I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!!
We had a great one, but before I tell y’all about it, I have some deep thoughts to share with you guys.
I know…..brace yourselves. 🙂
Mmmkay…so as y’all know I’ve been doing my little 100 days without sugar (treats) for about 75 days now. I’ve also been sorta kinda following Body for Life as well (I’ve been following the workouts perfectly, but have been slackin’ on the diet.)
Anyway, I’ve loved both of these challenges A LOT!
Whenever I follow a healthy, regimented program for an extended period of time, I learn so much about myself. It strengthens my willpower and I learn so much about self discipline and determination. It helps me feel in control of my life and the choices I make. It makes me feel empowered.
I love it.
With that being said, I was a little discouraged and disappointed the other day because I haven’t been getting the results I hoped for from these challenges. 🙁
Yes, I’ve lost about 3 pounds (whoop-de-doo), I’ve gained a little bit of muscle and my clothes fit better than they used to.
BUT, if I’m giving up my favorite treats for 100 days and working out HARD 6 days a week, I want to see some significant well-deserved results!
Sooooo, I decided to take an honest look at my life and figure out what in thee heck I need to do to get the results I’m looking for.
Oh and BTW, in case you’re wondering….I know I’m not overweight right now. I’m within the healthy weight range for my height. I do not have a psycho body image complex. BUT, I would love to lose 10 pounds (still within a healthy range for my height) and tone up.
My ideal body would be like the Athleta models. Have you seen them??? They are amazing! They are beautiful, lean and strong. They look healthy. I love it.
Yes, it would be nice to have a body like an Athleta model because it looks beautiful. But, to me a healthy, strong body means a WHOLE lot more than just beauty. To me, it signifies hard work, self discipline, setting and reaching goals and just living life to the fullest!
I don’t want to be a victim of my choices in life…I want to take charge and make the choices necessary to make my life what I want it to be!!
With all that being said, I realized that if I’m really serious about losing weight and toning up then I need to be 100% committed ALL THE TIME!
I’ve been eating really well Monday through Friday night. But, on Friday and Saturday I’ve been indulging a little bit. Nothing terrible, but I’ve allowed myself a cheat meal (usually fries, burger, pizza, Chinese food, etc.) and several snacks throughout the weekend. I also seem to grab small handfuls of things like chips or crackers quite often because “I can.” They’re not treats and they’re still allowed during my “sugar challenge.”
Well, I realized that is just plain stupid. I’m essentially giving up my very favorite foods (treats), and replacing them with things I don’t like as well that are just as bad if not worse for me!! What the heck???!
Yes, I’m a slow learner. I can’t believe it’s taken me 75 days to figure it out!!!
SOOOO, I decided to kick it up a HUGE notch from now until the end of my challenge. There will be no more “cheat meals” or unhealthy snacks for me!
Along with sugary treats, I’m also cutting out white flour, fried foods, and most processed foods. Here are the basic foods I’m going to be eating for the next 26 days:
- tons of fruits and veggies
- lean meats, eggs, beans, protein powder
- nuts and seeds
- protein shakes
- green smoothies
- oats, quinoa, brown rice
- low fat cottage cheese
- Greek yogurt
- Ezekiel bread, healthy wraps, popcorn (healthy kind)
That’s it! It will be awesome! I’m extremely stubborn and determined, so I know I won’t quit!
That’s the end of my schpeel. I hope you’re still awake. 🙂
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Soooo, I essentially started this mega healthy diet on Saturday. I headed out the door to my favorite class at the gym early Saturday morning. I grabbed an apple and some almonds on my way out…
I ended up eating half of it before my workout and the other half on my way home. It was perfect and tasted so clean and fresh to me!
When I got home from the gym, I made myself a Cookies and Cream protein shake, except I left out the Fiber One cereal. It tasted great!
I also decided to crawl back into my bed for a bit to relax while I enjoyed my shake. My sweet dog, Jimmer quickly jumped up on the bed and snuggled up next to me.
Loved it.
A few minutes later, my 3 year old came in and wanted to snuggle too. He also wanted to snag my shake. He loves protein shakes!
Yes, rest and relaxation is a little bit “different” as a mother, but it was still nice to chill out for a bit anyway.
That night, Kev and I decided to go to a late night movie. We have some big mugs we bought from our theater that we refill for $1 whenever we go to a movie. I usually get a Caffeine Free Diet Coke with a shot of cherry or lime. I’m not a big pop drinker, but it’s fun to get one at the movies.
