Hard work
+
Healthy eating
+
Heart of faith
=
SUCCESS
You can do it too!
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”
– Philippians 4:13
Monday Motivation #Weightloss
Love Your Body Day #2: FLEX & PUMP
Show your body some love today by hitting the weights! Your body is resilient, efficient and thirsty for a challenge. Include weight lifting in your exercise regimen to ensure your muscles are strong and able to support your body. Resistance training helps prevent injuries, increases muscle definition and accelerates the rate your body burns calories while resting (a good look)!
In honor of Love Your Body Day #2, I put together this total body weight lifting workout for you to enjoy. After your workout, take a moment and be grateful for your body – 2 good arms, 2 good legs a heart and lungs that work!
Love your body today by FLEXIN’ those sexy muscles and PUMPIN’ some iron #GRIT
STRONG to the finish: Candace’s Progress on the New Year Kick Start Plan
Candace’s Week 2 Update
“Week 2 of my GRIT by Brit New Year Kick Start Plan was a bit quiet, I was able to get in a couple of workouts early in the week and stick to my eating plan. My challenge plans were a bit derailed due to travel to DC later in the week. I did try doing sit-ups and push-ups while watching TV one evening. I was able to knock out 200 crunches and 100 push-ups during commercial breaks. It was a great way to burn calories while watching my shows. Unfortunately, I’m up 1 lb. from the end of week 1. I’m looking forward to getting back on track and going hard in week 3.” – Candace
(below – sit ups with a dumbbell during commercial breaks)
(below – Candace knockin’ out some push ups to tone the core and upper body)
Brit’s Tips for Candace
- Great job staying active despite not going to the gym every day. “Commercial Break” exercises are effective and efficient so keep it up! Next time take up the intensity and do some jumping jacks, burpees or squats during commercial breaks. These exercises burn more calories and engage more muscle groups.
- Be extra strict about sticking with your eating plan this final week, especially on days that you miss a workout. It’s important to keep the calorie intake down on these days since you won’t burn as many calories during the day.
- Have a little black coffee in the morning for an extra jolt. We know that coffee, in moderation, increases your energy and focus to help give you a push in this last week.
- Most importantly – STAY POSITIVE. This is the final push and you are well on your way to achieving your goal. You got this!
Slow Sunday Sweat
Happy Sunday. I’ve had a busy week and gotten in some good workouts: Boxing Boot camp on Thursday, 2 hot yoga classes and a long rowing workout yesterday. All in all, I’m feeling pretty tired. I’m huge believer in “listening to my body” so today I’m going to take it easy and recover with some moderate cardio. Getting in some light cardio exercise is a good way to stay active when my body needs a break without skipping workouts. It also helps me maintain my cardiovascular endurance and keep my metabolism going to burn off the delicious Sunday Brunch I ate. Try this workout too if you want a nice and easy, Slow Sunday Sweat. Enjoy and be blessed 🙂 Luv, Brit
Brit’s Booty Builder
So yesterday I was chatting with one of my male buddies who asked, “Brit, why are you making booty BURN workouts? I think you should make booty BUILD workouts. Honestly, I appreciate a sizable behind!”
This got me thinking, we all have different “ideal” body preferences, which is a good thing. After all, variety is the spice of life! If you are like me and not naturally blessed with a “bangin’ booty” here is a workout that can help us get some nice firm, junk in our trunks. We’ll also build lower body strength and burn a lot of calories in the process – enjoy 🙂
- Workout name: Brit’s Booty Builder
- Duration: 30 minutes
- Focus: Gluteus maximus, hamstrings
- Calories burned: 200-250
- Equipment needed: 2 heavy dumbbells/hand weights
- Instructions: I’ve included some vidoes below to demo the exercises that may be confusing
Hamstring Curls
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmoRd3v-wtg]
Plyo Lunges
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxiGxyswNsA]
Bridge Pulses
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxyPwHY9rXc]
4-week SHRED week 1 update: Alex adjusts to meet her goals!
- Alex on the right @ hair expo in Oklahoma City last weekend
In case you missed the kick off, Alex (@Alexandriawill) is my new 4-week challenge chick, CLICK HERE to check out her full 4-week GRIT by Brit SHRED plan. After 1 solid week on the plan, Alex has learned some lessons about herself, her eating habits and her fitness. Here are her thoughts:
- Calorie counting is key, but too few calories are not beneficial – Really proud of myself on the calorie control because I was counting EVERYTHING I ate and if I didn’t know the calorie count, I would over estimate it. However, I realized I was not having enough calories at one point and ended up feeling a little sick. So I adjusted to ensure I got the calories my body needed while still staying in my budget.
- Continuous diet adjustments are needed for success – I realized I needed to consistently eat smaller meals/snacks throughout the day instead of 3 larger meals. My eating habits are just that HABITS. On the weekends I eat 2-3 larger meals (probably 2) and 1-2 snacks where as during the week I eat much smaller meals with snacks every so hour. Since I’m working out a lot more during the week on the GRIT by Brit SHRED plan, my body wants more energy = food.
