My Fitness Journey

I’ve tried everything. 

The Zone diet. Weight Watchers. Noom. Tracking macros. Pilates. Kickboxing. Yoga. Beach Body dance videos. Pole dancing. Juice diet. I’ve danced to Richard Simmons sweatin’ to the oldies. I’ve ab roller-ed (is that a word?). Used weights. I’ve done it all. 

Live footage of me

I’ve always been interested in fitness and diet. And now more than ever, health. It’s so fascinating and so overwhelming the amount of information that is out there. The amount of trends and fads and advice. Do this, no do THIS. No take that! So much noise and that’s probably why so many people ignore it. Because they don’t know where to start. 

I grew up in the 90’s and 2000’s, the waif period and time of baby doll tops and low rise jeans. Then social media started coming out and you saw more celebrities, and then more influencers, and everyone was so skinny and swore on their skinny jeans that they ate everything under the sun and just happened to looked like that. My favorite Instagram posts were really thin ‘influencers’ and models who always posed eating a burger or some huge gross food but never actually put it in their mouth. Always makes me laugh. No girl, you have no idea what that tastes like. Lemme show you how to devour it...

I feel like it was always a fight to be ‘thin’; whatever that means to you. And I think the really funny part is that there are moments in our lives where we don’t think we are thin. And then we look back at those pictures and are like ‘Damn girl! You should’ve been walking around naked you look so good!’

We are our own worst (and loudest) critics.

I know I am. I look back at pics in my 20’s and I can’t believe I thought I was so ‘big’. I have shorts I found and it’s quite inconceivable they once went over my thighs!

Indoor beach party back in 2012. I’m sure I thought I was fat back then. Fucking idiot. I wish I could fit into those shorts.

I am also now back at my weight before I got pregnant (which was 10 lbs. heavier than I would’ve liked to have been at the time). I just lost 10 lbs in 6 months. That happened with focusing on the things I put in my mouth and working with a dietician. Although I am well versed in nutrition and diet, I was so frustrated that the scale wasn’t moving in the Fall. So I reached out to a dietician and it has been a great experience to have someone to look at my history and see what it is that I was missing in my plan.

You can always ask for help and there are resources out there to help you online if you don’t want to talk to someone face to face. I am trying to be better at not having to do everything on my own. We can do things on our own, but I think that at some point it is always better to talk to a real live person. That is why none of the apps ever really worked—at a certain point you will always hit a plateau and have to pivot your plan. Most people just don’t know what that pivot is.

I think a lot of people have issues with their weight which not only factors from our shitty American diet and the way we process food here, but from our mostly sedentary lifestyle as well. And I think a lot of people think it’s hopeless and that it’s just the way their body is supposed to be, but I’ve seen the progress you can make with only a few tweaks.

I didn’t do anything major in the last 6 months except focus on eating more protein, fiber, and measuring out my ice cream and chocolate bars instead of just mindlessly eating the whole thing. I didn’t deprive myself. I think that is the key—slow and steady. And I know the frustration about it going ‘too slow’ or ‘the long term plateau’. This is where asking for help…helps.

Some ideas you can do to jumpstart weight loss:

It starts with small habits. Just replacing or adding one or two things until you do it without thought. Then moving on to the next thing.

• drinking more water and teas
• avoiding places like Starbucks and Dunkin
  • That really got me and I was out of control especially during days at work. Dunkin was the only choice around to get something. And once I started tracking the calories and amount of sugar, I was OUT. That’s a once in a while treat. But if you must go, you can reduce the number of pumps on the syrup and swap regular milk for almond milk which is lower in calories
• if you drink soda, swapping it for sodas that are good for you. I was never a soda person in my adulthood but my new favorite is Olipop for a little something around that 3pm slump
• focus on high protein snacks. I always have at least one stashed in my bag or desk in case I get hangry. Here are some I love:
  • dried edamame beans
  • chomp meat sticks I like the pepperoni turkey and jalapeno turkey
  • IQ protein bars
  • Lupini beans
• If you must eat sweets (who doesn’t) pick high quality and eat the serving size. I can destroy a Haagen-Dazs but I feel better when I eat my serving (sometimes 2) instead of the whole pint. I choose high quality chocolate and I’ve actually found its more filling than the cheaper version and I’m satiated with just the serving size
• Add vegetables when you can. Find 3-5 that you really love and always have them on hand. And don’t force yourself to eat the ones you don’t! I fucking hate cauliflower rice and I forced myself to eat it for over a year. Fucking terrible. You are not real rice!!!
• Eat more fiber! Most people do not even eat close to what they are supposed to (for adults 25-30 grams/day). I eat the same breakfast pretty much every single day (oatmeal) and that is where I get the most fiber—from adding seeds. Try adding them in your oatmeal, smoothies, add to pancake/waffle batter. Trader Joes has most of the list below
  • chia seeds
  • ground flaxseeds
  • hemp seeds
  • pumpkin seeds
  • sunflower seeds
  • Some food with high fiber: blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, popcorn, quinoa, sweet potato, chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans, avocado, spinach

