Restart and Refresh 2014 - Playing catch up, Day Twenty Eight

I hate playing catch up with work, or with my health. My life has been a crazy mess lately, especially this past weekend. Work has been super busy, what with getting all the children back into school and all. That being said, it is nearing the end of September, the first month in my new start.

Do I feel like I have accomplished what I wanted to this month?
No. Here's why.
I fell off the band wagon, 2 weeks in. I stopped working out, and I let my excuses take over and win. So now I haven't reached my goals at all.
But.....
Every day is a new day, a new beginning, a new start. So, I will once again start over in October. I will also be starting a new program in October, so I am plenty excited about that. I believe with the new program that I WILL achieve the goals I set out for myself at the beginning of September.
And it begins with today, and my realization that came with Super Saturday.

1. Something that is quite often forgotten and that is that weight loss is not like instant oatmeal, its not like an overnight face cream and its not something that can be condensed into a little pill and do nothing else about it. Weight loss is slow, it takes effort and hard work. It takes determination and dedication to keep motivated, and when you fall down you get back up again. It takes weeks, months sometimes years to get where you want to be. It takes courage and strength to get through the rough patches and keep going no matter the hurdles and obstacles.

2. I can't let PCOS be a crutch for why I am not losing weight anymore. Yes, my hormones play a part in why I am where I am today, and they will play a part in the struggle to come. But I refuse to just lay down and let them win over me. I am stronger and more determined than that. Even if it takes me forever to lose the weight I want to lose, I will keep going. One day at a time.
And I will NEVER give up.

3. If everyone would just help one other person, it would create a domino effect of healthy living and lifestyle changes for the better. So my goal now is just to help one person, and have that person help another and so on and so forth. The domino effect PLUS paying it forward.
Wouldn't the world slowly start becoming a healthy, HAPPY place again??

Every single small choice is reflected in your life, even if you think it doesn't make a difference, somewhere, somehow down the road you'll notice it created a huge difference. Make those choices ones for the better, ones to keep/get you healthy, ones to help create a happier you. Make a choice to do something nice for someone every day, compliment someone, SMILE!!
The only way life is going to get better, easier, happier is by making these small choices and watching them add up over time. Expecting results instantaneously doesn't work. Ever.

If we can stick to something for long enough, not only will we see results but so will others and they will want to know how you did what you did, how you got to where you are and they will think it as an overnight success. But they won't see all the little changes or habits you created early on to achieve this success later. You will be amazed at what one little change can do.

I dare you to do one nice thing for someone daily, whether it be complimenting them, holding a door open, paying for a coffee or drink, offering to help them with their work,
Do this for a whole month - October's challenge and at the end of October, really reflect on how YOU feel, how happy you are now and how happy the people around you are, reflect on if the people around you have made a change and been doing things for others more readily.
One small change you make for the better can create such a ripple effect not only in your life, affecting other areas of your life, but in others as well.
And you will feel so much better after, you'll be happier in your life, and happier with those around you it will be amazing.

I DARE YOU! 

Food Prep Series 2014 - Part 2

This weekend I did my food prep on Saturday, half of it anyways. I had bought a pack of tilapia from Costco that needed to be split up and frozen for future use. So I decided, why just put them into bags? I should be putting the seasonings on them right now too!
Needless to say, my fish are seasoned, bagged and in the freezer.

I wanted to share two freezer to slow cooker recipes with you today that will help make your week easier.

Teriyaki Chicken 

Ingredients:

Medium - large bag of carrots
Red onion into large chunks
2 large cans pineapple, undrained
4 garlic cloves
4 chicken breasts
1 cup teriyaki sauce

Split between two bags, seal, mix, lay flat and freeze.

Directions for bag:

Add 1/4 cup sauce to crock pot and cook on low for 6-7 hours. Serve over rice.


Apple BBQ Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:

1-2 lb pork tenderloin
1 cup chunky applesauce
1 cup BBQ sauce
2 tbsp minced dried onion

Place pork tenderloin in a gallon-sized freezer bag, in a medium bowl mix together applesauce, BBQ sauce and onion, add to bag. Zip close and freeze. 

