A blog by Brit Rettig Wold, CEO of GRIT Fitness
Wishing you a wonderful weekend and encouraging you to make the most of your time! Often it’s easy for us to procrastinate and push the deadlines for our goals. BUT this weekend I encourage you to schedule some “YOU” time. Make time to exercise, update your planner, spend time pursuing your goals and most importantly, spend time with the people you love. We can accomplish so many things when we JUST DO THEM. Shock yourself this weekend! Lots of luv, Brit
I made up this healthy habits list about 2 years ago when I got really serious about taking control of my health, my weight and my life. While these habits may seem a little extreme, they are doable and beneficial! Personally, I have not mastered the list, but each day I try to do a little better. It takes a lot of GRIT to develop healthy habits. But healthy habits are the only way to a sustain a healthy lifestyle. While these habits can take a lifetime to develop, we should strive to perfect them EVERY DAY. Doing so helps us be our BEST SELVES! If we focus on 1 healthy habit at a time, soon enough we’ll be living by the full formula. GOOD LUCK! Luv, Brit 😉
BRIT’S LIST OF HEALTHY HABITS – MY FIERCE FORMULA…
0 – Hours of television
1 – Hour of exercise
2 – Liters of water
3 – Cups of hot green tea
4 – Short mental breaks
5 – Small meals
6 – AM wake up time
7 – Minutes of laughter
8 – Hours of sleep (at least)
9 – PM end of the day and off to bed
10 – Prayers of gratitude (list 10 things you’re thankful for)
Hey gang – hope your week has exceeded your expectations! Just wanted to spread a little mid-week motivation. I saw this quote and it really hit me. Throughout my life, I’ve always operated under the assumption that some day…when I’m “happily married, super skinny, working at my dream job with 3 adorable kids,” then suddenly my life would be EASY. The reality is that day will probably come, but it won’t be BLISS. It’s going to be freaking HARD. I’m going to have to continue to work my butt off every single day to maintain a healthy and balanced life.
Hardships in life are inevitable, they will never go away. But the good news is that we are constantly changing, growing and adapting. Those hardship will likely feel easier because we get stronger, healthier, more patient and smarter. We are powerful beyond measure and more than capable of handling anything that life throws in our direction. So keep working hard and continuously improve at whatever you love (and at whatever you hate). Life doesn’t get easier, you just get better!
Hey gang! So a few days ago I completed the Dr. Oz & Joe Cross 3-Day Weekend Juice Cleanse. This is the second cleanse I’ve tried this year, and overall, I had pretty positive experience. I only lost 1 pound, but I do feel clean and lean. Here are my confessions…
For starters, this cleanse was A LOT harder than the than the Dr. Oz DRINK cleanse. During the day, I was quite hungry which kind of sucked. As I mentioned in a previous post, juice has hardly any fiber and lots of sugar which triggers hunger. Controlling my hunger during the day was really hard on the first day but got better on the 2nd day. On a positive note, it made me drink more water and realize that I don’t really need that much food to get through the day. It’s crazy how often I eat just because I’m bored, not because I’m really hungry.
On that note, the cleanse allowed for 1 solid food meal for dinner every day. The meal could only consist of fruits and veggies. Unfortunately, I tended to go to overboard on this meal (yikes). I think it was because I was hungry and eagerly anticipating real food. Needless to say, my portions got a little out of control. I probably would have had better results with the cleanse if I ate a smaller dinner and didn’t stretch out my tummy so much.
Since I was traveling for work and had to buy my juices, I had to be very conscious of choosing “good juices.” Just because a juice is “all natural” doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good for you. Also, veggie juice is MUCH healthier than fruit juice – it has more fiber and protein and less sugar. If you are interested in doing this juice cleanse, but don’t have the time to go shopping all the time, then it might be a good idea for you to check out something like this Cashcoup site. However, just make sure to double check that the juice will be okay for you and your cleanse. I had to make sure my juice purchases met my 3 criteria:
Believe it or not, it’s REALLY hard to buy juice off-the-shelf meets this criteria. BUT, I did find one that passed the test and also tastes great. It’s “Sweet Greens” by Evolution fresh – I highly recommend it!
All in all, the juice cleanse was an interesting experience. Will I do it again? Probably not. But I may start substituting fresh pressed juice for a meal every now and then, as it can be a good way to slim down quickly for a big event or something. Have you a done a juice cleanse before? What was it like for you? Please do share your words of wisdom 🙂
Happy Friday! I hope you guys are looking forward to an awesome weekend. I certainly am. This is my birthday weekend – HEY! On Sunday, July 14th I will turn 29 years old…the last year of my twenties has come.
To celebrate my b-day I’m having a pool party at my parents’ house. But this isn’t your ordinary pool party. My mom ordered the most AWESOME slip-n-slide in the world (see below)! Talk about being “young at heart” 😉
So, in the spirit of growing older, wiser and more awesome, I wanted to leave you this little nugget of inspiration….
