What's that you say?

You're busy, stretched to the limit, stressed, and tired....sounds like a recipe for disaster for many things including staying on track for your healthy lifestyle goals, but as you run out the door you grab a cheese stick, apple and water bottle which means as you drive past McDonalds, you drive past, not in. Sucess! Small but great on many levels:

1. You just saved money.
2. You fed your body good stuff that won't make you feel sick in 20 min.
3. You have saved yourself some time.
4. You set a good example for your kids.

These are all good reasons, and all of them are reasons why I like sticking with it.  I like to remind myself of these reasons on a regular basis. By telling yourself  methodically the reasons for what you're doing, you establish positive self-talk which creates a healthy environment for yourself to continue making changes. 
What would happen if you told yourself:

I have to have fries or I'll die.
I don't have time to learn how to eat healthy.
I can't afford to buy healthy food.
I can't plan ahead my meals it takes too much effort.
My husband and kids will never support me in my changes.

Well,,,what would happen?  Nothing's going to change, that's for sure.  You got to start with changing your thoughts before you can change your behavior.

Here's your challenge:  take note of the internal conversations you're having with yourself, the labels you have given yourself, the unrealistic ultimatums, and negativity that you describe yourself to others. Put a stop to it, but not only put a stop to it, replace it with realistic positive statements. Make it a personal goal, and see the power of positive self talk in your life.

Healthy Cooking/Nutrition Class Review

Well I had to write a post in regards to the nutrition/cooking class that was put on by my head personal trainer Luanne Cobb.  She was wonderful and gracious to drive down to help out our little group get a grip on some healthy cooking skills.  She presented over 20 meal ideas!  Luanne showed us how to prepare many meals by taking the time once a week to get your meat ready.  When you have your protein prepared you're more likely to integrate it into your small meals. 

I can get a copy of the meals on the blog, but I need to type them out so give me some time. I thought the most valuable opportunity of the class was to see, taste, and touch the different ingredients. She handed around her favorite spices to smell, reminding us that you can cut back on salt if your food is seasoned properly. 

We had a tasters table with quinoa, basmati rice, diced artichoke hearts in a vinegar solution, sundried tomatoes in an olive oil, dried cranberries, and pomegranates which she uses to flavor her food.  I cooked up her daughter's recipe of dill crusted salmon and for those of us who enjoy fish we couldn't stop snacking on it!

I made up Georgia's healthy muffins for the first time and loved them and more importantly my kids did too! Hopefully I can wean my baby off his cookie addiction ;o) I did cook one batch with Truvia and agave syrup to sweeten and I could taste the truvia, but it wasn't that bad and the batch I cooked with just sugar and agave syrup you couldn't tell at all! I really am liking the agave syrup on my french toast, cottage cheese and plain greek yogurt, just a little bit though, it's not calorie free.

Valeen made a yummy apple chicken salad that was so simple and balanced, Luanne gave the recipe 2 thumbs up! She also made banana bread using blended white beans to replace the fat and it was so moist and tasty you would never guess was made with beans. 

Every shared their favorite balanced small meal which I'll be posting on the meal ideas soon and lastly we got to sample Melaleuca products to see which ones we liked. This was very helpful for me as I was hesitant to try some things for fear I wouldn't like it, even though everything is returnable, just tasting the Ruby red grapefruit Sustain electrolyte drink convinced me to order that next month! I also liked the Access Shake hot, like a hot chocolate drink, first thing in the morning before you exercise, just perfect for winter.

Luanne explained that while some of the ingredients she showed us may seem expensive, you only use a little bit to flavor your food and they'll last for months in your fridge so it really pays off.  This cooking class really helped open our eyes to different things to try to get us out of our cooking ruts.  There will be another class like this in Layton the end of January, so contact me if interested in attending!

Food Nutrition Class this Saturday!

This is going to be great! Bring a friend! It's going to be at Debbie Burrows' House 3599 S. 4700 W. West Haven.  If you want to make a healthy treat to share please do, but no pressure :o)
THE TIME HAS CHANGED TO 10:30 SO WE CAN HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO GET THROUGH THE CLASS!

Make a free invitation card

When life gets busy...

Life is always busy isn't it?  If it isn't one thing, it's another. Not that it's a bad thing, but learning how to not let the stress of it all ruin your goal for healthy living can be a challenge.  This past week I struggled with poor health and with my healthy living challenge I only got one point for keeping my personal goal which was to not let myself give up when I made a poor choice.  So to clarify, when I knew that I missed my point for the day, I did not stop trying to make healthy choices just because of my one mistake.  In this challenge we're focusing on portion control, balanced meals, getting our water, and exercising every day.  You have to get all 4 items focused on done well for the day to get your point.  Well, it seemed that for whatever reason, I messed up on at least one of those things every day so I didn't earn one daily point.  It wasn't for lack of trying though, I had every intention, but when push came to shove when I had the choice between healthy or not I rationalized in the moment that it wasn't a big deal.  You know all those "it's not a big deal"'s add up! Whether your just starting out on the healthy living journey or you're an old pro, that thought process can really nip you in the bud. One thing leads to another and before you know it you find yourself at the drivethrough ordering a double cheese with large fries and a shake (and it's not your day off ;o). 

