Welcome to my Blog!! I have recently started making some big changes in my life, such as trying to become more healthy, putting more effort into being a wonderful housewife, and improving my parenting skills. (If you want to read my family blog it is set to private so shoot me an e-mail and I'll send you an invite to the blog. It's just for friends and family I don't want the whole world reading about my family that's why I did that. :)
My primary focus on this blog will be clean eating, fitness/ exercise, etc!
My primary focus on this blog will be clean eating, fitness/ exercise, etc!
But I also want it to be a motivator, for me, and for anyone else out there who is on the same journey I'm on, or on a different journey. Whether it is to become more spiritual, or to succeed in school, or something else. I want to help you reach your goal!
So my goal is to share my progress on my journey to a more healthy life, and to share my thoughts and feelings, and new things I'm learning about being healthy! (Like delicious, but suuuper low cal. recipes!! And awesome workouts that I'm doing!)
So a few months ago I started working out to a dvd called Insanity! It is made by Beach Body, (the people who made P90X), and seriously who wouldn't work out to something that promises a beach body? Ha ha obviously I couldn't resist. Anyway I did fantastic for 2 weeks.
I knew this was it, but.... I thought I could keep eating whatever I wanted and still lose weight... So I gained muscle and increased my endurance but lost NOTHING! Shawn T. (The super crazy buff black dude on the dvd who tells you what to do) says "You can't out exercise a bad diet!" So here's this muscle covered dude with crazy endurance and is the star of this dvd and I think "Oh I know better than you!" Ha I was soooo ...wrong. I got sick of seeing no results so I skipped a day here and there, and then... one long weekend of no exercise stretched to almost a month of no exercise and there I was. Gained a couple pounds. Back in the same predicament that I am ALWAYS in when I try a new diet, or exercise program. Guess I should have listened to Shawn T. Well Shawn T. I hear ya now and this time I'ma do it right! (Said with a Shawn T. Accent).... I wonder what the T stands for... Anyway I have tried so many diets, and programs it isn't even funny. Some of the more recent ones being HCG, P90X (Which is a fantastic program, if you have a big enough space for all the equipment you need and money for said equipment), I have tried just using my own guess work in what I should be eating and exercising twice a day, which showed a little bit of progress, but eventually I just stopped.
By now I have learned a few things. I have had countless discussions with my father (I love that he's a doctor because I learn so much just from asking him questions, especially about fitness and health because that is where he has struggled in his life for many years, --He always is saying "I'm exactly as fat as I choose to be..." Because he knows how to lose the weight and get healthy, he just wasn't doing it at the time. But anyway he always has the answers I need when it comes to this kind of stuff, and helps me understand things more which I love.)
Well a few months ago, after my little fiasco of letting down Shaun T., I was extremely bummed and ate and ate and ate ALL the time because my family was doing Insanity! and they were all seeing results, and here I had flopped, once again. I happened to be on Facebook and a good friend Casey Esplin had shared a before and after picture of a girl who had lost a ton of weight and under the picture it had her story and at first my skeptical self thought "Yeah right, there is no way you lost all that from some program...." And I clicked on the picture and it took me to an album FULL of those before and after pictures and their stories, and many of them sounded a lot like my story... In fact a couple of them kind of got to me and I saw in the album description "If you want to know more about my health program send me a message and I can tell you more about it!" And I thought... What the heck why not just see what it is. So I sent this girl, Jackie, a message. We talked and I thought about it and researched it probably for at least a month before I decided to give it a go. (In my next post I'll tell you about the program, I don't want to make this the longest post on the internet.) But I will give you a small overview. The program is called Take Shape For Life. There are 3 phases of the program, the first one is the fat burn phase, which we also call the 5 and 1 because we eat 5 Medifast meals, and 1 Lean and Green meal. I was EXTREMELY skeptical of these medifast meals, and it took me a couple days to start liking them, (it takes some people longer, depending on their previous diet, because once your body detoxes and flushes out all the junk you've been eating/drinking, your body and your tastebuds, etc. adjust and begin to change). Anyway For the Lean and Green meals there are TONS of recipes online and recipes that people post that Nutrition Support from the medifast website has OK'd. There are certain guidelines with the lean and green, which you would learn if you were interested in starting the program.
