The Ultimate Guide to Health Programs
Welcome to The Realness Project, our goal is to guide you, real humans in your quest for self-love and health through nutrition and fitness. Between us, we have YEARS of personal experience trying EVERYTHING and have finally realized that there is no ONE solution or quick fix and have gracefully accepted that this whole health and wellness journey is just that – a journey with no destination that will continue for the rest of our lives. But how do you keep the motivation going?
Right now, it’s the New Year, when everything is bright and shiny and your gym is packed with new people and you are full of hope and motivation that this will be THE year. THE year when you will finally:
Loose those 10 lbs.
Conquer that magical skincare routine that will keep you young forever
Eat your 5 servings of veggies. Every. Single. Day.
Stop eating sugar
Meditate every day
Meal prep every Sunday
Be better at being a mom/wife/daughter/worker/friend
Exercise every day. Like all day.
The list of New Year’s Resolutions that you made less than a month ago goes on and on. For many, the motivation you had 30 days ago is starting to wear off. Instead of feeling defeated, we challenge you to make new goals for the rest of year. Goals that are nicer to you, and everyone around you, like:
Be as kind and patient with other humans as you are with your pets
Find a way and time to move your body that makes you happy
Prioritize yourself (this one is the hardest)
Eat more of what makes you feel good and less of what make you feel bad – easier said than done, I know
Count your blessings and practice gratitude, because if you’re reading this, you already have more things to be grateful for than a large percentage of the world
While we can’t help you be a nicer person, we have found that when we are happy, moving our bodies and eating foods that nourish your body AND soul, we are generally better humans, and the world needs more of that.
So, if you’re trying to keep the momentum going, why not try something new? We love nothing more than trying new things, it keeps life exciting and fun. We don’t believe THE program that will change our lives and bodies into Victoria Secret models exists anymore but we have realized that all those Nutrition and Fitness programs out there actually WORK (when you put in the work, of course). For different things and different people but they teach you something new every time. But, how do you pick the right one? There are literally hundreds to choose from.
We think trial and error is the best way to do it but in order to make it just a bit simpler, we’ve compiled a guide of some of the most popular programs out there and are giving you a quick and easy snapshot of them with our opinion if we’ve done them so you can figure out for yourself which one is best for you at this season in your life.
Core 4 Program by Steph Gaudreau
The Basics: Steph Gadrau has a created a 6-week program keeping in mind her Core 4 pillars of health: eat nourishing foods, strengthen your body, recharge your energy and get your mindset right. You get daily videos straight from her and challenges focusing on different pillars.
Investment: $197
You Get: daily videos, customizable meal plan, workout plan, private community support and lifetime access
Length of Program: six weeks – you can start whenever!
Why is it awesome? It’s a great program for anyone because it focuses on small, daily habits to build a lifelong foundation and is strong on avoiding perfectionism and just striving for the best. You do have to make the commitment to take the time to watch the videos as much as possible.
Body Bikini Guide by Kayla Itsines
The Basics: Kayla Itsines has changed millions of life across Instagram with her 28-minute workout guides and meal plans. Her method is simple: all workouts are as many rounds as possible of two different exercise sets, twice for a total of 28 minutes, 3x a week. Her meal plan is focused on clean, lean meals.
Investment: you can buy the BBG starting at $48.42 or get a monthly membership the the SWEAT App for $19.95/month or $119/yearly for access to all her programs and challenges.
You Get: depending on which option you select, you get a full 12-week workout program plus meal plan
Length of Program: twelve weeks - forever
Why is it awesome? The workouts are HARD regardless of your current fitness level, which is what makes them effective. It’s better if have access to a gym or have some basic fitness equipment (dumbbells, bench or box, bands, stability ball). Great if you are short on time and like to follow a regiment. Also great if you don’t get bored easy with workouts as you will be doing them over and over.
The Basics: Whole30 is an elimination diet that is meant to help you discover which foods are making you feel good and increase overall health along the way. Focusing on real, whole foods, there is a long list of things you can’t eat and health is the main goal
Length of Program: 30 days
Investment: $0 – you can do it anytime for free!
You Get: since the Whole30 is not a program you buy, you don’t really get anything BUT the website is full of resources to help you succeed, there is a huge community of support on Instagram and the program has nationwide challenges in January and September. You can also find a multitude of health coaches and professionals ready to guide you
Why is it awesome? It’s a full reset. Because it’s so strict, it automatically eliminates the option to “cheat.” It’s hard but it’s only 30 days and meant to teach you #foodfreedom. However, it is not an end-all solution and you have to be careful coming out of it if you have some mindset issues with food (who doesn’t). Because it’s so strict you will more than likely loose weight but can easily regain it all if you don’t adopt some of the ways you’re eating.
The Basics: Karena and Katrina are your amazing trainers and guides. They have a HUGE community of women and have basic nutrition plan that gives you access to all their future programs and they have daily moves and a free newsletter. In addition, you can sign up for their Studio Tone It Up – an app where you can take classes from home with hundreds of other women around the world
Investment: Nutrition Plan: $150, Studio Tone It Up: Yearly Access $6.99/month or Monthly Access $12.99/month
Length of Program: they start programs a few times a year that usually last 8 weeks but you can do them anytime
You Get: depending on what you select, you get a full nutrition plan with recipes and daily moves + a workout plan or access to the Studio
Why is it awesome? If you love having strong digital community, the support is unbelievable and Karena and Katrina are both awesome and inspiring. It offers variety and delicious meals and new info every day and you can turn it into your fitness and nutrition lifestyle as it’s not meant to start and stop every time.
NOTE: the information pertaining to each program is a combination of our own personal experience plus information from their official website. We do not receive any type of compensation for sharing and encourage you to look at each website when doing your research.