First things first. My legs HURT! I know that pain is not exactly a GOAL of exercise, but at least when you have it, it is usually an indication that you REALLY worked out those muscles. So, being unable to get up from the toilet or chairs aside, I still feel good. Today is PILATES day, this means that I need to find a place to stash the dogs for 30 minutes because floor exercises and my pooches don't mix!
Just wanted to share my food again. I think that this is important because like I've posted about before people tend to think that eating healthy means eating the same foods over and over, or eating bland foods, or a number of other excuses that we make. Yes, you may eat SIMPLER meals, yes you may eat things that you find gross or boring. But you know what I find gross? All the preservatives and chemicals that companies call food that we put in our bodies! I'd choke down some veggie any day! To me, by sharing what I eat, it is not only keeping me accountable to you for staying on track, but it's showing that this isn't bird food, it's REAL, GOOD, food!
BREAKFAST
Ahh, breakfast! Breakfast is definitely some of my favorite foods and today was no exception! This morning consisted of a Van's Gluten Free Blueberry Waffle; 2 eggs (Cage and Hormone free of course!); and a bowl of mixed fruit (mango, peaches, raspberries, and blueberry)
1 RED; 1 YELLOW; 1 PURPLE
MID-MORNING SNACK
Ah, one of my favorites. So before you call me out on the trend that I eat Fage like, a LOT, let me say, that yes, I do. I will tell you why. 1- Yogurt is good for you! Well, this yogurt is pretty good for you. Because it is plain it isn't full of carbs (sugars) like the other flavored ones that you will get at the store. The good thing is that you can flavor them yourself! 2- It is a quick, easy source of protein. 3- You can get a huge tub of it for like $7.
This quick and delicious snack consisted of Fage 0% Greek Yogurt; Udi's GF Cranberry Granola; 1tsp Chocolate Chips; 1/2 banana; and a veggie cup (broccoli, cauliflower, and carrot - the mix from most any grocery that you can buy)
1 RED; 1 YELLOW; 1 PURPLE; 1 GREEN;1 TEASPOON
LUNCH
Gotta get in my Shakeology for the day! Today I really felt fancy, LOL. I had a Mocha Chip Shake-o! It's so simple to make too! Mine wasn't very frappaccino like because I was low on ice, but it was still chilled and delicious and so easy to make.
1 cp brewed coffee; 1 scoop Vegan Chocolate Shake-o; 2 tsp Chocolate Chips; splash of Almond/Coconut milk - blend in blender with ice.
1 RED; 2 TEASPOONS
*Note: because I literally just used a splash of milk (not even 4 oz I don't think and the trade out is 8oz) I did not count a carb container on this meal*
MID-AFTERNOON SNACK
Trying to get in all my veggies with this snack. Got some spinach, some broccoli slaw mix (store bought in packaged salad mix section) and some tomato; sliced turkey; sliced apple; balsamic vinaigrette dressing (Boathouse Farms, GF).
3 GREEN; 1 RED; 1 PURPLE; 1 ORANGE
DINNER
I saved up some of my servings because I knew that tonight I was having pizza for dinner. I saved up enough actually that I was able to have 2 of these AND some fruit. Oh, my, after the 21DF workout today I was happy to have it! So here you can see the start of my pizza. Notice that the yellow is empty, it is just to represent the tortilla that I used as a crust. (Rudi's GF Tortilla). Also on my pizza was PLAIN tomato sauce, grilled chicken, spinach, tomatoes, and Feta Cheese.
I will say when I was getting out the cheese I was like, this isn't ANY cheese. I mean, when we think pizza, we think cheese. But in truth I only had 1 blue that I am allowed and I was able to do both pizzas with the one blue, it was plenty really. Now let me talk about the tomato sauce...
Tomato sauce is considered a fruit (even though the tomatoes are vegetables) go figure on that one. So I filled this full (remember the purple is the 2nd biggest of the containers). As you can see I only used about 1/2 of it. So I emptied this and filled it half full with some actual fruit to have as a little sweetness with dinner. Technically, I still just had one purple.
Here is a finished product!
And a whole plate.
RECIPE
1 or 2 tortillas
tomato sauce
veggies of your choice
meat of your choice
cheese of your choice
Preheat oven to 450. Place tortillas on a pan and place in oven. If you have it still allowed you may want to drizzle with olive oil. Bake for a few minutes until crispy.
Add tomato sauce and toppings, heat to melt cheese.
So the total count on this was 2 RED; 2 YELLOW; 2 GREEN; 1 BLUE; 1 PURPLE
This was my meals for today. Again you can see that I didn't have to skimp on food. I ate plenty and it was delicious!
THE WORKOUT
Today was Pilates. Don't be fooled. Yes you spend most of your time laying down or sitting down but don't think that means that it's easy.
Time for some truth time here.
Look, if I can't be real with you how can I expect to be any help to anyone else who is starting out? I can sit here and type and say that every workout went great and it was so easy and blah, blah, blah; but that would probably be a lie.
Today's workout was hard for me. I even admit that I wasn't able to go the whole minute on some of these even when I was doing the modification. (Which I did quite often today.) My core is not my strong area, I know this. This is unfortunate because the benefits of a strong core are many: it helps alleviate back pain, improves posture, improves balance, enhances athletic performance, and just helps with everyday movement.