Directions for bag:

When ready to use thaw in fridge overnight. Empty contents into crock-pot and cook on low 6-8 hours, or high 3-4 hours. Serve over rice or pasta.

Restart and Refresh 2014 - Healthy snacks, Day Thirteen

How do you feel at about...2-3 pm on a work day?

Tired?

Grouchy?

Sluggish?

Just plain done for the day?

Fueling up mid afternoon CORRECTLY is important to keeping up your energy to last you through to the end of your work day. How do you know when to have a snack? Exactly whenever you start having those feelings I mentioned before. It will be different for everyone, and at different times. 

But that still means the same thing, eat a small snack with protein and a glass of water.

Why the glass of water too?

Hydration is just so important, and it is brain food. Which means when you are feeling tired, drinking water will help keep you going for just a bit longer. Your brain requires the water to function just as much as the rest of your body does.
When you are looking for an afternoon snack, what you need to wake you up is some carbs, paired with protein and a healthy fat. 

Now for the good part!

Here's a list of  healthy snacks that you can eat midafternoon when you are feeling the
energy LITERALLY draining out of your body.

1. Greek yogurt
2. Fresh fruit
3. Low fat chocolate milk
 4. Hard boiled eggs
5. Handful of seeds
6. Avocado
7. Berries
8. Peanut butter and pretzels
9. Veggies
10. Unsalted trail mix
11. Mini cheeses
12. Handful of nuts
13. Dried fruit chips
14. Hummus
15. Baked crackers


These are great on their own, but feel free to combine them as well to satisfy the carb and protein cravings to give you the energy that lasts through the afternoon.

Check out this picture to see all the fantastic benefits of these healthy afternoon snacks.

http://www.healthambition.com/light-and-healthy-afternoon-snacks/

Restart and Refresh 2014 - Portion sizes, Day Nine

Portion control, accurate portion sizes.....we are told from the beginning that this is so important to our health that we make sure we are eating correct amounts of food. There have been many resources created to help lay the foundation and inform people of this. One of those is the Food Guide, which unfortunately is very accurate portion sizes, but for the mega sizes that we are used to eating in this day and age.

Contrary to popular belief, we are NOT supposed to be eating so much food we are stuffed every meal, every snack. We are not to be eating off of a 12 inch dinner plate. The world has evolved to the point where people started eating bigger and bigger portions, so they created a bigger plate. The traditional/original dinner plate is only 9 inches across. Imagine how much food you would have to take off a plate these days to make it fit onto a traditional dinner plate. 

We ARE however supposed to eat smaller meals and snacks, every few hours throughout the day. If everyone was actually able to do this, then portion control would be much less of a problem as we wouldn't be feeling so hungry between meals. But alas, not everyone's schedule works that way.

Let's talk about HOW we would recognize portion sizes and keep ourselves in check. There are many ways to portion out your food, one easy method is to use these fantastic containers. They are colour coded based on what you are putting into them, and really give you a good visual about the portion size. My favourite part? They are portable and I can use them to make my lunches, and take it to work in them too.

Another quick method (if you don't have those containers) is using our hand, demonstrated in the picture below. This is rather useful because lets face it, we all bring our hands with us everywhere and it is rather simple to learn and use.

I have learned a few things are important for maintaining, or starting a healthy lifestyle BUT they are EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. Exercising every day, hydrating yourself properly, eating whole, clean foods and eating the correct portions throughout the day. I challenge you to do these things, every day for 1 week and see how you feel. I guarantee you will feel better, inside and out, and have more energy.

Join my FREE facebook group to challenge yourself and learn clean eating principles.

Food Prep Series 2014 - Part 1

So every Sunday, before the week starts I'm going to share two tips that I have learned that are valuable to me in the kitchen, in keeping things easy and convenient. 

Like I said in a previous post, food prep is SUPER IMPORTANT if you want to eat healthy. You prep once for the week and then you're done.

