Category: healthy eating

August 13, 2013

Weekly Food Prep

The bag of food that I brought to work this morning was rather comical. The sheer amount of food would have fit into at least two lunch bags. Oh my gosh! But it’s all super clean, super healthy food, mostly lots of greens and lean protein. It just takes up space, that’s all:) As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m beginning the Jamie Eason LiveFit series this week and trying to follow the plan as closely as possible.

Today was also chest and tricep day and my arms feel absolutely lethargic. When I try anything as simple as lifting my fork or opening a food jar, I feel shaky. Oh boy! I immediately fueled my muscles with a small smoothie consisting of 1/2 scoop of Perfect Fit protein powder and some frozen berries. Many know, and as I’ve learned through my studies with NASM, that fueling with a bit of protein and carbs within 1/2 hour of strength training makes a huge difference in results. That fuel is quickly used for muscles, but you only have that short 1/2 hour window to take advantage, and I made sure I did. I also stopped to stretch my chest throughout the day today since I know I’m going to feel it soon if I don’t.

I really take pride in eating this well, so I really hope the results are for this program are all they’re cracked up to be.

Breakfast (total 359 calories):

1/2 scoop protein powder + 0.25 cup frozen berry smoothie
1/2 cup quick oats + cinnamon + 0.5 Tbsp honey
5 egg whites + veggies (tomatoes, spinach, onion and broccoli)

Saute all your veggies and just add egg whites

Snack 1 (282 calories):

2 Chicken Muffins served inside lettuce leaves
Broccoli with Mrs. Dash seasoning

Lunch (266 calories):

1/2 acorn squash stuffed with ground chicken, bulgar wheat, onion, mushroom, garlic and tomato.
1/2 cup cucumber

Snack 2 (366 calories):

2 Chicken Muffins
Kale salad with just a tiny sprinkle or raisins and walnuts with an olive oil/balsamic vinegar dressing

Dinners:

We have steak, grilled chicken, whole wheat spaghetti, turkey sausage and pork chops planned for the week. I’ll pair my lean meats with something like a 1/2 sweet potato for my starch and Brussels sprouts for my veggies, as required by the plan.

Bedtime Snack:

1/2 cup cottage cheese or Greek yogurt with 1 tsp sugar-free jam (for muscle growth while I sleep)

Yes, this is a LOT of food, much of it high in protein, with a low caloric price. That’s what happens when you start eating cleaner. You can actually eat way more. As in, a whole grocery bag full, judging by my trek to work this morning. Ha!

When I prepped my food last night, it was quite the debacle. I was getting so tired and the food prep seemed to be taking forever (although so worth it!). I went to put something in the fridge and bumped the door. Two entire shelves of condiments fell and messed up the whole kitchen floor. Then, I went to mop up the mess and accidentally put cooking oil in the mop bucket instead of vinegar–the jugs look the same! This was all after forgetting an entire jug of protein powder in the cart at Walmart and running all the way back across town to claim it. After mopping, the floor was still sticky. I just wanted to go to bed after all of that. Luckily, I was finished with my food prepping and Peanut was already asleep so I took the opportunity to duck away. Hubster promised to mop again today. He can be sweetheart sometimes!

I was able to get most of my produce from the farmer’s market this weekend. A few tomatoes, onions, and sprigs of broccoli came from my very own backyard garden. The acorn squash was definitely from my huge backyard supply. I look forward to eating stuffed squash for at least the next two weeks. I hope to share a few of my recipes as I create them. This week, I will be able to share my chicken bulgar-stuffed squash, since that’s what I whipped together for my lunches. It took me awhile to eat that whole sucker today!

And so, Week One begins!

July 16, 2013

Weekly Workout Rundown

Monday:

40 min AM run, 3.1 miles
25 min Tracey Mallett FIT in PM

Tuesday:

35 min AM run, 2 miles
30 min brisk walk at lunch

Wednesday:

40 min AM run, 3.2 miles
20 min Maybe Mudder

Thursday:

30 min brisk walk at lunch

Friday:

20 min Maybe Mudder

Saturday:

60 min TurboFire

Sunday:

Rest

You’ll noticed I added something a little new to my routine this past week. My lunch workout buddy is training for a Tough Mudder this coming September, so we’ve been incorporating the boot camp training plans into our routine. I don’t mind. They’re actually pretty tough. You start out as a Mudderling, grow into a Maybe Mudder and emerge as a full-grown Tough Mudder.

