The First Week of THIRTYLEAP in Review

Making THIRTYLEAP a daily approach to life this week has been surprisingly easy. 

Each day I have walked to and from work. Racking up the step count on my Fitbit (which I LOVE). No matter the weather, the morning walks have set me up for a really energised and positive day, and walking home has allowed me a space to detach from work.

I would highly recommend walking where you can - as its a perfect activity no matter your fitness level.

Eating has been mostly healthy with a few treats here and there (nothing too dramatic though) and I've cut out toast - which within two days had a major positive impact. I'm a bit sad about that - as toast, fruit toast, even burnt toast is so easy, so comforting and so yum! maybe not burnt toast, but in my current state of toast withdrawal I would eat it. 

I've been on the treadmill a couple of times and to my first spin class in years. So it's all been very manageable and I'm aiming to fit in a bit more this week. 

How are you going with your THIRTYLEAP this week??? What have you found manageable? what's been difficult? what's enjoyable? 

Happy Leaping!! xox

The First Seven Days PLANNED

The planning for THIRTYLEAP is something I've put quite a bit of time into, especially today. I want THIRTYLEAP to be motivating, effective, sustainable and most of all enjoyable. 

That's why I've built it around #LAFF - the four chambers of your THIRTYLEAP. In the picture below you can see that brainstorming is key. First off I sectioned out a page into four quarters, #LOVE #AMBITION #FITNESS and #FOOD one for each chamber. On this page I went to the basics, 'what do I want?' and came up with a lot of stuff, but the main crux is:

"I want to be happy, healthy, and successful" 

The next step I took was to brainstorm ideas of how I could start achieving what I want, specific to each chamber.

"It's all good and well to want something, but it can be downright depressing when over and over you don't achieve it."

Part of achieving what you want isn't always about just 'trying' - I know there are so many people out there working their guts out trying to get the things they want and still feeling like they're lost at sea. I've been feeling like this lately and that is why I see these planning stages as ESSENTIAL to helping me and you get what we want. 

The final stage was taking these ideas - like 'cook at home more', 'walk to work', and 'spend quality time with loved ones' - and put them into a real plan. This is where the thirty days comes in. My plan is to focus on seven and thirty days at a time. Bite sized chunks if you will. This first THIRTYLEAP for me, is one of easing into doing the things that I should already be doing. 

"It's a gentle shove into living happily, healthfully and successfully." 

My next THIRTYLEAP will be when I start pushing myself more and more, but for now I think it's important to establish a precedent of living THIRTYLEAP before I make it much harder. I've included my plan below to help you with planning your own. I see this plan as continuing to be a base for each THIRTYLEAP I enter into, and where suitable I'll start pushing my limits more.

Will you be starting a THIRTYLEAP? what sort of challenges and goals are you setting for yourself? 

I'd love to hear about it! So please use the hashtags #LAFF, #THIRTYLEAP, and #THIRTYLEAPCHALLENGE 

Happy Leaping! xox

THIRTYLEAP #LAFF
	SATURDAY - 23	SUNDAY - 24	MONDAY - 25	TUESDAY - 26	WEDNESDAY - 27	THURSDAY - 28	FRIDAY - 29
LOVE	Brunch with Friends - bit of cleaning	Spend time with Ryan - Sort out clothes	Ring Nana + read book	Ring Mum + read book	Write a ltter to Grandad + read book	Read book and meditate	read book and mediate
AMBITION	Working on Blogging Skills	Read up on Media Blogs - plan clothes for work week	Work hard - wake up early to ensure polished look	Work hard - wake up early to ensure polished look	Work hard - wake up early to ensure polished look	Work hard - wake up early to ensure polished look	Work hard - wake up early to ensure polished look
FITNESS	Yoga and meditation at home	30 mins Treadmill - HIIT + yoga at home and 10,000 steps	Walk to work and back + 30 mins treadmill - HIIT and 10,000 steps	Walk to work and back + 30 mins treadmill - HIIT and 10,000 steps	Walk to work and back + 30 mins treadmill - HIIT and 10,000 steps	Walk to work and back + 30 mins treadmill - HIIT and 10,000 steps	Walk to work and back + 30 mins treadmill - HIIT and 10,000 steps
FOOD	Drink at least 2 litres of Water	Cook all meals at home - plan shop carefully for healthy meals throughout the week	Drink at least 2 litres of water and prepare all meals at home	Drink at least 2 litres of water and prepare all meals at home	Drink at least 2 litres of water and prepare all meals at home	Drink at least 2 litres of water and prepare all meals at home	Drink at least 2 litres of water and prepare all meals at home

