If your workout has become stagnant and uninspiring, if you feel like a hamster stuck inside a wheel, if you are just plain bored with your regular routine — switch it up! You’re as limited as your mind allows. It’s up to you to find something you like to do.

In continuing the 50 Million Pound Challenge, I’ve had my moments of struggle, reluctance, and frustration. The hardest thing to do is get back on that saddle. But I realized that switching up my workout routine, finding new motivation and inspiration is of paramount importance.

So I’m gonna start reviewing new exercise experiences and workout options here, to let you know what’s worked and hasn’t worked for me!

First up, Hoopnotica!

The hula hooping workout has gotten press EVERYWHERE. Vogue, Time, E!, MSNBC, US Weekly, People, In Style… you name it. It’s trendy, sexy and unique, so all the hottest celebrities have been jumping into the hoop craze.

That’s not why I wanted to try it.

From what I’ve read, you can actually lose weight while hooping. And also, more superficially, I love the hippie hoop girls that you see at big music festivals. These chicks are amazing. They hoop in time to the music and do all sorts of amazing tricks, and by nightfall, they use glow in the dark hoops. So. Cool.

They inspired me to learn how to hoop.

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I’m getting closer to my dream. You see, when I moved to Chicago I started having pretty vivid dreams of what I wanted from the city. For the most part, they are snapshots. One of them that has lingered with me, and remained foremost in my mind as we looked for an apartment.

I see myself, on a retro bicycle with a basket on the front, riding around Lake Michigan.

There’s something really freeing and magical about riding a bike. And seeing the world from that eye-view is thrilling.

Besides the fun of the wind blowing through your hair and whizzing past slow-moving cars and people, there’s the exercise factor — a huge part of the 50 Million Pound Challenge involves just motivating yourself to get up, get out, and do something to get yourself moving. It helps to do something you like, and to make it a regular part of your daily routine.

So the action plan is, when I am established in the heart of the city, get a bike. It’s free, fun, easy transportation from point A to B, I can run errands when the weather isn’t too bad, and the whole time I’ll be getting in that precious exercise time I so often convince myself isn’t completely available.

But ay, here’s the rub. Nice bikes can be crazy expensive!

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What does the 4th of July mean to you? Fireworks? Freedom? Fried food? All of the above? Most definitely! Moderation isn’t exactly a word that comes to mind during the 4th, or most holiday weekends. But I’m here to tell you, friends of the 50 Million Pound Challenge, you can enjoy the 4th to the max and still maintain your fitness momentum.

If you’re hosting a 4th of July jamboree, that puts you in the driver’s seat to provide a delicious, healthy spread. Nobody’s going to miss played out potato chips and greasy pre-packaged snacks if you provide a lush raw veggie tray for starters. Slice up red, yellow, and orange peppers, add some baby carrots, cucumber spears, and sugar snap peas — serve with low fat ranch, black bean dip, and hummus et voila! Easy, fresh, bright, delicious. And you can do the same with a fruit platter — apple slices drizzled with lemon and honey, fresh canteloupe, honeydew and watermelon, and lots and lots of berries. Skip the caramel dip, save the calories for more fun fare.

One of my favorite crowd pleasing recipes is a version of this vegetable pizza, made with Pillsbury crust, cream cheese, powdered ranch dressing, and lots and lots of fresh chopped veggies. I swear to you, people who don’t like veggies LOVE this pizza. And I don’t usually include the olives because I married someone who thinks they are gross.

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I’ve been reading Michael Pollan’s book, In Defense of Food. The first sentence grabbed me right away.

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

He makes it sound easy, right? But when you’re living in a city, or on a budget, if you work long hours or if you have kids who are picky eaters, eating according to Pollan’s plan can seem almost impossible. Unhealthy food is cheap and it’s EVERYWHERE. Eating healthy takes a bit more effort. But believe me, bellas — it’s worth it!

I have big, big admiration for First Lady Michelle Obama for getting her hands in the dirt and encouraging kids to plant a vegetable garden at the White House. 36 students from Washington DC’s Bancroft Elementary helped her, and just this week they harvested their veggies. 73 pounds of lettuce, to be exact. Then, together with White House chefs, the FLOTUS and her elementary school assistants dined on baked chicken with brown rice and peas, salad with carrots and honey dressing, and garden cupcakes with fruit topping.

Delicious! Michelle Obama explained her motivation in a speech following the harvest.
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May was a bad month for me and discipline. Moving will do that to you. No food in the fridge, no pots left to cook in, working hard to pack all your stuff in boxes all day long… the next thing you know someone says “french fries?” and you respond like Pavlov’s dog.

Forgive me, Dr. Ian — I fell off the 50 Million Pound Challenge wagon again. Way, way off.

There was a week in May where I ate practically nothing but fast food. Arby’s and Subway. Five Guys Burgers and Fries. And most shamefully of all — Krystle Burger and *heavy sigh* White Castle. Which I regretted eating almost instantly. Someone explain to me — WHY did Harold and Kumar want to go to this place so bad?

I could blame my overindulgence on my friend in moving, Frank, who is practically obsessed with sliders. From the minute he saw Krystal’s big red sign, he was raring to go.

But I can’t blame someone else for my own weakness. I should have just said NO.

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My first yoga class was an unforgettable experience.

I’d been yoga-curious for a while, experimented with videos and online tutorials. But finally a friend I knew through my old job convinced me to join her at the local free yoga classes at Bayfront Park in Miami. It’s a stunning venue — the lapping water of Biscayne Bay to the front, the glittering buildings of Miami’s downtown to the back. I got down and tried to bend and stretch with the best of them. The instructor was a smokin’ hot dude with flowy white pants. When he moved into a headstand position I was sure nobody else could do, I was astounded to look around and see at least half of the class standing on their heads right around with him. Needless to say, I felt out of my league. And at the end of it, we discovered that my yoga friend had exacerbated a pre-existing injury. That class landed my friend in the hospital with back and neck problems, and made me steer clear of yoga classes completely.

So I kept trying, I gave it another whirl with videos. But it isn’t the same, doing yoga by yourself in your living room with no guidance. I grew to love the Wii Fit yoga — it’s super precise because of the Wii Fit platform, which can detect even the slightest tremor in your feet. But still, I wasn’t motivated enough to want to practice every day.

I wanted that passion the diehard yoga fanatics seemed to exude. I wanted the inner peace yoga seemed to almost-guarantee anyone who practiced it. I wanted to have a transformative yoga experience.

I got what I wanted, when I went to a Voluptuous Vinyasa class.

Billed as yoga for plus size women, it’s all about nurturing your soul, adapting your body, and freeing your mind. The class I attended was led by Yamilee Bastien, a Miami-based yoga instructor who is all about creating a haven for women who may be hesitant about contorting their bodies into pretzel shapes, or who know a headstand isn’t in their immediate future. Yamilee helped to shatter some of my preconceptions about yoga. Number one — it really CAN be for everybody!

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