sunday's are for intention setting

I intend to continue on my journey to live an active and healthy lifestyle.

I will nourish my body with nutrient rich foods. I will move my body with determination and muscle building exercises. I will only focus on people and things that help and support the lifestyle that I am working towards. I will treat others in a way that I expect and deserve myself.

this is an intention I can use daily, weekly, monthly. it serves me purpose today, tomorrow, and years from now.

can you set this intention for yourself? how does it reflect in your life?

21 day fix - halfway update

I have never done a diet before. I have never actively tried to loose weight. I just did my thing. and it kept me at the same weight I had been at for years.

this is hard.

week one was a mess. I failed miserably with my meal planning. and I was miserable because of it. plus I had screwed up on some of the container counts, therefore I was not getting enough food. and I was SO sore after the first work out. my body was definitely not used to that much intense physical activity.

but. I was able to convince the boy to do this with me. I knew if I was to try this on my own I would fail. this way he can hold me accountable on my work outs. plus there won't be any unwanted treats in the house to tempt me.

I finished week one feeling like I had made no progress. my coach reminded me that the first week is tough because your body is going through a huge transition. plus I had put so much junk into my body for the last few months that I needed a detox. to get used to all of the nutrient rich food. and of course the work outs add a huge difference to my daily life. lately, I have been so busy that exercise rarely happened weekly, let alone monthly. it was bad.

I went into week two still holding some optimism. I revamped my meal planning, and the work outs didn't make me sore for the entire week. I am halfway done the first 21 days. I have a renewed outlook on what I need to do to attain my goal. I need to push myself everyday. in every workout.

I am still struggling with the food part. I never feel satisfied after a meal. it's either not appetizing, not filling or not well rounded. I have been trying out recipes I find online. healthy ones. 21 day fix specific ones. and it just isn't working. I need to get creative myself. take some staples that I know I love and make a few adjustments to them to make sure it falls into the guidelines of the 21 day fix.

every day I get that much closer to my goal. I want to have the body I know I can have. I want to maintain a healthy lifestyle. I want to eat well, stay fit, and most of all, feel good.

do you have any tips that I could try? what works for you? what makes staying active and healthy easy for you? I'd love to connect!

21 day fixin' got me like

most people have jumped on this band wagon. I'm late to the game. as with most trendy things. I hate gimmicks. I hate trends. I hate band wagons. but the 21 Day Fix by Beachbody caught my attention. and I'll tell you why.

some back story to help explain..

I met my boyfriend 11 months ago. just before the cruel Saskatchewan winter hit. we spent a lot of our time indoors. watching netflix. ordering take out. eating out. not much attention was paid to our health and food intake. I gained 10 pounds somewhere from there to here. some call it comfort weight. but in reality is was just laziness and a lot of slacking on my part.

I have always been a fairly petite girl. very short. and have never had to work too hard to maintain my weight. throughout high school I was very involved in sports, keeping me active. after college I bought a gym membership. I didn't go all that often, to be honest. but I kept a fairly active lifestyle. and I never ate out. I ate small portions. and I started juicing. all was good.

these photos were taken in the summer of 2014

then laziness set in. my boyfriend loved to eat out don't all men and it was such a treat for me because I very rarely allowed myself that indulgence. and as we all know, restaurant portions are completely out of whack. I started eating more. I stopped juicing because I wasn't home enough to put in the effort. the gym became something of the past. and to top it all off I had to leave my very well paying job for a much less enjoyable job that came with a significant pay cut. that's a story for another day, though. money became tight. the healthy food was no longer a suitable option. enter disgusting pre-packaged, over processed foods.

and here I am. 10 pounds heavier than I'd like to be. with pants that don't fit anymore. and a gut that I am so unhappy with. after hearing about the 21 day fix everywhere, I decided to look into it more.

portion control. healthy eating habits. a fairly simple, 30 minutes a day work out plan. and only a 21 day commitment to start with. I couldn't pass it up. plus a good friend from high school is a beach body coach. so I knew I'd have the support.

I called my friend one night, after I had had enough of looking at myself. of trying to squeeze into my pants every morning. I asked her all of the burning questions I had. and the next day I bought the 21 day fix program. then I had to sit tight for the two week wait for the package to arrive. and to psyche myself up for real change...

harmony box

Canada doesn't have many options when it comes to the subscription box phenomenon, but I did stumble upon this beauty. Harmony Box is a subscription box for the Canadian yogi and wellness enthusiasts. I love yoga, and while (I admit) I can't seem to find the time to make is a daily ritual for myself, I had to give this a try. Harmony Box offers a mini box option, so I chose that as a trial for myself. I wanted to see what it was all about. my curiosity was peaked. check out the photos below to see that I got!

in this sampler box I mostly received snack/food items and a bag of laundry soap nuts. and I have thoroughly enjoyed all of it! the full size box option comes with many more items, and from what I understand, more variety. what a cool idea!

I have a lot of friends who enjoy the practice of yoga, and who value nutrition and wellness. I am excited to share this find with them. and I know there are many, many more people across Canada who would love Harmony Box.

is this something you'd be interested in? let me know if you order a box! I'd love to see your goodies!

**this post was created by me, as an individual. no endorsement was discussed with Harmony Box. I just couldn't resist sharing this opportunity with others!

wisdom wednesday ^4

this is an absolutely great daily reminder. leave people better than you found them. that is such an impactful statement. if everyone was capable of this the world would be an incredibly peaceful place.

if I could live by this quote every day I'd be a much better person.

GratiTuesday #4

my week is off to a good start. I am not too stressed and I feel like I have things under control. a nice pace compared to my typically busy weeks.

this week I can really enjoy the laughter and relaxation as I make great progress on my September goal. it is shaping up to be a fabulous week!

how is your outlook for this week?