- Gotta keep it together on the weekends – I realized I binge bad on the weekends, even with just 1-2 meals. Couple that with not working out and I just killed all the work I did for 5 days! I crashed and burned this past weekend with being out of town for a natural hair expo in Oklahoma City. I didn’t fully prepare as I wanted too and eating in Oklahoma City as a vegetarian on a budget was harder than I expected. I simply didn’t have time to find a Subway at 11pm when things close at 10pm. I also just went into a “screw it” moment and forgot my whole goal. I was walking around, presenting and dancing during the weekend, but overall my eating habits were very poor – time of month too! (maybe TMI, but hey, we’re family). Overall, I am proud of my progress so far and I will push even harder in week 2!
BRIT’S 2 POINTS OF ADVICE FOR ALEX
- Great adjustment on the calorie intake! Remember, a calorie budget helps prevent over eating, but under eating can be counter productive to weight loss as well. When we don’t eat enough calories, our body goes into starvation mode and our metabolism slows down, thus we burn less calories at rest.
- If you know it’s going to be tough to stick with the plan on the weekends, go ahead and adjust your week day diet and workout regiment to be more strict to make up for your “slacker” days. An extra 10-20 minutes of cardio and a few super lean meals will help balance things out so you can meet your goals.
Wednesday Workout: Sweat, Tone, Sweat!
Good morning everyone! Here’s your Wednesday Workout. I tested this bad boy on Monday night and it’s definitely GRIT by Brit worthy. The workout requires a stationary bike and 2 light hand weights. The key is to stay on the bike and cycle for the entire duration of the workout. It takes about 1 hour to complete and you can expect to burn 500-700 calories. You can also expect to sculpt some lean sexy arms in the process. Try it out and let me know how it goes. Lots of luv, Brit 🙂
Brit’s 5 Favorite (Fit) Things
If not for these 5 things, I’d have a very hard time living a healthy and lively lifestyle. Here’s why I love them and why you should love them too – enjoy!
- Starbucks Venti iced green tea “Straight Up” (no sweetener no added water) – When I’m hungry (or bored) this is my #1 go to. It’s filling, hydrating, taste great, loaded with antioxidants and serves as a natural metabolism booster. Also, by ordering it “straight up” I consume ZERO calories!
- Pedometer – If you remember my Pedometer Diary post a few months back, I tested this thing out just for fun, but I find that it really helps me stay more active during the day. I tend to get up from my desk and walk around every hour or so. I also intentionally park far away from my office building to meet my step goal.
- Daily Devotions – Fitness isn’t only limited to our bodies, it extends to our minds and souls. That said, I carry a really small daily devotional handbook that I got as a high school graduation gift. It’s nice and concise and organized by “life topic.” I find that just taking 5-10 minutes each day to a read a few lines and give thanks to God really helps keep me in a positive mindset and grateful spirit.
- Apples – Because I travel every week for work, my stomach situation gets a little “off track” if you will. Apples are a super fiber source, easy to carry, keep my breath fresh and most importantly, keep me regular 😉
- TaeBo DVDs + Billy Bands – I became a TaeBo groupie when I was 15 and Billy still gives it to me like he used to in my teens. The Billy Bands add resistance for extra calorie burn and toning. Also, I just pack the DVD and bands in my suitcase and easily workout on my laptop in my hotel room. Super convenient!
What are you favorite things that keep you fit? Let me know!
4-week challenge: Sasha O or Prego?
Lakshmi’s Week 2 Update
Sasha Obama wore this adorable dress to her father’s speech at the DNC. I promptly purchased and wore it Wednesday for a work event. Not going to lie, I felt good in it. It accentuated my waist and was flattering (so I thought). I went to the work event, where the first person I spoke with had met with me a year ago. She said to me, “It’s great to see you again. And I see you have a baby bump.” Pow. All my confidence (I had even posted on Facebook about how great I felt in the dress) just disappeared like that. Unfortunately, there’s something about my body type that causes me to get mistaken for being pregnant all too often (I know, weird). I played the bigger person and instead of socking her in the face I said, “You’d be surprised how often I am mistaken for being pregnant. I must have a pregnant glow. When it does actually happen to me, I’ll be radioactive!” But I can joke all I want. It still really hurts. And when it hurts, I need some carbs. So Brit, I did eat carbs after 4 pm on Wednesday. But can you blame me? I was eating for two (PLEASE NOTE: THAT STATEMENT IS A JOKE).
Really tough to get the workouts in this week. I was in Boston Wed – Thursday AM. And am in Richmond Thursday AM to Friday night. Working a ton – so my options to workout were between the hours of midnight and 4 am. Sooo…I didn’t workout Thursday and Friday. I’ll get back into the groove on Saturday, I promise!
Here’s the dress I wore Wednesday. Isn’t it adorable? (the black and white one). No one mistook Sasha Obama for being prego.
Brit’s Advice for Lakshmi
- Accentuate the positive – when you reflect on your week, ALWAYS think about everything you did WELL first. If you start with your “slip ups,” it’s too easy to get discouraged and eventually quit your shape up efforts.
- Don’t think in absolutes – you will never have a perfect day, so don’t beat yourself up if you sneak a cookie or miss a workout. Just think about living a “balanced” life and schedule some extra workout time or a super lean meal to compensate for your “slip up”
Wednesday “Get Right” Workout
Hey Gang! As usual, I hope this message finds you joyous and well. Here is the workout I did this morning before work. It was efficient and effective. Try it for yourself and let me know how it goes. Have a WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY and CHOOSE to have a great day.
Lots of luv,
Brit
