New Food Love!

Can I just say that I absolutely hate being a picky eater?

I'm not one who ever really eats veggies, unless they are on a salad...and, by salad, I mean lettuce, a few carrots (maybe), radishes, spinach (maybe), and dressing. So, those are wimpy salads anyway.

Fruits, on the other hand, I love. I could eat fruits all day long. As a matter of fact, I do eat fruit all day. Apples, pineapple, berries - yum!

Last night, though, I tried something for the first time.

AVOCADO!!!

I have friends who eat them all the time. I'm so scared to try new foods, that it's hard for me to just buy something and try it. However, I wanted to love these. This past weekend, we went to SAMs Club in Fayetteville. While we were there, we picked some up. They were pretty cheap, so I decided to get them and see what I could do.

By the way, yes, this "trying them for the first time" thing means that I've never had guacamole. I know, it's shocking. You'd be surprised about all the things I've either recently tried or never have had.

On Pinterest yesterday, I found a recipe for a Shrimp and Brown Rice bowl that also included diced avocado.

Here's the link for the recipe: Yummy-Healthy-Easy - Shrimp + Avocado Bowl

I bit the bullet, had Nick buy the ingredients I was out of - sesame oil, white wine vinegar, lite soy sauce, truvia - and decided to make the recipe!

It. Was. DELICIOUS.

While the shrimp was cooking, I had the avocado diced and drizzled in lemon juice. I was conversing with Nick and just grabbed a piece and ate it. It was so creamy and delicious. The lemon juice gave it a bit of a bite, but not much. (Also, I love lemon juice...vinegar...anything acidic) Nick had to be convinced to try some. He didn't think he liked avocado...but he said this wasn't bad!

This is what the recipe looked like once I had it in my bowl:

I liked it so much, I brought leftovers to school for lunch! 

Best part - it made five servings, which came to 292 calories each! That is not bad at all. I have 1.5 servings pictured above - I was HUNGRY! Still, only 438 calories for my whole dinner. I'll take it!

Now, of course, then I came to realize that avocado - not a vegetable. It's a FRUIT!

This didn't really help me learn to love vegetables, but it did add another healthy element to my diet! I'm going to try to cook them into some burgers tonight! I'll let you know how that goes.

Two things before I end the post.

1) Here's a little nutritional knowledge for you (in the form of an infographic, because those are fun!)

http://www.gardenbuildingsdirect.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/Infographic3.png

2) Scriptural Inspiration for the day! I've been reading Made to Crave with a small group of girls that are involved with Beachbody and this verse has really stood out to me:

"Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial." (1 Cor 10:23)

--Andi <3 

HAPPY STAR WARS DAY + Update (Day 17)

It's been a crazy week, thus far. It's only Wednesday.

Stahhhhhp. Time is going by so slowly!

On Monday of this week, I started going to Physical Therapy. I have tendinitis and PIN syndrome - both in my right forearm. I finally got in to see the therapist, and I'm now sporting this lovely Kinesio Tape (Rock Tape) down my right arm.

It looks like every Monday and Wednesday are going to be my "massage + ultrasound + electrical stimulation + tape" days. It is painful, but it helps a little. We'll see how it helps over the next few weeks.

Also, today we are getting our puppy! He's a black lab (probably mixed with something else, but it's so faint). Because it's Star Wars Day, we are naming him Kylo Skywalker (yes, yes, I know it's Kylo Ren/Ben Solo and he's not technically a Skywalker...but we're making it work).


Let's talk about the challenge:

Today is Day 17 of 24! 8 more days to go, including today, and we're done!

After the Cleanse phase was over, my body had to readjust to bathroom habits. It's finally starting to relax into some good habits, I think. It's a struggle, but it always has been for me (TMI, I guess).

Nutritionally speaking, it's been alright. For the past two days, I've been on the lower end of my calorie range. MyFitnessPal recommends that I get 1420, excluding calories earned from exercise. I've been somewhere between 1100-1200 for two days. I'm not trying to stay low; I'm just satisfied from eating less these days.

