Showing posts with label Fit Girls Guide. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fit Girls Guide. Show all posts
Oh my goodness, y'all. I put my midriff out there for you and held my breath. Thank you so much for the questions and comments that you've forwarded my way! I've had lot of questions about the food plan, which is also the #1 topic that my friends have approached me with.

So, there is no great secret here. Portion control and clean eating are key. The advantage of this plan is that the authors have laid out a solid 28-day schedule of food and exercise for you. You don't have to think about a thing! And the recipes are really, really delicious. Here are a few of my family's favorites (no time for food styling!):

Doughettes... just like eating cookie dough. Peanut butter, dark chocolate, oatmeal... gah!!! I want to eat them all.


Fitnana Split, plus dark chocolate granola...


Brunch for dinner...


Sushi Undressed...


So, you may be thinking, "That's a lot of kale, Rachel. Um, no, thank you!"

Three-fourths of my family happens to like kale, but you could sub it out for whatever green works for you. All of the recipes are customizable based on your preferences. Don't let ingredients hold you back.

This is where the Instagram community shines. It's inspiring to see how the women in my "tribe" customize their menus to their tastes. I have a lot of "ah-ha" moments.

One major advantage to clean eating is the amount of time you save in the grocery store. You spend so much less time on the aisles because your best food comes from the perimeter of the store - dairy, meats, produce... I'd never thought about before. I've always hated grocery shopping, but I find that I don't mind it as much anymore. I feel good about what I'm loading up my cart with.

One more accolade - the food is so good that my parents wanted in. So, I prep their lunches with my own 5 days a week. They were grabbing takeout most of the time and this one small change has made a huge difference. My mother told me recently that she's lost 8 pounds! Just from eating the lunch I'm packing her... how crazy is that?

Fit Girls Guide offers a free app that includes their entire 28-day exercise plan and sample recipes for you to check out. No reason not to download that immediately.

Again, I'm not affiliated with Fit Girls Guide. I have nothing to gain by sharing my experience. I just hope that the right person might be inspired at the right time to take control of their health and that he or she will have the same awesome experience that I've had so far.

Next, I want to tell you about the running. Ahhhhh!!!! The running story is awesome!!!

Like the genre of this blog, I've always considered myself a work in progress. Never satisfied my current state. Be kinder. More attentive. Less distracted. Healthier...

My health has declined in unexpected ways over the past few years. Nothing life threatening, but in ways that have affected my outlook and spirit. The doctors blame it all on stress.

Stress.

Well, that's not going away anytime soon so... what's a gal to do?

I decided last summer that I really, really needed to start taking better care of my body. Garbage in, garbage out. Laziness yields more laziness. I could go on forever.

I thought I was watching what I ate. I joined a gym. I began **trying** to run with my husband a few times a week. We'd head down to our neighborhood track. I'd run a lap, then walk a lap, run, then walk. It was pretty monotonous and I felt like I was just as lethargic as ever. I just wasn't getting anywhere.

(Running is an important part of this story, but I'll return to that in a following post.)

In January, I was introduced by a small, targeted Instagram post to Fit Girls Guide. I didn't know that in that moment, my life would change. I spent some time exploring the online Fit Girls community and I was so inspired. I felt so hopeful that real health change could happen in my own life.

I took the $20 plunge and downloaded their 28-Day Jumpstart book and prepared to join in the next group challenge. But I really had no high expectations.

Before I tell you more about this amazing, life-changing plan, let me be clear - I am not selling anything... I have absolutely nothing to gain from sharing this story. I am not affiliated with Fit Girls Guide at all.

I am simply a girl who has come face-to-face with her rock bottom and has finally taken control of her health. I'm inspired!! I'm healthy!! And, I hope that the right person reads this and leaves inspired, too.

Here was my monthly progress over the course of five months:


And a side-by-side comparison:



The 28-Day Jumpstart is a guide, delivered as an e-book, that lays out an entire eating and exercise plan for four weeks. Fit Girls Guide encourages its participants to start each 28-day challenge with the international community that they have cultivated via Instagram. This helps to provide daily support from among other women (and men) who are going through this shared experience. It's actually more effective and inspirational than you could imagine.

The plan is easy. It's fun. It's silly. Obviously, it's rewarding. The hardest part is mustering your personal commitment to see it through. You definitely get out of it what you put in.

I knew I could stick to any personal commitment for 28 days. Beyond that, I was unsure.

That was 205 days ago. And, I'm still feelin' the love.

Beyond the physical transformation, I have a mental clarity that had been missing for some time. My relationship with food and exercise has changed. Between all of my work and life demands, I'm busier than ever, but the stress has not impacted my well-being.

It's kinda awesome.

So. I have a few more health-related posts that I'd like to share with you, but - never fear - this will not turn into a health-focused blog. Please bear with me as I fill a few pages with my overflowing enthusiasm.

And, then a return to all things creative. Hopefully a little bit more than you've seen from me in the past few months.

Maybe a sprinkle of healthy nuggets here and there... but mostly sewing, knitting, crafting, DIY home projects, etc... promise.

Have a great weekend ahead!!