WHOLE 30 CHALLENGE {08.18.2017}

Let's talk about the Whole 30 Challenge. I'm not sure I would call it a "challenge," it's more of a healthy lifestyle change than a challenge, but I see so many people say it's a challenge, so for now we will go with that. Alright, so this post is going to dish out all the details on how this challenge works. This is a 30 day lifestyle reboot to teach you how to cut out the things you normally crave that you know aren't good for your body, healthy, and weight.

We'll start with the "rules."

So for starters, this challenge focuses on eating things that are good, wholesome, and healthy for your body and it's functions. You'll see on the left side that you want to focus on eating things that are NOT processed!

I think the best part of this program is that it's a no-sympathy challenge. Basically, this program is designed to make you healthy, so you won't find anyone feeling sorry for you that you can't drink your coffee with sugar, or that you can't have cookies/icecream. On the Whole30 website, you'll find that their beliefs are this:

· Beating Cancer - IS hard

· Birthing a baby - IS hard

·Drinking your coffee without sugar - IS NOT hard!

I have to say...I agree! We, as humans, tend to make excuses. We think things are "impossible," when the reality is, it's easy, we just have to believe and know that it's not as hard as we think. Weightloss and eating healthy, are the same way! You can have a really great workout, sweating and heavy breathing, no excuses! Or you can go in with the mindset that you can't do it, that it's too hard, that you'll never be as good as the other people, and you'll find that you will get NOWHERE in life, especially in the fitness world, with that attitude.


"Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right."
- Henry Ford

Each day, I will be posting what I've eaten for that day: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. I will let you in to our world for the next 30 days. This will be raw. This will be new, so be patient with us as we walk down this path for the next few weeks. I will try doing daily vlogs at the end of the evening with my husband to recap how we feel. I think the hardest part of this challenge, is not being able to weigh yourself or take measurements for the 30 days! Yes, that's part of the rules.
NO WEIGHING YOURSELF!

In addition to changing what we eat, we will also be continuing our workouts.
Here is my schedule:
Monday- Zumba or Cardio
Tuesday- BobyPump
Wednesday- BootCamp
Thursday- BodyCombat
Friday- Yoga
Saturday & Sunday- Rest or Cardio

So, that's it! That's our plan. You can find out more information about the Whole 30 program HERE!

 

Let me know if you've tried the Whole 30 program, and how you felt overall. For those that are interested in joining us on this journey, be sure to follow us and check in daily starting tomorrow so you can get all of the details and our menu!

WE CAN DO THIS! Our lives depend on it!

Sincerely,

LIFESTYLE CHANGE {08.03.2017}

As a working mom, with three jobs (Real Estate Agent, Photographer, and Full-Time Administrative Coordinator), and a wife, weight-loss and going to the gym can seem impossible. For my husband and I, we take any extra time after work with each other and our son. While we've always been big into fitness, we kind of fell off the wagon after I got pregnant. Even though I was eating healthy, I never wanted to cook (it grossed me out!), which meant my husband had to figure out what to eat and usually it was a fast food that he could just pick up quick and get home. After my son was born, weight-loss was hard because I couldn't work out for the first 6 months, since my C-section scar had re-opened after 8 weeks! And that meant that my husband was stuck doing most of the daily/nightly routines such as: cooking, cleaning, ect. Since he isn't a huge fan of cooking, he again tried to just pick up things that were fast so he could come home and help me with the baby since my tummy caused me so much trouble.

After 6 months post-partum, I was back in the kitchen and most of our meals were healthy, sheet-pan meals that were simple and easy. But occasionally, we would find a way to sneak in a cheat meal or two. In June, I started explaining to my husband that I wanted to incorporate working out and find a way to get rid of this "mommy-weight." We started by swapping our lunches for homemade meals rather than going out to eat, and dropped Sodas for the most part (unless we were out for dinner with the family). While we were doing good, cooking healthy foods, we still found it hard to drop the things we loved, i.e.: homemade cookies, ice-cream...you get the picture.