Since the Tone it up Bikini Series is over, I’ve been toying around with what I want to do next. Until I decide, I’ve been blending different programs like TurboFire, Barre and Insanity into my daily routines. I like to think that this plan provides really good cross training for my body.

I recently purchased Tracey Mallett’s FIT program after reading this great review. I really like it. And it does get your heart working. I’ve loved Tracey Mallett ever since I picked up a VHS tape of her boot camp at a rummage sale several years ago. It was the only video I could justify substituting for running because of its intensity.

Other than that, I’ve been trying to spend my days being more present, really focusing on summer traditions and giving my son some full-on attention. While I was busy studying for my NASM test, I was still doing things with him, but not giving him my undivided attention. He played outside while I studied in a lawn chair. So, it’s time to actually throw a few pitches and hit a few baseballs instead of just handing him the T-ball stand.

I was going to do a separate weekly food prep post, but really the menu this week was quite easy and can be explained quite simply. I felt that I needed to go light this week, and this menu definitely delivers. It’s piled with colorful fruits and vegetables and aside from the syrup, contains absolutely no processed foods.

Breakfast: Whole wheat pancakes Hubster made from scratch + a small handful of blueberries + sugar-free syrup.
Snack 1: Vanilla Greek yogurt + a small sprinkling of sliced almonds
Lunch: Giant helping of Power Greens + a few dried cranberries + a few walnut pieces + 1/4 sliced avocado + this fabulously easy and tasty strawberry vinaigrette.
Snack 2: A pile of veggies (broccoli and beans from the garden!) + artichoke hummus

I just read that probiotics might have a positive effect on anxiety and depression. Isn’t that fascinating?! I’m sure there needs to be more studying done to confirm that, but in the meantime, it can’t hurt to add Greek yogurt into my repertoire more often.

Any good workout program suggestions for me?

July 10, 2013

Weekly Food Prep

This past week, I prepped all of my meals on Sunday, which is becoming quite a regular habit for me. For a little something different, I used the Quesadilla and Crepe recipes from Blogilates. I kept my snacks pretty simple.

Breakfast: Crepes with banana and strawberries
Snack: Grapefruit
Lunch: Quesadilla with pico de gallo
Snack: 2 hard-boiled eggs (one yoke removed)

Making the crepes and the quesadilla tortillas at the same time was a little bit time-consuming, but it was totally doable. I had to make two crepes per day and two tortillas per day for five days, totaling 20 circles. You can see how that might take awhile. Usually, while the batter was cooking, I was busy working on something else, like cutting veggies or boiling eggs. Seriously though, for the time it takes to prep one day for an entire week, it’s more than worth it. I’m eating super clean and healthy AND making it to work on time because all I have to do is throw my pre-portioned meals in my bag and go.

I’m really loving Cassey’s Cheap Clean Eats series. If there’s anything about food prep that I love, it’s when the food is affordable, easy, fast, and clean. This can sometimes be quite a lot to ask for, but with resources like Cassey’s and Tosca Reno’s, it certainly is possible.

I hope to continue building and sharing meal plans like this in the hopes that I might be able to inspire clean eating in your meal schedule too. Seeing what resources I’m using, what snacks I’m munching on, how I’m prepping meals, and how I’m spacing out meals, I hope that you might be able to help you make food prep a normal part of your schedule too. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

How do you prepare for the week?

May 29, 2013

My Superfood Garden

The term “superfood” sometimes carries a stigma of being too overly-trendy or of-the-moment, gone-tomorrow variety since it’s been used with such abandon. This week it’s acai berry, next week it’s chia seeds. While some of those foods definitely live up to the criteria of superfoods (whatever those criteria actually are), I think that there are some truly miraculous unsung heroes of the backyard garden variety.

This week, Peanut and I got dirty and planted a garden in our little plot of land on this earth. My mom likes to buy my garden plants for me as my birthday present–the perfect gift for a health-loving lady. Peanut likes to help plant, but mostly he gets distracted by trying to find as many worms as possible while I’m digging.

Here’s a rundown of what we’ll be harvesting this year and the corresponding health benefits from one of my favorite books, 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth.

Bok choy: contains indoles which have been linked to a lower cancer risk. For a whopping one cup of the shredded vegetable (9 calories), you get loaded up with calcium, potassium, beta-carotene, and vitamin A.

