Getting Into Shape!

Inspired by a week long "weight loss" challenge (myself not included), and another week long sickness, I decided to embark on a month long "fitness challenge". This does not mean losing weight, but instead getting into shape, so to speak. What this means for me is getting back to basics in regards to food, cutting back on (or out of) sweets and sugar, dropping the coffee thing and finally getting my ass back into shape with yoga classes.

What I've decided to do to keep things interesting is make dinners exclusively from the Happy Herbivore book. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, Happy Herbivore focuses on low fat and no added fat recipes. Luckily for me our dinners automatically become my lunch, so that's covered. Breakfast is the usual, oatmeal and some fruit, or a green smoothie. (And lots of green smoothies for snacks throughout the day, especially after yoga.) This is week 2 of my Happy Herbivore menu, which I'll have posted up soon.

Speaking of yoga, for me, the most successful way to exercise is with Bikram Yoga. I've been practicing Bikram on and off since 2007. It is a series of 26 postures, done in a heated room, for 90 minutes. It sounds intense (and can be!) but it is an excellent workout. Most importantly for me, it helps in strengthening your lungs, which is really what I am working on. Although everyone has to make their own choice in what kind of exercise is right for them, I do highly recommend Bikram to everyone. (And if you are in the DC area, do check out Bikram Yoga Bethesda. They are awesome there, by far the best in DC.)

What are you all doing to get yourselves into shape?