What do you REALLY want?

It's important to really, truly think about this question. I won't lie, when I first glance at it  I fall into a world of incredible imagination - where I just happen to be gobsmacked looking at myself in the mirror and realising that I never knew I happened to be a dead ringer for Audrey Hepburn and then being shocked out of this realisation by a phone call from the Lotto lady down the street telling me I've won a billion dollars. The list of amazing things goes on to things like being Lisa Marie Fernandez's muse and getting my choice of her latest line.... 

Oh I could write one hell of a blog post on all these things I want, and Beyonce would retweet it. But NO that's not the case. And that's NOT a bad thing. As a key part of THIRTYLEAP I've been drawn to the physical nature of the human heart. It has four chambers all very important to performing the not so simple act of living every day. 

THIRTYLEAP revolves around four chambers also, and the 'heart' holding these four chambers together, YOU. 

1. Personal life (friends, family, love interests)

2. Career (current and ambition)

3. Fitness 

4. Food

So my challenge to you today, is to think about your life in these four chambers. Try to place approximately equal weighting on each chamber, as the idea is that they are the essence of who you are and who you can be. I want you to think about what you want, what you REALLY want, and how you can work towards achieving this by adjusting the way you live each of these chambers on any given day. 

I'll be doing this also, and aim to get another post up this afternoon outlining my goals and how I'll use each of these chambers for my THIRTYLEAP these next thirty days to get thirty days closer to achieving these goals. 

Before I let you go, remember one thing. THIRTYLEAP is not an end goal, it's a journey, so keep it realistic and let yourself enjoy your THIRTYLEAP. 

Happy Leaping! xox

THIRTYLEAP

Since it's my first post I'd like to outline what I hope to provide in this blog. 

The idea behind THIRTYLEAP stems from years where I have tried all sorts of different diets and exercises with varying results. The main outcome though is that they haven't been sustainable. And there is always a point where i feel like I've failed and all other kinds of shit. 

THIRTYLEAP is different - it's a real attempt to make cleaneating which everyone rants on and on about a long-term part of my life. In addition to this I plan to use THIRTYLEAP to also maintain a sustainable regular exercise programme - that I can mixup as I feel the need. The other elements I'll be focusing on with THIRTYLEAP are my emotional wellbeing and strength at both work and in my personal life. 

THIRTYLEAP essentially is building a realistic balance in all areas of life. The aim of which is to allow me to live my best life. 

When discussing this with some close friends its a concept that they've been interested in as well. Now I won't lie - I've dabbled in healthy eating. I drink green juice sometimes... I've been a yoga fan in the past and I've even entered an INBA bikini comp (yes that's body building - and it's kind of fun). In all of this though I've always thrown myself in wholeheartedly or failed miserably (juice detox anyone?). 

With THIRTYLEAP the idea is to set achievable but good goals in 30 day time periods. I'll update weekly plans of how I aim to achieve said goals. 

Now if you want to take a leap with me and start completing your own THIRTYLEAP! wow I can't believe it! but if you do - I recommend being inspired by my plans but really thinking about what's going to benefit you and what's going to help you reach your balance. This way you will get the most out of it that you can. 

If you Tweet, Facebook, Instagram or Blog your own journey please tag me so i can follow along and we can inspire and motivate each other. Use the hashtags #THIRTYLEAP  and #THIRTYLEAPchallenge

Happy Leaping!! xox