Tip #1 - Make your week long meal plan

Without having a plan for the week, for dinners primarily, you won't know where to start. When you sit down, look through recipes or through your cupboards, ask your loved ones (or roommates) what they would like throughout the week for supper you can create a healthy list of dinners. From that, you can make your shopping list, adding extra veggies and fruit for lunches. 

While creating this meal plan, think not only of what you already have and can use, but of what can be made extra of, then used for another meal. This saves loads of time, and dishes. 

Tip #2 - Cut, chop, portion and create in advance, and make extra

Boil a dozen eggs to use throughout the week, cut up veggies such as carrots or peppers, and portion into bags or containers for quick grab and go veggie options for lunches. Do the same with fruit if you wish, I don't personally as I dislike browning fruit from the oxygen in the air. You can also portion out extra things such as yogurt (if you buy the big tubs) or hummus. This makes lunches super quick to put together in the morning. When you buy a big pack of chicken thighs or breasts, either portion into the amount you will use for one meal (raw chicken) and put your marinade/spices in or leave plain and freeze. You can do the same with ground beef, add your spices, onions, peppers etc and COOK before portioning for spaghetti sauce or tacos. You can even cook up rice or noodles and freeze in portions. This makes supper prep RIDICULOUSLY easy throughout the week. You can just pull out what you need from the freezer the night before and it's already cooked for you, or marinated and ready to go.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post where I will share a freeze and go slow cooker chicken recipe.

Remember, healthy eating doesn't have to be HARD but it does take a bit of effort to get you into a routine that works for you, and doing the prep will make your week less complicated. 

Restart and Refresh 2014 - Where it begins, Day Three

My number 1 struggle is portion control. I tend to go overboard, I used to let my emotions control how much I ate, what I ate and when I ate. It was hard, I didn't know how to change it or change the way I thought about food and it's relationship to me.

Cue the beginning - With the help of my coach, I found the perfect program for me. Colour coded containers that are the perfect portion size for the specific category, carbs, protein, fruit, veggies, healthy fats and oils. The number 1 rule is that whatever you put into the container, the lid needs to fit on top.

The best part? You can actually use these containers to cheat!! Obviously, I'm not going to be eating chips every day, or chocolate etc. But the option is still there, and it teaches you the proper portion size and moderation. It is an excellent tool for anyone. There is a certain number of each container you can eat each day, dependant on your personal calorie needs. I get to eat 5 green, 3 purple, 5 red, 4 yellow, 1 blue, 1 orange and 5 tsps.

So I did a round one back in May and lost 6 lbs and 5.5 inches overall in just 21 days. Taking the facts about PCOS into consideration (look at my post from Day 1 to see those again) this is actually quite amazing for me, I was ridiculously excited about my results because I had finally found something that worked for me, that worked with the PCOS and above all was teaching me proper portion control for life. This wasn't a one and done, I could apply what I learned to the rest of my life and create a healthy habit for life.

So I'm going to show you what my lunch will be today, using the containers but first I HAVE to tell you about an event I am going to this weekend. The woman who created the 21 day fix system is going to be in Winnipeg and I have a ticket to go to her event.
- I get to do a live workout with her
- I get my picture taken with her after!!
I am beyond excited to meet Autumn Calabrese on Saturday!!
(I can still get tickets if you would like to come down and join us for the live workout and extras, just head over to my facebook page and send me a message and let me know!)

https://www.facebook.com/sheena.mackay.921

Okay here's my lunch! A chicken salad wrap, some peppers, a nectarine, a kiwi and an apple. This all equals 2 yellow, 1 red, 3 green and 2 purples (the cheese is one blue).

I love how much food I actually get to eat!!

Restart and Refresh 2014 - Food Prep, Day Two

So last night I spent about 2 hours doing some food prep, or rather lunch prep as I always have some things ready at hand for quick dinners. Bag of plain chicken breasts, fish, frozen veggies etc. just ready to get cooked up in the evening. Lunches however, fresh veggies and stuff I can use as a main dish I need to have prepped ahead of time so I can grab it and go in the morning.

Food prep is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT for clean eating habits. 

