I got in my 3 strength workouts every week. I slept fairly well (and recovered from travel fairly quickly). An increase in my GLP-1 dosage messed with my diet a bit (my calorie deficit was too low), but I feel good about the adjusted dosage and new schedule for June.
June is one of my busiest months of the year (wrapping up the school year, preparing for camp, packing up for our summer in Pennsylvania, launching a major work milestone). Why mess with what works?
Other than changing up my strength split, I’m largely keeping things the same. I’ll be leaning on the many salad bars in our neighborhood for lunch, and am sticking with my fixation breakfasts and our usual dinner rotation.
My health focus this month is sleep. I’ve been averaging 6 1/2 hours a night in May, and I’d like to get back to 7-8 hours.
Let’s dive in. And if you haven’t yet, subscribe so you never miss a plan or an essay.
My ideal night routine
I’d like to get ready for bed (shower, brush teeth, skincare) while the boys are doing the same. While this is the goal, I’m fine if it doesn’t happen.
Cozy reading time is my favorite tradition right now. We all pile onto the couch, play classical music, curl up under blankets, and read until 7:30 pm. We spent the next half hour tucking in the kids.
At 8 pm, I’m setting a three hour timer on the Forest app to effectively lock me out of my phone. I can check a handful of apps (Oura, phone calls, Activations, Peloton), but I can’t check email, social media, or browse. I’m setting a calendar invite to prompt me to set this timer.
Sri and I watch a show once the boys are in bed (we’re wrapping up Shrinking, and plan to finally start Andor).
If I didn’t get ready for bed earlier, I’m doing it now. Applying deodorant and using dry shampoo at night has been weirdly effective - try it out, if you haven’t.
I take my meds, and read. I usually read until I start dozing off, but I’m going to be more diligent about putting my Kindle down by 10 pm.
June’s workout plan
I tested a new strength split last week that challenged me more than my previous split. Instead of doing 3 full body strength sessions a week, I did four shorter strength workouts - arms & shoulders, glutes & legs, chest & back, and full body - and stacked a 5 minute core to each one.
It kicked my ass. And I liked it. So we’re going to stick with it.
June’s strength split (and starting weights)
Katie’s 20 minute full body strength (15 + 22.5 lbs) & Callie’s 5 minute core
Selena’s 10 minute arms & shoulders strength (15 lbs) & 5 minute core
Katie’s 10 minute glues & legs strength (22.5 + 25 lbs) & Callie’s 5 minute core
Katie’s 10 minute chest & shoulders strength (7 + 17.5 lbs) & Selena’s 5 minute core
Instead of a Peloton warm up, I’ll be doing a quick yoga practice (sun salutations A & B with a warrior flow), and will stretch on my own afterwards. Aside from long walks + 1 outdoor run, I gave up my best-laid cardio plans. I’m leaning into what worked in May, and adding a Zone 5 workout in the mix.
June’s cardio plan
1-3 outdoor walks (2-3 miles)
1 HIIT run (here’s the playlist)
Meals
Our general meal plan continues to work for us. I’ve included it below, but am sharing how I’m approaching breakfast + lunch for myself:
Breakfast
Chobani less sugar yogurt + a bowl of Rice Krispies with 2% milk
Two hard boiled eggs with chili crisp and furikake and a piece of Dave’s Killer Bread with cream cheese and spicy everything seasoning
A savory yogurt bowl (1 cup of Greek yogurt, 1 AFAR bar crumbled up, 1 tablespoon of chia seeds)
I continue to offer a fruit plate on the table before the kids come down in the morning, and the veggie plate waiting for them when they get home from school. I make it easier by buying prepped fruit bowls and veggies, so I’m just throwing it together with minimal prep.
Our weekly dinner plan has stayed consistent:
Indian food on Mondays
‘chicken’ tikka masala with Abbot plant-based chicken or seitan, simmered in Brooklyn Delhi’s tikka masala sauce with whatever vegetables I have on hand (I love it with a kale-spinach blend or with peas), served with rice or mini naan
Instant pot kitchari, served with Greek yogurt (I add Paro’s tarka to my and my husband’s servings)
Mexican food on Tuesdays
quesadillas or enchiladas (I prep a veggie-cottage cheese filling, and use these high fiber tortillas for us and regular flour or corn tortillas for the kids)
- ’ baked tacos (I cook up Beyond Meat ground and a bag of this Mexican riced cauliflower with taco seasoning as the filling).
Pizza on Wednesdays
Order in (Williamsburg Pizza’s vegan pizza is incredible)
We also keep a few Banza pizzas in our freezer, just in case
Scavenge Thursdays (whatever I have the energy or time to throw together and can quickly be reheated when I bring the kids home from karate)
Loaded mac & cheese (we love Goodles, and I’ll throw in whatever veggies we have in the pasta, or serve them on the side)
Snack plates (I’ll do ramekins of fresh veggies, cheeses, crackers or a grain we prepped earlier in the week, fruit, and Greek yogurt arranged on a plate for each kid)
Kimchi fried rice with egg (I make a simple fried rice - egg, peppers, soy sauce - for the kids)
Burger Fridays
Pizza burgers for the kids, Juicy Lucy burgers using Beyond Meat for us
Order in from Shake Shack or Bareburger
Fun Things
Why did I stop going to the movies? We saw How to Train Your Dragon (loved it, a rare live action win!) and Karate Kid: Legends (perfect blend of nostalgia and novelty, Joshua Jackson is a Zaddy). We plan to see Elio with the boys, and Sri and I are going to catch Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning and F1 while the boys are in school/camp.
We’re finally watching Andor and Ahsoka, which have been on our ‘must watch’ list for too long.
For my solo reality TV time, I’m excited for F1 Academy, watching the latest season of Below Deck: Sailing Yacht (it’s a summer show for me), and continuing The Valley.
Gentle Wednesdays are out the window this month, but I am going to use all my memberships (Glowbar for facials, wthn for acupuncture, and Glamsquad for blowouts) whenever my schedule permits.
Code HITHA gets you $25 off your first Glamsquad appointment, and HITHA15 gets you $15 of your next appointment.
I absolutely love the cozy reading time idea. We’re not quite there age wise yet, but I’m adding it to our list of future family traditions.
Also …. going to try this idea of deodorant at night. Seems intriguing? In my 20’s I used to spray my hair with hairspray before bed and comb it out in the morning to ward off grease and … while it sounds deranged, I do think it worked!