Once you reach your goal/target weight, the weight you should be at, you go into the transition phase. Since I'm not there yet, I'm not sure the details of it. But I do know that you slowly start to incorporate things you weren't supposed to eat in fat burn. Then once you get through the transition phase you move to the Maintenance phase.
The first 4 days of the Fat Burn Phase are the hardest for most people, because you're used to eating junk, and probably eating a lot of it, and during that time your body pretty much is in detox, getting all the crap out and pretty much starting over.
Some people are skeptical that they'll feel like they're "starving". That was my BIGGEST worry, but the way the program is set up, and the way our bodies are set up is ingenious. Have you ever heard that it is more healthy to eat smaller more frequent meals instead of 3 big meals a day? Well it is scientifically proven that that is true. And that is how the fat burn phase goes. You eat every 2-3 hours. After the first 4 days, you pretty much don't ever feel hungry. You are required to drink 100 oz. of water a day (at least, but don't drink too much or you'll flush your body of electrolytes----a lot of people will drink the occasional Powerade zero which is allowed, but doesn't count towards your water, just helps with electrolytes).
The wonderful thing about eating so often, is that your metabolism is always up and running. And once you get into fat burn mode, holy cow you lose weight fast. It is such an awesome feeling, because you have more energy, which really surprised me, you just feel good, getting in all that water that you really should be drinking anyway, and eating healthy.
The Medifast meals are so awesome because they all have the required nutrients in them that you need, in fact they all have a lot of the same ingredients so that you can eat whatever medifast meal you want and still get the same amount of nutrients. I have gotten to the point where I am so used to eating them that I have a hard time finishing my whole Lean and Green meal. (Most people will split the Lean and Green meal into two meals throughout the day because there is so much green that you need that you often just can't finish it, but you need to make sure you get all of your lean and green because you really need those nutrients!)
Some of my favorite medifast meals include brownies, chocolate chip soft bake (It's kind of like a big fluffy chocolate chip cookie), blueberry oatmeal (there's other yummy flavors too!), I LOVE the soups! They have a bunch of yummy soups, the beef stew is probably my favorite right now, there are a bunch of different shakes which are really good, there are a bunch of different bars which (the chocolate mint is my favorite, it tastes like those mint grasshopper cookie things), and the cinnamon roll crunch bar is my other fave. There are a bunch of other on-the-go meals too like pretzel sticks, bbq bites, etc. There is hot cocoa for a meal, other drinks for meals, mac n cheese (which I am trying with my next order), and a bunch of other stuff!
And my favorite thing I have recently discovered about these medifast meals is that you can adapt them! There are recipes online to make them a different way to make something else, like with the brownie, I made fudge, (Totally fixed my chocolate craving for like at least a week), With the cream soups (Cream of broccoli, cream of chicken, cream of tomato) You can make flat bread and spread laughing cow cheese on it (the cheese is a condiment, you're allowed a certain amount in a day), and that is my current favorite thing because I hate the cream of broccoli soup and it tastes way good as a flat bread with laughing cow cheese.
Another current favorite is making "soft serve cookies" from the soft serve (it's kind of like an icecream but I don't really like icecream so I thought mine was going to go to waste until I found the cookie recipe which is so good) there's peanutbutter soft serve, which I have been using for those cookies, and chocolate mint which I can't wait to try, there is a mango soft serve too which I have heard is good as cookies, but I'm slightly skeptical about that one..
Anyway the point is, don't knock it till you try it. I definitely learned that.
The first time I started the program, I didn't have a CLUE about cooking and how to measure ounces of meat, and how much stuff I needed it was just too much for me so I cheated by skipping the lean and green meals altogether. Which isn't good for you, so I wouldn't recommend it. THIS time I have been making dinner every night. (Seriously Dewey probably thinks I'm a Goddess right now). Our favorite so far has been the Stuffed Zucchini, let me just say AMAZING! (If you want the recipe let me know, it is to die for and so healthy and filling!)
