June Health Challenge Week 1

So week one is over and what do I think?!

Is it what I expected?

Honestly....

Yes. But I am a realist.

I'm going to give myself a rating on how I think I did with the workout plan and the meal plan at the end of every week. But actually, it's been going well. I did SLIP up on a couple of meals. But honestly, I don't think I'm going to stick with it. More on that later.

First up: The workout plan

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I'm following Blogilates June Monthly Calendar workout. It's my first time following a 30-day fitness calendar and it's been really great. It's going so well in fact, that I'm giving myself ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars this week. I might even supplement it with some running if I'm feeling SpicY~ one day.

See the June Health Challenge for the full workout plan

So what does the workout plan actually consist of? Every day is focused on a different area of the body, with Friday being a rest day with stretching. I've been truly enjoying the variety, and Blogilates videos are entertaining enough to get me through the entire workout. Each day consists of a few videos, which usually take about 40 minutes to complete.

I'm sore the next day, which is a feeling I welcome. And it's nice to know I'm pushing my body more than I have been for the past year.

The meal plan, on the other hand, has been more difficult - as I suspected.

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It's only Week 1 and I've already made some *adjustments* to the meal plan because I love food and my desire to challenge myself does not include restricting myself.

Because I'm not following the meal plan to a 'T', I've had some inner conflict this week around food. What I realized is I need to remember the purpose of this June health challenge- to feel stronger and take better care of my body. As long as I come out the other end better than I went in, it's a success, and there's no point in beating myself up for not following the meal plan exactly. However, it was a mental journey this week, so that's why I give myself ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3 stars.

Of course, I looked through the entire 30-day meal plan ahead of starting to:

1. Make sure it's even something I should attempt

2. It has meals I would enjoy eating.

The majority of the meals in the 30-day meal plan are quite similar to how I already eat on a daily basis. The main differences I found right away are the following:

1. Fewer snacks

2. No caffeine

3. Fewer carbs

This presented a slightly larger challenge than anticipated. Caffeine I could not give up, so I still have my morning London Fog or Dalgona coffee almost every day.

Snacks

I've tried my best at limiting myself to smaller portions, but with the decrease in carbs and the fact that most of my snacks of choice are carb- adjacent (peanut butter pretzels, cereal, fruit gummies) Many snacks in the meal plan consist of hummus and fresh veggies, which I may have snuck a pita bread in here and there. I let myself keep my snack habits, but with more mindfulness when I do consume these snacks. (I'm obsessed with these peanut butter pretzels from Costco).

Carbs

Oomph. As an Asian-Canadian woman, I must have my rice. I managed to only have rice ONCE the entire week, but I must say- it was dreadful. From the meal plan, it seems to limit carbs to one meal a day. So, I've decided it's okay if I swap the carb to what I want to eat, such as rice. Or pasta, or pita bread, whatever suits my fancy.

Fruits

I've also given myself a pass for fruit. Because there is minimal fruit in this meal plan and y'all should know by now my love of fruit. I mean, my art account is literally called @fruitspoon.art because I want spoonfuls of fruit all the time. So, fruit is on the table, all the time with no restriction.

What's important to me is that I am eating to fuel my body, eating whole foods and I practice intuitive eating.

Looking forward to week 2

Now that Week 1 is in the rearview mirror, I am quite excited for Week 2. With the meal plan adjustments and my renewed excitement for new workout videos every day, I have high hopes that Week 2 will give me more motivation to keep pushing forward.

Check back next week for a Week 2 recap!