We’ve been so excited for this! Today officially begins the Our Best Bites Fit Club. For those not in the loop, you can read this post to catch up. We love this community that’s grown over the last 7 years, so think of this as your virtual club, and everyone in it, your virtual friends! This really only works if you all participate! Kate and I are working overtime to provide some amazing things for you, so we need you to be involved, leave comments, participate via social media, etc. That’s the only way we can gauge interest, and we’ll keep this up if people are interested!
So you’re probably wondering what is going to be happening. There’s tons going on, so listen up!
We want to be very clear for people who are not interested in this topic, that Our Best Bites will continue to be a food blog! We’ll even continue to post naughty treats sometimes, because we believe it’s all about balance. But we’ll also incorporate posts here in The Scoop section, dedicated to the Fit Club to share info on a variety of topics, including our favorite things (gear, nutrition, fitness, etc.), reviews, and definitely some awesome giveaways. We’ll certainly continue sharing healthy recipes as well.
It’s hard to believe that there are people who are as smart, or smarter (gasp!) than Kate and me, but they exist. We’ll be introducing you to some Fit Club team members who are experts in their fields. You’ll meet the first one this weekend with your first Weekly Workout Challenge!
We’re challenging you to join by completing a weekly workout! This can be what you use for your personal workout plan, or it can be a bonus addition to exercise you’re already doing. Every single week we’re going to give you a new workout you can do, and they’ll come in an awesome printable format that you can either screenshot on your phone or print out and keep on a little ring. The workouts are designed by professional trainers and will introduce you to different styles of exercise! After a few months you’ll have a whole collection of workouts that you can easily turn to. These workouts will be going live on The Scoop at some point every weekend, either Saturday or Sunday so you’ll be ready to go on Monday. Make sure to follow us on social media so you know when they’re live!
Along with the weekly workout, each week we’ll introduce a new challenge that we’ll focus on during the week. We’ll follow-up and remind you about the challenges via social media, so stay connected!
This is key. There will be a variety of ways to follow along with us and you may not use all of them. The most basic is this blog. Check regularly for updates and info. Next, follow @ourbestbites_fitclub on Instagram. If you don’t have an instagram account, it’s super easy to sign up, even if you only use it for this fit club! You can also see it (but not comment) on your computer if you like. Kate and I will be alternating hosting the Instagram account so you’ll get to see us both there. We’ll also have a Facebook Group, but it’s not quite ready. We’ll let you know as soon as it is!
Now here’s what you need to do TODAY, right now. Or at least sometime over the weekend!
1. Photograph. You can’t tell how far you’ve gone unless you know where you started. You can see tons of mine, here. Trust me, I totally wanted to delete all of those “before” pictures, but I’m so glad I have them! Some time in the next few days take a photo of yourself. It’s not for us, it’s not for Facebook, it’s for you. No matter what your current state, you’ll be glad you did this. You’ll be amazed at the changes you will be able to see down the road when you can compare it to your starting point. Wear something snug to the body and take a photo of your front, side, and back. I recommend taking new photos once a month. And who knows- you might want to be featured here, or win a prize!
2. Weigh and Measure. I’ve made this cute chart for you- print it out and hang it up near your bathroom scale! Grab a calendar and write in the dates under the weeks. I left them blank so you could use this chart any time. –> Download by Clicking Here!
Weigh yourself once a week on the same day and around the same time. Then hide that scale! Weighing yourself daily can be both misleading and frustrating. Once a week is a good check-in. You’ll notice that every third week has a little symbol. That’s because I suggest doing measurements every three weeks. That’s enough time to see very small glimpses of progress. Measuring weekly isn’t necessary.
When it comes to actual measurements, I’ve left these blank as well so you can customize it. Use a regular ol’ flexible measuring tape. I suggest measuring your waist and hips at the very least. You may want to measure your bicep and calves as well. It’s also important that you measure in the same place, so you can make notes about that as well. For example, on mine it says things like “stomach: on belly button” “Around freckle on right calf”, etc. Use markers that will help you be consistent.
Measure fat. This is optional, but you might consider getting an inexpensive tool to measure your body fat. They’re only a few bucks, and it’s a good way to gauge how your body is changing (regardless of what the scale says!)
Okay, so that’s a lot of info. We’re starting with baby steps, but there’s so much more to come! Here’s a synopsis of your homework!
– Print off the chart and do your initial weigh-in and measurements.
– Check in over the weekend to get the first Weekly Workout Challenge and goal.
– Make sure you’re following us on Instagram and Facebook
– Leave a comment on THIS post. Use a fake name if you want, just let us know you’re with us! Share a health or fitness goal YOU’RE focusing on. Let’s do this thing!