Nick and I both are still getting up at 4:30 for yoga and supplements. We are still doing PiYo 6x/week at night. Last night was Buns. I don't think I'm that sore, but man, it hurts while you're working it out! 30 minutes of sheer pain!

We've been doing mostly a good job with eating - except this weekend when I let Nick cook -_-

He also had an interesting, dairy-full Monday. I told him that I wasn't paying attention to him anymore. He can just watch his food himself. He's done better since!

Last night, I had two pieces of tilapia (cooked on the George Foreman, which might be my new favorite way to cook anything - especially fish) and some corn. I was satisfied after that. For me, that's a huge change because I love to eat.


I hope that I see some good results when we weigh and measure on Day 25.



As far as after Day 25, Nick and I have a plan in place, we think:

--Keep going with Spark
--Shakeology! I had to order more. It's so wonderful and makes me feel so good.
--Follow the 21 Day Fix eating plan
--Continue with yoga in the AM and PiYo at night. It's working, so why quit?
--21 Day Fix workouts after PiYo is over? Maybe?


Yay! I feel so good :)

Update on Day 1 and Day 2

I thought yesterday would be a lot tougher than it really was. I wrote a post yesterday morning about beginning the 24 Day Challenge. I'll admit, I didn't start off 100% on the right foot. I should have done extensive meal planning on Sunday before I started. I didn't. I should have had good lunch foods in place. I didn't. All I really did before Monday morning was look at the Daily Guide.

Well, let's talk about how that went.

I got to work around 7:30 yesterday morning. I still wasn't really hungry or anything. Shakeology does a good job of keeping me satisfied for a few hours.

I made it through my first class and into my planning period.

Around 9:40, I had a Granny Smith apple for snack.

Then, I taught another class at 10:50.

Lunch came at 12, where I ate tuna, peanut butter, and mandarin oranges. I was pretty satisfied from that, actually.

I went back upstairs with my students and taught my last two classes. 3:05 was finally here. At this point, I wanted another snack. I didn't have one...

However, I did have another Spark packet ready. I figured that I would drink that, go get Christian, and make it home within 30-40 minutes so I could snack. That's what you're supposed to do. Spark, wait 30 minutes, then snack.

Then, I called Nick.

We decided to go grocery shopping. We needed fruit and salad stuff, lean meats...etc.

We were at the store until 4:40. This means I drank my spark at 3:30 and it had been over an hour. I was sooooooooo hungry. He gave me some almonds to eat, which helped exponentially.

After we got home, we had a lot to take care of before I could cook dinner. Eventually, I ended up baking chicken breasts (which turned out to be really delicious - tender and juicy), corn, and we had a big salad. We were both satisfied, which is impressive because Nick usually isn't after just one plate of food (heck, neither am I, if we're being honest). I think having such a colorful meal helped us get full faster. All of the fiber helped! (We also took our OmegaPlex, of course.)

Christian went to bed at 8 and then it was time to workout. PiYo: Define Lower Body for 21 minutes. This is the first time I've done PiYo since my arm started hurting. It wasn't bad, but my hand did swell a little by the end. I think that, if I keep working and I go to Occupational Therapy like I'm supposed to, I'll be able to keep going.

All we had left to do was take the Herbal Cleanse pills and go to bed!


All in all, it wasn't that bad. I only had one time where I was actually hungry, and it was completely my fault.

I still had about 1300 calories yesterday, so I wasn't starving. Just much healthier choices.


Now, Day 2 and 3 were the worst ones last time. I ended up with a caffeine headache and a bad temper. This makes me a little nervous, because I'm going to meet my newest nephew - Nick's sister's baby, Jackson - this afternoon. Plus, I'm working at another job until 4:30 (tutoring at another school). Not a lot of time for that afternoon snack.

