Pizza and Clean Eating?

First blog since completion of the Ultimate Reset. And I can honestly say that the advantages of
eating clean are continuing to reveal themselves. The past few days have not been a leap back into bad eating habits, just the opposite. My eating habits overall have become geared towards clean eating; however, there were a few times I added "white" carbs or sugar. I could almost immediately feel a physical difference. And gained back some weight. Lesson - if my goal is to continue to lose weight and gain a healthier lifestyle, then I must stick to the clean eating. Any deviation will need to wait for the time when my weight goals have been achieved.

On the positive, I am able to exercise again, and it feels fabulous. I am using Chalean Extreme for weights and CIZE for cardio. Am also continuing to prep food for the week and discovering new clean recipes. Yesterday I used the embedded video to make quinoa pizza crust. Quite tasty.

Gluten-free or not, this crunchy quinoa crust is out-of-this world delicious and completely guilt-free: http://trib.al/WGapgel
Posted by Cooking Light magazine on Monday, July 13, 2015

"Water, Water Everywhere"

Ultimate Reset - Phase 3, Day 17

Waiting on the squash to finish. Tonight's dinner along with green beans. Last night's dinner is pictured on the left. Curried cauliflower. Delicious. Cauliflower is easily becoming one of my favorite vegetables - so much that can be done with it. Going to try pizza with cauliflower crust when Reset is finished. See end of blog for curry recipe.

Two days of in-service (today and tomorrow). A little tougher following the regimen (supplements and all), but it was doable. And  I was able to avoid all of the chocolate on our table (for me that is BIG). Also, stuck to a salad at lunch. Vegan Shakeology for a snack. Took my gallon jug of mineralized water with me to school and kept refilling my smaller jug, so I managed to keep my water intake up. Will do the same thing again tomorrow.

Felt good all day. Upbeat and energetic. I did come home and take a nap for about an hour and half. Until I started the Reset, I would have trouble sleeping at night and that was after I finally managed to fall asleep. Lately, I lay down thinking, "Here, we go," feeling as if I am once more going to have difficulty again, and the next moment, I'm waking up. So many positive changes. I keep having to remind myself that I have not had refined carbs, meat, or dairy for almost two weeks. The Reset ends on Saturday - final results on Sunday. My CIZE dvd's (Shaun T) came today. Will start using them next week! Can't wait.

Until tomorrow ~

CURRIED CAULIFLOWER
(makes 1 serving)

Ingredients
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
½ to 1 tsp. curry powder
½ medium head cauliflower, stems removed, trimmed into large florets
¼ tsp. Himalayan salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 400° F.
Heat oil in small skillet over medium-low heat. Add curry powder; cook, stirring constantly, for 15 to 30 seconds, or until fragrant, taking care not to burn. Remove from heat.
Combine cauliflower and curry mixture in glass baking dish. Add salt (if desired); mix well.
Bake, stirring gently 2 to 3 times, for 20 to 25 minutes, or until tender.

Phase 2 Results and Beyond

So how far have I gotten? As of this morning I have lost 13.4 pounds and a combined 10 inches from my waist and hips. Can only image what the next week will bring. As I enter into phase 3, I can already feel a change both emotionally and physically. I am more than pleased with results so far and excited about the number of new recipes I have encountered and enjoyed.

The Ultimate Reset Phase 3 is known as Restore. The detox is complete and the Retvitalize supplement is added (still using the optimize, alkalize, and soothe as well). This newest supplement combines both pro- and prebiotics to help maintain the right environment for healthy intestinal flora, providing the environment needed for them to grow. In this phase meals consist of fruits and vegetables (some whole grains for snack if needed - I drink my Shakeology as a snack).

So again, how far have I gotten? When I began the Reset, I could go for weeks without a single fruit or vegetable serving. Just didn't care for most of it. The Shakeology helps, but it doesn't replace eating whole foods. And here I am about to begin a week with only fruits and vegetables with no worries. The recipes have really been an asset in my learning to eat cleanly.

