Wow, I haven’t been here in a week!  That was completely unexpected, but I have a lot of good stuff coming and I’m excited to share my re-cap from Week 3 of my Health Starts Here Challenge.

In case you missed it:

• Week 2 Re-cap
• Week 1 Re-cap
• Orientation

DINNER

Let me go ahead and share my dinner from tonight because it was delicious and perfectly hit the spot!

Brown Rice w/ Fiesta Brocolli, Roasted Corn, Asparagus w/ carrots, cabbage, strawberries, & cantaloupe!  It was refreshing, it was flavorful, it was everything I wanted out of my dinner tonight!  I was already at Whole Foods for our Week 4 Meet-up and it was so much fun!  I look forward to sharing that with you next week.  I can’t believe we’re almost done, we have one week to go and next Monday night will be Graduation from the Challenge!

WEEK 3 MEET-UP

Week 3 started off with an amazing speaker, Terry Sullivan, from  liveRIGHTnow in Jackson, MS!  I was so encouraged by listening to someone who sees the need & importance of bringing fitness to Mississippi, but who also believes there is hope for our state to improve! His website provides information on a lot of fitness events throughout central Mississippi and I’m especially looking forward to their Java Run on Wednesday mornings.  With my work schedule, I’m not sure how I’ll pull it off yet, but I’m determined to make it to at least one morning jog with free coffee & community!

Now, lets dive in to what Terry taught us!

The first question he asked was “What does it mean to be fit?”  He broke the answer into 4 categories: How you measure up (BMI, Bodyfat %, HR, Cholesterol), How you feel physically (energy, strength), How you feel mentally (stress, sleep, happiness), and How sustainable your fit lifestyle is (short term vs. long term).  Every one of these answers gives YOU and everyone around you a reason to live a healthy lifestyle!

Sadly, Mississippi ranks 50th in overall health, heart related death, & high cholesterol.  Mississippi ranks 49th in cancer deaths, obesity, and diabetes.  These numbers motivate me to a healthier lifestyle and they motivate me to share my love & desire for health with others!  All of these statistics can be changed and that provides me with hope that one day Mississippi will not be last!   I love what he said, “We can be victims or we can be part of the solution” and I seriously want to be part of the solution!

He encouraged us to workout a minimum of 3 hours per week and gave us countless options to do it!  Another favorite quote, “Options = not excuses.”

Throughout his session, we didn’t necessarily learn the ins and outs of fitness and the proper moves & techniques, but it was a huge motivator to incorporate exercise into the diet we’re already doing!  He said that 80% of your healthy lifestyle should be what you put in your body, the other 20% should be exercise.

I’m so excited to join some of the group runs & events they have going on at liveRIGHTnow!

MY WEEK AT A GLANCE

Again, my work week went smooth!  I made a mistake once mid-week, but other than that, it was great!  My weekend was one to be ashamed of though and I’m sad to say it.  I was in Starkville with Nick for the weekend and we ate out a good bit.  As I mentioned in my last post, I’m determined to get one full week (including a weekend) where I firmly stick to the challenge and I believe this coming week is it!  I’ll be home, Nick’s staying in Starkville, and I’m going to make all of my meals at home.

This week on the menu:

• Brown Rice w/ Veggies
• Quick & Easy Veggie Chili
• Whole Wheat Cornbread Muffins

Those are the only “meals” I’m making, but I just picked up some cereal & ezekial english muffins for breakfast.  I also bought some salad & veggies to munch on throughout the week.

I’ve already decided to stick similarly to this diet once the challenge is over.  Reducing the amount of dairy I’m having is making major strides in my daily life!  Although I’ve had cheated on the weekends, I’ve still felt great so I think sticking to this plan moving forward will work great for my lifestyle as long as I don’t overdo it too much on the weekends.

Mary Lindsey has been so great about bringing us recipes at each meet-up and I have so many awesome ones to try!  Can’t wait to share how they turn out!

BLISS LINK-UP

I’m really looking forward to the Bliss link-up this month because I’ll be sharing all of my favorite items from the Health Starts Here Challenge!  Hopefully you’ll try out some of the products I share and swap some basic items with a healthier version!  The link up is NEXT WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27TH!

Hope y’all have a great week!