Actual Food Ideas

It is SO much easier to just Pin recipes and snack ideas rather than write it all out here.

SO.. if you would like some (lots of) ideas for snacks and meals, just stop by my Pinterest page here and have a look at the "In the kitchen" board. It has more ideas than you can shake a stick at!!

Happy Eating!

The 411 on Food

As I searched through my recipes (and my pantry!) to document the types of things I am eating now, I realized that my pointers about food aren't just about WHAT you eat. It is how you eat, how you think about eating and how you think about food. I know I've mentioned this before, but it is SO important!

PORTION CONTROL
My first eye opening experience was with portion sizes. Our household was so completely out of touch with appropriate portion sizes, it wasn't even funny. A serving of spaghetti in our house was an entire dinner plate heaped up with sauce and as much garlic toast as you could stuff into your face. Cereal was a huge overflowing bowl with a cup and a half (atleast!) of milk! Mashed potatoes was served in mountainous proportions!! Crazy. Many of us know that a lot of the time, our eyes are bigger than our stomachs, and many times, we are preparing servings based on what we FEEL we WANT to eat rather than an appropriate amount that our body can digest and use. Fitness Pal on my Android phone helped me to really get in touch with portion sizes. Instead of eating an entire ziploc sandwich bag stuffed with chips, I realize that a small handful, more like a little less than 1/2 of the ziploc, is more appropriate. Training your brain to recognize reasonable portions leads the rest of the body in a favorable direction!

FUEL VS FEEL
My husband and I still ask each other "what do you feel like for dinner"? The difference now, though, is that when he asks me that, I do a mental rundown of what I have eaten that day and determine what I think my body needs. For the first time in my life, I am looking in the fridge or the pantry for protein or carbohydrates or whatever else I know that my body needs to keep running well. In the morning, I concentrate on vitamins and protein to get my motor running and try to snack lightly throughout the day to keep it running. Some days I might concede that I FEEL like eating something, but my mind does a quick run down to make sure it is inline with the fuel my body needs at that time. Obviously, I am not a machine and sometimes I just want to eat something that FEELS good to eat... they don't call it comfort food for nothing! But the majority of the time, I am waging the FUEL VS FEEL battle to ensure I keep moving throughout the day.

PREP
I am slowly (and painfully) learning that the extent to which you prep, is a direct reflection on the extent to which you are successful. It is so important. Some (easy) things that you can do to make eating healthy easy during the hustle and bustle of life are:
1. Rinse fruit and portion out things like crackers, dry cereal, chips and popcorn into grab n go baggies
2. Have lots of prepared snack foods that you can grab like string cheese, yogurt, graham crackers, applesauce in single serving cups etc.. I LOVE the 100 calorie snack packs simply because I can just reach in and grab anything and know that it will be an awesome snack when I am hungry during the day.
3. For me, liquids are HUGE. If I don't think about what I am going to drink during the day, I end up with a huge pop sitting in front of me. I like my drinks to be really really (really) cold, so I try to make sure I have cold water in the fridge overnight for work the next day. I need one water bottle filled with ice for later in the day and one water bottle with my morning vitamin drink and lots and lots of ice.

Slowly but surely, even though I will never be a super healthy eater, I am finding ways to fuel my body with healthier food and it is becoming the rule rather than the exception!

Good luck, be encouraged, be determined and be healthy!!

A Triathlon, A 5k and the 180's.... Oh My!!

My friend, Caitlin and I at the Finish Line

What a month! As I mentioned in my last post, things aren't moving as quickly as I would like, but what a difference a month can make! I'll touch on the highlights..

I competed in a triathlon! It was a shorter-than-sprint distance (.25 mile swim/10 mile bike/2 mile run), but it felt like the Ironman to me!! My goal was to finish in less than 1hr 30min and within 15 min of my much, much (much) more fit friend, Caitlin. I reached both of those goals by finishing in 1:22:ISH and 12ISH minutes behind Cait. Sweet! 

The next weekend, I completed a 5k with another friend, Anne. It wasn't a competitive race, but Anne and I had a goal - under 45 minutes. While I'm sure she could have shaved atleast 5-10 minutes off of her time if she just would have dropped the dead weight (me) and gone on at her own comfortable pace - but she was awesome and stuck with me and we finished in 37 minutes! Not too shabby! I can now run 2 miles comfortably (in about 25-28 min!), bike 10 miles comfortably and will start swimming at the local community center once lap swim starts up! All in all, I'm getting in way better physical shape. The weight is taking FOREVER to come off, but I'm getting there. I've tried a couple of diet/nutrition things (drinks, mostly) and have found that they really can speed up the weight loss! Unfortunately, we can't justify spending that kind of money ($100+/month) just so I can have faster gratification. Nope, I'm going to have to wait.

