Wellness
Wellness is an essential part of my health both physically and mentally. Physical activity gives a boost to the spirit and a better perspective on why it is important on a daily and weekly basis. On September 9th, I realized it was exactly thirty days until my 48th birthday. I felt motivated to kick myself in gear with a consistent fitness regimen and a way to eat better consistently. Fitness has been a part of my routine in the past three years, however, it ebbs and flows depending on my schedule and emotional state. The more stressed I feel the more likely I am to overindulge with the wrong foods. Then I find myself putting my fitness off for weeks.
Home Workout and What Equipment
A home workout comes with a laundry list of challenges but staying fit is mind over matter. I need consistency and accountability so I created an IG page @fittofortyeight to log my progress for each week. It is amazing how the fitness community offers support without knowing the people personally. As I started to follow different pages I noticed all of the women over 45 in amazing shape. A special shoutout to my sister-friend Tara Tucker on IG @fitfineforty. She is my real life fitness muse. I knew there was no reason for me to accept my body and not plug away at maintaining the body I wanted to achieve.
Equipment and My Workouts
I have always used my TRX (Total Resistance Exercise) and after talking with some folks I decided to add resistance bands and a kettlebell. YouTube is my go-to for free workouts. My TRX workout has increased from 2 sets to 3 sets and I use the TRX 20 minute workout with Dana Lee, IG @realfittv and YouTube, RealFitTv. For the resistance band workout, I use The Live Fit Girl, IG @livefitgirl and YouTube, The Live Fit Girl. Please do not underestimate resistance bands, these bands are effective for both the upper and lower body as well as providing a great cardio workout. They are inexpensive, I found the one above at Amazon. A trainer recommended trying a kettlebell. This one I found at Five Below. I am starting with a 5 lb weight and use a 20-minute Kettlebell Blast video from BodyFitbyAmy, IG, and BodyFitbyAmy, YouTube. All of these videos are on YouTube. Now I know fitness is 80% of the challenge and the other 20% is diet.
What to Eat?
My diet has changed dramatically. In order to not overindulge the simplest solution is to avoid purchasing items that work against eating properly. I have resorted to increasing my veggies, fruit, protein, products with refined flour and minimize sugar. I am really proud of my progress especially with sticking to a 4 x a week home workout regimen. I literally use Instagram as my accountability coach and my source of inspiration. Fitness means nothing if you workout all week and then fuel your temple with the wrong foods.
What does my diet look like each week? Meal prepping is time-consuming and I found it was more expensive than I needed to spend. I try to include specific staples each week on the grocery list such as the following: fruit(bananas, berries, mango, pineapples, grapes, etc), brown rice, spinach (kale is an allergen for me), oatmeal, almonds, walnuts, black beans, meat for protein (mainly chicken and turkey), seafood (salmon, cod, shrimp and crab), avocado, Greek yogurt. I use Mrs. Dash, a salt-free seasoning. Also olive oil for sauteeing food and veggies. I think my biggest challenge with food is flavor. I am always looking for other ingredients such minced garlic, low sodium soy sauce, balsamic vinaigrette, and herbs.
Snacks
Supplements
The only supplements I’m taking each day are my women’s multivitamins and fish oil capsules. When I received my bloodwork last year my doctor noticed my LDL was high and she instructed me to take fish oil.
