2 Week Bootcamp

So today my cousin is departing, and her final weigh-in shows that she has lost 14 pounds!
After 2 weeks of eating clean, drinking Shakeology & exercising she exceeded her goal by 4 pounds. Her goal was to stay one month and lose 10 pounds in that month. She cut her stay short because of missing her family but she lost 4 pounds more in 2 weeks versus 4 weeks!! She really worked hard this last 2 weeks and much credit is due to her and her dedication and commitment to working hard to regain her health! She leaves us today with more energy, a positive outlook, less weight, better health, a need for smaller clothes and happier.

It's been a great 2 weeks!!!

Remember that you can do ANYTHING you put your mind to, and well exceed it if you work hard enough!

Happy Sunday!

Exercise that is ACTUALLY Fun!!

I know that headline might throw a few of you off. Fun exercise? Um... yeah right?

Exercise is almost always perceived as a chore, a must do, a have to.. and not a want to.

Exercise comes in so many different forms. It doesn't always have to mean running on a treadmill or lifting some weights. It can mean joining a running group, taking a spinning class, taking a MMA class, riding your bike around the neighborhood, running the track at your local high school or along a greenbelt.

Yes, a treadmill everyday would be a boring form of exercise. So mix it up, have fun with it, find a partner, try a sport, and remember that exercise is not a chore, it can and will be something you look forward to.

Happy Monday!

Barbecue Season

It's that time again; grill, food, family, friends and fun. Time for a new kind of clean eating challenge. Can you resist the hot dogs, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, pork and beans, potato salad, macaroni salad and ice cream?

Instead of turning this into an avoidance situation let's all think of it as another opportunity to either cook alternatives or choose wiser.

Here are some good swaps for classic favorites:

Hamburger: Turkey burger
Cheese burger (American processed "cheese"): Turkey burger w/ low fat feta cheese.
Potato salad: Potato salad made with greek yogurt instead of mayo, and egg whites instead of whole eggs.
Pork and beans: Homemade baked beans
Ice Cream: Fresh berry salad w/ yogurt

If you can make these things at your own barbecue than do it, if your attending someone else's barbecue, then choose better. Cut the hamburger up and put it on a salad instead of on a bun, choose green salads as sides, avoid the creamy based salads, and take a small portion of dessert.

Allowing room for fun and "cheat" food is good, but know your limits and try to choose better options or make better options when you can.

Happy Barbecuing.

MEAL PLAN SALE

I had such an amazing response from last week's meal plan sale that I am having another one this week!! Today through Tuesday if you purchase a meal plan, you will receive $10 off. Click on the link to the right of the blog to purchase your meal plan today!!!

Today is the day to make a change in your life!!




Remember you have a choice: Pay for your health now or your lack of health later.


Happy Saturday!

Kids and Food

As a parent I know how hard it can be to please a child's picky palette. They will judge a food before it is even tasted. They say "eww" or "ick" before they even know the name of the food sitting on their plates.

I am here to tell parents not to give up. Be the example for your child. I will give you an example from our house. I recently made the usual turkey burgers, dressed up with a bun, spinach, tomato & avocado (nothing out of ordinary in our house), and our side was butternut squash fries. They were stopped in their tracks before they even tasted the squash. My ten year old looked at me puzzled, because she knew I wouldn't have cooked her fries, they didn't smell like our sweet potato wedges and they were orange. My four year old immediately said he was not eating them. Instead of getting discouraged I simply told both of them to try them before judging them too harshly.
After much thought and hesitation my ten year old took a bite, and she wanted so bad to not like them, but I could tell this was something she enjoyed. My four year old ate his burger and played with his fries for quite some time, and finally he bargained with me that if he ate 2 fries could he please get down from the table. 2 fries was more than I was even hoping for the first time! I pretended not to pay much attention as he ate his fry, and he smiled and ate another. Before I knew it, his 5 butternut squash fries were gone, and I was a proud mama.

The point of this story is to tell you that judging a food for your child is counterproductive.Don't avoid buying a food because you THINK your child won't like it. I have heard time and time again "my child won't eat spinach", "there is no way I could get my child to touch green beans" "I can't even bring oatmeal into the house my child hates it that much". Instead these parents bring the well loved "children's junk food" into their homes, because.."it's all my child will eat".
If chicken nuggets, french fries, hot pockets, pop tarts, & fruit loops is all you buy and the only options you give, then YES that is all your child will eat.

If you make the choice to only buy healthy foods and only stock your pantry with clean healthy foods, then trust me, they will eat it!