Purple faced, but "glowing"!!

I have finally FINALLY ventured into the 180's for the first time in WAY. TOO. LONG! It has taken long enough, sheesh! But I'm still going and plan to be in the 170's soon!!

Wanted to impart a little advice for those who may be following - looking for some practical advice on how to drop the pounds when you work, have kids, no time and/or money....like me.

CRAIGSLIST. CRAIGSLIST. CRAIGSLIST!!! I got a super sweet, heavy duty elliptical machine FOR FREE, an exercise bike FOR FREE and there are ALWAYS treadmills, weight benches and free weights on there FOR FREE! Keep your eyes peeled and get yourself something to keep you busy through the lonnnnng winters! We turned half of our unfinished basement into my gym! I have my treadmill (that I've had for EONS), my FREE elliptical and my FREE bike all in a row, and then a big mat (was our kids karate mat that they no longer use) out in front of the machines for abs, stretching, dumbbells and medicine ball workouts. Tonight I did a quick 30 minutes (15 min elliptical, 15 min bike) while my son was down there with me working off some extra four year old energy! It is going to be HUGE in helping me to get into shape!

Secondly, become familiar with calories. Seriously. I have found that thinking in terms of what my body needs instead of what I "feel like" eating is key. We so often eat with our eyes to fulfill our emotions instead of thinking in terms of fueling our bodies to enable it to function properly! A bottle of pop has over 200 calories - a single fast food meal can have THOUSANDS of calories! Weight loss is about putting in less than you work off. My goal is usually around 1580 calories per day. When I exercise, this is MORE than enough to keep me satisfied throughout the day. When I don't exercise, that means I can't indulge in that extra pizza or dessert. 

Lastly I wanted to encourage those of you who, like me, find it really really difficult to eat healthy. It isn't how I was raised and I do not like a lot of vegetables (if you don't count corn as a veggie, I really don't like ANY veggies!). Despite this, I have found things that I can eat that I know are healthy and that don't taste like dirt (literally. Vegetables taste like dirt to me). Below is a list of my favorite go to's throughout the day. I understand they probably aren't the healthiest foods. Tough. It is what I can do. Hopefully, if you are struggling in this area, you can find some things that might work for you! 

Good Luck! Keep putting one foot in front of the other!!

My fave morning go to's:

Grapes

Apples (with or without peanut butter)

String Cheese

Whole Wheat bagel with peanut butter

Egg sandwich (egg on piece of whole wheat bread with a little butter)

Scrambled eggs in a cup (I'm a busy Mom - and eating them from a cup is surprisingly easy!)

Bananas

Honey Nut Cheerios

My fave lunch go to's:

Progresso Chicken Noodle Soup

Subway Turkey on wheat (6")

Sandwhich (turkey or peanut butter)

Dinner leftovers

My fave dinner go to's:

Grilled chicken and rice (using Montreal Chicken seasoning)

Pancakes

Spaghetti

Meatloaf

Now that I look at that list... it is TINY!! haha!! I will figure out more and post them soon!!

194.5.... Slow & Steady Wins the Race...

Well, it has taken way longer than I wanted it to, but that is my own fault.

I've been tracking my food intake each day with FITNESS PAL on my phone. I love it and it really helps me to stay on top of portion sizes and nutrition.

I haven't been exercising as much as I would like - I plan to do better in that area in the coming weeks in order to really get moving.

My next post will be at 190 - which will be my lowest weight since before my son was born 4 years ago. My goal is no more than 2 weeks... let's see how this goes! Stay tuned!

Oh yeah, I've got a 5k, a Triathlon relay and My First Tri coming up in August.... wow!

If you are wondering about Fitness Pal, you can find out more here.

You can find out more about My First Tri here.

199 and going strong!

Finally! I've reached a sub 200 weight. It is my goal to lose 33 more lbs by the end of August. While the weight is steadily coming off, it's a very slow process - so I'm questioning if August is a realistic time frame. I guess we'll find out!
What I'm finding is that it is really difficult to make that transition from eating what FEELS good to eating what my body needs. My emotions often want fast food, comfort food...JUNK food. It is a constant struggle to cut through that and instead choose food that fuels my body. It's definitely a big change for me!
My next goal is to get a fitbit and find out more about myself and what I can do to help my body be healthier!
I'll see you at 195!!!

Hello June, Bye Bye Flab!

Well, that "respiratory infection" I complained about after the cleanse phase ended up being bronchitis. Bronchitis takes a bunch out of me because I have asthma and when I have bronchitis, it is an absolute workout just to breathe - let alone eat and take supplements. So the max phase never happened for me. Instead, I downloaded myfitnesspal on my phone and started keeping track of the calories I put in my body vs the calories I burn.
Today is day 14 using this app. I. LOVE. IT. I have lost another 6lbs and feel great!
Day 1 on MyFitnessPal - 206 lbs
Day 14 on MyFitnessPal - 200 lbs

If you want an easy to use, FREE method to keep track of in vs out, I encourage you to try MyFitnessPal!