Green pepper: Loaded with vitamins C, A, K and potassium.

Lettuce: not listed

Broccoli: contains isothiocyanates which shut down carcinogens, helping to prevent various cancers from lung to esophageal cancer. It can also inhibit the growth of some tumors, including mammary tumors. Lutein and zeaxanthin in broccoli have been shown to prevent macular degeneration. There are also other antioxidants, vitamins and phytochemicals that are scientifically proven to fight all sorts of cancers. It tops all experts’ top 10 lists of healthy foods.

Cucumber: not listed

Onion: Onion is hands-down a prime cancer-fighting food. The effects of onions on three cancers studied include stomach, prostate and esophageal cancers. They also help build stronger bones and significantly reduce mortality rates from coronary heart disease. Onions are highly anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, and antiviral. Sulfides in onions also may help lower blood lipid levels and blood pressure.

Beans: Offers about 10% of the RDI of folate in a prime ratio of folate to amino acids that allows it to be absorbed properly by the body. One cup will give you about 4g of fiber and a bunch of vitamins and minerals: calcium, vitamin A, potassium, manganese, beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin.

Tomatoes: tomatoes are of course rich in lycopene, which has shown to be a strong proponent against prostate cancer. Other strong evidence points to lycopene’s effects on stomach, lung, pancreatic, colorectal, esophageal, oral, breast and cervical cancers. It’s also a heart-healthy vegetable, reducing heart attack risk, slowing the thickening o arteries, and reducing blood pressure. Lutein in tomatoes is a protector of eyesight. Not only that, but they are also packed with other beneficial vitamins.

Acorn squash: a fiber powerhouse, packing 9g of fiber per cup. In other words, they are highly filling for a very low calorie budget (115 calories). High fiber diets themselves protect against heart disease and cancer. It also is overflowing with potassium and even contains some iron.

And I didn’t plant just any ole tomatoes. This “Health Kick” variety definitely had my name written all over it. 50% more lycopene? Sign me up!

I also had Peanut help me plant a small backyard herb garden–just about the only garden I haven’t overloaded yet.

Parsley: now, if I were going to invent some weird new-age cleanse diet, I would definitely add parsley to the mix. All kidding aside, the often “optional” herb is actually a strong detoxifier and deodorizer. The chlorophyll also helps to stop bacterial growth and counter toxins. The mild diuretic properties aid in kidney function. Diabetics may benefit from the herb’s ability to reduce blood glucose levels.

Basil: not listed.

Oregano: Rich in a whole assortment of nutrients like calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, potassium, copper, boron, manganese, vitamin C, vitamin A and niacin. It has an impressively high antioxidant content–more than most fruits and vegetables. Compounds in oregano have anti-fungal, antibacterial, anti-parasitic, and anti-inflammatory properties. It can actually inhibit the growth of at least 10 microbes.

We also have a few beds around the garage for our perennial edibles, including asparagus, rhubarb, chives and mint. I could break those down for you too, but I’ll leave that research up to you. They’re all amazing powerhouses, I assure you.

Now, you may be thinking that you need to own a 3-acre plot of land to grow this stuff. My garden is just 8′ x 11′ . Admittedly, I somehow tend to overpopulate my garden every year (at the nursery, my eyes are way bigger than my garden), but this small plot is definitely sufficient for your standard-issue salad fixings with all the health benefits.

And let’s be clear, gardening isn’t just for cute retired grammies. It’s also for anyone from the hip, urbanite to the low-income family. If you’re ready celebrate the marvelous miracle of regular veggies, you’re ready for a garden.

See, and he’s only four!

What are you planting this year?

Now, go get those pretty little hands dirty!

May 13, 2013

A Peek into my Daily Planner

Today I am giving you a sneak peek into my real-life planner to show you how I plan out everything from blog posts to workouts to family events.

I originally intended to create my own planner in Microsoft Publisher or some other program, but it was getting too tedious and, as I decided, unnecessary. The problem is that I wanted to track too many things in one place and that got a little bit out of hand.

All the things I’d like to track:

Blog posts
Family events
Birthdays and special occasions
Workouts: time, type, calories, miles
Daily gratitudes
Bill due dates
Work-specific projects
My son’s milestones/memorable moments
Weekly menu planning
Daily to-do list
Bible reading plan/notes
Goal-tracking

Ok, so you can see how this might get a little overwhelming. Taking a step back, I thought about how I could get all of these onto one page or how I could narrow down all of these trackers a little bit. The answer came to me from inside a little bag from a vendor here at work. Colored gel pens!

