Snacking.

So I fell off the wagon and went on a week or so of not working out and snacking and eating really bad (like lots of queso and Dr. Pepper bad). Oops... But let's be honest, it's going to happen because we are human and sometimes life gets hard. It's easy to stop eating healthy and head straight for your pantry full of snacks like chips, candy and cookies. But once you go off a track, how do you get back on? It's hard. REALLY hard. Here's a few tips that have helped me get back on track and stay away from snacking.

1. Throw out those foods that constantly tempt you. I found that the only way I won't snack on Doritos and Oreos is if I don't have them in the house! It's an easy fix. If you have that one snack that is keeping you from getting back on track and you find yourself binge snacking on it..THROW IT AWAY!  Seems pretty simple right? Because it is!

2. Have a food to fall back on if you do want to snack. There's nothing wrong with getting a little hungry after dinner, but you have to be ready for it. Have some healthy little treats in your pantry. I like chocolate rice cakes, they are yummy and chocolaty and only have 60 calories (which is pretty good compared to 3 Oreos which have 160 calories).

3. Make a routine. If I brush my teeth and floss after dinner, I notice that I am much less likely to snack. It's like that clean mouth feeling is reminding my teeth that they are off duty for the night. So since they are off duty I go for a big glass of water instead!

4. Put your snack on a plate. By doing this, you are giving yourself a limit of how much snacking you can do. DO NOT take the whole bag with you to go sit on the couch and watch tv. Before you know it you will have eaten almost the whole bag in one sitting.

Basically, be prepared. If you're prepared for hunger then you won't end up over eating. Life gets busy and hard and it's easy to snack on the bad foods, but if you're ready for those times then it'll seem easier to pick the good foods and before you know it you will be turning down those foods that used to be your favorites snacks. And then you'll be back on track to getting

healthy-ish.

Thirsty Thursday.

That's right, it's Thirsty Thursday! But does that mean you should run as quick as you can to the first cocktail/beer/choice of drink you can get your hands on? I would say probably not. Alcohol is often times a "no-no" for people who are trying to watch their weight or get more fit, and I think I have to agree. However, there are ways you can still enjoy it.

Alcohol triggers overeating. It makes the aromas from food seem more appealing. So when you go get drinks with your girlfriends/buddies before dinner, you end up ordering a bigger meal and then end up eating much more than you normally would. Drinking alcohol also leads to those late night snacks and binges. I know that at least 90% of you all reading this end up going to Taco Bell after a late night out drinking.

Alcohol is packed with calories. It has 7 calories per gram, and that's just the alcohol part. Most drinks are mixed with sugary and sweetened drinks and flavors. One cocktail could end up being around 400 calories!! Here's average calories of some drinks: 5 ounces of red or white wine is 125 calories, 12 ounces of light beer is 100 calories, 1.5 ounces of vodka is 96 calories. Just a few drinks at a night out could end up being 1,500 calories. So if you do decide to get a drink, go for the lower calorie drinks and watch out for margaritas, sugary mixed drinks, mudslides and other sweet cocktails.

So am I saying to stay away from Thirsty Thursdays forever? No! There are ways you can enjoy a drink at dinner and still be on the right track. Here are some helpful hints to make sure you don't overload the calories with drinks.

- Limit yourself to two drinks.
- Avoid the higher calorie drinks.
- Drink water between your alcoholic drinks so you can stay hydrated.
- Sip slowly and take time to finish each drink.
- Try to keep your calorie budget below 200 calories.

So go ahead and enjoy this great Thursday, but be sure to pay attention to what you're drinking so you can make sure to stay

healthy-ish.

What I Ate Wednesday.

Knowing what to eat while still being healthy can be pretty tough. It was one of the hardest things for me to figure out when I started on this health kick. Snacking was especially hard, I didn't think having snacks was a healthy thing to do. Because of this, I decided I would start a little series of blogs! Each Wednesday I will do a "What I Ate Wednesday" and document my meals and snacks throughout the day. So if you're out there and have NO idea what to eat, you can follow my example if you want or base your days meals off mine!

Breakfast:

I tend to eat the same thing for breakfast every day, which seems boring, but it's easy to make and I know it'll keep me full for around 3 hours. Here's what I ate: Good old fashioned oatmeal! I ate 1/2 cup and then added Stevia and cinnamon for flavor. Also with my oatmeal I ate 2 egg whites and then strawberries. What a YUMMY (and healthy) breakfast!

Lunch:

I mix it up with my lunches so my days aren't too boring! But today I had deli turkey and spinach on 100 calorie orowheat bread thins, 1/4 cup almonds, grapes, and a banana. Doesn't seem like much but it keeps me feel and I snack between meals (I'll list the snacks at the end)!

