#WYCWYC + a giveaway!
Hi friends! How’s your day going? The weather here is absolutely dreamy -I think this is magnified by the fact that it was super humid this weekend in VA- so Liv and I have been enjoying some time outside.
Today, I’m excited to share a new book with you that I’ve been loving, and it just so happened to be co-authored by bloggerfriends whom I’ve known for years and deeply admire: What You Can, When You Can by Carla Binberg and Roni Noone.
They sent me a copy last week, and I was able to read it from front to back during our weekend travels.
Here’s what WYCWYC (pronounced “wick-wick”) is all about:
We all know we should eat better, exercise more, get better quality rest, and so on. Tell us something we don’t know, right? After all, every statistic we have about Americans and our health proves that no matter how good our intentions are, we are failing to change the habits that undermine our well-being. But how do we achieve our healthy living goals when they’re so daunting? Who has the time, the willpower, the resources to do all that nutritious eating, muscle building, restful sleeping, and work-life balancing?
Carla Birnberg and Roni Noone have the answer to that—the answer is you. You have the power to make healthier living easy and exciting, just by adopting one simple mantra: “What you can when you can.” It’s all you need.What You Can When You Can (#wycwyc) is a book, a movement, a mindset, and a lifestyle—one that harnesses the power of small steps to let you achieve your health and fitness goals on YOUR terms. The #wycwyc (pronounced “wickwick”) philosophy applies to anything and everything that contributes to a healthy, happy life: nutrition, exercise, physical and mental rejuvenation, and so much more.
Here’s why I LOVE it:
I feel like many diet and fitness books encourage a “total life overhaul,” which at first can be daunting and overwhelming, especially if you’re just starting a health and fitness journey,. I also think it’s the quickest way to burn out: try to do too much, too quickly, and it’s often a recipe for failure. (And then feeling badly about yourself and the cycle all starts over again.) It’s something I write thoroughly about in my own book, but when I was first getting started in health and fitness, I fell into the “all or nothing” trap, which hurt me far more than it helped. The beauty of WYCWYC: it’s broken into small, attainable steps you can make in your health routine and life, which will lead to huge progress over time. I love the idea of bite-sized goals that you can accomplish and stick with for the long term.
In the theme of WYCWYC, this book is also extremely compact and skimmable; you pick it up and read bits and pieces as they apply to your life, or as you need them.
Here are the categories that WYCWYC focuses on, along with a sample tips from that section.
It’s all about the mindset: Aim for persistence, not for perfection.
Rethink and take charge!: Stop MUSTurbating (<— love this so much) and making yourself badly for things you “should,” “ought” or “have”’ to do.
Daily considerations: Activate your wait times. Think of all of the times throughout the day you spend waiting, and instead, do something productive or that enables you to de-stress.
Food for thought: Think of what you can ADD instead of take away, i.e. more steps throughout the day, more time laughing with friends, fruit instead of dessert, more vegetables to your meals.
Tricks of the trade: Prioritize sleep. As someone who has a deep love for sleeping, I really appreciated this section. 😉
Since reading it, and learning more about the movement, I’ve found so many instances of WYCWYC in my own life. Last week, I really wanted to get in some cardio, but the Pilot was working and gym childcare closed in 30 minutes. I turned on a Zumba DVD and had a little dance party with Liv. During this weekend’s wedding festivities, I was starving between the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, so I drove down the street to CVS and grabbed a Larabar to hold me over until dinner. We didn’t have gym access, so I got in an online workout during out hotel stay and we took a long walk around property. It really is about doing what you can with the means you have, whether it’s time, location, finances, availability, etc.
And now, a giveaway! Two lucky readers will each receive a copy of What You Can, When You Can.
Enter via the widget below!
I’ll choose the winners this Thursday night (midnight EST) and announce in Friday Faves.
xoxo
Gina
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How I WYCWYC = I have a standing-desk at home, which automatically keeps me on my toes and moving around more. Also helps me prevent lower back pain and improve my posture.
Love this and love them! How I’ve WYCWYC lately is moving when possible and impacting what I can. I’m focusing on healthy eats DURING the day instead of limiting myself when I’m at farewell parties with friends!
I wear a pedometer and get in extra steps anywhere I can–even if it’s just walking around the house while I’m on the phone.
I have an exercise ball that I sit on at work sometimes, and I like to do calf raises or some other leg exercises while I brush my teeth!
How I’ve WYCWYC’ed lately… taking 5 mins of meditation when I can. 5 mins makes me feel better than 0 minutes!
As a lawyer, I work incredibly long days and can sit for hours if I dont watch myself – i just started setting a time to get up and walk every hour and do some pushups, tricep dips, etc. in my office. My own little WYCWYC
I’d love to read this book! I’m struggling with losing my baby weight from my second baby. After baby number 1 the weight melted off and this time around I’m 8 months post partum and the weight is barely moving. I eat clean and exercise as much as I can with two small children.
This book is just what I was thinking about. I’m working on making small changes to get to my overall goal!!
Squats when I brush my teeth
Love this idea! Would love to read the whole book
I love this concept … yesterday, there was a free yoga session at work, so I took it as a sign that I needed to do it!
This sounds like exactly what I need right now to up my motivation. I have really been feeling bad about finding the time and energy to exercise and eating right hasn’t been going as well as I have wanted. I would love to have a read and see what handy tips they might have! Thanks for the competition Gina! 🙂
Love love love this concept. I am just at the start of my journey to be more healthy and I think this book can be a huge help!
Squats and lunges when the baby won’t sleep.
Great ideas! I make a point to get 10k steps in each day even if I can’t find time for a workout. It makes me feel like I at minimum moved for the day. Sometimes it means doing side steps in front of the TV at night just to hit the 10k~!