Next update will have me under 200 lbs for the first time in at least 2 years! Yeah!

Bye Bye, Cleanse phase!

Day 11
lbs lost: 6

10 days and 6lbs later, I wanted to check in and report about some things I have noticed. The biggest thing is that I have developed a respiratory infection and at first, I thought it might have been caused by my failure to drink as much water as I should....but I held off on starting the MAX phase today - just to see if getting the Advocare out of my system would make me feel better. No luck, so the MAX phase shall commence tomorrow.

FEELING:
I have been feeling achey and tired - but that is because I am battling this stupid infection.

EATING:
I have been doing so-so on the eating. My daily food intake includes lots of fruit, some protein, whole grains and complex carbs. I've been trying really hard to avoid sugar. Sugar is my weakness, but it's been going well. No desserts or sweets or candies or fast food and being very conscious about my portion sizes.

EXERCISING:
Exercise has been so-so as well. Playing as much tennis as possible and walking on the treadmill along with a few weights here and there.

THIS WEEK'S GOAL:
Drink. More. Water.

The one really good thing I've noticed is that my clothes are starting to fit a little better. Shirts are a bit roomier etc.. that, coupled with being down 6lbs is good motivation to keep working hard. Even when I feel like crap.

Day 1. Almost in the books

Not a bad day. I ate relatively according to my plan, though I had to improvise in the morning because I didn't have any eggs.... after that, it was much smoother sailing!

So here was my day 1:

Spark
CatalystX2

30  min later, Breakfast of 1 piece of peanut butter toast
Fiber drink mixed with Sunny D

Snack - String Cheese

30 min before lunch - CatalystX2 & Spark

Lunch - Peanut Butter Toast (2)

Snack - Celery & Peanut Butter

Dinner - Pork Chop, Baby red potatoes, green beans, carrots and grapes
Omegaplex X2

Didn't need the night time snack (had a spark, though!)

CatalystX2
Herbal Cleanse Pill Packet

Bed

Farewell day 1!!

Sample Schedule - including food - for Advocare 24 Day Challenge

TOMORROW IS THE BIG DAY!

I've put together what my plan will look most days on the challenge. I've done this using lots of different websites and Advocare literature I have accumulated...I am confident it is within the guidelines of the plan. For more meal and eating ideas, check out Pinterest - there are tons of good ideas that are geared specifically for this challenge! You can also checkout Advocare's 24 Day Challenge website HERE.
You can find a comprehensive guide to the Advocare 24 Day Challenge HERE that includes a daily checklist, some basic food suggestions and tips and facts that you might find helpful.

I will be weighing myself on day 7, day 14 and day 24 and I will report back here. My (humiliating) starting stats are as follows:

Weight: 208
Chest: 45"
Waist: 45.5"
Hips: 45"
Thigh: 23"

So here goes...a glimpse of what my days will look like (for the most part) for the next 24 days....WOOOHOOOO!!!!

Day 1
5:30am - WAKE UP

• Spark
• Catalyst

5:40 - FREE WEIGHTS

I have to be able to hear if any of the kids wake up while my husband is in the shower, so I will spend these 10-15 minutes using free weights in our bedroom.

• Lunges
• Tricep Curls
• Bicep Curls
• Arm extensions

5:55 - TREADMILL

I am not able to sit down and eat breakfast at this time (30 min after taking spark & catalyst) because I lose my treadmill opportunity if I don't do it at this time, so I am stretching it to an hour-ish between my Catalyst/Spark and breakfast. If you can do it closer to 30 minutes in between, GREAT!

• 30-45 minutes walking/jogging

6:40 - BREAKFAST

• Fiber Drink (mixed with Sunny D - mix & chug!)
• AND

Breakfast Ideas:

(Complex Carb, Protein and Fruit)

• 1 scrambled egg w/ 1 piece multi grain toast with small amt of peanut butter, fruit
• 1 hard boiled egg, sliced apples
• Banana w/ 1 piece multi grain toast with small amt of peanut butter
• Fresh Fruit Cup (hand chopped pineapple, sliced apples, berries and grapes)
• Meal Replacement Shake, Banana and 1 piece multi grain peanut butter toast

9:00am - SNACK

Snack Ideas:

• Fruit
• Nuts
• String Cheese
• Low Fat Yogurt
• Atkins Bar
• Air popped popcorn

11:30am - SPARK and CATALYST

12:00pm - LUNCH

Lunch Ideas

(Complex Carb, Protein and Vegetable)