With that, I grabbed a leather-like journal cover I had, a 2013 planner already in my possession (cut down just a bit to fit inside the journal), and a few sheaths of paper and got to work.

Instead of tracking everything separately, now I track everything together, just in different colors. That way, it’s easy to see what’s what and to see everything at the same time. Also, it helps prevent me from lugging a giant-sized planner with me everywhere. I really didn’t want something else to lug around. I’m a mom, so that’s a constant concern of mine.

Here’s my color key:

Orange=special dates
Purple=workouts
Green=blog topics
Blue=family events
Red=work-related items

On each date block, I record all things listed in my color key above. I try to keep family events and birthday reminders toward the top, blog post topics in the middle and workouts toward the bottom. That way, I have a nice consistent structure. I just write out workouts as you can see below, with miles and calories listed if I’m tracking them. Simple enough!

I then record milestones and memorable occasions in the little “notes” section. I transfer those dates and events to a yellow sheet tucked in the back of the journal. This way, when the year is over, I can recycle the planner right away but still keep a record of important moments throughout the year. Sometimes I’ll use these dates for scrapbooks or memory books. It’s just nice to have a list of each year’s accomplishments, even if they aren’t put into a scrapbook. We all know how hard it is to remember when you took that amazing vacation or which day your toddler learned how to form a sentence. I’ve been doing this since my son was a baby, and I can tell you for certain that had I not written his first steps, first tooth, first haircut in my planner, I never would have remembered when they happened. It’s also neat to be able to go back over these sheets each year and see what you were able to accomplish.

Isn’t this just the cutest?

My entire planner stays on my desk at work so I don’t have to cart yet another thing around on my poor shoulders. Sometimes I take the planner home on the weekends if we have a particularly full weekend planned. However, I do sometimes get into trouble when people ask me what I’m doing three weekends from now and I don’t have the planner in front of me, but oh well.

Grocery lists and meal plans, I’m keeping on separate sheets. I just use a printable like this to plan out my meals and what ingredients I’ll need to pick up. Then, I hang the list from the fridge and reference it throughout the week. This way, I don’t have to lug around a separate food journal and I can simply recycle the sheet at the end of the week. Plus no one ever asks what we have to eat in the house/for dinner. The act of actually eating healthy is strongly dependent upon a healthy meal planning system–fail to plan, plan to fail. If I’m tracking my food calorie for calorie (I do so occasionally to make sure I’m on track), I use the online calculator on SparkPeople.

Daily to-do lists I’m also keeping separate in a teeny little Tone it Up journal from the Cyber Monday deal. I may insert a post-it here and there to remember this or that without wasting pages. I keep the journal in my purse to stay on task each day. This is where my goals are broken down into steps and phone numbers are written down for those I need to contact–that sort of thing.

I have another separate notebook, divided by subject, that I keep blog brainstorms and tips of the trade in. I also jot down helpful blog layout tutorials and traffic-building ideas in there. This notebook usually stays at home next to my computer and I only reference it or transfer ideas into it when needed. It’s not something that I need to worry about keeping track of on a daily basis, because my blog post ideas are usually spread out over the week in my planner already.

I’ve decided to go with a gratitude journal app on my phone instead of keeping paper copies of that too. I do like to look back on these (i.e. don’t want to throw them away), but I don’t want to keep a paper notebook of them (more clutter). So, I’m recording these digitally, only when I feel I need a boost or have something really special to record. Yes, I do think a gratitude journal is important enough to not exclude. There is so much research out there that correlates gratitude journals to happiness. They help change thought patterns to the positive, encourage you to embrace what is going right, remind you of all that you have, and help you feel fulfilled (just Google it). I ain’t giving that up!

So there you have it, a glimpse into the real-life planning system of a regular momma, writer, and fitness fanatic. Doable right? How do you keep everything straight?

May 1, 2013

Healthy Creamy Cucumber Recipe

Spring reminds me most of cookouts in my grandparent’s backyard where they always served creamy cucumber salad–along with corn-on-the-cob and hamburgers of course. Creamy cucumber salad is one of my all-time favorite things about summer. As cucumbers come into season, creamy cucumbers become part of the regular meal rotation.

