It's been too long!

It has been to to to long since my last post!  I recently acquired a new job and have been so busy that I am just now finding the time to breathe a bit, and yet I am feeling a little guilty not working at this very moment.

Let's see, where'd I leave off?

Memorial Weekend truly was a testament to my dedication of Clean Eating as there was double chocolate mini cakes, homemade brownies, chips of all yummy kinds, and so much more tempting foods, but I stuck to my plan and while others snacked on those mouth watering treats, I snacked on fresh fruits!  The feeling of self discipline is really a great feeling, knowing that I actually have the strength and power to hold true to what I am trying to achieve. 

This journey does not go without saying that there have been hard times and when certain cravings for, juicy, perfectly seasoned Chick-Fil-A's sandwiches and fries have been screaming in my ear "Eat Me, Just Do It"!  I did succumb to a small order of fries but then worked like a dog later because I felt guilty and I kid you not, I felt the fat going straight to my thighs!  :)

As for my recently new busy schedule, I have found that I forget to eat occasionally and that of course is not good, but other than that, I have maintained a healthy lifestyle and will continue to do so.  I hope that if you are following me on this journey that you to are able to be honest with yourself and realized that if you err, it is only human, and there is always the next moment to turn yourself around on the right track again! 

Memorial Weekend, Last Nights Dinner, and Poison!

Memorial Weekend

As Memorial Weekend approaches, I am preparing!  Preparing food that is.  We are so excited to be relaxing with family and their friends all weekend long.  However, this poses a bit more planning on my part as far as my nutrition goes.  There will be yummy food, as would be expected, and we are lucky that the wonderful relatives we are with already eat pretty dang healthy but I want to prepare my own foods so that I stick to my plan and I know exactly what I am eating.  Plus if I plan out my foods now, I won't waste time cooking and I can enjoy the week!

Here's a few of my preparations:

• First and foremost, I devised a weekend meal plan so I don't lose my way 
• Hard boiled eggs, peeled, removed the yolk, and now I have my egg whites already cooked and ready to go!
• Cooked my chicken and shredded it ahead of time 
• Pre-measured out my oatmeal, added my wheat germ, and cinnamon and now it is ready to go as well.
• Separated portions of fruit, whole grains, and veggies into containers.
• Prepared my tuna for my lunch on Sunday

By doing all of this, I know that when the weekend is over, I will not have any disappointment in how I feel as I will have not let myself down and the progress I have made thus far will remain intact.  I really feel my life changing and I LOVE IT!  

Last Nights Dinner Out

As I mentioned in my previous post, Buh-Bye Inches, my husband and I went out to dinner last night and I said I would report on what I ordered and here it is:

• Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon, with no sauce
• Boiled New Potatoes
• Corn on the Cobb with no butter

It was so good and I felt good eating it!  I ate half of what they served me, since restaurants seem to serve sizes big enough to feed the giant at the top of the beanstalk, and it made a really good leftover lunch today!

Poison ... AKA Fruit Punch!

I went to visit my husbands Grandma today at her nursing home and when I arrived she was with a group of other fine little ladies eating birthday cake.  I was offered a piece of one of the five homemade cakes, probably about 4 times, each time politely saying "No Thank You" of course, like the good clean eating girl I am.  :)  This was surprisingly not hard for me to do.  Then came the drinks!  They were serving Hawaiian Punch and apple juice, and when the sweet little lady asked me if I would at least like a drink, of which she had one of each in her hands, I told her punch would be wonderful.  So I took the small styrofoam cup out of her hand and took a sip, not even thinking about what I was drinking.  As I was swallowing that fruit punch I realized what I was doing and if it weren't for the manners my parents bestowed upon me, that punch would have been spurting out my mouth as if it was poison!  I realized at that moment, how committed I was and am to changing my life. 

Before you start thinking "Whoa, ok, she's gone off the deep end on this one!  A little hard core don't ya think?", let me explain how I am feeling and thinking of it.  Why would I allow myself "rewards" or a little bit of "just one won't hurt" so early in my journey?  We all know that "just one" usually doesn't happen, unless you are like someone I know and only buy one bite size candy at the party store and that's how she controls her "just one" problems.  Smart, very smart!  As I have said before, I will allow myself a piece of birthday cake on the occasion and every once in a while I might have something, just a little something.  In the big picture of it all though, the clean foods taste so wonderful and perhaps down the line of time I will start baking a bit more in clean ways.

