Note: This post does reference my body positive weight loss journey.
My most successful lifestyle changes have become daily habits slowly over time, so I’m approaching my healthy curves routine the same way. I want to create a wellness routine that I can maintain through the summer. I’ve been making thoughtful decisions about how I want to love my body with food and fitness over the next few months– in the fall, I’ll see what’s working and what’s not and I’ll make adjustments from there.
For me, the power of having a body positive weight loss mindset is that I’m not in a race to see a certain number on the scale by a certain date. I’m on a longterm journey to love my body with supportive foods and joyful movement. I’m confident that if I’m consistent with my healthy curves routine, my body will do what it needs to do.
I always say, Health is a practice, not a pant size… and consistency is my measure of success. I’ve created a healthy curves routine that I can follow consistently this summer. Here’s what I’m doing:
My Weekly Fitness Routine:
My weekly fitness routine is a mix of cardio and strength training. For cardio, I do swimming, treadmill, spin bike and dancing. For strength, I do body weight HIIT which stands for high intensity interval training.
Swimming: swimming is my favorite workout, hands down. I don’t count laps, I just swim for 30 mins straight without stopping. I get a lot of questions about swimming. Here is a detailed explanation of my swimming routine.
Treadmill: I like to take advantage of the incline on the treadmill. For example, this morning, I walked at a moderate 1.5 pace with the incline of the treadmill on 10– it felt like I was walking up a steep hill.
Spin Bike: Cycling is really good for my knees. If I have time, I’ll take a class at Spiked Spin here in Brooklyn or at Soul Cycle. But on myst days, I tend to use a traditional spin bike in my gym. I simply set my phone on the handle bars with the peloton app and take cycling classes that way. If you’re interested in an actual peloton bike, here are my thoughts on if peloton is plus size friendly. Basically, if you’re under 270, you’re good… if you’re over 270, you may be better of on a traditional bike, most of the ones I come across have a weight limit of 300lbs or more. Here’s a quick video with more details
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Dancing: I recently discovered PlyoJam on youtube— I think you’ll love these free dance workouts. Of course, I have plus size workout videos for you as well.
My Weekly Workout Schedule:
Monday: 30 minutes of cardio (swimming, treadmill, spin bike, dancing) + 30 minutes of strength training (I’ve been using the peloton app)
Tuesday: 30 minutes of cardio (swimming, treadmill, spin bike, dancing + 30 minutes of strength training (I’ve been using the peloton app)
Wednesday: 30 minutes of cardio (swimming, treadmill, spin bike, dancing
Thursday: 30 minutes of cardio (swimming, treadmill, spin bike, dancing) + 30 minutes of strength training (I’ve been using the peloton app)
Friday: 30 minutes of cardio (swimming, walking, cycling, dancing)
Saturday: something fun and active (i.e. farmers market)
Sunday: Rest
My Weekly Food Routine:
My career includes a lot of lunch meetings, cocktail parties and decadent dinners. In my personal life, I love to make rich Sunday Dinners for friends and family. So, I do have a structured food routine that gives me flexibility to enjoy social meals with ease. My weekly food routine is a mix of protein, vegetables and meal replacements. I tend to buy the same things each week and cook them based on what I have time for on any given day.
Protein: Pan Seared Salmon, a Simple Roast Chicken, eggs, tuna are all easily on hand in my kitchen.
Vegetables: bag salad, broccoli, green juice made with spinach. Having lots of fresh veggies on hand makes it easy for me to create delicious salads like this simple greek salad.
Meal replacements: Premier protein shakes, One protein bars, Meal delivery service like sun basket, simple spoon, blue apron or nutrisystem
My Weekly Cooking Schedule:
Day One
Breakfast: Pesto Eggs
Lunch: Meal Replacement (right now I’m using nutrisystem– its been a lifesaver!)
Dinner: Kale Caesar with pan seared salmon
Day Two
Breakfast: Premier protein shake – chocolate or hazelnut are my faves
Lunch: Kale Caesar with pan seared salmon
Dinner: Work dinner– I order whatever sounds good!
