Monday, April 14, 2014

Clean Eating Link Up!



I've touched on my feelings about this topic a little bit in the past, but today I'll really get to the nuts and bolts of why I feel the way I do.  CLEAN EATING...it's really become a hot topic among the fitness world and you hear those words together a lot!  I started on the bandwagon myself many months ago, and while it helped a little, I still was feeling gross, bloated, lethargic...something wasn't working for me.  Then someone recommended the Whole30 plan and I spent hours pouring over the website and decided to just go for it!  That was way back in November 2012 and it was great!  After the initial "carb flu" period I was feeling great.  I lost about 12 pounds in 30 days and I'd never felt better, more focused, or energetic.

Enter Christmas...and several more months of falling off the wagon.  I'll be the first to admit that I am an emotional binge eater.  I fight it every single day.  I simply can't keep anything in my house that I want to avoid because I will eat it every time.  During these months, I gained back every pound I lost plus a few.



Once I'd had enough of feeling like trash again, I went back to the beginning.  I decided to read this book:


I'm not huge on science, but Dallas and Melissa Hartwig really explain the science of how certain food affects our body from the inside out in terms that I can understand.  All sorts of ailments and diseases begin with what we put on our plate and we don't even realize it.  Weight gain is just a symptom of all the other things that could be happening in our bodies.  Scary things like diabetes, leaky gut syndrome, and even seasonal allergies.  And since I am doing this for my overall health and not just to lose weight, it made sense for me to cut out the junk and follow the guidelines set by this book.

I'm not perfect and I slip up sometimes, but it's been easier to resist eating things when I remind myself how bad I feel afterwards and how these foods affect my overall health and not just my weight!



One hurdle I've really had to fight through is the idea that the normal "low-fat" American diet that most people try to lose weight with will NEVER work.  Healthy fat doesn't make you fat....refined sugar and processed foods do.  If you read labels you'll find out that sugar is hidden EVERYWHERE!  That "healthy" yogurt...more sugar than a Snickers bar!  I'm looking forward to seeing Fed Up, a documentary about this topic!

I've rambled enough...if you've made it this far, I HIGHLY recommend checking out this book and program.  It won't cost you a dime (other than buying food!) to follow the Whole30 - unlike other popular programs out there.  In the long run, you'll feel better!  I know I do!

Now if I can just get the exercise going...

What are your thoughts on clean eating?  Link up with Jasmine at Fleurty and Fit and share with us!

Thursday, April 10, 2014

NSV Success! Finally...

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It's almost Friday!!!  I don't know why I care...every day for a stay at home mom like me is pretty much the same.  It's like living in the movie Groundhog Day.  


Moving right along...today is Non-Scale Victory link up day!  I actually have one to celebrate this week...yay!  I don't know if I've talked about it before, but every Wednesday we go to my parent's house for family night supper.  This is usually a night where I end up saying "F-it" and eating whatever the hell is laying around.  Yesterday I was feeling really good after a 3 mile bike/walk and I didn't want to ruin what I had done.  So while everyone else was eating Grands biscuits with their dinner and having chocolate ice cream for dessert, I had one grilled pork chop, about 1/4 cup roasted red potatoes, and a shit load of broccoli.  Proof once again that I CAN resist eating crap food even when every fiber of my being wants the damn biscuit!


Now to keep that up!  Hope your day is great!


Wednesday, April 9, 2014

A Friendly Reminder...For Myself

I can feel myself getting lazy.  It's gradual and slow and then all of a sudden I'm doing nothing.  So here's a little reminder of all the great reasons there are to get out there and sweat!


My favorite reasons are numbers 1, 5, 21, 46, and 48 ;)  What are your favorites?

Off to put on my workout clothes!  
Have a great Hump Day!



Tuesday, April 8, 2014

A Tool and a Story

I've been doing SO much better this past week!  Other than blogging - womp womp.  I spent all of last Friday at the computer planning my meals and preparing for the torture that is grocery shopping!  For this undertaking, I use Ziplist.  It really has been a lifesaver when it comes to food prep.  You can save recipes, plan your food using Google calendar, and create lists that sync with your smartphone.  Really, really helpful!  You're welcome.


So, now that is out of the way...want to hear a story?  We live in a quiet little duplex/triplex community.  Never ever have we had any excitement or trouble.  All that changed Sunday night!  We're sitting watching TV about 10:30 pm and all of a sudden we hear gunshots.  Like REALLY close - so close that the hubs made us leave the living room and go to the back of the house.  Talk about terrified.  The adrenaline was pumping so much I couldn't stop shaking.  This was me:


We stayed away from the windows even though I wanted to know what was going on.  About 10 minutes later we see police lights, so we braved looking out.  Turns out the shots were fired at the unit on the opposite end of ours - WAY too close for comfort.  The car in the driveway had a window busted out but it doesn't appear there was any other damage.  The cops hung around taking pictures until about 1 am and then they're just gone.  I don't think anyone was hurt - never saw an ambulance.  I didn't sleep very well that night at all!  I still don't know what exactly happened.  It's scary and I'm really hoping that the neighbors who were involved have received their eviction notice!

Have a great Tuesday friends!  See you again soon.