I was scrolling through Instagram this morning as I always do and someone posted, “It’s all fun and games until your jeans don’t fit”. I read that, laughed out loud to myself and then realized, holy moly, this is so me! Seriously. Y’all know when I go to games I’m eating chicken tenders, nachos, burgers the size of my face, all the fries, beer, cocktails, you name it. After a while, those calories aren’t going anywhere.  If you recall from my Instagram story a few weeks back, I explained to you my previous workout routine and how I’ve fallen into a bit of a rut. When I get in a rut, I’m deep in that rut. A couple of weeks ago I ate an entire cinnamon pecan bon (yes, they are so good) from Cinnabon and had zero regrets. Literally I sat in my bed, ate the whole thing, washed it down with a venti iced chai with coconut milk and then split a pizza with a friend and washed that down with a beer later that night. I’ve seriously gone from meal-prep and double-cardio-day badass to drive-thru junkie in a span of about five months. Seriously, though – I once meal prepped and then went to McDonald’s after slaving away in the kithen. For real.

While I am currently in a busy season consisting of my final weeks of graduate school (Hallelujah, thank the Lord), swim season and my everyday teaching job, I have no motivation to go to the gym and all I wanna do is sit on the couch, eat chips and watch/go to the game. But, something has to give. Tis the season for leggings, and I love my leather leggings – you know the pair I wear basically every week – but I think it’s time for me to get a bit of an early jump on my New Year’s Resolution a bit earlier than January 1.

I may be a little nutty for welcoming in meal prep and a few restrictions while all the goodness of holiday and football watch parties are on the way and you know the food and goodies are bound to be endless, I am going to start incorporating some help on the diet and incorporating my morning cardio and strength training. Several of you requested my workout from Monday, so here it is! Please note that I am not a professional, this is just what I did.

Warm Up: 20 minutes treadmill

Legs (warning – I typically lift really heavy, at least for me. Always modify!):

  •  4X15 walking lunges with 20lb weights
  • 4X12 leg press 135lbs on both sides – that’s 3 45lb plates)
  • 4X12 leg curls 70lbs
  • 4X15 calf raises with 45lbs

That’s just one leg day. I don’t only limit myself to the gym. Personally, I hate the gym, but I can’t nawt go. My own personal study has proven the theory that I am one that can’t skip the gym anymore. I do like to incorporate studio workouts like Soul Cycle. I’ve dabbled in pilates but never started going regularly, and I have also been a BBG girl. You know Kayla Itsines right? Her bikini body guide is really good for those that hate the gym and prefer to workout at home. Check out  Sweat with Kayla .

I got to meet her over the summer when she came to Houston and lead a workout. She’s so sweet! 

I’m looking forward to getting back into the swing of things when it comes to my fitness journey. I was complaining to a friend about how working out sucks and there’s no quick fix, and she reminded me that it’s all about the journey – and she’s right. No journey ever worth anything is easy. There are highs and lows, peaks and valleys and you have to experience them all for it to be worth it. Thanks for that reminder, Morgan.

So here goes nothing. Let me know in the comments if you want me to regularly share my workouts. Or feature different types of workouts. Let’s all live our best lives, shall we?

XOXO

Dani