Do you ever feel like your body could use a reset? A detox? Last month, I decided that’s exactly what I needed to do for myself and ultimately ended up losing 10 pounds! Coming off the holidays my personal goal in January was to feel healthier all around, cleanse my body, and get into better physical shape. I also gained some weight during quarantine and in November/December that I wanted to lose. Though I set a goal to lose 10 pounds, I thought it was a stretch given it’s usually hard for me to lose weight. Consistently working out, watching what I ate (limiting going out to eat), no alcohol and my fasting cleanse helped me lose the 10 pounds.
Dry January – NO alcohol for the entire month. I’m not going to lie, going dry right after the holidays was pretty difficult. The hardest part for me was weekends and being in social settings. I basically turned down a lot of invites just because I didn’t want to put myself in a situation where everyone else around me was drinking because the temptation would be too much for me. It’s a lot easier if you stay really busy, productive with work, working out and finding other things to occupy your time. This is my second year in a row to do Dry January and it has many benefits: Better Sleep – Increased Productivity – NO HANGOVERS – Save money – Boosts immune system – Weight loss – More hydrated – Skin looks better- Feel healthier all around
WORKOUTS
I did some form of exercise everyday in January except for 1 day! I’m really proud of myself for taking the time out each day to move my body. I have always enjoyed exercising so this part did come pretty easy for me. Working out is the way that I destress and have me time. I’m including my personal workout schedule because the majority of you asked for it. I just want to preface that in no way am I recommending you have to workout this often or do what I do. This is just what worked for me and what I did for the month of January.
January Workouts: John Benton Model Fitness Zoom Workouts (completed a minimum of 4x zoom classes per week). The classes are an hour long and you can find them on the link in his instagram bio. John Benton has been my trainer for 3 years now and his method has truly transformed my body. His program focuses on reducing hip and waist measurements, and also helps atrophy extra unwanted muscle. I have a lot of muscle mass from growing up playing sports and lifting heavy weights regularly. It’s important to me that I look and feel strong and his program has helped me reach my goal of leaning/toning my body while still having a lot of full body strength.
Another workout that I really enjoy is Sculpthouse Pilates which I started doing 1x class per week mid January. I really like this class in specific because you spend half the time on the reformer and the other half getting cardio in on the treadmill.
Running – If you’ve followed me for awhile you know I how much I love to run usually do this multiple times a week. I tried to reach a daily goal of 10k steps and there were only a handful of days in January that I didn’t. If I didn’t feel like running I would just go for a long walk to get my steps in.
WEEKLY WORKOUT SCHEDULE
The majority of you said you wanted to see this so here it is, a complete breakdown of all my January workouts. JBF = John Benton Fitness
Week 1: 1/1 – 3 mile walk, 1/2 – JBF + 3 mile walk, 1/3 – 3 mile walk, 1/4 – JBF + 4.6 mile run/walk, 1/5 – JBF + 4.7 run/walk, 1/6 – JBF + hour walk, 1/7 – 5 mile walk
Week 2: 1/8 – JBF + 3.5 mile run, 1/9 – 2.5 mile run, 1/10 – No workout, 1/11 – JBF + 4.75 mile run, 1/12 – JBF + 2.7 mile run, 1/13 – JBF + 3 mile walk, 1/14 – 5 mile run/walk
Week 3: 1/15 – JBF + 4 mile run, 1/16 – JBF + 1.5 mile walk, 1/17 – 3 mile run + 7 mile walk, 1/18 – JBF + 4 mile walk, 1/19 – JBF + 5 mile run/walk, 1/20 – Sculpthouse Pilates + JBF, 1/21 – 5.3 mile run/walk
Week 4: 1/22 – 2.5 mile run, 1/23 – JBF + 2.5 mile walk, 1/24 – 3 mile run, 1/25 – Sculpthouse Pilates + 4 mile walk, 1/26 – 6 mile run/walk, 1/27 – JBF + 3 mile walk, 1/28 – JBF + 8 mile run/walk, 1/29 – JBF + 2 mile walk, 1/30 – 3 mile run,, 1/31 – 6 mile run/walk
MEAL PLAN DETAILS
Intermittent Fasting (I’ve been doing this for about a year now) + continued through January. I was more lenient on weekends with this, but ended up sticking to it pretty well. I do the 16/8 method, also called the Leangains method, which basically involves skipping breakfast and restricting your daily eating period to 8 hours, such as mine: 12p.m. – 8p.m. Intermittent fasting doesn’t restrict you from eating certain types of foods, but rather when you should eat them. It’s not a diet but more like an eating pattern. I do feel like this has helped me make healthier choices and keep weight off. It definitely makes me more aware of what I eat on a daily basis in the given timeframe.