So far, I've had Spark, Catalyst, ThermoPlus, and Probiotic Restore. Then, I did an 18 minute full body yoga flow. Finished up with some oatmeal for breakfast (and that delicious Fiber drink that just makes you want to *vomit*) and I'm ready to start my day!

We are having dinner with Nick's parents tonight, but they are being accommodating and cooking foods that everyone can eat. I just love them for that!

I'll update as I continue! :)

Advocare 24 Day Challenge - Cleanse Phrase Wrap-up

As you know, I've been doing the AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge.

The first phase of this challenge is the Cleanse Phase. In this phase, you use the products below and work on ridding your body of toxins that will prevent the effective absorption of key nutrients.

Advocare Spark - I used Fruit Punch and Pink Lemonade

Herbal Cleanse - Fiber Drink, Probiotics, and Herbal Cleanse Pills

OmegaPlex - Essential Fatty Acids (like fish oil, but better)

Catalyst - Supposedly, it's like "liposuction in a bottle," or so I have read.

Ok, so those are the products you need during this phase of the challenge. It lasts from Day 1 - Day 10 of the 24 days you're on the challenge.

A few things made me nervous about this challenge:

1. Lots of products to remember to take at different times of the day.
2. I read a ton of horrible comments about the fiber drink.
3. The cost.
4. Clean eating when I don't like vegetables. 

Addressing the concerns:

1. Well, clearly, I decided the cost was worth it. I just wanted to give something a try. I knew I needed to boost my metabolism and reset my body. This was the way I chose to do it. I had seen how well it worked for a friend of mine and I knew that, if she could do it, I could do it too.
2. The challenge comes with a handy Daily Guide. I leave this out on my counter at all times and check things off when I do them. There is also an app on my phone that will remind me to take products at certain times (like, when I'm at work).
3. The Fiber Drink.....ugh, I'll explain more on that in a second.
4. Clean eating..........ok, this was the hardest part of the challenge. I already meal plan, but I had gotten so lazy about cooking. As a matter of fact, when I told my boyfriend that I was going to cook at home for 24 straight nights, he laughed at me. So far, so good, but it was hard getting the motivation at first. Also, I'm addicted to coffee. With the exception of my pregnancy, I've had coffee every day (multiple cups of coffee) since I was 17. I'm 24, almost 25 now.

So, here's how the cleanse went for me:

Day 1: 

• 5:30 AM - Advocare Spark and Catalyst first thing. Ok, Spark is really good. I'm not kidding. The fruit punch kind of tastes like Koolaid. I can handle this for 24 days.
• 5:35 AM - AM Yoga
• 6:00 AM - Breakfast. The dreaded fiber drink (and yes, it really is disgusting. I'll give tips for getting it down below) and food. I chose to drink a protein shake for breakfast for the first three days, just to make sure I was getting good nutrition first thing. 
• 9:45 AM - Snack time! I ate a banana.
• 12:00 PM - Lunch time. Salad with chicken. Lite Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing. Delicious
• 4:00 PM - Snack time! I would eat fruit or veggies with hummus. Just depended on what I had on hand. Sometimes, I would eat a rice cake or two.
• 6:00 PM - Dinner time. Omegaplex (2 capsules) with food. I'm going to include my dinner meal plan for the first 10 days below.
• 8:00 PM - PiYo, day 1. Hello, Chalene Johnson. I've missed you.
• 9:30 PM - Bed. Yes, this is early but I was exhausted. I took my crazy pills with the herbal cleanse tablets and passed out.

Water intake for the first day was about 12 cups. I peed all day long. I had to get someone in to watch my class twice so I could go pee.

Nothing happened on the "cleansing" end. Not to worry. It's just day 1!

Day 2:

Went through the exact same process as Day 1. Same breakfast, same lunch, different food for dinner. Same products. Easy!

Bad caffeine headache today. It went away around 3:00 PM...but I had to teach all day long feeling like someone was cutting my head into pieces.

