HBBC 2011 Recap

Last Friday was the last day of the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge 2011, and I’m actually a little bit sad that it’s over.
The challenge went quite well for me. I hit the goal of eating at least seven servings of fruit or vegetables almost every day, and I found the time to workout three to four times a week (except the week before Christmas, sigh!). Unfortunately, I did gain a little weight over the past few weeks, but I guess it would have been much worse if I hadn’t joined the challenge.

Now that the HBBC is over, I hope to keep the momentum going. I will still try to eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, and exercise several days per week. A few days ago, I received a new workout dvd. After I’ve finished it, I’m going to write a recap. And next week I’ll go to my first ever Zumba class! I’m so excited!

The year 2012 is going to be awesome, I can already feel it!

See you!

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November Recap & HBBC Weeks 1 & 2

After thoroughly enjoying my weekend – more cookies and mulled wine, yeah – it’s finally time to write about last month’s workouts, and especially the first two weeks of the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge.

November was quite a good month for me. After slacking a little (ahem, a lot), I made it to two Pilates classes, ran 22 miles, biked 11 miles, and tried Racketball (or Squash?) for the very first time! I also walked a lot, and ate lots of fruit and vegetables.

During the past few months I’ve been struggling with my workout motivation, but I think I’ve finally found it again. Joining the HBBC has helped me a lot! This challenge has also taught me, that it doesn’t matter what you do, how long or how fast you go. Just move!

I’ve also noticed that I really enjoy indoor biking. Riding the stationary bike at my gym is much more fun than running on the treadmill. So if I’m really not in the mood to pound the belt, I hop on the bike instead. Sweat is sweat, after all.

These are my goals for December:

Move

• Workout 3-4 times per week. Running, biking, Pilates, whatever!

Eat

• Enjoy seasonal treats (cookies, lebkuchen, mulled wine) in moderation, while also eating lots of fruit and veggies (7 servings per day).

Sleep

• Ok, I give up. I still only get 6 hours per night, but I balance it off with sleeping in and taking several naps on the weekends.

Blog

• Cookies! That’s all I have to say. Recipes will follow.

Let’s enjoy December to the fullest!

P.S. If you’re still interested in my workout stats, check out my Dailymile site!

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Bust Your Bootie!

Last Saturday marked the start of this year’s Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge, created by Amanda of Run To The Finish. This challenge runs until Jan 6, to cover the major winter holidays. After signing up you can earn points by being active and eating fruit and vegetables, and you can win some amazing prizes! Details about the points system and some prizes can be found here.

I’ve learned about the HBBC a few weeks ago and immediately signed up. I’m already looking forward to all my favorite seasonal treats, like Christmas cookies, lebkuchen, mulled wine, etc. But I do want to stay active and healthy and maintain my weight during the next few weeks. So I will enjoy my home-made cookies, but after working out and eating my vegetables. Sounds like a good plan, don’t you think?

There are three different levels of fitness, and I’ve put myself into the ‘Builders’ category, as it describes me the best at the moment. Even though the sponsors and prizes look amazing, I absolutely don’t expect to win anything. And even if I do win, I don’t expect anyone to ship my prize across the Atlantic. That’s not why I’ve joined this challenge. I did it to have some additional motivation to stay active and healthy during the colder months which, to be honest, isn’t easy.

I kicked off my personal HBBC on Saturday by going to the gym, which is quite unusual, as I actually hate the long drive there. But I was determined to start the challenge the right way. So I did a 30 minute ride on a stationary bike, followed by about 20 minutes of strength moves and some stretching.

Sunday was a rest day for me, but I did get some housework done. Today I couldn’t make it to the gym, but I squeezed in a one mile walk during my lunch break, and I plan to hit the gym again tomorrow. Looks like a decent start for me.

You can also earn one additional point per day by eating at least 7 servings of fruit and vegetables. That’s a lot! Even though I usually eat some fruit and veggies daily, I rarely hit 7 servings, so I need to pay more attention to that. I think I reached that number today, having one banana, two small clementines, one apple, some chunky vegetable soup for lunch, and kimchi jigae (spicy Korean stew with tofu and various veggies) for dinner.

Vegetarian Jigae - I swear there are veggies under the tofu

If you’re interested in staying healthy and winning some awesome prizes, you can still sign up for the HBBC!

How do you plan to stay healthy during holiday season?

See you!

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