What I ate in January
Week 1 – 3: I wanted to eat really clean and watch my calorie intake more closely in January. I ate a lot of my favorite Snap Kitchen meals Monday-Friday which was mostly big salads for lunch with some sort of protein, avocado and a light dressing. I usually snacked on fruit during the day, and sometimes would have a green juice from squeezed (#3 is my FAVE). Dinners usually consisted of a salmon or chicken dish with lots of veggies. (FYI my code WhitsWhims will get you 15% off at Snap Kitchen. On weekends I’d allow myself have a few “cheat meals” where I’m not as strict with my diet (Burgers, Fries, Sushi- all the things)
Some of my favorite healthy meals from Snap Kitchen include: almond-crusted salmon, turkey chili with beans, honey dijon roasted chicken, naked chicken, banana pancakes, green juice, greek salad, and spinach bacon ranch salad, and turkey cobb salad.
Other healthy meals/snacks I enjoy: Starbucks egg white bites, Avocado toast on GG crackers, Banana slices + Peanut butter on GG crackers, fruit, turkey slices, dairy free protein or granola bars. Sweet tooth cravings: Hail Merry peanut butter cups
Week 4 : Prolon Fast Jan 25-29
WHAT IS PROLON?
I initially heard about Prolon from a friend who was considering doing it and also later learned it was shared on Gwyneth Paltrow’s GOOP.com. I did some research on it and decided to try it out as a total body reset/detox. Be sure to use my code Whitswhims for 15% off your Prolon order. I did my fast on a Monday-Friday which I highly recommend. Here’s a little more about the Prolon fast..
ProLon is a 5-day Fasting Mimicking program designed to nourish and rejuvenate your body while supporting metabolic balance. Prolon meals come in 5 small boxes and include plant-based energy bars, soups, a variety of snacks, drinks and supplements – all studied and designed to nourish your body and provide the benefits of weight loss, metabolic health and healthy aging, and support of cellular rejuvenation.
Prolon gives many of the benefits of a fast while still letting you eat delicious food and lose weight while protecting lean body mass.
*In a clinical study prolon completed over 3 cycles (3 months) helped individuals lose an average of 5.7 pounds and 1.6 inches off their waist.
MY PERSONAL RESULTS // TAKE AWAY
Even though I did Prolon as more of a cleanse/body detox it was definitely a plus that I also lost 5.5 pounds after completing 5 days of Prolon. I honestly felt AMAZING during these five days. It dramatically reduced my stomach bloating and gave me a crazy amount of energy and mental clarity. I slept so well while on this and had way less food cravings. Once I got through the first two days my body was used to the lower calorie diet and it was much easier. I maintained my intermittent fasting throughout the Prolon fast so I never felt deprived because I had 3 meals per day, snacks and plenty of liquids in that 8 hour time frame. I’ve told so many of my friends about Prolon because I think it’s a relatively easy cleanse/diet to do that makes you FEEL SO GOOD, have tons of energy and lose a few extra pounds.
I enjoyed the food, there really was only 1 soup I didn’t really care for. Basically it’s two soups per day, a nut bar, a few snacks and teas. You can also still have one cup of black coffee per day too. If I could buy the L bars and keep them stocked in my pantry I would – IYKYK. After the cleanse it’s best to “ease into” food again and the day after mine I had a green juice, fruit and later for dinner had chicken and veggies. I definitely noticed my stomach felt like it shrunk after completing Prolon and I got full from my meals much quicker than before. The 5 day plan definitely trains your body to be satisfied with smaller portions. As recommended I will be doing it for the 3 consecutive months and I’m so excited to feel that good again while also doing something great for my body and health. I highly recommend Prolon as a total body reset and kickstart to weight loss plan.
If you plan on trying Prolon don’t forget to use my code Whitswhims at checkout for 15% off your purchase!
