I really have been going back and forth in my mind trying to decide if I should share this post, if it was something that you all would even be interested in.  Focusing on health and wellness has never been something I have consistently shared on my blog but I have started to give little glimpses on my InstaStories and have had a positive response so I thought, why not?!

Let me start by saying this, I have never been a person who consistently and regularly works out.  I have had times in my life where it is incredibly important and a priority but as quickly as it has begun it has ended in favor of sleeping in and indulging in wine.  Just before my 30th birthday I was on a pretty great kick of working out, eating right, and not drinking (much).  I would walk my dog multiple times a day, I hiked Runyon a few times a week, and found myself excited for CorePower Yoga, Pilates, and Spin class.  Things were awesome until I found myself in a new, long distance relationship and the strain of 2 hours to his house, 2 hours back in the morning for work, took it’s toll and I stopped making my workouts a priority.  Over the last 5 years I have hopped on and off the workout band wagon with no lasting success which is how I found myself looking for a long term, sustainable solution.

I am a person who likes to be efficient.  Why spend 2 hours at the gym when I can accomplish a kick ass workout in 30 minutes?  Why workout twice a day when once will do?  As all these thoughts were going through my head (and my jeans got tighter) I started seeing a few other bloggers I follow (Merritt from Style Scribe & Rachel from Pink Peonies) doing BBG.  I did some research, read some reviews, and made the decision to start my journey the last week of June.

So, what is BBG?

BBG is short for Bikini Body Guide, a workout program created by Australian trainer Kayla Itsines.  BBG is a workout that can easily be done at home or at the gym (I am choosing home) and consists of (3) 28 minute resistance circuits a week and 3 low intensity steady state (LISS) cardio for 35 minutes.  The program is 12 weeks long and after that you can advance to the BBG 2.0 program. You have a choice to either download the SWEAT app (which I did and love) or print out the workouts.

Basically my workout week looks like this:

M/W/F – Resistance (1 leg day, 1 arm/ab day, 1 full body day)

T/TH/S – LISS

Sunday I rest.

How has it been so far?

Okay, honesty is key here.  The first workout literally made me want to cry.  I didn’t realize how WEAK I was until I tried to do a round of pushups!  All my years of on/off exercise has mainly consisted of cardio and no strength training.  Day 2 was little easier and day 3 even easier than that.  I did make the mistake of partaking in the 4th of July festivities without a care in the world and let me tell you, I paid during week 2.  Pushups were more difficult, the plank was a disaster, and don’t even get me started on the lunges!  After going through that struggle I have decided to take a 2 week hiatus from drinking all together just to reset my body.  After that I am sure I will choose to enjoy a glass of rosé once in a while because, well, balance.

What about diet?

The short answer is yes, you should also be focusing on your diet and eating the right foods during the BBG process.  Generally speaking I eat a pretty healthy diet.  I learned long ago that my body doesn’t do well with carbs so I tend to avoid carb heavy foods and gravitate towards fish, chicken, veggies, etc.  During the first week the thing I noticed immediately was how hungry I was ALL DAY LONG.  I had headaches from being hungry and felt like I needed to nap for hours on end.  Halfway through the week I realized that I needed to increase my calories each of the resistance days to ensure I wasn’t feeling overly fatigued.  On a resistance day my menu typically looks like this:

Breakfast: Dave’s Killer Bread with smashed avo, Trader Joe’s Everything But The Bagel seasoning, watercress and 2 over easy eggs.

Snack: Celery with natural peanut butter or a Trader Joe’s trail mix package & a cup of green tea

Lunch: Turkey burger without bread, spinach, tomato, and topped with Artichoke Antipasto

Snack: Hummus and Multi Grain Pita Chips or Cottage Cheese with banana, cinnamon & agave

Dinner: Salmon with brussels and “mashed” cauliflower

Dessert: “healthy” ice cream like No Sugar Added Vanilla or a Halo Top

I also drink LOTS of water and La Croix Grapefruit during the day and have not given up my coffee.  My new afternoon coffee is the Trader Joe’s Coconut Cold Brew with a splash of milk.

The biggest difference on a LISS day is that I will skip Pita Chips and use celery and will have eggs without toast to bring down my net carbs for the day.

On Sunday I have decided to allow myself an indulge day.  That doesn’t mean I will have pancakes for breakfast, pizza for lunch, and burgers for dinner!  I think it’s fair to make healthy choices all day and allow myself one splurge…ice cream, pizza, or a Bloody Mary.  Again, it’s all about balance.

What about alcohol?

As I mentioned above, I have decided to take a 2 week break from drinking as a jumpstart to my goal.  My goal is for the BBG journey to become a lifestyle and not just a 12 week change so obviously I plan to indulge in wine, champagne, and cocktails in life!  I think moderation is going to be the key for me and what works for my journey but to each their own!

So, what is my long term goal?

It’s easy to read this and think that I am looking for a quick way to lose some LBs but it’s really more than that.  I am looking for a sustainable lifestyle change that will allow me to still fit a workout in daily without missing out on life.  I want to obviously lose a few pounds but I want to be stronger.  I want to see definition in my arms and legs and feel confident in my bikini.  I want to not feel guilty for eating some tacos at the lake and know that I am working hard to enjoy those things.

At the end of the day there are just over 10,000 minutes in a week and a week’s worth of BBG is just under 25% (210 to be exact) of that!

If you are doing or have done BBG I would LOVE to hear your feedback!  I have already learned what an amazing community the program has and it’s always great to encourage one another!  If you are thinking about starting, DO IT!  I promise, it will be the hardest and most amazing workout experience!

Be sure to follow along and I will share some progress photos with all of you!

XO, Niki

Yoga Mat // Sneakers // Jump Rope // Weights // Water Bottle (c/o Ulta but similar one HERE)

PS – Sorry for the screenshot InstaStory pics, it’s pretty real around here today!