What to do with leftover veggies that I don't eat very often...

After finishing the 3 Day Refresh, I had leftover cauliflower in my fridge. Since it's not a favorite veggie, I decided to get creative and loosely follow a recipe for a cauliflower pizza crust. While I won't lie and say it was the most amazing pizza ever, lol, I will say that it was really pretty good and I would eat it again! If I have a craving for pizza and don't need to indulge myself, this is a great alternative that keeps it healthy, but still satisfies that wonderful cheese and tomato sauce taste.

If you try this, let me know what YOU think!

I DID IT!

I completed the 3 Day Refresh and did NOT cheat! That is HUGE for me. I’ve done the 3 Day Shakeology cleanse and I definitely cheated on that one. I went in mentally prepared for this and told myself I could do it for only 3 days. Why should this be a struggle for me, the health and fitness coach, you ask? Because I LOVE to eat! I usually eat more calories than my body needs and because I exercise, have a high metabolism, and am tall, you can’t see much difference. However, that’s not an excuse for not taking care of my body. With the many diseases that run in my family, I choose to exercise and eat healthy to lower my odds of developing any of them.

So, what is the 3 Day Refresh? It’s a very basic program that is at a calorie deficit to train yourself on what to eat and when, as well as cleanse your system, and jump start your weight loss if needed. The great thing is that I was allowed to eat real food, not just drink my food over 3 days. And of course, TONS of water is a must! I had a Shakeology for breakfast each day, followed by the Fiber Sweep drink in the mid-morning. Lunch was a Vanilla Fresh shake that I chose to mix fruit in and then a choice of vegetables and a healthy fat. My afternoon snack was another vegetable and healthy fat and dinner was the Vanilla Fresh shake and a choice of several vegetable based recipes. 

Now to the important part, in my personal opinion – was I starving or cranky or light-headed while completing this? I was very surprised that I was only slightly hungry a few times and was not cranky or light-headed at all. I was eating so much less than what I normally eat, but since the quality of the food was so good, it helped to give me a full feeling. In fact, by the time I got to the afternoon snack on day one, I was just plain tired of chewing! I chose to eat most of my veggies raw and to look at 1 cup of veggies, it looked so small, but it took forever to eat. Check out the pictures of several of my meals!

And here’s the fun part – my results! I took measurements, pictures and weighed on the morning of day one and again on day 4.

	Day 1	Day 4
Weight	130	127
Chest	31.75	31.75
Waist	27.5	27.5
Hips	36	36
Left Arm	10.25	10.25
Right Arm	10	10
Left Leg	19	19
Right Leg	19.5	19.25

Even though there is no change in measurements, I still SEE and FEEL the benefits. I could tell that my stomach was flatter below the belly button. I also FELT GREAT! I felt good emotionally about controlling what I ate and sticking with a program, but I also felt great physically. While that part is not measurable like the chart above, I still know that my body was working the way it was intended. I wasn’t overfed or stuffed from bad food, I wasn’t eating from boredom, I wasn’t eating just because everyone else was eating. 

So today as I look back at the past 3 days I am glad I did the 3 Day Refresh. I have vowed to take more time to really plan out my meals AND snacks, rather than just seeing what’s available for a snack. And tonight, even though I splurged on pizza (my all-time favorite food), I still controlled what I ate. I can eat a whole pizza by myself (no I’m not kidding)! Instead, I limited the amount I ate and about 5 minutes after eating, I got that “I ate just a little too much” feeling. So as much as I love pizza, I need to eat even a little less next time so I don’t experience the “stuffed” sensation.

I’d love to hear from YOU if you have ever done anything like this and how your experience was!

Do you know that you should eat more protein, but think you have to get it all from meat? Check out this chart I made of high protein choices that don't involve meat. My kids are not big meat eaters, so instead I look for other items to give them the protein they need.

Peanut butter is a HUGE winner in my house for everyone except my husband, who hates the smell of it! I stockpile peanut butter, lol, but it's a great choice for my kids and easy to take with us. Boiled eggs are also a lot easier to take with you than you would think. I can put a couple in a container and add the container and an ice block to a thermal tote and eat them a couple of hours later. The same goes for the greek yogurt with fruit.

Start adding some of these to your weekly grocery list and see how healthy and protein packed you can make your summer trips!

Spinach and Chocolate!

I have completed 2 rounds of the 21 Day Fix  and it has really shown me how hard it is for me to eat enough servings of vegetables each day. Before starting the 21 Day Fix, I would have said that I eat healthy most days, but in reality I rarely ate more than one serving of vegetables a day, if that!

A friend suggested putting spinach in the smoothies I make with Shakeology. I was a little skeptical, but since she said you could not taste it, I decided to try it. I do like spinach in salads and omelets, but I just wasn't sure about putting it in a blender. I tried it with mixed berries and Greenberry Shakeology yesterday and it actually made the shake a bit creamier than usual, which was great with all the seeds from the blackberries and raspberries. So today I decided to take the plunge and see if I could handle it in my favorite Shakeo recipe that I drink pretty much every day. I had to close my eyes to take the first drink, lol! But even in the chocolate shake I couldn't taste the spinach and it didn't change the flavor.

