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It’s 7am on Friday morning and I’m still laying in bed. I should have gotten up a half an hour ago when my alarm went off and I was jolted out of my peaceful sleep. It was one of those sleeps where you’re in the sweet spot on your bed, curled up perfectly enjoying a lovely dream-filled sleep. But alas, the dreaded alarm came and awoke me. Truthfully, the alarm itself isn’t so bad (Drunk in Love remix with Kanye West – LOVE it) – it’s more the gEtTiNg Up part that sucks. Not to mention I can barely feel my legs. And before you ask – no, I wasn’t hit by an 18-wheeler – but I sure do feel like I had been.

Nope, I’ve just been working on my fitness.

I have shared some of my attempts at getting back into shape here on le blogaroo, and while those attempts were great at the start…let’s face it – they were half-assed. I was the first one to make excuses.

“Oh, I can’t go to the gym today – I have XYZ event tonight…there is just no time!”
“Oh, no no – I can’t workout today, I, ummm, I have cramps. Yeah. That’s right – cramps”
“Sorry. Can’t go to the gym tonight. Just don’t want to.”

Welp. Stop judging me, guys. At least I can admit when I’ve messed up! Anyways…moving on.

Things are different now though. They are, seriously. It’s not so much about specific goals, like – I don’t have a goal weight in mind, or a date that I want to lose x-amount of weight by. This time around I am making healthy changes in my everyday life to live a healthier life overall, and be the best version of me…right now, and long-term.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

So, what changes am I making exactly, you ask? Well – I’m glad you asked, my friend! They are some pretty easy and simple changes that literally ANYONE can make. I live a crazy busy and hectic life. I feel as though I’m always on the go and playing catch-up – but that being said, I have come to the realization that these changes (and more – stay tuned for those) NEED to be made. I’m only one person, here for one lifetime – so I should be doing whatever I can to ensure a) that said lifetime lasts as long as possible, and b) I have a kick-ass time while living it. LOL

1. Forget the diets.
No only raw food, no Alkaline diet, no Blood-Type diet, no Master Cleanse. None of it. I’m simply more mindful of what I put into my body. I’ve practically quadrupled my veggie intake, which wasn’t hard to do considering I barely ate them before. LOL Now at dinner I have some lean protein, but my veggies take up half of my plate. And I ALWAYS make sure I eat breakfast now. For the longest time I never ate breakfast, and like an idiot I thought to myself, “Oh it’s ok – I’m saving calories by not eating breakfast.” Girl – no. It does not work that way. Sorry JJ. So now, Sunday through Friday I am much more mindful of what I eat, then on Saturday – it’s my Cheat Day. I’ll eat whatever I want. Bae (who is going to be refered to as M from here on out on le blogaroo) taught me a great trick as he does the same thing. Throughout the week – if I’m craving something in particular (chicken wings, pizza, chocolate chip cookies, whatever!) – I write it down in a journal, then eat an apple or some kiwi, or even carrot sticks – some sort of healthy snack. Then come Cheat Day – I look back at what I was craving and I’ll indulge.

2. Put down the sauce, sister.
Yes…it’s a well-known fact that I LOVE WINE. This will not change, #SorryNotSorry. But – I don’t have to love wine every day. LOL By limiting my alcohol intake, I’m cutting back on empty calories and a whole heap of sugar. Not to mention I haven’t woken up with an alcohol-induced headache in quite some time. Which has been fabulous! While I may not have been over-indulging every night – having a glass or two after work more often than not was not helping my health, physical or mental. Truthfully – buy cutting back on the booze, I’m actually saving a bunch of money too…so, #winning. Of course I’m not cutting it out altogether, but everything in moderation…and then on Cheat Day – just hand me the bottle and a straw. Kidding…ish.

3. Keep it interesting.
I don’t know if it’s my anxiety, or the fact that we live in a fast-paced society that always seems to be multi-tasking and looking for the next best thing – but I can get bored with working out rather easily. I need something to be fun and challenging in order to maintain my interest. So when I was invited out to check out the brand-spanking new Crossfit YKV facility earlier this week – I jumped at the chance! Crossfit is something I have never tried, but have heard so much about. I’ll be sharing my first experience with you all next week, and even more so over the next month or so. I’m also going to be trying out spinning at SPOKEHAUS which is another new workout regime for me. M really enjoys running, and it’s something I have been wanting to get back into for the longest time. I feel like now that I have the motivation and the weather is finally decent – I’ll be taking this up as well. I think it’s great to switch up your workouts to keep things interesting and keep your body guessing. You don’t want to become stagnant in your workouts…or your life.

4. Stay thirsty.
Actually – that’s misleading. LOL I try not to stay thirsty. I’m literally drinking ALL of the water. I’ve set personal goals for myself every morning to drink at least 10 tumblers of water throughout the day. I’m going to up this amount because I usually get through 10 rather quickly. Water is basically the only thing I have been drinking Sunday through Friday. No soda, no juice…just water. My friends at Genuine Health did send me over some protein powder (and bars that looks sooooo good) – so I’ll be incorporating those into the mix after workouts, but for the most part – it’s been simply water. I’m not one of those people who find water too boring to drink. I don’t need to add fruits or veggies to flavour it – I love it as is. But…but…BUT – let’s be realistic. I don’t know how long that’ll last, so I may have to start adding to it. If and when I do, I’ll share my faves. Obvs.

5. Club Bed with DJ Pillow on the ones and twos.
Catching those zzz’s is one of the biggest changes I have made. Or should I say, am attempting to make? I had the worst habit before. I would stay up late, get up early for work, then wonder why I feel like dirt. LOL And when I would actually crawl into bed at a decent hour – I would pick up my phone and start scrolling endless social media channels and then when I finally realized I needed to actually get some sleep – another 2 hours had passed since I initially crawled into bed. What the?! Now I make the conscious effort to put my phone down, and not right beside me either, when I get into bed. There have been so many studies that show the light from our phones affect our sleeping patterns. Not to mention the constant scrolling on social media doesn’t give my brain a chance to unwind from the day. Getting a solid nights sleep helps me have the energy to actually get up at the first alarm in the morning, as opposed to hitting snooze for an hour then rushing to work late.

Like I said, these are all pretty simple changes I’ve made – but even just over the past week or so – I can already see and feel a difference. I’m literally craving broccoli as I type this post and am on my fourth tumbler of water. I’m looking forward to getting in the gym tonight, but to be honest – am looking forward to Cheat Day tomorrow even more! Not for nothing, I have a pretty epic Cheat Day planned – I’m heading out on a wine tour with iYellow Wine Club then meeting M for dinner where we will watch the Blackhawks win (hopefully, for his sake) and stuff our faces with chicken wings.

I know for a fact that it also helps that I have the best cheerleader encouraging me along the way. When you surround yourself with like-minded people it becomes easier to achieve your goals. Not only are you encouraged to do so, but you’re also motivated to do better, be better.

I’m going to share my journey, and my struggles, here on the blog every Friday – #FitnessFriday.

What can you expect? Well, I’ll share my struggles (believe me, I know they’ll come), my workouts, healthy recipes, tips and tricks for beginners – and everything in between. It’ll be my own personal fitness journal, and I hope you’ll follow along!

Be sure to share your own journeys with me and catch the behind the scenes fun on Twitter (@JennandtheCity), Instagram (@TheJennAndTheCity) and Snapchat (awesomejennjenn)