He was raving about it that whole night. It made me feel really good and made me want to keep cooking! There are amazing Lean and Green meals, and honestly, this program is just awesome. There is a huge support system online, Oh and I forgot to mention you also get a free health coach who will help you out along the way! When in doubt, call your health coach :D ! Your health coach will explain everything, answer any questions, etc. She/He will have you do your first weigh-in, help you with your first order, check on you the first 4 days because they are the hardest, will call weekly to see how the week went and what you could do better, and helps you make goals, and all of that kind of stuff. The thing I was worried about the most with this program though, was the cost. The Medifast food isn't exactly cheap. But from the way I feel, and the way my life and my family's life is changing, and the fact that we are all becoming more healthy, I feel the cost is SO worth the result. You also get two books with your first order, one is a work book, and the other kinda like a textbook, that you read along the way, because the whole goal of this program is to help you Take Shape For LIFE. Not just for the time you're on the program. I haven't read the book as much as I should, but from the few chapters I have read, I have learned a lot of interesting things about the body, and how it works, and many other things. It isn't boring either like most textbooks, I enjoy reading it. I need to catch up though and read it more because that is part of what will help you keep eating healthy after the program.
You are also supposed to exercise while on this program but for the first two weeks you're supposed to not do vigorous exercise because your body is getting used to this huge change you just threw at it, but then you can up your exercise.
I have started this program twice, the first time was right before Christmas time and let's face it, my heart just wasn't in it. I LOVE CHRISTMAS FOOD. That phrase may be the death of me ;) but I went strong for one WEEK, and in just that first week, I lost 9 lbs!! Can you believe I had 9 lbs of just pure fat and junk that detoxed off me? Let me just say eww.
After week 1 I cheated here and there and then completely fell of the wagon and gained almost every lb back that I had lost. That plus I could afford to order the Medifast meals again so I had to save up and wait anyway.
This is the second time I have started. I started on January 14, 2013, and am in the middle of week 2. I weighed in on Monday and I lost 7 lbs in week 1! Yay! My goal is to get to my goal weight by my birthday which is April 6th.
If you're interested, please let me know! I am considering becoming a health coach myself, for some extra income to help Dewey with bills, and especially because I would love to be able to help other people reach their goals, health related or not. There is a fun group on facebook for people on this health program and it is so awesome to see people post about how they lost this much weight last week, or how they tried a new recipe and they share it with us, etc. It is an awesome thing and helps me stay motivated. It would make me happy to be able to help others the way I'm being helped right now.
If you're interested let me know, if I have enough people I could find that would be interested, then I will definitely sign up to be a coach, Or I can refer you to my health coach, who is AMAZING, I love her to death she has been through a lot and overcome so much in her life she inspires me.
I didn't mean to post so much about the program in this post haha I was going to save it for the next post, but that in a nutshell is Take Shape For Life. I have tried so many different diets and this one is the only one that I really feel so good about. I will probably be starting Insanity! next week which I am really excited. I miss my workouts with Shaun T. (Another fantstic way to go if you want an incredible set of exercise dvds)
By now I have learned a few things. I have had countless discussions with my father (I love that he's a doctor because I learn so much just from asking him questions, especially about fitness and health because that is where he has struggled in his life for many years, --He always is saying "I'm exactly as fat as I choose to be..." Because he knows how to lose the weight and get healthy, he just wasn't doing it at the time. But anyway he always has the answers I need when it comes to this kind of stuff, and helps me understand things more which I love.)
Well a few months ago, after my little fiasco of letting down Shaun T., I was extremely bummed and ate and ate and ate ALL the time because my family was doing Insanity! and they were all seeing results, and here I had flopped, once again. I happened to be on Facebook and a good friend Casey Esplin had shared a before and after picture of a girl who had lost a ton of weight and under the picture it had her story and at first my skeptical self thought "Yeah right, there is no way you lost all that from some program...." And I clicked on the picture and it took me to an album FULL of those before and after pictures and their stories, and many of them sounded a lot like my story... In fact a couple of them kind of got to me and I saw in the album description "If you want to know more about my health program send me a message and I can tell you more about it!" And I thought... What the heck why not just see what it is. So I sent this girl, Jackie, a message. We talked and I thought about it and researched it probably for at least a month before I decided to give it a go. (In my next post I'll tell you about the program, I don't want to make this the longest post on the internet.) But I will give you a small overview. The program is called Take Shape For Life. There are 3 phases of the program, the first one is the fat burn phase, which we also call the 5 and 1 because we eat 5 Medifast meals, and 1 Lean and Green meal. I was EXTREMELY skeptical of these medifast meals, and it took me a couple days to start liking them, (it takes some people longer, depending on their previous diet, because once your body detoxes and flushes out all the junk you've been eating/drinking, your body and your tastebuds, etc. adjust and begin to change). Anyway For the Lean and Green meals there are TONS of recipes online and recipes that people post that Nutrition Support from the medifast website has OK'd. There are certain guidelines with the lean and green, which you would learn if you were interested in starting the program.