One of the recipes I used when my friends came to visit, and they really liked it, so I am sharing that one this evening.

QUINOA SALAD
(makes one serving)

Ingredients
½ cup cooked quinoa (see recipe on pg. 93)
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Himalayan salt (to taste; optional)
Bragg Liquid Aminos (to taste; optional)
½ medium tomato, diced
½ medium cucumber, peeled, diced
2 Tbsp. pitted, chopped Kalamata olives
2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh mint leaves

Directions
Combine quinoa, oil, and lemon juice, plus salt and Bragg Liquid Aminos (if desired), in a medium bowl; mix well.
Add tomato, cucumber, and olives; toss gently to blend.
Gently fold in parsley and mint.
Let salad marinate, covered, in refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours before serving.


 Day 1 of phase 3 has been a good one. Up early and no naps. Mowing the lawn tonight and working a bit of exercise into this next week. Pulling up Tai Chen on Beachbody on Demand tomorrow. That and mowing may prove too much for one evening. :)

Until tomorrow -

The Missing Piece

Everything else comes first - exercise last. We say that the other activities must be completed - we owe that time to someone or something else - and exercise is - well - hard. This is me for sure! So many irons in the fire, so much other responsibility. However, I am trying diligently to change my mindset. To realize that exercise is hard, but it is worth the difficulty. This is the only body I will ever have, and it is my responsibility to take care of it or face the consequences - and those consequences are not pretty - and dealing with them will be a whole other kind of hard.

Yet knowing what needs to be done and actually doing it are much different. So I had to find a way to make it work for me. Some people just go for it. Some people even enjoy the exercise (I do once it is done - and not because it is over, but because I feel so good). But I tend to put it off to another time, then another, then another - eating as well - oh, I don't put off eating - I put off eating meals that will fuel my body with needed nutrients. If bread and chocolate had all of our daily vitamins - I would be Hercules - well maybe Xena.

My dilemma, then, became how to motivate myself to act in a manner that would build me up both physically and mentally - that would keep me on track - not perfectly - but heading daily in the right direction.  Challenge groups and coaching groups! For me, the answer.

I began with the challenge groups - and even then I struggled - but I trudged on. I finally realized that is isn't about not struggling, it is about perseverance - not giving up. That every step I took in the right direction would eventually lead me to a healthier and happier place. The real beauty of these groups (which is the main reason I became a coach - lifetime accountability) is that my struggle affirms someone else's struggle and together with many others we journey, building one another up with encouragement and understanding along the way. We stumble - we fall - one challenger put it well when when she commented about not only falling off the horse, but tumblig down the hill as well.

We are better together - and I am better because I am not only looking out for myself but others. And if we stroll together day by day and pound by pound - we will eventually find ourselves running and wondering at which point the actual change took place.

In his book The Compound Effect,  Darren Hardy states, "The Compound Effect is the principle of reaping huge rewards from a series of small, smart choices. What's most interesting about this process to me is that, even though the results are massive, the steps, in the moment, don't feel significant....What most people don't realize is that these small seemingly insignificant steps completed consistently over time will create a radical difference."

 It is the small steps, the consistent steps, the turtle steps that will eventually allow for finishing the race. And those of us working together may not all cross the finish line at the same time, but we will cross, while continuing to cheer one another on along the way.

Setbacks and Successes

Love this thought. And both setback and success describe my past week. The 21 Day Fix is wonderful. I love the 30 minute workouts. They allow for do-able, consistent morning workouts. The containers are a great visual for understanding proper portions.
     This past week I managed to exercise and follow most of the container portions. There were a couple of setbacks - usually pertaining to food; however, those setbacks were not nearly what they would have been in the past. And even with those, I managed to lose 4 pounds this week!
    




The beauty of this program, for me, is that I am learning that when I eat clean for the most part, those times when I want something "not so clean" are more enjoyable and less detrimental to my health overall. And my mentality about food has changed. I no longer think that just because I "stumble on the path" I have to end the journey or allow the stumble to turn in to a full blown crash. Truth is sometimes stumbling causes a refocusing on the path itself. This journey is for life, I may stumble, but I will not be detoured from the path on my journey to better health.