My point is to encourage you to not minimalize the little choices you make everyday, and if you do make a poor "little" choice, don't give up, just move on and make the next choice a good one.  Planning ahead makes a big difference, especially when you're getting started, having good choice options in the house, car, and work, and schedualling in your exercise will all pay off in the long run. 

My favorite things on the run are an apple and cheese stick, a Fiberwise bar or Attain bar, and a water bottle to carry with me full of Sustain electrolyte drink (the products are Melaleuca). 

So here's to a new week and opportunity to make good choices even when life is busy!

Whew! Week 1 is done.

Isn't that always the case?  The first week is the hardest because your realize how far you've strayed.   I'm talking about the Healthy Eating Contest that just started.  We're actually in the middle of the 2nd week and things are going much smoother than last week.  I wanted to jot down observations in hopes that might help you recognize what's happening in your life too in regards to healthy eating. 

So as I said the first week was a toughy for me because I realized I'd slipped back into so many bad habits.  I caught myself putting a taste of everything that I saw into my mouth whether I was hungry or not. I was eating too big of portions, and eating off my kids plates as I cleared them. 

So in this contest there is a weekly personal goal and I decided this week to writed down everything that I put in my mouth.  Kinda like a punishment for getting out of control (cause I hate to do it), and it makes me think twice about putting things in my mouth because I know I have to write it down.  I suggest you try this if you're starting out and don't know where to start cause everything is so overwhelming. You can analyze your list and see what you need to work on, and if you're working with Georgia she said she'd be willing to analyze it for you. 

On a different train of thought...The workout with Lu last night at the Roy Complex was so much fun! It was my first superset ever, and although there were some very jiggly moments, I made it through and am only mildly sore today.  We will keep you posted on the next time and date. We missed all those who didn't make it! 

Who's on board?

It's been a couple months since I stepped off the train, well, more like slowly falling off.  Old habits come creeping back in little by little...but I finally realized what was happening when Sat. night came around and I was not even looking forward to my "day off"! Why? Well, because I had allowed little snitches and even outright "rule" breaking throughout the week.  I'm thinking that it's time to get back on the train, and wanted to take you all with me this time... :D  Who's up for an adventure in healthy living?!

Here's my thoughts, I'd like to do a 6 week challenge and it's not a weight loss challenge, it's a healthy living challenge and the more consistent you are the better your chances are of winning.
What do you win?  Well, I was thinking 2 tickets to the Time Out For Women Conference in Salt Lake City, November 19 and 20th, which is 2 weeks after the contest would end..
How to win: keep score of every day that you drink 8 glasses of water, eat good portions of food, eat good balanced meals, exercise. So 4 things to focus on a day, and if you do all 4 you get a point for the day, and you report your cumulative points every week.
It's consistency that I'm hoping to reinforce, an opportunity to develop habits over a long period of time.
I'd like to invite you all to join in on the contest, it's just 15 dollars to join in, and the more people who join, the more winners we can have, so invite your friends. Let me know if you want to sign up by contacting me or leaving a comment on this post and I'll get a hold of you.  Let's start next Monday the 27th. That will give us a chance to get the word out and get our money turned in.
Here's a link to the program for Time out for Women, I went in February and it was awesome!
http://deseretbook.com/time-out/event/113

The Journey of learning a new healthy lifestyle has been a beautiful one for me.  There have been many breakthroughs of mental brick walls that have been keeping me from getting on the road to health for many years.  I finally am gaining an understanding of what a healthy perspective towards food looks like.  I'd like to share one walls I'm currently knocking down:

For years I honestly didn't know how people could turn down seconds when it came to dessert. I have friends and family who are able to do so and I've watched them carefully and observed that it wasn't a painful decision, or one that was done because of social pressure, it was just because they "weren't hungry", or they
"just ate".  I am just now understanding that they were able to say no to food because they knew how to listen to their body.  What a wonderful skill to acquire!; one that children are born with but often lose somewhere along the winding road of life. 

I am working hard to relearn this skill of listening to my body, and to help my children not lose this skill!  Learning to listen to my body requires desire to change, and a love of self. 

The desire to change is necessary if the skill has been lost because you can't learn something new if you're not ready to let go of old habits.

Yagottawanna :)

The love of self is a necessary key.  Think about it:  You're full and contemplating eating more, if you love the food more than you love yourself, you are going to choose food, despite the consequences of overeating. It requires a desire to take care of your body and not cause pain and discomfort to self to turn down the food. I guess this could work the other way around too if you struggle with allowing yourself to eat food when you're hungry (anorexia), but I've personally never had a problem with that : D

The guidelines that my personal trainer is teaching me are directions needed to get back on the right road toward healthy living.  Sometimes it's hard to follow because I've been off the beaten path for too long, but the closer I get, the easier it becomes because I can finally see the road I've been trying to reach. I understand why people choose to go on this road of healthy living and know it's worth it because the journey just keeps getting better!



"Everyday is a winding road,,,I get a little bit closer"