitness Reset

Hi friend! Welcome to a fresh, new week! We had such a good time celebrating my mom’s birthday yesterday. I shared the party on my Stories if you want to check it out. I definitely indulged, but today is my favorite workout class, so I’ll be back on track this morning.

Health & Fitness Reset

I’m excited to get back into a good fitness groove and wanted to share my journey and goals with you.

Sometimes you’re really on it in terms of your health and mindset, doing all the things you know you need to do to care for yourself and fuel your body. 

I was doing that pretty well in June and July, but when school started in August, things started to slip. 

The first thing that went wrong was my sleep got jacked up. Everybody knows when you aren’t sleeping well, your whole day is off. 

The other negative side effect of not getting enough sleep is that my patience is thin and I feel way more stressed.

To compensate, I started drinking more coffee throughout the day, which ends up being a vicious cycle because then I have trouble sleeping at night. 

When I’m so tired in the morning, I sleep later, and then I miss my beloved morning  time.

It just becomes a downward spiral where every day feels like a grind and hustle. The month of August felt like and also into the beginning of September.

Getting Back on Track

Now that we’ve been back to school for about two months, I’m starting to get into the groove and feel like I can finally reset.

Here are the changes I made to help myself feel better mentally and physically.

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Only Drink Caffeine in the Morning

I realize that I’m sensitive to caffeine and if I drink it even after lunchtime, I usually have trouble falling asleep at night.

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Now, I have a coffee when I wake up in the morning and then if I want a second later in the day, I make it decaf.

Get in Bed by 9 p.m.

During the week there are many mornings when I need to be up at 5 AM because my son has early football practice, working backwards and knowing I need about eight hours of sleep to feel great, that means I need to get in bed by nine. 

My daughter’s bedtime is 8:30 so basically after I get her settled, I get myself settled into bed.

Read in Bed / Stay Off Devices

Once I get in bed, it’s important for me not to scroll on my phone or watch YouTube videos. If I do that, I find myself fighting to stay awake and watch more even if I’m really sleepy.

It helps me to read a book and use a book light so the light is dim.

If I’m reading and get sleepy, I’m way more likely to just turn off the book light and go to sleep.

Wake Up Between 5 a.m. – 6 a.m.

Like I mentioned above, several times a week I need to be up at five, but on the days he doesn’t have football, I still want to be up by 6 AM to stay on a similar sleep routine.

On the weekends, I do let myself sleep if I want to, but I am still usually up by 7 AM.

Prioritize Eating Whole Foods

Fine, my age, I’ve learned my body and know that I feel my best when I’m eating Whole Foods. You’ve seen an example of what I eat on a daily basis here.

Stay Away from (too much) Sweets

Y’all also know how much I have struggled with an ice cream addiction so I try not to buy it and make healthier protein ice cream instead.

On occasion, I will indulge, but if I want something sweet, I’m more likely to have a decaf coffee with cold foam or a Ghirardelli chocolate square instead of a pint of ice cream.

Exercise 4-5 Days a Week

I’m finally back in a good workout groove. I went down to one day a week with my personal trainer to save expenses, but I do two or three classes a week at my gym that are included with my membership.

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These are my favorite classes and I may not do all of them in a week, but I aim for 4-5 workouts a week.

Monday – Cutting Edge Class (1 hour HIIT with full body weights)
Tuesday – Weight Train with Matt
Wednesday – Cutting Edge (1 hour HIIT with full body weights)
Thursday – Spin Class
Friday – Lift Weights (Full Body or Legs) and Sprint Intervals (20 minutes)
Saturday – Spin Class
Sunday – Walk

Walk Outside Daily

Walking outside makes me feel so good. Sometimes I wear my headphones and listen to music or a podcast or talk on the phone, but sometimes I just walk in silence to clear my head and get some peace of mind.

Outfit Links

I loved the 10,000 steps a day challenge and it really helps me get your steps in when you have something like that that you are tracking.

click HERE to print

Right now I am not being so rigid, just trying to get outside daily for some walk even if it’s a short short walk with my dog around the block.

Don’t Multitask

If I want to watch tv, watch tv, but don’t scroll on my phone at the same time.

I find that that is what stresses me out so much. When I’m trying to do one thing and then watch and listen to another thing at the same time.

When I focus on ONE THING at a time, I feel so much more at peace in my life.

Phone Free Evenings

I mentioned this in my September Intentions post, but it’s worth sharing again here because it has so much to do with my mental health. Here’s what I wrote:

There’s so much life to be lived and I don’t want to spend it scrolling on my phone. I don’t want to be so tired in the evenings that I don’t have energy to play with my daughter.

She always asks to play basketball or throw the football and I want to do those things with her. I love that she wants to be active and outside playing, not just sitting watching a screen. I want to encourage that and it’s great quality time together.

I was in a great groove over the summer with not being on my phone as much but old habits die hard.

Lately, I’ve found myself on my phone more and realized that I need to be dedicated and intentional about putting it away, lest I waste my days and don’t do these things that are more important to me!

This one has been very challenging for me. As I’ve been trying to focus on work more, I find myself on my phone more. My job is the kind to get can be 24/7 if you let it.

It’s very important for me to create boundaries and set work hours and try to be diligent to get things done during that time.

Some days I feel like they’re just aren’t enough hours in the day, but it helps to remind myself that I’ve done all I can during those hours – and that has to be good enough. 

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It’s helpful for me to write these health goals onto even just a sticky note to keep them top of mind. Some things come easily, but others I have to work harder to make a priority. If I keep a visible reminder handy, I’m more likely to stick with it.

I also remind myself of how good I’ll feel LATER, if I do these things now. Some of these habits don’t give an immediate payoff, so it’s harder to make yourself do them. Like going to bed early. But, if I think of how much better I’ll feel the whole next day if I’m well rested (and how lousy I’ll feel if I’m not), it helps motivate me to get to bed.

I’d love to hear about your health goals. Do you have a set wake up and bedtime? Share in the comments!

Gratitude Giveaway

There’s still time to enter my September gratitude giveaway, click here!

Now let’s go kick Monday’s booty!