Back at the Crunch

Yes, that was really lame attempt a fitness pun since this will be a fitness and health related post. Forgive me.

So! Tomorrow is October first and I've decided to get back to my fitness and health basics by committing the month of October to "clean" eating, being alcohol-free and really bringing it with my workouts.

(Side note: yes, I know, the picture on the left falls under the category of the ever-problematic fitspo, however I really enjoy the quote. Just take images like that with a grain of salt.)

Getting back into the swing of university life has taken more adjustment than I thought, and maybe that's because it's my second year but I've been wanting to get back to putting self-care first and part of that lies in taking care of me physically. Some would argue HIIT workouts and weight training aren't really 'self-care' but for me they are. When I focus on good nutrition, getting enough sleep and solid workouts my body responds well so I want (and need, to a less extent) to get back to that.

Conveniently enough one of my favorite health/fitness
oriented tumblr's

(imgonnamakeachange.tumblr.com) run by the amazing Natasha has started a little challenge amonst her followers under the hashtag #teamnocheats; No Cheats October. So, just like I described above, the month of October is committed to making healthy habits and then on Halloween you can treat yourself to whatever the feck' you like. I should mention that she endorses that if you start feeling restrictive or like you are developing disordered habits, you should stop and notes that it's perfectly fine to slip up, as it were. Just in case any of you were interested but were kind of deterred by the general idea of a challenge. It's all in good fun.

So without further ado let's get to my #teamnocheats goals. I made a little halloween-themed graphic just because I wanted an excuse not to study.  

• 2l of water every day - truthfully this isn't a lot in the grand scheme of things and I always feel better when I'm hydrated. On top of this I'll add my daily green tea/herbal tea intake and unsweetened almond milk. 

• Be consistent - gym 5 days a week - my rule is that I can put those 5 days where I want in the scheme of my school week/weekend, whatever fits my schedule and workload best on a week by week bases. But the goal is here is to get to the gym and do weight training and HIIT cardio. 

•  Cut back on sugar - I never thought of myself to be one for a sweet tooth but that doesn't seem to be the case. Having moved into my new place, one of my roommates grandmother's is always keeping the house in supply of cookies and and cakes and I find my self indulging after supper more than what is good for me. But also watch for sugar content in my meals, it does seem to be a breakout trigger for me after all. 

• Meal prep - I pretty much only have 45 minutes to do my thing in the mornings so getting my lunches done and dusted the night before or even on Sunday evenings needs to be something I implement so I'm not rushing and/or reaching for something that's not all that good for me. 

•  No boredom eating - this is something I unfortunately find I do a lot. In the middle of school work or when I get home, and I'm not even hungry just passing time. It throws off my natural hunger cues and isn't good for me in general if I want to break any weight loss goals.
• Yoga/Long stretching session everyday  - I miss having my muscles not feel tight and tense and making progress with my poses. I haven't been consistently at it since this summer and I know I feel better and sleep more soundly when I'm consistent about it.

So, any of you interested in boarding the #teamnocheats train? Any other particular goals you have set for October?

r.
image credits to: tumblr and picmonkey