Once you reach your goal/target weight, the weight you should be at, you go into the transition phase. Since I'm not there yet, I'm not sure the details of it. But I do know that you slowly start to incorporate things you weren't supposed to eat in fat burn. Then once you get through the transition phase you move to the Maintenance phase.
The first 4 days of the Fat Burn Phase are the hardest for most people, because you're used to eating junk, and probably eating a lot of it, and during that time your body pretty much is in detox, getting all the crap out and pretty much starting over.
Some people are skeptical that they'll feel like they're "starving". That was my BIGGEST worry, but the way the program is set up, and the way our bodies are set up is ingenious. Have you ever heard that it is more healthy to eat smaller more frequent meals instead of 3 big meals a day? Well it is scientifically proven that that is true. And that is how the fat burn phase goes. You eat every 2-3 hours. After the first 4 days, you pretty much don't ever feel hungry. You are required to drink 100 oz. of water a day (at least, but don't drink too much or you'll flush your body of electrolytes----a lot of people will drink the occasional Powerade zero which is allowed, but doesn't count towards your water, just helps with electrolytes).
The wonderful thing about eating so often, is that your metabolism is always up and running. And once you get into fat burn mode, holy cow you lose weight fast. It is such an awesome feeling, because you have more energy, which really surprised me, you just feel good, getting in all that water that you really should be drinking anyway, and eating healthy.
The Medifast meals are so awesome because they all have the required nutrients in them that you need, in fact they all have a lot of the same ingredients so that you can eat whatever medifast meal you want and still get the same amount of nutrients. I have gotten to the point where I am so used to eating them that I have a hard time finishing my whole Lean and Green meal. (Most people will split the Lean and Green meal into two meals throughout the day because there is so much green that you need that you often just can't finish it, but you need to make sure you get all of your lean and green because you really need those nutrients!)
Some of my favorite medifast meals include brownies, chocolate chip soft bake (It's kind of like a big fluffy chocolate chip cookie), blueberry oatmeal (there's other yummy flavors too!), I LOVE the soups! They have a bunch of yummy soups, the beef stew is probably my favorite right now, there are a bunch of different shakes which are really good, there are a bunch of different bars which (the chocolate mint is my favorite, it tastes like those mint grasshopper cookie things), and the cinnamon roll crunch bar is my other fave. There are a bunch of other on-the-go meals too like pretzel sticks, bbq bites, etc. There is hot cocoa for a meal, other drinks for meals, mac n cheese (which I am trying with my next order), and a bunch of other stuff!
And my favorite thing I have recently discovered about these medifast meals is that you can adapt them! There are recipes online to make them a different way to make something else, like with the brownie, I made fudge, (Totally fixed my chocolate craving for like at least a week), With the cream soups (Cream of broccoli, cream of chicken, cream of tomato) You can make flat bread and spread laughing cow cheese on it (the cheese is a condiment, you're allowed a certain amount in a day), and that is my current favorite thing because I hate the cream of broccoli soup and it tastes way good as a flat bread with laughing cow cheese.
Another current favorite is making "soft serve cookies" from the soft serve (it's kind of like an icecream but I don't really like icecream so I thought mine was going to go to waste until I found the cookie recipe which is so good) there's peanutbutter soft serve, which I have been using for those cookies, and chocolate mint which I can't wait to try, there is a mango soft serve too which I have heard is good as cookies, but I'm slightly skeptical about that one..
Anyway the point is, don't knock it till you try it. I definitely learned that.