Hopefully some of those things help and if you are also struggling with your weight you are not alone. It’s even harder when you get older so we really need to focus on having good habits.

Micro habits all add up to a bigger goal. Slow and steady DOES win the race…Or eventually get you to fit into your pants better…You get the idea.

** Thanks for listening! Don’t forget to like, subscribe, comment and share. It helps me know I’m not just talking to myself **

Meat And Potatoes or Chicken and Cauliflower Rice?

I’m ok with eating a lot of vegetable and having rice and beans. I never was much of a meat person–I eat it but I’m really picky–white meat only, not a lot of fat, no skin–I interrogate it like an enemy of the state. It occurred to me one day that my poor husband has not been eating any meat other than ground turkey and rotisserie chicken this last year. Mostly because it’s expensive and were were trying to save money. This poor carnivore was probably dying though so I went to the market and got some chicken and a steak for him. He had 2 full days of meatful bliss before I gave him soup and salad for dinner again.

He recently said that he’s amazed I can make him eat such healthy things that he actually enjoys–buffalo cauliflower, cauliflower rice, butternut squash soup—which makes me feel really good because:
1. Those things are cheaper than meat and,
2. We’re eating healthy and I don’t have to make a separate meal just for him!

But recently he got steak and potatoes because sometimes you just have to splurge and let a man have a steak.

It’s interesting how you can have such a large volume of vegetables and fruits that equal the same calories as the bad stuff:

Not sure of the source of this picture. Can’t believe it’s the same amount of calories!

 

This is insane–same amount of calories and sodium but with one meal you will be hungry in 2 hours and the other you won’t be able to eat all of it in one sitting! And this just reinforces the fact that it is the quality and macro breakdown of the food we eat that really DOES matter.
Americans eat a meal that is equivalent to a whole days worth of food and, if we do this enough, our bodies get used to it and need more and more. Once you train your body to eat just enough to fill you, you end up eating smaller portions than you would before and there’s less overeating of the bad stuff.

A few years ago I did a cleanse-type diet that went back to basics–I eliminated alcohol, bread, coffee and sugar (ABCS) for 2 weeks. Disclosure: I didn’t really cut the coffee since my 8am coffee indicated I was at work and it was the only joy I got for a second, but after the two weeks was up, I went to put sugar in my coffee and I hated the taste. I haven’t added sugar to my coffee since about 2012. And if you really think about it, sugar is so damn processed and it’s something your body actually starts craving when you eat/drink it often enough, (cookies, cakes, sodas, etc) and then you need it. It IS addictive. But once you cut it out, you’re very aware of how much sugar things have—That’s like when ex-smokers say smoke bothers them after quitting or that they have a better sense of smell. We become so much more aware when we DON’T have something and sometimes it ends up being better for us.

It’s all about making small changes. If you’re used to eating the Burger King meal every day, start cutting it down to only twice a week. If you have 3 cans of soda a day, cut it down to one until you can eliminate it altogether. Do I still eat ice cream and pizza? Hell yeah I do! But I try not to eat the whole pint or 4 slices and limit that to once or twice a week. But mostly, it’s because my stomach has shrunk down and I can’t do 4 slices of pizza anymore. Man , I really love pizza….

Moderation is the key to everything. And sometimes, all it takes is a small step. Like taking sugar out of your coffee.