Anyway, I decided not to get a drink because I’m trying to be ultra healthy SO I made a quick green smoothie before we left and put it in my mug!
Yes, I’m so sneaky. It tasted so good to me though. I just threw some water, frozen berries, frozen oranges, frozen mangoes, spinach and two baby cucumbers into the blender and called it good. Oh, I also added a tablespoon of stevia and a splash of cherry extract. Weird, yes.
Here we are on the way to the movie with my green concoction…
Yesterday, I decided to put some chicken in the Crock Pot and brown rice in the rice cooker before church.
I experimented with the chicken recipe and hoped it would turn out good. I basically threw in some soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, honey, garlic and other spices.
When we got home from church, I roasted some broccoli and shredded the chicken. Sadly, the chicken was just “okay.” I won’t share the recipe with y’all. I’ll try again though and see if I can make it really yummy!
Anyway, that’s our weekend in a nutshell. I hope you guys have a fantastic Monday!!
Questions for you guys:
How was your weekend?
What’s your favorite healthy snack?
What’s your ideal body type?
Any tips on healthy living and healthy eating??
I am the same way on the weekend! Always grabbing handfuls of something when I walk thru the kitchen. I seriously think it is why I cant see any progress. Eating 100% clean is a huge emotional and mental challenge for me. I am not mentally strong enough to resist the occasional cheat meal. It’s just not worth the anxiety for me. But its nice to see someone else who struggles the same as I do.
I’m so glad to hear that you struggle with it too! I think there are very few people in the world who can eat perfectly 100% of the time and be happy doing it. 😉
Great post! I find it especially challenging to eat clean on weekends. I usually order in or go out for a meal and it’s usually junk. This weekend I over did it due to Thanksgiving. Lots of good food! I love the look of fitness models that you see on Oxygen magazine; lean and toned with just enough muscle.
I know, weekends are tough!! I’m glad you had a fun Thanksgiving…if there ever is a time to indulge, that is it!! I agree about the Oxygen models too. They look amazing!!
I too would love an Altheta model bod, specifically the runners bod. Ohh so gorgeous!! It’s amazing how small things like ONE meal a week can make a big difference on our progress. I am in awe of the fact that you have been without sugar for 75 days. I go a week or two at a time, but still find loopholes like chocolate almond butter, or honey on my PB sandwich haha. Way to go!
I know, I think I’ve been in denial about the impact of one crappy meal or mindless snacking. 😉 I’ve definitely found a few loopholes in my sugar challenge too. I’ve stayed away from the obvious things, but I’ve snagged a few goldfish graham crackers or chips on occasion. It’s tough!
I had recently hit a plateau in my weight loss as well. I kicked up the workouts, running, etc. I was tired and hungry and still not meeting my goal. I, like you, am not overweight, but have my ideal body type and size. Anyway, I just ended a 10 day experiment…I had no sugar, dairy, processed anything, meat, etc. I literally lived on nuts, beans, veggies and fruits…in my caloric range (not as much as I wanted). No dressings, mayo, mustard, no protein shakes (so sad). The only thing to make it taste more appealing when bored was to add salsa. Anyway, after 10 days I lost 5 legitimate pounds. Yesterday was day 11 and I gave myself a day off, and I ate way more than I should have, but did minimal damage. Today I started another 10 days of the same. I have been keeping my weights and running routines the same and feel a lot better…even though some days it was REALLY hard…but having the 10 day limit gave me a light at the end of the tunnel. IF I can lose another 5 this round I will be pretty happy! 🙂
Wow, I’m so impressed with your discipline and that you’re getting such awesome results! I also think it’s amazing you took a well-deserved day off, but then went right back to work the next day!! 🙂
I have the same problem you do about the weekends! I am dead on throughout the week but it’s like on Saturday and Sunday I just eat whatever. I told my Mom yesterday that I’d be super lean by now if it weren’t for me throwing caution to the wind on the weekends!
Have you measured yourself? I have told myself that I am going to start doing this because I don’t see my weight move and get very discouraged. I can tell, however, that my clothes are fitting so much better than they used to fit. Something has to be going on to make those things happen, right?
Weekends are the worst (or the best depending on which way you look at it!) 🙂 I measured myself a long time ago, but I haven’t done it recently. I think you’re right, there are more ways to measure success than just the scale. It is so frustrating when the scale won’t budge, but you know something’s going on!