I'm creating this blog because I WILL have a fitness success story to share and I want to be able to refer people to this blog when they asked how I did it.
This all started because my hubby and I decided we were not going to eat out Monday - Friday to save money. We were spending a lot of money on groceries, yet we were still eating out a lot, so as you can imagine food was spoiling and we were wasting serious money!
FOOD!
I figured since we committed to not eating out I better plan what we will be eating. Like they say "failing to plan, is planning to fail" - it's true! I began looking up recipes and I figured we might as well eat healthy food if I'm going to cook. My husband had already started cutting his calories a few weeks before because he wanted to lose weight. So I figured I better help him by making better foods. I'm on IG and some how I got connected to Fit Girls Guide. I had been following them for a while, but just ignored their posts. The day I decided to start cooking healthy foods was when I actually looked into their program. The FGG .pdf is only $24.99 so I just bought it. I read the whole thing (200 pages) in one day. That was all I needed to get motivated. I like many of their meals and actually if you are getting started their meals are perfect because they help you save money too! It's set up to eat all that you prep (left overs can be a meal the next day) and you're rotating through the meals in the same week, it might get boring but it helps make things less complicated too. I had to change up some of the dinners because my husband HAS to have meat at every dinner, if I make a meatless dinner, he gives me a look, and that's ok because men need more calories than women. I just make sure to cook lean meats and I track my 1,400 calorie intake on my Fitbit app.
Pinterest, and Google, have helped me find more "clean eating" recipes. I understand that means eating mostly non-processed foods - fresh fruits, veggies, lean meats, whole grains. That simple! I also started shopping at Winco to save money and they have everything I need. FGG has a shopping list too, so you will be ready for the week. I also like that you only meal plan 3 days at a time. Planning for longer than that kinda grosses me out, because food just does not taste good to me after 3 days of being in the fridge and then reheating it.
Here are pictures of some of the things I've ate this week:
baked chicken with mango salsa and 1/2 cup rice
I always make sure to have the following foods available in my home (fruit in season):
spinach
cherry tomatoes
bell peppers (green, red, orange, yellow, yummy)
sweet potatoes (for roasting)
avocado
minced garlic in a jar
onion (purple and white)
black beans (canned)
pinto beans (canned)
oatmeal (traditional, NOT 1 min)
quinoa
chia seeds
brown rice
white rice
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
honey
garlic powder
ground pepper
cumin
oregano
ground cinnamon
cayenne pepper
mango
blueberries
strawberries
seedless grapes
fresh cherries
watermelon
pineapple
shredded jack cheese
mozzarella cheese shredded
feta cheese (crumbled)
pita bread (whole wheat)
eggs
almond milk (unsweetened)
water (home delivery)
plain Greek yogurt
Yoplait Greek 100 (vanilla cupcake and strawberry)
dark chocolate (Dove)
marinara
hummus
lean ground turkey
center loin pork roast
boneless skinless thin chicken breast
salmon
turkey bacon (although it's high in salt)
WATER!
I am only drinking 40-50 oz of water a day and even that has made a HUGE difference in my bowel movements. The goal is 64 oz and I'm not quite there, but I see how important water is after just taking in 40, so imagine the benefits 64 oz will have.
COFFEE!
I didn't cut out coffee or creamer, because I just can't. No. I won't. I love my coffee too much. FGG allows you to drink black coffee. I add 3 tbs of creamer. I made sure to measure and just have one cup a day. You're also allowed to have "bonus drinks" twice a week and I like having a 100 calorie Iced Tall Skinny Vanilla Latte from Starbucks.
EXERCISE!
This is the really tough part for me because most of the exercises out there aren't suited for a person at my weight who has rheumatoid arthritis. So instead of making excuses that I can't do the FGG exercises I decided I'm going to do what I can. If I need to modify something, so be it. If I can't do all the reps, that's ok!
I wear my fitbit to track my steps and I use the app to track my calories. I put the calendar of exercises in my phone and I keep the FGG in my ibooks to refer to as needed. For cardio I do Leslie Sansone's walking work out. I do the 1 or 2 miles depending on my mood. I also do a few cardio hip hop dances from The Fitness General on Youtube. He's great and I love dancing and music, so even if I don't do the moves exactly I'm still getting a really really good workout. We also do family walks during the week in the evening to exercise with my three boys.