Day 3:

Went through the exact same process as Day 1-2. No headaches. No cleansing. My body is starting to get adjusted to the water intake.

Day 4:

• New product today! Adding in the probiotic at breakfast. No more Fiber drink either! Thank the Lord.
• Finally cleansed a little today. Nothing major. This cleanse is definitely gentle, as promised.

Day 5 - 7:

Same as Day 4. Body is starting to become more regular, which is something I've always struggled with. Didn't exercise at all this weekend. Way too tired.

Day 8:

• Return of the dreaded fiber drink. Three more days of this crap. I can do it.
• No more herbal cleanse pills at night.
• Everything else is the same!

Day 9 - 10:

Same as Day 8. My body has definitely become more regular throughout this process. No more bloating. I've been quite gassy though (TMI, sorry!). I looked it up, and this is a side-effect of all of the extra fiber I've been taking in. Remember, 6 of these days started with the fiber drink, AND I'm eating fruits and veggies...something my body is not used to doing.

Dinner Meal Plan:

1. Lemon Chicken with Herbs, Salad.
2. Baked Swai, Green Beans
3. Grilled Italian Chicken, Corn
4. Grilled Tilapia, Salad
5. Roasted Garlic & Herb Chicken, Green Beans
6. Olive Garden for my sister's birthday - I had Baked Tilapia and Shrimp with a side of steamed broccoli. Salad, of course, which was sad because I really wanted Chicken & Gnocchi soup. The saddest part of all? No breadsticks. This was depressing and very difficult.
7. Garlic & Herb Chicken, Green Beans
8. Baked Swai and Tilapia, Corn
9. Turkey Meatloaf and Light Mashed Potatoes (I really needed the extra carbs at this point)
10. Leftovers from the night before.

At this point, I'm about salad-ed out. I've had a salad 8/10 days for lunch AND sometimes with dinner. 

Now, for the best part of this whole cleanse - THE RESULTS:

Over the course of these 10 days, I lost:

• 6 pounds!
• 5 inches!

Average weight loss on the challenge is anywhere from 5-15 lbs. I've already lost 6 on the cleanse! That's exciting!

Do I think the products alone caused the loss? No. I'm a realist. I changed the way I was eating, completely.

Do I think the products helped a lot? Yes, absolutely. Without them, I wouldn't have gotten off of coffee/soda. Without them, I wouldn't have been inspired to make these lifestyle decisions. The strict schedule of this cleanse pushed me to do things that I normally wouldn't have done.

Hopefully, I'll see even more results with the rest of this challenge. There are a lot of pills that go with the next part of this challenge. I might have to set alarms on my phone to remember to take them all at the appropriate times. I'm hopeful!

What a great day!

Hi all of you marvelous people that actually read my blog! 

I've had a really good day overall. This is awesome. I love having days like this. 

I started off my day with my baby boy coming to play with me in my room. He loves to come and cuddle with me in the mornings. I have to go get him out of his crib, change his diaper, and all but FORCE him to come in my room...but once he's there, he loves to play! 

Then, we watched Monsters Inc. for the millionth time and had breakfast - Dark Chocolate Muffins. So good and not terrible for you. He loves his "nuppins." 

He was so tired after the movie went off, so I put him down for a nap. While he was napping, I drank some coffee and recovered from last night. If you read my blog or watched the video blog from last night, you'll know that I got SICK after dinner last night. I threw up everything that I had eaten since 4:30 pm...which sucked. I felt ok after that, but still felt a little weak. I didn't recover completely until about 5 pm today. I guess it really was a 24-hr bug or something. 

We had a light lunch - Christian ate chicken nuggets and I had a No Bake Energy Bite from my fridge. I wasn't incredibly hungry and that helped to tide me over until dinner. (Lunch wasn't served until 2:30 pm...lol). 

