Hey friends!!
So many of you have written me and asked for healthy recipe and food ideas, so I decided I would just do a blog about what we've been doing for close to a month now!
First of all, this will take a lot of will power and total commitment on your part. If your household/spouse cannot do this with you, it is going to be much much harder. It also takes a lot of preparation and planning to succeed...we have learned this the hard way!
For the month of May we have committed to cut sugar, grains, dairy, and legumes from our diet. This is drastic and dramatic...I know - its not meant to be a permanent change, just a detox and friendly food habit forming. I must admit - we haven't really missed the "sugar" so much. In fact we've grown a custom to drinking only water and really don't miss our sodas at all! After May is over, we will slowly re-introduce some of those items back into our diet in a much healthier and moderate way.
I hope you like salads(spinach), because a lot of your lunches will consist of yummy green salads filled with all kinds of veggies and some meat. Skip the dressing or carefully make yours and use in limited quantities. Prep your lunch salad the night before to save time, preparing the dressing on the side.
Here are some of the things we've been eating for dinner:
*Flank Steak - broil 5-7 minutes on each side (season to taste) served with sweet potatoes (baked like fries, baked, mashed - however yo like it...just don't add junk!
The leftover steak is awesome on your lunch salad!!
*Grilled Chicken - try marinating in fresh orange/lime juice with garlic, salt and pepper and a dash of some kind of "season all" - grill enough to have slices for salads through out the week!
*crock pot roast minus white potatoes
*pork chops with any of the sides listed below
*Cornish hens
*lean steaks
*beef stew w/carrots, okra, cauliflower
*fajitas minus the cheese and tortilla
Short on time? Try a rotisserie chicken from the deli
We love eggplant, squash, zucchini, onions, peppers grilled or sauteed in olive oil (easy does it on the oil)
Our two newest favorite things are spaghetti squash and cauliflower - did you know you can mash cauliflower and it tastes very similar to mash potatoes? Its awesome roasted in the oven with fresh garlic and olive oil. This week I'm going to try cauliflower rice...just google it!
The other thing we are in love with is spaghetti squash - its great topped with marinara or a meat sauce - make your sauce with ground turkey for an extra lean protein packed meal!
Roasted or steamed broccoli
seared brussel sprouts
Fresh green beans - sauteed or grilled!
Asparagus - broiled, sauteed or grilled!
EGGS EGGS EGGS for breakfast lunch or dinner! Add extra egg whites for more protein!
Find amazing uses for avocado (its yummy when prepared with cucumber!)
Almonds and raisins are my new favorite morning snack!
Try a "Lara Bar" - just watch out for the ones with chocolate in them!
Coconut Milk (unsweetened in a can) over fresh berries
artichokes dipped in avocado or clarified butter
DATES! satisfies any sweet tooth
We buy bananas at least 2-3 times a week
Almond butter with apples or bananas
I'm also a fan of Shakeology - It jump started my weight loss and healthy eating,
Its great as a snack or meal replacement depending on how you prepare it. With hundreds of shake "recipes" you'll never get bored or have an excuse that it taste bad!
I can help you get started on this awesome product if you want to try! There's a 30 day satisfaction guarantee - what do you have to lose?
Use the farmer's market - you'll save tons on your produce vs. the grocery store!
lastly -EXERCISE - MOVE YOUR BODY SOME HOW EACH DAY!
Eat fresh, eat often, keep it clean and you should be good
If you have to have pasta or bread - make it 100% whole wheat and keep it minimal
Sorry for the all over the place blog with poor grammar - I'm typing with one hand, holding Lucas, and making sure AK doesn't destroy the house!
This blog is to help keep friends and family posted on the things going on in our life. Look for updates on AK and find out what we've been up to lately.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Every Inch Counts!
So, a lot has happened since the last time I wrote on our family blog! I started writing monthly posts for theuncontainabletruth.com and allowed this family blog to go to the back burner. I also had a baby in December 2011 turning our sweet family of 3 into a family of 4.
Needless to say after having my 2nd child, I was in major need of a total body makeover! I was motivated more than ever this time. With AK, the weight seemed to melt away like ice and within about 6 weeks I was back into almost all my clothes with ease. With Lucas, this was NOT the case. In fact the weight didn't completely melt away. I had to do something!. Lucas was born on December 21st, and on January 18th I started one of the hardest challenges I've ever given my self as far as personal goals go.
