Let me start by saying...I AM NOT A NUTRITIONIST. To make sure I was losing weight the RIGHT way, I often contacted a friend who WAS a nutritionist and made sure I was on track. She offered me many wonderful ideas. Hy-Vee (our local grocery store chain) now has a nutritionist available to the public. These are wonderful FREE resources for YOU. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEM!!! They WANT TO HELP YOU.
TIPS AS YOU START THIS JOURNEY:
1. Pray up
2. Find Scripture Verses that apply (google "Bible verses weight loss"), write them all down on 3x5 cards and place throughout your kitchen, work space, etc. Read and memorize.
3. Find support. It's always easier to lose weight w/ a friend!
4. CLEAN OUT the pantry of all food you know is bad for you and donate it to a food pantry.
5. Figure out a fitness/exercise plan. This will look different for everyone. Find one that appeals to you and stick with it. (this could be as easy as walking for an hour every day, doing workout video, joining a club, swimming at the Y, etc)
6. Change your diet. NO MORE JUNK OR PROCESSED. Yes, this means more WORK. Accept it. In the beginning, it was a LOT more work for me. I had to meal plan more. No more nuked meals or frozen entree's. (although now I often double/triple recipes and freeze my meals for those crazy nights) Here's the encouragement: it does get easier. You WILL get faster on meal making. Keep plugging along. And read my blog as I give hints on quick meals and kid-friendly healthy eating!
7. Get the family on board. I always laugh...it seems the people who have the hardest time with this is our HUSBANDS! They hear us say, "Honey, we're gonna start eating healthy" and for some reason they think they'll be eating rabbit food. But once they taste how fresh and yummy your meals are, I promise they'll be 100% on board. Some of my meals have been less favorable...like these sweet potato patties I tried once...but my meat & potatoes hub's LOVES eating clean. He tells everyone it's the best food he's ever had! I think the toughest is when you have a picky preschooler like myself. It's important to have a BALANCE...my kids still get an OCCASIONAL Mc'D's. They understand the difference between SOMETIMES FOODS and ANYTIME FOODS. But the sooner you can get everyone on board, the more successful YOU will be on your journey.
8. Small changes are better than no changes. Feeling overwhelmed? I know. I did too. If you start w/ small changes here and there and then BUILD on what you are doing, before you know it you're well on your way. For example...start by drinking tons of water all day long. Do this for a couple of days. Then ADD not eating after 6pm for a week. Then ADD no carbs at dinner for week, etc. make sense? It doesn't all have to happen at once.
9. START READING LABELS and educating yourself. If I saw an ingredient on a label and didn't know what it was, I would get online and find out. You need to start doing the same.
10. In general, BECOME MORE AWARE of what you are putting IN your body.
ALL DAY/EVERY DAY: WATER WATER AND MORE WATER! Want to know an easy weight loss secret? LEMON WATER. Here's why LEMON WATER is so great for you:
1. Boosts your immune system: Lemons are high in vitamin C, which is great for fighting colds. They’re high in potassium, which stimulates brain and nerve function. Potassium also helps control blood pressure.
2. Balances pH: Drink lemon water everyday and you’ll reduce your body’s overall acidity. Lemon is one of the most alkaline foods around. Yes, lemon has citric acid but it does not create acidity in the body once metabolized.
3. Helps with weight loss: Lemons are high in pectin fiber, which helps fight hunger cravings. It also has been shown that people who maintain a more alkaline diet (see #2) lose weight faster.
4. Aids digestion: Lemon juice helps flush out unwanted materials. It encourages the liver to produce bile which is an acid that required for digestion. Efficient digestion reduces heartburn and constipation.
5. Is a diuretic: Lemons increase the rate of urination in the body, which helps purify it. Toxins are, therefore, released at a faster rate which helps keep your urinary tract healthy.
6. Clears skin: The vitamin C component helps decrease wrinkles and blemishes. Lemon water purges toxins from the blood which helps keep skin clear as well. It can actually be applied directly to scars to help reduce their appearance.
7. Freshens breath: Not only this, but it can help relieve tooth pain and gingivitis.
8. Relieves respiratory problems: Warm lemon water helps get rid of chest infections and halt those pesky coughs. It’s thought to be helpful to people with asthma and allergies too.
9. Keeps you zen: Vitamin C is one of the first things depleted when you subject your mind and body to stress. As mentioned previously, lemons are chock full of vitamin C.
10. Helps kick the coffee habit or at least minimizes how much you crave/drink it.
JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE CHOOSING TO EAT CLEAN DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN'T EAT DELICIOUS, SATISFYING FOOD!!!! This would be why I LOVE it so very much. Here is an example of what my days looked like in my "lose weight" mode:
BREAKFAST:
OPTION #1:
1 egg, 1 egg white scrambled (seasoned with a tiny amount of sea salt and pepper)..
if I had some spinach in my frig I'd toss some in w/ the eggs as well. I also would toss in CHIA SEEDS. Chia seeds are SO WONDERFUL and help w/ weight loss because they expand in your belly making you feel full longer. They are nutrition packed and very inexpensive. (I buy mine at Costco) Cook your eggs in EVOO. (extra virgin olive oil)
1 slice of Ezekiel Bread**(more on that below) drizzled w/ Butter Olive Oil from Heavenly Olive Oils** (more on that below, too!)
a cup of coffee with a splash of UNSWEETENED Almond Milk and a pinch of stevia**. Sometimes I would sweeten w/ a little (less than a tsp) of agave or honey
Fresh fruit: LOAD UP! This is the time to eat your carbs. As the day progresses your carb intake will taper off.