Eating Right: What I Learned About Meal Prepping In The Past Year

Below I’ve listed my typical meal prep before I started the Transform program with Chris and Heidi Powell and what I eat now on the program. I still have some adjusting to do since my husband officially moved in a few months ago so I’ve been running out of meals earlier in the week when I cook. It takes some getting used to when a pot of rice used to be 5 servings for one person but now it’s only 3 servings total for both of us (boys eat a lot!). And meat for two people? Insane! I don’t know how people feed families over 4 people..it’s so expensive…pb&j for everyone!

I’ve been trying to prep myself for the week AND also feed my husband. The poor thing has had to eat a lot of these Transform meals since making two of something is easier than creating a whole separate meal. I just increase the carbs and protein for him. Sometimes I make a crock pot of something and that lasts him for a few days so I can just focus on myself. But that guy lucked out—he lost  about 10 lbs. 2 months after I started the program—HE WASN’T EVEN OFFICIALLY ON THE PROGRAM!
That just shows how much food really does impact our bodies. We can work out for 3 hours every day, but if you’re shoving donuts in your mouth and eating carbs late at night, then all that work is for nothing. I’m still learning how to perfect meal prepping and making sure that I’m eating the right things but I sure have come a long way from 2 years ago when I thought I was doing OK. This last 6 months have brought me to a whole new meal prepping level.

BREAKFAST
Old Way: Before prepping: usually just coffee at 8am then I would have my first snack at 10am.
New Way: I now have oatmeal M-F and then treat myself to a fruit smoothie and toast

Oatmeal, Monday-Friday

with peanut butter on the weekends. When I began prepping, I tried changing up my breakfasts so I had half the week oatmeal and the other half a ground turkey sweet potato skillet meal but then I realized I was OK with oatmeal 5 days a week so why add more work to my prep on Sunday for no reason? The turkey meal took more time and used up my meat which I could save for lunches and dinners.

SNACK
Old Way: I would pack 2 snacks for the day, like a small zip lock bag of pretzels and animal crackers. And if I had more time and I wanted to be fancy I would have cut up vegetables and have a cheese stick or snack bar. None of that was very filling probably since it was low on protein.
New Way: I now eat 2 snacks while I’m at work and it’s usually a protein shake with almonds, cheese sticks or Rice Krispies Treats–depending on if it’s a low or high carb day.  When I can actually make it to the deli I like to do a couple turkey and cheese roll ups. If If I have more time on my meal prepping day, I make a bigger meal so I’m having a larger snack and lunch during work and then I’m not tempted by all the donuts and treats going around because I’m so full. I realized on this plan that although I was eating 2 mini snacks during the day before, they weren’t very filling which is why I was always starving by the time I got home at 4:30pm and then ate very naughty things.

LUNCH
Old Way: Make a vat of chili (with meat or just beans) and it can feed you for days. Add some rice to your chili and I had lunch. That’s my favorite way to save money on food. Or pasta with cheese and sauce or soups. But it’s very hard to transport soup to work. I have done well recently with freezing the soup servings into plastic cups and then slipping (or breaking) them out of the cups and transporting it solid to work. Less spillage.  Sometimes I would make a small salad and add some grilled chicken to it.
New Way: I follow the Transform App meal plan and eat meals according to my allotted macros and whether it’s a low or high-carb day. I never feel bloated, I’m always pretty full, and even though I’ve increased my protein intake and decreased my pasta/rice (which has increased my grocery budget), I think it’s worth it. That means less mini-snacks in between my other snacks. Typically I’ll have some ground turkey with

ground turkey, broccoli, marinara and Parmesan cheese: one of my frequent go-tos

marinara sauce, broccoli and Parmesan cheese (low-carb) or I’ll have chicken with black beans, corn, salsa and rice (high carb).