Today I want to share my journey to a healthier lifestyle, including diet and exercise.
The first step was to pick a program that would work for me. I chose to sign up with Beach Body. I used a friend of mine, as my "coach" and she helped me pick a challenge package that was fit for me, my current lifestyle, and my goals. I ordered the Chalene Johnson Turbo Jam at home workout program, and a one month supply of Shakeology.Please click on the links to learn more about these amazing products! For me to commit to drink a shake a day in place of a meal was a big deal! I love my food, I love to eat...all day! I started drinking the chocolate flavored shakes, and thankfully got "addicted" to this awesome product! I've been on the shakes for 3 months now.They have enough recipes for Shakeology that you will never get bored with your flavor, and its impossible to not find one that works with your taste buds!
I worked really really hard at working out daily while I was home on maternity leave, and I will admit that after I started back to work, it was much harder to find the "free" time to work out. I went from daily workouts, to a few times a week, to almost non-existent with the exception of the daily or every other day 1 mile family walk. But I stuck with the Shakeology, which by the way kept me full each morning until lunch. It also curbed my cravings for junk food throughout the day, and it definitely satisfied my sweet tooth!. Just recently my mother in law was diagnosed with a recurrence of ovarian cancer, and Matt and I decided it was time to make real changes in our lives! We have been on a mission to learn about food, and how it truly effects our body. We are just a couple of weeks into this learning process, but we have committed to "Clean it up" and give our bodies a fighting chance to live a long healthy life. I immediately turned to Chloe for advice and she put me in a test group for a nutrition plan she had been working on.
I am on day 6 of this 10 day Clean Eating Challenge, and broke through a weight loss plateau. That breakthrough was enough to get me fired up about exercise again and so I've been back at it daily.
Between the clean eating and exercise I can say I feel great, have more energy than the weeks before, and I have regained a sense of pride for myself. I had gotten so self conscious about my looks, weight, and shape of my body that I could not positively look in the mirror and walk away feeling content. Today I am so excited to share some major milestones!
I am not even half way to my weight loss goal, but I am 35% of the way there and I want to share my 100th day results with you today!
This desire to share my results all started when I needed to buy a pair of jeans that fit properly. When I started my journey I went to buy a "transitional" pair of jeans at Old Navy.I reluctantly bought a size 10 in the "sweet heart" cut jeans. On day 100 of my journey I went back to Old Navy to buy a smaller size. I walked into the store thinking I was going to get a size 8 in the same cut jeans, but to my surprise...the size 8 jeans were TOO BIG! For the first time in YEARS I was able to purchase a size 6 jeans! I was so pumped it made me wonder how many inches I had lost in my body.
Here's the break down:
1 full inch in my hips
3.5 inches in my right thigh
2.5 on my left thigh
4.5 inches off my waist
I have also lost a total of 8lbs...that's not some major "Biggest Loser" number...but I've been able to keep this weight off...which is huge for me! Like I said before...I am not even 1/2 way to my final goal, but I am so proud of myself today that I just had to share!
Now...I'm about to show you something I swore I would not share with anyone...my "before" pictures. This is taking a lot of courage so be kind :-)
You will see the pictures we took on January 18th, then again on February 23rd...just one month later...and then today April 28th...here goes nothing...
When the 10 day challenge is over, we are going to push our bodies a little further, and take on a 31 one day "detox" for lack of a better word. This time this is Matt's challenge that I will be along for the ride on. No dairy, no sugars or sugar substitutes, no grains, and legumes...we are going to challenge our bodies to tell us what it doesn't like that we've spent 3 decades cramming into it. I can't wait to see the results at the end and find out how our "cravings" change over this time.
I hope that this can inspire ANYBODY that has been "stuck in a rut" to get themselves out and take care of their body! Just remember to eat fresh, eat often, and most importantly eat clean! Stay off those grocery store aisles, and do your best to keep to the outter edges for you shopping!!
And, thank you for letting me share some not so pretty sides of myself with you today!