The first time I started the program, I didn't have a CLUE about cooking and how to measure ounces of meat, and how much stuff I needed it was just too much for me so I cheated by skipping the lean and green meals altogether. Which isn't good for you, so I wouldn't recommend it. THIS time I have been making dinner every night. (Seriously Dewey probably thinks I'm a Goddess right now). Our favorite so far has been the Stuffed Zucchini, let me just say AMAZING! (If you want the recipe let me know, it is to die for and so healthy and filling!)
He was raving about it that whole night. It made me feel really good and made me want to keep cooking! There are amazing Lean and Green meals, and honestly, this program is just awesome. There is a huge support system online, Oh and I forgot to mention you also get a free health coach who will help you out along the way! When in doubt, call your health coach :D ! Your health coach will explain everything, answer any questions, etc. She/He will have you do your first weigh-in, help you with your first order, check on you the first 4 days because they are the hardest, will call weekly to see how the week went and what you could do better, and helps you make goals, and all of that kind of stuff. The thing I was worried about the most with this program though, was the cost. The Medifast food isn't exactly cheap. But from the way I feel, and the way my life and my family's life is changing, and the fact that we are all becoming more healthy, I feel the cost is SO worth the result. You also get two books with your first order, one is a work book, and the other kinda like a textbook, that you read along the way, because the whole goal of this program is to help you Take Shape For LIFE. Not just for the time you're on the program. I haven't read the book as much as I should, but from the few chapters I have read, I have learned a lot of interesting things about the body, and how it works, and many other things. It isn't boring either like most textbooks, I enjoy reading it. I need to catch up though and read it more because that is part of what will help you keep eating healthy after the program.
You are also supposed to exercise while on this program but for the first two weeks you're supposed to not do vigorous exercise because your body is getting used to this huge change you just threw at it, but then you can up your exercise.
I have started this program twice, the first time was right before Christmas time and let's face it, my heart just wasn't in it. I LOVE CHRISTMAS FOOD. That phrase may be the death of me ;) but I went strong for one WEEK, and in just that first week, I lost 9 lbs!! Can you believe I had 9 lbs of just pure fat and junk that detoxed off me? Let me just say eww.
After week 1 I cheated here and there and then completely fell of the wagon and gained almost every lb back that I had lost. That plus I could afford to order the Medifast meals again so I had to save up and wait anyway.
This is the second time I have started. I started on January 14, 2013, and am in the middle of week 2. I weighed in on Monday and I lost 7 lbs in week 1! Yay! My goal is to get to my goal weight by my birthday which is April 6th.
If you're interested, please let me know! I am considering becoming a health coach myself, for some extra income to help Dewey with bills, and especially because I would love to be able to help other people reach their goals, health related or not. There is a fun group on facebook for people on this health program and it is so awesome to see people post about how they lost this much weight last week, or how they tried a new recipe and they share it with us, etc. It is an awesome thing and helps me stay motivated. It would make me happy to be able to help others the way I'm being helped right now.
If you're interested let me know, if I have enough people I could find that would be interested, then I will definitely sign up to be a coach, Or I can refer you to my health coach, who is AMAZING, I love her to death she has been through a lot and overcome so much in her life she inspires me.
I didn't mean to post so much about the program in this post haha I was going to save it for the next post, but that in a nutshell is Take Shape For Life. I have tried so many different diets and this one is the only one that I really feel so good about. I will probably be starting Insanity! next week which I am really excited. I miss my workouts with Shaun T. (Another fantstic way to go if you want an incredible set of exercise dvds)
It is the most intense workout ever put on dvd. There are different workouts for every day and the best thing about it is that it builds up your muscle, boosting your metabolism so you burn more calories even when you're resting than you would with weak muscles. (Which is perfect to go hand in hand with my health program, double the metabolism).
My dad, an emergency room physician taught me that muscle burns fat faster than fat burns fat.
that is so true and I think a lot of people are either oblivious to that fact or forget and get caught up on trying to lose weight just by eating healthy, or just exercising, but the truth is that BOTH are HUGE components in getting healthy and like Shaun T. Says you can't out-exercise a bad diet .
Keep your goals in mind and don't give up, let set backs be just that; set backs. Then pick yourself back up and carry on.
xoxo-cyd
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