Fit 40 for Lent

I almost wanted to start this blog post by saying, “Happy Ash Wednesday!” or “Happy Lent!” but then I got to thinking…is Ash Wednesday/Lent supposed to be a happy period? You would think after eight years of Catholic school I would be able to answer this question, but I can’t. So, either way…Happy Wednesday!

Because it’s Lent, that means for 40 days Catholics are told they must sacrifice something to build their strength with God. Normally you’ll never hear me talk much about my faith because, well…I don’t know if you have the time to read my all of my thoughts, but there are a few things that I still practice as a Catholic, and that is the 40 day sacrifice. Things I gave up last year was fried food (which wasn’t that difficult) and cussing (which was SO hard!). This year, I’m giving up chocolate (which has become a staple in my diet lately, thus needing to be eliminated to help curb my sweet tooth) and implementing a challenge for me and the husband.

Welcome to the Fit 40 Challenge

For the next 40 days, M and I have agreed to lead a much healthier lifestyle. I crafted this in hopes that it’ll create a healthy habit for M and push us to really think about what we’re eating.

For 40 days, we must do the following:

• Get in at least 30 minutes of physical activity everyday–be it at the gym, walking the dogs, playing on the XBox Kinect, etc. (I’ve so got this one down pat!)
• Record everything you’re eating via My Fitness Pal, so we can both keep track of each other.
• Record our measurements at the beginning of the challenge and then at the end we’ll see if there’s been any change.
• Eat healthier and really think about what we’re eating/drinking when we go out.
• For me, personally, I’m challenging myself to doing a Plank-A-Day and pushups and crunches everyday (there are a few days I actually don’t do those, so I want to try doing them everyday during this challenge and see how strong I can get).

I’m hoping this will help create a habit of exercise for M, like I have one already. Plus, we just need to be more conscious of what we’re buying and eating when we’re out (at home we’re pretty good, but when we’re out–not so much).

This morning I started off the challenge with my “Yoga for the Warrior” Bob Harper DVD–my running buddies didn’t feel up for a run, and I wasn’t too impressed with the spin instructor at the gym for the 5:45 class, so I got in some more time for the #FlexibleFeb challenge I’m doing. (So that means tomorrow will be a treadmill run in the am.) I’ll probably do some weights and some high intensity circuits at the gym after work.

How are you celebrating (again, is it a celebration?) Lent? Are you looking at giving up anything in hopes of a better habit come March 31?