TAKING ACTION: ✅Look at your week ahead and let me know in the comments if you see any potential hiccups for Feast Day or our 24-hour fast this week. Let’s get a plan together now so you’re well-prepared and set up for success! We’re stepping into our fourth week of our STEPtember Challenge and in case you haven’t heard—it’s a big week around here! We not only have our monthly 24-hour fast coming up this week, but we also have our monthly Feast Day (which is a total fan fav, by the way) AND our No Background Noise CHALLENEGE starts TODAY and runs through Friday (no music in car, TVs OFF, etc..) and really sit in our thoughts and learn to enjoy the silence which will help with anxiety (long term), nervous system regulation + being able to form actual thoughts. I always like to touch on a mindset topic on Mondays, and today, I want to talk about reducing decision fatigue by having a plan. Decision fatigue is a real thing, and if you wait until the last minute and try to wing it with your diet and exercise, you may find yourself too mentally overwhelmed to focus on your plan this week. 💯 Today, I encourage you to look at your week ahead. What could potentially cause a hiccup on Feast Day? What about our 24-hour fast on Thursday? Note anything that might pose a problem and figure out how you’re going to navigate it. Have a plan. Again, with all of the decisions that come up in a day, waiting to create a plan until it arrives typically doesn’t turn out in your favor. If you know of anything that might cause a hiccup this week, share it with me in the comments below, and I’ll help you think through it! That’s what I’m here for, and I want to see you succeed! 🔥

TAKING ACTION: ✅Share one tip for getting in your protein each day! I want to hear from everyone today! Let’s talk about protein. We’ve discussed why rest & recovery and sufficient carb intake are important with our extra movement this month, but it’s also important to make sure you’re hitting your protein goal every day this month. As you’re well aware, protein is our anchor macro. However, it’s even more critical this month because we’ve increased our activity with our STEPtember challenge. Here’s why ⬇️ 🍽 Extra muscle repair: The added walking increases overall muscle stress on top of your HIIT and strength sessions. Protein supplies the amino acids needed to repair that tissue so you recover better and keep progressing. 🍽 Protecting lean muscle: Higher activity raises your calorie burn. Without enough protein, your body is more likely to break down muscle for energy instead of using fat or food. 🍽 Better recovery & adaptation: Adequate protein helps reduce soreness, supports strength gains, and keeps your body adapting to the new training load instead of just getting more tired. Again, we don’t want our extra activity this month to be done in vain. Protein is always the priority, and especially this month! Check out the simple ways to sneak more protein into your diet! How to Get More Protein: 11 Easy, Dietitian-Loved Tips | The Output by Peloton

TAKING ACTION: ✅What carbohydrate are you looking forward to enjoying today? Share a picture if you have time! Hey, just the carbs alone are enough to conquer Hump Day, wouldn’t you agree? 😉 Let’s look at why carbohydrates are so important with our increased activity this month ⬇️ 🍎Fuel for the extra daily volume: Walking runs largely on carbohydrates. Adding consistent walks on top of strength and HIIT raises your total energy demand. Whole-food carbs supply the steady glucose needed so energy stays up and the body doesn’t lean harder on stress hormones or muscle tissue. 🍎Better recovery for your existing training: Strength training and HIIT already use up muscle glycogen. Extra walking increases the load and can leave you under-recovered if carb intake isn’t sufficient. 🍎Protect energy, mood, and hormones: More movement without more fuel will lower your energy availability. This often shows up as intense hunger, irritability, poorer sleep, or hormonal disruption. It’s important to remember that whole-food carbs will serve you best. Whole-food carbs supply the steady glucose you need for energy. Consuming whole-food carbs will also prevent your body from leaning harder on your stress hormones and/or muscle tissue as you increase your activity this month!

TAKING ACTION: ✅In the comments below, tell me what low-stimulating activity you chose to do today that will help set you up for the rest of the week. We’re wrapping up another week of our STEPtember Challenge, and that means it’s another rest and recovery day for our community! As I mentioned on Friday, rest & recovery are always critical, but especially so since you’ve likely increased your movement over the last couple of weeks. 💯 Resting your brain is just as important, but is often something we don’t consider. Sundays are typically a great day to also give your brain a much-needed break because they can often serve as “reset days.” On reset days, you can lightly plan out your week ahead, and of course, meal prep. Participating in low-stimulating activities helps improve clarity and reduce burnout. What is a low-stimulating activity you can do today that will help your brain rest, yet will still set you up for the week ahead? Don’t forget to share your referral link with friends and family and receive monthly recurring commission for each month they’re active. Share your experience on social media as well, along with your link and get some Besties in here with us!!

One thing I’ve learned on this journey is to not only share my wins along the way but also share those times I mess up and have to use it as a learning opportunity. Since I joined this group I’ve done great on vacations and didn’t gain any weight but not this year, I knew what to do, how to choose healthy options, or good choices if I knew I’d not eat like I’m used to. But did I implement any of it last week, no I did not. I let my family tell me to enjoy myself, to not take it so seriously and I’d be just fine because I was very active. So I listened to their voice and not my inner voice of knowing better. I now have gained 10 pounds and to me that’s crazy bc I’ve not weighed this much in a long time. I am now starting to loose those pounds but what it’s done mentally to me is really not worth it Next year I will not listen to anyone but myself, I’ve worked so hard to get here and i honestly have felt like I failed myself. So I still struggle with things. I wanted y’all to know that we do mess up, but use it as a learning opportunity love y’all