Get 'er Done - Happy Being Healthy

K, so….I’ve been thinkin’ a lot lately.

First off, I want to share my “new plan” with you. I love setting new goals and making “plans”….it keeps me motivated. 😉

I was inspired by the Fit2Fat2Fit guy. I really like his simple approach to eating a healthy diet.
Sometimes I tend to overthink things and make things more complicated than they need to be.

Simplicity is good….so I’ve incorporated some of his stuff into some of the stuff I’ve already been doing.

Here are my basic, simple rules….
(Disclaimer: I know some of these things just won’t happen some days, but these are the guidelines I’m going to try to live by.)

Drink a gallon+ (128 oz.) of water a day.
Eat 5 small meals per day.
Incorporate healthy carbs and lean protein into every “meal”.
Avoid sugar and refined carbs as much as possible.
Strive to exercise 6 days a week.
Last but not least, get my sleep!

I’m actually going to try to live by these guidelines forever. I know I’ll get off track sometimes, but I’ll always come back to these simple, basic “rules.”

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One of the things I’ve learned over my many many years of trial & error, is I HAVE to have a plan!
If I don’t have a specific plan, I always fail!

I’ve tried the “I’m just gonna try to eat well” diet….
It doesn’t work.

I’ve tried the “I’ll try (key word, try) to exercise 3-4 days a week” plan (but I don’t schedule it).
It just doesn’t happen.

So, I keep a notebook by my bed and I always plan my meals and exercise. It helps so much!! Simple, yet effective.

So, while I was planning my meals for the week, I decided to really simplify things to keep it easy to stick with!

Here’s my New and Improved menu plan….

One “egg based” meal per day

One “protein shake” meal per day

One “salad/veggie type” meal per day

One “Protein Bar w/ fruit/nuts/string cheese, etc.” meal per day

One “healthy dinner” per day

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Sounds easy right????

Well, I followed this really well Mon-Wed of this week. I felt really really good and wasn’t really hungry at all. I lost all of my “Halloween problem” weight as well. Yay!

I still followed it for the most part Thursday-Saturday, but I OD’ed on Peanut M&Ms, kettlecorn, and Fritos a ~~little~~ lottle bit!

What the heck!?

Yes, I do suffer in the self discipline area from time to time. 😉

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K, in case you’re interested I will expound a little about each of my “meals.”

Egg Based Meal
(usually breakfast)
I usually have the same breakfast every day! That way, it takes the guess work out and I don’t really have to think about it.

Lately I’ve been having 4 egg whites, scrambled with onions, peppers and spinach, topped with salsa. I also have a side of low-carb toast with it. I love to spray a pan with olive oil and fry up my toast…it tastes so good! I don’t use butter or anything, just a tiny bit of olive oil. I usually just toast it in the same pan I make my eggs in. Yum!

Once in a while I’ll make plain scrambled eggs (topped with low-carb ketchup) with a small side of oatmeal (1/2 C.) with some protein powder mixed in (mix it in after you cook the oatmeal). It’s good too, but for now I’m lovin’ my typical breakfast. I must say the oatmeal fills me up longer though.

Suggestion: If you don’t like eggs, you could just have oatmeal with protein powder or a very healthy cold cereal (high fiber/protein, low sugar) topped with fruit or something.

Protein Shake Meal
I really like the convenience of Protein Shakes! I can whip one up quick and I can take it with me on the go if I need to. There are so many yummy ways to make them too!!! I really love that I can mix protein powder (great, easy, healthy source of protein) with healthy things like spinach, cottage cheese, flax, oatmeal and fruit so easily! They are yummy and I highly recommend them.

FYI, my favorite time to have a protein shake is after a workout. I also like them pre-workout, for breakfast or right before bed as a late night snack.

When I plan out my meals/exercise for the week, I decide when it will be best to have a protein shake each day. Most days I just have it after I workout, but some days I exercise late in the day so I have my protein shake as I’m driving to the gym (so I can have dinner for my meal when I get home).

Salad/Veggie Type Meal
(usually lunch)
For lunch, I’ll usually have leftover dinner, but if I don’t have leftovers, I try to eat lots of veggies. I love to eat a huge, yummy salad.

My favs are (all of these are atop a bed of lettuce):

Tuna fish (mixed with pickles and a little lite mayo)
Chicken salad (chicken, almonds, grapes, celery and green onion)
Egg salad (hard-boiled egg whites mixed with lite mayo and a little mustard)
Taco salad
Grilled chicken salad (grilled chicken and a whole ‘lotta veggies).

I usually include a side of fruit and/or healthy (low cal, high fiber) bread of some sort too. Sometimes I’m not in the mood for a salad, so I’ll just cut up a bunch of veggies and fruit and call it good. I sometimes make a quick veggie stir-fry (w/ or w/o chicken) too. Whatever works.

Protein Bar Meal
I love the convenience of protein bars! I usually have one (and a bag of nuts) stashed in my purse at all times. However, you have to be careful about which kind of protein bars you get! I always look at the calories, protein and sugar content.

The ones I’m using right now are CarbRite Diet Bars

and South Beach Diet Meal Bars.