Dinner:

CHIPOTLE!! That's right, I had Chipotle for dinner, and who doesn't love Chipotle?? Now listen before you go all crazy and load up all the ingredients you can fit in the bowl...you have to eat things like this in moderation. Here's what I got in my burrito bowl: chicken, pinto beans, fajita vegetables, roasted chli-corn salsa, tomato red-chili salsa and romaine lettuce. I checked the nutrition calculator on Chipotle's calculator and my burrito bowl was around 435 calories, not too shabby!

Snacks:

There's lots of different snacks you can eat in moderation and still be healthy. Here's what I snacked on today: 52 pretzel sticks, one low fat honey graham cracker, low fat string cheese and more strawberries!

And that wraps up What I Ate Wednesday! I hope that helps you out when prepping for a days worth of meals. Be sure to keep your meals 

healthy-ish!

Staying on Track.

I've come to a point in my fitness journey where I am not seeing results at the moment. I'm sure this happens to everyone who is trying to get fit or become more healthy, but it doesn't make it any easier. I feel like I have been working very hard to see a difference and I'm just not seeing any. I bet this is a point where a lot of people get frustrated and down and decide to quit and head back to fast food and not exercising. That would be easy, and I believe that good things in life do not come easy. I always see and hear people say that "it takes 3 weeks for you to notice a difference, 8 weeks for your friends and family to notice, and 12 weeks for the rest of the world." I just changed my diet and exercise routine a week and a half ago, so maybe I am just stuck in the before 3 weeks stage. There's this quote I heard a few years ago and it's stuck with me and challenges me to push myself especially in situations like this... Don't give up what you want most for what you want at the moment. Because at the moment I want to quit and go eat burgers and queso and drink Dr. Pepper, but I really want to see results in the end.

Sometimes it is hard to not feel this way and want to give up on yourself, but here are ways that keep me on track and help me stick to my routines:

1. Take Progress Pictures: I know this seems like a "gym rat" thing to do, but it's encouraging to look back and see how far you've come! I took my first progress pic at the beginning of the summer and before looking back at it I didn't think that I had changed very much, but boy was I wrong! So take a picture, and if you're embarrassed about it don't show anyone. It can just be for your own encouragement. 

2. Find a Workout Buddy: It's much easier to head to the gym when you know you have a friend waiting for you there, and it's also great accountability. You can keep one another on track and encourage each other to workout and eat healthy even when you aren't the mood.

3. Stay Consistent: I find it is easier to hop out of bed and head to the gym in the morning because I have been consistent in going every morning. If I stick to one workout schedule/regimen it isn't as
difficult because I don't have the feeling that I am starting something new and tough.

4. Have a Cheat Meal: Notice I said cheat MEAL, not cheat day!!! I think that cheat meals are a way to reward yourself with a fattening meal or treat without reversing all your hard work and training of that week. (Advice: try to keep your cheat meals 900 calories or under).

AND REMEMBER....

So if you're feeling frustrated and want to quit, DON'T!!! Keep hanging in there and I promise it will be worth it. The hard work is worth when you finally start to feel

healthy-ish.

Healthy Sweet Treats.

You read it right! There are such things as healthy sweet treats, and here's one of my favorites. This is a recipe for a healthy take on the beloved Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I'll probably be making this every week because it is so delicious and makes me not miss chocolate so much ;)

Ingredients:

- Chocolate flavored protein powder of your choice (for this I used UNJURY which is also a meal replacement which can be found here)

- Fat free or low fat milk (I LOVE organic milk, so that is what I used)

- Bell Plantation PB2 powdered peanut butter (can be found at your local grocery store)

- Water

Let's get started! First put 7 tablespoons of PB2 and 1/3 cup of water into a bowl and mix until it reaches a creamy consistency.

Next, you will mix one scoop of protein powder and 1/3 cup of milk. You can either do this in a bowl or in a shaker bottle. I mixed mine in a shaker bottle so it was quick and easy!

Next, spoon in the peanut butter mixture into tinfoil muffin wrappers and place in a muffin pan. This recipe only makes about 5, so if you want a bigger serving just add in more ingredients!

After you've spooned all the peanut butter in, you will pour the protein mix on top and let it fall around the sides as well. 

Almost done! Place the pan in the freezer and allow to freeze for 4 hours. Once frozen, allow around 3-5 minutes to thaw and then dig in! It's best if you eat it while it is still chilled or will start to melt and be a bit messy.

And there you have it, a healthy sweet treat! 

So head on into your kitchen and make some of these cups so you can continue to be 

healthy-ish!