In short, it really is amazing how much my life as already changed, for the better!

Buh-Bye Inches!

As I stated previously, in the post "The Skinny and the Pantry Cleanse", I am no longer letting the scale measure my success.  My new friend is the measuring tape and I so love him today!  I have decided to measure my success weekly and I happily saw the following results today:

-1" on waistline (This is my true waistline, not where my pants hit)
-1" on thighs
-1" on my bottom :)
-3/4" on my hips
Maybe a centimeter or so on my arms, but that's OK :)

That's a total of 3 3/4" in a week!  Doin' the happy dance, Doin' the happy dance.    

Tonight I will be going out to dinner with my husband for the first time since I started my journey and I am confident that my choices will be the right ones.  I feel that I can eat anywhere, but will just have to make sure how the food is prepared and ask for veggies instead of the fried french fries or macaroni and cheese.  I will let you know how it goes and what I order. 

Again, thanks for reading and cheers to you for starting your own journey!

Blueberries & Strawberries & Cherries...Oh My!

Eating clean has become almost an obsession for me now.  Strange as it may seem, since this is only Day 5 of truly eating clean, but it really does become part of you.  I refuse to put something into my body that contains sugar, bad fats, and really anything that comes out of a box that has to have advertising all over the package to draw you in and make you want to eat it.  My mindset has become that if I eat the "bad" things, I am letting myself down and destroying the progress that I have already made. (However, I am looking forward to special occasions, ie: Birthdays for those yummy cake pieces!)

I find myself at the grocery store much more often, as I am eating fresh foods, which is also an eye-opener into what I was previously eating, foods that had long shelf lives.  Makes me wonder how long it stays in my body if it can stay in my pantry for months, maybe even years! 

My quick trip to the grocery store consisted of Blueberries, Strawberries, Cherries, and ground lean Turkey and let me tell you, I can't wait for dinner tonight!!  I am making Turkey Tacos with Whole Grain Tortillas, Homemade salsa, and Black Beans with a delicious fruit salad on the side.  I have given up my obsession with sour cream and cheese and feel so much better about that!

Thanks for reading and feel free to let me know how you are doing on your journey!  Happy "Clean-Eating"!

Tip of the Day:  Walk your grocery cart back to where it belongs after you are done loading your car.  This is just a few more steps you will take in your day that will get you a few steps closer to your goal body, plus save someone a ding or dent in their car from the cart you have left behind.  If you do this already, thank you!  :)

A Good Weekend!

The whole weekend was a success in my book! I followed my meal plan menu and literally kicked my own ass at the gym! At one point I think my tear ducts actually turned into sweat ducts, but it truly is the best feeling knowing that you are getting in a good work out. Do you know that feeling where your legs feel, and in my case probably look, like Jell-O jigglers?? Where you go to step off the treadmill or just simply take your first step after killer lunges? Yea, those jiggle legs!! I love it though, it's the pain that hurts so good. :)

The meal plan menu was literally one of the smartest things I have done in a long time. It makes life so much easier. Take today for instance, I was starving when we got home from the gym and I was not sure what to eat. I take a look at my meal plan, and whala! it's already been planned for me and it actually feels relieving knowing that I don't have to make that decision on the spot. To whom ever came up with the idea of the meal plan, I love you!

To conclude the weekend, we had an awesome dinner with family that I adore. The dinner was pork chops, zucchini, asparagus, twice baked potatoes, and cheese bread. It was an amazing spread and all looked so good. If you know me at all, you will know that twice baked potatoes and bread makes my mouth water like Pavlov's Dog!! Proving to myself that I am in this to change my life I had a yummy pork chop and the veggies, that's it. I could hear a crowd in an uproar cheering for me, in my head of course, but it was there nonetheless. So with that I say...bring on the week!!

Good not Great

I realize that this will come with time and it will get easier as it goes but eating 5 to 6 small meals a day is really really difficult right now! I definitely need to work on my organizational skills, cook some chicken ahead of time, and perhaps prepackage foods for the next days meals. On a positive note, I am pleased to announce that I did have 12 glasses of water throughout the day! I am committed to learning, living, and loving this new "life".

