21-Day Challenge | Keep Going!

If you are unaware of what the 21-day challenge is, click HERE to read all about it! All caught up? Good. Now, although the 21 days are over (and have been for quite some time now), I have learned a valuable lesson. I did not learn to run twice a day and cut sugar completely out of my diet, though that would be ideal. Heck, I'm sitting here snacking on chocolate as we speak. But I learned how to develop a healthy love for exercising - a love that I have been missing since I was a year-round athlete in high school.

Post-workout cruise through town.

Now that things have settled down a little bit and the semester is over, I have finally found time to get out and enjoy the wonderful weather. It's 80 degrees and sunny almost every day here and I love it! I've found a nice park with a paved loop going around the perimeter that is great for running! I've started drinking tons of water and am trying to cut those unhealthy lattes and specialty Starbucks drinks out of my diet (which is so difficult... Have you tried their new Oprah Chai Tea Latte?! Get it with a pump of vanilla and caramel and you will be in heaven. It tastes like Christmas!).

But doing this has helped me to have more energy throughout the day and more motivation to get things done! So even though the challenge is over, I encourage you to keep going! There are so many benefits that will come out of developing a healthy lifestyle, and it all starts today.

21-Day Challenge | Week 2

Week one of the 21-day challenge is over. How did you do? Did you skip a run one day? Did you slip up and eat a hot dog? Were you lacking motivation to get up and get active one morning? Don't worry, me too. But that doesn't mean you can't finish these three weeks! Take this day to recommit to why you even started getting fit. Go follow a Pinterest workout board or Twitter fitness account for motivation. Not going to lie, when I need the extra boost to get me out of bed and into my running shoes, I look at pictures of how I wish my body looked like on the Fitness Motivation account I follow on Twitter. It might sound odd, but this form of inspiration works for me! 

On Sunday, I procrastinated until 3 pm to go on my run, and now that it’s week two, the cardio has gone up to 35-45 minutes. I was convinced that I would have to walk/run to get through this. However, once I hit one mile, I realized that I had enough energy to go to two. That two miles turned into three, then four, then five. Finally, my joints started to ache as I went on 53 minutes and five miles, so I stopped. Never in my life have I run that far without stopping, and it was the best feeling I could ever imagine! I looked at my running app that stated that I had burned a little over 600 calories, and that’s when it hit me.

I know for a fact I have easily consumed over 600 calories in one sitting. Whether it was a Domino's chicken alfredo bread bowl, a double entrée of orange chicken and fried rice at Panda Express, or a carton of Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia ice cream. It took no effort at all to eat that, albeit, delicious food. But after taking a full hour to run 5 miles, I wouldn’t dare give up all that effort for ten minutes of satiation. Instead, I would reward myself by supplying my body with food that will only further promote the level of fitness that I am trying to attain. Oranges, blueberries, tomatoes, eggs, spinach, whole wheat bread, fat free milk, water, water, water! I’ve decided to reward my body for its tremendous effort after a workout instead of maliciously punishing it by putting these sorts of processed foods into my body.

Now, splurging is okay! In fact, I would encourage designating one night a week where you indulge (moderately) in a not-so-healthy meal. This will help to eliminate episodes of binge eating throughout the week.

So go into week two with a new found confidence, and keep moving forward! And if you are new to the 21-day total body makeover challenge, click HERE to view the original post and join us!