January and February were stressful months for most of us and I didn’t quite feel in the mood to get on that New Year health kick. I’ve been doing more work than ever before in my freelance business so everything else has sort of taken a backseat. I have been to trying to incorporate some daily habits but from today, I will be taking on my 90 day health challenge and focusing on my health and wellbeing.
WHY I’M DOING THIS CHALLENGE
To feel healthier and happier
For a while now, I’ve been in a rut. I’ve felt low on energy which means I haven’t really moved a great deal. In all honesty, I’ve just been going through the motions in life in general. Part of this is due to Covid. Whilst I haven’t had it, I’m still minimising how much I leave the house. When you work from home, you can definitely feel isolated.
The other part of it is just because work has sort of took over and I’ve allowed it to. I’m trying to get back into a rhythm where I prioritise myself so I can serve my clients better. I’ll be no good to my clients if I’m not fit and healthy!
I was always an active kid, playing multiple sports and taking tonnes of dance classes every week. It wasn’t until college that I discovered the gym and nutrition properly. However, recovery from an eating disorder is never easy. I guess I’m scared of being back in that place again because it was terrifying.
My 90 day health challenge is for me and me alone. I want to implement healthy habits and build on them, moving more and eating better. I also have a wedding to attend in five weeks and bought a gorgeous deep green suit that I need to fit into. Right now, it’s on the snug size so losing a few pounds to fit into it is a goal too. I’ve set myself a weight loss target but I’m keeping that to myself.
THE PLAN
I have to make small, achieveable goals/habits that I can track easily and reach daily or weekly. Keeping on top of a daily routine is something I want to implement too. That’s why I’ve bought a special 90 day journal from Blogilates so I can write everything down daily! Here’s a look at a breakdown of my 90 day health challenge.
MY WORKOUTS
It’s been a long time since I had a proper workout schedule. During the past couple of years, it’s been very sporadic and just doing whatever workout I felt like doing. When sorting out my external harddrive, I came across an old workout programme I used to use, Tone It Up, and had tonnes of workout schedules premade. I’m going to use the first one for 8 weeks and then go from there. I need to move daily but not overdo it, which I have a habit of doing.
- Follow an old Tone It Up programme (Beach Babe 4) for the first 8 weeks
- Workout a minimum of 3 days a week
- Take one dance class a week online additionally
- Stretch daily first thing and before bed
- Go for a walk three days a week
MY FOOD
Nutrition will always be a work in progress for me due to being a very picky eater. During lockdown, I’ve discovered certain foods trigger stomach pain and headaches and have to start tracking my symptoms. My doctor has previously said nothing’s wrong so by tracking it all, they might take me seriously! I’ve noticed that I need to have a larger dinner and a smaller tea (lunch and dinner to posh folk) as well as restrict my dairy intake and eat less meat. I’ll also be trying new recipes because I actually enjoy cooking now!
- Intermittent fasting 12-7
- Only eat meat on a maximum of 2 days a week
- Only have dairy once a week (cheese)
- Have 3 portions of fruit/veg a day
- Experiment with new meals, recipes and foods
- Try meal prepping one week to see if it works for me
MY DRINKS
Where I am an unhealthy eater, I’m pretty healthy with drinks. I don’t have alcohol, tea or coffee at all and only have fizzy drinks when eating out. However, I seem to be drinking less water than usual this year and have way too much lacto-free hot chocolates! I’ve set myself some limits below.
- Drink between two and three litres of water a day
- Limit to one milky hot chocolate a day
MY PLANNING + ROUTINE
My favourite part of any challenge is planning! Yesterday, I sat down, planned out this week’s workouts, meals and schedule as well as looked further ahead to March. I’m always wanting to improve my planning skills and definitely need to pay more attention to how I plan. This section covers everything from planning and prepping, sleep and housework! The idea is to just keep on top of everything every week whilst maintaining some kind of balance with life too.
- Make meal + workout plans every Sunday
- Sleep 8 hours a night
- 7am alarm (Monday-Friday) and 8am (Saturday-Sunday)
- 10.30pm bedtime (Sunday-Thursday) and 11pm (Friday-Saturday)
- Do a small amount of housework every weekday
- Fill out my 90 day journal every day + track everything
MY SELF-CARE
Whilst my health challenge is mostly about my physical health, my mental health also needs a look at too. Right now, I journal most mornings and evenings, treat myself to gel nails fortnightly and spend most nights in bed watching TV. To improve on this, I need to start blogging, reading and do my skincare routine far more than I currently do.
- Allow myself to take time off and not feel guilty about it
- Schedule something fun every week (theatre, coffee shop date, beauty treatment etc)
- Read for 30 minutes daily
- Use Duolingo daily
- Take regular breaks from my desk throughout the day
- Get dressed and ready every morning (but allow a lazy morning once a week)
- Continue to take vitamins daily
- Journal every morning and evening
- Set up a blogging routine to get all four websites up and running!
TOOLS I’M USING
To keep me on track, I have to use my toolkit. I need to track as much as possible so I can see my progress and where I’m doing well/not so well. I treat myself to a brand new journal specifically for this challenge so that’s number one priority every day to fill it in. Here’s a look at the other tools I’ll be using for my 90 day health challenge.
- Blogilates 90 day journal
- My Fitness Pal to track food
- Habit tracker app
- Fitbit app to track workouts, steps
- Tone It Up Beach Babe 4 videos
- Youtube workouts for extra workouts
I’ll be sharing my journey of my 90 day health challenge on Instagram so you can follow my updates and progress on there. Now it’s time to take my measurements, jot down my workout/meal plans and prep for the week ahead. Here’s to a happy and healthy 90 days!