We then needed to get out of the house, so we went to the grocery store. I was completely out of milk and Christian was running low on apple juice. We went and picked that up, gassed up my vehicle, and came back home so I could cook dinner. We had Egg-Battered Fried Chicken. Sounds like it's really bad for you, but actually comes in at about 288 calories per serving. I made rice too. Christian ate every. last. bite. That always makes me feel good. Boosts my ego when the 2 year old approves.  

Christian went to bed at about 7:40 pm. That's 20 minutes early for him, but he was EXHAUSTED after the short visit from Grammy and Papa after dinner. Once he was down, I did Insanity - Pure Cardio. This was the first time that I had done this video and WOW! No water breaks!? I took two, which isn't bad. I pushed through the workout, but I did start feeling a little weak after the first 5 minutes of it. I figured it was remnants of last night's sickness. I kept going though. Be proud!  

Now, I'm watching Buffy and trying to relax. I think if I could be any fictional character, it'd be Buffy. I'd even accept the fact that I'd have died twice if I could be her. She's awesome. Haha. I watch Buffy and am inspired to change my life so that I can be as active as a slayer  It's a little lame and embarrassing to say that, I know, but it's one of my many inspirations to keep going with my lifestyle change. I'm in it for real this time around. I'm over feeling bad. I'm over being overweight. I'm over feeling insecure. I'm over it and ready to change! 

      

Working Out, Food, and Interactive Notebooks

Ok. I worked out for the first time in a WHILE today. I thought I might die. I did not think I was even going to make it through the entire 40 minutes of it. I did...but DANG IT, Shaun T! You were "Rockin' [my] Body" all over the living room. (Er....Did anyone else feel like that came out....wrong?). I did Mark, Move, & Groove, and Party Express. Phew! Tomorrow is Disco Fever! I love that one!

Now for the food part. I cooked a recipe that I found online tonight. I don't recommend it to anyone. I wish I knew exactly where I got it from. I can cook. I can REALLY cook. I promise. I cook all the time. This, guys, was the nastiest thing I've cooked in a long, LONG time. Lemon Pepper Chicken w/Noodles. Doesn't sound gross, right? Probably wouldn't have been gross...except for the noodles part. It was cooked spaghetti that I mixed with lemon pepper, vegetable oil, and 4 eggs...then fried for 3 minutes on medium heat, flipped, and fried for 3 more minutes. I just don't feel like you should have to cut your noodles with a pizza cutter.

Don't get me wrong - the chicken was AWESOME! I'd eat 1305975 pieces of that (which is why I'm fat and gross in the first place) in a heartbeat. The noodles were...weird. Christian liked them almost as much as the Pop-Tart he was eating at the same time. Kevin said they were good (and he is a harsh critic most of the time)...but I HATED them. I will never make that again. I might do the chicken with some rice or something. I hate it when you have such high expectations for something and then you are disappointed.

That leads me into this next part. Interactive Notebooks. Sigh, I'm so iffy about doing that this year. I've never done it before and I'm nervous. I looked online and got a lot of information from a website that was basically a lot of slideshows that all said the same thing. I made my own that was just like theirs...with a few exceptions. I made it my own. I'll upload it to this blog in a few minutes (once I get the credits on it and upload it to Google Docs). Here is the link to the Google Doc. (ARGH! I've never uploaded anything to Google Docs and I am not sure why I'm having problems. The document was uploaded just fine. You can see it if you click the link. None of my page backgrounds were included though. That annoys me. Let me try some other things.) You are welcome to download it and use it in your room as well!


Ok. Here's what's going on with it right now. The link up there goes to the PowerPoint. It has no cute backgrounds and does something weird to a few of the slides. This link is for the folder with the jpg images for each slide. Idk how to upload it any other way! I love being new with Google Docs.

Let me know if you see anything on this PowerPoint that you think needs to be altered. I'm happy with it for right now. I'll probably edit it a million times before I show it to the kids on August 27th! (23 days! AHHHHHHH!)


XOXO