7: 6: SSU Faves + Recap

Happy Friday to ya! Doesn’t it feel like a weird day? It’s definitely more Tuesday than Monday over here, but I’ll take a weekend thankyouverymuch. Anything fun going on?

Whenever I get back from vacation, I dread the state of our fridge. I gave Meg most of our perishable stuff, and wasn’t quite sure what we’d be eating with a full day at work and no time to make it to the grocery store. Nana brought tamales for lunch, and for dinner, we scrounged up a pretty delicious meal from what we had left. Nana, the Pilot and I enjoyed dinner on the patio:

organic chicken that was in the freezer (got it last week and realized we wouldn’t use it before we left), the last couple of veggies that survived life in the fridge (carrots, a zucchini, can of chopped artichoke hearts and sundried tomatoes) and sweet potatoes with butter, cinnamon and brown sugar,

and for breakfast this morning, I had everything on hand to make some perfect protein pancakes with defrosted berries on top.

A little too excited to make it to Trader Joe’s today. Without eggs and almond butter, I shall perish from the earth.

Today, I have some of your awesome pics to share- thank you so much to those of you who have been checking in on the blog with your workouts and sending me your pics (@fitnessista on Instagram and Twitter).

But before all of that, I have these to show you that the Pilot sent me:

1) 

a baby seal on a couch and 

2) the perfect upward dog.

Doesn’t that look like a nice friend for Bell? They can chase lizards and practice doga together 😉

And now, some of your incredible Summer Shape Up and healthy eat pics from the week:

@shoretorun: Pre-Beach Tabata DONE!! 4 rounds… Thanks again @fitnessista for?#tabatathursday? video 🙂

@sarajacobson: Protein fluff with chocolate chips on multigrain thin! My favorite breakfast ever.

@macluvnrn: week 3 check-in!

@jonesie1204 rocking Tabata Thursday!

@winkingannie: Celebrating the 4th by getting ?#schweaty?with @fitnessista ?#SummerShapeUp?

@sarahlawth: cookie butter 😀

@annawootton: Yum! My first go with @fitnessista ‘s breakfast cookie – sooo good!

I can’t believe that Summer Shape Up is coming to an end! It went by so quickly and I’m so happy for those of you who followed along the plan and got amazing results from your hard work and dedication. I received quite a few success story emails, and they warmed my heart more than you know. Even though I put the plans together, everything you got out of it was due to YOUR actions- I’m just here to cheer you on along the way 🙂

So here’s the part where I ask for a little feedback, if you have a couple moments to spare:

-This Shape Up was totally different than anything I’ve done in the past, and included print-outs and videos. Would you like those in the future?

-For the next Shape Up (which will be Winter Shape Up) and upcoming workout plans (Tabata Thursdays and the monthly calendars + corresponding workouts will be posted each month), what would you like to see differently? Anything I dropped the ball on, or you would like me to change/include?

-Would you rather receive everything at one time via a different method (ebook, download, newsletter) instead of in pieces? 

-As far as checking in goes: yay or nay? I really loved hearing from everyone who did the workouts, but was wondering if it helped with motivation, too?

I write all of my workouts for you, so I take your likes/dislikes/suggestions to heart and make changes according to your preferences <3

Hope you’re having a great morning so far!

Off to get groceries when Liv wakes up from her nap and meeting up with friends this afternoon.

See ya later today!

xoxo

Gina

Something to think: 

As many of us are heading out on vacations, definitely use it as a chance to take a break, refresh and rejuvenate. As far as eats and exercise goes, sometimes you need to, or want to, take a little bit of a break from your usual routine, which is a great idea every so often. At least once a year, I’ll take at least 2 weeks off from everything (this year, it was 6 weeks) to keep myself from burning out. Remember results come from rest, not from overworking. At the same time, if you feel like you need to deviate from your usual routine to a huge extreme when you go on vacation, consider changing something about your routine. If you’re sacrificing the things you enjoy on a constant basis, or are punishing yourself at the gym, that’s not the way to do it. In the long term, it should be a lifestyle that allows the things you enjoy, and is possible -and easy!- to stick to, even on vacation.