#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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I would love to win! Definitely need to re-evaluate my health goals and would love to read!!
I love the idea of persistence > perfection!
That book looks amazing! I would looove to read it 🙂
How I’ve WYCWYC lately is by making the shift to morning workouts and sticking to it. That, paired with getting more sleep, has helped my mentality around health so much. I started out the day SO STRONG, so the world will not collapse if I have a cookie, or if I can’t make it to the gym later because of a social event, that’s okay because I did what I could when I could- gymmed in the AM 🙂
I love the idea behind this book, everyone has to just do what they can because yes working out and eating well is important BUT we also need to enjoy life, make splurges and prioritize family and other things besides that for total health.
I love the sounds of this book. I am always tempted to try to big overhauls, but I know they don’t work for me. Recently my eating has been off track, so I have tried to focus on eating more real foods and increase my fruit and veggies. I feel much better and not completely overwhelmed by making a complete diet overhaul!
I love this! My current job is very demanding and my hours which should be 8-5 often end up being 8-8, totally messing up my usual schedule. I’ve now learned to just do what I can when I can and not sweat the days that I don’t get to sweat! As long as I don’t go too long in between 🙂
I love the idea behind this book. I can easily swap out “zoodles” for pasta and squeeze in a 15-20 minute workout daily.
Sounds like a great read 🙂
Great idea! I can definitely add more veggies to all my meals.
This sounds like a great read and a great mindset. We need to be a little less hard on ourselves sometimes.
I love the concept and I have done this with my workouts. If I am pressed for time or not feeling it that day, I just cut it short.
This would be great, it’s exactly what I’m trying to do with my life right now b
This sounds really cool and reminds me of another book I’ve been enjoying, Better Than Before, about how different people form habits.
i’d love to read this, thanks for doing this giveaway & letting me know about the book! if i don’t win, i hope to go buy it Friday anyways 🙂
I’ve been trying to sneak workouts in when little one naps!
This is exactly what I need! I struggle with the all or nothing mentality which so often leads to failure!
i wycwyc by walking while talking on the phone and catching up with my peeps!
I love this! It’s very much the “everything in moderation” mantra that I try to live by.
Would love to get my hands on this book! I practice WYCWYC by making use of time in between clients. It’s easy to plop down, but a few plank or pull ups make a difference! In the kitchen, it’s simply being more mindful and giving myself grace daily!
Seems like a great read for summertime! I just subscribed to your news letter, too 🙂 I’m just about finished with my current workout program and looking forward to joining your SSU later this month.
I love this concept and would love to learn more! Thanks for the giveaway!
I’ll definitely check this book out. Seems like something I really need right now….
I can’t believe I have not heard of this book! It would help me both personally and professionally!
These are all great reminders!! My WYCWYC is that I kept sleeping in and not having time to get in a workout each day, but I realized I was just watching tv on my lunch break. So now I bring my workout clothes to work so I can just run out the door and get my sweat on. 🙂
I get out and walk when I have a the time and then also I try and get a bit of sleep when I can too.
I schedule lunch gym dates with myself and friends and try to walk everywhere!
I definitely try to maximize my time these days with a full time job where I commute almost an hour, teach an hour class a day at Pure barre and have a husband I want to spend time + cook with! Plus, I love sleep as much as you it seems 🙂
Sounds like my kind of book!
I have a one year old and do all my workouts at home. Sometimes she interrupts my workouts so I’ve learned when I’m working out and she decides she wants attention, I include her and let her join in. I’m not able to have the same intensity when she’s around during my workouts, but I’ve learned something is better than nothing!
I love this idea!
This looks awesome…I’m always saying I need to do this or that, but sometimes just never get around to it. I need some motivation! I need to be consistent with strength training instead of always jumping on the cardio wagon!
This sounds great! Lately I’ve been getting into the sweets FAR too regularly and not exercising enough.
Being 4 months postpartum with my first baby, this resonates so much with me! I am back to work full time and trying to make healthy choices and move more but cant always get in a “traditional” workout because I don’t want to sacrifice time with my baby. Thanks for always encouraging healthy changes, however small they may be!
This book sounds amazing! Sometimes I feel overwhelmed at work and not able to leave when I originally planned to get my workout in. When I’m feeling stressed I should take short breaks to go for a little walk, it will help me get some exercise in and calm down a bit.
I go for long walks around my neighborhood in Boston – Beacon Hill, it’s beautiful!
I love this idea. I feel like it especially applies to a situation outside your routine. For instance, if you are celebrating a friend’s birthday eat the cupcake, but order a salad. Also, i try to practice this when staying with my in-laws. I usually stop at the store and prepare a salad with dinner and lots of fruit with breakfast. That way I can still eat what they serve, but I just supplement it with veggies/fruits.
I always park at the farthest end of a parking lot to get more steps in.
I have been trying to incorporate more WYCWYC into my life lately, but it’s tough because I am an anxious type-A and tend to approach things, particularly diet and exercise as all or nothing. Lately, I’ve been trying to be more forgiving and keeping a healthy snack and gym clothes in the car with me always. I am working on allowing myself to sneak in 20min on the treadmill, or catch the second half of a zumba class if that’s all I have time for – just working within my limits with school and work to make sure that I am nourishing my body and mind.
I love this idea! I’ve kinda been adding that concept to my workouts already. I work late in the summer and was completely skipping my workouts but now, when I get home I go for a jog that will get me to my fitbit goal. Knowing I don’t have to do a complete workout but still get in some cardio has been awesome!
I love the idea! As a new grad (yay!) I’ll be starting my consulting position full time on Monday and will certainly need to incorporate a WYCWYC into my life
I adore the concept of this book, I would love to read it! I often remind myself of the phrase “It’s not what you eat some of the time, it’s what you eat most of the time that really matters.” It helps me with keeping a balanced mindset and doing what I can.
I make little things count, like taking the stairs instead of the elevator at work!
I would love to read this book!
I really wanted to tackle a half marathon… but I’m just not a runner (even for a mile!) so I’m doing what I can, modifying, and working on a summer exercise program ramping up to walk a half. 🙂
I am very interested in knowing more!
Short walks in the middle of the work day and more fruit.
I’ve been looking for a new motivating book to read and I think this could be it. Lately, I take breaks in between tasks at work to take a short walk. It helps refocus and motivate me to keep active.
I try to get in a walk around the park right before dinner, then afterwards with the family. Just lets me move a little bit more, plus clear my head.
I’ve been trying to wycwyc lately by prioritizing sleep (and failing at it) but also by making sure I get outside at least 3 days a week, even if it’s just a 10 minute walk at lunch. there’s something per relaxing about being in nature.