Zeroing in on Our April Goal

For our goal this month, Alycia and I decided that we will refocus on health. First, I would like to share a lovely smoothie recipe from Linda Wagner. Linda is participating in a 10 day raw food cleanse, and this yummy treat was the kickoff recipe. Alycia and I are planning to try a similar raw food cleanse at some point this month. (OK, maybe we’re going to actually mirror Linda’s…we’ll see!). Here is the smoothie:

Strawberry Mango Green Smoothie:

• 2 bananas
• 1 10 ounce bag of frozen strawberries
• 1 10 ounce bag of frozen mangoes
• 2 large handfuls of baby spinach
• 1.5 cups Almond Milk Kefir – love this stuff and what it’s done for my body and well being!! I can’t make a green smoothie without it!
• 2 droppers full of Vanilla Stevia

Blend in a high speed blender until smooth. This recipe makes about 64 ounces so should be enough for two large servings. If you don’t want that much, simply cut the recipe in half.

Image courtesy of LindaWagner.net

Now I would like to share what triggered my need to refocus on health this month. This post is a little dense, but completely necessary to create a baseline for my goal.  I personally was disappointed with myself in March, and in dire need of motivation. At the end of March (almost 3 weeks ago) I attended a medical conference in Chicago, and got the push that I needed. The conference had those machines that calculate your weight, blood pressure, BMI, body fat percentage, etc. Let me tell you – the numbers that I saw did not make me happy. My weight was actually the EXACT number that I’ve deemed my tipping point. This is the weight where I stop allowing myself to make excuses, and I get serious about what I eat and how much I exercise.

Since that dreadful day I have lost five pounds and my body fat content has gone down a decent amount, mostly due to diet. In the last few weeks I’ve made a point of bringing lunch to work instead of buying, and I’ve started cooking healthier dinners and making my own juices again. I usually only make it to the gym about two times per week, and that didn’t change much in the past few weeks, but I’ve added more weights and more running to my workouts.

I would like to lose a total of 15-20 pounds from the number at my ‘bad’ weigh-in. To accomplish this I’ve finally ponied up the money to hire a personal trainer. I know that I don’t self-motivate well, and I’ve worked with great trainers in the past that have gotten me in tip top shape for bikini season. I had my first session today and I am so incredibly pumped. I aim to train twice per week, and go to the gym twice on my  own, which will double my days in the gym.

I’ll be sure to check in every couple of weeks and share my progress, along with some healthy, yummy recipes that Alycia and I discover when we try our raw food cleanse. 

Do you have any healthy goals this month?