This challenge is not designed to be a "who is the best" type of challenge. This is a challenge for yourself. It is time to take the steps to reflect on you, your wishes, and where you want to go.
Bottom line: the #1 reason for being overweight is a lack of energy balance (you are eating more calories than your body can burn). (Why you are eating too much is an entirely different issue).
Questions to ask yourself, that I will answer as well for myself:
What about your health/body would you like to change/What fitness goals do you have for yourself?
*I want to be able run a 5k and not get winded.
*Have defined ab lines
*Use 30 lb dumbbells for my squats, 15 for my biceps, 20-25 for shoulder row
*Workout 4 days a week
*Decrease stress - allow more relaxation time for myself
Based off of the answers to these questions, my January plan needs to incorporate cardio (running), weight training, and specific ab circuits. The only way to see the abs is to decrease body fat so they are visible + work those muscles!
Break it down. What do you have to do to reach those goals:
-Treadmill / outdoor running 3x/week- Running specific distances/slowly increasing the distance ran. Also, for some muscular definition I will be increasing the incline and having some interval workouts as well (go tushy and calves!)
-Do a 10 minute ab circuit 5 days/week before/after work
-Have a more defined workout time
-Clear nutrition plans to keep calorie goals in check (counting calories is the only way to know for sure where you're at)
What is standing in the way from you achieving your goals?
*My own excuses and willpower. I often talk myself out of why I can't workout (oh I'm busy, oh I'm tired) --for example, once I'm done writing this I'm already telling myself that I'm still sleepy from traveling yesterday and that I won't have enough time to workout before my ortho appointment. THIS IS WHAT I NEED TO STOP!
*Having a specific time to workout every day (i.e. after work every day, no matter what). Routine naturally makes things easier. In an ideal world, I would be working out in the morning before school. But I would have to get my work life together enough to make that happen first! ....unpeeling the layers of the onion. Remove all excuses.
It is very important to know the specific goals/the steps to reaching them, and what's holding you back before you begin. If one of your goals is to lose weight, be sure in incorporate meal planning. For this reason, there are two challenges that I am asking that you do yourself. Keep it private, or go public to get more support and accountability! If you are not sure that your goal is reasonable, or doable, check with me if you'd like!
Prep-work #1: Answer the questions above. Be specific. If you need help constructing some goals, contact me. Start with things you can measure yourself. If "want my pants to feel more lose" if your goal, that's fine. Want to run a 10 minute mile? Also fine. Just have a way to keep track of it. For extra encouragement and accountability put it in the comments below.
Prep-work #2: Take pre-measurements/photos of yourself. January 1 to January 31. Include things like weight, waist circumference, how your favorite pair of pants feel. Whatever your specific goals are, be sure to include a photo for them (example: have more define calf muscles, take a picture of your calves).
Challenge 1: Tracking Your Food. Track everything. Meal plan EVERY week and measure every single thing that goes in your mouth. To make this easier, I plan everything out on Sundays, and put it into containers for pre-made portion sizes. No WW points. Those are not specific enough to identify your strengths and weaknesses. Use MyFitnessPal, as it allows you to monitor things like sugar intake, protein, etc. For those of you concerned about weight loss, this is the all powerful tool here. Yes, other aspects of nutrition absolutely do matter. But step 1 is understanding how you eat.
Challenge 2: Meeting Your Goals: This part is clearly indivdualized, but focus on about 3-4 of your goals that you are going to accomplish this month. The larger goals, or remaining goals can roll into February. They are not going there because you got lazy, but because you want to focus on a few things at a time. Plan it out first.
Before January 1, create your first meal ideas for January 1-9. Include grocery items needed, approximate calorie counts (you will be getting the exact ones when you make it). Make sure you include items with protein!!! Don't forget to plan out snacks, if you are the type of person that likes to snack. If you plan on working out, don't forget to plan a post workout snack w/ 20 g protein for weight training days, and 4:1 ratio carbs to protein for cardio days (you only need 100-200 calories for post workout).
I highly recommend creating a Pinterest board for this. It makes it easier to pin everything to one place, you can label which day you want it in the comments before you pin it.
If you don't already have a planner, I recommend getting one. They are fun to doodle in, and it makes working out and accomplishing tasks more fun (for me at least!). I use the Happy Planner, and plan to add everything in to that, but there are some great fitness planners available as well!
http://www.ogorgeous.com/product/2016-blogilates-fit-planner
My Happy Planner:
Now that you have somewhere to start, get to it! We've got work to do!!
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