[Day 2 of 30] Green Smoothies and Lunges

Kicking off Day 2 of my self-imposed 30 Day Self Improvement Challenge – combining a eating plan (The Whole 30) as well as The Miracle Morning routine. Click the links to learn more and to even get started yourself!

Wasn’t too thrilled about getting up early this morning (could the excitement and newness of this challenge already start to wear off??) but I’m doing this to prove to myself that I CAN follow through on commitments and I CAN succeed at whatever I put my mind to!

Finally towards the end of my Miracle Morning routine I was beginning to actually feel more awake, and once I blended up my new pre-made frozen smoothie

green smoothie baggies
6 pre-made bags to freeze
single green smoothie
Mixed greens (kale, spinach, chard), mango, banana and strawberries. Add to blender with chia seeds, OJ and almond milk.

breakfast (see pics), then I was feeling great and was happy to reap the benefits of making myself do something different and felt energized.

Hopefully tomorrow morning I’ll start to feel more awake earlier on…but regardless, I’ve got to do it, knowing the results will come from persistence and commitment.

I made a few quick videos about how to make pre-made awesome green smoothies, as well as a demonstration on how to do proper forward lunges for the exercise portion of my Miracle Morning routine.

Click to watch video on how to properly perform forward lunges.
Click to watch video on how to make pre-made green smoothies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’d love your input on what some of your favorite healthy breakfast ideas are, and if you’ve got any questions on exercises or how to modify anything for your given situation, just let me know! The physical therapist in my would love to help! 🙂
~Melody

P.S. I’d love to connect with you and you can easily do that by Following the blog on the right hand side of the page, or Liking the Fit+Faith Facebook page. See you there!

It begins today…

It’s never too late to make a change….in your health, business, career, faith, relationships, mindset etc. NEVER.

So today, that’s where I begin.

Combining two 30 day challenges to jump-start the development of life habits that will lead to greater success in my fitness, business and life.

30 Day Challenge #1The Whole 30. I’ve done one other Whole 30 challenge a few months ago and have kept some of the great eating habits I developed, but have allowed myself to slip back into some old routines, so it’s time to belly-up again!

30 Day Challenge #2The Miracle Morning 30 Day Challenge. I finished reading The Miracle Morning book by Hal Elrod last week and have already begun putting it into practice, but wasn’t necessarily tracking my progress and being super intentional about it. There’s a great questionnaire and self assessment you can do to make it really personal and to get the best value out of it. So exciting!

One of the things I love is that Hal explains is that most people fail in their long term commitments in developing new habits because they’re not set up properly to succeed with a plan from the beginning. He explains that 30 day challenges are split up into three 10-day phases, so you know more of what to expect:

  1. The first 10 days is where the excitement wears off and you have to push through to succeed.
  2. The second 10 days is where you’re beginning to form a routine, but it’s still so new that you have to be very intentional not to break the cycle.
  3. The last 10 days are where it begins to become fun, as you start noticing results and the habits start to become easier, but the battle isn’t over yet!

The 30 days is just the beginning, but it’s perseverance and persistence that will guarantee your results…if you keep with it!

Current weight: 155.6 pounds

My Goal in 30 days: 145 pounds

My plan is to make a video of my one daily exercise, which part of the Miracle Morning routine, and since I’m a Doctor of Physical Therapy I can demonstrate the proper techniques and how to benefit your body the best by what to do, and what not to do.

Watch this video for the first exercise: squats and squat jumps.

Screen Shot 2015-10-12 at 2.33.51 PM
Why I’m doing this challenge and today’s exercise: squats

Here we go!

~Melody

P.S. I’d love to have your support, encouragement and accountability along this 30 day journey, and if you decide you want to jump in on either the Whole30 or The Miracle Morning challenges on your own, let me know so I can support you as well! Thanks!

Pride Cometh Before the Fall…Literally

Not the prettiest picture you’ve ever seen, but VALUABLE lessons have been learned…

“Pride cometh before the fall…”Proverbs 16:18.

Well I have now lived that in a very literal sense…

I went jogging the other day and had a brand new workout outfit that I was taking for a spin for the first time. Very exciting – especially for girls. 😉

infamous workout outfit
Isn’t my new top and sports bra cute??

I made it down a main drag in my neighborhood, past a few shops with large windows. You can probably see what’s coming already. In my vanity and pride I wanted to see how I looked jogging along in this new outfit, and before I even got a good glance – – – DOWN I WENT!

I didn’t see a large part of the concrete that had split causing a uneven elevation and I went flying! Hands outstretched (amazing I didn’t skin up my arms and hands) but I slid hard on my knees. I managed to get up and hobble to a nearby bench to take stock in the damage.

My knees were stinging and I could see dark spots from underneath my black leggings, so I was afraid of what I might find. Welp, you’ve now seen what I saw. As I peeled up my leggings, the poor skin has shred off, leaving red, raw tissue.

I carefully pulled the pants back down and made my way back home. By the time I got home it was really stinging and I knew I had to do some damage control.

The skin had literally been taken off, so it’s been a painful and bandage-filled few weeks patching it up and daily tending to it.

But as the scabs begin to heal revealing new, slightly off-colored skin, I now have permanent reminders of what happens when you take your mind off the task at hand are preoccupied with YOURSELF.

Lessons I’ve learned, and you can too:

  1. Pay Attention – especially on uneven or high traffic areas
  2. Don’t be Vain – vanity clearly can have unwanted physical consequences, which defeats the whole purpose of what you were being vain over!
  3. Take Time to Heal – wounds take time to heal (be it physical, emotional, spiritual etc.) But the beauty is found that no matter how bad the damage, healing will happen. And God is there to guide and lead all along the way.
  4. Healing is Not Necessarily Painless – my physical wounds have been VERY painful, even though they seem small. They cut deep and have had to slowly heal from the bottom up, and outside in. Healing from other types of non-physical wounds is also not always easy or painless, but knowing God can create something brand new and stronger in the end, is beauty in the healing.
  5. Patience Really Is A Virtue – I’ve had to learn and exercise patience for the healing process, and it’s not easy! But I know that I’m learning to not only deal with consequences of my actions, but learning to respect that my body is doing what it was designed to do – to heal – and to respect the process. Read more about patience in Galatians 5:22-23 and here’s a great article about the Virtue of Patience.

Just yesterday I went for a run again for this first time since the injury, wearing bandaids and all, and purposefully went back to the scene of the incident. I did not want to subconsciously begin fearing or dreading that area, for something that was my mistake to begin with.

Don’t let fear control you after a negative incident. Ask God for courage and recognize areas that you might be holding yourself back because of past experiences.

The God of Love and Peace wants to help you through the healing, if you’ll let Him.

~Melody

P.S. I’m in love with my new Fabletics workout gear! Grab an awesome 2 or 3 piece outfit for yourself! Here’s my referral link: http://www.fabletics.com/invite/60391016/

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