The CarbRite Diet Bars are a little bit grody (not terrible though), but they have a lot of protein (20+ grams). The South Beach Diet bars are pretty yummy, but not as stellar in the protein department (12 grams) and they have more sugar (I think they have 8 grams.)
I bought the CarbRite bars online and the South Beach ones at Walmart (near the pharmacy area, not in the granola bar aisle.)

FYI, I’ve also heard that Pure Protein bars are good. I haven’t tried them, but I think I will.

K, so I usually have a protein bar with a side of nuts, fruit, string cheese, etc.

I must also say that as much as I love the convenience and “no-brainerness” of protein bars, I don’t like their long list of ingredients!

When I get through the few boxes of protein bars I have, I’m going to experiment with making my own.

Jamie Eason (fitness model and writer) has a ton of protein bar recipes on Bodybuilding.com that I’m dying to try! When I do, I’ll let you know how they are!

Healthy Dinner Meal
About a year ago, I made a list of all of the dinners we were already making that were healthy. Over the past year, I’ve added quite a few to that list that I love.

I have several of my recipes listed under the Recipes section of this website and I will continue to add more. I usually try to make meals with lean protein, tons of veggies and wholegrains.

Here are some of our staple dinners:

Tacos/Taco Salad
Deli Sandwiches/lettuce wraps
Soups
Grilled Chicken (or other versions of chicken) w/ salad and fruit
Kabobs
Homemade Pizza (whole wheat thin crust or sometimes I’ll make some for me and Kev on Flatouts).
Whole wheat waffles w/ scrambled eggs for the kids/omelets for Kev and I.
Open faced grilled cheese sandwiches (healthy bread and lite on the cheese) with tons of fruit/veggies/salad on the side.
Hawaiian Haystacks
Chicken/Veggie Stirfry
Hamburgers/Turkey Burgers w/ homemade fries/salad/fruit
Whole Wheat homemade Mac & Cheese

I usually make extra for dinner so I can have leftovers for lunch or freeze them. Kev likes to bring leftovers to work with him too!

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K, that’s a little bit about all my “meals.”
I’m really liking this new plan and I know it will work (as hard as I’m willing to work!) I’ve been a bit of a slacker this weekend, but I’m ready to hit it hard again on Monday (and ‘er sorta kinda tomorrow!) Weekends are tough!!

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Oh, and just a quick note about my current exercise plan.
I’m back to trying to exercise 6 days a week again. I know it won’t happen every week and I’m okay with that, but I like to strive for 6. Each week, I write in my calendar when and what I’m going to do.

I still go to the gym Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday and I LOVE LOVE LOVE all my classes! I look forward to each of them and I leave completely spent! It’s great.

I really feel like the classes I’m going to are worth 2 workouts a piece because of how challenging and efficient they are!
I LOVE IT!

Also, if you are reading this and live sorta/kinda near me and want to go to the gym with me….COME! I would love it! I just go by myself and I don’t have any friends…..sniff, sniff.

Also, on Tuesday I’m going to try to do Yoga/Pilates (video at home) and on Friday I’m going to try to do some sort or cardio at home. This week I did a dance type cardio video workout at home and it was a lot of fun.

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K, that’s my new “plan” in a nutshell. I’m excited about it.

I will once again say that I am NOT a super, mega, disciplined pro. I have issues with discipline and will power (as you know), but I keep on trying! I find a lot of joy in pushing myself, reaching my goals, and strengthening my mind, body and spirit!

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To make a long post, ginormously longer….here are a couple recipes….

The Hulk (Pistachio Mint) Protein Shake

This shake is really, really yummy! It tastes just like melted mint ice cream! If you don’t like mint, you can omit it and it’s still good! There are a ton of different versions of this recipe online, but this is what I did…

1 C. Almond Milk (or the liquid of your choosing)
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 T. Ground Flax Seed
1 T. Sugar-free Pistachio Pudding
a drop or two (personal preference) of Peppermint (not just mint) extract (optional)
Two large handfuls of spinach
Ice

Mix it all in a blender and enjoy!

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Taco Cheese Soup
from LowCarbFriends.com
This soup is really really good! It has a kick to it too! Kev and I both loved this. The kids sorta kinda liked it too….not their fav, but it’s because they’re KIDS!

1 medium onion
3 stalks celery
48 ounces chicken broth
(I made my own chicken broth using “Better Than Boullion”)
8 ounces cream cheese; lite
3/4 can diced green chiles
1 package taco seasoning mix
3 chicken breasts — cooked and cubed
1/2 box velveeta; lite

Dice onions and celery.
Place in pot and add just enough water to cover onions and celery.

Place lid on pot.
Cook until tender and most of the water is cooked off, about 20-25 minutes.

Add chicken broth, heat to boil.

I used this to make my own broth….

Add cream cheese and chili peppers.
When cream cheese is dissolved, add Velveeta cheese.
Stir until Velveeta is melted (important to keep stirring so cheese doesn’t scorch).
Add cubed chicken breast and taco seasoning.
Let simmer for about 1/2 hour.

Optional: You can thicken the soup a little if you want with some flour/cornstarch. It’s not necessary though.