Tag Archives: working out

Project Get it Together: Body Project

Body Project

I am not a gym rat. Never have been, never will be. Some people are motivated by being at the gym. By being around other people who are exercising.

But not me. I do NOT want others to see me like that. It’s not motivating, and it’s not pretty. No thank you. I prefer the comforts of home. Working out in my living room.

Now, I do appreciate the value of motivation. Having someone to train alongside you can push you, and I get that. But I have my training partner. Zack totally motivates me. We work out together.

About 5 times a week. we do some sort of video-based workout. We use several…

As I wrote last year, we’ve gone through the 30 Day Shred program. And from time to time, we use these workouts again. Not as the 30 day program, but just to mix up our routine.

30 Day Shred

We have the Insanity workouts. There are quite a few we can do in our living room, but some simply require more space than we have here. And some are simply too long for my taste.

Insanity

We have also tried some of the Insanity Max 30 workouts. I like these. Thirty minutes is a perfect length for me. I also like that with all the Insanity workouts, I can easily modify them to a level that challenges me but is also attainable.

Insanity Max 30

Our latest workout program is a program out of England called Body Project. A variety of workouts at various levels of intensity, some with weights, some focused on boxing, but all offering a great workout. Many of these workouts can be found on YouTube

Alexandra from Body Project

If you are a total newbie to exercise, there are some great starter-level exercises. If you are a bit more advanced, you’ll be able to find something as well. And the beauty of even the beginner level workouts is that you can always take them up a notch by adding speed, weight, or more motion to the exercises.

Daniel from Body Project

What is your preferred workout? Do you like going to the gym? Working out at home? Taking group classes?

Project ‘Get it Together’: My friend, Pinterest

My eating habits are really not bad. But in the summer they tend to slip. And of course around Thanksgiving and Christmas as well – I mean, seriously. Too many temptations!So after a summer filled with a lot of travel – and a lot of restaurants – and a lot of bakeries – and a good bit of unhealthy eating – we had to do something to jumpstart ourselves back to a healthier diet.

Now when I say diet, I don’t mean the dreaded D word where you deprive yourself and are absolutely miserable. No, I am talking about diet as an overall, everyday way of eating.

Southern veggie plate – this is comfort food!

And another thing. Jumpstart is a key word here. For us, it’s all or nothing at the beginning. If I want something to stick, I have to be on the verge of overboard, or it will not last.

So here we are. Five+ weeks into the vegetarian diet. And I am feeling really good. REALLY good.

Avocado Toast. One of my new favorites for breakfast. Or lunch.
Okay, anytime.

I’m sure it’s a combination of diet and exercise, but it’s so nice to have more energy and just feel well overall.

And like I’ve said before, I am not a vegetarian. This is not an all-in, never eat meat again, total change of lifestyle. No, if the right meal with meat comes along, I will cave. I will eat it. And I will enjoy it.

But for now, it’s working. And I think I’ll at least attempt continue to stick with meatless meals when possible… as long as I don’t get bored.

Yeah, boredom is a dangerous thing for me. If I get bored with something, it won’t stick. This has been our experience in the past.

So in order to try and fend that off, I turned to Pinterest.

I really like Pinterest. Now don’t get me wrong. I am not crafty. I can’t turn mason jars into chandeliers. And I don’t collect empty toilet paper rolls and create intricate wall art (and to my sweet friends C&L, I am NOT making fun!).

But when it comes to recipes, I’ve found some great ones.

I also wrote out a list of more than 60 different vegetarian meal ideas and put it on the refrigerator. It helps to be able to see some options right in front of me. And I think it helps Zack, too.

We haven’t repeated meals too often. Well, no more than we did in the past. We still have pizza most Friday nights. My new favorite is Greek pizza, topped with sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, feta cheese, peppers, onions, and olives.

We like to make some type of curry or stir-fry about once a week. It changes based on what vegetables are in the fridge, as well as which spices I choose to use.

And at the boys’ requests, we also do Taco Tuesday. But while they typically eat regular taco meat each week, I try to make something a bit different for Zack and me each week. Sometimes it’s homemade refried beans. Last week was black beans. Tonight we tried a sweet potato dish that was really good. Some weeks we make a taco meat substitute that includes a mix of diced cauliflower, peppers, garlic, and onions, along with some beans or corn.

If you’d like to check out my Pinterest boards, you can find me as UkieMommy.

And here are a couple of boards that I’m using a lot right now:
Meatless Recipes – some of these we’ve tried, some we have not
Pinterest Success – this is a variety of recipes (not just vegetarian) and other things that we’ve tried and really liked