Round three = let’s do this!!! I have SO enjoyed doing this fitness at 40 series and you guys came up with some fantastic questions to hit me with. Feel free to bookmark all three posts: round one here, round two here, and round three below. As always, I am an open book when it comes to what works for me and I know that everyone is different. What works for someone may not for others, but I’ll do my best to give you unbiased feedback on anything I’ve done/tried especially when it comes to health and wellness.
I love questions like this. I’d say I am very intentional with what I eat, especially when I am eating out. Usually if I order an entree, I try not to overeat because honestly it makes me miserable later on and I feel super bloated. It’s also a great way to save money because then I have leftovers for the next day. In terms of when we cook at home, I’ll eat a full serving of whatever protein we made [chicken, steak, pork, seafood] and then a small side salad and veggies/starch. I used to measure my serving sizes using a food scale, but it is SO time consuming and I only did it when I was trying to shed pounds, not where I am now in maintaining. I think it’s a simple method to just eat higher in protein, lower in carbs + fats and that is the happy spot where I have found my body does well with food portions.
OK, now I know that counting macros can seem super overwhelming, but it is absolutely effective when you’re in a “shed” season of fitness and trying to cut some excess weight. My best advice would be to get a customized macros assessment. I did one with Madeline Moves, which comes as a part of her program and that was a personal assessment based on my goals, starting weight, age, daily activity level, etc. [showing that breakdown in the graphic below].
I love a good chart because it breaks it all down in easy-to-understand language and helps me plan my meals throughout the day, so I can tweak my macros to fit into each section. It calculates the macros [fats, proteins and carbs] and how many grams of each to aim for in a day. Then I would input my food for each meal + snack into MyFitnessPal to keep track and plan out my food.
Just know that even though tracking your macros can seem overwhelming at first, it’s truly not rocket science, just takes practice and educating yourself… as always, give yourself some grace and know it doesn’t have to be perfect 100% of the time for it to be effective.
Nope I sure don’t… this question makes me laugh because I tried to get Jeff to do intermittent fasting with me for years and he never would. Then our trainer mentioned it to him last year and now he is on the bandwagon and I’m off. Honestly, I didn’t mind fasting = it is definitely an effective method to have a designated eating window. The hardest part for me when I did it was that I LOVE breakfast and I wake up pretty hungry in the AM.
Now having said that, our night-time schedules can be pretty hectic with all the activities and such, but I usually try to eat dinner by 6PM and then don’t eat again until 8AM = so I would say that counts as a partial fast in that its 14 hours without any caloric intake but I don’t have a “set” timeframe anymore.
It’s no surprise I LOVE me some fashionable fitness attire. One because it’s comfortable, two because it’s cute and three, I work from home so no work wardrobe is necessary the majority of the time! I feel like I am the guinea pig when it comes to what to work out in as I have tried ALL the brands… the inexpensive options from Amazon, the pricey options like Alo and Lulu and everything in between and for some reason I have found myself consistently sticking to three specific brands:
one. Lululemon | Yes it’s fairly expensive, but I haven’t been able to find a brand that holds up quite like Lulu. The cult following is contagious and they get me with all the seasonal color debuts… the Aero Blue, the Lip Gloss Pink, and the bright Hot Heat are some of my fav hues right now! My go-to styles have always been the Aligns, the Swiftly Tanks and of course the Like a Cloud Sports Bras as well as the Scuba Jackets= as long as I can keep them away from Caroline and Carson!
two. YPB by Abercrombie | A recent addition to my activewear lineup is the Your Personal Best line! If you follow along via Instagram you’ve seen me styling lots of their new arrivals the past few months. I cannot get over the amazing quality and the price-point is even better [usually I can find them for at least 15% off]. Hands down my go-to styles are the NeoKnit Crew Pullover, the SculptLUX Leggings, and the Mini Dress.
three. FP Movement | All things active + athleisure from another one of my most shopped brands… I’ve always loved their sports bras and tanks, but as of late these have been added into the regular rotation: Tempo Long Sleeve Tee, Hot Shot Mini Printed Dress and the Pippa Packable Puffer.
Last but not least, let’s talk weight selection… you definitely want to challenge yourself so I suggest having a wide range of dumbbells to select from. For example, some exercises you’ll want to start off with 5 lb weights [lateral raises come to mind] and others you’ll be fine to start with a higher weight [20-25 pounds for alternating lunges].
I usually do 4 sets of any given exercises and 10-15 reps per set. A lot of times, I will try to start out doing 15 reps on my first and second sets to challenge myself and then take down the weights and/or # of reps for the 3rd and 4th sets. This absolutely helps to continually progress in terms of more weight being used and building lean muscle as well! If you can only purchase a handful of weights, I’d start out with the following: 5lb, 10lb, 15lb, 20lb and 30lb. Those are the ones I find myself using the most frequently!
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