DINNER
Old Way: Usually it’s leftover from the night before–chicken or ground beef, vegetables, rice or salad. Or some soup again–usually from a can which is full of sodium! Rice, potatoes, and pasta were usual contenders because they’re the easiest to make for dinner since I was starving early on in the night when I wasn’t eating my high protein snacks.
New Way: Going on the Transform App made me realize I ate too many carbs for dinner so I’ve transitioned to a more low-carb meal at night and upped the protein intake. I feel so much better going to sleep at night since I eat all my heavy stuff earlier in the day and then I’m not starving at night. Typically I make that ground turkey with marinara that I listed for lunch or my other favorite, Taco Salad–ground turkey, onion, salsa, lettuce, olives, shredded cheese, and avocado. And hot sauce. On everything.

So, if you’re finding meal prepping daunting, don’t fret. It takes a while to get a rhythm. Some weeks I have a really good prep and I have 4 days worth of food in under 2 hours, and other weeks (like this week) I lose my shit on Monday when I’ve barely made 2 days worth of meals and I also have to squeeze in my workout, wash the dishes, and do all the other little household things and it’s already 7pm. In those cases you have to realize that you have to let something go in order to keep your sanity–so I moved my workout to another day in the week. I felt a little better but sometimes you just have to focus on what you can do and don’t beat yourself up so much. We’re all still learning.

Meal Prepping: My 2nd Job

More meal prep talk! I began intensely meal prepping last year because of Chris and Heidi Powell’s book Extreme Transformation. They really emphasize the idea that if you are prepared for your meals then you typically eat healthfully and mindfully and…it can

The book that started it all last year

also taste good! I think what throws people off when trying to change their lifestyle is they take what is written and force themselves to eat things on a meal plan they don’t like without realizing that they can swap things out and customize to what they actually like to eat. On the other hand, if they get a blank meal plan they freeze and don’t know what to make or what they like to eat and then give up. I think it’s a good idea to look at several plans and tailor it to what you want to eat.

Once I started realizing that it’s not about following someone else’s plan to a tee but making it my own, it was easier to weed out all the recipes I wasn’t interested in: like cottage cheese, yogurt and eggs. Bleh. In some cases you can just swap out a particular ingredient like, if you don’t fancy mushrooms in your stir-fry you can add asparagus. But that requires thinking outside the box and the people who think they have to follow that meal plan to the letter are the same people who measure out the exact amount of things for a recipe and don’t deviate. My husband is like that–he’ll sit and dice each piece into exact measurements and if it says ¼ teaspoon of chili powder you know that’s what you’re getting–it drives him crazy when I throw in a handful of this or add some more of that. I’ve been cooking since I was 12. Sometimes you gotta go with your gut feeling.

Most of my recipes are based on other recipes that I’ve changed or added extra to because, in most cases, if I have 90% of the ingredients I’m making it. What am I gonna do–run to the store every time I need 1 lime or a box of penne? No thank you. And some people just think they can’t do it if they don’t have everything on the list which then means they’re going to the store every day for some ingredient or another. Who has time for that! Most of my planning comes from what I currently have in the fridge that I need to eat before it goes bad or whether or not I have meat like ground turkey or chicken or if I have to use beans for my protein (meat’s expensive and we’re on a budget!). A recipe calls for broccoli but I have cauliflower. Swap! Need black beans? I’m adding red beans! That’s how I roll.

I must say, since I’ve been following the Powell’s meal plan (which is rooted in Macro-science), I feel great. I’m less bloated and gassy and never feel gross after eating a meal. And ladies, when you have a boyfriends or husband and you’re still trying to keep the romance alive, it’s nice not to have to hold in your gas because you don’t really have any when you eat right! It’s never fun and it’s never sexy sitting on the couch saying to yourself “Don’t fart…hold it in. Oh he wants to cuddle? Damn, I can’t move from this position!…don’t make any sudden movements…” (you know what I’m talking about. Don’t pretend. We’ve all been there).

My meals for the following 3 days are always planned and I have flexibility on the weekends—especially Saturdays which are reward days for me and that makes my husband happy since we can eat pizza. But meal prepping also means carrying around a bunch of Tupperware all the time BUT that also means I never get to the point where I’m hangry and want to murder people….like out of my mind hungry…once I hit that point, get out of my fucking way.