Sweets, treats, and More Sweets - Just say NO

     Sweets, treats, and more sweets - all on the second day of the 21 Day Fix. And NONE of those have a colored container. First, there is a small party for one of the teachers and homemade chocolate cake - avoided, then a student tells me she has a white chocolate bar for me as a thank you for my uil help this year (but it concerned I might not want it as she has realized I am trying to avoid sweets). I took it, of course, and let her know that I would just have a few pieces at a time (but I didn't start today). Next, I realize my aide put cookie dough in my class fridge (I ordered it from her several weeks ago for her cheerleader fundraiser).
     Then, I am offered an opportunity, not once but twice, to go have lunch (never happens on a school day - only 30 minute lunch time normally). But I packed my containers this morning and stuck with them. So I consider this day a success (I exercised this morning) and hope to eventually reach a point where these occurrences and not such a temptation in the first place.
     The exercise this morning was tough - but that's ok as it gives me room to grow and see progress. One day at a time - day two down - and sweet temptations avoided.

Twenty-one Days and Beyond

My eyes have been opened. I am no longer suprised by my lack of weight loss (though I have lost a couple of pounds since so far). I recieved the 21 Day Fix today. As I read through the information and checked out the colored containers, I realized how much more I eat than is necessary to get and keep my body fueled. I have always heard that restaurant portions were much too large, but my own portions (even after I thought I was eating less) are still way too large. This new eating program is going to prove very interesting.

One of the aspects that I really like is that even though you use containers, you do not eat from the containers. The food is still put on a plate. The idea behind the 21 Day Fix is HABIT and understanding. It is not meant to have you eating out of the colored containers for the rest of your life but to give you the ability to recognize the appropriate portions of different foods necessary for fueling the body well. Eat this way and exercise for 21 days and hopefully a habit - a healthy habit will be formed. Makes a lot of sense to me, especially after realizing what a portion really should be.

So here's to creating a new habit. A healthy habit. A lifelong habit. For 21 days and beyond.

Stumbling Is Still Moving Forward

So I have managed to get this water thing down. That big bottle is wonderful and assures that I will always have at least 8 cups of water with me at a time. The best part is that I have come to crave it - can't imagine going without drinking water all day long. It is a wonderful feeling.
     Exercise - doing much better with that. Just received the 21 Day Fix and so thankful that each workout is 30 minutes (make for a perfect morning workout).
And then there's the eating - yikes - have I mentioned how much I like to eat - all the wrong things for all the wrong reasons. The 21 Day Fix incorporates the belief that it takes 21 days to create a new habit. So here I go - moving toward a new, healthy habit of EATING. I also understand that this may be the aspect of clean living that will always be a challenge, but I will not ever give up, stumbling now and then is much better for my health than just giving up and eating all of the wrong things - for all of the wrong reasons.

Dietetic Sinners

We are all dietetic sinners; only a small percent of what we eat nourishes us; the balance goes to waste and loss of energy. -William Osler

Don't know about the "all" in the quote above, but it does ring true, especially for me. So often I eat for taste and comfort (or boredom). This might not be so bad if the food I ate was fruit and vegetables. That is NOT the case. The food I head for consists of comfort food, carbs (bread and pasta). I HAVE TO CHANGE THIS. I HAVE TO CHANGE THIS FOR ME - FOR MY HEALTH.

This is more challenging because I am not a fan of most fruits and vegetables,

but I am learning and even acquiring a taste for many. 

So the goal is to make changes - how?

Changing what I eat is most important (clean eating), eating smaller portions (several small meals a day), and making sure that I realize what I am eating and when - not just grabbing food and munching whenever.

What's worked so far is water intake! The more water I drink, especially before a meal, the fuller I feel and the less I eat. 

Goal for the week - start using my food app to note what I am eating each day. Nothing enters my mouth without thought - am I hungry, do I need it, what will it do for (or to) my body.

