As I’m sure you’ve seen on just about every other blog and Instagram account you follow, many people are trying to kick off 2018 on a healthy note – myself included. I have been following Karena and Katrina at Tone It Up for years now. They have a very practical, maintainable approach to fitness and nutrition that I love, so when I saw that they were launching a 5-day Detox for the first few days of 2018, I knew I wanted to do it for a few reasons:
5 days seems like a manageable amount of time
I feel like I really let my eating habits go over the holidays and was feeling pretty sluggish
I wanted some new, healthy recipe ideas
I’m not a big fan of “diets” since they seem to be something that people do for a while and then completely go back to their old habits, but a quick detox or cleanse (to me) is just a little reset that can be helpful for some people once in a while
Now I’m not perfect and I certainly won’t follow their guidelines 100%, but I will say that after two days of mostly following the detox guidelines, I feel great. It really is amazing what a few days of clean eating will do for your body. If you want all the details on what their program entails, you can download the guide at this link, but for today I just want to fill you in on what my last two days have been like and what the next three will likely be very similar to:
Grocery shopping and meal prepping for what seems like forever. Chris and I went nuts at the grocery store on Monday morning and bought more fresh produce than I think we have ever purchased at once. Then we went to Costco to stock up on our bulk items. We have spent a good portion of the last two days chopping, sautéing, and putting things in containers. It’s getting ridiculous.
Trying some new foods. Like I said above, I get stuck in ruts where I make the same things over and over. This program has already pushed me outside of my comfort zone with certain food items – like this cute little acorn squash. I have eaten it before, but never cooked it, and I am pleased to say that roasting it with olive oil, garlic, and a bunch of spices makes it taste almost identical to sweet potatoes!
Substituting healthy versions of unhealthy favorites. I made these protein “cookies” (cookies in quotations, because there is no way I would call these cookies) on Monday afternoon and don’t love them, but don’t hate them either. They aren’t my favorite, but they definitely did the trick yesterday when I was craving something sweet. They are really simple, too – just bananas, egg, protein powder, and unsweetened coconut flakes.
Finding a soup recipe that I absolutely LOVE. I was really wary to try out their recipe for “Slimming Soup,” but decided to give it a go anyway. Its’ main ingredients are carrots, red lentils, cumin, broth (they recommended vegetable, I chose chicken), and sautéd onions and garlic. I did some very slight variations to their recipe and also included way more spices, but I think it turned out absolutely delicious. Especially for me right now, because I have a super sore throat. I love this recipe so, so much and am so happy I have leftovers for the rest of the week.
Getting in some really good workouts. I feel very lucky that I actually like to exercise, but it was inevitable that over the holidays with all the extra events and family time that some of my workouts would get pushed to the wayside. However, with the extra time off work after Christmas, I have had plenty of time to hit the gym. I am not one to take pictures during my workouts, but I caved and took this when we were up north over the weekend. Maybe one of these days I’ll get up my courage to take pictures at the gym for real, but for now this is the best I can do 😉
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So with all that being said, I am going to stick with this detox through Friday, and my hope is that some of these healthy habits will stick around after, but I’m not going to deprive myself of the things I love forever. That doesn’t make for a very happy person, and I would rather be happy than stuffed with kale all day every day.
However, Chris has started the Whole 30 for the month of January! By default I will end up doing a lot of it with him, but doing it for real is not something I am interested in at all. I’ve looked through the book quite a bit with him and a lot of the recipes look delicious, so hopefully that brings some new healthy recipes to my collection over the next month, too. I am impressed with him (and anyone else) who has the dedication to do such a rigorous program for so long.
This is the first year in as long as I can remember that I don’t really have any fitness or nutrition goals. I don’t want to lose any weight, I am happy with my workout intensity/schedule/variety, my nutrition is good, and I’ve cut way, way back on alcohol. It’s really nice to be at a spot where I’m not as focused on these things as I used to be and I can just enjoy life, knowing that I am taking care of my body (for the most part). Like I said above, I am nowhere near perfect, but if I am feeling good most of the time, I consider that a big win.
So my challenge to you is to find that spot. The spot where you are comfortable living your life, but feeling good at the same time. That spot where you are excited for your workouts and are happy to make time for them in your busy day. That spot where you are not only comfortable in your body, but confident in how you look. It’s a great spot to be at and one that I hope each and every one of you can find (if you haven’t already!).
So what about you? Any big nutrition/health/fitness goals for 2018? Are you doing any sort of January reset or detox or diet? I would love to hear about it!
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