Welcome to 2021! We just bought our tickets to Hawaii and are STOKED. I cannot wait to be back in the land of sun and sea! Of course I want to feel (AND LOOK) my best there, so some lifestyle changes will have to happen. Here is my Road to Hawaii.
Food Goals:
- Incorporate More Vegetables
- While I am already enjoying 1 green smoothie (kale, spinach, apple, pineapple, chia seeds) a day, I am making it a goal to eat at least 1 salad per day with a clean store-bought or homemade vinaigrette dressing.
- Cook Using Clean Ingredients
- TheJessHuynh has pulled me down the FlavCity rabbit hole with her. After researching and watching some of Bobby’s videos, hubs and I have decided to use better butter, eggs and nut milk to get the best nutrients each item has to offer. We’ll be buying KerryGold butter from Costco to cook with, and will be on the lookout for Pasture-Raised Eggs and a natural nutrient-packed nut milk.
- Season With Herbs
- This is a trick many models I know do at least a week out before a show. Since salt causes bloating due to water retention, those sweet ladies will cook their foods using plant-based ingredients like garlic, ginger, cilantro, lemon, etc. Trust me, this works wonders.
- Consume More Seafood or Chicken
- This goal isn’t too difficult for me because I’ve been working on cutting out red meat since last year. While I’ve done it enough to stop craving it, my husband still loves to make his steaks and burgers which taste wonderful. So I will enjoy a red-meat-based-meal maybe once month or once every other week, but will be adding it to a salad instead of eating it alone as a meal.
- Stop Eating After 8PM
- This may be the hardest goal for me because life happens. A subgoal to this one is to sleep earlier, which means that I will need my food to digest earlier.
Fitness Goals:
- Work Out At Least Once a Day for 6/7 Days per Day
- I have been working out at home and am LOVING MadFit Youtube videos. This is something I have kept consistent for about 1.5 months now. I truly feel such a HUGE difference from just 3 months ago. I feel stronger and toner, and have even seen mildly visible results. Any progress is great progress!
- Build Endurance Through Cardio
- I hate cardio so this is the most challenging for me. However, many of the MadFit Dance Workout videos have actually made 12-15 minutes of cardio enjoyable for me! I think a lot of her dance videos are fun because I used to dance, but it is not for everyone… especially if you don’t enjoy dancing! Leaving this video here in case you want to try one… she starts out with a Beyonce song so CLEARLY it is my favorite.
- Tone Up Through Targeted Exercises
- MadFit’s targeted Ab/Leg/Booty workouts are amazing. Her movements are so simple yet so effective. I’m normally sweating 2-3 minutes into the video! This Ab Workout is my favorite: https://youtu.be/JjyWKxZMCLU
Since we are going to be out on the beaches and in the sun all day, my friends and I want to do all we can to look fit and sun-kissed in our swimsuits. This means that we are now more motivated to eat better and live better. Since quarantine, marriage and starting birth control, my weight has fluctuated tremendously. A large part of my weight gain has to do with my birth control, to be completely candid. The second part is marriage.
My husband LOVES to cook and try different recipes, but he’s also a huge meat-lover (while I am not). Since I know he gets super excited about his recipes, I will enjoy every bite because I know I’m surely blessed to have a man who loves to feed me, haha! That being said, we both now need to plan our meals and cook with ingredients that will make our bodies happy and not just our taste buds.
I don’t see myself or my husband (especially him) changing to a complete vegan or vegetarian diet since we love both of our moms’ Vietnamese dishes. However, I see this “Road to Hawaii” being a journey and motivator for us to get our bodies back to when we felt our best.
Stay tuned for updates and travel related posts! can you tell we’re REALLY excited?
If you have any tips or questions about what we’re doing, feel free to DM me on Instagram or shoot me a message through my Contacts form! Thanks for reading and cheers to a better 2021.
With love,
Susan
Strut with Susan 