HAVE SOME FUN THIS WEEKEND! Choose to be happy! Reward yourself with some good times and positive energy. We often take ourselves so seriously that we forget to stop and enjoy this one precious life that we have. So, rest assured, I will be living it up (and working out) this weekend and I hope that you will too!
“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.” –Henri Nouwen
Happy Independence Day to my US blog followers! I hope you enjoy some rest, relaxation, quality time with the people you love and (of course) a good workout! For those of you outside of the US, this blog post is also for you 🙂
On this day of freedom, remember that we are free in every capacity: emotionally, physically and spiritually! So, relish in that fact. Clear you mind of can’t. Anything you want in life, anything you desire to experience, all of it, IS YOURS! So, today, let’s accept our freedom. Be grateful for it. And let NOTHING hold us back from pursuing our dreams!
A few months ago I wrote a blog post about an inspiring women’s conferenced I attended at my alma mater, Harvard Business School. Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO, was the keynote speaker and I become very moved by her advocacy for women to “Lean In.” I could relate to her stories about over coming corporate obstacles, balancing work and life and trying to build and maintain self-confidence. She even talked about the importance of maintaining her health and wellness (she was also a fitness instructor on the side, like me!). This woman has some #GRIT. Anyway, I decided to share my “Lean In” story with the global community, so I today I wanted to repost it for my GRIT by Brit readers. Hope my story inspires you and encourages you to make your dreams come true!
And here’s my story…
I drained my savings account to develop and produce an original home workout DVD. I was working crazy hours in management consulting and had recently completed my MBA, but could not ignore my deep desire to share fitness, health and wellness with others. I chose to lean in.
I realized I had unique ability to motivate and encourage others through fitness and wellness. At a very young age I began struggling with my weight. I weighed 106 pounds in the 3rd grade. However, my weight loss journey transformed my way of thinking and revealed my personal strength. My new-found mental grit positively impacted my career, relationships and my faith. I had a duty to share my weight management success story and tools for others to succeed.
First, I auditioned at a major fitness club to start teaching part-time group fitness classes. I was terrified. Completely out of my element, I had to study for fitness certifications, get my body in impeccable shape and learn to lead a class. I would have been much more comfortable in a conference room with PowerPoint slides.
I then started a fitness and wellness lifestyle blog in which I became totally immersed. After long days with my corporate clients, I would stay up late designing workouts and writing motivational messages for my blog followers.
Last, I took the big leap by draining my entire savings account, hiring a producer, and shooting a home workout DVD, staring me! While being in front of the camera was very uncomfortable, it was also amazingly exhilarating. In less than one year, I finalized the video content and packaging. The DVD was picked up by an Amazon distributor and is now for sale online to customers worldwide. In the first three months I sold over 100 copies without any paid marketing or advertising. Also, my blog grew to almost 2,000 followers. In the meanwhile, I received a promotion from Senior Consultant to Manager at my full-time consulting job—wow!
My lean in decision taught me that I’m capable of doing things far beyond my imagination. While I haven’t led a major corporation or raised millions of dollars, I have encouraged the lives of many people by simply sharing my gifts and taking a risk. The only person who can hold me back from making my dreams come true, is me.
Who has a case of the Mondays? I DO! 🙁
Sorry for my lack of blog posts over the past 9 days. Me and 3 of my BEST friends went on the ultimate girls getaway to the Greek Islands – eek! We spent 2 nights in Athens, 3 nights Mykonos and 3 in Santorini. I truly had the time of my life. Even though the scenery was breathtaking and the food was delicious, I’m most grateful for my amazing friends. It’s so nice to have people in my life who accept me for who I am… flaws and all. On top of that, I actually have fun with them! Could there be anything better?
Now that I’m back to the US and back in my usual routine, I’ll also get back to posting workouts and diet tips for you guys to enjoy 🙂
I know I’m always talking about the external, physcial benefits of working out (6 pack by summer, J-lo legs, Michelle Obama arms). But, let’s not forget about all of the ways that fitness helps us on the inside. Maintaining our mental health is critical for overall wellness. Here are the top 5 “non-physical” reasons I believe exercise is a mental health miracle drug. Keep these in mind during your next sweat session!
Hey hey ladies and gents! Hope you had a FABULOUS weekend! One of my best best friends from London came to visit me in Dallas this weekend. We had a great time dining, laying by the pool and catching up on life. This Friday we’ll be heading to Greece for our much awaiting summer vacation – eek!
As last-minute prep for our beach bodies, I designed this ab workout to focus primarily on the love handles (yes…that little layer of fat that sits so nicely on my side above my low-rise pants). The workout incorporates some techniques that I use in my PiYo Strength (Pilates/Yoga fusion classes). BTW, if you live in Dallas, you better come join me for PiYo on the deck every Saturday – it’s free and we have the best view in Dallas at the W Hotel 16th floor wet deck!
My “Eliminate the love handles” workout only takes 8 minutes – try it out and let me know what you think! Trust me, you will be sore tomorrow 🙂
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY8Yp__RrTk]