And Away We Go!

Happy Tuesday! Although our early spring weather is on temporary hiatus here in Boston, I still feel energized by the sun, the blossoming trees, the birdsong and the prospect of warm days just around the corner. I can't wait to pack away the winter things and head outside. I've started preparing the garden plot that will soon be filled with beautiful vegetable seedlings and the kids are so excited about growing food! Even our bunny has more spring in his step this week-maybe someone told him about the vegetable garden?

Last night we kicked off the spring session of 6FIT at DanceFIT Studio and it's going to be an amazing 6 weeks. The energy in the studio felt so positive I couldn't help but to smile and I felt like all of my negative energy was sweating right out of me. Once again I've got a very motivated team. Our lives are all very different but I'm really looking forward to seeing how this healthy lifestyle fits in to so many different scenarios and hearing how different people make it work.

This first week is the "Water Cleanse" challenge. Don't worry! This is not a week with no food! 6FIT is about learning to live in a more healthy way and starving your body for a week would definitely not qualify. What we eat is up to us. We are allowed one small cup of coffee before noon each day but, other than that, we can only drink plain water.
I think (correct me if I'm wrong, Gina and Maeve) the purpose of this challenge is first, to make sure we are all well-hydrated and second, to wake our bodies up to the changes to come in the next 6 weeks. We always hear some version of the "drink 8 glasses of water a day" rule but I personally have always been terrible about drinking water. It's not that I used to drink soda or juice instead. I just never seemed to drink much of anything.
For those of you that always drink lots of water, this week might not be a big change for you. For everyone else, you are going to be amazed at how different you feel at the end of the week. If you feel sluggish or have a bit of a nagging headache, you are not alone. For many of us, that one cup of coffee in each morning represents a fraction of the caffeine we are used to consuming and we'll have a bit of withdrawal to deal with. Also, flooding your body with lots of water is a great way to flush toxins from your system but in the process there will be lots of toxins floating around on their way out. Rest assured you will feel much better in a couple of days and please don't give up. The best thing to do is be kind to yourself,  drink even more water and keep your body moving. You'll get over the hump and feel much better by the time we head into week 2.

Foods of the week this week are swiss chard and bananas. Who has a great recipe to share? I usually just saute chard in olive oil and eat it over brown rice or quinoa with a bit of salt but I'm sure there are much more interesting ways to eat it. As for bananas, aside from being great just as they are, if you slice them and let them cook in with your morning oatmeal they add a nice texture and enough sweetness that you might not need to add anything else.

Wow-that was a long post considering I had no idea what I was going to write about today. Stay tuned for some different posts in the days to come. Eating well on a budget maybe? Or great books to check out if you're trying to live a healthier lifestyle? Suggestions welcome!

And did I mention, I like who I'm becoming!

Here's to 6FIT =)
~Mari-Chris