This is what was on my menu today:

Pre-Breakfast
Approx. 4 cups of water (2 water bottles) Flushing the system and getting it ready for the day :)

Breakfast
4 eggs white
1 slice whole grain toast
Blueberries & Strawberries
Water

Lunch
4 oz Boiled Chicken Breast
Handful of Rice Noodles cooked in the Chicken broth
Blueberries
Tea

Dinner
4 oz. Tilapia Filet (See recipe below)
Brown Rice
Baked Cauliflower (I love my cauliflower! Toss them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, then I bake them at 400 degrees for 20 min.)
Tea & Water

Snack
Yummiest Strawberries Ever!!! :)

I am already feeling better, just knowing that I am doing this gives me a great sense of accomplishment. For those of you who are familiar with Friends, I found myself doing Chandler's "Best Ever" dance in my kitchen :)

Here is the recipe I used for the Tilapia, with a word of caution...it is a bit spicy but good!!

Tosca’s Keep-It-Tight Tilapia

YIELD: 4 servings

PREPARATION TIME: 5 minutes
COOKING TIME: 10 minutes

Satisfy your taste buds and set your metabolism on fire with this delicious recipe! Cayenne, ginger and mustard are three ingredients that help you burn fat just by eating them!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup / 60 ml best-quality olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 tsp / 5 ml paprika

• 1 tsp / 5 ml ginger
• 1 tsp / 5 ml fresh ground black pepper
• 1 tsp / 5 ml dried mustard
• 1 tsp / 5 ml oregano
• 1 tsp / 5 ml chili powder
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 4 tilapia filets, thawed

Preparation

1. Preheat your oven to 400ºF/ 205ºC. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. (I used aluminum foil with fat-free cooking spray)
2. In a medium sized bowl combine olive oil, garlic and seasonings.
3. Dip each filet into the seasoning and place it on the baking sheet.
4. Pour any remaining seasoning over the filets on the sheet and place the baking sheet in the oven.
5. Bake for 10 minutes.

You can find this recipe along with others at www.eatcleandiet.com

As for the need to be more organized, I have created my meal plan for the week, it is up on the fridge and makes me feel like I have a child in grade school with their hot lunch menu up!

See what I mean?! :)

Preparation!

Preparation...Sometimes this is my middle name, out with the Marie and in with the preparation! That's right, at this moment I am Saralynn Preparation Downing!

It has taken me about a day and a half to create what I believe to be the healthiest pantry and refrigerator that I have had in a long time, if not ever! I am going to break down the items, by category, that I believe will play an important part in my nutrition, some of which I already had, and those of which I just purchased:

Lean Proteins:
Frozen Chicken Breasts
Lean Ground Turkey
Egg/Egg Whites
Tilapia Fish
Lean Pork Tenderloin

Complex Carbs:
Whole Grains:
Wheat Germ
Whole Grain Bread
Flaxseed
Whole Wheat Flour
Oatmeal
Brown Rice
Whole Wheat Pasta
Rice Pasta
Puffed Red Wheat Cereal (looks bland but with berries, it hopefully will be great.)

Fruits: (Both fresh and frozen, frozen will be great for smoothies!!)
Strawberries
Apples
Blueberries
Oranges
Lemons
Limes

Veggies: (Also, bought some frozen)
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Zucchini
Yellow Squash
Green Beans
Sweet Potatoes
Carrots
Tomatoes ( I know, I know, supposedly a fruit, but I can't bring myself to say it!)
Green Leaf Lettuce

Legumes:
Black Beans (also a protein, BONUS!)
Garlic Hummus (simply ground chick peas with some garlic)

EFA's:
Olive Oil

Misc:
Vanilla
Lots of spices!
Fresh Herbs including basil and parsley
Sea Salt
Vinegars
Low Sodium Chicken Broth

And Almond Milk...I am only putting this here because it has a bit of protein and complex carbs, so it's more of an I Dunno category! Almond Milk doesn't have any sugars, and that is a humongous plus for me!

I consider myself a bit of a picky eater, and if you really know me you will know this is a huge understatement, but nonetheless, how can I be discouraged when I look at this rather large list of foods? Keep in mind, this is what I have on hand now, as time goes by, I will, of course, buy different fruits and veggies.

So now that I feel prepared, I am ready to make my meal plans, only because I know it will help me stay on track. The other advantage to at least having an idea of what my meals for the rest of the week will look like is that I will know what I will need from the store. I will make my meal list out ahead of time and if I don't already have the food I need I will be prepared. (There's that word again, prepared!) Plus, there will not be an excuse as to why I don't have anything to eat! :)