An Apple a Day.......

A few weeks ago I was at work (5:00pm to 1:30am shift at the hospital) and was feeling that I needed a little treat at about 11pm or 12am for my break. On this particular night I was thinking a little box of junior mints (the snack size) that they have in the cafeteria for .15. Once I got there I saw a nurse with a apple and made the comment that it looked much healthier than what I was going for. So I decided to try the apple instead. The results were amazing! I wasn't dying at the end of my shift and made it through quite well. Usually I'm dead tired. Thinking that was no coincidence, the next time I worked I made sure to take a apple with me for that late night snack. And again, my energy was boosted. I mentioned this to a friend a few days later and she said, "Yeah, I heard a apple was equivelant to a cup of coffee."

So I looked it up on the internet and found this on eHow.com:

Eat an apple in the morning instead of drinking a cup of coffee. An apple can actually energize you naturally in the same way that a regular cop of coffee will and is a much more healthy alternative.

Read more: How to Replace Your Morning Coffee | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2225650_replace-morning-coffee.html#ixzz1Io3hAcRj

I've never had a cup of coffee but I've definitely have made apples part of my daily routine, especially late at night or in the afternoon when I need a boost. I'm a believer!

Sugar Free.....again

I'm starting today to go without treats and refined sugars for the month. For me this means going without treats, syrups, and baked goods. I feel better, my skin looks better, and I loose a little extra in those unwanted places. ;) So here's to getting through the first week, which is always the hardest for me!

Meal Plan Idea

My meal planning routine has changed a few times over the years but recently I just came upon something that has been working great!

At the beginning of the month I make a list of a month's worth of meals. This month my awesome husband gave me a lot of suggestions of what he would like which is invaluable to me. Using 4x6 cards write 6 meals on each card for as many weeks are in the month. This is assuming that one day during the week will either be leftovers or eating out. Then on the back of each card you write the grocery list that you'll need for that week. I tape the cards on the inside of my cupboard and on Monday take the card with me to the grocery store and I'm all set for the week!




No more 4pm panic of "what's for dinner"! This method was taught in one of my old LDS Wards but the gal teaching laminated the cards so that at anytime she'd have a week worth of dinner ideas and the shopping list on the back. I just don't like the idea of always eating the same 6 dinner together during the week. But maybe when my kids are a bit older and we're all busy with school and extra activities it may save my sanity. :)

Balancing Act

As you can tell I've been slacking a little on the blog. I started a job in December and life has been a little busy. I work in the evening just 3 nights a week but from 5pm to 1:30am. Therefore, I've cut out my early morning 6am workouts that I love, and come to find out, need for my mental sanity. Luckily, my husband came to the rescue with suggesting that we do P90x together in the evenings. Perfect! I've loved the workouts and being able to do them together after he gets home from work has been great. On the nights that I have to work I just try to fit in the workout in the morning, or go without that day.

But after about 2 months of P90X I was definitely feeling stronger but something was missing and I was pretty grumpy about it. I didn't realize how addicted I was to cardio (mainly running)! P90x is great, but only 2 days a week are cardio workouts. I'm used to 100% of my workouts including cardio. Usually at the gym I'll do 30 minutes of strength and then 30 minutes of cardio (usually run or step machine), or I'll just run a route from my house if the weather is nice. So the last two weeks I've been trying to work it out to run at least twice a week. It's amazing how much better I feel, physically and mentally. I need those runs to think and be energized for the day. What is workouts wouldn't you be able to live without?

Power to Break the Cycle!

I have been struggling lately with my sugar intake. Especially with the Holidays and pluthera of sweets available around every corner. Over the weekend I was fed up and really building my resolve to break the cycle, and got this Motivation and Challenge email from Coach Keena, through the Tri Timp Club emailing group. Perfect timing! I hope that she doesn't mind that I share as I'm so inspired and motivated by her words. It's long, but soooooo worth the read!

_____________________
Your MOTIVATION and CHALLENGE.
AND...oh...how well this is timed!
You know that white stuff that is so addictive?  Messed up millions of
people's health, addicted them to it like nothing else?
Money being spent like crazy to keep people happy and get their next fix?
Yep.  You know it.  Just can't give the stuff up!
It causes more illness and degeneration on the planet than all other
illicit recreational drugs...combined!
And...it's not even a drug!  You can buy it in 100 lb. bags if you want.
And...it's pretty cheap!  So...we don't even have to sell our children and
take to the streets to keep us in the good stuff.
SUGAR.

Today I am going to remind you of why you WANT to avoid sugar and get you
motivated to make a few small changes to improve your health...and maybe
even NOT gain weight during the holidays!
Don't stop reading!  I promise I'm not going to tell you to never eat sugar
again!

I am just going to go over a few FACTS about sugar and then make a little,
itsy, bitsy challenge in regards to your consumption of the stuff.
 
Here's how the SUGAR ADDICTION cycle works in SEVEN basic steps:
1. You eat refined sugar (and processed foods containing refined sugar)
2. The isolated sugar rapidly enters your bloodstream
3. Your blood sugar rises quickly
4. This sudden rise signals the pancreas to release insulin
5. Your blood sugar drops below its original level
6.  The low blood sugar causes tiredness, a loss of energy, and hunger!
7.  You crave more sugar!
 
If you keep eating refined sugar, this cycle keeps getting repeated over
and over again!  Your body starts gaining FAT(cause that's how sugar is stored
in your body), you struggle with neurological abnormalities like
depression,mood swings, ADHD, and a LACK OF MOTIVATION and then you eat more sugar to
try and get yourself feeling better...which begins the cycle all over
again!  YUCK!
Did you know that the estimated national average of sugar consumption *per
person* is 150 POUNDS?  That's a heck of a lot of sugar!
That's a heck of a lot of weight gain, diabetes, heart disease, cancer,
obesity, depression, immune system weakness, arthritis and general
suckiness of quality of life!  (How's that for straight up bad?)

