Mes chéries, it’s summertime! For some, this means it’s time to rock their summer bodies by the pool or on the beach. For me, summertime is my chance to fully immerse myself in a healthy lifestyle that is sustainable. Again. 🌚

Two years ago, I was the most fit I had ever been in my life, and I want to be back in that lifestyle (despite the fact I’m skipping the gym to write this blog post). I talked a lot about fitness in some old posts in 2017 but a lot has happened since, including some health issues that are forcing me to go on a new diet. With this new diet and a new fitness goal in mind, I knew there was no better time than now to adjust my lifestyle back to the way it once was and share it with you all!

Fitness is more than just having abs or doing insane workouts. It’s also about what you eat and your lifestyle habits. For example, you can work out 5 times a week and eat cleanly, but you’ll undo all your hard work if you go on benders on the weekends with alcohol and not-so-healthy food. In order to maintain the physique and health you want, you need to keep up with these healthy habits everyday. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a delicious dessert or a cocktail or a plate of pasta; that means you need to choose the quantity and quality of those carbs, sugars, and calories very carefully.

Before I share with you my current lifestyle habits, I want you to keep in mind that everybody’s fitness goal is different, meaning it’s important to tailor a diet and routine that creates the perfect healthy lifestyle for YOU. The diet, tips, and fitness routine I’ll be sharing with you is self-prescribed to me for specific reasons and may not be suitable for someone else.

My Diet

My goal is to not only eat even healthier (my diet is already on the healthier side to begin with) but cut the fat so I can see my lean muscles again. I’d also like to dig my abs out of winter hibernation fat. I’ve been going as hard as I can (considering my work schedule) in my workouts, but it’s the change in diet that will truly unearth the muscles hiding underneath some leftover chub I have going on 🤭.

A few years ago, I had a some issues with my stomach. Unfortunately, these issues escalated lately causing me to be painfully overly bloated almost every day. Without diving into the ugly details, I will summarize it as this: in order to avoid suffering from the pains, my diet can no longer consist of acidic foods (citrus, tomatoes, spicy foods), certain liquors, uncooked kale, or gluten. It’s a tragic loss since that’s everything I love… But on the bright side, this is has changed my eating habits for the better and decreased my pains by tenfold.

For the most part (like I mentioned earlier), I always had a healthy diet. I don’t really like fast food, processed foods, or sweets much. My only issues are overindulging in cheese platters and high sodium foods, like the occasional late night Shin or Samyang spicy ramen.

My breakfast usually includes eggs, banana, greek yogurt, and maybe string cheese because I am a child 🙃. My meals are either similar to a modified Sweetgreen Harvest Bowl (wild rice, kale, sweet potato, feta, chicken, carrots), sushi, or some sort of protein (chicken, fish, or shrimp) with vegetables and grains  (quinoa, wild rice, or ancient grains). I try not to have pasta or noodles often, and I always opt for fruit over dessert/ice cream. I usually don’t keep junk food or snacks in my work drawer or apartment so I can avoid munching.

Wondering how I do it? Well… Here are my tips and tricks for avoiding sugar, snacking, or late night cravings:

1. Start your days with protein, high fat (yogurt, avocado), and some carbs if you’d like. This gives you energy.
2. Your lunch should also include the highest amount of carbs. Carbs are not bad, just choose your type and quantity carefully. By eating carbs midday, you’re giving yourself energy and fuel for the rest of the day.
3. When you have that 3pm urge for candy or chocolate, have yogurt and fruit instead. Your body doesn’t always want candy or chocolate. It wants some sort of fat to keep it full. The natural sugars in fruit can also help satisfy your sweets craving.
4. Only eat when you’re hungry. There’s no real rule that you MUST eat 3x a day at the set time and immediately after working out. Go by what your body tells you.
5. Always make sure you have protein and vegetables in your meals. You need the protein for muscle recovery and building. You need the vegetables to regulate and digest properly before pooping – yes pooping – the waste out.
6. Don’t buy the unhealthy stuff. Then you can’t snack on it.

My Workout Routine

Since I need to lose fat and tone my muscles, my workouts are usually HIIT workouts with a combination of hot yoga and light lifting. I’m not trying to build more muscles but cut the layer of fat over it and maintain a toned, lean figure. However, I’m not weighing myself frequently. I find that weight tends to fluctuate as you build muscle. For example, I know I’ve gained 3 pounds but I am much leaner than I was a month ago. So instead of being obsessed with the numbers on the scale, I’m focusing on how I feel internally and look externally more.

I wake up each morning for the following workouts:

Mondays/Wednesdays/select Fridays: Title Boxing – 15 min HIIT warm up, 30-45 min boxing combinations with a bag, 15 min core workout

Tuesdays/Thursdays: strength training with weights and select machines at the gym, cardio, battleropes

Select Fridays: Hip-hop hot yoga at Y7 Studio OR HIIT workout class using ClassPass (Switch Playground, 30/60/90, or Barry’s Bootcamp)

Saturdays/Sundays: rest day or same as Tuesday/Thursdays

I’m not going to lie, I have been good at keeping up with boxing but not great at going to the gym which is honestly where I need to be so I can be back on a steady lifting schedule again. Boxing is great for burning calories, ab workouts, and toning my arms. However it doesn’t allow me to target certain areas of my body the way I want to. Work has definitely gotten in the way of me maintaining the ideal schedule, but I’m not far from accomplishing it.

I’m still only maybe a little under halfway to where I want to be, but I’ve learned that getting back into a specific routine requires time, perseverance, and discipline. It’s not as easy now that I am no longer a student, but the benefits are extremely rewarding. My eating habits and workouts have not only elevated my mood overall but make me feel better inside and out. I hope you all find a routine that fits your goals and suits you best so you can also be on your way to living your best and healthiest lives 😎

Until next time (which is going to be very soon), bisou bisou…