• Grilled Chicken & Spinach Wrap
• Spinach Salad with small amount of french dressing, multi grain bread with peanut butter
• Turkey Sandwich on multi grain bread with raw carrots
• 2 Hard Boiled Eggs, celery with peanut butter

2:30 - SNACK

5:00 - DINNER

• Omegaplex
• AND

Dinner Ideas

(Complex Carb, Protein and Vegetable)

• Grilled Chicken and steamed veggies
• Spinach Salad with grilled chicken and french dressing
• Broiled Fish and steamed veggies
• Roasted Chicken, baked potato and cooked veggies
• Whole grain penne with chicken and veggies

7:00 - SNACK 

• Fruit
• Raw Veggies

9:00 - BEDTIME

• Herbal Cleanse Pills
• Catalyst

CHECK BACK OFTEN FOR STATUS UPDATES, PROGRESS REPORTS AND GENERAL INFO AS I MOVE THROUGH THESE NEXT WEEKS!

Advocare 24 Day Challenge Breakdown - Third Time's a Charm!

This year, instead of hitting the challenge at the end of the summer, I've decided to do it in the beginning. I am doing it with a woman at work who would like to drop a few pounds. I'd like to drop a few pounds times 10 - but we'll keep each other on track and encouraged. August 23rd marks a new era for me in my life's journey here on this planet. I am going to compete in my first Triathlon. GULP.

No Pressure.....

But I don't want to get ahead of myself here. The 24 Day Challenge (third annual).

I ALWAYS do well on these challenges! and then gain everything back and start over the next year. It is a stupid, wasteful, glutenous way to exist, so I am committed this year to putting that cycle behind me for good and stepping onto the bath of better health and wellness for my entire family! But first things first, I need to get my body into gear.

If you would like to join us in our 24 Day Challenge, you can purchase the package HERE.

The Advocare 24 Day Challenge is simply a way to prime your body for weight loss, detoxification and wellness. It is not meant to be maintained on a daily basis for long periods of time. It was designed with very very specific guidelines that maximize nutrient absorption, increase the health of your gut and jump start your metabolism. There are some parts of this challenge that are not pleasant (see the aforementioned fiber drink), but there are things that aren't pleasant in EVERYthing we do. Atleast this has a very positive impact on your health and wellness! So let's break it down and keep it real, shall we?

CLEANSE PHASE

I have never found this to be a very harsh cleanse. Although, I've never done anything else that has been classified as a "cleanse", so I guess I don't have a baseline from which to measure...I didn't spend my days on the toilet at all. The worst parts of the cleanse phase for me are drinking the fiber drink (I have to mix it with Sunny Delight or I literally gag so hard that I cannot swallow it!) and feeling hungry a lot. Let's talk about each.

The fiber drink isn't terrible - if you drink it mixed with SUPER COLD water and drink it all RIGHT NOW. The first time I ever did a cleanse, I came downstairs, mixed up the fiber drink and then got distracted with one of the kids. I then came back and tried to take a gulp of the drink..... it had turned into an applesauce-like slurry that made me instinctively gag and unable to swallow. My body LITERALLY would not let me swallow it. I am not a gagger - the ONLY other time I have ever gagged on food like that was back in college when I was offered $10 to drink the neon yellow "chicken gravy" in some school cafeteria (hey - times were tough! $10 is $10!).  So that time, I just skipped the fiber drinks altogether. The second time around, I did some super official research - cough *google* cough - and stumbled upon someone who had suggested that you mix it with Sunny Delight. I tried it and what do you know - delish! I understand that Sunny Delight is NOT a healthy drink - AT ALL. I consider it a vehicle for something much, much healthier to get into my body. Win.
As far as feeling hungry a lot - I just deal with it. I've found the key is preparation. Have a schedule handy at all times so that you know when you should be taking the supplements and when you should be eating. During the MAX phase, you have to eat OFTEN - so having nutritious snacks on hand is KEY! Almonds, pretzels, fruit, string cheese, veggies, crackers and healthy snack bars (I love Atkins bars...yummy!)... snacks are ESSENTIAL if you are going to be successful. Hey - the cleanse phase is only 10 days. You can do almost anything for ten days, right????

MAX PHASE

The max phase is all about eating and taking your supplements at the right times. Don't eat often enough, and you are probably going to feel a little nauseous. That has happened to me several times. It's like being pregnant! ha! You need to eat every 2 1/2 hours or so and that is much harder than it seems!! This time, I am literally going to set my watch alarm to go off when I need to eat or take pills. I will also be writing out my eating plan - and I will post that as soon as it is finished! This may have just turned you off to the challenge, but the whole point of the challenge is to do it EXACTLY RIGHT for 24 days. 24 days of staying focused, committed and disciplined.

What happens after that is completely up to us......