- It makes it convenient to eat clean and healthy
- You prep for the week once then you're done

- It saves time throughout the week for other things more important

- You can keep your diet varied very easily

Food prep consists of taking fruits and veggies and cutting them up and separating into baggies or containers for quick and easy access. Take out bags of cooked chicken for salads or wraps from the freezer for the week. Hard boil a big batch of eggs to have for the week.
This is just a few ideas and suggestions for what you can do for your own food prep.

Nutrition and your diet are a HUGE part of a healthy lifestyle. You can work out, hours every day and still not see any results if you're eating mainly processed foods, sugary foods, white flour breads and buns and little to no fruits and veggies in your diet.
Autumn Calabrese always says "Don't undo in the kitchen what you've done in the gym" which is actually super easy to undo. I struggle with that myself on a daily basis.
Losing weight is 80% nutrition, 10% genes and 10% training, or working out.

Clean eating can be tough, especially if you have no knowledge of what it is.
Interested in a week long workshop, dedicated to teaching you the principles of clean eating?

Head over to my facebook page, and send me a message to let me know you'd like to join my FREE group.

https://www.facebook.com/sheena.mackay.921

Dinner for tonight, basa with raw cauliflower and carrots. It may sound bland, but it's all in the flavours. Utilize spices, experiment and try new combinations. I love to use the basics, but sometimes will go for a little extra heat with my smoked applewood seasoning. Try something new and enjoy life!

September Restart and Refresh 2014 - September 1st, Day One

September 1st. For most people that means the beginning of their children's newest school year, 

the end of summer and for some perhaps the beginning of a new chapter in their lives. 

Whether it be a new job, child, new activities, new school, new house, new relationship or new pet. 

And then some others it is the beginning to the rest of their lives.

No pity party here, just medical facts. I have had PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome)

 since birth I suppose, but I was diagnosed at 19. There are a few things that go along with PCOS that really suck for a woman. First, you have elevated levels of testosterone, so you might have more body hair as a result - and darker. You have a hard time conceiving because you have irregular or non-existent cycles so you have no idea when you're ovulating - if at all. Your body does not respond correctly to the insulin it produces, which creates a few problems. 1. You keep most sugars you eat as fat, rather than converting to energy. 2. You hold weight around your belly, which has its own health concerns. And finally 3. It makes losing weight VERY difficult!! 

This being said, it leads me to the real reason I am writing this.

I have tried multiple ways to lose weight throughout my so far adulthood and really haven't had very successful results. I tried the gym with a friend and I lost about 10 lbs in the two months that we went. 

Which was 5/7 days of the week and we spent anywhere from 1 hr to 2.5 hrs there. 

I really didn't care either way if I went but I had a buddy to go with and that kept me motivated for a while. 

I soon realized that the gym just wasn't for me and we slacked and then stopped going altogether. 

A few months down the road, I haven't lost any extra weight but thankfully due to my clean eating habits, I hadn't gained back any of the lost weight either. That's when my friend invited me to a Beachbody event, which had a live workout and Shakeology tasting. I went, not really expecting anything special and was completely wrong. The Beachbody coaches shared stories, explaining how they got where they are today and I thought, I can do that. I can do a 30 minute workout a day, I can replace one meal a day with Shakeology (Vanilla is my favourite) and eat healthy. They are like a huge family, supporting each other and their challengers and I really wanted to be a part of it. So I signed up as a coach and started out great. 

I admit, I am not one to get out of my comfort zone OR my personal space OR my box...EVER. 

So I slacked, I didn't try talking to anybody new or doing anything new. I have gained back a bit of weight and I really want it gone. 

I am going back to the beginning of my journey when I starting with the 21 Day Fix.

So this is me, recommitting to my health, to helping others and to ending the trend of obesity. It's not an easy road, it has it's struggles but when you have a passion this strong, believe in yourself and want to do better, how can you not share that?

So I am going to restart and use these jars to motivate myself and to have visual proof that what I'm about to do, and doing is working for me!

I am recommitting and putting forth this goal:

40 lbs lost by my 25th birthday in December. I have 15 weeks to do this. I can do this!!