So excited about this! Thanks so much for all your hard work on putting this together. I have 35 to loose. My goal right now is to cut back on processed foods & sugar! When I eat these foods it zaps my energy and makes me craannnkkky!! Can’t wait for your new cook book!
I’m in!! I’m currently 30 weeks pregnant so I’ll defintely be catching up in a few months. Can’t wait to get my body into shape!
Looks like fun… And work… But mostly fun 🙂
In. Me, and my baby-fat from my new little angel.
The best kind of fat 😉 That’s what I’ve got, too!
I’m in. So excited for this! I’m working on eating healthy on the weekends. It’s so hard on date night.
I’m with ya. I used to let weekends be my “cheat-days” but I found I went waaaay overboard and derailed all of my hard work the rest of the week!
I do the same thing 🙁 I do so good from Monday to Thursday and then totally blow it on the weekends. I’m up for the challenge and the support from the group!
I’m so excited for for this! Thanks, ladies!
I’m in! This is going to be just what I need 🙂 Thank you so much ladies!
I’m in! 🙂
I’m in! Currently 33 weeks pregnant so will mostly be catching up in a couple months.
Enjoy that little one before you stress too much- it goes by WAY to quickly! Good luck to ya!
I’m in! I’m pretty active, but my downfall is my relationship with food. I’m an emotional eater! Having support of a community as I try to tackle the food issues would be great for me.
That’s me, too. It’s a constant battle!
Though I am young, my cholesterol is dismally high due to mostly genetics. The doc says I can avoid medication through diet and exercise; I would like to have my cholesterol numbers go down into a healthy range this year. I want to see my future grandkids grow up!
Such a great goal. My husband has the same issue- purely from genetics; he’s a super healthy, active person. Dang genes!
I’m in!! My goal is figuring out how to incorporate healthy routines into my super busy life (full-time graduate student prepping for an intense academic career – oh, and working a second job).
I’m 31 weeks pregnant but I’ll be following along for fun!
I love your blog and I’m excited for all the info to come. I am 3 months postpartum from my 5th baby. Being 10 years older than when I had my first I can see the toll my body has taken. I’m excited for some fresh workouts and recipes.
That sounds like me. I can relate to the age difference. This pregnancy was so different for me than the one 10 years ago!
I’m with you Amy. My fifth is almost 7 weeks and our oldest is 8 1/2. What a difference those years make.
I’m all in! My goal is to do a 5K this June. And be a lean and mean fighting machine… (maybe just strong… I’m already kinda mean). 🙂 Thank you! I’m so excited!
Haha, I love that. Great goal!
I’m in and so excited. This is my #yearoffifty
I would love to see what a typical day of eating 1500 calories looks like for each of you. That would be so helpful!
We’ll definitely have some posts coming up focused on nutrition!
I’m in! I lost 27 lbs at the begging of the year and was starting to feel great but I still had 20 to go. Somewhere along the lines (around Halloween I’m guessing) I’ve gained it all back. I would love to stop the yo yo and get to my goal wait and stay there! Thanks for doing this!
That sounds just like me! Hang in there!
So fun!!
I’m in! I’ve lost 14 lbs since Thanksgiving by walking laps around the church next to my house and changing my eating habits. I’m ready for a new twist and some fun encouragement, thanks for all your hardwork and effort to share this info!
Im so excited for this! I’ve just moved to a new are with no friends or family to be my workout buddy so this is perfect for me. My goals are to lose some post baby weight and have better eating habits.
My family is doing a challenge, and I want to win!! My goal is at least 12% weight loss! Looking forward to the challenges you give us!
YEEESSSS!!!! Oh I am in! I have a favorite pair of jeans begging to fit over my thighs again.
I’m doing this, baby!
I’m in! Thanks for the cute little chart! Not so intimidating when it’s so cute 😉
I am focusing on becoming more active. Can’t wait to see the weekly workouts!
I’m SO in! 🙂
I’m in! I need to lose some baby weight.
Hi! I’m 4.5 months postpartum with my third baby. I’ve gained 40 pounds with each one, but this isthe first that I didn’t automatically lose half the weight (and the rest drops once I stop nursing and get back to regular activity – in the past anyway). So I know this time I’m going to have to work harder. I’m in!
My weight never finishes coming off until after nursing is done too- what’s up with that? But I’m just under 3 mos PP, so I’ve got at least 6-9 months to go before I start seeing that…
PS- I’m in!
My weight never came off until I stopped nursing either…my doctor always told me to make sure I was getting enough calories for a good milk supply and to consider exercise at this point to be healthy and then worry about weight loss later.
I’m in!
Count me in!