It’s also like having a 2nd job–when I was following the plan 100% it was my job to meal prep and to work out. By the time I got home from work, worked out, showered, and cooked…it was 9pm. I really can’t imagine what that would feel like with kids pulling at you all hours of the day. I don’t know how people do it and I say kudos to them. I do know how the celebrities do it though: nannies and chefs. One day…

Gotta Prep For The Meal Prep

Meal prep. It’s all over the internet. Before, it was just known as ‘packing your lunch’. It’s gotten intense out there–there’s diagrams, everyone has the best routine, and creating weekly menus are no big deal. It’s a lot. The first step is figuring out what you actually want to eat and I’m assuming you want to eat healthy because no one ever really prepped for a pizza or a Whopper. Those things just sorta happen.

Thank you internet for this deliciously unhealthy prep

My active prepping (not just packing my lunch for the next 3 days) began last year. I’m still not a pro. Before that I would pack most of my lunches and snacks for work in an effort to save money. I thought I was doing pretty well too. This intense meal prepping I do now makes that look like basic bitch work. I sit here and laugh at my old self. I knew nothing.

Some weeks I have 4 breakfasts, snacks and lunches prepped Sunday night. Other weeks, it’s Tuesday and I’m like “Cutting vegetables for snack?? Ugggghhhh….”. Again, it goes all back to ORGANIZATION. Some people have it and some people don’t but most can learn. Containers have been a big help and I really love the Sistema brand (you can find at Macy’s and Bed Bath and Beyond). There’s an oatmeal container that I take with me

Sistema containers. I’m obsessed (and no they don’t pay me to say that but I wish they did). Oatmeal M-F

every morning and can pack for the week on Sunday so they’re all lined up and ready to go. I just add blueberries before I leave in the morning.

I usually start planning on Saturday what I want to make for the week so I can cook as much as possible on Sunday if I’m actually home. It’s good to have all the ingredients ready to go so all you have to do is cook on Sunday and it’s only a couple hours of your life. I must say, it is a lot easier to just take out a container and heat it up when I need dinner on Monday or Tuesday. That also means I have time after work to workout or write instead of going home to cook for 2 hours. 

Grocery shopping is usually done on Saturday and sometimes I do little things like roast vegetables, brown ground turkey and/or make a pot of rice. Then, when I have to start prepping on Sunday I’m not so overwhelmed with everything I have to do and it’s easier to just throw things together in a container and label. My labeling system right now is a Sharpie and a piece of masking tape but I would love Sistema to create containers with erasable labels on them (HELLO, ARE YOU LISTENING?!) I found if they’re labeled I can tell what meals are missing that I have to make and also know right away what I’m going to eat and when.

If I was using a lot of peppers & onions during the week, I chop them all and keep them in this container. Chopping is so tedious and annoying so you only do it once! (container by Sistema, of course)

We should all be able to cook ahead of time because it’s pretty appalling how many companies are out there that will meal prep for you and the amount of people who pay them to put food in containers! But I applaud those people because they found a niche and then went for it before the market was saturated–that’s what business is all about–getting ahead of that curve and profiting from it. You think I still have time to get in on it? I wouldn’t mind staying home all day and cooking and then delivering meals to people. 

So if meals are $8-12/meal and snacks go for $8 then that means for your 5 day work week (5 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 5 dinners, 10 snacks) you pay about $230-260 a week. That’s $1,000 a month for food!!!! I just died. That’s the same price as eating every meal out. My monthly grocery budget is about $225—delivery ends up being 5 months of food!! Wow. I watch people at work constantly ordering food which is 1. extremely expensive and, 2. extremely unhealthy. It’s insane how much people spend on food and how easy it is to cut that cost with a little prep and a little organization. Breaking up the week to start is an easy way to do it: prep on Sunday and do meals for Sunday-Tues then start adding on days. Once you get an idea of how best to do things and if you have enough container to store everything (you never have enough containers) then it gets easier. 

My interest in meal prepping also began because we were trying to make a conscious effort to not eat out in order to save more money to put towards the wedding fund. Our average is about $225 per month for 2 people depending on the month and we still eat out averaging about $200 per month as well. And I always feel guilty when we do it, but damn, that wedding money Big Mac was worth it sometimes. Speaking of Big Mac I can’t remember when I last had one. Sometimes you gotta treat yourself. Maybe this week..

Off to do some prepping for the week. Wish me luck!