In July, I stopped making my famous homemade cookies, and started preparing myself for workouts and a healthier home menu. By mid-July, we found ourselves working out during our lunch breaks, which means we aren't cutting into our time as a family. We started a Paleo/Whole 30(more on that soon) only lifestyle and have continued it through today. We have had a few "slip-up's." We went to a place called Creamistry...it was delicious, but probably not the best decision. Overall, since we started our journey, we've done really well, but I want more. Sounds greedy, but I want to be the best me possible. Not just for my health, but for our son! I want to be able to play with him as he gets older and faster. I want to be able to enjoy activities with him without feeling like I have to quit half-way because I can't do it.

Insert the WHOLE 30 CHALLENGE! That's right, we've decided to take it to the next level! I'll explain briefly for now, but will do a full blog post about our Whole 30 Challenge and what it involves. First, I want to say that this will be starting after we return from our vacation, because as most know, it's very hard to do any type of dieting for the first time on vacation. It's basically like you're just waiting to slip up and fall back into the rabbit hole you just spent time climbing out of.

I will be posting daily to talk about what I've eaten that day, what workout I did, how I feel, but most importantly, I want to blog so we can track our progress and see how far we will have come once we reach the end. I will also have E (my husband) as a guest blogger so that he can share his stats, this way if you have a spouse you'd like to bring on board, you can see what it's like for a male.

Stay tuned for my next post to talk all about the Whole 30 Challenge!

Sincerely,

LIFE UPDATE {07.10.2017}

I feel like every time I think about Blogging, millions of other things somehow manage to make their way in front and distract me from writing, but I wanted to do a little update.

First off, it's hard to believe, but JMWR (our son), will be ONE next month! I am in awe over this kid. He has brought us so much joy and happiness, and we've truly enjoyed every second or every day with him. Currently, he has six teeth, still loves Disney music but really loves Mickey Mouse. He gets a kick out of all the Baby Einstein movies, and enjoys fruits, chicken, raviolis, chicken, eggs, but his all time favorite is PANCAKES! He can walk, but chooses to crawl in between because his legs get too tired. That's what happens when you're chunky, and if it was socially acceptable for adults to do that, you know we would!

Right now, we are in the works of planning his birthday party and trying to get all of the stuff together we will need to complete his birthday party. While we aren't sure if we are doing a big party or small, intimate party, we are eager to celebrate.  I have so many ideas, but don't want to spend a crazy amount of money if we are just doing something small. I'll update more on the party details once we figure it out.

Last time we caught up, I was staying home, but I decided that after four months, it was time to go back to work. I worked for GEICO for a while but was not happy there, and ended up returning to my old job. I LOVE it and love that JMWR gets to go to school to learn and play. While the occasional sicknesses from the other kiddos makes me regret school all together, the interaction and scheduled learning and activities, such as his finger paintings and crafts that he brings home and is so proud of, make me realize that it is a good thing and that he will benefit greatly from this early adventure in school.

Although, that's not all I've got going on, in all craziness, I am not only a Licensed Insurance Agent, I am also a Licensed Real Estate Agent in the state of Texas. I do not plan on using my Insurance license however, I am hoping that my Real Estate business grows more and more. It definitely takes work and determination to make it grow, but I am determined! In addition to my fulltime job and my Real Estate career, I also re-opened my photography business, under MeganRRichards Photography, check me out on Facebook. I have been taking classes and working hard to learn ways to keep my clients happy and provide the best service possible. I love being busy and being a mom and wife with three jobs is exhausting but so worth it. I look forward to the future and what possibilities, and doors, are available to me having each of these routes to take.

Oh, I still plan like crazy! While my planning habits are completely different, planning is the only way I stay organized with all the things going on in life. I still use the Erin Condren Life Planner, but now it is used for bill tracking and reminders of the little things that our little guy does. I also track anything I feel might help me long term, aka saving money. I plan on doing a "Plan with Me," to show others all of the ways you can plan, if you don't have the money to pay for a million stickers. While we are on the topic of planning, I think now is a great time to mention, we are officially going to Disney World! I am so darn excited, I could scream like a little girl on Christmas! I have dreamed about this day since I was a tiny little thing, and now I get to go and experience Disney magic with my own child, and my amazing husband (more on Disney in another post).

Overall, life has been FANTASTIC in every way possible. I cannot wait to share all of the fun Disney-related stuff that will make your trip amazing, and I look forward to sharing our future adventures with you.

As always, thank you for reading!