With the right recipes and the avoidance of sugar, I can learn to enjoy eating the foods that are good for me as much as I have enjoyed the foods that weren't - and with a much better response from the body I need to live well.

Mastering Motivation

Motivation - where does it come from? How do we hold on to it? I want to be healthy; I want to lose weight; yet I continue to make the same poor choices time after time. this past week, I did not exercise as often as planned nor did I eat as well as I should have. But I did exercise and eat better than I normally would have and a new week offers new opportunities. Finding motivation may not always be easy but is is possible. And my motivation continues to be renewed health and energy. I have to keep that in the forefront of my mind.

So to meet those goals, I plan on altering my idea of exercise. I do plan to exercise each morning and some afternoons with a work out tape; however, I am also going to keep reminding myself that exercise needs to occur continually throughout the day - MOVEMENT, any and all movement, makes a difference to our bodies - squats during breaks, moving and walking, especially when a job requires a lot of sitting, using the stairs instead of the elevator - ultimately, finding ways to incorporate movement into my days - this is the goal for next week.

   

Managing Mornings

To meet my healthy challenge, I have to learn to get the process right - not perfect - but right for me. Because we are all different, unique, it is important to discern what is best for each of us. So this time around, I have committed to trial and error and if necessary, trial and error again, until my journey toward better health is truly mine. And presently my trial is morning exercise and the error is not getting it done the last two days. I am NOT a morning person (not really even a mid-morning person - more of a zombie until 10 to be exact); however, I have discovered from my continual attempts to exercise IN THE MORNING that I am a better person throughout the day - calmer, less anxious or worried, able to handle stressful situations with more kindness and grace. My day and well being are just better overall.

    So instead of just giving up and considering it a lost cause, never to succeed (it is MORNING after all), I consider what I know to be true - when the exercise session is shorter, I am successful. Thirty minutes more of sleep seems to be the key to my actually "getting up" in time to complete the task. To this end, I have ordered the 21 Day Fix (the serving containers will definitely be a bonus as well). I am not, however, giving up on my longer exercise sessions. These I will work in on most afternoons. This way, instead of ruling out mornings completely, I may actually add work outs
throughout the week. Win-win. Monitoring and adjusting - my new motto toward better health - both mentally and physically - one morning (and afternoon) at a time.

    

Finding Joy in the Moment

As much as I want to make changes in my health, I don't want to waste "now" wishing for the day when I will be healthier, stronger, skinnier.... Those are good goals, healthy goals - but they are not going to happen tomorrow or even the next day. They will take time and it will be worth the struggle; however, in the meantime, I need to remember to enjoy the small changes now, the new habits that will become the old habits. I don't want to arrive in the future regretting not having appreciated the past. Reminds me of something I once wrote  -

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Journeying in the Now

    Often I will ask my students to write about "one moment in time that made a difference in your life."  Only to realize that I don't really take the time to live for the moment in mine.  Would I have difficulty writing this memoir?  So keeping in mind that patience is still a virtue and waiting is often best for the "moment,"  I have decided to slow down, breathe (deeply), appreciate the right now.  Sometimes I am so busy dealing with the "just happened" or contemplating the "what's to come" that I miss the "happening now." 

    
    So, as I began my 9.5 hour drive the other day, I decided to put myself to the test.  Gotta start somewhere.  This drive goes on forever and ever and ever and ever and ever.  I have always dreaded the going and the coming.  So instead of thinking about how far I'd gone or how far I had to go, I contemplated the present.  Right now I am here.  This is what is around me.  I will never be in this exact place again at this exact moment.  I am here (wherever here might be).  And I must admit it was quite eye-opening.  The anxiety slipped away and the moment slid into view. Amazingly,  I discover I am not dreading the long trip back.  That I do not feel so irritable or uptight. Liberating!

   And it begins - right now, in this moment - my journey on the road becomes a metaphor for my journey through life. God will navigate and I will drive, striving along the road to appreicate the moment, wherever it may find me.