This week, I’m enjoying an extremely healthy take on the dish. This was an experiment for me, but after testing it for several day, I have to say it’s quite amazing, especially after marinating in its own juices for several days. I’m happy to say that this experiment was a success and I’ll be using this recipe in place of the old mayo-loaded standby. Healthy, easy and clean are always my style.

Healthy Creamy Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:
2 cucumbers, sliced
1 sm carton plain Greek yogurt
1 can chickpeas
3Tbs vinegar
1tsp sugar
1tsp dill
1/4 Tbs onion powder
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
You may choose to peel your cucumbers first, but I feel like it amounts to throwing away valuable nutrients, so I leave my peels on. Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a mixing bowl. This recipe makes about 5 servings.

I like how the onion powder adds taste to the Greek yogurt. I’m normally not a fan of subbing Greek yogurt for mayo, but the onion powder makes the swap perfectly acceptable to me. That’s just what it took to give the yogurt extra flavoring without all the fat. And of course the Greek yogurt has so much more nutritional value than mayo.

Bon appetite!

April 26, 2013

Tone It Up Bikini Series Printable: Meal Planner

Just when I was about to plan my meals and grocery list for next week, I thought, duh, I should make TIU-themed a printable for that. So I did. It has a meal breakdown, based on the TIU Nutrition Plan, and a shopping list section. Print a new copy each week. After all, being prepared is one of the most crucial steps toward being successful in this fun health series.

Get your free printable here

Check out the other TIU Bikini Series printables I’ve designed too. Let me know how these are helping you get organized and assisting you in leading a healthier lifestyle for these next 8 weeks.

TIU Bikini Series Motivational Quotes
TIU Bikini Series Measurement Sheet

Ultimate Tone It Up Bikini Series Printable

If you have any other ideas for me or a printable you’re dying to have, let me know in the comments section and I’ll see what I can whip up. Also, if you wouldn’t mind taking a second to follow me on Bloglovin or via email, I would be ever-so-grateful. Sign up for either one on the sidebar to follow along with all my updates. I just might have more printables coming your way. I love hearing from you!

Don’t know what the Bikini Series is? Check out what it’s all about right here. Prepare to make the best decision of your life. These girls are amazing.

April 10, 2013

Healthy Acorn Squash Bowl

Squash was a pretty rare treat in my family’s household growing up. In fact, I never once had spaghetti or butternut squash until I made them for my own grownup self. Since squash only comes out during certain times of the year and mom only felt like making them on rare occasions, they were pretty special when we did have them. Mom liked to roast the squash and then fill it with butter and brown sugar. Oh, so yummy!

In order to relive that lovely memory, I decided to prepare some acorn squash for myself. Only this time, I didn’t want to drench it in fat and empty calories. I added cranberries and nuts to the healthy acorn bowl to amp up the nutrition content. It tasted like fall, even though we’re on the verge of spring, but it was excellent!

Acorn Squash Bowl

Ingredients:
1 acorn squash
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp sliced almonds
1 Tbsp dried cranberries
Drizzle of honey

Directions

Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds and pulp. Helpful hint: those serrated spoons used for eating grapefruit work perfectly for scraping out the pulp.
Wrap the squash halves in aluminum foil, leaving the cut edges open. Place the squash on a cookie sheet or roasting pan with the cut sides facing down. Pour a thin layer of water into the bottom of the pan. This will make the final product turn out moist and tender.
Roast the acorn squash at 450 degrees for about 45 minutes or until fork-tender.
Remove from oven and let cool to your desired temperature.
Sprinkle the remaining ingredients into one half of the squash and drizzle with honey. Use a spoon to scrape out the flesh and add-ins and enjoy.

For 1/2 of the squash with the indicated add-ins, the approximate nutrition content from SparkPeople is:
Calories: 208
Carbs: 51g
Fat: 3g
Protein: 3g

I mean, that’s a lot of food for 200 calories!!!

I love how some childhood memories revolve around the smells and textures of delicious food. I have a similar precious memory of eating grapefruit with my mom as a child. I will definitely be sharing this treasured tradition with my Peanut.

April 9, 2013

Weekly Food Prep

Well, since it has been made public, I can tell you that I’ve been following the Self Magazine Drop10 plan, with workouts courtesy of Tone it Up. I got a copy of the entire plan before it was published because I signed up to be a VIP tester. Along with the workouts with K&K, I’ve been following the plan pretty religiously, with a few meals out here and there. This week, my menu looks something like this:

Breakfast:

Cheesy Eggs on Toast: 338 calories.
I sauteed the edamame, carrot, soy sauce and oil mixture ahead of time on the stove at home and then I make the eggs separately at work in the microwave. I mix them both together for the final product.

