fitness inspiration – GRIT By Brit

September Shape Up: Blake’s Week 2 in Review

September 17, 2013 1 Comment

Hey gang. I hope your week is off to an excellent start. Blake, my fit friend from binanutshell.com has officially completed Week 2 of my September Shape up plan. Are you trying the plan for yourself? Do it!

If you were around last week, you’ll remember that Blake got off to an amazing start losing over 2 pounds in Week 1 – woo hoo! During Week 2, however, she’s experienced some setbacks. BUT we are all about showing our GRIT – passion and perseverance for long-term goals. Even though Blake had a “less than stellar” Week 2, we KNOW that she will keep on truckin’ and be successful in the end! Here’s her update. Wish her luck, strong to the finish! 🙂

Blake’s Week 2 in Review

Overall, I am saddened by my progress in week 2. I was really excited to keep up with Brit’s Shape Up September, but I wasn’t able to due to health reasons. I am just going to be upfront and say that even knowing that there are 2 weeks left in the month, week 2 was definitely the most difficult. Early in the week, I was plagued with a summer cold that left me lethargic, sneezy and coughing – which of course resulted in my not working out.

Also, I have an inordinate amount going on in my personal life – some really great things that I am not quite yet ready to share on the blog, but stay tuned for a personal life update soon!

Here is how last week panned out:

Diet

I managed to get two nights with smoothies in, one night without dinner at all, one business dinner, and two dinners out with friends. Unfortunately, most of those events were planned way before Shape Up September, so I worked around the dinners out by eating really healthy breakfasts and having a smoothie for lunch! Smoothies for the win!

Exercise

Monday: Brit’s GRIT Ultimate Body Burn workout video – seriously folks, if you don’t own this video, you should. Buy it on Amazon!
Tuesday: Brit’s 10 minute HIIT circuit – I had a super late meeting and didn’t get home until almost 10 and was starting not to feel well
Wednesday: Skinnygirl Yoga at home (note to self: downward dog does not feel good with congestion)
Thursday – Sunday: Sick, sick, sick

Hydration

Still focusing on having a full glass of water on my desk at all times. Hooray for this. Also, I think the water was really helpful from keeping me on the healthier side of sick… since the hubs was knocked out for twice as long as I was.

Week 3 Focus

This week’s focus is definitely going to be CARDIO! I am excited to get back to working out now that I don’t feel like walking up the three flights of stairs to my bedroom is going to make me winded.

Here’s a quick cardio workout I recommend for Blake in case she is pressed for time time next week – cardio is KING (wink,wink) xoxo, Brit

Inspiration & Motivation

4-week SHRED: THE END… is just the beginning!

November 23, 2012 2 Comments

Happy BLACK FRIDAY everyone! What better way to celebrate Black Friday than trying on some hot, sexy new clothes and being able to fit them all? Well that’s exactly what Alex is getting to do today. On this very special Black Friday, Alex has officially completed her 4-week SHRED challenge and is celebrating some BIG WINS! Here is her update – enjoy 🙂

So my GRIT by Brit 4-week SHRED Plan has come to and end I can proudly say…

I lost 7 pounds and lost an inch or two in the waist
I could fit into a dress I purchased in April and look good in it!
Made it to see my 29^th birthday and felt amazing
I learned the key for being balanced = there’s a time to rest and a time to run hard!
I made working out a priority by squeezing in workouts such as squats and taking the stairs when I couldn’t do a full workout routine.

Better yet, I’ve also learned 4 important things about myself, my fitness habits and my diet during the 4-week SHRED plan…

Counting calories is key – NO guessing allowed! Counting my calories helped me realize my weakness for breads. It also showed me I needed to decrease my intake of snacks like nuts and fruit to a healthy daily amount.
GRITbyBrit Ultimate Body Burn DVD is awesome. I pressed play and was determined to sweat it out. I burned tons of calories while working out and even more throughout the day. I love this DVD and will incorporate the burn series weekly as a strengthen segment.
BURPEES. I can’t believe the GRITbyBrit Ultimate Body Burn DVD and The 4-week SHRED Plan had me accomplishing burpees! Although I am still weak in this area to simply do more than one is a major accomplishment. I pushed myself and could hear Brit’s voice pushing me too! Mission accomplished!
Maintaining a Healthy lifestyle is an ongoing effort. I learned what works for me and my body. I learned many areas I was weak in and started to adjust and make plans for weeding them out. In terms of diet, it isn’t about being “raw” or “organic” but more importantly about finding what works for you. For me, I learned I was a lazy vegetarian who was enjoying too many potatoes, nuts and processed soy products. I also learned due to some of my bad eating habits, my body wasn’t getting critical minerals such as omega-3s. I’ve made some good diet adjustments. While I’m not perfect, I have definitely made many strides and am happy to see what I have done. The end of the 4-week SHRED is just the beginning of even bigger, better and healthier things to come for me 🙂

Inspiration & Motivation

4-week SHRED: Alex kills it in Week 2!

November 8, 2012 No Comments

Alex (on the left) after successfully completing Week 2

Alex has officially completed week 2 of her 4-week GRIT by Brit Shred plan. Long story short – she killed it! You probably remember that Week 1 was all about “adjustments” but week 2 was all about “achievements.” Below is her progress report; be sure check back next Thursday for her week 3 update. Lots of luv, Brit 🙂

Weight

I’ve lost a few pounds but mostly lost inches. I got into my skinny jeans and can breathe in them – yay! Even better, I went shopping for a few staple items and was so happy I could fit most of the items I picked out!

Diet

Overall, my diet was a really good last week. I stayed within my 1,600 calorie budget everyday! I also incorporated a few “tricks” to keep my eating in check. Like when I eat out, I look at the menu beforehand and plan what I’m going to order. Also drinking lots of water (sometimes 1 gallon per day) and unsweetened tea has a help me manage my diet. Last, cooking at home for the week has helped me save time and money and cut calories. Stir-fry is my default and love! (below is a pic of my favorite meal – organic (no-gmo) tofu stirfry)

Exercise

I’ve kept up with my GRIT by Brit workout plan for the most part. I missed my Saturday workout, but I actually still got some exercise in during the day by walking around and do some heavy lifting at a trade show that Sporty Afros was participating in. I kept my heart rate monitor on the entire day of the trade show and ended up burning 500 calories during the day!