My son was offered a chicken nugget at a play date recently, and had no idea what it was. He was confused by it's odd shape, and the breading on it. He told me later that they kept telling him it was chicken but "it didn't look like chicken".

Now this is not to say my kids don't eat any junk food at all, because they do. We live in a world where it's every where you look and it's not so evil and bad in moderation. I just don't stock my pantry with the stuff. My son opened my eyes to how this "food" was perceived by him. I was a proud mom at that moment. I was happy that he was unable to identify a chicken nugget as a food.

Let's give our kids the best chance at a healthy long life by teaching them while they are young about nutrition & clean healthy foods.

Happy Tuesday!

Make a Choice

I had a family member that lives states away from me, call me up recently and ask me a question. She asked me if she could come out to my house and live for a month and learn to get and be healthy. Absolutely she could come here and get healthy!!

Talk about a first step!!!

Here we are a week later and she has been staying at my house since Friday and she is putting her heart and soul into this life change. That's not to say that the first 2 days weren't rough, they were. However she is doing it! She gets up with me early in the morning, she is learning to cook healthy foods, and today we did our first real exercise. We walked over a mile!! She even ran in intervals. I am so impressed and even more convinced than ever before that if you are ready and willing to make healthy choices in your life then nothing can hold you back but yourself.

She was ready, she didn't want to live her life unhealthy, in pain, & literally dying from a poor lifestyle anymore. She made the change in her life, she is the one doing the work, I am just here to teach her how.

This story was to really motivate anyone who is reading this blog and waiting, hoping, making excuses of why not, why they can't, & why they won't get healthy.

ANYONE can do it!! My family member is almost 30 and has never really exercised and has never known how to eat healthy. She made a CHOICE to get healthy!

Make a choice. Choose to make excuses or choose to change.

If you need help on your journey to good health, don't wait another day. I will work up a customized meal plan for you. Email me for details.

Happy Monday

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust- MY FAV!!

1 1/2 c warm water
1 tsp honey
1 tbsp dry yeast
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
3 1/4 c whole wheat flour
1/4 c of whole wheat flour for rolling dough

Directions:
Preheat oven 425 degrees.

In a big bowl combine water & honey. Once honey is dissolved, sprinkle yeast on top. Let sit for 10 minutes or until foamy on top.

Mix oil & salt into water & honey mixture.

slowly add flour until dough forms (I do this in my Kitchenaid mixer with dough attachment, but you could also use bread machine or a spoon and your muscles)

Kneed on floured surface until smooth (about 4-5 mins) roll into ball and put into large lightly oiled bowl. Cover with towel and set in warm area (I put by my kitchen window, but not in direct sunlight). Let rise for 1 hour.

After you let dough rise for 1 hour, kneed for 2-3 mins, cut into 2 even balls and put in separate (non oiled) bowls for 45 mins to rise.

After 45 minutes, kneed dough and roll out into thin crusts (will make 2 thin crusts)

Put onto pizza pan or on cookie sheet, poke w/ fork to prevent bubbles, and bake crust for 5 minutes at 425 degrees.

Take crust out and top with whatever healthy toppings you like and bake for another 10-12 minutes.

Repeat with second crust.

Enjoy!

Happy Saturday!

Question & Answer FRIDAY

I received many questions yesterday and had to choose one that I thought would be beneficial to readers. I will answer ALL of your emailed questions via email today though.

Q: Do you recommend any fasts that could get someone ready for Summer and get a jump start to continued weight loss?

A: I am not a fan of fasts or cleanses unless they some how incorporate actual healthy foods, a balanced diet and at least 1200 calories.
The reason is, I don't think that depriving your body of food is a good way to jump start your weight loss. When your body is deprived food for periods of time, it goes into what I like to call "starvation mode" and literally starts to store away the nutrients, fats, proteins, sugars, carbohydrates, thinking it needs to preserve anything it can because you are in short supply of food. It's the way our bodies were designed in order to protect themselves way back when, when there actually were shortages of food. So fasts and cleanses unless designed right, are just a waste of time and actually quite counter productive if you are trying to lose weight long term.

If you are looking to jump start your Summer weight loss and gain your good health back, then email me for a customized meal plan. Today through Monday May 16th, I am running a special of $5 off any 2 or 4 week plan. Don't miss out!!

Happy Friday!

New Recipes/New foods

The same old same old thing day after day, week after week can get boring.

I can't even begin to tell you the number of times that people have come to me for a meal plan in desperate need of something new. They feel stuck with the grilled chicken, broccoli, salad & brown rice routine (or some variation of it).