Needless to say after having my 2nd child, I was in major need of a total body makeover! I was motivated more than ever this time. With AK, the weight seemed to melt away like ice and within about 6 weeks I was back into almost all my clothes with ease. With Lucas, this was NOT the case. In fact the weight didn't completely melt away. I had to do something!. Lucas was born on December 21st, and on January 18th I started one of the hardest challenges I've ever given my self as far as personal goals go.
Today I want to share my journey to a healthier lifestyle, including diet and exercise.
The first step was to pick a program that would work for me. I chose to sign up with Beach Body. I used a friend of mine, as my "coach" and she helped me pick a challenge package that was fit for me, my current lifestyle, and my goals. I ordered the Chalene Johnson Turbo Jam at home workout program, and a one month supply of Shakeology.Please click on the links to learn more about these amazing products! For me to commit to drink a shake a day in place of a meal was a big deal! I love my food, I love to eat...all day! I started drinking the chocolate flavored shakes, and thankfully got "addicted" to this awesome product! I've been on the shakes for 3 months now.They have enough recipes for Shakeology that you will never get bored with your flavor, and its impossible to not find one that works with your taste buds!
I worked really really hard at working out daily while I was home on maternity leave, and I will admit that after I started back to work, it was much harder to find the "free" time to work out. I went from daily workouts, to a few times a week, to almost non-existent with the exception of the daily or every other day 1 mile family walk. But I stuck with the Shakeology, which by the way kept me full each morning until lunch. It also curbed my cravings for junk food throughout the day, and it definitely satisfied my sweet tooth!. Just recently my mother in law was diagnosed with a recurrence of ovarian cancer, and Matt and I decided it was time to make real changes in our lives! We have been on a mission to learn about food, and how it truly effects our body. We are just a couple of weeks into this learning process, but we have committed to "Clean it up" and give our bodies a fighting chance to live a long healthy life. I immediately turned to Chloe for advice and she put me in a test group for a nutrition plan she had been working on.
I am on day 6 of this 10 day Clean Eating Challenge, and broke through a weight loss plateau. That breakthrough was enough to get me fired up about exercise again and so I've been back at it daily.
Between the clean eating and exercise I can say I feel great, have more energy than the weeks before, and I have regained a sense of pride for myself. I had gotten so self conscious about my looks, weight, and shape of my body that I could not positively look in the mirror and walk away feeling content. Today I am so excited to share some major milestones!
I am not even half way to my weight loss goal, but I am 35% of the way there and I want to share my 100th day results with you today!
This desire to share my results all started when I needed to buy a pair of jeans that fit properly. When I started my journey I went to buy a "transitional" pair of jeans at Old Navy.I reluctantly bought a size 10 in the "sweet heart" cut jeans. On day 100 of my journey I went back to Old Navy to buy a smaller size. I walked into the store thinking I was going to get a size 8 in the same cut jeans, but to my surprise...the size 8 jeans were TOO BIG! For the first time in YEARS I was able to purchase a size 6 jeans! I was so pumped it made me wonder how many inches I had lost in my body.
Here's the break down:
1 full inch in my hips
3.5 inches in my right thigh
2.5 on my left thigh
4.5 inches off my waist
I have also lost a total of 8lbs...that's not some major "Biggest Loser" number...but I've been able to keep this weight off...which is huge for me! Like I said before...I am not even 1/2 way to my final goal, but I am so proud of myself today that I just had to share!
Now...I'm about to show you something I swore I would not share with anyone...my "before" pictures. This is taking a lot of courage so be kind :-)
You will see the pictures we took on January 18th, then again on February 23rd...just one month later...and then today April 28th...here goes nothing...
When the 10 day challenge is over, we are going to push our bodies a little further, and take on a 31 one day "detox" for lack of a better word. This time this is Matt's challenge that I will be along for the ride on. No dairy, no sugars or sugar substitutes, no grains, and legumes...we are going to challenge our bodies to tell us what it doesn't like that we've spent 3 decades cramming into it. I can't wait to see the results at the end and find out how our "cravings" change over this time.
I hope that this can inspire ANYBODY that has been "stuck in a rut" to get themselves out and take care of their body! Just remember to eat fresh, eat often, and most importantly eat clean! Stay off those grocery store aisles, and do your best to keep to the outter edges for you shopping!!
And, thank you for letting me share some not so pretty sides of myself with you today!
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