Lunch:

Sausage and Pepper Roll: 320 calories.
I used the substitution guide and chose mushrooms instead of peppers. I also couldn’t find chicken sausage at my grocery store, so I used two breakfast turkey sausage links instead.
I packaged the mixture in baggies for each day, making them easy to grab and go in the morning.

Snack:

Lentil Salsa Dip n Chips. 189 calories
Lentils make this dish look like gray mush. This does not look all that appealing, but I assure you, it tastes great. I think I’ll be adding this snack to my regular rotation. It is rather filling.
I packaged the chips in baggies for quick pre-portioned snacks, as seen above in the first picture.

Dinners:

Spaghetti
Turkey meatballs
Stir-fry
Scalloped potatoes and ham

This last one isn’t on the plan, but I’ll make sure to have the recommended 450-calorie-sized portion from the recipe we’re making. We have ham leftovers that we really don’t want to go to waste.

200 Free Calories:

Often get spent on 2 girl scout cookies and a spoonful of peanut butter. Once in awhile, I’ll have a diet cherry 7up with a shot of Southern Comfort. #YOLO, right?

*Note: Calorie calculations are based upon information entered into the SparkPeople nutrition counter. I entered the brand names and types of food that I used specifically. Self.com has a little bit different calculations than I came up with.

I usually do all my prepping for the week on Sunday, after Hubster does the grocery shopping. This week’s menu took me 1 hour from start to finish, including cleanup. I don’t do a whole lot of dinner prep beforehand though. We usually make dinners and eat them fresh as we go, but I do sometimes make some of the grains ahead of time.

I love this Drop10 plan! I’ve noticed that the balance of protein, carbs and good fats is keeping me pretty satisfied all day. I do have to add in a banana or other snack around mid-morning on days where I’m extra active. Those are the only days where I feel a bit shaky if I don’t eat a little extra.

I feel like I haven’t been a slave to the numbers on this plan either. Self Magazine does most of the dirty work for me, so I don’t have to. The substitutions are amazing, because I can use whatever I have on-hand or left over from a different meal. I eat mostly the same thing every day for breakfast, lunch and snack. Dinners we switch up and I try to incorporate meals that my whole family will eat. Heck, Self even includes a steak dinner. And of course, Hubster totally went for that.

I could hardly take it when I saw that Karena and Katrina are in the development stages of getting their own reality series on Bravo. I couldn’t say anything before it was published, but now I’m geeking out about it. I hope Bravo does an amazing job of catching them behind the scenes and maybe even broadcasting some workout sessions with them. I don’t know too many of the details, but I think that would just be too cool.

Tomorrow I will share a squash recipe with you that I also prepared on Sunday. Stay tuned!

March 27, 2013

7 Small Daily Tweaks to Improve Health

When new healthy habits form and old detrimental ones fade away, progress happens. I’ve been adopting some new techniques and tweaking my routine here and there to build upon the foundation of healthy living I’ve built for myself. I’ve been a fitness buff and a health food fan for a long time, but there is always more I could be doing to get better every day. I do have some bad habits that need to be broken, some eating patterns that could be cleaned up, and some new goals I would like to achieve. Let’s explore some of the tiny techniques that I’ve been using that have made a huge difference toward health improvement:

1. Yoga Breathing Breaks: Throughout the morning, I’ve been known to sneak away for a few yoga breaks. I don’t do any full yoga routines, due to the logistics of working in an office. But I do sneak in some yoga breathing exercises. I usually perform the first part of a sun salutation over and over, breathing slowly through my nose, until I feel relaxed, usually about 5 minutes. I am not a very good seated meditator, but moving with my breath through a few stretching exercises feels amazing. I’m not only actively meditating, but I’m also limbering my body and practicing mindfulness without even thinking about it. The simple act of movement becomes a great distraction to bothersome thoughts, making quieting the mind a whole lot easier than when sitting. And the benefits of meditation any which way you do it are phenomenal. Besides that, the habit gets me up out of the seat I sit in 8 hours a day and gets my blood moving.

This is the book I use for my daily meditation/relaxation needs.

I perform the first part of the sun salutation through and through:

mountain, backbend, swan dive, forward bend, return to mountain pose.