If you're stuck in a rut with your clean eating habits, try subscribing to some fitness & health magazine, check out some recipes online, pick up a clean eating cookbook or get creative and make up your own new recipes.

Try new vegetables in your salads, try a warm salad instead of the usual cold salad. Give a different meat a try. Use ground bison instead of ground turkey for burgers, try a Boca burger for a change from the same old meat burger (don't knock em until you try em), make a new pasta dish, try different toppings on your whole wheat pizza crust, fix your scrambled eggs with something different; instead of adding cheese & spinach, try zucchini & asparagus. Cooking is such and art, and an expression of love. Self love and love for your family. When you cook healthy food, you are choosing to love your body, love your health and appreciate good, whole foods.

If you are still stuck in a rut, email me for a meal plan. Let's get you loving healthy food again.

Happy Tuesday!

Too Much Snacking

Do you ever have days when the fridge is just calling your name? It's like you just can't quiet that voice that keeps telling you to snack.
Here are a few tips they may help you quiet that voice.

#1: Water, water and more water. Carry it with you at all times. I literally carry my gallon jug with me all over the house, in the car, at the store, to people houses, and I don't really care what other people think of me and my water jug. It's the only way I can remember to drink all the water I need to drink, plus it fills me up so that I am not tempted by the foods I shouldn't eat.

#2: Chew gum. Seems a little too simple, right? It can work. It keeps your mouth busy, and takes the edge off a mean sweet craving. Carry a pack in your car, purse, one in your desk, top of your fridge, and even in your pantry. Sounds almost too easy, but trust me, this can really work.

#3: Keep healthy snacks available at all times. If you just can get rid of a desire to snack even though it is not a normal snack time, then be sure to always keep your healthy stash within sight. Keep cut up celery & carrots on the top shelf in your fridge, stash nuts, dried fruits, even jerky at eye level in your pantry. Apples, bananas, mango, pears and peaches in a bowl on your counter.

#4: The more you want something that you "can't have" the harder it will be to resist it. If you must, give in a little or find a healthier substitute for the craving. Want something chocolaty? Try DARK chocolate (70% cacao or more)to take the edge off. Want a mocha? Try mixing 1/2 c strongly brewed coffee, 1 scoop chocolate Shakeology & 8 ounces of fat-free milk or almond milk, for a mocha like drink.

#5: Give yourself a break. Maybe you've been working too hard, or are a little stressed out. Maybe food isn't what you're really craving. Try a massage, pedicure, meditation, hot bath, or a long walk. Maybe food is filling a void of boredom, or a need to relax. Find other alternatives to eating, if you aren't hungry.

Happy Monday!!

My Own Weight loss Journey

Today has been a day of reflecting on my own journey to good health. As I pushed myself through a really hard workout today, I thought back to when it was hard for me to even walk up a flight of stairs without getting winded.

It was almost 10 years ago now, I had just had my first child about a year prior and was headed to doctor for a routine check up. It had been like many other visits to the doctor, they took my blood pressure, (which was very high for a woman in her twenties) listened to my lungs, took my pulse, (which was running high) and drew blood for tests. The test concluded that I was overweight, unhealthy, and on the path to an early grave. My doctor told me that she didn't think I would live to see my forties. I was floored!!

The doctor couldn't give me much nutritional advice, but she did tell me to lose at least 20 pounds, quit smoking, eat low fat, eat low sodium and pick up an American Heart Association cookbook and learn to cook. *blink* I was at a loss for words.

That very day, I was at the book store, picked up every book I could find on low-fat, low-sodium, healthy cooking.

I never picked up another cigarette again in my life. I took that information and I turned my life around. I cooked everyday, I read every article, I eventually gave up meat, and started exercising. I lost over 50 pounds and gained my life!!

It's been an amazing journey, hard at times but worth every second. I have gained life lessons, energy & built a healthy family.

If you're ready to make healthy choices in your own life, then don't let another day pass you by, start today. Even if it's just one step a week, just move forward and don't look back. Anything is possible if you truly want it!!

Happy Thursday!

Meal Plans

Want to get healthy, eat clean, and have more energy? Then maybe it's time to team up with me for your customized meal plan. I will work around your caloric needs, energy needs, dislikes and likes. You can choose from a 2 or 4 week plan to suit your individual needs.

Kick your Summer health off right, by dropping the unhealthy pounds, getting more energy and really being able to fully appreciate the warm weather.

Email me today: positivenutritionmom@gmail.com


Happy Wednesday!