So if you are looking for ways to get more veggies into your diet, consider adding spinach to Shakeo! And let me know what you think!

Easter Indulgences

I’ve never been called fat. In fact, I’ve usually been told I’m skinny, or even on a rare occasion, too skinny. But I just want to share that I am still affected by what I eat. This is a picture from Easter last year and one from this year for comparision. I had been eating my favorite candy – Reese’s peanut butter eggs. And yes, I even ate an entire package of 8 eggs in ONE day! While I understand that a lot of you are shaking your heads right now and saying I still wasn’t fat, had I continued eating like I was, can you imagine what my Easter picture THIS year would look like?! It does take WORK to live healthy, to choose to do something active when you could just watch a movie, to say no to another helping of food or no to that high fat, high sugar dessert because you’ve already had a treat this week. So make a COMMITMENT today to WORK on your healthy lifestyle! I know I’m going to be carefully watching what I eat this week to counter the HUGE Easter dinner I had with family yesterday!

Make Your Own Peanut Butter

Have you tried to make certain types of food from home, either for the nutritional aspects or to save money? I have made hummus and now peanut butter at home and both are definitely cheaper than paying for the already made up, comes in a tiny little container, and is marked up drastically in price brand names. It doesn't take much time and you can even experiment with flavor and texture. As much peanut butter as I go through, I'll definitely be making more!

Why I'm Not a Runner But I Sign Up for 5k's

Anyone that knows me well knows that I DO NOT RUN. The cute fitness shirts that have some version of "If you see me running, that means something is chasing me" is very accurate in my case. I always hated when we were forced to run in P.E. classes at school and then of all things, running was a requirement for a summer job as a beach lifeguard. I struggled, but made it through those trainings. I even attempted to run with my husband for about a week. I finally told him that I loved him and would rather have a happy marriage than be ticked off at him as he runs BACKWARDS in front of me asking if I'm coming!

Yet even with these fun experiences with running, I have voluntarily entered two different 5k/Fun Run races in the past year. The first was to support The Pilot Club in my county and help raise awareness for brain disorders since my grandfather had dementia when he passed. The second was this past weekend to support the Ken Seiber Scholarship Fund in memory of a wonderful man that was the youth minister at my church and so involved in serving everyone in our community and spreading the love of Jesus Christ.

The funny part about going to these events is that the people I know, but am not really close with, expect me to run because I workout and am "in shape." I quickly let them know that I'll be walking the event and they'll definitely get to finish before me. :) So not only do I get to support a good cause, I also get to help others feel good because they can run and I can't. While I may never be a runner, I do enjoy the event atmosphere. It doesn't matter if you are as fast as the hare or as slow as the turtle. It matters that you are out there, supporting a good cause and doing something healthy for yourself. If you struggle to workout/walk, etc, then grab a friend or lots of friends and it will instantly be easier.

When Did I Start My Fitness Journey?

Do you remember the first time you "exercised" or "worked out?" Was it gym class that you absolutely dreaded? Or did you watch those shows on TV with women in high ponytails and leg warmers, lol?

While I don't remember what my first work out really was, I do know when working out and fitness became something I was interested in and made a part of my life. I knew from the age of 8 that I wanted to be a lifeguard. I would swim laps in the pool to practice. At the age of 16, I immediately signed up for a lifeguard course and began what I thought was the coolest job in the world. I mean, who else gets paid to sit in the sun, next to the pool all day?!?!

It was through this job of lifeguarding at the local YMCA that I began to work out on the fitness floor, using both cardio equipment and weights. Of course, some of the male lifeguards were more than willing to teach us girls how to use the free weights and spot us on the squats and bench press. It was during this time that I began to make fitness a way of life and would read all the fitness magazines I could get my hands on. This lead to my choice of a college degree, exercise science, which I then used in my future jobs and of course, made sure the pool was involved.

While I may have started at a young age learning how to exercise and take care of my body, I am still always learning. I am also enjoying the opportunity to teach others through a weekly Fit Club, monthly online challenge groups, and short 4 to 10 day challenge groups. I may be here for you and to encourage you, but so many times, it is YOU who encourages me with your stories of success and what you have learned!

I'd love to see your comments below with when or how you started your own fitness journey! And yes, that's me in the picture!

My First Blog Post

Welcome to my first blog post! I'm excited to have the ability to help others with one of the easiest and hardest things in life - taking care of the body God has blessed us with on this earth.

We all know exercise is important and studies show that you should exercise 3 to 5 times per week for at least 30 minutes. But how many people struggle to do this on a consistent basis? I actually am one of the strange people that enjoys exercising, but that doesn't mean there aren't days that I just don't feel like it!

And what about eating? The majority of people know they should stay away from the sugar loaded food and choose desserts as a special treat. They know to shop the perimeter of the store and get fresh foods, including lots of vegetables and fruits. And of course, NEVER shop on an empty stomach. I can't tell you how many times I've bought a bag of candy to eat on the way home from the grocery store, when it would have been just as easy to eat a banana and make the healthier choice!

Stay tuned to my blog as I share what works for me, what recipes I've found that makes healthy food something I crave, and what workouts I'm doing to keep boredom at bay.