OPTION #2:
Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal OR Bob's Farina Wheat (cream of wheat) OR Bob's Steel Cut Oats or Old Fashioned Oats. (why not quick? we'll save that for another posting!)
Cook your hot bowl of cereal according to instructions. Obviously, you are doing to only make enough for ONE serving. But all of the above are packed w/ fiber so it will make you feel very full.
To SWEETEN YOUR CEREAL: 1. cook it in UNSWEETENED almond milk or COCONUT milk to boost the flavor. 2. white it's cooking, toss in some cinnamon, 1 tsp of honey or agave or maple. 3. If you want a 0 CALORIE SWEETENER, USE STEVIA POWDER...but just A PINCH! (it's 300x's sweeter than sugar)
(Toss in some fresh blueberries or strawberries if you have some.)
a cup of coffee with a splash of UNSWEETENED Almond Milk and a pinch of stevia. Sometimes I would sweeten w/ a little (less than a tsp) of agave or honey
**SKIP THE TOAST. You're getting enough carbs in your cereal today.
THROUGHOUT-THE-DAY SNACK OPTIONS: I love apples...red delicious are my favorite. You can whip up a healthy dip made with almond butter and cocoa and little honey or just eat it plain-jane. Veggies are ALWAYS a great snack and I posted a really good dip option. I also love sweet bell peppers with hummus. NOTE: as the day progresses and you approach late afternoon/dinner, start thinking less carbs and higher protein. I had a "cut off" time of 3pm for all carbs. After that, I stuck with veggies and lean meat. (some veggies have high carbs so do your research) You can also purchase a whey protein shake and have that as a snack. Visit your health food store for options. And my FAVORITE healthy snack? AIR POPPED POPCORN! (you MUST visit my post on air popped popcorn.)
LUNCH:
OPTIONS: Chicken Curry Salad (posted) on Ezekiel Bread (1 slice), huge spinach salad tossed w/ a flavored balsamic vinegar and fresh fruit and left over chicken or steak from the night before, Almond Butter or Organic PB w/ honey on Ezekiel Bread, Quinoa Salads (start exploring recipes online) **I love huge salads for lunch, so most of the time I just made lots and lots of different types of salads. The possibilities are endless.
DINNER:
This should be your easiest and simplest meal, by far. Think 2 things: lean and green. You want lean meats like chicken or fish, seasoned how you like. I would recommend avoiding marinades right now. Once you are in maintenance mode you can explore marinades, but since you are really trying to watch your calorie/fat intake, keep it minimal. There are so many different spice blends out there that are wonderful, so take advantage of it! I have a chili and lime spice blend that also include sea salt and it is SO GOOD on chicken or fish. McCormicks has a whole line of grilled seasonings and all of them are delicious.
Your side dish will be green's (and maybe yellow/reds/oranges). Green beans (NOT cooked in bacon grease!) or steamed summer squash. If you don't have access to fresh veggies, AVOID CANNED...GO FROZEN. Frozen veggies are MUCH better than CANNED. In fact, avoid anything canned as much as possible. Costco has wonderful FROZEN ORGANIC AFFORDABLE veggie's. AVOID STARCHES, such as potatoes AND CARBS, such as fruits or breads.
SORRY...AFTER 6PM NO MORE FOOD. If you are in the bad habit of that bowl of ice-cream before bed or maybe even a "healthier version" like a bowl of cereal, this is when you are going to have to kick into your prayer life/Bible memory. You've developed habits that your going to have to kick.
EVERY BITE, THINK, DOES THIS GLORIFY GOD Do I really NEED this?
KICK UP THE PRAYER LIFE: Ask God to help you use SELF-CONTROL. Pray GODS WORD over you. MEMORIZE Scriptures that apply to losing weight. Losing weight is JUST AS MUCH A HEART ISSUE AS IT IS A HEALTH ISSUE. Let's see it for what it is. Then lets do something about it.
**Ezekiel Bread is LIVE SPROUTED BREAD. You have to refrigerate it and it is more dense. Google it for why it is so beneficial for you or maybe one of these day's I'll post more about it.
**BUTTER OLIVE OIL: Herb-infused EVOO that is aged over many years resulting in a wonderful butter flavor. It can only be bought in specialty stores. In my area, there is a wonderful store called Heavenly Olive Oils and Vinegars that carries this. It's a wonderful, healthy alternative to butter.
**STEVIA: stevia is a NATURAL (not man-made like Splenda) 0 CALORIE SWEETENER. A little goes a LONG WAY! It is 300x's sweeter than sugar and does leave a tiny after-taste. I buy my stevia from Trader Joes. I paid less than $10 for a small bottle and it has lasted me over a year. Well worth the investment.
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