Changes 2

I have been keeping up on the blogs of others who are participating in the challenge and seeing the comments on Fabulous Fitness spark team and Facebook page, as well as listening to my body and have decided that I need to tweak the plan a bit to make this a more pleasurable experience, instead of one to be endured!

NEW PLAN: (I will put in bold what is new)

Monday: Cooler 2
lower body workout including lunges, squats, any exercises on pages 26 - 29, 37-39 or 144-146 from the Oxygen Total Summer Body Plan (Bikini Ready in 28 Days).

Tuesday: Cooler 1
cardio only, Hiit or upper body muscles pages 13 - 16, 19 - 23, 40 - 43, 45-51, and 158-160 all have great suggestions of the type of exercises you could do on a Cooler 1 day.

Wednesday: STRIPPED
PUSH AND PULL EXERCISES pgs. 152 - 150 or other circuit type training.

Thursday: Cooler 1
rest day or light cardio

Friday: Stripped
Other lower body day or plyo (Insanity, Chalean Extreme, Turbo Fire, etc)

Saturday: Cooler 1
Cardio, Deck of Cards workout, the 100 workout, or the 99.

Sunday: Cooler 1
Rest day

So, as you can see, I really only added in a Stripped menu plan in the middle of the week. All the workouts listed are 'suggested' examples only. Workout at your current fitness level and push yourself harder on Monday (or the day that you have Cooler 2 menus. Select your Cooler 2 plan to have the most yummy food that you will look forward to having! I select the day that I get to have an Ezekiel English Muffin with some scrambled egg whites, spinach and a smear of greek yogurt on it. On my Stripped days I elect to have a day that begins with eggs or my favorite oatmeal combination to help break up the week of eating blander oatmeal.

I have made some suggestions to some individuals about their meal plans, but let me put a couple general ideas here.

Commitment to change is important. Your level of commitment might be different than mine. You level of clean eating might look different than mine. That is fine. Just move closer to the level of health you want to enjoy. ENJOY! This should not be a torturous thing. There are some things that will be unpleasant in the first week as you withdraw from your dependence on some additives in your foods. If a splash of almond milk in you oatmeal or your coffee make your day . . . keep the splash. It's not going to hinder you. What will hinder you is a feeling of being punished or deprived that then leads to cake or something that you would normally not even have in your plan, but are now temped by because you have nothing pleasurable in your plan. If you need a little flavor in your oatmeal add cinnamon, protein powder, or vanilla. If you feel hungry between meals, remind yourself that it is okay to experience the feeling of being hungry and that a meal time is not far away. If you MUST have something NOW . . . a hard boiled egg or protein shake is not going to kill you or derail you.

I like some of the things I am hearing from some of the people who are participating. It is exciting to see change. I hope you are making some wonderful discovery about the foods that you elect to purchase and prepare for you and your family.

Take the steps today that get you closer to where you want to be.

You select what you want for you. I am just here as a friend to help it not seem so overwhelming for those who are interested. Embrace the parts that apply to you.

Be blessed, be beautiful, be YOU!