If you follow along on Instagram (@katiekeepshealthy), you may have seen I started a new fitness challenge this week. It’s Lauren Gleisberg’s Confidencekini 5 week fitness, food and lifestyle challenge! I’m following the free daily workouts (with prenatal modifications ;)) on her blog. She’s also been posting some great tips and reads on all things health and happiness. Each day has a photo challenge to share on IG. Today’s post was her Friday Five and I decided to write a blog of my own to share my 5 random things I’m in to lately!
1. Fitness Communities
Since I’m kind of already talking about it, my first thing is fitness challenges + communities! I have found tons of encouragement since I stepped out of my comfort zone and started sharing more of my healthy lifestyle journey online. It’s brought connection with likeminded others which is something I crave, yet was lacking before! Over my pregnancy I’ve “met” tons of mamas in a similar stage who are also keeping active. I’m truly grateful for their support and inspiration.
Lately, the communities I follow most are Tone It Up and LG. TIU has their annual Bikini Series starting in May and the team is buzzing with excitement! I’ll be mostly following along the nutrition plan and the soon-to-be released new recipes with this series. Leading up to baby time, I decided to jump back in to workouts following LG! I’m having to modify a lot but it feels great to be moving again! I shared more about my reason for slowing down workouts, over the past couple months, in this post. I love Lauren’s down to earth, honest personality, plus she’s a mama! Her workouts are awesome and she is very generous with her programs and content.
2. Oat Bowls for Breakfast
Speaking of keeping healthy, I’m SO hungry these days. My overall eating is fairly clean but I definitely have more “treats” as of late, and eat often ;) My go to breakfast (when I don’t meal prep) is oat bowls!
The base is quick oats, unsweetened coconut, 1/2 scoop of vanilla protein and unsweetened almond milk that I mix and microwave for 1.5 minutes. The toppings are easy to switch up but my usual is something like: a drizzle of pure maple syrup, flax seeds, almond butter, nuts/seeds and chopped fruit/berries.
Super delish, fuelling + filling!
3. Playgrounds + Picnics With the Girls
Spring has finally sprung in Calgary and we have been loving the warmer temperatures lately! It’s made these days with the girls, before baby, even better because of all the outside time. We have been visiting favourite parks + playgrounds every day... and have been enjoying maybe a little too many treats in celebration of the sunshine ;)
We went for lunch + frozen yogurt on the weekend and yesterday they rode their bikes over to the shopping corner for ice cream! Another thing we’ve been doing is snack picnics outside. Usually a tray of fruit and some other munchies!
I find times like these make such a difference to our day and mood. I’m truly soaking it up and pumped for summer!
4. Fixer Upper
I’m kind of late to the party on this one! I actually have hardly watched much tv in years. There’s no shows I watch regularly and I very rarely sit down to watch tv. I just don’t care for it anymore... but over pregnancy I would sit every now and then to watch a show with Matthew. The other day I happened on an episode of Fixer Upper. Which I had obviously heard of, and was aware of the Gaines’, Magnolia and all their popularity, but I’ve never actually watched.
Anyway, the next day I felt “in the mood” to watch it again. So I set the PVR to record episodes. Then nearly every night this week, while Matthew was away at work, I sat down when the girls went to bed and watched an episode. It’s so out of my norm and habits! Honestly before that I would go to bed soon after the girls... but now, although part of me wants to prioritize rest, I’ve been staying up even later and relaxing this way instead. It’s different for me but hey it IS relaxing. And I can totally see why everyone loves them! My whole “nesting” stage may have something to do with my interest in this too ;)
I’m kind of late to the party on this one! I actually have hardly watched much tv in years. There’s no shows I watch regularly and I very rarely sit down to watch tv. I just don’t care for it anymore... but over pregnancy I would sit every now and then to watch a show with Matthew. The other day I happened on an episode of Fixer Upper. Which I had obviously heard of, and was aware of the Gaines’, Magnolia and all their popularity, but I’ve never actually watched.
Anyway, the next day I felt “in the mood” to watch it again. So I set the PVR to record episodes. Then nearly every night this week, while Matthew was away at work, I sat down when the girls went to bed and watched an episode. It’s so out of my norm and habits! Honestly before that I would go to bed soon after the girls... but now, although part of me wants to prioritize rest, I’ve been staying up even later and relaxing this way instead. It’s different for me but hey it IS relaxing. And I can totally see why everyone loves them! My whole “nesting” stage may have something to do with my interest in this too ;)
5. AGX Skin + Jojoba Oil
My final thing I’m loving lately is my skincare routine. AGX skin is the first essential oil blend I tried when I switched to using améo. I have been mixing it with this jojoba oil and apply it morning and night. The biggest change I’ve seen is my skin is smoother and pore size is smaller. It also aids in minimizing sun spots and skin imperfections. I love the smell and find it so comforting. I also love this jojoba, which I actually hadn’t tried before. It’s great for skincare blending and can be used to naturally remove makeup!
There you have it 5 random things I’m loving lately! Plus one more -- the girls request for "moose" and "bear" hair today ^^^ Make-up artistry all on their own...
I definitely have more than 5 other posts brainstorming in my head but I just haven’t made writing a priority this month. Hoping to share more soon... in the meantime stay connected on Insta or follow along on Facebook. I have plans to start sharing more there soon too :)