My WYCWYC lately is drinking enough water and filling myself with lots of healthy calories. I just had a baby, so exercise is out of the picture for a few weeks, but I am trying to do what I can in other areas to make myself feel healthy. (And to be able to feed my sweet baby!)
This book sounds wonderful! I think I need to read it SOON!
I would love to read the book!!!!
I loooooooove Roni! I follow her blog and instagram and Facebook and have been dying to read this book. I would LOVE to win it!!
my #wycwyc: sprinting up the stairs in my house, choosing to walk the kids to school instead of drive, random squats throughout the day, and standing more.
i do 50 (mostly good) pushups right after i wake up every morning, after sitting for extended periods of time, and right before bed every night! only a year ago i could hardly do any pushups– but recently i went up to 50 bc i wasn’t feeling a burn anymore with 30! its the little things!
WYCWYC is finding ways to help reach my daily goal of 12,000 steps. That usually means parking at the back of the parking lot when running errands. Those extra few steps really add up at the end of the day.
Super interested in reading this book!
As a Beachbody coach, I have so many people msging me daily, basically saying, “I blew it for breakfast/ dinner/ my snack/ my whole yesterday- what do I do now?” I try to give the same message you described- aim for persistence, not perfection. It’s impossible to be perfect, but anyone can be persistent. I would love to have this book and use it as a resource to help more people!
I love the idea of adding or changing something instead of taking it away. Maybe also consider a change in mindset: aren’t we fortunate to have so many of life’s gifts to balance in our busy days? 🙂
Such a great concept and a great term!
I struggle with this as well, and then when I don’t meet my (unrealistic) expectations I feel bad about myself and guilty that I couldn’t stick with whatever ‘goal’ I had set for myself. (Generally this leads to me just not doing anything, which is the exact opposite of what should happen.)
Love this idea! Excited to checkout the book and add it to my summer reading list!
My diet is far from perfect but I always make sure to eat at least 1 piece of fresh fruit every day. I figure vitamins and fiber should balance out the chips and cookies at least a little bit, right? RIGHT??! I watched Carla and Roni a couple weeks ago on BexLife’s vlog and am on board with their inspiring message!
I love the idea of persistence > perfection. For example, if I know I’m feeling blah and won’t have a killer workout, I’m more likely to skip it. Refocusing my mindset is such a key factor in situations like that. Excited to read the book!
#wycwyc – I have a desk job and noticed I would sometimes go two or three hours without getting up! Now I keep an alarm set on my phone to go off every hour as a reminder to get up and do a few stretches or walk a couple laps around the building.
Roni is awesome! I always take the stairs when possible 🙂
My WYCWYC is definitely my everyday running. I have a 1 year old and work 50-60 hour weeks so I squeeze in a run whenever I can manage – whether its a quick afternoon “break” in place of my lunch, waking up extra early or heading out once I put her to bed at night. Almost never easy to do, but always worth it! 🙂
I sit in front of a computer all day so I make a point to wake up early and get moving and to spend my breaks walking.
I love checking my fitbit at work- it makes me walk more instead of sitting! I also try to park a bit farther to get in some extra steps.
I walk to 5 avenues to work and back instead of taking the shuttle. I also spend time on Sundays prepping food for the week so I can’t use lack of time as an excuse 🙂
Love this!
I LOVE this concept. I am very interested in reading this book. 🙂
This book looks amazing. I would love to win a copy!!
I know that dinner, which is generally cooked by my boyfriend, is the meal of my day that’s not as in my control as my other meals (we plan together but he tends to execute which I’m very grateful for) so I make sure that my breakfast and lunch are a little healthier than my overall day so that I can enjoy the dinner that’s been made for me.
What an interesting sounding read, I WYCWYC by standing at work about 6-7 hours per day, using my standing desk, I go workout around 2:30, when I hit the afternoon slump- because I might as well do something good rather than sit and barely get any work done ( I can do this because I eat lunch at my desk).
My WYCWYC is moving as much as possible.
I try to get movement every single day, have veggies at all three big meals, and never let myself go hungry. Plus, I make sure to take some time for myself everyday, whether that’s at the gym or just going for a walk with a podcast.
My WYCWYC is making use of online videos and fitness tutorials. My commute on public transit takes up a lot of my time and sometimes making it to the gym just isn’t an option, so I’ve been getting my fitness on at home with instruction from teachers all over the internet!
I’m finally making a commitment to work out in the morning, even if it’s just 10 or 15 minutes. With an hour+ commute, a one year old, a husband in school, and being enrolled in yoga teacher training, if I don’t make this time for myself, it’s definitely not happening later in the day! I also try to move as much as I can at work, taking a walk at lunch, or I’ll even take a slightly longer bathroom break and go downstairs instead of to the one on my floor 🙂
WYCWYC – i joined class pass but i also have a standing desk and living in NYC i walk everywhere
I’m a pretty good steward of the 80-20 rule. I enjoy my indulgences and balance it out by making healthy choices most of the time.
I really struggle with the idea that it’s all or nothing as well. I think this book would be a great read and help change that mindset! I work a pretty demanding job, so now I try to do my best to take walk breaks whenever I can – even if its just to the kitchen to fill up my water bottle!
I always try to do what I can, when I can. If it is a walk at lunch when I know I can’t get to the gym, or running the stairs in my house when I can’t get out. Every little bit counts! I would love to read the book and get their ideas and inspiration!
Baby is up by 6:00am… which is eaaaarllllly and leaves me exhausted… but recently I decided to take advantage of that time to get my work out in. Early morning stroller runs have become the norm!