But...we LOVE sugar!  We LOVE the way it tastes!  We LOVE eating the
treats,sweets and other good tasting stuff that it goes into!

So...what do we do??

HOW can we overcome our addiction and dependance on the stuff?
 
*COMMIT TO DOING THE FOLLOWING:*
 
*#1:*      *REALIZE *just how harmful sugar is to our bodies and how addicted we really are!
*#2:*      *ACKNOWLEDGE* just HOW MUCH we really are eating refined sugars.
Most people don't even realize just how much refined sugar they take in
every day!
*#3:*      *CLEAN OUT *our pantries, kitchens, desk drawers, cars, and
other locations in our life that might surround us with refined sugar!  If
we are surrounded by sugar every day all day....it's gonna wear us down and
we will eat it!
*#4:*      *REPLACE* your sugary staples with healthy staples that will
help keep your blood sugars level and your body healthy and happy!  Fruits,
veggies, protein, nuts, whole foods!  That's what our bodies want!
#5:      *MANAGE* your cravings by eating 5-6 small meals, consisting of
PROTEIN and complex carbs, every day!  Protein is the enemy of sugar
cravings!  Be persistent and patient and you can do it!
*#5*:      *MOTIVATE* yourself to keep working on eating healthier foods by
setting GOALS that will keep you focused on what you really want to
accomplish such as:
*Lose weight...especially FAT! 
*Have more energy...long term and consistently!
*Look and FEEL better!
 *Be more competitive as an athlete!
 *Boost your immune system so you don't get as many colds, flues,
etc.!
 *Overcome issues such as depression, mood swings and Lack of
motivation!
  *Pick an event or race that you want to succeed in and every time
you crave sugar...focus on how well you want to do at that event.  Sugar
will NOT help you reach that goal!

Is getting rid of or minimizing your intake of refined sugar going to be
EASY?
NO WAY!
Is it going to be a challenge EVERY DAY and sometimes EVERY HOUR?
TOTALLY!
Will it get easier?
Eventually!
Can you DO IT?
ABSOLUTELY!
 
WHY AM I BOTHERING TO GIVE YOU THIS INFORMATION AND CHALLENGE RIGHT NOW AT
THE MOST SUGARED UP TIME OF THE YEAR?
Because:
I want you to be AWARE of how much sugar you are taking in at this time of
year....and just make the effort to MINIMIZE the amount you are eating
right now.
Replace a cookie with an apple.  When going to a party, eat something
healthy before you go...then decide in advance that you will have just ONE
of the awesome desserts...and enjoy it and be done.
When at home and you are feeling tempted by the plate of goodies on your
counter, first eat your favorite fruit or veggie or have a small protein
smoothie...then if you MUST...have just ONE treat...then walk away and be
proud of yourself!
I PROMISE you will NOT look back on the Holiday Season come January and
regret NOT eating all those treats!  I PROMISE!
But, I can pretty much guarantee that come January you WILL look back on
the season with regret if you DO eat everything and anything that looks good
right at that moment and don't control your sugar intake!
If you can begin to manage it now...come the New Year...when you are really
ready to commit to making better choices...you will have already been
trying to do better and you will reap the benefits!
 
You can do this!  It is worth it!  You will feel so great in so many ways
by committing to MINIMIZE and CONTROL your sugar intake during this Holiday
Season!
I know you can do it!
Happy Healthy Holidays!!
_________________________

This is so true!!  I've experienced the highs and lows of sugar intake way more than I'd like to admit and am so sick of feeling that way.  Doesn't that feeling give you the resolve to be a little better this holiday season with making some healthy substitutions and being very selective about the sweets that you eat?  It sure does for me!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas Season!

P.S.
You can subscribe to the Tri Timp Club by going here and following the instructions sign up for the mailing list.  There are a lot of emails that circulate about various workout opportunities, events, and other misc. emails but I really enjoy getting that in my inbox for extra motivation to get out there myself.  Plus you get the motivation and challenges from Coach Keena, which I love!

Healthy Substitution:

How are you doing? What was your healthy substitution of the day? And if you had more than one Good for You!! Keep it up. Thanksgiving is almost here and we need to save all the calories we can so we don't have to feel guilty about eating a little bit of everything, right?

For a great list of healthy substitutions go here.

New Challenge: Healthy Substitutions

To build on Chelsi's last challenge, and with the Holidays quickly approaching, I decided to focus on Healthy Substitutions these next two weeks. I've been eating terribly lately. I'm talking homemade gooey caramel corn, peach crisp, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and that was just on Saturday! Kidding....well, partly. I have, however, been thinking more about healthy substitutions. Instead of oil for the pumpkin cookies, I substituted applesauce. Instead of candy as a treat at the play tonight I popped in a 5 calorie piece of gum.

I'd love to hear your favorite healthy substitutions. How you lighten a rich recipe, or the snacks that you crave but are able to curb by picking something healthier.

But first, I'll start by sharing a few of my favorites:

*Instead of butter and syrup on pancakes I put applesauce with a little powdered sugar sprinkled on top. Yum! And I get full faster and only eat one or two pancakes.

*Instead of ritz crackers with cream cheese (my Dad ruined me on this yummy snack) I eat tortilla chips with hummus.

*Instead of ground beef we use turkey for a leaner meal.

*Snacks that take a little more time to eat seem to make me feel more satisfied when done. Like eating a whole apple, instead of slices. Or eating edamame with a little sea salt. It must be all mental but the extra effort it takes to eat these kind of snacks seem to help.

So there you have it. Make good food choices this week, and please share what has worked for you. We'd love to hear it!