Hello again Start Healthy friends! It’s been a week since I embarked on my journey to Start Healthy, and I have never felt better. I’ve implemented a solid workout plan, and am really trying hard to stick to the meal plan that I’ve been using throughout the summer. In today’s post I want to talk to you about the types of workouts that I enjoy doing, and my goals for the next week.

When I think of a fitness goal I hate to think of it as a number on a scale. Creating goals influenced by what we think is “acceptable” because of what society says is just ignorant. To truly create a realistic goal we have to understand that every body type is unique. I can say that my goal is to look like Candice Swanepoel, a well-known Victoria’s Secret model, but that doesn’t make sense. Aside from the major factor that I will never be five feet and ten inches tall, I will also never look like her because that is not the type of body that I possess. My goal within these next couple of weeks is to accept my body for what it is, and try to make it the best version of itself that it can be rather than the best version of someone else’s body. Yes, losing weight does involve numbers and I would be lying if I said watching that number on the scale goes down does make me joyous. However, I’m more concerned about my body mass index, my fat percentage, and the way that I FEEL more so than an arbitrary number. If I feel good and am healthy, than why should any number have such power over me?

As far as exercise goes, I belong to a gym that I love. Besides an amazing array of exercise equipment available to its members it also offers a selection of interactive classes and other amenities. I love being in a class environment because I feel that being surrounded by others working to get in shape, and having a teacher there to really push me makes me work that much harder. The classes I go to are mainly lifting, tabata, or high cardio classes. It’s nice because none of them are ever more than 45 minutes, so I really have no excuse for not squeezing at least one into my day. Outside of those classes, I love to run, bike, and do yoga on my own. Without those three things I probably would not be able to keep my sanity. Cardio is such a good stress reliever, and really allows me to have a few moments to myself outside of my hectic life. I used to be a very avid runner before I went to college. Sometimes clocking upwards to ten or twelve miles a day. Unfortunately, I’ve strayed away from that over the past couple of years for a number of reasons, but one of my exercise goals outside of yoga on this journey is to get back into my running groove. The Start Healthy team is signed up for a couple of 5k races at the end of August and I’m really using those as a kick-start to get back on the running path.

This week my goals are going to be kept simple and attainable because I am heading out of town on Thursday for a week. The beautiful thing about yoga mats and sneakers is that they’re easy to take anywhere, so I really have no excuse to not keep up while I’m away. No days off, right? Sixty minutes of yoga a day, and a three-mile run are what I plan to squeeze in. However, I need your help. Hold me accountable to this goal while I’m away! Encouragement is always welcome, and highly encouraged. Let’s Start Healthy together.

Until next time, stay active, and start healthy!

Andrea