2. Trade in Diet Soda: Without really trying to, I have successfully cut out diet soda from my diet (apart from the highly occasional fast food run). I have long cut out regular soda and sugary juices from my diet, but I still always had a diet soda every day with my work lunch. To cut costs for a few weeks, I cut soda from the grocery list and didn’t miss it as bad as I thought I would. Now, we’re saving a bit of extra money every week and I’m not killing brain cells. Seriously. Aspartame + Caffeine = Dead Brain Cells. After watching Hungry for Change, I decided to maintain this healthy habit and keep my brain for awhile. Water it is!

Source: sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net via KESTER on Pinterest

3. Work out in the Morning: Now, I am not a fierce proponent of morning workouts. If the only time you have to work out is in the evenings, that’s quite alright as long as you follow through. However, I myself have made the successful transition to working out in the mornings (I will discuss how I did it in a future post). This way, I get to spend the entire evening with my family, and I’m not running off the gym after work (not that I think this is wrong, it just causes severe mommy guilt). I also get the bulk of my workout done before my day even starts. In addition, working out in the morning before breakfast actually creates up to a 20% increase in fat burn. I’m all for that!

4. Eat Clean, Eat Clean, Eat Clean: As I’ve stated before, eating clean is the only “diet” that intuitively makes sense to me for long-term lifestyle implementation. It makes sense to get your nutrients from “as-God-made-them” sources and to stay away from processed foods. That’s a scientifically sound idea. I’ve been eating so healthy lately that whenever I have a not-so-healthy meal, I don’t feel good afterwards. It feels sort of like a hangover with a lingering “bleh” feeling and sour stomach. Quite the incentive to continue eating healthier, right? I know that French fries are going to give me stomach pains, so I don’t eat them.

Source: indg.ca via Krista on Pinterest

5. Don’t Cut out Stretching: When crunched for time during a workout, the easiest sacrifice to make is to skip the stretching, right? Bad move. By doing so, you are robbing yourself of the benefits of stretching, which include better posture, easier recovery, increased mobility, enhanced performance, enhanced exercise form, etc. I have recently started incorporating foam rolling (aka: self-myofascial release) into my stretching routine, based on the recommendations from my NASM studies. I just use a foam swimming noodle right now, which you can find at the dollar store, to massage out my knots. It feels sooooo good. I hear a lot of people saying that if it doesn’t hurt, you’re not doing it right. Either I don’t feel pain like most people or I’m a masochist, but I love the feeling (but I’m a lover of deep deep-tissue massage and have a super-high pain tolerance). And it really is working, making me feel less stiff, increasing my range of motion, and ironing out my exercise form.

Source: gotimetraining.com via Chelsea on Pinterest

6. Eat Breakfast a Little Later: I always eat breakfast. As you probably know, skipping breakfast is a cardinal sin of healthy eating. However, I’ve found that eating a little bit later in the morning helps me to eat fewer mindless snacks throughout the morning. I can make it to lunchtime without a problem if I eat at 9:30 instead of 7:00. Plus, I don’t actually start to feel that hungry until after 9, so it’s really not necessary to eat before leaving the house. Such a simple concept, but it really is making a huge difference! I’ve been good about planning my meals in advance so that I can prep them at work. Microwave scrambled eggs really are a miracle.

7. Try New Foods: I’ve discussed before the different foods that I’ve tried as part of the goals I set for myself last summer, and I’m setting intentions to continue this goal. This past week, my family was subjected to bulgar wheat for the first time. It was a success! Even meat-and-potatoes Hubster found it to be a good alternative to rice. He does like quinoa, and bulgar has a similar consistency. I tend to fall into really bad food ruts, so picking up new foods to try always helps me climb out. I will be adding bulgar to our regular rotation of whole grains. You can find it in the bulk section at your grocery store for super cheap. It’s really easy to make too much (see below), so freeze the leftovers for an easy grab-and-go option on rushed days. It’s always helpful to have a healthy mixture of food options to choose from, and adding more to the repertoire is great for giving your body a healthy variety of nutrients.

I hope these small tweaks that I’ve made in my own regimen inspire you to change a thing here or there in yours. Just try implementing one idea at a time and really pay attention to the difference it makes. If it doesn’t work, pitch it. If it does work, adopt it. Either way, keep moving onto the next step and see what happens. I’d love to hear back with your results. Good luck!