June Challenge (We need name ideas!)

Courtney:

Okay, ladies and gents!

Jenny and I have been keeping this blog for roughly 3 months now, and though we haven't seen too many results on the way to our health and fitness dreams, we sure have had fun with these monthly challenges, and we've learned so much! About what we like and don't like, and about what works and doesn't work in our separate and different lifestyles. She's a student and a wife, I'm a nanny and a single lady, so our schedules and our daily requirements call for different things. But we're still willing to make the same commitments - determined to be fit and healthy, and make baby steps along the way!

Precautions from the website ;)

So for June, we're going to kinda incorporate a few of the challenges from the past few months. Jenny and I were debating about what kind of challenge to do for this month, and we had a few ideas, but after some pondering and cruising Pinterest, we decided that this would be the one. A huge challenge, but doable I think..

Here are the details: (http://skinnyms.com/4-step-weight-loss-challenge/)

1) Increased water intake (at least 8-9 cups per day)

2) Avoid all refined and artificial sweeteners (4 daily teaspoons of unrefined sweeteners is allotted, along with Stevia, because it's natural)

3) Portion control (using salad plates for meals, and measuring food with hand palm)

4) 30+ minutes of exercise per day, 6 days a week

So. We've tried a little bit of everything over the past few months, but now we're going to throw it all together. The only thing that intimidates me is the sugar. I've seen how some of my friends get when they haven't had sugar over the an extended period of time, and I don't want to go crazy like they did, hahaha! Another hold up I know I'm going to have is that I can't eat the food at my nanny house anymore, and I don't have a lot of time to plan meals beforehand, early in the morning before work, but I guess I just have no choice anymore. I'm gonna do my best and do nothing less! Wish us luck!

<3 Courtney


Jenny:

Doesn't Courtney have an amazing attitude?

In my last post I talked with you about depression and I've been curious as to some natural ways to help in my battle with it.

By no coincidence, we're learning a lot about nutrition in my Child Development and Psychology classes right now, so it was the perfect time to do some research and make some changes.

I agree with Court, that the hardest part of this months challenge will be really taking a good hard look at what sugars I'm putting in my mouth.

Ed and I went grocery shopping Saturday and read EVERY label. (He's so supportive!) We found out that some of the things I've thought were healthy are NOT and some of the things I thought weren't healthy, fit the parameters of this challenge. Go figure.

So we made some purchases and I've committed to this as if I were starting all over.

A few things I've already done:

I'm making my green shakes at night now, just before bed, so I can grab and go in the morning.

I bought agave nectar, and a few other ingredients to replace the things I already use that might have been more sugary.

I found bars, snacks and meals that include all whole foods and aren't as processed. There are a few exceptions, but I will tell you as I go.

I am doing some serious research about what the nutritional value of certain foods are AND comparing things. (Do a google search about honey vs. agave, for example...so informative!)

I am packing my gym clothes the night before in an effort to make that more seamless. I would sometimes skip the gym if my clothes weren't washed or if I couldn't find them...lame, right?

I'm still using MFP, and want to use it even MORE specifically so it can help me track my sugars and other things like fat and sodium.

I'm really excited about this challenge, especially in conjunction with my aerobics class, a marathon I'm running in September (more details later) and getting help for my depression. I know this "high" will have a low to go along with it, so please help me and Courtney by commenting on our Facebook page, Instagram, YouTube or here on the blog so we can push through the hard times.

I love you all so much and I'm so excited to see how June changes us for the better!

Be happy and healthy!

xoxo Jenny

A quick P.S. I decided to start this challenge tonight after I fasted for church and I had some greek yogurt with a dot of honey and a dot of agave (I was comparing flavor, etc.) and it was AMAZING...no clue why I haven't been eating that my whole life!