52  Weeks to 52 Healthy Habits series, build your healthy lifestyle one week at a time.  

Hi, Friends!  I know I say this every week but I can’t believe it’s already week 11, 2.5 months into the New Year, are you easily writing 2016 on everything?

How did last week’s healthy habit challenge go?  Admittedly, I did not follow along on this one too much because I had a meal service to try out but I’d love to hear what you came up with for your healthy lunch combo ideas!

This week we are taking a turn from the focus off food for our healthy living and shifting to fitness for a hot second.  So many times I come up with an idea for this week, and then I think I should save it for the holidays when things get crazy (like getting enough sleep ha ha).  This habit is different, though; this is one you want to have good and practiced by the time the holidays take over your life.

Why Make A Workout Schedule?

When I first started getting my act together and losing weight, one of the things that made the biggest difference for me was scheduling in workouts.  I was a busy college student with large heavy class loads (think financial accounting and organic chemistry in the same semester), a part-time job, sorority and a boyfriend.  If I didn’t schedule workouts in then it just wasn’t going to happen, but since I’ve always lived my life by a calendar putting them there meant I would do them because they were a planned part of my day. It’s made such a big difference, and I’ve done this for so long now that it has become second nature to me and I’m so thankful for it.

Where To Create A Workout Schedule:

In the past, I’ve used one or a combination of these places to make sure I followed through.  I’d often put them in my planner, schedule them on google calendar with notifications, and write a list to put on my bulletin board.  Now that workouts have become part of my life, I quickly write them down in my planner to make sure I get a good balance of types of workouts.

• planners
• electronic calendars
• write a list and stick it to the fridge
• wherever else you might see it every day like a bulletin board

What Workouts To Schedule:

Back in the day when I was a group fit junky, I would plan in all the classes I would attend that week from Zumba, strength, and yoga.  I still love group fit, but with an inflamed angry disc in my low back, I need to be in control of the movements I do.  So Instead I schedule strength and running workouts to make sure I have a good balance.  If I’m training for a race, I plan my training schedule and runs.  However, when I was in graduate school and exams would come up I felt that I just couldn’t make the time to workout, so instead, I scheduled walks around our track. I would take my notes and read while I walked, I did this 2-3 times a week to stay up off my butt!

• Type of workout (whether your going to do cardio or strength)- be specific as possible it’s easy to blow it off if you don’t know what you’ll do
• group fitness classes (anything from weights, Zumba, yoga, etc.)
• active recovery on rest days like walks, bike rides, fitness leisure. Do you walk your dog?  Schedule that in!
• rehab exercises if you are rehabbing an injury

52 HEALTHY HABITS IN 52 WEEKS SERIES:

The 52 Healthy Habits Series is about ditching the diet mindset and making small changes to improve health overall naturally leading to a healthy body composition, increased energy and improved health. Please follow along and check out the past weeks!

• Week 52: Healthy Habits Wrap Up
• Week 51: Nightly Reflection
• Week 50: Limit Harmful Chemicals
• Week 49: Find Your Tribe
• Week 48: Cultivating Positivity
• Week 47: Healthy Thanksgiving Tips
• Week 46: Check In
• Week 45: Mobility – Foam Rolling
• Week 44: HIIT Training
• Week 43: LISS or Steady State Cardio
• Week 42: Limit Alcohol
• Week 41: Eat White, Wait What?
• Week 40: Eat Blue & Purple
• Week 39: Eat Green
• Week 38: Eat Yellow/Orange
• Week 37: Eat Red
• Week 36: Learn Which Foods to Purchase Organic
• Week 35: Read the Ingredient List!
• Week 34: Focus.
• Week 33: Chew Your Food!
• Week 32: Meditation
• Week 31: Gratitude Journaling
• Week 30: Plan & Revamp Dessert- 20 Healthy Ideas
• Week 29: Two fistfuls of veggies per meal
• Week 28: Get In Veggies At Breakfast
• Week 27: Healthy Veggie Snacks
• Week 26: Nourishing Fats for the Gut (Healthy Digestion Part 4)
• Week 25: Keeping Regular – The Other Fiber (Healthy Digestion Part 3)
• Week 24: Feed The Probiotics With Prebiotic Fiber (Healthy Digestion Part 2)
• Week 23: Amazing Health Benefits of Probiotics (Healthy Digestion Part 1)
• Week 22: Check In
• Week 21: What You Will Learn From Recording Your Meals (Intuitive Eating Series Part 4)
• Week 20: Eat Until 80% Full (Hara Hachi Bu) (Intuitive Eating Series Part 3)
• Week 19: Limit Distractions While Eating (Intuitive Eating Series Part 2)
• Week 18: Gaging Your Hunger Cues (Intuitive Eating Series Part 1)
• Week 17: 10,000 Steps Per Day
• Week 16: Assess Your Caffeine Intake
• Week 15: Decrease Sugar Intake
• Week 14: Healthy Coffee Creamers (upgrade yours)
• Week 13: 3 Month Check In
• Week 12: Sleep Enough & Sleep Better
• Week 11: Schedule Your Workouts
• Week 10: Pack A Healthy Lunch (5 Ways to Create Endless Combinations)
• Week 9: Prioritizing Protein
• Week 8: How and What to Meal Prep
• Week 7: Create & Stick To Your Healthy Meal Plan
• Week 6: Get Enough Omega-3’s (Fight Inflammation)
• Week 5: What Is A Healthy Fat & How To Get Enough (Include Healthy Fats)
• Week 4: How to Spot A Healthy Carbohydrate (Upgrade Your Carbs)
• Week 3: Tips to Increase Veggie Intake (Eat Veggies)
• Week 2: 15 Healthy On the Go Breakfast Ideas (Eat BF Challenge)
• Week 1: Tips to Drink More Water