Don't be misled that your core means your abs. While your abs are PART of your core it also includes your hips and back muscles as well.
My core is flabby and weak! :)
I felt a little defeated today when I had to stop on some of these because my dogs were outside going crazy because I was inside screaming! I felt really defeated actually. But the good thing is that I have room to improve. Maybe next week I won't have to stop, maybe by the third time I will be able to keep up. Maybe sometime I won't have to use the modifications. It's all a building process. You have to build everyday. Everyday is a block. You want to be a BRICKHOUSE! Like a brick house you have to stack your blocks layer by layer to make a whole house. Maybe you are just on the first layer, maybe you are still working on your foundation. But KEEP ON BUILDING.
The Beachbody motto is Decide. Commit. Succeed.
It is so easy to stop when things get hard, it's so easy to give up when it hurts or you can't do it as easily as someone else. But remember this is about YOU. YOU go at YOUR pace. Maybe you can't do the whole 30 minutes the first time and that is okay. DO what you can.
If you are feeling defeated or down about your activity level...GET OVER IT! It will never improve if you stop. I still feel a little sad that I didn't do more today, but I did all I could. I gave it all I had - and that is something.
You know, it occurs to me that some of you may be reading this and think, "I wish I could do that, but I don't know how. I don't know where to start." Doing this blog is me helping you know where to start! The best place to start is just by eating better and moving more! If you can cut back on the processed, fast foods that we all love so much I dare say that the difference you will feel would be amazing!
Maybe you are saying that you can't afford it. This is a valid concern and I understand it. Buying raw, organic, or GF foods is not cheap. It just isn't. I knew going into this healthy lifestyle that there may be things that I have to give up in order to buy better food. It was a fact and I was aware of that. It's nice to always have my hair done right at the time that it's starting to grow out, it's nice to be able to go get your nails done, it's nice to not have to reapply your eye liner everyday, it's nice to not have to worry about shaving, it's nice to be able to go out and eat or buy name brand things, it's nice to have Starbucks...often (ha). But the truth is the BEST thing that you can EVER invest in is your HEALTH. Those manicured nails and perfect hair and eye make up will look real nice when people are looking into your casket because you died prematurely from heart disease or high blood pressure or diabetes. I'm not saying that we should never be able to treat ourselves with those things, but if those material things are taking the place of your health you have a problems. You may not think you do right now, but you will. None of these will EVER be more important than your life.
Shakeology isn't cheap, good food isn't cheap, committing to an exercise program if you want one like his isn't cheap. BUT, consider this: when you go through a drive through you are probably spending upwards of $5 on a meal that is full of calories, fat, carbs, and chemicals. But for about $4 you can get a Shakeology drink. One that is FULL of amino acids, protein, and TONS of healthy nutrients! Compare this to the cost of a funeral (like $6000) or to the cost to your family if you are dead. Your health should come before anything because once that is gone it may be impossible to get it back. I can still cover my roots. I won't die if I don't have a full set of acrylics (I don't have fake nails anyway); but I may die if I don't eat better or try to exercise some. No material thing is worth my life.
Maybe you aren't ready to make the commitment to a healthier you. Everyone has to have that "a-ha" moment! It will be your own moment. I can't use my moment to make you want to change your life. You have to have that moment when you realize that YOU ARE WORTHY of spending a little extra to have a healthier, potentially longer existence. Please don't think that I am preaching at you to be skinny. In fact this has NOTHING to do with being skinny!
Will you lose weight when you start to eat healthier food, most likely. But I didn't start this to be skinny. Skinny does not equal healthy. Skinny people drop dead from heart attacks every day too. It's about being HEALTHY! There is a huge difference there friends.
You have to prioritize our life. You have to decide if having all those things are more important than feeling your best, you have to decide if you are willing to give up some of the 'extras' in your life in order to feel your best and be your best. I can tell you with 100% certainty that if you are eating processed, $1 at the drive through food you are NOT being your best you.
Maybe you want to see some real results to KNOW that it works before you commit to buy and I understand that. This is one of the reasons that I am doing this. To show you that these programs work and that I have faith in the company and the program and the process, to show you that if I can do it at my level of health and fitness ANYONE can do it. It just takes a decision to start!
When I finish this program, I hope to start a challenge group in late July for anyone who may want to do this program or any other Beachbody program. If you would like some more information on the Challenge packs that we offer (these are GREAT deals because they come with a month of Shake-o so a lot of times it's like you are getting the program FREE!) you can go online to www.beachbodycoach.com/tracynicolev (for the Challenge programs) or www.shakeology.com/tracynicolev (for info about Shake-o). Should you make the decision now or later to start a healthier lifestyle yourself, know that with any program you purchase you can choose to have a FREE one-on-one coach to answer your questions and keep you motivated and accountable. It would be ME! Who better to do this than someone who knows you and cares about you?
Interested in being a coach yourself (even if it's just for the discounts and not for business building), I can help you with that too! Again the most important thing, always, is YOU!
I'm going to sign off today reminding you that whether you think you can, or you think you can't...you're right!
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