Eat All the Food - But Make it the Right Food

Morning workouts completed, over 100 ounces of water drunk. Seem to be moving along but then along comes FOOD. I love to eat. Unfortunately, what I love to eat is not what is best for me, especially when it comes to good nutrition and weight loss. And my biggest enemy - unhealthy carbs. I love carbs - any carbs, all carbs, especially BREAD. Shakeology saves me in the mornings - it is my daily breakfast, and I love it. It is the rest of the day that I have to do a better job of focusing. So the spaghetti I had for lunch and the pulled pork (with homemade wheat bread) was probably not the best clean eating I could do today.

It's all in the planning, my coach explains often. And she is right! I have to do a better job of planning my day and MY PORTIONS. I can do this - I will do this. I know it is not going to be easy, but in the same way that I have come to crave water, I hope to begin craving clean foods. I may falter, but I will pick myself and continue on away from those refined carbs and onto a better way of living and eating!

Full Hydration

Water - as an English teacher reminds me of Coleridge's RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER: "Water, water, everywhere and all the boards did shrink/water, water, everywhere nor any a drop to drink."

Drinking enough water daily has been a challenge I have struggled with for quite awhile. The goal - to drink 100 ounces of water daily. Often I would come close but never quite reach it. But as of late I have managed to drink over my 100 ounce goal! I bought a jug that holds 64 ounces of water - I fill it up twice and am successful with my water intake. Who would have thought that such a simple change would allow for such an accomplishment.



Unfortunately all of my challenges are not quite so easily overcome. The next has to do with morning exercise. I am not a morning person - and that is putting it mildly. However, when I wait until the afternoon to exercise, more often than not something "comes up", or I decide that I am too tired. So for consistency, mornings are a must. Last week I managed to get up and work out. Next week is a new challenge, but one I choose to accept. One day at a time. Hoping, like the 100 ounces of water, to make this a habit that eventually I cannot imagine doing without.

Wallowing in Weight

I have spent far too long fousing on the scale. As I begin my new, and lifelong, journey with weight, changing my focus is priority number one. Not that weight doesn't matter - it does - but not in the way I had be viewing it. The only aspect weight should have in and on my life is the aspect of health - not beauty, not "who I am", not what my day will be like, not on others' perceptions (including advertising and Hollywood). Who I am is determined by me, the real me, the internal me, not the physical me.  Once I let that idea go, I can relax and make the most of the journey I am about to begin. 

The journey is about me  - about becoming healthier, about feeling better, about being able to do more with my life, now and in the future. 

In the past, I have tried many of the fad diets as well as other remedies to lose the weight, but it always come back to the basics: exercise, clean eating, and proper nutrition - and for me - accountability.

So here goes. And luckily for me, I have a great friend and Beachbody coach as well as a husband who both know a great deal about nutrition. 

Beachbody is a company, but it is a company that offers lifelong changes and informed coaches who continue to check in with you as well as motivate you long after you may or may not still be using their products.

It helps that I love the daily nutritional drink Shakeology. And it is amazing what it offers in the way of ingredients (natural and wholesome) - ingredients we do not get enough of daily, yet are necessary for our nutrition. 

My coach, Cori Abraham, is an incredible fitness, nutrition role model. I am thankful that her philosophy is one that continually motivates despite and because of continual misteps on my part. I have come to focus on the positive changes while not beating myself up for the slips - it's all about the journey and NOT giving up on it at any time.

I begin as part of a Beachbody accountability group - a group that shares both successes and struggles. And thanks to my coach, I have a hybrid workout routine using two of the Beachbody workout tapes. 

My successes so far does not have to do with the scales at all. I now carry around a 64 ounce jug of water daily (drinking two a day), and I have managed to start dragging myself out of bed (definitely NOT a morning person) every morning to complete my exercise so that nothing later that day can become an excuse for not completing that task.

The scale no longer defines me - my actions, my attitude, and my beliefs - they define me. Renewed health allows me the opportunity to live well and be that person.